The Newt and Demon

Chapter 2.56: The Anti-Mage Modifier

Theo woke from his nightly adventure the next day. While the food at Xams was good, Tresk had taken a trip to Rivers and Daub when she was a child. The image she produced in the Dreamwalk was rough, but enough for the alchemist to appreciate the scale of a rival town. It was two cities joined over the river. Even the bridge itself held houses and merchants. He enjoyed the experience boost most of all, focusing on imagining what reagents would grow along the banks of that city.

He emerged from the dream feeling refreshed, finding Tresk to be in a similarly good mood. Life was, as always, present in the dawn hours of Broken Tusk. Xams tavern was more busy than normal and the building outside was almost completed. After their meal, Theo went to inspect the many laborers working near the seed core building. The roots hadnt completely taken hold yet, and the alchemist pushed off the thought of finishing it himself.

Laborers dug into the earth and under the roads, aided by Sledge. She seemed eager to get the job done, barking orders and working her [Fabricator] magic. The trenches for the pipes ran the short way to the river, cutting a path to where it bent toward Broken Tusk. There was a strange fork in those ditches, sending one length of pipe towards Xams new building. Throk was fiddling with his invention near the bank of the river. The device was different from the ones the alchemist had seen before. A single tank with a pipe coming from the bottom rested on a copper frame.

This is coming along, Theo said, grinning at the Marshling.

Throk flashed him a smile. Better than expected. Wait until you see what Xam is cooking up.

I have an idea about that, Theo said.

What? Tresk asked. What is it?

Youll see, Theo said. Dont spoil the surprise.

Tresk gave Theo an update on the [Ocean Dungeon] while they watched her father work. The monsters that had spawned during the monster wave lingered around the beach, painting it as a horribly dangerous place for anyone to go. That would be a big problem if the alchemist intended to establish a port there. It was the only white-sanded beach around, according to the locals of Broken Tusk. To the south were unforgiving crags, as well as the east. Only the western approach to the sea was viable for any reasonable port. Even then, he had his doubts. Approachability from the land was only one factor for an excellent port, and hed need an expert for the full picture.

Tresk departed, leaving Theo with the knowledge that the Adventurers Guild was on the case. A contract was posted and the monsters would be whittled down. The alchemist set his mind on taking it easy, letting his various businesses run themselves, and performing some alchemy. With Zaralis new barrels, he was eager to brew more modifier potions. With 3 refinement vessels, he could actually get some actual work done.

When Theo returned to the heart of town, intent on tending his garden, he found Xolsas portal open. Zarali stepped through and jogged to catch up with the alchemist as he made his way back to the Newt and Demon. As he expected, his garden was full of useful reagents once again. The priestess struck up light conversation as they harvested the [Mages Bane] and [Roc Berries]. Her thought on the berries was that they werent very useful, but the anti-magic flowers would fetch a high price.

I have a feeling that [Mages Bane] will also produce a nice modifier, Zarali said.

Theos excellent memory let him recall each modifier hed created so far. [Web] was still the best for both offensive and defensive potions. [Over-Time] was useful, but not nearly as great. The alchemist dedicated his day to revealing more modifiers, giving him more tools to work with in the long run. They returned to the lab, making an offering and selecting which reagent was best for experimentation.

Well, you have enough [Troll Blood] to douse an army, Zarali said, rummaging through his [Dimensional Storage Crate]. And more [Goblin Tongues than I ever care to look at. How about we discover the modifiers for [Troll Blood], [Goblin Tongues], [Fald Eyeballs], and [Mages Bane]?

I dont have a better idea, Theo said. And Im not about to drink blood or bite into a Goblins tongue.

Good idea, Zarali said. Just work on increasing your bond with Lord Drogramath.

The [Troll Blood] was easy enough to mix into the [Fermentation Barrels], but the [Goblin Tongue] required mashing. They fed the still-wet slivers of meat into the grinder and winced at the vile sound it made. Theo had to clean off the [Alchemical Grinder Artifice] between uses, but loaded each barrel with 200 units of their respective mashes. Zarali instructed him on the intent aspect of the barrels, and they began bubbling even before he replaced the lid.

The priestess claimed to have a good idea for how long it would take to ferment the mixes, so the pair went off to harvest more reagents. It felt like another bonding experience where they shared stories about their lives. Zarali seemed interested in Earth, but had a trepidation that painted her intent clear. She didnt want to probe too deeply into Theos past and was respectful about the entire thing. That just made him more willing to share with her.

I guess you just do what you have to do, Theo said, watching as Zarali clubbed an insectoid over the head. They had been harvesting [Manashrooms] without much trouble, but she senses the approach of a small cluster of monsters. That didnt stop the flow of conversation, though.

We all adapt, brother, Zarali said. How old were you when they recruited you?

Five years old, Theo said, stooping low to inspect the dead insect-like creature. There were valuable pieces of reagent under the monsters carapace, something he hadnt seen before. My dad died in a war, and mom never had it easy. They just scooped kids up and taught us the best way to blow something up.

Sounds familiar, Zarali said, wiping a stain of ichor from her face.

Theo yanked something from under the creatures hard exoskeleton. It was a second layer of the proactive armor and his [Drogramath Alchemy Core] whispered that it was an alchemical ingredient. He inspected the item.

[Fade Carapace]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Uncommon

The secondary carapace of a Fade.

Properties:

[Carapace] ???? ????

Ive seen the [Carapace] property before, Zarali said with an approving nod. It should be useful. So, how did this government use you?

Thats a good way to put it, Theo said, wiping the filth from his hands onto the caverns wall. They taught us all these languages. How to behave in foreign countries, stuff like that. How to slip in and out of a place unseen. Social camouflage and all that. No one checked kids in the first few years, and we were very successful. Then things got weird, and they used us in different ways. Taught us weapons platforms, but no real jarhead work.

Jarhead?

Ah, you know. Boots on the ground types, Theo said. They pushed deeper into the cave, finding more of the [Manashrooms]. There werent many people left by the time I was fully grown. The expanding sun caused famine and death everywhere. Only the north was hospitable, and that was fading fast.

Reminds me of Gardreth, Zarali said, letting out a snort of a laugh.

From what I heard, it sounds similar. Well, were all just sitting in retirement. Everyone was retired at that point. The sun was about to eat our entire planet. Then some entity showed up and everyone came together to stop it. Not like it would have helped.

So, your thought is that you were already doomed, Zarali said. She found a large mushroom that had cultivated on its own. Theo happily took it into his inventory.

Oh, absolutely, Theo said. I got the call after finally having time to live for a few years. Mom was dead by then, and the only person I had as a friend was Yuri. They put us in the same squad to go kill the entity. We called him the Harbinger.

Id love to hear more about this creature, Zarali said, picking at the side of the cavern. She shrugged, finding that the treasure she thought was there was nothing more than a splash of insectoid blood.

You know as much as I do, Theo said.

Gods are rarely errant, Zarali said. Do we have enough mushrooms? The fermentation should be done soon.

Theo checked his inventory. They had well over 500 [Manashrooms], which was more than he needed. His intention on coming out today to harvest reagents was little more than something to bolster his supplies. Were good.

The pair left the cave and headed back to town. Theo told her more about his life, feeling comfortable around the woman. He would have told all of this to Tresk, but she just didnt care. He didnt fault his companion for that. No one wanted to hear a tragic backstory, and the alchemist had pushed that life out of his mind. It wasnt as though he was looking back on his memories. They were someone elses. He detailed how his division of child soldiers was retired when the wars among the nations ceased. Only when there was nothing left fighting for did they stop. Only when there wasnt blood left to spill did they release him from their grasp.

Youve really pushed all that out of your mind, Zarali said, removing the lid from a fermentation barrel.

So have you, Theo said, laughing.

Zarali managed a weak smile. Some days I manage. Others are hard. Well, these are done. Shall we distill them?

The raw mash from a fermentation gave no hints on what properties they contained. Theo would have to distill them to unlock that secret, and he had an interest in the newest reagents first. The alchemist selected the [Troll Blood], [Goblin Tongue], and [Mages Bane] for distillation. Zarali helped him transfer the mashes into the stills and gave him her best guess as to the best heating pattern. Every reagent was temperamental with this process, and the modifiers were even harder. They did their best, tending the stills for just under an hour before theyd extracted every last drop of usable essence from the mash. He inspected the resulting essence modifier from the [Troll Blood] first.

[Sear]

[Essence Modifier]

Rare

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Alignment Effects:

1:1 refinement in pressure vessels

Increased purity from refinement

200 units (liquid)

Add to a completed potion to add the sear modifier.

The only property Theo knew for the blood was the [Searing Regeneration] property. This essence modifier didnt illuminate the effect of the potion, but it could be used on any potion. Some modifiers had restrictions on offensive or defensive potions. He inspected the resulting essence from the [Goblin Tongue] next.

[Desiccate]

[Essence Modifier]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Alignment Effects:

1:1 refinement in pressure vessels

Increased purity from refinement

200 units (liquid)

Add to a completed potion to add the desiccate modifier. Only usable on offensive potions

This modifier would be useful for poisons or bombs, but Theo would need to apply it to a test potion to see the effects. That was the problem with modifiers. They affected every potion differently, creating an absurd amount of combinations that could only be known by experimentation. He inspected the last essence modifier, derived from the [Mages Bane] flower.

[Anti-Mage]

[Essence Modifier]

Rare

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Alignment Effects:

1:1 refinement in pressure vessels

Increased purity from refinement

200 units (liquid)

Add to a completed potion to add the Anti-Mage modifier.

It was another dual-use modifier, but what it did was beyond him. They also failed in getting any of the modifiers above excellent quality, which was expected.

Well, [Anti-Mage] is the clear winner, Zarali said.

[Desiccate] could be useful, Theo said. I can see a poison that drains the water in someones body. That would be very nice for Tresk.

Sounds like a wicked poison to me, Zarali said, nodding. Shall we run a test on the modifiers?

Theo found that testing the modifiers was always a good idea. As always, he elected to use his [Healing Potions] for testing the defensive essences and [Poison] for his offensive ones. He selected a restoration potion he made the other day to test the [Anti-Mage] modifier first. Introducing the silvery liquid caused the [Healing Potion] to gain ribbons of blue light, descending in a circle from the top of the potion. Both the alchemist and Zarali inspected the potion.

[Healing Potion]

[Anti-Mage]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

Creates a shield of anti-magic around the user. For every point of health restored, block 2 points of magical damage.

Instantly restores 125 health points.

Thats a good potion, Zarali said.

Theo thought about it before responding. Hed seen a lot of good potions in his time, but this was one of the best. It bundled the effects of 2 potions into one. He had a feeling that the description was very specific about what it did. His intuition said the user only gained the magic shield for the amount of health effectively restored, not potentially restored. If the user wasnt missing health, they wouldnt get the shield. The alchemist applied the [Sear] modifier to another [Healing Potion], watching as fissures of fire spread through the pink liquid. After the reaction settled down, he inspected the result.

[Healing Potion]

[Sear]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

A wave of fire radiates from the imbiber of this potion, dealing damage to all targets equal to the healing potency of this potion.

Instantly restores 130 health points.

Another great one, Zarali said, letting out a laugh. Perhaps even better. Offensive healing.

Both are amazing, Theo said, nodding to himself. I think the one with [Sear] is slightly better.

Theyre situational, Zarali said. Last one. Use it on a poison.

Theo obeyed, introducing the [Desiccate] modifier into a vial of poison he made for Tresk. The liquid grew a dimmer shade, bubbled violently, then settled down. The pair inspected the result.

[Poison]

[Desiccate]

[Poison] [Modified Poison]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Coat your weapon to deal additional damage over time to an enemy.

Effect:

Cripples an enemy, reducing their Dexterity by 5.

Applies a stacking DOT effect based on poison quality. Maximum 10 stacks. Each stack of poison removes an amount of moisture from the targets body, desiccate them from the inside out.

It was another situational potion. The other version he made for Tresk was better, but this was good. Zaralis disapproving look said it all. Despite the last potion being less powerful than the others, the crafting session was successful. Both the [Sear] and [Anti-Mage] properties were incredibly useful. Theo still had a few basic bombs laying around, something he wanted to correct before the next monster wave, but he thought they would serve as a solid base for testing the effects of his new properties.

Theo withdrew 2 [Basic Firebombs] and 2 [Basic Freezebombs] from storage, applying [Anti-Mage] and [Sear] to both. The Freezebomb seemed to bubble more vigorously than any other experiment they tried before, almost causing the pair to flee from the lab. But it calmed down in time, coming to terms with the application of a fire-based modifier in time. He inspected the modified [Basic Firebomb] first.

[Basic Firebomb]

[Sear]

[Bomb] [Modified Bomb]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

Shatter against a surface to release flames that stick to the target.

Effect:

Fire radiates outward from the point of contact, applying a 1/4 strength DOT effect on all afflicted targets.

The effect was as expected. Instead of setting the target on fire, it sent a wave of fire out and applied a less-powerful version of the DOT to all targets. He inspected the [Sear] modified [Basic Freezebomb] next.

[Basic Freezebomb]

[Sear]

[Bomb] [Modified Bomb]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

Shatter against a surface to release ice that roots the target.

Effect:

Roots the target in place, applying an DOT instance of frostfire.

Theo didnt know what frostfire damage was, and it seemed contradictory. It didnt matter, though. The potion still held its rooting effect, which was its only use. The addition of a damage effect was appreciated. Zarali shrugged at both. They were good, just not overly impressive. Things only got interested when they went to inspect the bombs infused with [Anti-Mage].

[Basic Firebomb]

[Anti-Mage]

[Bomb] [Modified Bomb]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

Shatter against a surface to release flames that stick to the target.

Effect:

Coats the target in flames infused with anti-magical properties. While on fire, targets afflicted with this fire will take damage equal to 2 times their spells mana cost when they cast any spell.

The potion lived up to the modifiers name. This effect was tailored to stop mages from casting their spells. Theo could only imagine how that would cripple any magic-user, forcing them to wait until the flame effect expired. The [Basic Freezebomb] was even more interesting.

[Basic Freezebomb]

[Anti-Mage]

[Bomb] [Modified Bomb]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

Shatter against a surface to release ice that roots the target.

Effect:

Roots the target with antimagical ice. Breaking free from the root effect through any means, magical, manual, or through the expiration of this effect, will deal damage equal to 3/4 targets maximum health over 10 seconds.

The Freezebomb with [Anti-Mage] was more like a mage-killer, rather than something to hinder them. People who used magic were more likely to put their points into [Intelligence], causing them to gain more mana. The result of using this bomb on a magic-user would be devistating. They would be trapped in ice. If they teleported away, broke the ice with magic, or stood there, they were in trouble. Zarali let out a whistle after reading the description.

That would kill me, she said. Its based on the targets statsthats vicious. I assume this runs through a resistance check, though.

Then there was the issue of actually hitting the target. That was the hardest thing about using this potion to kill a high-level mage. Theo had no intentions of using the potion on another person, but there would be magical monsters. It was only logical. If someone with a good arm could hit a magical creature, it wouldnt matter how powerful they were. Theyd be dead.

Wanna get dinner? Theo asked.

Absolutely, Zarali said.