Tresk remained in the harbor for as long as she could. When the sun crawled closer to the early afternoon, she was off. Theo watched her bound off, climbing the hills to the north. He couldn’t see her anymore, but he could feel her. With a rush, she was gone. Jumping through each shadow on the winding path to Rivers and Daub. She knew to keep him updated, and he needed to make a call.

The communication crystal Fenian gave to Theo was a strange thing. The more he learned about long-range communication, the more he realized how weird it was. Even Khahar said people couldn’t use similar methods directly to the Khahari Desert. It was hard to put his finger on it, but the alchemist suspected a greater force at work. Still, he couldn’t deny the trader’s usefulness.

Theo clasped the crystal in his hand, letting the haptic buzz play through his skull.

Theo? Is your town ready? I’m bringing a Dragon! Fenian said. There was too much excitement in his voice. A person’s smile seemed to carry through the telepathic link.

Har har, Theo said. How’s it going, Fenian?

Better than I expected, Fenian said. I have a solid price on your potions. The Elves are fighting a protracted war—with themselves, of course—and are buying everything up. Well, they’ve been buying potions up for about 50 years, but I wasn’t in the business back then.

That’s good to hear. What prices are you getting? Theo asked.

They are very selective. Your fancy [Healing Potions] for 2 silver apiece. They said if you can do the same for your attribute potions, they’ll go as high as 10 silver. That translates to about 5 silver each, though. They’re tough on negotiations and expect deals on bulk orders. So, expect less.

That wasn’t the worst-case scenario, though. The alchemist’s ability to mass-produce potions was getting better by the day. If he ran his stills full tilt, all day, he could make 3,000 potions. Fermenting, distilling, and applying modifiers would take another day, but if he focused on only attribute potions… He could put together an order in a few days, and make 150 gold. That didn’t seem right, and he didn’t know if Fenian had the coin on hand to pay that amount. The only other limiting factor was his capacity to produce the reagents. But he was getting ahead of himself.

Alright. Let me know when you’re stopping by, Theo said.

Theo. Have you worked on my other project? Fenian asked.

I have an array of the [Hallow Ground] potions for you. Speaking of that, are you paying me for those? Theo asked.

I thought the cave was enough, Fenian said.

Bring me another cave, and you can have them for free, Theo said. I need another cave to grow [Manashrooms].

Best I can do is 50 gold for a new cave, Fenian said.

Theo thought for a moment. It wasn’t like Fenian to withdraw his hand like that. He settled on the idea that the Elf was low on funds, which was likely the case.

Take it out of my next order, Theo said. And, one more request?

Let’s hear it.

Find me a plant that I can weave into durable cloth. Canvas, if possible, for my sails, Theo said.

Oh, my. The port? Yes, I know the perfect plant. [Starbristle Flax] is incredibly strong. It’s also blue, like my eyes. I’ll bring a few samples from Tarantham. You only need one plant, right? Fenian asked.

A single living plant is enough for me, Theo said.

Perfect. I’m near some farms. I’ll steal a few for you, Fenian said. Anyway, contact me again when you have potions to sell. I’m in the middle of wooing an Elven Noble Lady. Wish me luck!

Before Theo could wish him anything, the connection cut out. He returned the crystal to his inventory and sent out a mental pulse, checking on his golems. The more he practiced, the easier it was to connect to the lodestone from afar. The alchemist got a vague impression of the greenhouses. He gleaned nothing useful from the act, and dismounted the wall to check on them manually. When he arrived, Zarali wanted a word with him.

The Drogramathi Priestess was concerned about the alteration of his mark, but he waved her off. She also wanted to push forward with upgrading his herbalism core, but he couldn’t spare the time today. The directions she gave on upgrading the core seemed simple, but he felt as though she was holding something back. Her possession by Drogramath had shaken her more than she’d admit.

“How are you holding up?” Theo asked.

“Honestly? Not well,” Zarali said, managing a weak smile. “Xol’sa has been listening to me ramble and sob. Drogramath sent me a message. Well, it was more of a feeling. An apology. It helped a lot.”

That just cast the Demon Lord’s motives in an even more confusing light. If it was hard to understand Sulvan’s motives, people like Drogramath and Khahar were impossible. Everything seemed to fit in their neat little plan for the mortal world, but what they witnessed in the town hall was the first time the alchemist saw any god take direct action.

Theo let Zarali join him in tending the gardens. The greenhouses had a substantial effect on the rate of cultivation. Each of his plants were ready for propagation, and he went about that work. It would take a few days to get each bed filled with reagents, but not as long as it would take outside of Broken Tusk. He then had to worry about cultivating whatever Fenian brought to town, but that was a task for another day. Since he used the flowers to brew the essence for his attribute-enhancement potions, and the stems to create new plants, he skimmed a few 100% cultivated flowers from each type.

“This would be easier with a legendary herbalism core,” Zarali said.

“Maybe,” Theo said, slapping an ember from a [Flame Rose] from the air. He snipped the end of a healthy-looking branch and shoved it in the ground. That was usually enough for them to grow.

“Are you enjoying the golems?” Zarali asked.

Theo could feel them foraging through the area near the Newt and Demon. Each had already exchanged their power supply a few times, but he had enough slates to last them. He took a moment to think about the question. The constructs skill was incredibly useful. It provided utility he didn’t have before. Another pair of hands to take care of mundane tasks.

“They’re great,” Theo said. “We can work on upgrading my herbalism core later today.”

“Oh. Exciting,” Zarali said.

“We’re going to check on the mine,” Theo said.

“We?”

Theo’s [Lesser Stone Golem] waved from outside the greenhouse. Zarali gave him a flat look.

“I thought you were including me,” she said.

“You’re welcome to come.”

Zarali was bored enough to join them down the road, headed for the smelter. Nira was working hard, not distracted by the excitement of the port. Theo waved at her and her apprentices, then pushed on to the mine. Sarna was working near the entrance, in one of the many tunnels the alchemist created near the surface. They were pulling more copper out of the mine than ever, along with regular iron and Drogramathi Iron.

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“Did your workforce double again?” Theo asked, spotting many unfamiliar faces.

“Indeed it has,” Sarna said, wiping sweat and soot from her forehead. “I wonder if we’re keeping up with the housing demand.”

Theo shrugged. Alise would handle it, if it became a problem. Even if he got reassurances to the contrary, he was worried about their supply of food. Importing from Rivers and Daub was an option, but he’d rather not.

“We should get a bakery,” Theo said, inspecting the walls of the mine. He didn’t know what he hoped to find here. Just a distraction while he waited for Tresk to return, perhaps.

“Now you’re talking,” Sarna said, slapping him on the back. “So, we’re on the edge of a cavern. What’s the plan with that?”

The cavern was behind several well-placed iron gates, in tunnels designed for a fighting retreat. If they hit anything nasty, the miners could back out through the tunnel and shut the gates behind them. If things got terrible, they could abandon the mine and let the towers take care of the monsters. The southern wall was tangled up in the rocky hills, but he was certain they would reach monsters emerging from the mouth of the cave.

“We’ll have to see what Aarok wants to do,” Theo said, scratching the back of his head.

“Uh-huh,” Sarna said, nodding. “What about the god hanging out in our town?”

“Khahar isn’t a god,” Theo said, waving her question away.

“Kinda seems like a god.”

“I feel like he has something to say to me,” Theo said. “He just can’t get the words out. Something is wrong with his mind.”

That didn’t give Zarali or Sarna confidence that Theo had the problem under control. To him, it was like stuffing a hurricane in his pocket. Completely impossible.

Sarna dropped the topic. Zarali was interested to see where the Drogramathi Iron was spawning, so she led the way. The priestess inspected the nuggets for some time, nodding her approval. According to her, nothing in the cave was a natural deposit, but Theo already knew that. It required further study.

“So, I’m not eager to test these monster-stoppers,” Sarna said, slapping an iron gate. “But throw us a few good adventurers, and I think we can do it.”

If Theo wasn’t trying to whittle away the time while his reagents grew, he would have been annoyed. Aarok could handle the situation. He’d know how many people to send, and which ones to send. Instead, Sarna wanted the alchemist to do something about it now. There was a lingering fear there, though. As long as that last bit of rock stood between them and the next room, the mine would function without worry.

“Are things that boring around here?” Theo asked, letting out a sigh. Aarok and his people would have been preparing for the monster wave, especially with the newly expanded walls. They’d need to move the towers around, especially to the new harbor wall.

“Do it, Theo,” Zarali said.

They were standing in the last room, right past the newest iron gate installed by Throk. The icy part of the cavern wall was ahead, the place that signaled a portal into an underground world. Theo shrugged. What’s the worst that could happen?

Theo dumped a [Tunneling Potion] on the ground, one of the last he had, and let it go to work. He created a large opening into the cavern, carving out the rock with his mind, then stopped. Everyone stopped, sucking in a collective breath.

“What is that?” Sarna said, moving closer to the opening.

Theo’s potion sat eagerly in the rock, wanting to eat more away. But there was an obstruction. Gray, magically hewn rock gave way to hand-carved stones. The alchemist revealed more of the strange structure, tracing along one side of the wall until he found an archway, a massive stone slab in the middle. It bore an inscription none of them could read. Not even Zarali.

“Alright, the work day just got interesting,” Sarna said, laughing. “This isn’t a cavern at all.”

“But, it is cold,” Theo said. He pressed his hands against the wall and let the chill wash through his body. There was something familiar about this stone, but he couldn’t place it. Like a memory removed from his mind. It lingered with a sense of pull, as though the stones had their own gravity.

“The symbols are glowing now,” Zarali said, moving closer to the wall.

If Theo had remembered to drink his [Potion of Limited Foresight] that morning, he might have seen the artifice emerge from the doorway. The black doorway rippled, and a claw-like hand snatched his. In an instant, Zarali summoned blue fire to attack the claw, Sarna let out a startled yelp and smacked it with a pickaxe, and the alchemist shrieked.

Pain, like nothing he’d ever felt before, flooded through his body. System messages popped up as his health drained away. He could feel the black claw sucking his life force from him, draining his blood. Instinctively, he drank a [Retreat Potion] but didn’t withdraw a bomb. A surge of [Dexterity] sharpened his reflexes, but the potion didn’t work. His body throttled backward, but his hand remained, shattering something in his shoulder. Zarali and Sarna shouted something, but he couldn’t hear them. The pain seared his mind, grinding his will into dust. Even the [Lesser Stone Golem] struck the doorway, desperate to defend its master.

As quickly as it started, it was over. The black claw melted back in the door and the alchemist collapsed. Time must have passed, but a sickening crunch woke Theo from his unconsciousness. He took a sharp breath and sat up, the chilly cavern floor leaving phantom cold on his back. The alchemist watched the hole in his hand mend. Zarali was chanting something, allowing the healing power of Drogramath to flow through his body. And the door was open.

“Theo!” Zarali shouted, shaking him. “What happened?”

Only then did he have time to check the system messages.

[Genetic Matching]... [Dronon, Drogramathi Detected] : [MATCH]

[Willpower Matching]... [Above Average Detected] : [MATCH]

[Core Matching]... [Drogramath Herbalism Core]: [MATCH]

[Core Matching]... [Drogramath Alchemy Core]: [MATCH]

[Unknown Core]... [Governance Core]: [SKIP]

[ERROR]: Unexpected realm-overlap detected.

[Attempting Remap]... [SUCCESS]

[Dual Soul] detected. Remapping… [SUCCESS]

[Theo Spencer], [Tresk] bonded.

[Opening Sequence]... [SUCCESS]

[Egg] has been bound to [Theo Spencer], [Tresk].

[Power Down]

Theo blinked, trying to force his mind to catch up to reality. The [Lesser Stone Golem] was destroyed on the ground, just a pile of rubble. Sarna had run off to get someone’s attention, only now returning with a gaggle of miners.

“I’m fine,” Theo said, groaning to his feet.

He noticed what was in the room.

Sitting on a fine pedestal covered with a fine purple cloth, was an egg. A Dronon script ran from the top of the far wall to the bottom. Theo could understand pieces of it, but it was like reading a broken language.

“You alright? I brought the workers,” Sarna said, heaving breath. “What’s that say?”

“Could we please have the room?” Zarali asked, her tone frantic.

Sarna, Gridgen, and the rest of the mining laborers were happy to clear out of the room. Whatever they expected in this cavern wasn’t this. They were all too happy to get as far from the room as possible. Zarali turned to Theo when they had finally all left.

Theo explained the system messages, reading them out for her.

“What?” Zarali asked, shaking her head. She looked at the text once again, her breath catching in her throat. “Tworgnothi.”

Theo felt sore and spent. Tworgnothi sounded like a Dronon script, which made enough sense. What it was doing in his mind was another question.

“Can you read it?” Theo said, making to cross the threshold.

“Wait!” Zarali said. “I don’t know what it says. I can only make out parts. Something about a weapon. A horror.”

Theo shrugged. “Whatever this thing did, it did it. It’s done. That’s the curious thing…”

He didn’t want to finish his thought out loud. It was looking for him, but it found Theo and Tresk. Someone set this up. When they did, they neglected to predict that Tresk would be in the mix. That had to count for something, even if the artifice completed its run. Even that part was disturbing, though. He’d never seen an artifice interact with the system interface like that.

“Can you make a zone of silence?” Theo asked.

Zarali swiped her hand. The air shimmered with purple magic, bathing the newly excavated room in its light. The low whistle of the rest of the cave was drown out immediately.

“Khahar!” Theo shouted. “I’m in danger!”

Nothing happened. Either Khahar knew it was a bluff, or he couldn’t hear them. Either way, no one came running down the tunnel. It was good enough. Theo explained every part of the message, including the part about Tresk. He gave his theory as to someone setting this up, then failing to account for the Tara’hek.

“If it was Tworgnoth,” Zarali started. She closed her eyes, slapping her cheeks and shaking her head. “I can’t see why the Master of Demonic Artifices would be involved. He’s a core Demon in the Demonic Pantheon.”

“But that artifice looked pretty Demonic,” Theo said.

“Well,” Zarali said, letting out an exasperated breath. “You’re bound to an egg, now. Might as well investigate.”

Theo smiled. He knew her curiosity for the egg would get the better of her. He entered the room, still bathed in the zone of silence, and pressed his hand to the velvet cover over the egg. A sense of deep belonging flooded through his body. The egg was the size of his fist and warm to the touch. He removed the cover, spotting the speckled, stony surface of the egg. It felt too familiar. Like pressing his forehead against Tresk’s.

The system didn’t give a description of the thing. Theo took it in his hands and just stared.

“I don’t recognize the egg,” Zarali said.

“Maybe a dragon?” Theo asked, slightly hopeful. Who wouldn’t want a pet dragon.

“Dragon eggs are as large as you are,” Zarali said, shaking her head. “This is smaller. Your robes are too tight, let me have it.”

Theo found he wanted nothing more than to never give Zarali the egg. It wasn’t as though he didn’t trust her. The egg created something that ran deep into his heart. A new bond that he’d do anything to protect. He stuffed it in his robes and shook his head.

“We need to figure out what this is. I assume you have books on the subject,” Theo said. Zarali nodded. “Off to the lab.”