4.53 - Xotl

4.53 - Xotl

Theo listened with waning interest to the conversations floating around his dining room table. His thoughts centered on the concept of his manor. At first he thought it would be a place where he could be alone with his thoughts. That was an impossible thing from the start with the way Broken Tuskers were. As time went on he realized that the purpose of the manor was to bring people together. It was a sanctuary of formless meetingsthe governmental nonsense they had to deal with stripped away to reveal a cozy spot to share tea. Folks stopped by when they wanted. They stayed in whatever room was free. Rowan and Sarisa kept it safe and clean.

Wisdom of the Soul messages would pop up as he pondered how things were going. Fenians plan became clearer to him by the day. It was always important to consider what the Elf said. To dig through the double-meaning and shrouded words to unearth something close to the truth. Instead of worrying about what that future held, Theo would prepare himself for the inevitable. That meant having talks with both Xolsa and Zarali.

The extra-planar Elf held more secrets than he knew he had, and through conversation, Theo learned more about his strange people. What little there was to glean, that is. Xolsa didnt have memories of his home. After breakfast, Theo brought him aside into one of the many side rooms littering the manor for some tea and scones pilfered from Bentons hospitality. The alchemists administration interface swirled with things marked TODO, but they could wait.

Youre finally pushing yourself. Magically, of course, Xolsa said.

This was the cycle of that mans personality. Swinging from a curt headmaster to a comforting teacher, depending on how hard Theo was trying. A knock came at the door, Sarisa showing herself in.

Salire is here for you, she said.

Ill meet her at the lab. Thank you.

Without a word, the Half-Ogre woman ducked out of the room. Theo turned his attention back to Xolsa and their rolling conversation. Ive worked out most of Fenians plan. I always thought he was using me to get what he wanted. But I think he wants Tresk.

Not to keep her, I hope, Xolsa said.

No, of course not. When I gave you the potion to repair your soul, I realized something. You were given the designation of an extra-planar Elf which is interesting. As if being born outside of the mortal plane is a normal thing.

Isnt it?

Theo couldnt stop himself. He scoffed, shaking his head in disapproval. The more time he spent in his private realm, the more he understood about the heavens. After taking a few souls into his care, the alchemist understood even more. Souls were a finite resource, generated on the mortal plane, not one of the many godly planes. One didnt need high attributes to understand where this went.

Youre from another place entirely. Another layer were not aware of. Well, Im not aware of it. Theo sipped his tea. He didnt have the stomach to eat more scones. When he faced a problem with no solution, his stomach twisted into knots.

Xolsa withdrew a ream of parchment from nowhere and began scribbling things down, humming as he wrote. Interesting idea. Id love to argue against the evidence, but Well, here I am.

Youve never thought of this before?

Ive thought of it many times. Since I arrived on this plane as a child. Since my parents abandoned meto fend for myself, Xolsa let out a frustrated breath. But I cannot peer behind the curtain. No matter how much I try.

Your core, Theo said, letting his thoughts come together. Its unique, as far as I can tell. Distill your abilities down for me, please.

An alchemy pun? Really? Xolsa asked.

He described his abilities and the spells he had learned over the years. It seemed like a standard mages core, themed around manipulating the planes locally to get some effect. He could create a pane of extra-planar glass that monsters would fall into. His ability to interface with dungeons was unrivaled. Especially after getting the [Dungeon Engineers Core]. But there was a gap in his abilities that seemed rather obvious. It was something both of them had experienced together. When Xolsa tried to poke his head into a heavenly realm, he was sent reeling.

Put everything together, and what do you have? Theo asked. Xolsa held his theories back, waiting for the alchemist to answer his own question. We can assume youre from somewhere other than the heavenly realms. Between them, or somewhere else entirely. Can you make a portal into the void?

Xolsas eyes darted around the room for a moment, his thoughts gathering. Thats where I send the monsters.

A stupid idea entered Theos mind, and he entertained it. He wasnt as skilled as Tresk in manipulating their Terogal abilities, but he was certain he could teleport out of the void if he encountered any problems. His Wisdom of the Soul messages agreed. Shadows swirled somewhere nearby and the alchemist groaned. He turned, glaring into a dark corner of the room.

I was gonna tell you.

No, you werent! the shadows objected. You were going to jump into the void without me. How is that fair?

Well, I need an anchor so I can get back. So you cant come.

We both know Alex is the perfect anchor.

Compromise. Ill just stick my head in the void, then come right back out.

Tresk emerged from the shadows, her arms folded. Theo could feel what she was thinking. She wanted to find the link between Xolsa and the void as much as him, but held more caution in her heart than him.

Do I have a say in this? Xolsa asked.

Maybe. Depends on what you have to say, Tresk grumbled.

Ive poked my head in there before. There isnt much to see. A literal void.

Tresk let out a low growl-like sound, then a frustrated sigh. Fine. Open the portal to hell. What could go wrong?

With a few gestures and words, Xolsa opened a shimmering rectangle into the void. It hovered in the rooms center, seeming to absorb the surrounding light. Theo rose, approaching the portal for inspection. Tresk approached it from the other side, grunting and humming as though she understood what was going on. The alchemist poked his head inside.

True to Xolsas word, it was an endless void. Darkness that stretched in every direction. Tresk did the same on the other side. While they couldnt see each other in the infinite darkness, they could feel each other. Two beacons ringing out among the inky blackness like lighthouses on the shore of some turgid sea. They withdrew themselves from the portal at the same time.

What the hell does he need seawater for?

Salire didnt know. But it only took a few minutes of digging through the endless progress reports of the administrative screen to figure it out. Theo cursed under his breath. Things had gotten so busy that he pushed projects aside to make room for others. When he first saw the [Reagent Deconstruction] ability, the only thing he could think of was breaking things down to their elemental parts. That wasnt exactly the way the ability worked, but if he tried real hard it just might.

To see Throk swooping in, stealing away the production of salt, hit him hard at first. A momentary flash of anger that gave way to a reasonable mind. Theo should have ordered pumps, boilers, and tubes to process seawater into salt to begin with. The fault rested solely with him, not the enterprising Marshling. This was a direction the alchemist had hoped people would move in. Industries they established on their own would create a flourishing economy. The anger faded as quickly as it came, replaced with a sense of pride.

Salire couldnt stop talking about alchemical processes. Her new cores opened a world of possibility for her. And she had the best equipment owned by any Drogramath Dronon so far as Theo was aware. He peeled the rind from a [Xotl Orange], setting them on one of the many tables in the room. The scent of the fruit was like the imitation orange drink the alchemist had back on Earth. As his assistant went on, he considered what exactly a Xotl was, and why it would have an orange named after it. He shrugged, popping a slice out of the fist-sized fruit, then into his mouth.

A message popped up.

[Property Discovered]!

Eating the [Xotl Orange] has revealed the property: [Xotls Undercurrent]

[Spirit Fruit Consumed]!

You have eaten a portion of a spirit fruit. Your natural dexterity has increased slightly. You may only eat one whole spirit fruit per day.

Hey! Salire shouted, falling out of her trance-like state. Did you eat another spirit fruit? It smells like spirit fruit in hereyou should have told me.

Want a slice? Theo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

That smoothed things over quickly. She took a slice of the orange and took a tentative bite. Her eyes closed as she let out a contented sigh. Yeah. Thats good. Huh. It says I cant learn the property.

Really? Does the system say anything else?

Im too low.

Sad times. Lets brew a potion. Figure out what this undercurrent property is about.

There were other things to do within the lab. Salire was desperately trying to create some potions to fill orders, but her skills werent there yet. Confined to the lowest tier of alchemy, she had created some interestingly poor quality potions. He never expected to see such horrible potions come out of his lab, but that was to be expected. Only a person with blinders on could look at his past and think those first potions were good. They werent good. They were horrible.

The difference between applied alchemy and theoretical alchemy came down to intuition. As expected, with Wisdom being the most important attribute, creating potions was more art than science. Even if they were using exact numbers to bind things together, there was finesse involved. The new stills proved themselves in brewing the spirit fruits essence. With isolated heating zones, Theo dialed it in to only heat the bottom layer of the still. The result was an even, low heat that drew out the best parts of the [Xotl Orange].

With so little of the essence available, it wasnt worth creating a dilution and running the potion again for the next tier. Theo did what he did with his last fruit, settling for a second tier potion. Salire aided him, but only in a support capacity. She grabbed things when he needed them, and took notes on the process. While this process was already well documented, it didnt hurt for her to get a refresher.

The reaction was immediate and violent. The air extraction system whirred above them as the potion put off a cloud of green smoke that smelled like the sea. Inside the ornate vial was a potion that swirled with a mixture of blues and greens, flecks of silver running through it like ore through stone.

[Xotls Undercurrent Potion]

[Potion]

Mythic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Middling Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

Drink to create a Xotls Undercurrent.

Effect:

The imbiber must be underwater to consume this potion.

For five seconds after consuming this potion, the water directly beneath them will become a vortex that sucks in all surrounding water. Like the mighty deep sea Xotl, everything within range will be pulled within the churn of water.

This potion kills you, Salire said, her tone mocking.

She was right, though. Theo stowed the potion in his inventory, intent on destroying it when he had the chance. He created potions like this on occasion. It wasnt something that would kill mass numbers of people, or spread harm throughout the world. But he couldnt see someone using this potion while underwater and not killing themselves. That put it in a special category of potions that he would never brew on purpose.

Excellent. Theres bound to be a few duds until I explore the other properties on the orange. But now, lets check out the rind.

Salire rubbed her hands together. I got a good feeling about this one.