The Newt and Demon

Chapter 3.11: Pills Here

The coin mint was a long-term solution to a long-term problem. Gridgen assured the group that minting coins didnt happen overnight. The only positive side to this new project was that it wasnt illegal, anyone could mint coins if they had the resources. This was because the system often generated coins, giving them out as rewards to quests or for defeating monster waves. The Kingdom of Qavell couldnt regulate something like that, not with their limited resources. While the miners could shift their attention to creating new tunnels, they worked at a snails pace.

Theo stood in his lab, appreciating his new refinement technique and preparing his stills for another run. He cleaned the stills with drops of his [Cleansing Scrub], washing away all the junk inside with waves of white light. The [Fade Carapaces] had produced [Carapace Essence], and the [Spiny Swamp Thistle] produced [Healing Essence]. During a monster wave, an animated column of water had attacked the town. It was frozen by the turrets, allowing the alchemist to collect a valuable resource. [LIving River Water] contained the property [Dissolve], something he was certain would help the miners. Without hesitating, he filled the [Drogramath Still] with [Enchanted Water] and the [Living River Water], setting it to distill and refine the precious resource.

Potions fell into a few categories in Theos mind. There were different tiers of potions, but also different alignments. Compounded with that was the fact that they could be modified, or cultivated potions. The fermentation of his reagents was done, allowing him to start those modifiers off on a distillation and refinement run. He filled the two spare stills with their respective mashes and set the heat.

Theo set up a few flat-bottomed vials to test the reaction for his [Refined Carapace Essence]. This potion would be a refined, aligned, tier 2 reaction. He placed a single enchanted [Iron Shaving] at the bottom, introduced [Purified Water] and the essence in equal quantities, and watched the reaction. It was tepid, as far as reactions went, only bubbling a little and putting off a strange metallic smell. The resulting potion was a brown color, similar to that of a cockroach. He inspected his new creation.

[Carapace Potion]

[Potion]

Rare

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A defensive potion. Drink to gain segmented plates over your body, significantly increasing your defense.

Effect:

Covers your body with flexible, chitinous plates. Effect lasts 30 minutes, or until the plates are destroyed.

The [Lesser Barkskin Potion] mentioned a decrease in mobility, but this one didnt have that in the description. As he expected, it was just a better version of that potion. Theos mind rolled over without his command, thinking of the best modifier to apply to the potion. By itself, the potion was decent. It gave the user a defense boost, but something was missing. With little thought, it arrived at the usefulness of the [Anti-Mage] modifier. Since he was cultivating the [Mages Bane] flower for a while now, hed accumulated a decent stockpile of the modifier.

Modifier essences were used to mix with regular potions, or bombs, to create different effects. The results were often chaotic, following a logic the alchemist hadnt decoded yet. He withdrew a flask of the modifier from his inventory, transferred the potion to a 4 unit vial and introduced equal parts of the [Anti-Mage] modifier essence. The result was much like the other potions hed applied the modifier to, gaining ribbons of silver energy that flowed through the brown potion like liquid metal. He inspected the result.

[Carapace Potion]

[Anti-Mage]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Rare

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A defensive potion. Drink to gain segmented plates over your body, significantly increasing your defense.

Effect:

Covers your body with flexible, chitinous plates. Effect lasts 30 minutes, or until the plates are destroyed.

Chitinous plates are covered in a field of anti-magic. Reduces damage dealt by magical attacks, and absorbs those spells to increase the duration of this potion.

Often, a modifier essence would change the nature of a potion to render it less useful. Sometimes, the result was even dangerous. This example was a complete win. It didnt change the way the base potion acted, and simply added a different effect. Now the plates that covered the imbibers body would absorb magic, even extending the duration of the potion. Theo was reluctant to export most things with the [Anti-Mage] property, but this was fine in his mind. He was alright with a defensive use of the property, and created 500 [Carapace Potions] with the property, intending to keep some for himself and send the rest off with Fenian.

Some modifiers were outright monstrous in their effects. In the early stages of brewing potions, Theo had created poisons that would enhance Tresks ability to do combat. At the second tier of potioncraft, hed created poisons that were devastating. He cataloged these in his mind as weapons, not fit for export from Broken Tusk. The pinnacle of his poison making was a [Poison] with [Accelerated Decay] as a modifier. He withdrew one from his inventory for examination, a reminder of the power he could achieve.

[Poison]

[Accelerated Decay]

[Poison] [Modified Poison]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

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

Chance to inflict 2 stacks per hit.

Effect:

Cripples an enemy, reducing their Dexterity by 5.

Applies a stacking DOT effect based on poison quality. Maximum 15 stacks. Poison inflicts DOT damage and decay increases the effects of all poison damage.

Stacks of poison take twice as long to fade.

Removing a stack of poison through any means other than the natural expiration of the effect causes the remaining stacks of poison to explode, dealing their remaining damage to the target.

Each effect was enough to make this potion worth it, but the list seemed to go on. It reduced a targets [Dexterity], it applied a DOT effect, the poison faded slower, and if someone removed the effect it exploded to deal its remaining damage. Something Theo had learned about modifier essences was how powerful they got after the refining process. Since his stills could now refine in place, rather than transferring to the cumbersome tanks outside, this was something he was interested in. The alchemist organized his lab, sorting through crates of reagents, essences, modifiers, and random junk, before his next phase was ready for testing.

With enough base healing potions in reserve, and the [Solidify] modifier cooking off to completion, Theo could begin the next phase of his experimentation. Before he moved on, he inspected a [Healing Potion].

[Healing Potion]

[Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

Instantly restores 135 health points.

Theo long suspected that the alchemists on this continent were incompetent. Hed heard whispers of a land in the west called Tarantham, which from context and clues seemed like an Elven land. The potion he held in his hand was considered the best potion in the kingdom. It restored the most health out of all the other potions, placing it above what the Qavelli alchemists could do. But it wasnt good enough for him. Modifiers were unseen to those same alchemists, and he intended to exploit that fact with his next creation. His [Solidify] modifier came out of the still as a [Refined Solidify]. Just like his [Refined Decay] modifier, this one was amazing. He inspected it.

[Refined Solidify]

[Essence Modifier] [Refined Essence Modifier]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Alignment Effects:

Resulting modifier will be more effective.

High chance to add an additional modifier to the resulting potion.

1 units (liquid)

Add to a completed potion to add the Solidify modifier. Solidify had unpredictable effects and varies wildly from potion to potion. Typical effects include solidification of the potion itself.

Applying a regular [Solidify] modifier to a potion turned it solid, allowing a person to eat it piece-by-piece to restore health. Theos intuition and hopes sent his mind spiraling to the possibilities of this new combination. Instead of performing the reaction in a flask, Theo generated a shallow glass dish with his [Glassware Artifice], transfered the potion and introduced the modifier. It hissed for only a moment before turning solid. Despite being out of a vial, he was able to inspect his creation.

[Healing Potion]

[Solidify]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

Turns the liquid of the potion into a solid item, which can be removed from the vial. If eaten entirely, 135 health is restored. Eating small amounts of the solid will restore a proportional amount of health.

Portioning out this potion results in a multiplicative effect of healing potency (gained from [Refined Solidify] modifier alignment trait).

It was often hard to understand the effects on potions, but Theo understood this. The alignment effect from the modifier was transferred to a second trait, increasing the effectiveness of the potion if its split into sections. Theo decided the best method was to split the potion into bite-sized sections, which resulted in 8 individual pieces of the potion. He watched with a curious gaze as the segmented pieces seemed to harden, rounding themselves off at either side into something resembling a pill. The alchemist inspected the result.

[Healing Pill]

[Alchemy Pill]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A healing pill. Swallow to restore health.

Effect:

Swallow this pill whole to restore 80 health.

If the modifier didnt lend the additional effect, this pill would have only restored 17 health. That meant that each pill received 60% of the power of the potions total healing. Another way to look at it was that Theo had increased the amount of health gained from a single potion by 470%, which seemed absurd. He created a new container for his creation, unsure of how they would sell them, something shaped like a pill bottle on Earth, and placed the glass stopper on top.

When the alchemist created something amazing, something they could sell, he often ran down to show the shopkeeper, Azrug. He found the young man downstairs, haggling with an adventurer over potions and equipment. Theo waited until their business was concluded before moving to thrust the bottle into his hands.

Whats this? Azrug said, shaking the bottle. The pills chimed against the side of the bottle as they rattled around.

An invention, Theo said, grinning. Each pill only cost me one potion to make.

Azrug knit his brow, his mercantile brain rolling over the information. More profit? he asked.

More profit, but you have to sell those, Theo said. And I mean really sell, not just get rid of them. People are going to think youre weird for suggesting they swallow a single pill.

Yeah, this is weird, Azrug said, shaking the bottle again. He withdrew one pill and inspected it then shrugged. Adventurers go off the system description. They never take my word for it, so these will sell. You make any other pills?

I just finished that one, Theo said.

But there was the problem. Most other potions did better with another modifier. Even the [Healing Potion] did better with a different modifier, turning it into a pill didnt suddenly make it more powerful. The shape of the thing was nice, though. Anyone who didnt have a dimensional storage space, such as an inventory, would want them. Theo knew he could do better, but whatever the solution was eluded his grasp.

Good. Go make more, Azrug said, grunting and turning back to the store. Another customer had entered.

Theo left him there, retreating upstairs. The excitement for creating something new blinded him to something he wanted to do earlier. He withdrew his copy of Basic Drogramath Alchemy and looked it over, trying to find new sections that had been decoded. Nothing new stood out to him. The book only wanted to feed him things he already knew, which was irritating. What hope there was to find information on constructs fell away, leaving him to make other plans. While he couldnt imagine things he hadnt created in the Dreamwalk, he could discover them through the normal methods. That would be his road forward for the skill.

He snapped the book shut and turned his attention back to the lab.

By the time the evening drew close, Theo had a lab filled with [Carapace Potions] and [Healing Pills]. It was enough to satisfy Fenians needs, perhaps far more than that. Tresk gave occasional updates on her delving, confirming that the [Swamp Dungeon] was no longer growing stronger. At least, not at the rate it was before. She had a poor sense for what was useful for alchemy, presenting all manner of monster parts in their shared inventory. None were useful, but he appreciated the effort.

Before Tresk arrived for dinner, Throk arrived to drag the alchemist out. He gave a tour of the pipe system, which still rested in deep uncovered trenches. Those pipes led from the river, where an artifice sucked them up, before heading to a substation. The artificer had outdone himself, creating a large metal box that automatically mixed the tainted water with essence, creating [Purified Water]. That was the theory, anyway. The alchemist had given him precise quantities for the reaction, but he only trusted himself for those measurements.

The input pipes go to the water tower, and the bathhouse. Hotspring. Whatever Xam is calling it, Throk said, grumbling the words. The outputs go back into the river, downstream.

Theo nodded, moving to inspect the mixing station closely. [Purified Water] was a basic alchemy reaction, but it was precise. Every 20 units of water required half a unit of [Purifying Essence]. If Throk got the timing right on the machine, it could provide 20 units of water every 5 to 10 seconds, just to be safe. There was another substation, standing near the purification station, that looked more like the alchemy stills he worked with. The old Marshling picked up on his curious expression.

Backup station, Throk said, nodding to the massive boiler. Ive got a simple line of instructions running between these two stations. When the purification station runs low on juice, it swaps to the boiler.

Boiling water was a fine way to remove parasites and disease. By Theos estimation, the capacity of the larger tank was around 1,000 units. From experience, he knew it would take at least half an hour to bring it up to heat, and another 15 minutes to boil. That depended on how hot they set the [Flame Artifice] that drove the machine. The alchemist shook his head. That wasnt the order he would run them at.

Id run the boiler as the main, Theo said, gesturing to the massive tank. Perhaps run a few boilers in parallelall at the same timeand increase the size of our holding tank. Better yet, run a holding tank for the bathhouse and the general water supply.

Theo felt a twinge in his chest, his [Governance Core] gaining a spike of experience.

Sounds expensive, Throk grunted.

It made sense in Theos mind, though. Motes were cheap, almost dirt cheap in Broken Tusk, but essence wasnt. Since the artifice that powered the boiler ran on those motes, it was the cheapest option long-term. Throk would have to create more artifices, pipes, wrangle Sledge to do some modifications, but it was the best long-term option.

Well, since its going to cost more Theo said, gesturing to the area. They were in a small clearing of Ogre Cypress, the area north of the Newt and Demon. The cobbled road sat just a stones throw north, and the massive artifices were an eyesore. I want you to rework these lines. One intake from the river, split it to 4 boiling artifices. A thousand unit capacity each. Split the main line to each boiler and 2 emergency essence purification units. House it all in a buildinghand-builtand join all 6 purification units to a single, massive tank for holding. Take lines from that tank, and distribute it out.

That seems like a lot of

Then, make a new pump to draw water, and send it north from the river, Theo said, nodding to himself. Build another station with a single essence purification unit that feeds into a closed system. For emergencies.

Throk was left stunned by the scope of the new work, but Theo was confident they could get it done quickly. He had the authority to order people around, redirecting their efforts to complete the job in days. The heart of the alchemists idea was simple, but it had flaws. It centered around the idea that they needed water, no matter what. The first issue was that essence wasnt infinite. Massive boilers were more reliable, especially under a siege situation. The second issue was the potential for damage during sieges. If the lines were cut, stations destroyed, or any other calamity, they needed a backup.

Theres no sense in building it halfway, Theo said, placing his hand on Throks shoulder. We do it right, or we dont do it at all.

Gonna be expensive, Throk grumbled.

Good thing I own the mine that makes the metal, Theo said, smiling.

But Theo saw that flash of realization in Throks eyes. The original idea was good, but this one was more robust. It would house the ugly equipment under a sturdy roof, shielding it from both the elements and the eyes of the citizens. The alchemist was thinking more about appearances lately, and he couldnt stand the idea of those boilers sitting in a field.

The Marshling held his hand out, still grumbling. 5 gold. Down Payment for the work and materials. I need to hire folks to get this done.

Theo happily forked over the money, slapping his hand hard against Throks shoulder. See? I have some good ideas.

Throk grunted his approval.