The Newt and Demon

The operation of the pressure vessel was a mystery, even to its creator. Throk provided general instructions for its use, but it was only on a theoretical level. The device was built to Theo’s specifications, but the artificer filled in the blank with whispers from his cores. The alchemist inspected it for a long time, garnering a small crowd of townspeople. He pushed their prying eyes away in his mind, focusing on the task at hand. Their whispers were drowned out, aided by the unique tingling sensation of the [Lesser Stamina Potion] he downed.

The pressure vessel was a simple machine. Theo reasoned in that direction, although it might have been far from the truth. Insert an essence into the tank through the port, add a mote, and inflict his will upon the machine. He could select which essence he wanted to target with a thought, or so the old Drogramathi tome said. The reality of the situation was that he did not know where to start besides jumping into it.

Theo tipped a small flask of [Healing Essence] into the artifice, imparting his will as he added a simple [Earth Mote]. He focused on the first property present in the essence, and the most important. [Healing] was a property provided by the [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root], and the thing that made the Newt and Demon the most money. The artifice sprung to life, rocking against the house for a moment. A sound like an air compressor filled the gravel yard, startling those gathered around.

The alchemist watched with interest as the machine settled down, turning the loud noise into a gentle hum after a moment. He nodded with satisfaction and retreated to the lab to consult Basic Drogramath Alchemy. The crowd below drew nearer to the vessel, but backed away when it jumped ominously. Theo laughed and turned his attention to the book.

This was the second time he’d come across a new ability within his Drogramath cores and had material to reference for the process. It detailed how the pressure separated the impurities of the essence, sending the unused properties out the bottom chute as refuse. Since Throk’s design followed the one suggested in the tome, it incremented the pressure slowly. The process was only bound by the time to reach maximum pressure, whereby it would shut down automatically. The resulting essence represented the second tier of Drogramath alchemy, something Theo understood to be around a level 60 alchemist’s skill.

The absurdity of the situation wasn’t lost on him, but he grasped at every advantage he could get. The downside was that he had a new step in his process. While the tank’s capacity might be massive, there was the concept of essence loss. Where he might put in 10 units of essence, the book suggested he could expect to retrieve half of that in purified essence. He spent the time waiting for the pressure vessel to finish going over the book, even though he could remember most of it at a whim.

While the new device did its work, Azrug came bounding into the lab, informing the alchemist of another group interested in settling in the town.

“Was there a migrant train?” Theo asked.

“Beats me,” Azrug said. “They mentioned taking the long way here, whatever that means.”

Theo knew it meant that they avoided the main road that ran north to south from Qavell. What little he knew about the spaces in between was bad, especially in recent times. The war, and whatever cultist activity, made the road difficult to travel, but even before that there was the threat of monster attacks. Now that the dungeons were acting up, that would be doubly difficult. The alchemist winced when he thought of those who wouldn’t make the journey, falling by the wayside and forgotten forever. The least he could do was offer them a safe place to live.

When he went down to the store below, still rather cluttered, he found more than a single group of people. As introductions were made, Theo found there was a group of three brothers who were all Human adventurers. The next group was a small family, a father and three children, who all hailed from a race of lizard-people he still hadn’t heard about. The alchemist led them on a tour of the city, relying on his pressure vessel to shut off automatically as they walked the cobbled streets.

The man with the children had a hard face, even for a lizard-person. He had laborer cores and showed interest in the mine that hadn’t been established yet. Work in the north was scarce if a person wasn’t a fighter. Theo finally got a picture of how laborers were treated up there, and it wasn’t good. They were typically paid in food and shelter, rather than coin. This sent a knot through his stomach as he looked into the hungry eyes of those children.

The group entered the Marsh Wolf Tavern and Xam turned her head expectantly, sighing when she saw the mayor.

“I thought you were Uharis,” Xam said, wiping her brow.

“He’s gone,” Theo said, smiling.

He withdrew a single silver coin from his inventory and flicked it across the room, missing the woman completely. She cast him a knowing look and scooped it up from the floor. “What’s this for?”

“Feed the children and care for them,” Theo said. “I’m going to finish the tour and set these folks up.”

“I’m not a nursemaid,” Xam said, wrapping her arms around herself and eying the children suspiciously.

“You are now,” Theo said. “We won’t be long.”

Xam held the silver coin in her hand. The value of the coin was more than she’d make that day by a margin. She shrugged. “Come along, children. Do you like soup?”

The lizard-person named Ger turned to Theo as they left, the three brothers close behind. “Is this manner of kindness normal in Broken Tusk?”

Theo winced again. “If the northlands see starving children and turn a blind eye, I want nothing to do with them. Broken Tusk is rich, by some standards, but we don’t squander our coin. The swamp provides everything we need and there’s more than enough to go around.”

“Good to hear,” one Human adventurer put in.

“For you three, we have an adventurer’s guild,” Theo said. “Unaligned with the others in the kingdom, so you can join without a fuss.”

“Even better,” another brother said.

They passed by the new adventurer’s guild, which was still having issues taking hold. Roots tangled around half-nailed boards with ribbons of energy snaking around the entire structure. That was Aarok’s problem to deal with. He had the entire adventuring guild at his disposal, so the job should have been done. The foundation of the building gave some clues why it wasn’t taking hold. A normal level 1 core building might take up 10 to 15 paces square, but this new foundation was massive. It was at least 50 paces in either direction, taking up the land that Miana’s house occupied and then some.

“We heard stories of Broken Tusk in Qavell,” Ger said, flashing a frightening grin with his rows of sharp teeth. “One of those things you hear in passing. A Dronon alchemist was running a town—how strange would that be?”

“One that helps his people, rather than living on some secluded mountain,” a brother said.

“The dungeons drew us here,” another brother said. “Those in the midlands and northlands are crowded—owned by misers.”

“We have 5 dungeons, if you can believe it,” Theo said. They approached the place where Gridgen Dev, the newest addition to the town, was settling down. “This lot will be for you, Ger. I’ll make sure you get in with the mining team when they’re ready. Daily wages, none of this food as pay nonsense.”

“Thank you, mayor,” Ger said, affecting a deep bow. “How much do I owe you?”

“Whatever you can spare,” Theo said, withdrawing a house seed core from his inventory. He cut out the property for the lizard-person and handed the item over with a few cores to get it started. “Otherwise, keep your money.”

“You can’t give away stuff like this for free,” a brother said.

“He’s broke,” Theo said, gesturing at the lizard-person. “He can’t feed his children. Would you take what he doesn’t have?”

The brothers shared a pained look, two of them hanging their heads. Ger simply looked meek.

“Those that have should give to those that don’t,” Theo said. “If you can’t understand that, you don’t belong in Broken Tusk.”

Theo turned on the spot, leaving Ger to plant his house seed core and marching up the road. He intended to cluster people throughout the town in logical places, mostly near the place of work. The brothers sputtered, running to catch up. The largest of the three placed himself in front of the alchemist, holding his hands out in apology.

“We can learn,” he said. “I’m Bal. My brothers, Dal and Ral, are all willing to learn.”

“Good,” Theo said, pushing past the man. “Things can get tight around here. I won’t lie to you. We just had a monster wave and were lucky to have no casualties.”

“We saw the weapons on the gates,” Dal or Ral said. Theo didn’t know which he was, and they all looked too similar. “That’s when we knew this was the real deal.”

“Show more faith in the town‌,” Theo said. “You’ll be called on to perform various tasks, including defense.”

“Once again, esteemed mayor, I apologize,” Bal said. “Qavell is cutthroat. We’ve all advanced by stabbing someone in the back, stealing their contracts, or spreading rumors.”

“You’ll learn fast,” Theo said, nodding. “You don’t have a choice.”

The group moved through the town, heading north beyond the farms. The fields were already sprouting higher than the last time Theo saw them. His potion was working. In the distance, they spotted Zan’kir’s lone house billowing smoke as always. Theo spotted the adventurer’s wife in the yard, playing with the children. Zan’sal was a spicy woman with much more spirit than her husband. The alchemist greeted her and introduced the three brothers.

“Keep an eye on them,” Theo said. “They’re Qavelli.”

“I know the sort,” Zan’sal said, narrowing her eyes. “Backstabbing bastards.”

Bal paled, his brothers joining suit. “We’ll pull our weight, don’t worry.”

“Do you want one plot or three?” Theo asked.

“Two should do,” Bal said, managing a smile.

Theo shrugged. He could charge them anything he wanted for the land and the house seed core, although he suspected they might have their own seeds. Why ask for two otherwise?

“I assume you have seed cores?” Theo asked.

“We do,” Bal said.

“Two gold for the plots,” Theo said, holding his hand out.

The brothers shared a look.

“1 gold, 50 silver.”

“1 gold, 80 silver,” Theo countered, holding his gaze firm.

“1 70.”

Theo reached his hand out for the lead brother to shake. The man produced the money from a satchel at his hip, handing it over with a smile. The alchemist opened his mayor’s screen and assigned two plots to all 3 men.

“Make friends with Zan’sal and Zan’kir,” Theo said, gesturing to the Khahari woman. “They can direct you to the adventurer’s guild and explain the dungeons. You can sell your loot directly to my shopkeeper, Azrug, or wait for a trader.”

“Thank you, mayor,” Bal said, smiling. “We’re going to fit in. I promise.”

Theo smiled, turning on the spot to leave. He didn’t care if they really fit in, so long as they pulled their weight. When the time came, he needed fighters for the walls. Whether they understood the depth of the charity within the town wasn’t his concern. Their blood would be enough to sate the alchemist’s desires, although he didn’t wish for their deaths.

Theo informed Tresk of the new citizens as he returned to the lab. She seemed excited that there were more people, but wary of the three brothers. The Marshling promised to spy on them with her stealth abilities to ensure they were on the level, although the alchemist didn’t see that as necessary. When he finally returned to the lab rain fell in a lazy pattern, nothing like it had been. The pressure vessel was done processing his essence and rested still in the gravel yard.

The port at the bottom of the [Custom Copper Pressure Vessel] fell open with a clatter, releasing two solid blocks of stinking material onto the ground. The odor they put off stung his nose. He identified the items by touching them, but the prompt simply said they were [Alchemical Refuse]. An extraction artifice sat near the middle of the tank, allowing Theo to withdraw his refined essence with ease. He filled a vial with light pink liquid. As expected, he gained about half of what he put in.

He inspected the new essence.

[Refined Healing Essence]

[Essence] [Refined Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

Purity: 50%

20 units (liquid)

Concentrated, refined essence of healing, used to create healing potions.

Theo knit his brow, looking over the result. He expected a drop in quality, but there was now something that declared the essence’s purity. It was hard to know if this level of purity was good, but he shrugged it off. His book told him this would produce a more powerful version of the [Lesser Healing Potion], likely resulting in a [Healing Potion]. He retreated to his lab for testing, trading a few words with Azrug before finding himself back in his element.

The book warned about the instability of the refined essences, causing the alchemist to store the vial in his inventory only to withdraw it and place it delicately on his table. [Purified Water] was no longer an option for the advanced potions. Even with a single ingredient reaction, it could go sour. The next tier of potions required carefully measured vials of [Stabilized Water], combined with specific catalysts. He’d been relying on the [Copper Shavings] for some time now, but they were no longer acceptable. Theoretically, he could still use the copper, but it would cause a wild array of results that he couldn’t risk.

In terms of catalysts, Theo was at a bit of a loss. [Copper Shavings] were at the bottom of the barrel, but the next tier included rare materials such as ground gemstones, iron flakes, and so on. Lowest on the list of second-tier catalysts was [Flaky Agate], which he had in spades. It wouldn’t elevate the quality of the potion, but he had some.

The alchemist’s core allowed him to measure things out in precise quantities. As it grew stronger, he could measure down to the hundredth of a unit in measurement. Basic Drogramath Alchemy mentioned that the second-tier recipes needed to be within that hundredth of a unit, or it would explode. Fortunately, the catalyst didn’t need to be measured with such precision. Only the water and essence had to be measured to such a grueling degree.

He measured out a unit of [Stabilized Water], a unit that he was confident was exactly 1 unit, added his catalyst, and exactly 1 unit of his newly refined essence. Theo was grateful that he propped the window open and created a vial with especially thick walls. The reaction was violent, sending streams of smoke into the air that glittered like stars. An earthy scent filled the room, somewhere between freshly tilled land and fruit. Smoke billowed out of the window and clouded his eyes for a moment. A tingling sensation spread through his body, but when the smoke cleared he examined the potion.

[Healing Potion]

[Potion]

Rare

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

A healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

Instantly restores 65 health points.

The resulting potion was significantly better than the base version. Even if the title was unimpressive, he was left with a potion that was twice as potent as the previous one. Each step of the process made creating the elixirs more daunting, but it was worth it. He rushed downstairs after stoppering the vial, thrusting it into his shopkeeper’s hands with a wide grin on his face.

“New potion?” Azrug asked. “Woah! You did it! How did you do it?”

Theo explained his new process, smiling the entire time. He felt a flood of excitement rushing through his body that he hadn’t felt since he arrived in the town. The world of essences would open up to him with this new stage. He knew it. While the basic healing potion might have undergone a minor transformation, others would gain different effects. Azrug handed the potion back to the alchemist and clapped his hand over his shoulder.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Azrug said. “We need more stuff like that.”

“Agreed,” Theo said. “Let me know which potions you’re interested in.”

“Well, some [Over-time] [Healing Potions] would be nice. I think I can sell the ones with [Surge] modifier, and the [Web] modifier,” Azrug said.

“We also need to consider having potions on hand for the next monster wave,” Theo said, withdrawing Uharis’ magic crystal from his inventory. It had gone a darker shade of green. “Sooner rather than later.”

“Right, so get on it,” Azrug said, chuckling.

Theo nodded, attending to the pressure vessel once again. While his stamina was draining, he could easily set up the vessel to make another run, especially since he didn’t need to watch it. Once he had more [Healing Essence] in there, he turned his attention to walking the streets of his town. He wanted to make good on that promise he made himself, to take it easy when he could. With his failing stamina, this seemed like a great time to enjoy the evening without work.

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