5.20 - The Tunnel to Nowhere

5.20 - The Tunnel to Nowhere

The twin mountain ranges of Gronro-Dir stretched in either direction. Theo stood on the imagined walls with Tresk and Alex, gazing off into the distance. The alchemist had even rendered the bubble surrounding the town, protecting it from the lingering corruption. It shimmered in the early morning air, battling against the concept of necromantic power.

Well, it looks a lot better, Tresk said with a nod. Alex honked with agreement. That was a lot of potion, though.

Theo nodded, gazing off into the distance. The area around Gronro-Dir had consumed almost all the [Hallow the Soil] potion he had created. One solution was never the answer. Between my potions, golems, wards, and Sulvan well have a fighting chance.

Yes, Alex said, honking in agreement. But according to history, didnt it take Glantheir himself to purge the continent before?

A small wrinkle, Theo said. If Glantheir approved of Sulvan, then the god has a plan.

Hmmm. God or patron? Tresk asked, laughing.

Glantheir was the first god I met that actually acts like one. I wish he was the one that made me champion.

Tresk and Alex remained silent. They didnt have as strong opinions on the gods as Theo did, and he could feel their minds wrapping around the problem. Things were getting complicated in the heavens and no one knew Fenians true purpose, yet. As one, the Taraheks thoughts centered on the lost elven trader.

Maybe we could look for him, Tresk suggested. You know. Probe the other realms.

Thats the problem. Can your mind reach Balkors realm?

His place is a steel box. No way Im getting my little brain in there.

We cant search every realm. But we can ask around, Alex said.

That was as good a plan as any. The group discussed it further, but didnt draw any conclusions. The Dreamwalk was its own steel box. Only Tresk could send her mind outside of this place, and it wasnt far. She had a limited view of the area around their sleeping bodies, but no more. They couldnt reach out to probe the realms until they were out on the mortal plane. Until then, Theo decided to casually grind experience and relax.

Like Terogal, the Dreamwalk had become a place where he preferred to mentally rest. Despite that desire to relax, the alchemist still gained considerable bursts of experience. During the business of brewing potions with Salire, he had hit Level 26 in alchemy core, herbalist core, and his personal level. Those three things were synced perfectly, and he made the decision to place a point into Intelligence. Thanks to his busy schedule, he hardly noticed getting the levels and was well on his way to Level 27.

There were no new secrets for Theo to discover in the Dreamwalk. He was certain that the key to getting past Level 30 had to do with his distillation methods. Adding alcohol to the mix had been the key for his alchemy core, and he had a feeling that the key to his herbalist core rested with grafting plants. Either that, or something related to cultivation methods. It was always impossible to tell what the system wanted him to do for advancement.

Perhaps that lack of information was something that Fenian and Khahar wanted to fix. While they claimed their goal was to remove the destructive cycles brought by the system, they seemed eager to change other things. And Khahar was eager to make sweeping changes. Theo just hoped he was considering the repercussions.

Dawn came quicker than Theo expected. His eyes snapped open and his fingers instinctively grasped at the air. He had just been holding a vial of essence when Tresk abruptly shut the Dreamwalk off. She was already jumping out of bed to teleport down to breakfast. Both the alchemist and Alex were left there in their respective beds, looking off through the window to greet the rising sun. The alchemist eventually rose, cracking his knuckles and resting there on the bed. He took a moment, considering all the good graces he had been given before starting the day.

Sarisa had cooked breakfast herself. Instead of buying meals from Xam, she had created a spread of Whispers sausages, eggs from Mianas pozwa, and little fried dumplings made from Earth-style wheat. Theo was feeling oddly peckish and sat down to enjoy the meal. He waited for everyone to take a seat, including his two assistants, before digging in. While Sarisa wasnt as good at making moss tea as Xam, it was still great.

Id rather not remember the old days, Theo said, taking a bite of one sausage. The exterior crunched, as Sarisa had over-fried it in the pan. The alchemist loved it.

This is kinda better than Xams cooking, Tresk said, dumping another plateful of sausages and eggs into her mouth.

Sarisa cackled from the far side of the table. Rowan buried his face in his hands.

Shes been leveling a [Cooks Core].

Damn! Tresk shouted. Damn! I should have known it! You sneaky little ogre.

Heh heh heh.

Theo had expected both Sarisa and Rowan to take service cores earlier. As Tresk danced around the table, making up an off-key song about their new cook, he thought about the [Service Competence] upgrade he got for the manor. The upgrade would give all workers in the manor increased experience for servant cores. Whatever their reasons, he was happy if they were happy. And judging by the way Sarisa and Rowan smiled at the marshlings dance, they were happy.

There wasnt much going on inside the administration interface today. Alise had an interesting report on something Ziz was working on, so Theo planned to investigate that. Throk had submitted a report about his floating platform project. It had hit a slight snag, but would move forward soon enough. Duke Grot Stormfist also had a delightful report praising the efforts of Broken Tusk. He swore a thousand generations of loyalty to the alliance and offered to marry off his next child to whomever Theo wished.

Theo made a note in Grots overly excited report regarding the importance of keeping the corruption at bay. He also refused the dukes generous offer of marriage. After eating breakfast, the alchemist made his way over to the lab to store their latest batch of [Hallow the Soil] potions. While he didnt enjoy the burning sensation that filled his eyes when Salire was around, he appreciated the lack of frogs.

That really worked, huh? Theo asked, entering the lab at the same time as his assistant.

It sure does burn the eyes but you cant argue with the results.

Of course, Bilgrob didnt have a clue how long it would take for the frogs to stop chasing after her. Theo just hoped that Sulvan could fill the role of town healer before long. The alchemist pulled his thoughts away from pepper bombing the entire town, focusing on the stills. With each run of a new essence, he and Salire got a little better at managing the process. She couldnt handle some of the unstable materials, but knowing which ones she could touch went a long way to help.

Lets hold this batch back, Theo said, patting the filled barrels. Well leave the three for you to work for and do another run.

Digging a tunnel, I guess, Ziz laughed. Just me and you. The boys are building more pillars.

Theo and Ziz departed the quarry, heading down the angled path toward the adventurer housing. You already measured the depth of the ocean? the alchemist asked, putting things together.

Just out to the barrier islands. Ten-thousand halms out.

The people of Broken Tusk needed to adopt freedom units. Ten-thousand halms was somewhere between a mile and five miles. Depending on who was measuring the distance. No one seemed to agree on the exact length of a halm.

Youre a craft man.

Theo had enough [Tunneling Potion] to last quite a while. The recent spat of monster waves had also given him enough [Living River Water] to make as much as he wanted. He even had to buy more storage crates to stow the frozen water away. On their way to the mine, Theo stopped by the smelter to check on Nira. She was dutifully working the sweltering furnaces, so he settled for a hearty wave from the road. The uncomfortable heat was too much for his coat.

Just off the beaten path, Ziz said, pushing through the sparse underbrush.

Ziz and his boys had done almost nothing to the side of the mountain. They had cleared away some topsoil, and scratched at the face of the rock with little to show for it. Theo shook his head, withdrawing a [Tunneling Potion] from his inventory. How far is it?

I really dont know, Ziz said with a defeated shrug. No one has surveyed this area. And we dont have instruments good enough to get a read.

Naturally, Theo said, tipping the contents of the potion onto the wall. He felt the familiar wash of a foreign will enter his mind. With a simple command, he ordered the potion to proceed forward.

This would cause problems in the future. Of course. The mountains were a natural barrier, preventing any attacks from this direction. It only made sense to install defenses at both sides of the entrance. Theo was drawn out of his thoughts when Ziz produced a glowing crystal from nowhere. It lit the darkened tunnel, revealing glittering gray rocks in all directions. The tunnel they were cutting out of the mountain had to be larger than most tunnels they dug with the potion. That required more potion to dig the tunnel.

Several hours later, the pair sat in the darkened tunnel. They had to run back to the lab to get more of the potion, only to return to the tunnel without a break. The crystal Ziz held cast long shadows on the wall, flickering slightly.

I dont think this mountain ends, Theo said, letting out a sigh.

We should have hit the other side by now, Ziz grumbled.

Magical space, maybe? Did we intersect the mine by accident?

I dont think so.

This is going to be a lot of track to build. Then weve gotta cross the sea.

It was your idea!

Theo cleared his throat, producing more of the potion and fording on. Several full vials of the potion later, and a pinprick of light shone through the far wall.

Light! Ziz shouted.

Theo pressed his face against the cold rock, earning himself a sight of the ocean below. Far below. This thing is gonna be a roller coaster.

A what?

One last potion and the wall gave way. Air rushed into the tunnel, almost pushing the two men back on their butts. Once their eyes adjusted to the light, they looked down to the ocean below. It wasnt a sheer drop, but the angle was aggressive.

Dang. The mountain looked smaller from the sea.

From his vantage point, Theo could see the barrier islands in the distance. They were facing directly south, meaning that Broken Tusks port was to their left. Neither of them could spot the port, but there was a speck on the horizon. Either a trader coming in to the town, or the Cork fishing near the barrier islands. Either way, this was a massive move in the right direction.

Well need support pillars here, too, Ziz said, looking down below. Then its a straight shot to the lizard islands.

Did we clear that project with Squeak?

I think so. Maybe. I dont know.

Theo shrugged. The lizard-folk seemed passive enough not to care. He and Ziz walked back to town, laughing the entire way. Carving the tunnel out took a lot of time, but walking through it was a breeze. They joked about the roller coaster, and the implications of safety.

Imagine going over the edge, Ziz chuckled.

Id rather not.