The Newt and Demon

The sound of chisels chipping rock hit Theo’s ears before the sight of the quarry. The last time he was here, the dwarf bought Ziz’s entire stock of stone. It was hard not to wonder how much progress they’d made, even if it’d only been three days. If he was in charge, he’d schedule the dwarf to arrive every week, but the intentions of the Half-Ogres wasn’t clear. They were likely eager to pay out their debt and start making noticeable progress to upgrade their seed core building.

“Theo!” Ziz shouted. “What do you think?”

The Half-Ogre was standing, covered in a thick layer of dust and gesturing to a massive pile of stone. Theo didn’t have the [Intelligence] to count them all, but his superior intuition told him they slowed down progress. It was a state of mind he understood all too well. The initial burst of energy for a project faded over time, and he’d never expect them to grind without a break. Not least of which for three days straight.

“Good morning,” Theo said, waving. “How are the north reaches treating you?”

“It’s cooler up here,” Ziz said, wincing slightly. “The boys are complaining about it. They’re accustomed to the dampness of the swamp. We’re making substantial progress, though.”

Theo grunted a response, moving to inspect the pile of hewn stone. He didn’t really know the difference between low and high quality stone, but as he ran his fingers along the blocks, he could feel that perfection. The alchemist would have regretted letting so much of this business slip through his hands, if not for his other responsibilities. Delegating these things, things unrelated to alchemy, had become normal.

“Honestly, I’m not here to check on the stone,” Theo said, smiling. “I’m here to make sure you’re doing well.”

“Of course,” Ziz scoffed. “Far better than working the pits at Perg’s, that’s for certain.”

Theo pointed up at the gate to the north. The wall had a strange way of wrapping the incorporated parts of the town, ignoring physics on the slope in the north. It sat at a funny angle, jutting from the hills like a misplaced asset in a video game. “We’re lucky the quarry is within the wall. I don’t imagine many monsters come this far out, though.”

“Not really,” Ziz said. “We hear things outside the wall at night, but they haven’t gotten over the wall, and the guard keeps the north gate closed permanently.”

Theo nodded, making a note of that in his mind. “Stop by the Newt and Demon if you need anything, friend. Especially if you have money to hand over.”

Ziz laughed. “We’re stockpiling for a bit before we contact Thistum. He’s been giving me advice on how to work the stone,” he said, pointing to a particular stone on the pile. Seams of azure ran through the thing, wrapping it in tight bands.

“What is it?” Theo asked, running his fingers over the seams. It was cold to the touch.

“Thistum isn’t certain. He needs to inspect it. Well, he knows it's a gem‌, but not exactly which one,” Ziz said. “Unfortunately, he told me it doesn’t fetch much more coin.”

“Hold those back unless he gives you more than two silver,” Theo said. “How many do you have?”

“Five, or so,” Ziz said.

“Set a few aside. See if you can figure out how to extract the gems on your own,” Theo said. “I’ll front the cost if it's an issue.”

Ziz waved him off. “No issue, Theo. I had the same idea, but wanted to run it by you. Some gems are worth good coin, but you need someone with a [Gemcutter Core].”

“Noted,” Theo said, nodding. “I want more artisans in Broken Tusk. We need more exports. But, my plate is full at the moment. I won’t be able to spend much money until I finish the defenses for the town.”

“Right,” Ziz said, nodding.

Theo thought for a moment, considering the current seats occupied by the mercantile-oriented peoples of Broken Tusk. Perg, Throk, Ziz, and Luras were the only producers, excluding the alchemist. That set the weight of production on his shoulders uncomfortably. He might have raised their status in the town, but he was no closer to relieving that burden. Perg was his hope, if he was being practical about it. He had a feeling that her next run of hides would be massive, netting the town a bit of the action.

There was also the 10 percent tax he had coming up in 11 days. All sales within the town were due to be paid to the capital, which shouldn’t be an issue. Theo would take care of their back taxes, which was somewhere in the realm of 5 silver if he remembered correctly, and the tax from his massive sales. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind for the moment, reserving himself to take care of it when it came.

“Perhaps you could accept donations, when the time comes,” Ziz said, shrugging.

“Donations?” Theo asked, running his fingers along the length of his horns. “For the defensive structures?”

“Yeah, I’d be more than happy to donate,” Ziz said. “If you consider where we were, and where we’re going with this business.”

That didn’t sit right with Theo, for a reason he couldn’t determine. He felt like a mother hen defending their eggs.

“Fenian claims the defensive structures, which I still know nothing about, will cost between 5 and 10 gold,” Theo said. “So I’m expecting to pay 15 gold each. My confidence in his current information is lacking.”

“We’ve got about a gold worth of stone here,” Ziz said, gesturing to the mountainous pile. “Three days of work—not bad at all for three days. Give us a few weeks and we’ll have the debt cleared.”

Theo smiled, a warm feeling blossoming through his chest at the gesture. “We’ll hold a mercantile council when Fenian returns. Pooling our resources might become necessary.”

“No worries,” Ziz said. “It’s going to work out.”

With that, Theo bid farewell to his friend. The truth of his visit was for companionship, more than anything. Ziz’s project was a thing he was incredibly proud about. It showed the heart of the people in Broken Tusk. They had everything they needed to make their fortune, everything except the capital to start those ventures. When given an absurd way to generate money, they were ready to throw it right back into the town.

Theo picked an ambling path back to the Newt and Demon, using his [Drogramath Alchemy Knife] to find [Stone Flowers] that would have avoided his detection. That familiar pulse washed over the rocky terrain of the northern sections of the town, revealing hidden flowers. The alchemist passed by Zan’kir’s house, noting that it was still empty, and moved on to trace a path along the river. When he saw the faint pulse of light from underground, he ignored it. The truffles were incredibly difficult to dig up, and they weren’t on the requested items from Fenian.

The rate of regeneration that the plants had defied reason, but Theo wouldn’t complain. Without that constant cycle, he wouldn’t be able to perform these massive runs. He made his way back to the heart of town, thinking about that fact. The Adventurer’s Guild was buzzing with people, checking the notice board out front and talking amongst themselves. The alchemist nodded at them, pushing inside. He spotted his pile of reagents in the place where Miana used to sleep.

“Please don’t post another collection quest,” Aarok said, emerging from Miana’s old office. “Or get me a dimensional storage device. This is absurd.”

“I’ll make a note of it,” Theo said. “Close the quest out. This is fine for my current request.”

“Good,” Aarok said, letting out a heavy sigh.

The Half-Ogre led him into the storage room, where Theo shoved everything in his inventory. The adventurers delivered on the request, netting 1,000 of each restoration ingredient and 500 [Stone Flower], [Water Lily], and [Flame Roses] each. He’d easily exceeded Fenian’s request and hoped that the Elf had the money. Even with that absurd amount of gold, he’d be shy of what he needed to defend the town.

“This feels like the start of a new chapter,” Theo said, smiling. “I want to call a meeting when Fenian returns to town. To discuss the purchase of defensive equipment for the town.”

“Sounds expensive,” Aarok grunted.

“It is,” Theo said. “I’m going to ask for some help with that.”

“You?” Aarok asked, scoffing. “Asking for help, well that would be a first. The guild has funds. We can pitch in.”

Theo nodded. He knew that the capital was sending Aarok money, although he didn’t know how. Some manner of magical money teleportation, most likely. A portion of that money was meant for the defense of the town, but the alchemy was cautious about that fund. How reliant would he allow Broken Tusk to become on the kingdom?

“I appreciate it,” Theo said, letting his worries wash away. “How prepared are we for a monster wave?”

Aarok shrugged. “It depends on what kind and how many. A pack of fifty wolves? We’d be fine. An organized army, led by an intelligent monster? We’ll struggle to survive.”

“Is the second thing an option?” Theo asked.

Aarok leveled his gaze at the alchemist, managing a weak smile. “Far worse options are on the table. What we’re experiencing hasn’t happened, from what the records say. We’re looking at an unprecedented organization by the dungeons. Likely a reaction to your arrival, and the magic behind it.”

“Making the defense of the town even more important,” Theo said, nodding. “I’ll push everyone hard to pitch in.”

“I’ll contact my liaison at the capital,” Aarok said. “They have a wizard that’s interested in the coming monster wave.”

“A wizard,” Theo said, sighing. “But not the military?”

Aarok clapped a hand on Theo’s shoulder. “They don’t care. I’m not interested in giving the town over to Qavell’s control, but we could ask for money.”

“How much would they be willing to give?” Theo asked.

“That’s anyone’s guess,” Aarok said. “A few silver, a hundred gold, who knows?”

Theo nodded, feeling somber about the entire thing. “We’ll take it as it comes.”

“Don’t stress about it,” Aarok said. “The adventurers are gaining strength by the day. It’ll work out.”

Theo bid farewell to Aarok. He agreed with the Half-Ogre, even if he wanted to be grim about the situation. They were well-prepared for this scenario, despite the alchemist’s worries. Tresk updated him on her dungeon adventure, claiming that she found something amazing for him. After her revelation, he understood how she was clearing the 10th level boss so quickly. It was a sneaky thing to skip floors, but lined up with her personality.

Azrug was dutifully manning the counter downstairs. A smile crept across the boy’s face. The pair exchanged pleasantries for a while, but Theo only had a mind for potions today. With the mysteries of the advancement system out of the way, for now, he wanted to make a run on Fenian’s order. He stood in the lab for a while, looking out the window while he considered his approach. The lab would need to generate 3,000 restoration potions to move through his stock, combined with the 1,900 stat-enhancement potions, it was a tall order.

Midday already approached, ruling out his desire to knock it out today. Even with a [Lesser Stamina Potion], that task was impossible. Instead, he decided to run the three stills at full capacity for the rest of the day. Experience told him it would chew through at least 2,000 potions in the [Drogramath Still], and close to 1,000 in the others combined.

The day had a way of blurring past Theo when he set his mind to alchemy. The next thing he knew, Tresk was beaming from across the lab and the sun hung low in the sky. He didn’t even notice his [Drogramath Alchemy] core ticking up to level 9, but there it was. The knowledge was unfurling in his mind like an old piece of parchment, cracking along the edges and bleeding into his thoughts.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Theo said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He’d neglected to open the window.

“And I come with gifts,” Tresk said, giggling. She held out her hand, revealing a small silver ring, studded with a ruby. Theo took it, inspecting the item.

[Refreshing Ring]

[Ring]

Rare

An enchanted silver ring, inlaid with rubies.

Effect:

The efforts of crafting are less taxing.

[Effect Locked]

[Effect Locked]

“This is amazing,” Theo said, slipping the ring onto his finger. The exhaustion he felt over crafting all those potions didn’t vanish, but he was eager to test the effects.

“You’ve been crafting up a storm,” Tresk said, laughing.

The lab was in a state of disarray. Discarded vials sat here and there, splashes of water slick on the ground underfoot. Theo inspected his inventory, finding that he crafted the bulk of the potions he needed for Fenian. He had 2,000 of each restoration potion, and 700 vigor potions. It was a good run by any measure, but it still didn’t feel like enough.

“Time for a break,” Tresk said, taking Theo by the arm and dragging him out the door.

“I’m not done,” Theo said, whimpering.

“Too bad! We’re gonna go have some fun,” Tresk said.

Theo groaned. “I don’t like fun.”