Chapter 3.21: Drogramathi Iron

Chapter 3.21: Drogramathi Iron

Tresks efforts to help with gardening and alchemy should have been dangerous. Theos instincts, and the many warnings on skills related to essences, held that to be true. But she worked with the garden with no troubles, even performing several reactions of her own to create potions. It was proof enough for him that their skills bled through to each other, or she was incredibly lucky.

Theo had a big decision to make, though. His plans for the day included checking in on the miners and the loggers, but with his new greenhouses, those could wait. The alchemist needed to select which reagents he would place in which building. A split between each building would also work, but he needed to have highly cultivated plants if he wanted to perform high-quality potions.

[Mages Bane] was an obvious choice. Theo already had a few of the plants sitting in the corner of his [Spiny Swamp Thistle] patch, ready for propagation at 100% cultivation. That would take some time to fill the many rows out, but the effort would be worth the trouble. It would be lovely to have a cultivated Ogre Cypress tree, but that would be impossible to fit inside the glass building. A task for another day. Tresk urged him to dedicate an entire plot to the [Widow Lily], a plant that produced the [Poison] property. Before committing to the idea, he took stock of what he had with stat-enhancement reagents.

The [Water Lily] was particular about where it grew, but his intuition said it would be fine in the greenhouse. [Flame Roses] would be an issue. The plant, in its complete form, put off sparks occasionally. He would pair that one with [Stone Flowers] to avoid a disaster. The stone-like flowers that grew on the [Stone Flower] plant, hence the name, seemed to be made of actual stone. Theyd resist stray embers just fine. With 5 attributes, and 5 corresponding flowers, he could split the odd reagent with the [Widow Lily] plants.

Theo had only recently recovered the two missing plants he was looking for. The [Lightning Poppy] had the [Increase Intelligence] property and the [Wind Tulip] held t h e [Increase Dexterity] property. They would pair well with each other, then the [Water Lily] could share space with the [Widow Lily]. Tresk was upset that the reagent with the [Poison] property didnt get its own greenhouse, but when the alchemist told her it would produce around 500 units of poison she was satisfied. It was far more than she needed. This was all relatively long-term, though. The plants would take time to cultivate.

Seems like a lot of space for not a lot of plants, Tresk said. She sneered at the small crowd that had formed outside of the greenhouses.

The split buildings only had 2 plants each, as they needed time to cultivate. Theo tossed a bottle of [Aerosolized] [Lesser Potion of Growth] and watched a [Widow LIly] grow to twice its normal size. [Spiny Swamp Thistle] took up the eternity of the first greenhouse, then [Flame Roses] shared space with [Stone Flowers] in the next. [Water Lilies] and [Widow lilies] had the third greenhouse, with [Lightning Poppies] and [Wind Tulips] housed in the next. That left a building free to grow his [Mages Bane], although he could rotate the plant out for another split design in the future.

Part of the process, Theo said, dragging her arm to press his forehead against hers. They gained far more experience for their [Tarahek Core] than normal, 20% for the day so far. Well have to do this occasionally. To keep up with my other cores.

Youre just weak of mind, Tresk said, waving him off with a smile. Gotta have a strong brain like me.

Zaul just wasnt interested in Tresk. Thats how Theo thought of it, anyway. He knew that the truth would elude him for some time, but it wasnt something to worry about today.

Before entering the new cluster of gardens, the pair kicked off a still with the [Living River Water]. With the daunting task of cultivating each plant to the first stage, they had more time than expected.

You just do boring stuff all day, Tresk said, letting out a heavy sigh. I cant handle it.L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

A day of rest isnt all bad, Theo said. We have more time to talk. I can figure out what kind of potions work for you.

Tresk jabbed a finger at the greenhouse that held the growing [Wind Tulip]. She wanted to get her hands on that potion more than anything. Theo nodded in response. They didnt need words to share the feeling of desire for that potion.

Azrug was missing from the shop, likely dealing with his new station, so the pair went upstairs and brewed some [Tunneling Potions]. Theo was still reluctant to apply any modifiers to the potion, as it already did the job just fine. They departed with the potions in their shared inventory, marching over to the mine. Tresk was excited that there might have been monsters inside, those strange dogs with tentacles, but the alchemist doubted it. Goblins had been spawning there after they cleared it for the first time.

Theo spotted Nira working with a few smeltery apprentices. Unlike some in the town, she took his suggestions to heart and worked hard to get them done as soon as she could. It was a mix of 5 people, Half-Ogres, Humans, Marshlings, and a lizard-person. The alchemist still knew little about the lizard-people, and regretted not learning about their homeland to the south. Again, he faced too much to do in too little time. Things fell by the wayside, and that was fine with him.

Theo! Gridgen shouted from the mine.

Theo heard his thunderous voice even before he heard picks striking rock. He gave a heart wave, snatching Tresks hand and forcing her to do the same. She grumbled.

Should we be worried? Gridgen asked, gesturing to Tresk. Not often you get a visit from the number one adventurer in Broken Tusk.

Damn right, Tresk said.

Theo forgot about the adventurer rankings, but didnt doubt that she was the best. All she did was delve dungeons and kill monsters, even in her dreams.

Its a Tarahek thing, Theo said, placing his hand on the Humans shoulder and smiling. How is the mine?

Good enough, Gridgen said. We havent found anything fancy down there, but we need to go deeper.

Well, guess what? Were here to dig more tunnels, Theo said, laughing. I have a feeling well hit Barrowsteel before we hit silver.

Barrow-what? Gridgen asked. Never heard of it. Are you talking about that stuff theyre pulling off from the big artifice out by the river? Aint called Barrowsteelnot that Im aware of.

Theo waved the question away. Whatever Fenian wanted to call it was no matter to him. It was the next non-precious metal in the tier list. Whatever the next metal is called, well hit that.

Easy enough to find out, Gridgen said. He turned to shout into the mine. Lunch time, boys! And girls. Sorry. He lowered his voice and turned to Theo. We got some new miners, not all of them guys. Kinda shocking when a little Brogling gal comes in and swings a pick harder than a Half-Ogre.

Theo waited as the miners filed out of the mine. Their numbers had increased recently, 20 by his count. He stopped the Brogling in question before letting her leave for lunch, a meal that few Broken Tuskers took. She was a migrant from Rivers and Daub, which shocked him. It was rare for anyone in the southlands to migrate further south, let alone to his town. She claimed a few of the newer citizens were from further north, before the treacherous passage through the mountains that separated the southlands with Qavell proper. It required prodding to get her to stop calling it Murder Passage, revealing the real name of the place as Gronro-Dir. A Dwarven name, no doubt.

People in Gronro are hard, Gridgen said, leading the pair into the mine. Ive only seen the town once, but it was amazing. Their walls scrape against the mountain. Meaning you cant go north unless you go through Gronro-Dir.

Faction: [Broken Tusk]

Level: 10 (50%)

Rent Due: 3 days

Expansions:

[Preservation of Heat]

[Pattern Alloy]

Theo could afford to get the Midnight Damsel Smeltery to level 15 without worrying about his stock. Why she had named it such was beyond him, but it was hers to name. He shoved cores inside, directing the expansion in whichever direction, until the expansion prompt came up. He discussed the options with Nira, but there was a clear winner.

[Double Smelter]

Your smeltery now has 2 massive smelters. Increases floor space accordingly.

Nira cleared her people out before Theo selected the option. The building stuttered for a moment, rocking ominously before gaining half its width in additional space. Another crucible appeared out of thin air, gaining a series of surprised yelps from the new workers.

That good for now? Theo asked.

Need a bit of a budget for these, Nira said, nodding her head to her new employees. Fenian is still around. I cant afford their cores.

Theo flicked her a single gold coin, bringing his total down to 47 gold, 61 silver. He didnt have an option, though. Their contract stated that he handled the improvement of the building and the cores that the workers used. Since they only got 10% of profits, that made sense.

Always a pleasure, Nira said, gesturing for the pair of them to go away.

I like her, Tresk said when they were well up the road.

Me too, Theo said.

Theo rarely ran around and checked in on his investments, but sometimes it was necessary. He was waiting on his garden to produce cultivated reagents, so there was nothing else for him to do. Their next stop brought them to Sledges sawmill. She had hired more people as well, which was a sign they were making enough profit to be comfortable. The spiky Marshling didnt want a single thing from her employer, claiming they were doing just fine without him. He shrugged the insult off and found the Human man with the [Foresters Core].

Within the sawmill team, he took care of the health of the swamps towering Ogre Cypress trees. The alchemist dedicated the rest of his afternoon to learning about the trees and how the man cared for them. Thanks to Drogramaths power, everything in the area grew at an increased rate. The cypress trees dropped seeds daily, and a sapling would grow to a full-sized tree within a week. This was great for the lumber industry, but created problems. If the [Forester] didnt cull excess trees, it would quickly become a tangled mass of impassible trunks.

The [Forester] was covered in mud, constantly scratching his head as Theo explained the process of cultivation. He was a short, stocky man, even by Human standards, that required multiple explanations to understand a point. Once the alchemist showed him how to inspect the trees for cultivation percentages, he understood. They selected a small group of fresh saplings to apply the [Aerosolized] [Lesser Potion of Growth] to. Once they were exposed to the potion, theyd increase their cultivation naturally.

Only select the seeds from the cultivated trees, Theo said, waving his hand to get the [Foresters] attention. Understood?

Yeah, he said.

Theo left with no confidence in the [Foresters] ability, but he was content with putting in the effort. A cultivated Ogre Cypress would grow even larger than the current version, providing more wood. Once every non-cultivated tree was culled, it would be a forest of even larger trees that needed no maintenance. Theo considered the implications of removing a naturally occurring tree and went back to express the need to have natural trees in the mix. The [Forester] seemed to understand that much.

The day was busy, but things were winding down. For their efforts, the [Tarahek Core] hit level 17. Theo felt a wave of relief when it did, and reminded Tresk that they needed to do this more often. The best she could offer was half-days, as she was itching for combat. Theo didnt receive her invitation to join her in the dungeons well. He pushed aside his reservations and agreed to join her at least once. The problem was, she wasnt great at identifying reagents. Even if they were sharing some of their skills.

When they made their way back to town, Theo tried to invoke some of Tresks skills. He crouched in the shadows outside of Xams tavern, gaining only a hearty laugh from the Marshling. The way skills shared through the Tarahek was something hed need to test in the future. Zarali didnt join them for dinner that night, waiting until theyd completed their meal of Pozwa egg scramble slathered in too much Karatan cheese, to invite them to Theos private bath.

They were soaking in the deep pool before the Drogramath Priestess revealed her true intentions.

I could smell the nugget, she said, holding the [Drogramathi Iron Nugget] in her hands. Lord Drogramath whispered that youd found something impressive.

Can we sell it? Tresk asked, dipping below the surface of the water before waiting for a reply.

We can, Zarali said, dunking the nugget under the surface of the water. It gives a nice stamp of our identity on the second tier metal. Anyone using Drogramathi Iron will know where it came from.

Theo had given up on chasing down all the ways that Drogramath affected the swamp. The more they dug, harvested, or chopped trees, the more he realized how deeply that power imbued the land. He let those thoughts wash away, aided by the soothingly warm water he soaked it. It was hard to be concerned about anything while neck deep in the enriched mineral water. Those worries melted away, something for another day.