The Newt and Demon - Chapter 4.28 - Home and Hearth

Theo understood the source for his lusting after adventure. When Yuri showed up in town—when the alchemist figured out who he was—there was a rush of recognition. The old days back on Earth were bad, there was no denying that. He wouldn’t forget the famine, the war, or the mass extinction of his world. But there was an underlying theme among all the spy-like people who worked for the nations. It was all bullshit, so they may as well make it as interesting as possible.

Those who settled scores with murder were handled. They were removed from the pool of cooperating agents, replaced with others willing to play the game. It was a twisted game. The only game they knew.

Theo stood in the harbor with Fenian, watching as Laedria worked on the boats. The alchemist had shared stories about Yuri. The things he did back on Earth. Those final moments.

“Where does your road go, Fenian?” Theo asked. “I’ve always thought you were out for revenge.”

“I am.” Fenian laughed. “King Karasan had a hand in killing someone dear to me. Ages ago. Eons now that I spent time in the realms. But then I discovered something. He has something I need. Anyway, tell me about your projects. What are you working on, my dear alchemist?”

Theo had to think about that for a moment. He was working on a lot of things. Leveling the town and the nation had taken a backseat to other things. The alchemist had his eyes on a new upgrade at level 25 for Broken Tusk, so his immediate goal was to expand the town out. He explained that part of his plan to Fenian, going on to detail the importance of his weapons and transport projects.

“My Toru’aun core is also coming along nicely. Very powerful for a low-level core,” Theo said with a nod. “I was also looking into getting Throk an artificer core aligned with Tworgnoth. I was going to add more synergistic links to the town, but those are expensive. I need more golems harvesting motes. Oh, and you owe me a mint.”

Fenian laughed. “So, not much? Just relaxing and enjoying your time as Archduke? I have to say, I love that title. Very pompous.”

Theo narrowed his eyes at the Elven trader. “Alright. I get it. Should have picked another title.”

“I’m most interested in your transport system. I’ve heard about something similar in Bantein. Yes. Motes seem to be a limiting factor for you.”

Theo wondered if Zarali was still hung up about him cheating with the golem system. His willpower had expanded, but it was hard to understand how far that went. Currently, he could support 10 golems. The alchemist needed 2 [Lesser Plant Golems] minimum to keep his greenhouses going. There was a constant flow of motes from his [Lesser Mud Golems]. The [Lesser Stone Golems] and the [Lesser Copper Golems] were for defensive purposes.

Power production for the golems was simple enough. The [Lesser Plant Golems] harvested more [Manashrooms] than they consumed, even if there was processing involved. As long as Theo remembered to brew [Mana Essence], they’d have fuel forever.

Casting his mind into the lodestone network, Theo felt around for his golems. They were all working tirelessly. Some dug in the mud for motes, others fought low-level monsters in the mine. The next big thing for the golems would be a construct that automatically harvested power from the air, then converted it into mana for their use. That was a problem the alchemist hadn’t cracked.

“How about my mint?” Theo asked, his mind returning to the moment.

“I have one on order,” Fenian said. “Just tied up at the moment. Say, can we visit Galflower?”

“Where is she?”

Fenian led the way to Miana’s ranch. When they arrived, the Half-Ogre woman opened the gate to the paddock to allow the Elf inside. The massive purple glowing creature bound across the field, almost knocking the wheelchair over. Theo busied himself with his administration map.

Expansions were getting expensive, but the alchemist remembered what he’d heard. He wanted another farm to the east, near the river. Expanding the town out and over the river was cheap if he didn’t incorporate it. That would leave it outside of the wall, which represented a danger to the workers. Theo bought 6 expansions to the east, leaving them outside of the walls. It drained his gold to almost nothing but he shrugged it off.

“Fenian, I need to visit Zarali and Xol’sa,” Theo said, waving as he walked away from the giggling Elf.

“Certainly! See ya!”

Fenian is doing a lot better, Theo said.

Yeah? Did you see his little baby limbs?

No. I’d rather not.

Ral almost has his left leg back! You should see that guy hobble around, Tresk said, laughing into Theo’s mind.

As expected, Xol’sa was with Zarali in the town hall. They had their own room on the first floor, and were the only people left with injuries. The Dronon Priestess was fine, even if it seemed the injury her partner took hit her harder.

“Theo,” she said, looking up with tired eyes. “How are you?”

“I’m well. How about you, Xol’sa?” Theo said, coming to sit next to the bed.

“A lot better than before,” Xol’sa said.

It was hard to tell if the extra-planar Elf’s complexion was back to normal. It normally sat between gray and blue, but seemed duller than normal. But the striations of glowing energy that ran through his body seemed bright. They pulsed with some invisible tide, flashing different shades of blue.

“Going to have a word with your girl,” Theo said, grabbing Zarali by the arm and hoisting her to her feet.

“By all means,” Xol’sa said, waving them away.

Theo led his adoptive sister into the atrium of the town hall, closing the door behind them. “What’s up with him?” he asked. “Looks like he’s doing better, why not let him out of that bed?”

A flash of annoyance ran across Zarali’s face. It disappeared in moments. “The wound he took from the soul-slaying was bad. But your potion did damage.”

Theo felt the pain of regret fall over his chest. “What?”

“Calm down.” Zarali produced a tired smile. “Your [Reforge Soul] potion was a lot for him. It remade his soul, brother. Now his body is trying to adapt to a new soul. His people were never meant to live on the mortal plane.”

Xol’sa’s people were weird, but Theo had never put much thought into it. There was an array of strange races in this world, so he never put stock into it. He remembered Zarali calling them the Bara’thier, but he didn’t really know what that meant. Not until he thought about it. After traveling to Tero’gal to see the weird system messages meant for the gods, he had a better idea of what the Bara’thier were.

“Wait. What do you know about his people? The Bara’thier, was it?”

“You’ll know more about that than me by now, brother,” Zarali said. Theo could tell she was using every bit of her willpower to suppress an indignant tone. She was tired. Worn down by the sight of her partner set prone like that.

Worst of all, she was right. “Interesting, if you think about it,” Theo said. “I didn’t understand what extra-planar meant. I understood the word, but not the meaning. There are places between places, Zarali. Imagine us. Here on the mortal plane.”

“I can do that.”

“Now imagine Drogramath’s realm. Then a space between here and there. Uz’Xulven created the Bridge to allow travel between those places, which I’m fairly certain was never the design. I think Xol’sa is from the in between places.”

“An extremely interesting academic proposal. But, how does that help him?” Zarali asked.

Theo had started talking before his thoughts had formed. He was walking down a logical path, tracing the cause of Xol’sa’s arrival without considering what it meant for his condition. He shook his head, clearing away the miasma of uncertainty.

“It just means that I can ask around in the heavenly realms. See if anyone knows something that could help him. There’s a very friendly bear god that I’ve been talking to.” Theo paused for a long moment. “He said his [Planar Mage] core was the only thing keeping him together. Yeah, I think there’s something weird going on with his body, soul, and cores. I’m officially on the case, Zarali.”

Zarali placed a comforting hand on Theo’s shoulder. “I hope your investigation yields more information than Drogramath’s. He’s been ignoring my prayers.”

“Khahar placed new rules on the gods. I doubt he can talk to you directly. He certainly can’t intervene.”

“Yet power still flows from the dungeon,” Xol’sa said, appearing at the door.

“My love,” Zarali gasped, rushing to the door to support the Elf.

“Don’t make me brew a sleeping potion,” Theo said.

Xol’sa managed a smile.

“If anyone can solve this, it’s you,” Xol’sa said.

“Not because you’re smart,” Zarali said, jabbing a finger at Theo. “Because you’re stupid and tenacious. You’ll bang your head against the problem until you pass out.”

Theo shrugged, turning on the spot. As he walked away he called over his shoulder. “Just living my best life.”

The alchemist stood outside of the town hall for a long time, taking deep breaths. He needed his thoughts ordered if he wanted to figure this out, and the sight of Zarali’s tired eyes wasn’t helping. Belgar’s connection to her wasn’t helping matters, flooding him with a brotherly need to save his sister. But rushing the problem wouldn’t help.

“Hah,” Theo said, snapping his fingers. He turned on the spot to regard his town hall. “If there’s a [Reforge Soul] potion, why isn’t there a [Reforge Body] potion?”

Intuition only went so far. Theo was working on a suspicion that he felt was wrong, but it was the only way forward. Until then, he withdrew a low-level [Monster Core] from his inventory. He pressed it into the town hall, repeating the process until it hit level 5. Upgrading buildings always made him feel better. The first set of upgrade options popped into his vision.

[Home and Hearth]

Citizens of this town will have their minds soothed while within the town hall. They will also require less rest than normal.

[Massive Hall]

Increases the size of the town hall, adding a third floor.

[Underground Complex]

Adds an underground, customizable complex to your town hall.

It was rare that the first three upgrades a building presented were this awesome. Theo would have accepted any of them, but went with [Home and Hearth] for his first upgrade. He continued shoving cores until he got it to level 10. He inspected the new option before making a decision.

[Beacon of Hope]

Radiates a sense of comfort to all citizens within a radius of the town hall.

“Turns out, I should have done this ages ago,” Theo said.

He thought about the upgrade for a while. It would be nice to have more space in the town hall, if only to make it more impressive. But the [Underground Complex] upgrade didn’t seem as helpful as [Beacon of Hope, so he selected that one. Theo jammed more cores into the building until it hit level 15. The next upgrade option popped up.

[Efficient Taxation]

All taxes are automatically deposited into a lockbox within this building.

“Finally a stinker,” Theo said, laughing. He could already do that with his [Governance Core].

“Oh! Are we upgrading something?” Fenian said, his voice coming from up the road. “I love upgrades.”

“Done with your Galflower?” Theo asked, selecting the [Massive Hall] upgrade option.

Fenian started talking, but the building lurched to one side, then the other. The whitewashed exterior expanded upward, rising until a third floor had magically appeared. Like the bottom two floors, it held windows that gave a splendid view of the surrounding town.

When the building was done moving, Fenian spoke. “Yes, I had a good time. Thank you for asking.”

Theo nodded, adding more cores until the building hit level 20. A crowd had formed, the way it always did, and Alise stormed from the interior of the building. During the upgrade process, the town hall had been expanded to either side as it leveled. The addition of a new floor was enough to draw her out of her office.

“A little warning next time?” Alise asked.

The next option was interesting.

[Efficient Movement]

Increases the speed of all citizens, and their vehicles, when traveling on roads connected with this town hall.

The basement option just wasn’t appealing to Theo. He didn’t like a room without a window. It seemed unnatural. He selected the [Efficient Movement] option before inspecting the building.

[Town Hall]

[T-shirts for sale]

Owners: Theo Spencer

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 20 (25%)

Rent Due: 5 Days

Expansions:

[Home and Hearth]

[Beacon of Hope]

[Massive Halls]

[Efficient Movement]

“Those are some fantastic upgrades,” Alise said, shaking her head. “I thought they’d all be trash.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Theo said, his brow knitting. “Well, that’s enough of that.”

“Oh, look at me,” Fenian mocked. “The fancy archduke. Bored with the tasks of the peasants.”

“Yeah, join me Fenian,” Theo said, leaving the crowds behind.

The pair traveled south along the main road, finding their way to the Newt and Demon. The alchemist could hear Salire inside, haggling with someone about something. He gestured to the lot on the far side of the road, next to Zarali’s enchanting workshop.

“I want to put a mansion there. Do you have a mansion seed core?”

Fenian gave him a flat look. “I was joking about you being a fancy archduke. You don’t need a mansion.”

“Come on. Wouldn’t it be neat? I could have a house. Instead of sleeping next to my smelly lab, I could sleep in a real room. Maybe have a dining room. A study.”

Fenian withdrew a seed core from his inventory. A gold cage surrounded a pulsing core of shifting light. “I owe you my limbs, don’t I? And my safe passage through Gardreth. Go on, my dear alchemist. You’ve earned it.”

Theo took the [Manor Seed Core] from Fenian, holding it in his hands. It radiated a power that wasn’t found in the [House Seed Cores]. He thought about the placement for a moment. The manor could go to the south of his lab, as that space was empty. But there was something about having two of his own structures on the same side of the road that made him feel uncomfortable. The original plan was the best, so he planted it on the western side of the road, south of Zarali’s workshop.

“You know, I was saving that seed core as a gift to an Elven lord,” Fenian said, driving up to the spot where the tangled roots sprouted from the ground.

Theo inserted cores into the seed core, feeding it until it sprouted. “I appreciate it, Fenian. You’ll always be a friend to the alliance.”

The alchemist was thrown back when the building sprouted. He’d feed the seed too quickly, causing the roots to flail around before they wrapped into the form of a massive building. It built itself in the style of Broken Tusk homes with a blue roof. But the siding was rendered in a pale lilac, almost off-white. It was twice the size of the Newt and Demon, already two stories without upgrades. The pair checked the exterior around the back, finding a dark iron fence spanning a hundred paces into the distance.

“This is a big house,” Theo chuckled, rubbing his hands together.

The inside was even more impressive. It opened with a stout atrium. There was a place for him to place shoes and coats in that entranceway. It opened up to a massive sitting room overlooked by a balcony on all sides. Plush sofas surrounded a large wooden table, and there was a large fireplace on the left wall. Fenian let out a low whistle.

“More impressive than I expected,” Fenian said. “I should get one of these for myself.”

Theo wasn’t certain what he’d do with all the space. The building needed air conditioning. Maybe more than one unit to keep the large interior cooled during the unforgiving Season of Fire. The bottom floor had a kitchen, sitting room, and several small bedrooms. Upstairs there were more bedrooms than Theo could count, including a massive master bedroom with an attached bathroom. There was also a massive study on the second floor, complete with walls of empty bookshelves and an excellent view of the town outside.

Unfortunately, Fenian couldn’t make it up the stairs to inspect. Instead, they made their way outside to inspect the building and consider upgrades.

[Manor]

Owners: Theo Spencer, Tresk

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 1 (0%)

Rent Due: 5 Days

Expansions:

None

Fenian helped Theo insert [Monster Cores] until they gained their first upgrade path. The alchemist read them out.

[Endless Comfort]

While relaxing within the manor, you are placed in a state of extreme comfort.

[Expansive Gardens]

Expands the rear garden. Fruit trees and flowers will grow automatically.

[Service Competence]

All workers with servant-based cores will gain increased experience while performing their duties.

“Servants?” Theo asked.

“Oh you must hire servants, Theo. I need you to hire several buxom Elves to serve you chilled Tarantham wine.”

Theo selected the [Endless Comfort] upgrade. He fed the manor more cores until the level 10 option popped up.

[Cellar]

Adds a cellar to the manor. All items placed within the cellar will not decay.

Theo thought about this one for a while, but he was more interested in the garden. He selected [Expansive Gardens] for the level 10 upgrade, then added cores until it was level 15. While his supply of high-level [Monster Cores] was low, he had a ton of low-level ones. He inspected the next upgrade with Fenian.

[Bonus Dining]

Eating meals in your dining room will grant additional bonuses.

“Hard to say,” Fenian said. “I’d go for the [Service Competence] upgrade, but you seem opposed to having servants. I mean, your town is run by them but hey… who am I to judge?”

Theo selected the [Bonus Dining] upgrade. The alchemist decided that level 20 was fine for the day. He inserted cores until the next upgrade popped up, inspecting that one with Fenian and signing.

[Reduced Taxes]

Reduces the amount of taxes this building requires by 25%.

“Well, since you hate the idea of servants, I guess you should pick the cellar.”

“I hate cellars,” Theo said.

“There’s only one option, then,” Fenian said, clapping like an excited child.

Theo reluctantly selected the [Service Competence] upgrade.

Fenian clapped like an idiot again, then rubbed his hand together. “Come, Theo. Let’s find the plumpest Elf in Broken Tusk that needs a job.”

“I’m hiring an old man. Just to spite you.”