Theo left Zarali at the river. She wanted to spend time there, but for what reason, he didn’t know. The entire time he lingered near the western border of his town, he felt eyes upon him. They weren’t eyes that pried, digging into his soul to determine his merit, they were kind eyes. Attention that brought comfort and protection. The alchemist knew Tresk lurked near enough to come if he needed it, and he wouldn’t have to call for her aid. With her [Shadowdance] skill, she could enter the shadows and leap, 10 times, to any shadow within line-of-sight. While he appreciated her attention, she would have been better delving into the dungeons.

When Theo entered the town once again, he found Miana tending to her animals. Their agreement on the property was informal. Seeing the creatures grazing the fields, happily living out their lives, was enough for him. Even the horrific goat-like Pozwa crowed with excitement, butting each other with their many-horned heads and eating anything that wasn’t nailed down. He entered the paddock and approached one of the feathered creatures, holding his hand out flat for it to sniff. It bit him.

“That’s Bity!” Miana shouted. “He bites.”

“Creative,” Theo said, shooing the beast away and approaching the Half-Ogre woman.

The years weren’t kind to Miana. Despite that, she still looked youthful and exuberant. She bore the features of her race, the Half-Ogres, tall and muscular with broad, powerful faces and olive-red skin. Her hair was always kept short, which seemed wise in the presence of the Pozwa. Unlike when Theo first arrived, Miana Kell now held a permanent smile on her face.

“Things are going well,” Miana said, patting the flank of a Karatan. “I’m prepared to give my thanks to Fenian.”

Miana moved off without saying another word, the intent for Theo to pursue lingering in the air. He followed her into the tall barn, which remained open on the paddock side while the creatures ate in the fields. The barn was a row, on either side, of stalls for the Karatan and Pozwa to rest at night. Tucked in the far corner were a series of tanks and devices meant to harvest the milk from the Karatan, joined by a new set of tools. The alchemist figured they were meant for removing the Pozwa’s many horns. The Half-Ogre woman hoisted a cylindrical object, holding it over her head.

“Cheese!” she shouted before handing it over to Theo.

“You made cheese,” Theo said, staring in disbelief. Milk was enough of a bonus, but cheese? That was something else entirely.

“How many farms produce cheese in Qavell?” Theo asked.

“Plenty, but not cheese like this,” Miana said. “Try some.”

Theo took a bite, finding the flavor to be excellent. He never had real cheese on Earth, only the powdered stuff that came with his meals. The texture was divine, crumbling in his mouth, and the flavor was a mix between herby garlic and creamy milk. A system message popped up the moment he swallowed.

[Properties Discovery!]

You’ve discovered an additional effect from the [Veostian Karatan Cheese] by eating it.

[Bind] discovered.

Theo should have figured the cheese could be used for alchemy. The massive wheel that Miana produced was at least 20 units worth. If the properties were good, it was possible that he could make a potion out of cheese. The thought made him laugh, but he inspected the cheese.

[Veostian Karatan Cheese]

[Food] [Alchemy Ingredient]

Uncommon

Unaged cheese made from the milk of a Veostian Karatan.

Properties:

[Suffuse] [Bind] ????

As with most ingredients, the properties meant little. They sometimes related to the end potion, but often it was impossible to tell what they did. “May I?” Theo asked.

“Sure, I’ve got a bunch,” Miana said. “There’s an idea. I bet the Pozwa horns give you something.”

Miana disappeared for a moment, rummaging through a [Dimensional Storage Crate] before returning with a curled, brown horn. She held it out for him to inspect.

[Pozwa Horn]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Epic

Pozwa are said to have a third eye, although that’s just metaphorical. These wise creatures produce this rare horn, prized by practitioners of scrimshaw.

Properties:

[Reveal] ???? ????

“Don’t suppose you can eat that one, can you?” Miana said, chuckling.

“No, but that property is interesting,” Theo said. “[Reveal]... I have a feeling this could make a bomb? No, something else. This is big. Please reserve all your [Pozwa Horn] stock for me. I’ll buy them all.”

Miana laughed. “There he is. Big alchemist man with big alchemist money. Fine. I know you’re going to argue with me until I agree to take the money.”

Theo’s supernatural sense for things was getting stronger by the day. He felt a connection to the [Pozwa Horn], understanding that it would produce a fourth family of potions. The way the alchemist understood potions broke them down into three categories. Standard potions were ones a person drank, giving them an effect. Detergent-style potions were potions someone poured over something else, his [Cleansing Scrub] was an example of that. Then there were the bombs, potions meant to be thrown at an enemy. He was eager to discover this new style of potion.

“How many do you have?” Theo asked.

“A few just shed,” Miana said, disappearing again. She returned with her arms full of the horns, dropping them onto the ground and smiling.

“I’ll have Azrug appraise them and run you the money,” Theo said, swiveling his head to find the sun in the sky. There were still a few hours of daylight left, but not enough to do a full run of the horns. He pulled them into his inventory and turned to leave.

“Thanks again, Theo,” Miana said.

Theo joined with Zarali on the road, finding her returning from the river. She took as much interest in the [Pozwa Horns] as him, holding one in her hand and rolling it over. They both shared a connection to Drogramath, allowing her to sense the value of the item. When they returned to the lab, Azrug was working the shop as he always did.

“Could you appraise this?” Theo asked, handing the boy a horn.

Azrug was Xam’s baby brother, a boy that received his cores far earlier than normal. He was shorter than most Half-Ogres, owing to his age, but was the spitting image of his sister. Dark red skin with a mop of unkempt black hair. The shopkeeper held an excitement for mercantile affairs that was infectious.

“Oh, that’s from Miana’s horrors, right?” Azrug asked, taking the item in his hand and shrugging. “I can’t get a price on it, though. I can only appraise things that have been traded in the region recently.”

“Meaning Fenian really did bring you a prize,” Zarali said, nodding. “Where did he say he got them?”

“Gardreth, but I thought he was lying,” Azrug said.

Zarali snorted a laugh. “Gardreth? The Fallen Kingdom, Gardreth? Balkor’s Demise? The necromantical cursed lands? Who is this Fenian?”

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“I don’t think we’ll ever know,” Theo said. “I’m buying them from Miana. How much should I give her?”

“You own the Pozwa,” Azrug said, laughing. “Don’t give her a damn thing.”

Theo narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t know. You want to know the real value? Priceless,” Azrug said. “I can only guess, but you’d get 20 silver minimum. 5 gold maximum. Per horn.”

“Still want to pay the ranch hand?” Zarali asked, cackling.

“Right,” Theo said, checking his inventory. He currently had 26 gold, 61 silver, and 44 copper. “I’ll work something out.”

Theo went to head upstairs, but Azrug grabbed his arm. “Quick word.”

“The traders,” Theo said. That was the only thing that would put such a dire thing on the shopkeeper’s face. “Something happened in Qavell. A merchant’s war.”

“You’re well-informed,” Azrug said. “There’s big implications to that. We’re talking about massive shifts to the way Qavell does business. Traders are going to flood out from the city, snatching up all the deals they can.”

Theo pinched the bridge of his nose. He thought the implications were obvious, but not everyone saw the world the way he did. Since his [Wisdom] had increased past 20, his [Intelligence] almost there as well, he’d been able to extrapolate whole ideas from incomplete information. Broken Tusk’s biggest problem, even if they didn’t know it, was the stranglehold the Merchant’s Guild held on the region. They regulated everything and coin had to pass through their hands before they allowed it to happen. If the guild fell, everything would change.

“Looks like an opening for us,” Theo said, sighing.

“Why so glum? That sounds like a great thing,” Zarali said.

“Because it means someone is pulling the strings,” Theo said.

“Could be coincidence,” Azrug said. “But it’s an opportunity to be sure. The floodgates are open now, so we’re going to see a lot of traders in town. More adventurers too, probably.”

“Right,” Theo said. “Bring this up with Alise if you see her.”

“Sounds good,” Azrug said, settling back down onto his chair. “You can leave.”

Theo laughed, shaking his head as he ascended the stairs.

Zarali helped Theo tend to his stills. The run was complete, leaving him with almost 1,000 units of [Healing Essence]. He inspected a sample before taking it out to the pressure vessels for further refinement.

[Healing Essence]

[Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Alignment Effects:

1:1 refinement in pressure vessels

Increased purity from refinement

1 units (liquid)

Concentrated essence of healing, used to create healing potions.

It could have been better, but for a bulk run the essence was fine. It already overshadowed what the alchemists in Qavell could produce, both in quality and volume. The pair walked around to insert the essence into the pressure vessels outside, inserting motes to power the machines and setting them to work.

“Why do you act like that?” Zarali asked.

“Like what?” Theo said, kicking the side of the jumping machine. It settled down after a moment.

“Like the gifts you receive are curses,” Zarali said.

Theo walked, without talking, to the north-facing side of the building. He checked on his storage tanks, which were currently empty. Everything had been working great since they were installed, and he planned to fill them with the [Pozwa Horn] essence. He thought for a while before responding to her comment, not able to put it into words so easily.

“Because they can be curses,” Theo said with a resolute nod.

“Oh, yes,” Zarali said, gesturing to the burgeoning town around her. “This is such a curse. This cursed land produces nothing but woe.”

As if to punctuate her point, a pair of children rain by on the main road, laughing and smiling. Theo waved at them, and they waved back.

“Maybe you’re right,” Theo said. “But I can still be cautious.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a bit of caution,” Zarali said. She jabbed her thumb toward a tree nearby. “Especially with that following you around.”

Theo had already detected his companion, Tresk. She’d been lurking in the shadows since they got back to the Newt and Demon. He felt her comforting gaze grow closer.

“Another piece of the puzzle,” Theo said.

“Don’t stress it,” Tresk said, emerging from the shadows.

Zarali pat Tresk on the top of the head, smiling. “I heard Xam is making something with cheese today.”

Theo produced an entire cheese wheel from his inventory, nodding.

“Woah!” Tresk said, snatching at the cheese. Theo returned it to his inventory before she could get it. “Give me the cheese.”

“This is alchemy cheese,” Theo said.

As the sun grew lower in the sky above, the group made their way to the Marsh Wolf Tavern for dinner. It was always packed since Xam got her cooking core, but the mayor’s seat was constantly reserved. They talked about small things while they waited to be served, watching with jealous eyes as others dug into their cheese-infused meals. Theo was surprised at the amount of cheese Miana had created so far, noting it was enough for export. When the dish finally arrived, served by a new person the alchemist hadn’t seen before, it was worth the wait.

Meat was piled high in a ceramic dish, resting atop a bed of Zee flatbread and smothered in more cheese than made sense. Tresk did her typical thing, eating the entire meal in moments, as Zarali and Theo took their time. Their conversation shifted several times, centered on the town’s progress and how well everyone was doing. The food might have just been a pile of meat and cheese, but it was delicious. Every bite was an explosion of that familiar garlic and herb flavor that made the cheese unique. Theo was once again left wondering what a high-level cook would produce.

Part way through the meal, someone came to join them at the table. Luras Trinner had become something of a legend within the town. He was broad-shouldered with a preeminent fierce expression. Much like other Half-Ogres his skin was a dark hue of ochre. The man recently gave up on his dreams, or what Theo thought were his dreams after his uncle died, to take up the life of an adventurer once again. Since that time, he’d taken a [Baelthar’s Hunter Core], which was a specialized [Hunter’s Core] aligned with the patron of Half-Ogres, Baelthar. He was also Broken Tusk’s captain of the guard.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Luras said, smiling.

“Not at all. I wanted to ask you a few questions,” Theo said.

“No business at dinner!” Tresk protested.

“It’s about the dungeons,” Theo said.

“Oh, carry on.”

“How did the plan go? Are the other dungeons growing in strength?” Theo asked.

Luras rolled his shoulders, taking a long breath before speaking. “From what I can tell, the plan worked. Every dungeon is now growing, instead of just the one. I have concerns with all this Drogramathi energy flowing through the air, though.”

“Oh, come now,” Zarali purred. “Surely you’re not afraid of a little Demonic energy.”

“Not really,” Luras said, shrugging. “Just seems like a waste. How much of that mana just floats into the air?”

“Ah, now I’m going to like you,” Zarali said. “I’m working on a project related to that. It’s all secret at the moment, but I promise it will be worth it in the long run. That reminds me, have you found silver or gold in the mines?”

“Just copper and iron,” Theo said.

“Dig deeper. I’m sure you’ll find at least silver,” Zarali said.

Theo didn’t say anything, that was his plan anyway. She was being coy about it, but he could tell the idea she had needed magic and precious metals. The alchemist couldn’t afford to dedicate any of his time to her project, so he left it at that. The group had a nice dinner after that. Luras was happy to share tales of his adventures in the different dungeons. He even went as far as the [Ocean Dungeon], which was extremely difficult to reach.

Zarali departed for the mage’s tower while the portal was still open, Luras ran off to do whatever it was he did at night, and Theo and Tresk returned to the Newt and Demon for a good night’s rest. When the entered the Dreamwalk, Tresk had a fun idea. Instead of going to strange places either of them had been to, she brought up a memory of Broken Tusk. It was years ago, from when she was a child. There were no roads, no walls, and hardly enough homes for 20 people.

“This is still a strange feeling,” Theo said.

“I like it,” Tresk said, pulling him by the arm. “That was my house.”

Tresk pointed out Throk’s building, which had remained mostly unchanged since her childhood. Memories of people didn’t appear in the Dreamwalk, though. The closest it could get to replicating them was to create shadow-people, something that creeped Theo out every time. He preferred for the place to be empty, or for him to summon a group of his weird mannequins. The Marshling ran off to go fight some monsters, and Theo remained in the center of town.

The monolith that still marked the town square was there, looking just as it was in the present day. Theo needed little information to go on. Zarali would reveal a small piece of information to him, and he would run with it. He summoned a few basic examples of a [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root] and got to work. The first half of the night he spent his time trying to understand how this would work. Without the skill, he’d just be going through the motions rather than making any real progress. He split his time between trying to summon his mana, and performing alchemy reactions for the experience.

Some time in the middle of the night, after Tresk had been defeated by her tenth dragon, he managed something amazing. Theo held his hand out, trying to get anything that looked like raw Drogramathi mana to appear. Liquid fire poured from his palm out of nowhere, right when his concentration was about to slip. It pooled there, glowing with the telltale purple energy of that Demonic God. Before he could control the wild flames, they consumed him. He let out a shout of fear, but felt no pain. A moment later, Tresk was at his side.

“How did you die?” Tresk asked, laughing.

Theo rose to his feet, patting himself down to make sure he was alright. He was fine. “I think my mana killed me.”

“How?” Tresk asked.

Theo explained the process he went through, pulling mana out of his body and willing it into his palm. Tresk was unsure of how that should work as she hardly used mana every day. The only way she interacted with the resources was to cast her abilities, she never interacted the manual way. The alchemist sat there for some time, even after the Marshling scampered off, lost in thought. If he tried to get ahead of himself in the real world, the mana would have killed him.

No Dronon had ever entered a Tara’hek. None of their kind would have access to a safe place to practice this art. Theo returned to a sitting position and brought more Drogramathi mana into his hand. This time, he didn’t shout when it consumed him.