The Newt and Demon

Chapter 3.5: Drogramagic

Should you be practicing that Drogramagic? Tresk asked.

Theo and Tresk sat in Xams tavern, which remained mostly empty during the morning. It was the 51st day of the Season of Blooms, 8 days before the end of the season and the closing of the Festival of the Dying of the Blooms. The alchemist had many things to do before the season ended, but those were mostly self-imposed goals that could fall by the wayside. Alchemy was on the top of his list, but he couldnt see himself hitting level before the season ended.

Its fine, Theo said, waving her away. As long as I dont do it in the real world. Not until I get that skill.

You should talk to Xolsa, Tresk said.

Xolsa was the towns wizard. He was a member of a strange Elven race called the Barathier, although no one knew much about the race. Zarali knew the most about the race, although she hadnt told Theo about it. He held an [Dimensional Wizard] core, which was just as mysterious. The alchemist had reflected on how dangerous that might have been, but danger and Broken Tusk went together like cheese and Zee. As he ate, he split his attention between entertaining Tresk and planning his day.

The Tarahek should be our number one concern, Theo said. Imagine what we get at level 20.

Just as he said that, his [Governance Core] leveled to 7. Benefits for cores only came on multiples of 10, although new skills unlocked along the way. He wouldnt see much growth of his personal level until that core caught up to his others, stagnating his growth for a while longer. Leveling the Tarahek was simple, and Theo had riddled the mechanics out fairly early. Any action the pair performed together gave them experience. If they encountered a difficult situation and made it through with the power of friendship, they got more experience.

Ill agree to that, Tresk said, patting her belly after downing her food in one go. Im crawling toward 20..

Tresk had a few cores to her name, an [Assassins Core], aligned with the shadowy god Zaul, a [Trackers Core], which needed upgrading, and a [Shadowdancers Core], whose alignment Theo didnt know. While her [Shadowdancers Core] was a recent addition, it had been leveling at an absurd rate. She practically spammed her [Shadowdance] skill at every opportunity. With only a 5 minute cooldown and zero mana cost, there was no reason not to zip through the shadows, using it as a travel power.

A quirk of the Tarahek was that Theo could inspect her cores without her permission. He checked out how much progress shed made.

[Assassins Core]

Legendary

Assassin Core

Bound

3 Slots

Level 10 (15%)

A specialized [Rogue Core] which focuses on assassination techniques. Can slot either [Rogue] or [Assassin] skills. Equipping this core unlocks the [Assassin] class. Equipping this core over an existing [Rogue] core will consume the [Rogue] core, setting this core to its current level.

Effect:

Increases the effect of all [Rogue] and [Assassin] skills.

+2 Dexterity.

In order to take the [Assassins Core], Tresk had to combine it with her [Rogues Core], saving her arduous grinding back to 10. Not all cores worked this way, some resetting to level 1 when combined or upgraded. But she could hit the dungeons daily. Compared to the average adventurer, who might see a few dungeons a year, she was shooting up in the levels at an alarming rate. Theo was in the same situation with his cores, but for a different reason. He inspected her [Shadowdancers Core] next.

[Shadowdancers Core]

Legendary

Rogue and Illusion Mage Core

Bound

2 Slots

Level 8 (15%)

A hybrid core combining a Rogues Core and a Illusion Mages core. This core focuses on support abilities not provided to rogues by default, and is considered a utility core.

Effect:

Decreases the cooldown of all Rogue(and all variants e.g. Assassin, Swashbuckler, etc) and Illusion Mage skills twice as fast, as long as you remain hidden.

+1 Dexterity.

The [Shadowdancers Core] should have been a higher rarity than legendary. Tresk got the information from a wizard, Uharis, to combine a [Rogues Core] with an [Illusion Mage] core to create the class. It paired perfectly with her [Assassins Core], providing amazing utility. Her attribute sheet told a story of someone heavily invested in the Rogue-type classes.

Tresk

Bantari Marshling

Level 13

Assassin

Core Slots: 3

Stats:

Health: 65

Mana: 10

Stamina: 75

Strength: 19 (+10)

Dexterity: 26 (+6)

Vigor: 10 (+5)

Intelligence: 2

Wisdom: 8 (+5)

Points: 0

Tresk was on track for her goals. Once she was alright with Theo staying in town alone, shed hit the dungeons again. He knew better than to prod her toward that fact, allowing her to realize that he was safe on her own. When they finished their meal, the Marshling departed on patrol duty. Every adventurer did their time on the wall, protecting the town, and today was her day. The alchemist had his mayoral duties with the festival. Hed already contributed his part for the food portion of the festival, everyone ate for free during the Dying of the Blooms, but he still had to judge their wreaths.

Most citizens of Broken Tusk had homes just north of Xams tavern, nestled at the foot of the farmers hill. That area seemed more like a small town than anything else with over 50 homes tightly packed and connected with a weave of cobbled roads. Theo made a note of each house that had dead wreaths, trusting his high [Wisdom] to allow him to remember who was disqualified. He greeted everyone as he went, even spotting Azrug leaving his house to head for the Newt and Demon.

While Theo wanted to check in on the adventurers enclave, a place north of the farmers fields where most adventurers built their houses, he had business at the adventurers guild. The guild was located near the western wall, across the road from Sledges sawmill. He watched as laborers hauled an impossibly large tree through the gate, dragging it along the ground as though it weighed nothing. The sawmill, named the Swamp Snapper Mill, had a bonus. [Ogre Strength] made it so that a tree felled within a distance from the mill would weigh almost nothing. With the massive Ogre Cypress trees, this bonus was necessary.

[Ogre Strength]

All trees felled within a radius (scaling with the level of the sawmill) will weigh a fraction of their actual rate for all operators of the sawmill.

An upgrade on the town, provided by Uharis the archmage, allowed anyone with permission to insert and withdraw raw resources from anywhere within town. Once the sawmill turned the raw wood into lumber, they simply touched it to store it away. The storage was limitless, something Theo realized he needed desperately. The alchemist avoided the angry Marshlings attention and ducked into the guild without issue. He didnt want to get distracted today. He found his way to the guildmasters office.

Aarok Thane was a massive Half-Ogre, even by Half-Ogre standards. His black hair was pulled into a topknot today, and his skin was a pale red color. He had a powerful face that was fixed in a permanent look of concentration. Theo could sense Luras lurking around somewhere nearby, the power of Baelthar rolling off him in turgid waves. He wondered if others could sense Drogramaths power flowing off him before Aarok grabbed his attention.

Youve been avoiding me, Aarok said.

Im busy, Theo said, grinning.

Aaroks office was small, but welcoming. It had a view looking east into the center of the small town. Early morning light flooded in, illuminating the wide table and rickety chairs. Theo took a seat and let out a breath.

Were all busy, Aarok said. I have a report to give not suitable for your assistant.

Alise is more than competent, Theo said.

Aarok narrowed his eyes.

Im listening, Theo said, holding his hands up defensively.

Looks like the wizards gamble worked, Aarok said. The [Swamp Dungeon] has slowed down its growth significantly, and were not expecting any waves.

Thats exactly as planned, Theo said.

I have concerns, Aarok said with a shrug. Nothing major, depending on how you look at it.

What does that mean? Theo said, suddenly feeling less bored with the report.

Theres a good chance the other dungeons in the kingdom are growing at a significantly higher rate, Aarok said. He stood near the window, casting his eyes over the town below. If the energy we have here is bleeding into the entire network of dungeons Well, I dont know if thats good.

Theo stood, joining him at the window. What do you think this town is going to be, Aarok? Theres something at work that we cant understand. A force that no one can comprehend. From what I can tell, Drogramath found a loophole. Hes not supposed to interact with the world directly, so hes sending his power instead. This place isnt corrupted, is it?

No, but that doesnt mean we should let our guard down, Aarok said.

We should do the opposite of that, Theo said.

Aarok stewed on that for a while. He and Theo often agreed on matters of defense. They saw the defense of Broken Tusk as the most important thing in their lives, often investing significant sums of money into that task. The result was a town that could repel a level 30 monster wave with ease, and they would only grow stronger. Behind those powerful walls, life was good. It was worth protecting.

I just got worked up about it, Aarok said, letting out a breath. I have no loyalty to the crown, although I also dont wish for its downfall.

So if the northerners get a spike of monsters, thats not our problem, Theo said. Worst case scenario, we get really tight with Rivers, maybe those lizard-folk down south. Hell, the Khahari might join in if its worth it.

I doubt the Khahari are interested in us at all, Aarok said, but I get what youre saying. We could even mint our own currency if we want.

I think the dungeons do that for us, Theo said, laughing. Unless youre interested in seeing my ugly face on a coin.

Thatd be fun, Aarok said, grinning.

Come find me at the lab if you really need to talk, Theo said. Im just not concerned with anything that happens outside of these walls.

Good. As long as were clear.

Theo and Aarok talked for a while about other things. The Adventurers Guild had put up minimal effort on their wreath, and it had already died. The culture around the festival was celebration, not competition, so no one really cared. It was more about coming together and preparing for the long haul of heatwaves to come. Aarok recalled the festival when he was a child, almost 30 years ago. Before the alchemist arrived, food was scarce. Hunters played the most important role back then, followed by the farmers. They owed the bounty they enjoyed today to Drogramaths energy, flooding the land and forcing things to grow at an absurd rate. The Demon Lord was known as the Potioneer, but he also influenced herblore and agriculture.

That was always part of Theos thoughts when he weighed the value of the Demonic God. Even the pantheon those gods found themselves in was a misnomer. They were Demons because their descendants had horns, oddly colored skin, and their association with a few nefarious beings.The Prime Pantheon was no better than the Demonic one in Theos eyes. The Gods asserted minimal influence on the world, often acting from their respective realms. This influenced the alchemists approach to most things, acting exactly like those Gods, only striking out from his bubble of influence when it suited him. The walls of Broken Tusk were safe, like those godly realms.

Theo departed the guildhall feeling no different about his conviction. There was work to be done at the Newt and Demon. He withdrew the 1,000 units of [Refined Healing Essence] from the pressure vessel and went upstairs, giving his greetings to Azrug as he went. The shopkeeper was excited to see more potions flood into the shop. Hed been running a scheme where he bought all the adventurers gear they got from the dungeons and resold it. The plan was to have an appraiser, a Loremaster, come to town to get the most out of the items, but that fell through. He couldnt locate anyone who would make the journey, even if the money was good. Azrug would sit on those items rather than sell them off, more interested in waiting for a [Loremasters Core] than parting with them at a worse price.

Working with essences was easy, if one was in a lab blessed by Drogramath. The building had effects that both made reactions easier to predict, and materials safe to handle. In the hands of someone without a Drogramath alignment, or without his cores, the essences were explosive at the best of times. Theo dragged an alchemically treated barrel over, intent on performing advanced reactions 200 units at a time. His first go at the process was to mix 1 unit of essence with 1 unit of water right in the final vial. He learned quickly this was inefficient. Until recently, the only thing holding him back was the volatility of the reaction in performing large scale advanced reactions. Now, with all those bonuses, he could do so easily.

Theo spent time enchanting more catalysts with Drogramaths power, resisting the urge to try it the manual way. The system allowed him to simply place his hand over the small flecks of metal and his mana would pour out on its own. The pile of [Iron Shavings] on the table glowed purple for a moment, subsiding into a shimmer that pulsed with the breath of magic in the air. He inspected the aligned catalyst before introducing 200 of the flakes into the barrel.

[Iron Shavings]

[Alchemy Component]

Common

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Alignment Effects:

Increased stability during reactions.

Increase quality of reaction by 1 level, up to excellent quality.

Shavings from raw iron.

The alignment effects were absurd, and Theo owed it all to that small shrine near the window. This was his standard, second tier reaction for healing potions. It could be produced in mass quantities, something the Qavelli alchemists could only dream of, and created some of the most powerful potions on the continent. Theo wasnt foolish enough to consider himself the best in the world, yet. There were places he had never heard of, with people of considerable power that might pale even his creations. He introduced the water and essences, gaining a bubbling, spitting barrel of potion that sent a cloud of red fog into the air.

Theo propped the window, stooping low to peer up through the vents above the stills. Hed been thinking about it more lately, and couldnt shake the feeling that they werent functioning correctly. The alchemist approached his [Glassware Artifice], and fed it motes in order to create enough flat-bottomed vials to contain his 1,000 potions. As he did, he invoked a skill that allowed him to communicate to the entire town, belonging to his [Governance Core]. A system message appeared for every inhabitant of the town, popping up in a small window in the center of their vision.

[Theo]: Sledge, can you stop by the lab when you have a chance? Its a paying job.

It was easy to motivate Sledge. She worked the sawmill for him, meaning that if he drew her off to do something else and paid her, shed show up in a flash. Theo bottled a single healing potion to inspect the quality, expecting nothing less than excellent.

[Healing Potion]

[Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

A healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

Instantly restores 125 health points.

Despite easily overshadowing the potions created in the capital, this wasnt the best potion Theo had ever created. He messed up the cooking phase of the potion, burning some of the mash on the bottom. The Newt and Demon had created perfect quality [Healing Potions] in the past, something that was priceless within the small kingdom. There were many factors that went into a potions quality. The skill of the alchemist was foremost, but then came the quality of the distillation process, if he used cultivated ingredients, the quality of the catalyst, and the quality of the water. It would have been too much for him to keep track of, if not for his [Wisdom] attribute.

Moments after completing the potion, a knock came at the labs door. Sledge didnt bother waiting for a response, she barged in, looking around with hungry eyes. Sledge Grob was a strange woman. Marshling by birth, but raised by a Half-Ogre family, she was constantly spiky. Her skin was a muddy brown color and she had pale gray eyes. She was the same height as Tresk, and twice as fiery.

Paying job? Sledge asked.

Ive just been dealing with it, Theo said, pointing at the vents above the stills. But I really dont think the vents are working.

How much?

Give ya a gold if you can fix it, Theo said, grinning.

A gold coin was far more than the job was worth, but Theo didnt care. Sledge held a special place in his heart, mostly because of how obstinate she was. The people who didnt want help affected him more than those that did. He saw them as a special case that needed a different approach, but her station also influenced his willingness to part with his money. Ogre Cypress should have been a rare tree, but they grew like weeds in Broken Tusk. That would be a massive export for them, and an invaluable resource when they got to the stage of building sailing boats. The tree also provided a reagent he couldnt live without. [Ogre Cypress Bark] was a chalky, sticky material that sat between the outer and inner bark layer of the tree, and provided two absurdly valuable properties. [Cure Ailment] had saved Tresk in the past, and [Cleanse] was used in several detergent-style reactions.

Theo watched with amusement as the woman jumped atop a still and wriggled her way into the vent. He heard her cursing, her voice echoing from within. Something fell to the ground, covered in soot and burned. A wash of cool air rushed through the lab, siphoning through the open window and through the vent. Moments later, Sledge dropped down, covered in filth and smiling with her hand out.

There was some junk blocking the vent, she said.

Theo produced a bottle of [Cleansing Scrub] from his inventory and dumped it over the womans head. A wave of light rippled over her, scouring away the dirt and leaving her pristine. She shivered under its effects. The alchemist produced the gold coin, as promised, and handed it over.

Nice doing business with you, Sledge said, turning to leave.

Just a moment, Theo said.

She stopped, turning to lock eyes with him. More work?

No, I wanted to know how the sawmill is going, Theo said.

Check the dang town storage, Sledge said, barking a laugh. Yeah, were doing an absurd amount of boards a day. If I poke those lazy bastards, theyll turn over five thousand boards a day. Per day. You realize how much wood that is?

I realize its a lot, Theo said, nodding. At a copper a board, youre generating half a gold per day.

Five silver of which slips into my pocket, Sledge said, rubbing her hands together.

Theos agreement with his workers was standard at 10 percent of market value. His idea was to incentivize them into working harder to make more money. Of course, he didnt pocket the earnings. That went directly into the town, more often than not.

Do you see production increasing in the future? Theo asked.

Get us some more upgrades, and yeah, Sledge said. The boys are leveling their cores, so thats going to help it along.

Thank you, Sledge, Theo said, turning back to his work.

Oh, stop being so formal, she said, slapping him on the back.

The Marshling departed, saying nothing more. Theo finished his potions up, then took them down to stock the shop. Azrug was excited to have his hands on so many potions, but the alchemist reminded him not to sell them in bulk. He had an agreement with an Elven trader regarding that, and didnt want to break his contract. Until that man arrived back in time, hed keep experimenting with new ingredients. The next item on his list was the [Pozwa Horns]. Theo made his way upstairs, intent on refining the horns down into essence.