Chapter 3.51: What's In The Box

Chapter 3.51: What's In The Box

There were a few wounds too grave for even Theos potions to save. No one died from the siege, but several adventurers were left with missing appendages. But even those who now hobbled through the streets of Broken Tusk were excited for the victory. An oversized crowd formed at Xams tavern as she cracked open casks of the nice mead. The alchemist got his mug and joined the celebrations, even as his stamina flagged. Work needed to be done today, even if no one had the energy to do so in the dying light of the late afternoon.

The golems mirrored Theos desire to collect reagents from the fallen monsters, and he allowed them to pick over the creatures. While the Goblins would produce nothing but the near-worthless [Goblin Tongues], the new bird-people might have something of use. Even the [Lesser Copper Golems] seemed eager to get out there, so he allowed it. When he slipped his new ring over his finger, he stared at the description for some time.

[Ring of Terogal]

[Ring]

Epic

Scaling

An enchanted gold ring, inlaid with the image of a Dronon and Bantari.

Effect:

Reduces the cooldown of all Tarahek members by 2%.

At first blush, it wasnt a very useful item. 2% wasnt much, but it was a global cooldown. And it scaled. The inscription was also pleasant to look at, and Alex took to pecking at the golden band. Since the ring scaled, it would grow more powerful with the alchemist. One day, it would be useful.

Theo didnt know the golems could get excited, but he felt that sensation filtering through the lodestone network. The [Lesser Plant Golem] was the one to send the message, insisting that the alchemist meet it outside the tavern. When he went, the crowd parted for the golem who was holding 2 items in its arm-like appendages. The first item was a feather, simple in its design and roughly the size of his palm. The second item was a long, jagged talon. Inspecting them both, the alchemist had mixed feelings.

[Zureah Talon]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Rare

The menacing claw of a Zureah.

Properties:

[Slash] [????] [????]

At least it revealed that the creatures were called Zureah. Like with most hard reagents, he couldnt eat this one right away to discover the second property. He also wasnt eager to eat the feather.

[Zureah Feather]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Epic

The feather of a Zureah, said to hold the creatures affinity for flight.

Properties:

[Levitate] [????] [????]

How the feather was more rare than the talon was beyond him, but the [Levitate] property seemed useful. It would require experimentation, but this seemed like a great reagent. Theo sent a mental order to the golem network, instructing them to focus on collecting as many feathers as possible. If they didnt get as many talons, he wouldnt mind. Just the idea of floating through the air appealed to him.

I wouldnt have to walk, Theo said with a nod.

Theo, Aarok said, whistling to get the alchemists attention. Tresk appeared near the alchemist, as though shed been stalking him. She was still on edge from the siege. We need a word.

Theo brought his mug of mead, his eyes lingering on those few adventurers without limbs. Alchemy could solve this problem, he knew it. As he followed Aarok toward the town hall, he rolled his options through his mind. The [Alchemic Regenerative Salve] could regrow fingers and toes, so it stood to reason there was something more powerful for limbs. During his time in town, hed noticed several people with scars, or missing eyes in Sulvans case. Without a proper healer, the alchemist would need to find a solution.

Aarok said something, but Theo was in his thoughts. His previous attempts at the [Alchemic Regenerative Salve] were done with low-grade materials. He was certain that refining his process would produce a better salve, perhaps even one powerful enough for the job. Those suffering from unexpected amputations were healthy, thanks to the power of the potions, so they werent dying from infections or related ailments. But it was a shame to see the defenders of the proud town brought low, and the alchemist would do anything to see them whole again.

Theo, Aarok said, tapping him on the shoulder.

Tresk remained silent for most of the bath, only commenting on the strange inventions Earthlings came up with. Khahar finally revealed how desperate things were when this planet was seeded.

The strangest thing, though, Khahar said, running his clawed fingers through Alexs feathers. She chirped happily. There were no Humans. Maybe whoever brought us here thought we needed different bodies to adapt, but our modern Humans in this world come from Elves. Someone from Earth got placed in an Elf body, so they worked on making a race that looked like they used to look. Funny how we hang on to stuff like that.

Theo nodded. He realized how much hed miss having an old friend when he was gone. It brought him more than comfort and companionship. Khahar brought a sense of confidence that he hadnt had since arriving. Others might look at his work back on Earth and think hed be a man of conviction, but that couldnt have been farther from the truth. Their unique form of spy craft was different. Enemy spies were often close friends, and everyone was just following orders. Kill orders on others often ended in failed attempts, and the governments eventually gave up on the idea. It reminded the alchemist of how Khahar wanted to spit in the faces of the gods now.

Whats in the box? Theo asked.

Cant tell you whats in the box, Khahar said. Whats the point of telling you whats in the box?

Cause I wanna know.

You cant know.

Because if you say whats in there, the gods will know? Theo asked.

No, because its a surprise, Khahar said, laughing. God, I forgot. You cant handle surprises, can you?

Hes horrible at surprises, Tresk said, giggling.

The conversation lasted until they were kicked out of the bathhouse. People were still celebrating in the streets, and Theos golems were still hard at work outside the walls of Broken Tusk. Theyd work through the night if the night watch let them. Even then, they might keep on going even after being told to stop.

Time to enter Terogal, Khahar said, smiling.

You meant to say good night, Theo said, clapping Khahar on the shoulder.

Naturally.

Feeling better than he had in a while, Theo made his way back to the Newt and Demon. Reports still rolled in, but they were tepid. Monsters were spawning from the other dungeons, but not in amounts that were concerning. No one had sighted the strangers out near the trees. But it was time to go to bed, off into the Dreamwalk where the alchemist could grind more levels.

Alex was happy to sleep wherever, finding a cluster of blankets in the rooms center to curl into. Within moments, the room swirled around Theo. The ethereal world of the Dreamwalk sprung up around him, replacing reality with the personalized realm. The gosling took on her true form here, waddling around with her webbed feet to peck at the ground near the river. While she was busy with her goose stuff, the two members of the party went over their plan. It was always good to wait until they had privacy.

But there were few changes they needed to make to ensure Alexs safety. Theyd hand her off to Miana, surround her with golems and whatever adventurers needed a contract before leaving the town. It would have been more risky to take her with them than leaving her here. Broken Tusk had massive guns on the walls, after all.

When it came time to split off, Alex wanted to stay with Theo. The alchemists plans for the nights Dreamwalk was to grind out alchemy and herbalism experience. When he got his imagined stills set up, the realm refused to let him distill his new reagents. Once again, it was particular about what they could do.

Doesnt matter, Theo said, working his stills. At least I have company thats not trying to kill me.

Alex chirped her response.

The [Drogramath Alchemy Core] rolled over to level 18 during the night, with the [Drogramath Herbalism Core] almost hitting 17. Theo didnt get a system message while in the Dreamwalk, but could feel it in his chest. Both his [Governance Core] and [Tarahek Core] gained a massive dump of experience from the siege, enough to push his administration-based core over the edge into 16, but not enough for the Tarahek to advance.

During his brewing, golem construction, and tending of gardens, Theo reflected on how his alchemy was going. There seemed to be a limit to what he could do at his current tier, but something scratched at the back of his mind. The hints were all before him, as they always were. Working with his current selection of reagents was limiting. Once he unlocked the [Reagent Deconstruction] skill at level 20, hed understand the nature of his ingredients more. Until then, he could use the skill from his herbalism core to make inferences.

[Rare Material Handling] was a skill that surprised him when he got it. The only reagents hed seen didnt need much special handling. Once distilled into their essence form was when he worried about handing it off to a normal person, but the reagents? Those were all fine to handle. No matter how he tried to project his mind, to twist it around a possible future, Theo couldnt see what rare materials would mean for alchemy. His intuition said it would be different, but he couldnt determine in what way.

Alex was an excellent helper. She didnt physically do anything, but her calming presence added more to the Dreamwalk than anything else. Theo couldnt feel the regular flash of hate that Tresk exuded during their training. It was more a focused calm, like a properly trained fighter. It was a sudden shift that left the alchemist thinking about the lodestones Zarali had made. Perhaps the little gosling acted much like those, spreading the mental weight of conflicting realms out over the Tarahek. He shared the information with Tresk, through their communication ability, and she came to visit them by the river.

Maybe, Tresk said with a shrug. Im feeling less pissed off with the goose around.

Alex chirped and nodded.

Im certain no one has done this before, Tresk said.

The number of people who held a Tarahek in this world was likely low, if not zero outside of their bond. Khahar might know, but then again he might not tell the truth. It seemed the longer the man spent outside of his desert kingdom, the worse off he was. Why he didnt just pop back to the desert in an instant to rest was beyond the alchemist. Yuri now functioned on a level that was impossible to understand. He was beyond normal logic.

Theo and Tresk sat by the river for some time, sensing the end of the Dreamwalk drawing near. The Marshling summoned a sunrise for them to watch, complete with the massive, fake Marshling god Marshy. Tresk was a horrible dancer, and so was the massive salamander. For the first time since hed met her, Tresk just sat there. She didnt fidget, or play with the knives at her hips. She allowed the true power of the Tarahek to consume her, giving in to that calming sensation completely.

By the time morning came, Theo couldnt decide if it was a change he enjoyed.