It seemed fitting that the day the town intended to release the monster wave was the one when taxes were due. Taxes were collected on a weekly basis, given to the mayor and prepared for the capital. Only at the end of a 30-day cycle would Broken Tusk need to give the money to Qavell. Theo found he could create different spreadsheets in his mayor interface, empowered by the [Governance Core], so he copied the overdue totals into a fresh sheet and flagged everyone as paid. This was a problem for after breakfast.
Theo and Tresk found themselves in the Marsh Wolf Tavern for breakfast. Xam served the same noodle dish as the night before, accompanied by a large cup of moss tea. As the alchemist sipped on the tea, he detected flavors that weren’t there when he brewed it. He thought his alchemical knowledge made him a better brewer of tea, but that was wrong. Even a common [Cook’s Core] made the tea slightly sweet and removed the negative early flavors. Even the effects of the meal were like a minor banquet. He gained the +2 [Strength] effect, but also a bonus to stamina regeneration. It was minor, but better than nothing.
“Taxes are due,” Theo said.
“Weren’t taxes due a few days ago?” Tresk asked.
“Yeah.”
Theo was once again surprised when he looked at the top earners of the town. Ziz and his crew were making absurd amounts of money, followed by Tresk, then a special entry for the Adventurer’s Guild. The alchemist wasn’t high on the list. He hadn’t made decent sales in a while, lingering near the bottom of the spreadsheet.
“This might be the first time I can’t foot the bill for the town,” Theo said, slurping down a noodle.
“So, people actually have to pay their taxes this time?” Tresk asked.
“Yep. Ziz owes close to 20 gold,” Theo said, letting out a low whistle.
“How much do I owe?” Tresk asked.
“10 gold,” Theo said.
“10 gold? Are you joking?” Tresk asked, letting out a groan. “That’s robbery.”
“Agreed,” Theo said. “Good news is, I found a spot where I can dump the coins in my mayor’s interface. It only accepts coins, no items.”
“A coin inventory,” Tresk said with a nod. “Makes sense. Well, no problem. I’m good for the money.”
The pair’s conversation departed from taxes and lingered on other things. Tresk was excited with how the other dungeons were growing and intended to try her hand at the boss in the [Hills Dungeon] to the north. The location of that dungeon was concerning to Theo, as it sat near the gate. Information rolled in from the adventurer’s guild about the troublesome placement, marking it as a place to plant more of the powerful lightning artifices.
According to Aarok, the east gate was the easiest to defend, but both the north and south gates had an advantage of terrain. Monsters seemed to suffer from stamina loss and would be hard pressed to rush either gate with the hills and rocky crags. The west gate would have been easy to defend, but the monsters that emerged from the [Swamp Dungeon] seemed adept at traversing the deadly mud. An adventurer familiar with the swamp could find the dungeon in an hour, but those from out of town slogged through the muck, taking up to a day to reach it.
All this information struck a strange cord in Theo’s mind. Multiple people told him Broken Tusk was constructed for him. To be happy. Then why were the put at such a disadvantage? His mind had rolled over the information since he got in the town, trying to piece together his purpose. The only conclusion he could reach was that growth wasn’t free. Developing into a complete person was sometimes painful, and the town was no different. The Broken Tuskers were tempered by that fire by the time the alchemist arrived, but now they were being reforged.
Theo’s thoughts came together, and he turned to consider his companion. “Our adventurers are going to be the best in the world.”
“No doubt,” Tresk said, patting her belly. “Well, I’m gonna be the best. Everyone else is welcome to follow in my footsteps.”
Theo laughed. Her class combinations were strange for someone going solo. The alchemist imagined different classes that would work for solo dungeon delving, but her’s wasn’t on the list. Her highest class was [Assassin], followed by [Tracker], then [Shadowdancer]. Only by chaining her [Vanish] ability was she able to win fights, quickly disappearing from sight and springing out as quickly as she’d gone. The few times he’d seen her fight, it was impossible to track her movements. Combined with his potent poisons, she was unstoppable.
“I should make you some more powerful poisons,” Theo said. “Here, I have a task for you. Hand over your tax money and harvest some [Widow Lily] for me. Bring a few whole plants, if you can.”
“New poison?” Tresk asked, perking up. “With your fancy new technique? Are you sure? Are you done with your order for Fenian?”
“As much as I’ll ever be,” Theo said. “I’m mostly out of reagents and need some money.”
Tresk shot up from her chair, plunged her hand into her dimensional pouch before slamming the coin down on the table. She vanished shortly after.
Theo added the money through his mayor’s interface, watching the number go up with satisfaction. He took his time eating his meal, chatting with Xam as he did. Her personality was so infectiously bubbly at this point that he couldn’t help but smile. When he was done with his meal, he made his way back to the Newt and Demon. Azrug was there, who gave the money he owed upon request. The alchemist could see the pain in his eyes, the pain of a merchant parting with his coin.
Before calling the townspeople to pay their taxes, he made an offering to his shrine, and finished up the rest of his reactions. Both the [Strength Essence] and [Wisdom Essence] behaved as expected. They produced absurdly powerful potions, and he knew the [Strength Potion] would be worth more than the others. He inspected one of the 503 [Wisdom Potions] first.
[Wisdom Potion]
[Potion]
Common
Created by: Belgar
Grade: Excellent Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
Drink to enhance wisdom.
Effect:
+12 Wisdom for 1.5 hours.
The temptation to drink it and see what the effects would be lingered in his mind, but he shook it off. Instead, he inspected one of the 512 [Strength Potions].
[Strength Potion]
[Potion]
Common
Created by: Belgar
Grade: Excellent Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Middling Bond)
Drink to enhance strength.
Effect:
+12 Strength for 1.5 hours.
Tresk would be happy to have 12 [Strength Potions]. He promised her the overflow of the potent potions, leaving 500 for him to sell to Fenian. The alchemist would try to haggle for these potions. They were just too good. He didn’t know the exact scaling of the stats within this world, only understanding the checkpoints they provided. If the logic of the system held true, there were checkpoints every 10th level. This included stats and raw levels, meaning these new potions automatically put the user in a higher bracket by simply imbibing the elixir.
Theo sent out a town-wide notice about taxes, writing out a long list of everyone who needed to attend. The newer citizens hadn’t accumulated enough wealth to be considered in this run, and he made a note of that in his message. Before long, a line formed outside of the Newt and Demon. It was a slow process, and more than ever the alchemist wished for someone to do these mundane tasks for him. Until he could find the right person for the job, he would do it.
No single person in the line complained, some even offering to donate more money than was needed. Ziz was especially insistent on this, shoving a pile of gold into Theo’s hands.
“Come on,” Ziz said. “I’m not giving it to you. I’m giving it to Broken Tusk. For the defense of the town. Someone said that Fenian is coming to town, right? How much do those weapons cost?”
“10 gold,” Theo said, holding his palms up so that no money could be placed inside. “But, we’re fine.”
Ziz added a few more coins to his pile, totaling 20 gold. “Then this is a request. Buy 2 more weapons for the northern wall. I never expected to make this much money, and I do not know what to do with it.”
The amount Ziz wanted to give him was equal to the taxes he owed. But this was the charity that Theo wanted to see in the town. It was a self-interested charity, but it was important. The alchemist senses an imbalance there, and didn’t want it to propagate. He felt guilt for holding much of the production of the town, but the stonecutters were doing fine for themselves. They were rich by Broken Tusk standards.
“Fine,” Theo said, finally accepting the gold. “We need to work out a better system for this, though.”
“Sure, sure,” Ziz said, a smile painting his wide face. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, boss.”
“According to the earnings report, you’re the boss,” Theo said, chuckling. “Fine, move along. There’s too many people in this town.”
Ziz clapped his hand over Theo’s shoulder before moving along. The line moved slowly, but he got through everyone. Even the mousy-haired server from Xam’s tavern came to pay her taxes. When Theo told her she had nothing to pay, she got flustered.
“I didn’t get your name,” Theo said.
Theo looked her over. She was a slight woman, a Human by his measure. The alchemist didn’t know if there were different Humans here, but he had gotten used to not seeing any. She had long black hair that fell in waves over her pale shoulders. He had a feeling the coming Season of Fire would darken that a shade, but even as the Bloom’s rains fell away, it was still mostly cloudy.
“Alise Plumm,” she said, bowing slightly. When she rose, her eyes lingered on him for a moment. Humans were so much shorter than both Dronon and Half-Ogres that it must have been easy for them to be intimidated.
“Well, I appreciate you coming. You don’t owe anything, yet,” Theo said. “I’m Theo, by the way.”
“Right,” she said, shuffling her feet.
Theo stood awkwardly for a moment. “Well, if that’s all.”
“I’m just really good with numbers. And people,” Alise said.
She didn’t look as though she was good with people. The woman looked awkward and mousey, but he would take her at her word. She was prodding toward something, his intuition said as much.
“That’s good to hear,” Theo said, baiting her.
“Someone said you might need an assistant,” Alise said, the words coming out in one exasperated string.
“Xam would be pretty mad,” Theo said, grinning. “I don’t want to make Xam mad.”
“I told her it was temporary. Until I found something else,” Alise said, nodding to herself. She suddenly found her courage, puffing up slightly. It was a silly gesture, compared to the alchemist’s considerable height. “It’s too hard to run a town alone. You need someone to organize meetings, and tax collection—I can take care of administrative things for you.”
Theo wanted nothing more than some help with running the town. His mind went back to how Aarok and Luras were handling the preparation for the siege.
“I don’t know if I can afford you,” Theo said.
There was no point in just accepting her offer outright. A plan to put her on as a trial administrator was already brewing in his mind, but she’d have to work for it. Dealing with people was difficult, especially with matters of the town, and he wanted to make sure she was right.
“I’ll work for food,” she said. “Until the town makes more money.”
“That’s noble,” Theo said, casting his gaze east. Something familiar echoed in the distance. “Fine. We’ll start you on a trial for a week.”
Alise swelled, her shoulders rising as she clasped her hands in front of her chest. Theo drew up a provisional contract that would expire in 7 days. It stipulated no pay and only minor duties for the woman. She agreed to the terms of the contract in an instant, bouncing on the spot.
“You won’t regret this,” she said, turning on the spot.
“Wait,” Theo said, withdrawing 5 silver coins from his inventory. She tried to refuse them, but he insisted. It was a pittance, but she could get started with that. “I have some tasks for you already.”
“Yes, mister mayor,” Alise said.
“I assume you have laborer cores,” Theo said, and she nodded. That would have to change. “I can create a position with my [Governance Core] and mayor position that gives you access to some of my screens. You can use those to help you check on everyone in town. Make sure they have everything they need for the siege. Coordinate with Aarok if you need.”
“Understood,” Alise said. “Is that all?”
“For now,” Theo said.
She turned on the spot and marched away.
Theo went into his interface, the sound in the distance growing louder. He assigned her the position of “Mayor’s Assistant” and gave her access to a few of the screens. She could view the finance report, citizens list, and tactical map. This would allow her to locate everyone and ensure they were prepared for the siege. Only when he finished assigning her all the roles did he recognize the sound in the distance.
Fenian’s excitement for the new potions must have been too much for him. Just as Tresk arrived at Theo’s side, the horrible demonic Karatan thundered down the main road of Broken Tusk.
“He’s early,” Tresk said. “I brought the flowers.”
“You could have put them in the inventory,” Theo said, laughing.
“Yeah, but I heard the noise.”
Iron-shod hooves struck the cobbles of the town, sending sparks as the horrid creatures came to a skittering stop. The lead Karatan, Galflower, let out a horrifying shriek which Theo knew as an excited noise. Fenian’s wagon had changed since the alchemist saw it last. It now pulled an additional cart, which was little more than a large black lacquered carriage. The Elf trader dismounted, holding his arms wide. He was, as always, overdressed. Today he wore a flow robe with more ruffles than was reasonable and a hat with a long, iridescent feather.
“Theo! My favorite person!” Fenian said, coming to embrace the alchemist.
Theo patted him on the back, chuckling. “Welcome back.”
“Well, now we have a few things to talk about, don’t we?” Fenian asked, gesturing to the Newt and Demon. “Shall we?”
Theo led him into the lab, cleaning his stills as the Elf told him the tales of his journey. The alchemist set up his grinder and processed the 250 units of flowers Tresk brought. She stood in the corner as Fenian spoke. He detailed the war in the west. It was going well in favor of Qavell coming out on top. There were more political intricacies than Theo cared to learn about, but there was a territorial dispute and the only solution was shedding blood.
Theo started the still and took a seat. He told Fenian about his new process and how it produced such powerful potions. When the Elf got his hands on a [Strength Potion] he shook with excitement.
“This is big, Theo,” Fenian said. “I visited a Master Alchemist in Qavell. Do you know what he said? He called me a liar. When he heard how powerful your stat potions were, he almost assaulted me. No one would believe a level 10 alchemist could do this.”
“Level 13,” Theo corrected.
“Even so. You’re operating at a level way above your actual level. You’ve almost outclassed that same alchemist. I looked at his process. It’s slow. And messy,” Fenian said, cackling. “Oh, my. When they see what you’ve made here, they’re going to soil themselves. I convinced him to sell me one of his potions. You’ve never seen another person’s potions, have you? Take a look.”
Fenian withdrew an ornate vial from his inventory. It had far too many flourishes and was capped with a silver stopper. Theo’s [Drogramath Alchemy Core] allowed him to judge the exact contents of any container. This vial contained almost 5 units of liquid, more than double Theo’s version. He inspected the potion and frowned.
[Vigor Potion]
[Potion]
Epic
Created by: Beshur
Grade: Great Quality
Drink to enhance vigor.
A product of Beshur’s Apothecary.
Effect:
+10 Vigor for 1 hour.
There were a few things to note on the item’s description. First, it was only great quality. The rank was epic, which was strange. There was a custom tag under the description, detailing the man’s business. But the potion was worse than Theo’s. By a large margin. The alchemist could produce +12 to a stat that lasted for an hour and a half. This was the difference between unaligned alchemy and Drogramath’s alchemy.
“This sucks,” Theo said, laughing. “It’s 5 units of liquid, too. Mine are only 2 units.”
“The old codger has been doing this for 50 years,” Fenian said, swelling with pride. “You’ve outclassed him in 2 months.”
That wasn’t entirely true. Theo didn’t know how long Belgar lived for, but he had a feeling that some of that skill transferred over to him. At the very least, Drogramath’s favor had a lot to do with his success. The alchemist explained the new situation to the Elf, detailing the arrival of Belgar’s sister and his new relationship with the Demonic Lord.
“Well, whatever the situation is, I don’t care,” Fenian said, shrugging. “It might be nice having an older sister around—I always wanted siblings.”
“So, do we have to worry about these alchemists?” Tresk said. She had remained silent in the room for some time, but her mind was always looking for shadows in the dark.
“Not likely,” Fenian said. “A private war would be expensive, and I imagine they’d have trouble doing anything about it. If they know anything about you, they know you have an [Assassin] at arm’s reach at all times. If they attack you within the town, your weapons will target them, not to mention the political fallout. Likewise, a siege of Broken tusk would be futile. Mercenaries usually have level 20 cores, and… Well, you’ve dealt with a level 30 monster wave.”
“Yeah, good luck idiots,” Tresk laughed. “They’ll find a knife in their back before they get near my Theo.”
“Just so,” Fenian said. “Now, shall we get down to business?”