The Newt and Demon

Theo found Ziz and his men hauling blocks from their quarry, down to the river. He watched with amusement, waiting for the group to detect his presence. Only after the men cursed and kicked at the absurdly heavy blocks did they notice him.

“An inventory!” one shouted.

“Theo!” Ziz said, huffing to regain his breath. “Mind giving us a hand?”

“More than you know,” Theo said, producing 5 [Stonemason’s Cores] from his inventory.

Ziz’s eyes lit up, letting his hands drift over the cores. “We were gonna do it by hand.”

“Paid for by Fenian,” Theo said with a nod. “Since he destroyed the bridge.”

“Since he destroyed the bridge,” a laborer said, letting out a heavy sigh. “So, you helping?”

Theo nodded, taking the existing blocks into his inventory. To the worker’s credit, they got it most of the way down toward Miana’s ranch. He didn’t know how they planned to get it the rest of the way, but it didn’t matter. The group went back to the quarry and loaded up the alchemist’s inventory with blocks. They walked down to the river with ease, everyone joking about how long it would have taken them to do this by hand. Even with their high [Strength], the blocks were absurdly heavy.

The bridge was ruined, barely a post or two left after the guardian’s rampage. Theo could see the body of the guardian from here, trusting that Alise would organize everyone to dismantle it. If she didn’t, Throk would take up the mantle and dig out all the artificer materials.

Ziz and his workers inserted their cores, which told Theo something. Ziz was level 10, and the others either had an empty core slot or were also at level 10. Even without levels and experience, the cores themselves would give the men at least basic skills for stonemasonry. It would be enough to make a crude bridge, but the stoneworkers had been nothing but perfectionists. They met challenges with a stubborn determination that the alchemist always appreciated. It reminded him of himself.

A laborer removed a book from a satchel at his side. “Knew this would come in handy,” he said, holding the pages up for Theo to see.

It was written in the standard language of Qavell, the Qavelli script, and detailed bridge-making methods. It specifically related to the use of stone to make bridges, which was perfect. While it was nice that they were prepared for such an event, Theo wanted to pick Ziz’s brain about his plan for a harbor. The stoneworker ordered his men to get a plan together while the pair headed down the river. Theo explained his plan.

“Once we understand how to put blocks together, it should be a breeze,” Ziz said, letting out a startled sound.

Someone dropped from the nearby treeline and rushed them, stopping only feet away. He was coiled in pale orange energy, but once the field of power dispersed Theo saw it was only Luras. He had a serious look on his face, leveling his gaze over the alchemist.

“Tresk would kill you,” he said, growling the words.

“I have an escape plan now,” Theo said.

“Does that plan involve killing Ziz as you retreat?” Luras asked.

Ziz looked fearfully at the alchemist, still clutching his chest from Luras’ sudden appearance.

“Point taken,” Theo said, gesturing down the river. “Could I hire your services for a few hours?”

Luras softened, a smile spreading across his face. Since he took the patron of the Ogres as his deity, he’d become harder. More of a weapon. But he was still the same old hunter that Theo met at the start of the season. “Naturally,” he said, nocking an arrow and nodding.

“The river is nothing compared to the ocean,” Theo said. This was the first time he’d been here in his physical form. It felt strange. “We’ll dig from the river side out, creating the full channel. Then we need to drain the water that the river dumps.”

“Why not divert the river?” Luras asked.

“That might work,” Theo said, gesturing to the other side of the river. The beach leading out into the bay was wide enough to accomplish the task. “My only concern is filling it up afterward. My potion eats stone and earth. It won’t deposit it elsewhere. An [Earth Mage] is too expensive, or unreliable.”

Theo explained all the things he saw wrong with his plan, as well as the positive points. Both Luras and Ziz agreed it was best to bring the harbor to the town, cutting out a massive rectangle that allowed boats to come right into town. They both seemed to think the seed core of the town was smart enough to adjust the walls to allow something like that to happen. When they approached the ocean, the alchemist spotted his next problem.

“Ah, there’s a hitch,” Theo said.

A group of Fald, a strange mix between a man and a turtle, stood on the shores of the beach. They were undoubtedly remnants of the last monster wave, milling around without a target. The [Ocean Dungeon] was too far from the town for the waves to attack directly, forcing them to hold in the ocean and the beach forever. The last wave, each dungeon was shuffled and forced to attack Broken Tusk. Theo hoped that meant all the monsters would die, but that wasn’t the case.

“You’ll need to protect the mouth of your harbor,” Luras said, narrowing his eyes. “There’s more in the water.”

“Another roadblock,” Theo said, rubbing his chin. The [Ocean Dungeon] was directly in their path out to the bay.

“Do you think so?” Ziz asked, tapping his foot on the wet bank of the river. Theo could see the gears turning in the Half-Ogre’s head. “I see it as free defense.”

Luras raised a brow at that comment.

“Think about it,” Ziz said. “If others don’t know about the monsters, they’ll get swarmed.”

“I’d feel better if we had towers over here,” Luras said. “Seems like a risk to any boat we send to sea.”

“Would you mind setting a contract for the Fald?” Theo asked, turning to Luras. The Half-Ogre nodded. “We’ll worry about their viability as a weapon later. For now, keep the beach clear and make sure we have a few adventurers covering Ziz and his workers when they’re away from the walls.”

“We appreciate that,” Ziz said.

“Who is funding those contracts?” Luras asked.

Theo was just impressed that his companion had the good sense to think about that. The town’s finances were split between the Adventurer’s Guild and the town itself. He didn’t care which pool they drew from, as they often shared the cost of defense.

“Whichever,” Theo said. “Talk with Alise if you need funding. She’ll take care of it.”

“She always does,” Luras said, laughing. His eyes went hazy for a moment.

Luras had access to the command structure’s tactical maps, which also allowed him to assign adventurers remotely. This feature had been valuable during the last siege, allowing them to move people around as they were needed.

“Three adventurers,” Luras said, nodding. “They scooped up the order as soon as I placed it. Your guys should be safe, Ziz.”

“Always appreciated,” Ziz said.

Theo was satisfied enough with the way things were and headed back with the group. Luras ensured everyone knew their jobs before he left the trio of adventurers to patrol the exterior of the wall near the ruined bridge. The Half-Ogre Captain of the Guard joined the alchemist as he made his way back to the Newt and Demon. They had had little chance to catch up lately.

“How is the new core?” Theo asked.

“Hard to fight Baelthar’s rage sometimes,” Luras grunted.

“You need to balance it out,” Theo said. “Find another aligned core that competes with him.”

Luras eyed him for a moment before they entered the Newt and Demon. When they passed by Azrug, entering the lab upstairs, he had more to say. “How about you? Drogramath can’t be easy to fight. Unless you’ve gone full Demon mode.”

“He’s a useful tool,” Theo said. “No, there’s something else. The [Tara’hek Core]. It’s strange. Hard to explain. Imagine the border between two factions, fighting back and forth. The Tara’hek keeps Drogramath at bay.”

Luras grunted a response, playing idly with some alchemy equipment. The look he had on his face was of a man struggling with the concept. Theo’s intuition and instincts said he was doing the right thing, but few had access to the Tara’hek. The alchemist withdrew the [Mycology Cave Seed Core] from his inventory and held it up for Luras to see.

“A new seed core,” Luras said, snapping out of his contemplative mood. “For mushrooms, I suppose.”

Theo nodded, rolling the metal ball in his hand. He couldn’t imagine what Fenian’s plan for the seed core was, or rather the potions it would produce. Even with his intuition, it was hard to predict the moves of the trader. Again, it was easier to accept gifts and put them to use than to worry about the details. Those were problems for the lands outside of Broken Tusk.

“Give me your honest opinion on the harbor,” Theo said. He found a sense of comfort from the warm, earthy energy the seed core put off.

“We’ll command the only navy this side of the continent,” Luras said, shrugging at the question. “As long as you don’t count those paddle-driven craft the lizard-folk use on the islands.”

Canoes hardly counted as merchant vessels. Theo’s mind was still locked on the concept of trading overseas, particularly with the Khahari. The option to trade with Veosta would be sealed off until they settled their dispute with Qavell. Most of what he’d heard about the conflict centered around border disputes, which seemed silly. The two kingdoms were separated by a spine of impassable mountains. Unless Qavell wanted to push further into their enemy’s lands, they would have to be content with what they had. But a greedy mind always saw what others had, thinking it was theirs.

“How long is the Veostian conflict going to last?” Theo asked, sighing. “Not sure if we can handle another increase in taxes.”

“It won’t end well,” Luras said. He had a darker look on his face than before. Contemplation was replaced with something close to fear. “Makes you wonder what the king has in mind.”

A king Theo knew almost nothing about. He removed his communication crystal, the one connected with the capital, and tried it again. The haptic ringing in his mind was uncomfortable, but once again it bore no fruit. They were happy enough to collect his taxes while ignoring his communication.

“I wanted to get ahead of it,” Theo said, crossing the room and assessing the contents of his storage crates. He always felt better when he was organizing things, even if he didn’t like doing it. “We already showed Rivers and Daub that Broken Tusk is a force. At first, I wanted as much defense for the city because of the monster waves. But now? Now I’m wondering what happens when Qavell falls.”

Luras picked up on what Theo was suggesting startlingly fast. “An alliance with Rivers? It could work.”

“A defensive alliance,” Theo said. “A military move that works for both of us.”

“Because if something comes from the north, they’re the first line of defense,” Luras said. “Smart thinking. What does Aarok think?”

“I haven’t asked him,” Theo said. “We only have a trade relationship with Rivers, and I don’t know how they’ll react. I just want to be ready to jump on it if the time comes.”

Theo’s Drogramath cores whispered that it wasn’t a matter of if the time came. It was a matter of when. It was all the more reason to prepare their harbor. That would give them a straight shot to the sea, and represent a lifeline of trade if anything happened in the north. Broken Tusk was positioned perfectly to become a small hermit kingdom, conducting all business from behind the safety of their walls. The alchemist had no interest in taking a crown, but there was more than one way to run a government.

“The concept expands out,” Luras said. “Qavell falls, or changes. We get annexed by someone else, or we have to strike out on our own. The town no longer gets support from the north, and we have to make an alliance. Better to make it from better footing, right?”

“Right. Better footing,” Theo said. “Being proactive has worked so far, there’s no reason to stop. This town will function as if the world will collapse tomorrow. That way, we’ll be ready if it does.”

Luras didn’t have a response for that.

“I’m going to plant my seed core,” Theo said, holding up the orb of living material.

“All the best,” Luras said, still pensive.

Theo left the lab. He prided himself on his tenacity, but he was also very good at pushing things out of his mind. By the time he reached the back of his building, where he planned to place the new [Mycology Cave], those worries had melted away. By his estimation, Fenian provided enough [Monster Cores] to get the building up to level 20, perhaps higher. The alchemist owned a large swathe of land between his building at the eastern walls, so he selected a spot right next to his greenhouse, off what was left of the gravel yard.

It took very few [Monster Cores] to get the cave started. Theo planted the seed core in the ground, watching as roots sprung up to form the vague shape of a tiny building, then fed his cores. Roots wrapped around themselves, forming something similar to the entrance of a mine. Those wooden roots gave way to stone, sloping down into the earth, with a wooden door frame providing an entrance. The alchemist descended into the building and spotted four rows of planters. They weren’t raised from the stone floor, but set down in them. It was very similar to the greenhouse, just underground. He exited the building, not wanting to experience the sudden shift in size as he fed it cores.

Theo set a name on the building, then examined it.

[Mycology Cave]

[Shortcut to Mushrooms]

Owners: Belgar (Theo Spencer)

Faction: [Broken Tusk]

Level: 1 (0%)

It was plain, which new buildings always were. Each multiple of five would offer him a new potential upgrade. Some upgrades seemed to align with gods. Theo fed cores to the building and inspected the upgrade options, only concerning himself with the clear winner.

[Spontaneous Spores]

There’s a chance that your mushrooms will spontaneously spawn more mushrooms within the growing beds.

The level 10 upgrade was a similar situation. Theo didn’t know how he was going to plant the truffles in the mushroom cave, but this new upgrade gave him the option.

[Deep Beds]

Specialize your Mycology Cave for all species of truffles. Your growing beds are now deep enough to grow truffles, and all truffle variations will grow at an increased rate than in the wild.

Some buildings had upgrades that made it more of a specialized place. Theo’s alchemy lab was dedicated to Drogramath, which would have been a useless option for other alchemists. He wasn’t sure if that was an upgrade only he could get. The two options he’d selected for the [Mycology Cave] would help tremendously, and he still had at least 2 more upgrades to purchase. [Spontaneous Spores] made up for his lack of knowledge on propagating mushrooms, and [Deep Beds] allowed him to grow his target mushroom.

Theo fed the building more cores, watching in amusement as it grew. The ground shook, but the building didn’t increase in size. Only the area underground grew. He selected the next, most logical option.

[Drogramath Empowerment]

Latent energy, aligned with Drogramath, will be drawn from the air to enhance your mushrooms. Energy density affects growth rate, cultivation yield, and nutrient usage.

The level 15 option he selected was one he’d selected for his greenhouse. The way it affected the greenhouse was simple. It affected everything. Growth rate, cultivation rate, nutrient density, that skill did it all. And with Drogramath’s energy so thick in the air, he’d be a fool not to take it. Theo realized that the cave was throwing him copies of skills he got for the greenhouse. When he hit level 20, he selected another valuable copy.

[Rapid Growth]

Consume latent energy to increase the speed that plants grow within the mushroom cave.

He was out of the cores that Fenian gave him, but if the cave followed the same pattern as the greenhouse, the next upgrade was necessary. Theo fed his personal stock of [Monster Cores] into the building. As expected, he found the skill he absolutely needed if he wanted to make crazy potions for Fenian.

[Untamed Cultivation]

Increasing the ceiling for how high a mushroom can be cultivated to 200%.

That was a sure-fire way to make sure the end result of his truffle cultivation would produce powerful potions. Theo inspected the building one last time.

[Mycology Cave]

[Shortcut to Mushrooms]

Owners: Belgar (Theo Spencer)

Faction: [Broken Tusk]

Level: 25 (21%)

Expansions:

[Spontaneous Spores]

[Deep Beds]

[Drogramath Empowerment]

[Rapid Growth]

[Untamed Cultivation]

Theo only had a vague idea on how to propagate mushrooms. He understood they had spores, but that’s where his knowledge stopped. Fenian left him with a book, which the alchemist didn’t need to crack open to understand what was inside. The cover had a picture of mushrooms, claiming to be Care for Lowland Mushrooms. He found a nearby stump and sat down, cracking open the book and absorbing the information inside. After only 30 minutes of research, he found everything he needed. A section on truffle propagation. He snapped it shut and stood from the stump.

“Right,” Theo said. “Time to make some mushrooms.”

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