3.58 - Free Crystals

3.58 - Free Crystals

An attempted murder wasnt the best start to the Season of Fire. Theo sat discussing the issue with Aarok, staring out the mans office window and idly responding. He was lost in his thoughts, pondering the situation. There had been attempts on his life before, but never on other members of Broken Tusk. That fact hit hard, but it came with good news. The contracts worked, and they extended out to protect his citizens. There was nothing to be done about outside forces, though.

My biggest concern for security is the inquisition of the Burning Eye, Theo said, breaking away from his thoughts and dismissing whatever topic was at hand. He explained what Khahar had said. That they were on the moon.

Didnt know you could live on the moon, Aarok said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Also didnt know the old Khahari could send them there.

Theo suspected there were many things they didnt know about Yuri. But he wouldnt voice them to his friend.

Youre becoming less of a guildmaster, Theo said. More of a general.

Id rather not think about it, Aarok said. He failed to hide the smile on his face. Not gonna lie. I love it.

Your boyhood dreams of military service are coming true, Theo said. Any contact with that Dwarf from Gronro? I had a feeling he wanted to cut his peoples teeth in our dungeons.

On the dungeons, Aarok started, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, were eagerly awaiting Xolsas new core. Once he can control the dungeons better, well start a training program for anyone in the alliance.

What the Southland Defensive Alliance accomplished, in the eyes of the kingdom, was treason. They made a bet on Qavell collapsing, or being whittled down to a point where theyd need outside help. With each day that went by, the adventurers looked more like soldiers. Theo feared the day that people showed up to their gates, but it might only be a matter of time. He dismissed the thought before it derailed the conversation.

I hope you have a plan for their training, Theo said. And ours, of course.

Theres a flexible plan in place. Fenian made big promises about the [Dungeon Engineer] core. One promise was instanced dungeons, where more than one party can run it at a time. Currently, everyone just flops into the same dungeon. Even if he makes only two instances, we can double our training time, Aarok said.

It was hard not to think about the Dreamwalk. That would be an absurd skill to share.

I want you to work on preparing for the undead, Theo said. Once the refugees are settled, focus on that.

Are you giving orders?

No, just expressing my intuition, Theo said. Which is rarely wrong. All we can do is imagine the scenarios, and train for our expectations. Youre on the walls of Gronro-Dir. Skeletons and whatever flooding down the path. What do you do?

What would I do? Aarok asked, scratching the stubble on his chin. Line the damn thing with towers and feed them motes.

That works for a regular monster wave, right? Ive got a potion design specifically for the undead, though. I can confidently supply enough to handle a normal-sized wave of undead, but what if that wave is endless?

Aarok shrugged it off. Well, what could you do against an endless monster wave?

There was no answer to that. Theo felt himself missing a chance to create something greater than what he had. Perhaps a system of pipes that poured the potion over the attackers, like the old medieval castles. Instead of boiling water and tar, they could dispense [Hallow Ground] potions. But the quantity required for that would be unsustainable. Not for a long time, anyway. It was just impossible to plan for an enemy theyd never seen.

Something to think about, Theo said. Maybe we can send scouts north to get eyes on the undead.

Dont discount your new allies, Aarok said. Grot has a head on his shoulders. Id be shocked if he didnt have eyes on them already.

The statement brought a new thought to Theos mind. They wanted an easy way to communicate between the towns, and Fenian was still staying in Broken Tusk. The trader gave both Theo and Azrug communication crystals, so he must have a source. Only now did the alchemist think about the cost of that item, withdrawing both it and the Qavelli crystal from his inventory. On a whim, he squeezed the one provided by the crown and got nothing. He held it up for Aarok to inspect.

Why havent they contacted me? Theo asked. Qavell is big Right? Maybe theyre strong, but if theres an enemy at the gate, why didnt they call?

Aarok rubbed his chin some more. There was a glint of recognition in the Half-Ogres eyes that was hard to shake off. What are we talking about? Im not as quick as you, Theo.

Theo didnt think he was quick at all. But the pieces were falling together. Maybe the undead are moving on their own. Maybe this was planned, he paused, rewording his next statement in his mind to avoid mentioning Khahar directly. The big cat person said there was a plan for me, but it fell apart. That smells off to me. Something about the whole damn thing stinks.

When you suspect a conspiracy, ask one simple question. To what end? Aarok asked.

Gods or otherwise, what would someone gain by destroying Qavell? Perhaps it was a way to spit in Glanthiers face for saving the continent. Both the Elves and House Southblade had a stake in seeing King Karasan dead, even if Theo couldnt figure out why. Aaroks question rang in his mind. To what end? This wasnt something hed solve by considering the facts in the guilds office. There was no trail to follow when the answer was so distant. The alchemist pushed the thoughts from his mind, shaking away his uncertainty.

To what end, Theo repeated, swiping his tail through the air as the question fell away. Well, fair enough. We need more information.

Agreed.

Aarok went back to discussing practical defenses for the town. Theo entertained the conversation until it was exhausted, taking his leave from the guild. The bodies were still downstairs, but the crowd had thinned. Gael was waiting to speak to the guildmaster, apologizing to the alchemist about his peoples behavior.

No harm done, Theo said, pushing his way out into the streets of Broken Tusk.

Fenians carriage was parked near Mianas ranch. The Elven trader was petting the Pozwa, trying to imitate their chittering shrieks. While the creatures didnt enjoy it, Miana was laughing. Theo pulled him aside to ask about the communication crystals.

How many? 2? Quite fine, Fenian said, producing 2 crystals from nowhere and pressing them into Theos hand. They just need to touch these, then theyll work. These are low-grade versions, so they dont have the world-wide range of mine.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

Theo blinked away his confusion, but it didnt work. How much? he asked.

For free.

+14 Dexterity for 1.75 hours.

For 1.25 hour, your physical speed scales 1.30 times better than normal.

Theo was shocked Tresk hadnt stolen this one. It was made with the enchanted [Drogramathi Iron Shavings], with cultivated ingredients, combined with alignment effects. The alchemist didnt have [Refined Elemental Fire] on hand, but he had enough [Refined Strength Essence] to get everything started. By the time dusk came, with the help of Zaralis enchantments, he could have a sample ready. The alchemist started a fermentation barrel with [Flame Roses], and busied himself with the other orders while he waited.

Salire was happy to stay and chat. Whatever anger she felt from holding the sizzling vial had passed, and she was back on friendly terms. Theo made a note to increase his stockpile of his standard essences. As always, restoration, purification, and attribute essences would always sell. People rarely needed the [Potion of Purification], but when they did, they needed it immediately. He checked the items from the list, digging into his store of essences. Some requests wanted strange combinations of modifiers, but he didnt object. Whatever customers wanted, hed make. As long as they werent outright weapons.

That rule of providing no bomb-style potions to citizens was wearing thin, but Theo didnt want to abandon it. There might come a day where a regular [Firebomb] didnt seem like such a destructive weapon, but that day wasnt today.

An order on the list that surprised the alchemist was one from Rivers and Daub. Alran must have requested the 100 [Hallow Ground] potions, because it was just listed as undead killing potions. Instead of blowing off the request, Theo took it seriously. Instead of providing the man with a useless version of the potion, he crafted 100 [Hallow Ground Potions] with the [Aerosolize] modifier. He inspected the result, finding no differences from the ones hed made before.

[Hallow Ground Potion]

[Aerosolize]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

Shatter to create a cloud of denial.

Effect:

Throwing this potion creates a fifty pace circle around the point of impact with the [Hallow Ground] effect. Undead, ghost, etc creatures may cross into the cloud, but will be banished when they do so.

This version was the easiest to use, and most effective for dealing with large groups of undead. That was Theos assumption, anyway. Without a practical application, it was hard to say which version was the most effective. He told Salire to make a note to Mister Cherman about the cost of these potions. As part of their alliance, Broken Tusk promised to provide these undead-killing weapons at a cheap price. When he placed the order, he expected to pay full price.

Almost as if he doubts our alliance, Theo said with a sigh, finishing the [Flame Rose] fermentation and transferring it for distillation. That man needs to learn to trust.

When your fate is in the hands of others, its often hard to trust, Salire said, nodding to herself. Felt like that when I left Gronro.

Theo pushed down the guilty feeling in his chest. Salire came to Broken Tusk for a better life because she wasnt built for the combat of Gronro-Dir. It wasnt his fault that she had a hard time to start. She was doing so well now. He couldnt tell shed ever feared her future after coming to his town. The alchemist continued with his work, asking her more about how she felt upon arriving in town. She reversed her previous statement, claiming that it was just the nerves. But a move, no matter the world, was a hard thing. She left behind family and friends to join this experiment.

The timer went off on the still right when dusk set in over Broken Tusk. Theo crafted a [Strength Potion], using [Enchanted Drogramathi Iron Shavings], and introduced his newly crafted [Refined Elemental Fire] to the mix. The red-tinged potion flared, seams of living fire spreading through the vial. While the reaction was stable, Salire stepped back. The alchemists experiment left a lasting impression on her. But he examined the result all the same, finding his expectations to be true.

[Strength Potion]

[Refined Elemental Fire]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Epic

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Drink to enhance strength.

Drink to increase physical strength scaling.

Effect:

+14 Strength for 1.75 hours.

For 1.25 hours, your physical strength scales 1.30 times better than normal.

[Refined Elemental Fire] enhanced a persons physical strength, just like [Refined Elemental Wind] enhanced a persons speed. Those were the easy ones to guess, and how the elemental-line of modifiers influenced [Vigor], [Intelligence], and [Wisdom] was beyond him. But that was a problem for another time. Theo crafted the 10 [Strength Potions] in the order, and handed everything over to Salire. They didnt fill every order, but it was close enough for the day. It didnt help that Tresk was screaming in Theos ear to get to the tavern. It was dinner time.