Throk banged out an overly efficient design for the air conditioner in mere minutes. The man had a mind built for artifices, and Theo couldn’t help but think of the Demonic God Tworgnoth. The way the Marshling slapped together a treated copper frame, installed a fan, and worked the artificing internals within moments was amazing. It was a simple design. Too simple to meet the needs of the alchemist’s plan.
The entire point of the air conditioning project was to provide Sledge a way to level her [Fabricator’s Core]. He wanted a series of pipes that led to an outside unit, but that wouldn’t work with Throk’s design. The blacksmith had a straightforward approach to most things, and this project was no different. A rectangular cube, made of the treated copper, sat in the workshop. He’d fashioned two fans, one on either side of the hollow cube, to draw air through. A tank on the top released the cooling solution at a set rate, adjustable by a knob on the top.
“This is amazing,” Theo said, tilting the machine so it blew cold air on his face. “One problem.”
“I work miracles,” Throk started, leaning against his work table with a heavy sigh, “and you complain.”
“Disregarding the fact that this will make you rich, I wanted something for Sledge to work on,” Theo said. “If the units just sit inside someone’s house, what’s the point? I expected her to run pipes everywhere, changing the seed core houses for some sweet experience.”
Throk tapped his chin with his hammer. How the man didn’t knock himself out was beyond Theo. Like the example artifice sitting on the workshop’s floor, the gears in the Marshling’s head were turning.
“She could still mount them in the homes,” Throk suggested. “We can shift the design so the controls are on the side. Or the bottom. Then mount them up high so the cold air falls down.”
That might give her decent experience. Perhaps if she installed a unit in each of the 100 new houses they had to plant…
“I have a job for you,” Theo said, smiling. Throk groaned.
“What? Didn’t you take an apprentice?” Theo asked.
“Yes. They’re all useless,” Throk said, jabbing his thumb back into the workshop.
Where Throk hit his anvil with grace, his apprentices were just smacking metal against metal. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Theo consulted his mayoral screen, trying to find the root of the problem. Alise always added the right tags to citizens so they could be searched up based on their experience and cores. The kids in the blacksmith were the best fits for the job, so that wasn’t the issue. The more he thought about it, the more he realized this was something worth calling a meeting for.
“Alright,” Theo said, trying to jump-start his mind. “This is a luxury item. I want you to get with Sledge. Work out a price for each unit. We’ll install a few for free, then the word will spread. Sound good?”
“Better than your normal orders,” Throk said. “Normally you’d just say to do it, then I’d have to do it.”
“Right. Next point. Do you need help from the town with your operation?” Theo asked.
“I don’t need a damn thing,” Throk said.
Theo nodded, taking the prototype unit in his inventory and bidding farewell to his friend. Throk being so defensive meant he needed help. It was another thing that slipped through the cracks, but wasn’t surprising. He was so spiky with everyone; it was hard to know when he really needed help. Before departing, he examined the blacksmithing building.
[Blacksmith’s Workshop]
Owners: Throk
Faction: [Broken Tusk]
Level: 10 (20%)
Rent Due: 5 days
Expansions:
[Even Heating]
[Strict Labor]
Unsurprisingly, Throk had put little effort into upgrading the building. Theo wasn’t surprised anymore when he saw stuff like this. Maybe it was a trend born from Miana’s pact to keep the town at level 1, but it had to stop. No building in town should be below level 20, otherwise they were missing out on amazing upgrades. This led to a second problem. They needed a workshop geared to artificing. The alchemist considered this as he made his way to the center of administration.
It was nice to see the town hall buzzing. The young administrators were fielding questions from citizens in the atrium, hosting impromptu sessions near the fire. Theo found Alise and Gwyn in a meeting with Ziz and Gridgen, and found a seat. Everyone stared at him when he plopped into a chair, but he waved them away. They were discussing production quotas and the distribution of workers. The subject was dry and uninteresting, but mercifully short.
“How can we help you, mayor?” Alise asked, ushering Ziz and Gridgen out.
“I’m concerned about Throk,” Theo said, laying it out as plainly as he could. “How much money does the town have?”
“We’re creeping back to 100 gold,” Gwyn said, clearly consulting her screen. Theo didn’t know why he asked. He could have checked.
Would it pay to have another town-sponsored project? Theo thought about the problem before suggesting a solution. Throk’s work was important to the town, but he had his own business to run. The issue was, his work was so important because of his core combinations. A blacksmith that was an artificer worked so well together, nothing else would do. But his current apprentices weren’t making the cut. The alchemist scratched his head and groaned. There seemed to be no solution to the problem.
“If we get him a building for his artificer work, does that solve the problem?” Theo asked. “No, it doesn’t. We need another person with that specific core combo… Then we need to upgrade Throk’s core combination.”
“Upgrade?” Alise asked, looking confused. “You alright, Theo?”
“Assure me we have the absolute best students for Throk,” Theo said.
“I don’t think anyone fits his requirements,” Gwyn said, taking the reins. “According to the notes, they’re all either too stupid or too lazy.”
“The problem is, he’s a genius,” Theo said, standing. He wouldn’t find his answers here. “Alright. Thanks for your time. I just needed to verbalize it.”
Alise had a few items for him before he left. Her first draft for the Elven population distribution was done, and it looked great. They were evenly spread across laboring disciplines and would be housed accordingly. The neighborhood area would house something like 70% of their population, the rest going to Stabby Grove, Dead Dog, or nearby Cheese Empire. She repeated how much she hated the names, but they’d stuck.
“That’s perfect,” Theo said. “Let me know if we have any changes.”
Gwyn also had a few items about the junior administrators. They were inviting citizens in to give their opinions on the town. This gave the new administrators time to cut their teeth before moving on to larger projects. There was a plan to split the administration staff into domains, but that was far off. Gwyn and Alise would handle everything until then. Theo left the town hall, the egg twitching in his satchel as he went.
“Yeah, we’re off to see Zarali,” Theo said, petting the egg. The surface seemed warmer than before.
Fenian was chatting with Xol’sa and Zarali in the wizard’s tower. It was shocking to see the Elf hang around for so long.
“A few questions about Tworgnoth,” Theo said, pulling the Drogramathi Priestess aside. Xol’sa and Fenian continued their discussion on the [Dungeon Engineer’s Core].
“A few questions about why you haven’t upgraded your [Drogramath Herbalism Core],” Zarali said, placing her hands on her hips.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
“It’s on my list,” Theo lied. “How do we get an artificer’s core aligned with old Tworg?”
“Old Tworg,” Fenian said, snorting. “You pledge yourself to the Master of Artifices. Strike a deal, and all that.”
“Sounds like you’re suspiciously familiar with the topic,” Theo said, staring at the trader.
“I might have a demonic core. You never know,” Fenian said, his face impassive.
“He has at least one,” Zarali said. “A [Priest of Tworgnoth] can create a [Tworgnoth Artificer’s Core], or you can strike a pact with the god himself. Thinking of taking up a new trade?”
“Nah, this is for Throk,” Theo said. “Hey, Fenian. Do you have an artificer’s workshop seed core on ya?”
“Does a Pozwa howl at the darkened moon of Antalis?” Fenian asked, placing his hands on his hips and grinning. “The answer is yes. 15 gold.”
Gold changed hands and Theo placed his new [Artificer’s Workshop Seed Core] in his inventory. Throk would never spend the money, and the alchemist didn’t have time to spare to wait for him to scrape the gold together. What the hell did that guy even spend his cash on? It didn’t matter. It was done, and a decent solution for one of two problems. This brought him down to 51 gold and nothing to spend it on.
“Actually, I need some more high-level [Monster Cores],” Theo said.
Down to 25 gold.
Theo left the three people to their discussion and headed for the roof of the tower. The day was fading by the moment, but he took time to appreciate the swamp below. The Ogre Cypress trees towered high enough above the marsh to afford a decent view. Most days were clear enough to see to the dungeon, but today it was obscured by a low-hanging fog. Monsters scurried around in the mud, hunting and being hunted by adventurers. Once Xol’sa got his new core, they could worry about turning this place into a theme park.
“All you can slay. Five gold,” Theo said, smiling to himself. The egg in his satchel wiggled.
The alchemist withdrew his journal, an inkwell, and a quill to write some notes down. Something that fell by the wayside was his desire to write a guide to Drogramathi Alchemy. The swamp below gave him ample inspiration, but time didn’t favor him. With a wistful sigh, he took the portal back to town and sent a mental ping to his golems. They were doing their thing. Following his instructions and collecting too many motes. He chatted with Tresk and practiced his focus for a while before heading to the mine to check on the miners.
Nira had her apprentices honed to a razor-sharp edge, unlike Throk. She just stood by and watched as they worked the smelter, pumping out an endless supply of ingots for the town. Gridgen and his men were happily working the mine, excited to give the alchemist another tour.
“We had our first real monster scare,” Gridgen said, gesturing for Theo to follow him down the switchback stairs.
They approached the revealed chamber where Theo found the egg. Blood stained the walls, faint but noticeable. That confirmed another theory. The deeper they dug, the stronger the monsters that spawned were.
“The gates worked,” Theo said, looking back at the gate they just passed through. It was bent in sections, but still functional. “Put a work order in with Throk. Replace those with Drogramathi Iron.”
“Yes, sir,” Gridgen said, saluting. “Nothing the adventurers couldn’t handle.”
The mine was the biggest success story of Broken Tusk, as far as Theo was concerned. Theo didn’t even care about the weird room with the egg, it was just another hidden thing for him to find. One in a long list of constructed junk just waiting to be revealed.
“Your people are safe, though?” Theo asked.
“With the gates? Yeah,” Gridgen said. “We’ve only seen monsters spawn while we’re in here once. And we were on the other side of the mine.”
It would still be nice if they had around the clock protections. Copper might not have sold for much, but like Theo’s potions it was a numbers game. A plan formed in his head. Something he could test in the Dreamwalk tonight.
Gridgen was always happy to chat about whatever. His son, Gasem, absolutely loved Mudball Fundamental. It wasn’t just a school, but a daycare and a training center rolled into one. As they talked about the kid’s progress, Theo realized how nice it would be to have something to keep normal citizens safe during a siege. A castle, maybe? A bomb shelter? Maybe they could all cram into his mushroom caves. Another problem for another day.
Tresk signaled she was done in the dungeon for the day, claiming the last boss kicked her ass. The miners were wrapping up their work anyway, so they joined Theo in locking the place up for the night. While the miners went ahead to Xam’s, the alchemist held back to plant his new seed core. Without Throk’s permission, he found a pleasant spot on the man’s property and planted the seed, feeding it enough cores to grow it to level 1.
Tresk appeared from nowhere, stumbling as she came into existence behind Theo.
“Woah! Thought you were going to dinner,” Tresk said, folding her arms. She’d used their new ability to exit the dungeon quickly, giving her a few more minutes of dungeon time.
“Just taking care of some stuff.”
Tresk shrugged, scampering off without waiting for him.
The building sprung up like seed core buildings did. Roots sprung from the ground, wrapping around an amorphous form. With enough power, the writhing roots twisted into a concrete form. The new [Artificer’s Workshop] looked much like the smelter. There was an attached building that was an open-air workshop, scattered with tables and equipment with a sheltered interior. It was an all-board construction with a slatted roof painted blue.
Theo assigned Throk as the owner and inspected the building.
[Artificer’s Workshop]
Owners: Throk
Faction: [Broken Tusk]
Level: 1 (0%)
Rent Due: 5 days
Expansions:
None
Nothing crazy there. Theo left a sack of [Monster Cores] inside the building, giving Throk the option to pick his upgrades. Theo might think he knew which upgrades were the best, but it was best to let someone who knew what they were doing take care of that.
Theo ran into Miana on the way to dinner. She pulled him aside wordlessly, dragging him to the ranch. It was a short walk from the center of town, so it wasn’t a big deal. The alchemist often found himself just picking at his food, taking his time as his Tara’hek dumped the entire plate in her mouth. The Pozwa were kind of cute, anyway. In their own way.
“Look,” Miana said, pointing at the stable.
It was hard to see in the low light, especially at a distance. But there was something in the stable, nestled in a ball of hay. Theo moved his head around, finally catching a shimmer. It was an egg.
“More Pozwa eggs?” Theo asked. They had plenty of those.
“Karatan,” Miana said, her voice reverent. “Our first little baby Karatan.”
“That’s awesome,” Theo said. His urge to enter the paddock faded when he saw the mother of the egg prowling nearby. “What’s the life-cycle for a Karatan egg?”
“Should be an entire season,” Miana said. “We’ll see if that drogramagic works on the livestock.”
“Any plans to expand the livestock program?” Theo asked.
“Yeah, got something real special coming up,” Miana said. “Fenian just brought me the core, so we’ll see how it works.”
Theo patted her on the shoulder. “Alright, then. Keep your secrets.”
“It’s a [Monster Tamer’s Core],” Miana said, grinning. “The damn Elf let me buy it on credit, but I’m out almost 100 gold. Extremely rare. Been working with the bastard since I got the ranch to find the thing.”
Miana explained her plan with the new core. She wouldn’t reveal the alignment, but it would allow her to domesticate any monster. Well, any monster based on her level and skills. She’d start off with monsterized versions of small creatures, like the [Fire Salamanders] in the swamp, then work her way up. This was a synergy Theo didn’t expect to find, but the Half-Ogre woman had discovered it. Anything that exploited the overly abundant supply of monsters was great. They could domesticate the monsterized critters and sell them off, or keep them for themselves.
“I’m sure we’re willing to cover some of your debt,” Theo said.
“So I can be in your debt?” Miana asked, scoffing. She cleared her throat, straightening her posture. “Sorry. I’d like to make this work on my own. Even have a small team of people helping, now.”
“No, I appreciate that,” Theo said.
When Theo arrived in town, others in his situation might have thought of Miana as an adversary. She was hard as they came in Broken Tusk, owing her flinty edge to her circumstances. While she lost some of that brusque behavior, she was still hard. Just differently. This would be a massive industry if she could get it rolling, and the alchemist wanted the town to be there for her in any way they could.
Broken Tusk, as a member of the Kingdom of Qavell, wouldn’t profit from her venture. It wouldn’t make money on most things that were sold in town—that all went to the kingdom. But Qavell wasn’t there for them anymore. Blind loyalty no longer made sense, and secession was the way forward. Once they went independent, taxes collected would enter the town’s coffers. Even if they only collected 5% of sales, banishing export fees, they would be rich. The question of how to secede without paying the high price.
Theo’s intuition told him to wait it out. Something would happen.
When Fenian visited the town, he often brought with him exotic food. For the Broken Tuskers, exotic meant large hunks of meat. Steak. When Theo met with Tresk at the Marsh Wolf Tavern, they dug into a weird dish. Massive Karatan steaks with a side of Zee draped in a layer of cheese. It was weird. And delicious.
Theo had plans to test different forms of golems in the Dreamwalk tonight. He had a feeling that the material he made them out of determined how good they were at a task. Mud golems were great at digging through the mud, so that was an easy one to understand. If he could make one out of plant material, perhaps they’d be better at taking care of plants. A golem made of metal just made sense for defense. He wanted to create a copper golem to help defend the mine. That would require him to either increase his willpower or remove a few [Lesser Mud Golems]. Fewer mud golems might be a good thing. He already had crates of motes and nothing to do with them.
Another export opportunity, perhaps.
When dinner wrapped up, the tavern filled with a more rowdy crowd than normal thanks to the Karatan Steaks, Theo and Tresk made their way back to the Newt and Demon. The egg twitched as the alchemist nestled it in his sheets. Tresk didn’t seem to mind that he carried it most of the time. She was often adventuring, after all.
The Dreamwalk sprung up around them as sleep took over. A group of assassins lunged for Theo, rekindling Tresk’s need to drill him constantly. He’d fight them off the best he could and move on to experimentation. There was no need to waste such a gift.