The Newt and Demon

The point of entry for Tero’gal had changed much since Theo first visited. He stood on a cobblestone road, looking out over the difference with a sigh. It was easy to recall the tiny realm, the sharp decline leading to a sprawling sky. There was a single pool of water fed by a spring, and a field of wheat. Now people passed by, giving him curt nods as they moved from place to place. Perhaps they took the main road west—which was once a trail people used to rollerblade—toward the seas in the west. Or a pilgrimage in the same direction, off to visit the Seat of the Thrones.

“I haven’t seen you this pensive in a while,” Belgar said, placing a comforting hand on the alchemist’s shoulder.

Theo drew another deep breath, turning to the fully realized dronon and nodding. “I’m nostalgic. This is like watching a child grow into adulthood.”

“Well, we have very adult problems to deal with now,” Belgar said, withdrawing a copper coin from a pouch on his belt. “Food, water, housing… money.”

“Ew. Money,” Theo said, feigning disgust. “What happened to my communist utopia?”

Belgar shrugged a response at first, gazing out over a strange landmark. A ring of stone loomed in the distance, perhaps one-hundred feet tall and wide. How the residents of Tero’gal had built it or why was beyond the alchemist’s ability to guess.

“Void stopped by to tell us the time would change, but I don’t know when to expect that. Tero’gal, Khahak, and the Bridge will be synchronized with the mortal world.”

“That’s the end of an era,” Theo said, smiling to himself. It was better that way, though. With how this realm was changing, he couldn’t give support to them as well as he wanted. Slower development would be nice. “You want me to ask about the giant ring of stone, don’t you.”

“Yup! Come on, let me show you,” Belgar said, dragging Theo by the arm.

The path leading west from the growing town had changed little. It had been widened to allow more people passage at once. But the crowd of trees on either side was still there, giving welcomed shade to the trip. A cart rolled by on their right, drawn by an ox. Another man rode the opposite direction on the back of a horse.

“The fauna here… is it all creatures from Earth?” Theo asked.

“They’re not from Iaredin, that much I know,” Belgar said. “Was that bura that went past from Earth?”

“That’s a horse,” Theo corrected. “Are you guys renaming the creatures?”

Belgar shrugged as if to say ‘why not?’

The new denizens of the world were eager to rename or name everything. Since someone spotted a pig near the first town, they had named it Boar Hollow. The road leading to the west was mainly used by people transporting goods, so it was called the Western Trade Road. And so on. The names weren’t imaginative, but it hardly seemed to matter. These were the people making the history of the world, so they had every right to name the stuff whatever they wanted.

The duo walked for a while. Theo could have teleported them to their destination, but he enjoyed the quiet moment along the road. The road spanned a creek with a stone bridge, and covered as many inclines and declines. Drawing closer to the massive ring, the paved area underneath it came into view. The locals had leveled the land, paving it with fat stone bricks before building the ring. The alchemist could finally see the intricate runework carved into the structure itself. Written in axpashi, he could understand some of it.

“Tapping into the Bridge?” Theo asked, shaking his head. “How has that been going?”

“Not well. Even with Uz’Xulven’s help. She’s just over there,” Belgar said, gesturing in the distance. The woman was working with a hammer and chisel at the base of the ring.

“Theo!” Uz’Xulven said, spotting them as they approached. “What do you think?”

“Impressive. How does it stay upright?” he asked.

“Magic,” Uz’Xulven said with too much jazz-hands for such a simple response. “Been trying to tune this thing to the right frequency, but no luck.”

“Yes, we’ve seen some strange things on the other end.” Belgar sighed dramatically. “Not the bridge, though.”

“Watch,” Uz’Xulven said, throwing her arms wide.

Theo could feel the magic pouring from her, stinging the air like a swarm of angry bees. After forming a complex spell, she released it. Light pooled at the stone circle’s center, spreading out like a pond refilling. The blue faded as Uz’Xulven trotted around to their side. She looked up at the forming image, tutting.

“We got him a few times already,” she said.

Theo narrowed his eyes. He made out the image of a small goblin wearing a robe. The creature made a few gestures, but no sound carried through. After a bit of wild flailing, he gave them the finger before swiping his hands through the air. The pool vanished in an instant.

“That’s a strangely powerful goblin mage,” Uz’Xulven explained. “Dunno where he’s from, but I think he has a Gate wherever that might be. But we’re getting closer to using the Bridge.”

“What’s the goal here?” Theo asked.

“We’re connecting Tero’gal with Khahak,” Belgar said. “That way, we can have two worlds united.”

“You don’t have the same iron grip the ascendants had on their realms, but you’re still all-powerful here.” Uz’Xulven tapped her chin, her eyes scanning over the sigils on her Gate. “We don’t expect factions, wars, or any of that nonsense.”

“Well, there have been attempts at that sort of thing. But nothing lasts.”

“Troublemakers already?” Theo asked. “Ya don’t say.”

“No one was surprised. The world itself seems opposed to conflict.” A smile spread across Belgar’s face. It looked as though he was recalling a pleasant memory. “The landscape changed as one group advanced on another. Nothing happened after that.”

“I’ve noticed Tero’gal getting more willful. We’re not really controlling it anymore.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” Uz’Xulven asked. “Yeah?”

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Theo shrugged. He would offer to help her figure out what was wrong with the gate, but there was no point. She lost her ascendant core, but still maintained a high-level mage’s core. That core didn’t work as well in Tero’gal, but it still mostly worked. From what he understood, Drogramath was in a different boat. The once-potioneer’s core was non-functional. Perhaps that had something to do with Uz’Xulven’s possession of the Bridge, or an arbitrary response by the Throneworld. No matter what the cause, he knew it would take a while for things to sort themselves out.

“Very nice ring,” Theo said, turning away from the site. “I’m going on a tour. You’re doing a great job, Belgar.”

Theo vanished after getting a big smile from Belgar. The man had assumed a mantle of responsibility he didn’t need to. But without the alchemist there all the time, it made sense to put someone else in charge. He was only in charge of the welcome area of Boar Hollow, but it was an important job. The alchemist found areas to the south that had been cut and turned into farmland. Towns were springing up everywhere, souls given bodies coming to fill the space. Trade flourished, usually in the form of bartering.

Drogramath’s town was looking more like Broken Tusk by the day. Theo walked down the muddy streets, spotting dronon here and there. He knocked on the door of the largest house in town, waving when the man himself opened the door. What he didn’t expect to see was Toru’aun sitting at a table, drumming her fingers on the table with anticipation.

“Never thought I’d see you again,” Theo said, craning his neck to get a better look at her. The shifting color had faded from her appearance, resulting in plain black dronon hair. But she still wore an ornate dress, studded with various gems and glittering in the low light of the house’s interior.

Toru’aun offered a half-hearted smile. “Nice to see you, Theo.”

“Want some tea?” Drogramath asked, gesturing to the interior of the home.

Theo bowed his head as he entered. The threshold was slightly shorter than he had expected. Drogramath trotted off, setting another cup and saucer on the table before pouring him a cup of tea. The alchemist took his seat, smelling something familiar but distant from the cup before him.

“Black tea?” Theo asked, sniffing it again. He took a tentative sip, finding some amount of sugar mixed in. “You guys don’t mess around, huh?”

“Khahar was gracious enough to tell us where to find tea,” Drogramath explained, taking his own seat. “He also mentioned coffee beans, but we could not locate them.”

“Have you settled into Tero’gal?” Theo asked, turning his attention to Toru’aun.

“I float between the two ports. I’m not willing to make a home in either world.”

“She’s been this grump since the start,” Drogramath said. “Now that we’re without cores, that grumpiness has doubled.”

“You can’t blame her. Change is hard.”

“That’s easy to say when you’re the one on top,” Toru’aun said. “Not that you earned what you have.”

Theo could only shrug at the statement. Because he agreed with her in principle. “We can have a fistfight outside if you like,” he said. “But I didn’t do this. I don’t know what’s going on and frankly, I’m confused.”

Drogramath offered a polite chuckle. “She doesn’t enjoy being in the light of day.”

“I can speak for myself, Droggy,” Toru’aun said, rolling her shoulders. “Thousands of years of planning for this… I’m comforted by this ending, but restless.”

“That’s to be expected.” Theo considered his own struggles with feeling that sense of restlessness. When things calmed down on the mortal world, he found things to keep himself busy. But he was always that way, no matter what body he inhabited. “Finding purpose after losing a realm sounds rough, and I won’t pretend to understand it.”

“At least he is adjusting well,” Toru’aun said, jabbing a finger at Drogramath as she pouted. “You wouldn’t know how powerful he was before. Now look at him. Rotting in his swamp town.”

“What’s wrong with swamp towns?” Drogramath and Theo asked at the same time.

“They smell.”

“You smell,” Drogramath retorted.

Toru’aun stuck her tongue out at him.

Theo cleared his throat. “What about Balkor?” he asked. “Any sign of Zagmon?”

“Balkor is in Khahak. He’s doing fine, but has concerns about his copy back on the mortal world,” Drogramath said. “Zagmon is mostly dead, but that’s hard to define. Imprisoned is a better word.”

“And we have thousands of displaced ascendants roaming two worlds. Is two worlds enough?” Toru’aun asked.

“Tero’gal is big,” Theo said.

“Khahak is even bigger,” Drogramath bragged.

Theo sipped his tea. Coming to Tero’gal today was about more than enjoying tea. He wanted to see how these people were doing. But his fears were unfounded. Everything was going well enough that he could focus on three goals. Alchemy, bringing the shards back, and terraforming Broken Tusk.

“I’d like some input,” Theo said. “I’m planning on bringing the entire Southlands Alliance into Tero’gal. Where do you think I should bring it?”

“You’re going to drag an entire continent through the void?” Drogramath asked. “Interesting plan.”

Toru’aun scoffed, shaking her head. “Just do a flying city. Everyone enjoys a good flying city.”

That wasn’t an awful idea. Theo could imagine the entire continent hovering above everything else. Logistics might be a problem, but it would look incredibly cool.

“We would need airships or giant magical elevators.”

“That’s a problem for another day,” Drogramath said. “My vote is for a flying alliance. You could call it the alliance in the sky.”

“Damn, why don’t you just make another realm in your world? Put it in a pocket dimension or something—how limited is your power here?” Toru’aun asked.

“No, I want it in the physical space of Tero’gal. Something like the capital of the world.”

Drogramath nodded along. “Drop it in the ocean. One of the many oceans. I think that would be the easiest path.”

“You’ve got big ideas, Drogramath. I think you’ll go places with those ideas.” Theo smiled to himself again as he sipped his tea. “Hey, has anyone seen Benton?”

“Mountains north of Boar Hollow,” Toru’aun said. “Despite his claim, he selected a snowy region.”

“Okay. I’m gonna go check on him real quick before returning to the mortal world,” Theo said, his eyes dragging to the room’s corner. He saw shadows pool there, half-expecting Shadow to pop out. Instead, Void appeared. “Come on, little guy. If you’re gonna yell at me, we’re gonna do it in the mountains.”

“I’m not here to yell,” Void said, coming alongside Theo. “Let’s go.”

The pair were standing in Drogramath’s house one moment, and the next there were knee-deep in snow. Well, Theo was knee-deep in snow. The poor little guy next to him was up to his eyeballs. With a wave of his hand, the alchemist cleared a path for them to walk. Sturdy stone buildings loomed in the distance, shrouded in a gray layer of falling snow.

“Anything pressing to talk about?” Theo asked as they pushed forward.

“I’m seeking a progress report.”

Theo shook his head. “Things are fine, but I’m sitting at a roadblock. Since we need to use mortal means to transport the shards, we’re waiting for a few pieces of magical tech. And my mage just had his wedding, so he’s busy.”

“Ah, wedding bliss. I understand,” Void said, brushing snow from his shoulder.

Theo raised a brow. “You’re less fire-and-brimstone than normal.”

“Death told me you elbowed Twist in the face, so you’re officially on my good side. By that I mean, you did your job as the Dreamwalker and I’m happy.”

“Why does everyone hate that guy?” Theo asked. Benton spotted them from a distance and waved like an idiot.

“I have scones!” Benton shouted, jumping with excitement.

“He made our lives very hard. Everyone thought he was slain, but I guess not…”

“This is old Earth, isn’t it?” Theo asked. “The nonsense with the other world. Are you ever going to tell me what happened? Hey, Benton.”

“A god and the owner of the world!” Benton shouted. “Come on, I have tea and sweets.”

Theo and Void fell in line behind Benton, marching up the snowy mountain.

“I suppose I can state the basics. As long as the tea is good,” Void said.

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