4.10 - Honk

4.10 - Honk

Pale evening light shone across the plains northeast of Broken Tusk. From his perch on the wall, Theo could almost spot the place where he was attacked. Slightly too distant and already repaired, the place should have struck him in the heart. A dagger-like spike driven into his heart, thrust by the Zagmon assassin. But those feelings never came. Not just from the comforting defensive towers resting near him, but the strength of the bond in his chest. Tresk stood nearby, looking out over the horizon as Alex honked.

Shes real honky today, Tresk said.

Theo nodded in response, still staring off in the distance. Plumes of dark black smoke rose from the harbor, a signal of the shipwrights ineptitude. That might have been harsh, but the alchemist had high standards when it came to the creation of materials. Especially when those materials ran so close to his expertise. He recalled the description on the [Ogre Cypress Pitch], a material generated from the burning of the massive trees. It was labeled as an [Alchemy Ingredient], placing it firmly in his domain.

But he wouldnt fault Laedria for working hard, trying to fulfill his order for a trader-style ship. Or was it a boat? Whatever the name of the vessel, the creation of pitch was the slowest part. His [Reagent Deconstruction] ability might be able to help, but it required experimentation. And time.

Is that a boat? Tresk asked, pointing toward the harbor.

Running down the channel, headed out to sea, was a single-masted boat. The Cork. Theo squinted, trying to get a better look at it, but it was too distant. They could only see the top of the mast as it passed down that wide waterway.

I guess someone bought it, Theo said.

Bet it was Thronk, Tresk said, chuckling.

Get a few fishing nets on that thing. Skirt around the harbor, maybe fish the channel out to the open sea Yeah, theyll pull in some fish, Theo said.

Thinking of buying my brothers business? Tresk asked. Sounds like you. Fascist.

Theo almost rose to that, but realized the word suited his rule of the town. But he had no interest in buying a fishing business, let alone one owned by Thronk. It was a miracle the man even fed himself, let alone made any profit. The fishers of the town relied on [Water Motes] for their income. It was a silly strategy, seeing as [Earth Motes] were much more common. But theyd survived all these years, so who was he to judge? They were low on his list of priorities, as always.

Maybe they need some help from the state.

Fascist says what?

Theo narrowed his eyes at Tresk.

Alright, she said, holding her hands up. I just skimmed that word from your brain. Youve been thinking about it.

With a sigh, Theo turned to regard his town. He saw the people moving around below, concluding their business for the day. Not that the fading light stopped Sledge from working her ass off. An Ogre Cypress fell in the distance, rumbling the ground. It was a sound that all citizens were used to by now. No one below flinched, and life went on.

Is your shift over? Theo asked. Im hungry.

Youre never hungry. But, yeah. Lets eat.

The pair enjoyed a pleasant dinner at Xams tavern. There were no unexpected interruptions to ruin the mood, and they soon found themselves soaking in the hot bath. Worries melted away as they discussed small topics. Alex was looking more like a real goose by the day, although her stage was still at [Gosling]. At level 6, shed come a long way from when she was hatched. They still hadnt figured out how to maximize her experience gain, but she was doing fine on her own.

Think shell ever talk? Tresk asked, gesturing to the swimming gosling.

Youre the one thats good at reading my mind. Can you read hers? Theo asked.

Kinda. All I get is a great sense that I should be eating bugs, Tresk said, shrugging.

While the desire to check the conversations in his kingdom screen was great, Theo avoided that. Hed checked it at dinner, and was disappointed to see the shouting match between Alise an Alran. The leader of Rivers and Daub had hidden resources from her, and was doing his best to mend hurt feelings. At least he was trying, though. It wasnt a surprise that the man would be trouble, not when their first interaction was an assassination attempt. Now his actions affected them all.

Putting aside those unpleasant thoughts, Theo enjoyed his bath. He took a stroll with Tresk afterward, not enjoying the warm night air. It was nice to stay up when the moons were out, even if the darkened one was nearly invisible. He searched for a long time without spotting it, but found comfort in the idea that the inquisition of the Burning Eye was stuck there. They stopped by the harbor, spotting the Cork coming into port. As expected, Tresks brother was the captain. Instead of sticking around, they wandered toward the lab.

Heading into the Dreamwalk for the night, Theo had several goals. Without the need to grind experience, he wanted to learn more about his new magic. He also needed to find a weapon that worked with both his new wards, and his potions. There was an idea, but he couldnt get each to combine. He started by focusing on his gear, those pieces that allowed him to throw things better.

Throwing weapons are common enough, Tresk said, summoning a simple throwing knife. I throw stuff often enough. Especially poisoned stuff.

Toruauns magic is based on reactive intent, Theo said, creating his own knife. Maybe I can work with that.

Not to mention your constructs. Whats stopping you from just tossing constructs at people? Stone knives, maybe?

Theo settled on the idea of a throwing weapon making sense. But it would be more than something it hit someone with. A combination of warded, poisoned, and construct-infused throwing weapons might be worth pursuing. That gave him the flexibility to use them as poisoned throwing daggers, or ward delivery systems. Without an expanded knowledge of Toruauns magic, his plan hit a stand-still.

They settled down in the dream version of Broken Tusks harbor to talk it out, watching as Alex played in the water. Theo retold the story of Xolsa being wounded, and shared his worries for the Elf. His initial confidence in finding a cure ran up against the reality of the injury.

Your best bet is to import a healer, Tresk said, nodding to herself. She kicked her feet in the water, slashing water at Alex. The gosling produced a honk-chirp of disapproval.

Im going to study magic tonight. Throwing weapons are a good idea, I need to learn more spells, though, Theo said.

Alright. Im gonna fight stuff.

Theo nodded, watching as his companion disappeared.

The first [Advanced Ward] Theo had learned was [Lesser Defense]. Pieces of that spell linked together, creating the story that fueled the spell. The alchemist summoned writing material, and began the laborious process of writing everything down. With a vision aid, it might be easier to understand how he could create another node to feed the spell. He spent hours in the dream realm staring at the paper, writing new things in the strange, custom language of the Demon God with little luck.

Alex honked in response.

Lets work on that.

Theo worked with Alex for the rest of the night, coaching her on the fire attack. When they began, he got the impression that Tresk had already begun working with her. There was an underlying knowledge the gosling had about the flames, as though it were inherint within her. When she produced the first plume of fire, it struck a ridiculous scene. Still downy, and barely coming up to the alchemists knees, her bill opened up and fire rushed forth. The ball of feathers produced a stream of fire like a flamethrower, only stopping to cough up clouds of black smoke.

Fire goose, Theo said, patting her on the head.

While training with Alex, Theo spoke of advice as much as he did theories. Ideas on how to help Xolsa get over the soul-slaying attack that bore no fruit. The only potions he had that cured specific things were his disease-curing potions and those that restored either limbs or digits. Nothing in his current arsenal healed the soul directly, but there were several unexplored options.

Ive always held the idea that the [Reagent Deconstruction] skill would allow me to learn more properties, Theo said, watching as Alex shot another plume of fire. Nice one.

There was a list of ingredients that Theo hadnt found the second property to, yet. Let alone the third property. Zarali claimed there was an entire universe of properties within each reagent, leading to further problems. But, the alchemist was content with understanding those that were readily available. Discovering the second property was done through eating the reagent, but his skill would discover the others.

Focusing on which ones make sense, Theo said, ducking his head to avoid another fireball. [Spriggan Hearts] might have a useful third property. [Rejuvenate] might be helpful, too. [Swamp Truffles] might be worth inspecting. [Living Water]? Yeah, maybe. [Pozwa Horns] would give me a hat trick. Nothing else comes to mind.

Honk.

Right. We also have to consider the combinations of reagents, Theo said. Reducing essences to primals, then binding them with a [Suffuse Potion]. That could open a world of potions all on its own. What properties, when combined, would cure the soul?

Chirp. Honk.

No, I dont feel as though [Regeneration] and [Cure Ailment] would work, Theo said.

Honk.

True enough. Were talking about an extremely specific type of cure. I wouldnt have thought [Healing] and [Regeneration] would create the limb-restoration potion.

Honk.Honk honk.

Well, if I had more undead pieces, I could test that. Ive only ever seen a [Reanimated Skeleton Fragment], and that was system-generated. It produces the [Withering] property, which is alright for poisons. Not so much for cures.

Honk honk honk honk chirp.

Indeed. We assume the undead attacking Gronro are reanimated by Balkor. Which means, of course, if they produce reagents theyll be completely different. Balkor fell, right? Honk. If he fell, then there are pieces of him. You have to think about what those pieces produce, huh?

Alex nodded.

Are you talking to the goose? Tresk asked. Can you actually understand her?

No. Just feels better if I pretend I can, Theo said. Explaining a problem aloud can often be helpful.

Or Hear me out on this one Youre going nuts.

Well, Im currently sitting in a dream realm. That dream realm is a reflection of my personal realm, which seems to be another dimension. Talking to my salamander-person life-bonded soul-mate thing while watching my goose shoot fire, Theo said, running his fingers through Alexs feathers. Insanity would be an easy explanation for this.

Alright. Point taken, Tresk said.

I talked to your dad about making an airship, Theo said, breaking away from the previous topic.

How did that go? Tresk said, drawing herself up. She did her best impression of her father. Dont I have enough work already? Youre working me to the bone, alchemist. Im just so mad and grumpy all the time.

He reacted better than that, Theo said. Seemed interested in the problem.

Flying ships, right? Okay, Ill bite. Whats the drawback? Why dont we see them everywhere?

Theyre hard to operate, according to him. Its easy for someone to mess with the magic that runs the artifices. Wed need someone with powerful counter-magic potential to fly one, Theo said.

Someone with a class dedicated to warding, and a lab filled with [Anti-Mage] potions? Tresk asked, wiggling her tail excitedly. Alright, Im on board. Screw the sailing ships, we need a flying one.

Theo waved that thought away. There needed to be a drawback to flying ships, if most people used sailing ships. The continent wasnt as advanced as the others, but there should have been some flying machines. It was likely a matter of cost, since artifices ran on motes. They likely ran on a lot of motes, making them prohibitively expensive. But the idea just wouldnt leave his mind. He imagined himself flying over Rivers and Daub, lording over them with a massive airship.

Kinda sounds like a weapon of war, though, Tresk said.

I dont object to us having weapons of war, Theo said. Thats just a fact of life. I just dont want to sell them to other people.

Alright. Lets go. The dream is ending. We can ask around to see what people know about airships. Hey, if only there were a bunch of people from a more-advanced continent in town.

Funny how things fall into place like that.