Theo tried hard to push the intrusive thoughts out of his mind. Not even the endless list of new abilities gave him relief. He stood outside of Miana’s house, staring into the sheets of rain for what felt like hours. Tresk sent telepathic communications several times, but he ignored them for the time being. A clap of thunder from the south woke him from his stupor. He blinked away the rain, looking over the town that he helped upgrade.
I have some information, Theo said, sending a message to Tresk.
He explained how sensitive the information was. Despite her sporadic behavior, the woman could be trusted with a secret. He’d told her many things in the past that he knew she would take to the grave. She responded attentively, voicing her concerns where appropriate and listening to others. He could feel her emotions in his chest, somewhere near his [Tara’hek Core].
This changes nothing, Tresk said. If someone wants you here, that’s fine. But we’re making our own fortune. They can’t have you—you’re mine.
I knew you’d have a positive spin on this, Theo said.
He wanted to be more upset about the situation, but he wasn’t. It changed nothing in the wider world and still placed them at the center of a conflict he wanted nothing to do with. Power was the only thing that mattered. Fenian’s words echoed through his mind then, a quirk of his [Wisdom] giving him near perfect recall.
Power draws power.
It was some saying from a long-forgotten empire named Zalabar, if the Elf could be trusted. Broken Tusk had been given the reins to power, and it would draw others to it. As mayor, he would need to be ready to face whatever power came to wash over them. He needed to turn the tide. Whatever that meant.
Theo returned to the lab, bypassing Azrug’s questions and closing the door behind him. A new skill appeared in his available skills window. He had scrolled through the endless barrage of skills in the past, but this was the first one with a level requirement. He inspected the skill.
[High Pressure Refining]
Alchemy Skill
Uncommon
Requires: [Drogramath Alchemy Core] level 10
Pressure has an interesting effect on essences. This skill allows you to safely operate a pressure vessel. Learning how a pressure vessel works is up to you.
Effect:
Allows the user to operate an alchemical pressure vessel safely.
Gives the user access to refined essence identification.
+1 Intelligence
He learned to wait before selecting things by this point. The intelligence boost would be appreciated, but it was a single point. The real gem of the skill was exactly what he expected from hitting level 10. It gave access to an additional step of essence refinement. Before taking the plunge, he opened his copy of Basic Drogramathi Alchemy and flipped through the pages. Most of it was still in riddles, but one section stood out. Half of the poems were now replaced with something the alchemist could understand. This section detailed the [High Pressure Refining] skill, confirming his suspicions.
According to whatever Demon had penned this book, [High Pressure Refining] was a necessary skill. It allowed the alchemist to remove the impurities from the essence distillation method. He breathed a sigh of relief as he went over the instructions. They were detailed. Unlike the massive amount of guesswork he’d done in the past, he now had explicit instructions on how to perform the process. Each reagent produced at least 3 properties. When distilled into an essence, that essence contained impurities, which amounted to the other properties. When put under extreme pressure and in the presence of a catalyst, these additional impurities were removed.
The result would produce a different essence than the base form. The book detailed them as refined essences and was complete with a list of sample recipes based on essence properties. This was more information than he could have hoped for. Theo had to wonder if Fenian knew the value of this book. His brush with the Archmage clarified that information was worth a fortune. Whatever price he paid for this book wasn’t enough. It was priceless.
Theo bought the skill, equipping it in his [Drogramath Alchemy Core] without hesitation. The only thing he needed to worry about now was leveling his herbalism core to 10. Once he had that, he’d have a free core slot. It would sit empty for some time, just like Tresk’s. She was still looking for the perfect core to fit her build, but she was coming up empty. The trader’s visits to the town had become more frequent, along with adventurers, but that brought her no closer to making a decision.
Broken Tusk had become accustomed to their mayor not making appearances. Theo spent all his time working on breaking the barrier, and now that it had fallen, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He went downstairs, surprised he didn’t notice the ringing of the bell upstairs. Azrug was with a customer, selling the wares the alchemist produced. He clapped his hand over the shopkeeper’s shoulder before leaving the store, heading back out into the rain. He went south, intent on checking on Perg.
Her tanner had undergone a transformation in recent days. She demolished the old, hand-built building in favor of a seed core tannery. From Theo’s experience, this enhanced the effects of whatever craft was performed inside. With her [Tanner Core], she could produce impossibly supple leathers. Even when the alchemist used his specialized process, it seemed to pale when compared to her work. The door was open, but he knocked on the frame.
“Come on,” Perg said from within. Theo entered.
He found her over a shallow pit, pouring some of his alchemical mixture over unprocessed hides. Theo watched with pride as the mixture stripped away the hair in an instant, reflecting a year’s worth of work the old way. Perg Grott was a hearty woman, like most of the Half-Ogres in Broken Tusk, as tall as him and muscular beyond reason. Most citizens in the town favored dumping their stats into [Strength], as they were mostly laborers. She had dull red skin like most Half-Ogres, long black hair, and gray eyes. There was always something lurking behind her eyes, though. As though she knew more than she let on.
“Finally got it to 10,” Theo said.
“Oh, I saw the explosion,” she said, grinning. “Congratulations. I also saw the wizard. Those are dangerous folk.”
“He’s a drunk,” Theo said, watching the women work.
“That’s worse,” Perg said. “Can I expect to see you around more, now that you’re past the barrier?”
“I think so,” Theo said, smiling. “I’ll be working on the town a lot more.”
“Don’t forget my tanning potions,” Perg said, furrowing her brow.
“Never.”
Theo stood there for some time, just watching Perg work. When he upended her business, he sent five of her employees onto the street without jobs. The alchemist was more than willing to put them to work on another project of his, something that sucked up more of his time. He realized now, looking back on the entire thing, that it was a bad move. Theo spread himself too thin over everything, snatching at the newest shiny thing in front of his face. Pumping some stat points into [Intelligence] might help, but he would learn from his mistakes. He needed to.
Watching Perg work sent waves of comfort through his chest. Perhaps this entire place was constructed by forces unknown, but that didn’t matter. People were living good lives here. They’d been pulled out of poverty by that convergence of things, and if Theo’s intuition was anything to go by, the center-stage of something bigger. His current train of thought led him to the immediate concerns of the town. In his absence, the adventurers had been jamming [Monster Cores] into the monolith, increasing Broken Tusk’s level close to 15. Fenian promised there would be an upgrade to mount his weapons, and he had to trust the Elf’s word.
Theo thought of all the things he needed to accomplish in Broken Tusk. First, he promised himself he’d take it easy. He wouldn’t take on more jobs than he could handle, focusing on his alchemy and elevating the people of the town. Second, the farmers needed help. If that was an investment from him, or the creation of some growth potions, he didn’t know. Those were his objectives. The alchemist wouldn’t accept additional work, and would aim to get Ziz and the stonecutters on their own. Whatever magical gemstones they found would be theirs to deal with.
“I can’t remember the last time I saw you so deep in thought,” Perg said, smiling.
Theo cleared his throat and straightened up. He was leaning against a table, scratching his chin as he thought. “I think I need to speak to Throk.”
“Have you seen the old man recently?” Perg asked, grinning. “He has a new core.”
“Really? Which one?” Theo asked.
“If you go to the blacksmith, you’ll find out,” Perg said. “Now, you can leave me to work in peace.”
“Right. Later,” Theo said, excusing himself.
The sun shone through the haze of rain, barely piercing the veil cast over Broken Tusk. The rain ran down the cobbled path south, splashing underfoot as Theo made the trek to the center of town. He saw the old mayor’s office looming in the distance before he saw the blacksmith. Both buildings were built by hand and needed to be replaced with seed core buildings. Someone was managing the replacement of the rotten buildings south of the farmer’s plots, but it wasn’t a project he was managing. Friendly faces gave greetings as he made his way through the square, finding Throk tinkering with something in the attached workshop. The forge was cold, the old Marshling man hunched over a workbench.
“Afternoon,” Theo said, waving to get the man’s attention.
A grin spread across Throk’s face. “Finally. Well, I’m glad you’ve disappeared for as long as you have.”
“That’s nice,” Theo said.
“Watch,” Throk said, retrieving something from across the workshop. He waddled out into the rain, set some contraption down and prodded it for a moment. After a swift kick, the object came to life. It sputtered for a moment, producing a small, wild flame.
“[Artificer],” Theo said. “You got an [Artificer Core].”
“Yes, I did,” Throk said. “Cost me a fortune to get the epic one, but it was worth it.”
“I have a project for you,” Theo blurted out.
“Hah! Of course you do. You always have a project,” Throk said, grinning. “Give me the specifications—just be warned. My prices have gone up.”
Theo spent the rest of the day working with Throk. The Marshling’s [Blacksmithing Core] gave him an edge over regular artificers, according to him. He could fabricate almost anything from metal, thanks to his skills, and attach artifices based on need. They eventually settled on a plan for a large tank with several artifices attached. Throk had access to an array of different designs he could work from, having bought a design book from Fenian. The first artifice would be an isolation artifice, which would negate the pressure and allow Theo to insert and remove objects while the tank was under pressure. The second one would create extreme pressures inside of the tank without creating heat. The last one would extract the solid waste at the bottom, which was basically another isolation artifice.
“That’s fine,” Throk said, stepping away from his parchment. He had scribbled his notes there in a rough form. “I know you’re good for the coin, so we’ll talk about payment later. We’re looking at a few gold. The copper is cheap for the tank, but the mechanisms for the artifices are pretty pricey.”
Theo withdrew a single gold coin from his inventory and handed it over. “For a down payment.”
“More like, I need to buy supplies,” Throk said, chuckling. “I have most of what I need, though.”
“Perfect.”
Theo departed from the smith’s workshop, stopping to stand by the monolith for a while. He let out a sigh. This was the exact thing he was trying to avoid. Miana spilled her story to him in confidence, and he internalized that information. Instead of processing it, he pushed it to the deepest parts of his mind. He locked it away like some feral thing, refusing to look at it. The alchemist jumped at the next, shiniest thing in his sight to wash away those uneasy feelings.
The people of Broken Tusk were suffering when he arrived. The man that told Miana to keep the town at a low level was responsible for that, it was clear the swamp held a bounty. If they had attracted some traders earlier in their history, they would have exported the reagents and made a fortune. Even Ziz’s mine in the north foothills was making obscene amounts of money. There was another line of thought he had, though. Not that the things within the town were always there. It was the idea that they only manifested when he arrived.
A sudden crack of thunder brought Theo’s mind to the present. The haggard wizard appeared in front of him, stumbling over the cobble for a moment and almost colliding with the alchemist. He caught the Elf, now stinking of liquor once again.
“You’re a dirty dealer, Dronon,” Uharis said, narrowing his eyes. He pointed an accusatory finger.
“How so?” Theo asked, welcoming the distraction.
“You’ve taken ownership over the swamp dungeon,” Uharis said. “How am I going to experiment if I can’t fiddle with the thing?”
“Well,” Theo said, taking a steadying breath. He thought to channel some of Azrug’s spirit at that moment. “That costs extra.”
“Oh, fie,” Uharis said, brushing some mud from his robe. “I hope you’re joking. You’re joking, right? Oh, what does it matter? You’re going to fleece me while I’m here—do you know what happens when you anger a wizard?”
“Are you angry?” Theo asked, casting his eyes over the gathering crowd. Maybe this was a bad idea.
“No, not really,” Uharis said, straightening himself up. “I’m hungry. And tired, perhaps. Still a little hungover, yes. Not angry.”
Theo tried to get sight of the sun through the haze above, but he couldn’t. His rumbling stomach told him dinner time was close enough.
“Want to join us for dinner?” Theo asked.
Uharis perked up, suddenly. His eyes went wide to bulging and he nodded, patting his stomach. “I’d like that.”
Theo beckoned for the strange Elf to follow him south to the Newt and Demon. He sent a mental message to Tresk to meet them there, and she agreed.
“We’ll talk about your dungeon access,” Theo said. “I might have you experiment on the other dungeons, though. The one in the swamp seems unstable.”
“That’s what I was trying to say!” Uharis bellowed. “I may be able to stabilize it.”
Theo stopped on the cobbles, turning to face the Archmage. “May be able to. What is that? A low chance of success? High chance?”
“Extremely high,” Uharis said, folding his arms. He was suddenly serious in a way Theo hadn’t seen him before. “Outlander, I’ll tell you this much. You’re right to be cautious. Tampering with dungeons is dangerous. I give you my word, as the Archmage of the Order of the Burning Eye, that I will not harm your dungeon.”
Uharis hoisted the icon from his chain in the air, pulling the chain hard against his neck. “I swear it on the Burning Eye.”
Motes of light poured from the icon, dancing across the wet ground. Theo was going to let him tamper with the dungeon, anyway. He was close enough to upgrading the town that he could mount his defensive artifices if things went wrong. The alchemist smiled, placing a hand on the Elf’s shoulder.
“That means more than you know,” Theo said. “The order has been nothing but nice to me. If Sulvan thinks you’re cool, you’re cool.”
“Cool,” Uharis repeated, wiggling his eyebrows. “Outworlder slang, no doubt.”
Theo smiled, leading the way for the Archmage to follow. They made their way into the Newt and Demon, the smell of cooking meat obvious from the shop downstairs. Uharis rubbed his hands together as they ascended the stairs, finding Azrug, Tresk, and Luras crowded around the [Flame Artifice].
“Steak for everyone,” Tresk said, giggling and flipping the contents of her wide copper pan.
Uharis blustered, pushing his way to the fire and shaking his head. “No salt. No butter—this place really is savage.”
He yanked the pan from her hands and withdrew several items from his inventory. Tresk objected, but silenced herself as he took the items out. The Archmage sprinkled salt, cut a fat knob of butter, and started moving the pan back and forth on the flame. The group watched as he worked his magic over the fire. Before long, and without prompting, he found five plates and dished the food out.
“Thank you for the butter, magic Elf,” Tresk said, tearing a large section of her steak out with her teeth.
“Oh, this is good,” Azrug said, slumping in his seat. “Really good.”
Theo cut himself a section of his steak and took a bite. It had been a while since he’d had the amazing combination of salted steak with butter. He really needed to find a way to get both things in the town. The group ate through their meal with light conversation. Uharis revealed more about himself, but was slightly cagey about it all. Tresk claimed that’s just how wizards were.
“You have a free core slot,” Uharis said, nodding to Tresk.
“I do,” she said, perking up.
“Well, Assassin and Tracker are good bases,” Uharis said, nodding. “Ah, well. This is a service I provide for the scholar cults—quite expensive. But, if you’ll hear me, I'll give you a good suggestion.”
Tresk leaned over, her eyes wide. “Tell me, wizard man.”
“Combine a rare rogue core, with a rare Illusion Hedgemage core. You’ll find yourself with a [Shadowdancer Core], at epic rarity. With Shadowdancer, you’ll have many options for stealth. More than you have now, even. There’s a passive ability you can buy that grants you a bonus to all stealth abilities. Increased damage, reduced cooldowns. It’s quite a sight to watch a Shadowdancer work.”
Tresk was on the edge of her seat. It was the most attention Theo had ever seen her pay to anyone, even him. While she might not remember the information, the alchemist’s memory was nearly perfect. He could remember it easily.
“You’re giving that information for free?” Azrug asked, blustering.
“Yes, my normal fee is quite expensive. Who thinks of combining those two cores, right? The scholars guard the information closely. The Outlander gave me permission to study the dungeon. And we’re all friends here,” Uharis said.
“Yeah, friends,” Tresk said, her eyes wide.
“To a new friendship,” Uharis said, smiling. “And disobeying the high inquisitor of the Order of the Burning Eye!”
Theo grimace, only managing a weak smile. They stayed there for some time, only just before the sun set. Azrug left first, followed by Luras, who seemed completely absorbed in the steak. When the Archmage left, he went intending to find a room at the Marsh Wolf Tavern.
Tresk pressed her forehead against Theo’s before they made their way to bed. The [Tara’hek Core] was on the verge of hitting level 10, and he couldn’t wait to see what they’d get. The pair drifted off to sleep at the same time, enveloped in a sense of comfort brought by breaking the barrier.