The Newt and Demon - Chapter 5.24 - Dead Dog Upgrades

Theo took a break before pressing on with his building upgrade crusade. Tresk might have given the drydock a crude name, but at least it added characters. It wasn’t as though sailors were strangers to rude words and crass jokes. The amount of curses that flung from the harbor was staggering. It seemed to be a constant stream of rude limericks and words that would make the alchemist blush.

For his break, Theo headed off to check on a few old friends. And there was plenty to see in town. Compared to when he first arrived, Broken Tusk had changed entirely. It was hard to imagine that only a season and a half had passed. The alchemist moved through the bustling streets of the town, nodding to people as they passed by. He stopped in to check on Perg, first.

“Hello?” Theo entered the tanner’s workshop, finding the half-ogre woman working hard.

“Look who came to grace me with his demon goodness,” Perg said, removing herself from the tanning pit. She was covered in a thin layer of goo.

“How’s it going, Perg?”

“Well enough. Making some real money with these foreigners coming to town. They love wolf leather.”

Theo nodded, engaging in polite conversation. Perg had become somewhat insular in recent times. She kept to herself, working hard in her tannery and never bothering others. Unlike most others in town, even those native to the area, she was content to live a quiet life. The alchemist reflected with her on that, part of him wishing he could do the same. He had found balance recently, but it was very recent.

Once he was done chatting, Theo headed out. He aimed to catch up with Xam and Miana, but he spotted the tworgnothi woman once again. The alchemist was drawn to her. It wasn’t his goal, but in the heavens he had saved more than a few dronon souls. There was no administrative report on what the woman was doing here, or how she got here, but he needed to know.

Theo approached Throk’s workshop timidly. He waved at Throk and the tworgnothi woman, smiling. “Hey.”

“Ah, there he is,” the woman said. Her voice wasn’t as cold as he had expected. There was a brightness that radiated the ideals of Tworgnoth. It was a pleasant change, compared to both drogramathi and zagmoni concepts. She had black hair like most dronon, with copper-colored skin. Like a true child of the demon artificer, she wore a work apron, heavy boots, and a pair of thick leather gloves.

“Theo!” Throk shouted. “About time you came poking your head in. This is… how did you pronounce it?”

The woman laughed. “Tweliagia. Most who speak Qavelli have trouble with it. Call me whatever you like.”

“Lia,” Throk said. “We’ll just take the middle part of your cursed name so us southlanders can pronounce it.”

“Theo,” the alchemist said, reaching a hand out. Lia shook it, nodding. “I didn’t expect to see another dronon. Not with the undead.”

“Right. I was working in the Khahari Desert when my lord called me here. He said there was a lizard-folk man who wanted a [Tworgnoth Artificer’s Core],” Lia said, smiling at the marshling. “He also thinks I can help with the incursion.”

“She’s damned skilled, Theo!” Throk shouted, puffing with pride. “Puts my work to shame.”

Tia smiled, patting Throk on the head. He seemed to melt a little. “He’s doing his best with what he has. An unaligned core won’t compete with a demon core, after all.”

“Please. If you need anything at all, let us know. We have access to Tworgnothi Copper, Drogramathi Iron, and an alloy made of the two. Anything for a child of Tworgnoth.”

Lia smiled, nodding. “Do you treat all wandering dronon so nicely?”

“We have had no wandering dronon,” Theo said. “Just a priestess of Drogramath and some Zagmon assassins.”

Lia’s face darkened slightly. “I heard about what Zagmon did. He deserves what he got. Just because we’re considered demons doesn’t mean we can’t get along with the other races. Don’t you think?”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Theo said. His excitement for meeting another dronon was too high, and he recognized that. The alchemist took a breath, calming himself. She might have been a servant of a friendly dronon god, but that didn’t mean he could spill all his secrets. “Once again, you’re welcome to stay as long as you need. If you need some cash, we’ll provide it. You’re giving Throk a splendid gift.”

“Yeah. Bumping elbows with demon gods,” Throk said, snorting a laugh. “Not something I expected to do.”

“I appreciate your hospitality,” Lia said, bowing her head. “I’ll be around for a while.”

The thing Theo wanted more than anything was to house more dronon. He wanted the Southlands Alliance to be a safe place for them to live. A place where they could stop running and settle down. There weren’t many people in the world who hunted the race down. Not with the Eye being destroyed. But the thousands of years before that had etched into the very bones of all dronon. It was now a reflex to run away. Lia seemed different, though.

“If you don’t mind me asking… are there more tworgnothi in the desert?”

“A few,” Lia said with a shrug.

“I want to find the scattered dronon. Give them a place to stay.”

“That’s noble.”

Theo felt awkward after that. Lia wasn’t as excited about it as him. He smiled politely, then excused himself from the artificer’s workshop. Lia was helping Throk work on his various designs. With the support of the Demon God of Artificers, he could do great things. That required time, and practice.

“Wow, that was weird,” Tresk said, appearing at Theo’s side. “And she was nice. Way nicer than Zarali.”

“Yeah. She was,” Theo said. He stood at the town center, deciding on a direction to travel. “Aren’t you working?”

“I’m on my mandated break,” Tresk said. “What are you doing today?”

“Upgrading buildings. Which is kinda fun.”

“I’m all about upgrading buildings. What do we have?”

“Ziz and his guys maintain their own levels, so not them. Throk is responsible for his crap, so not him. What about the school?”

“Is that your responsibility?”

“According to the contract it is.”

“Since Sledge is gonna have her babies, it’s a good idea. We’ll need to expand the crap out of that school.”

The school was a good place to start. Theo made his way over, standing outside of the play yard. Kids of all races and ages were playing in the mud, which had become something of a tradition. Bob was somewhere nearby, doing his best to keep the kids in line. As expected, the school’s level hadn’t budged since the last time Theo upgraded it. It was level 15 with three upgrades. [Dormitories] made a comfortable area for the kids to stay. That upgrade was vital for the orphans, who had nowhere else to call home. [Play Yard] was a no-brainer, it gave the kids a safe area to play outside. And [Speedy Education] allowed Bob to teach them easier. That was the most important one, as it reduced the amount of staff they needed to teach the kids.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Tresk lingered around the area while Theo shoved cores into the seed core building. Bob came outside the fenced, shouting angrily as the building jumped beneath his feet.

“I’ve got sleeping babies in here!”

“Sorry,” Theo said, smiling. “But I’m making your building bigger.”

“Ugh. They’re already awake, I guess.”

First was the Level 20 upgrade option. Since Bob was already there, Theo consulted with him on what the best upgrade would be. Thankfully, the first one was easy to pick.

[Second Floor]

Adds a second floor to the school. The operator of this building can designate what the rooms on this floor are used for.

“More space is always better,” Bob said.

Theo agreed. The more people they got in town, the more kids there were. He continued to add cores to the building, reading the new option for level 25 out for Bob to hear. The teacher was interested in the new option.

[Shelter]

Adds a basement level to the school. This basement is highly resistant to damage, providing a safe shelter. All sapient beings under the age of 12 that enter this room will take less damage, become less fearful, require less food and water, and become well rested easily.

This was perfect. One problem Theo had faced in the past was keeping people safe when a monster wave attacked. Once a boss monster breached the outer walls, everyone in the town was in danger. But the children were especially vulnerable, making this an easy pick. Not only could the kids hide in the shelter, but when the town wasn’t under attack, they could use it for other things.

Theo inserted cores into the building until it reached level 30. This was as far as he intended to get any building in town, not wanting to upgrade anything too far. Since it was a matter of having enough [Monster Cores], he didn’t to spend them all in one place. The average level of his high-level monster cores was around 30. Leveling a building beyond that would have diminishing returns. The alchemist read the next upgrade for Bob to pick.

[Nourishing Meals]

All meals eaten by sapient beings under the age of 12 while within the school will be more nourishing. Children who consume food within the school will gain more nutrition from less food.

Quality food wasn’t a problem for Mudball Fundamental. But Bob was insistent that this was the best pick, so Theo picked it. The educator was happy with the upgrades, and the expanded space of his school. Since each level added a few feet of space to a building, he now had a lot more floor space to work with. Added onto that were the two new floors.

“Thanks, Theo,” Bob said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have babies to get back to sleep.”

Theo nodded, watching as the brogling went off to his duties. The alchemist inspected the building before moving on.

[School]

[Mudball Fundamental]

Owners: Alise Plumm

Operator: Graplaptappin Tublubbin Grappin

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 30 (92%)

Rent Due: SUSPENDED

Expansions:

[Dormitories]

[Play Yard]

[Speedy Education]

[Second Floor]

[Shelter]

[Nourishing Meals]

At least the administrators had figured out how to suspend rent. Alise and Theo were on the same page about that. The money earned from taking rent from citizens was minimal. It was better to give those people the tools to do something profitable, then tax them there. The difference between the approaches was drastic. Ziz’s operation was taxed at a flat rate at the end of his production cycles. That tax was based on the amount of money he made from sales. Dead Dog Mine was taxed completely differently. The state owned the mine, which meant the individual workers were not taxed at all. Instead, they were paid for their production. Broken Tusk itself processed the ore, then sold the ingots.

With Dead Dog Mine on his mind, Theo headed south. He passed by the cluster of smelters operated by Nira, waving at the people within from a distance. He didn’t care for the heat of the smelters. Even with his fancy coat. The alchemist passed through a small neighborhood outside of the mine. Most people who worked the mine wanted to be closer, resulting in a spotty neighborhood that rolled over the hills, seemingly without order. Several miners were outside of the entrance, lingering with golems and adventurers alike. Security had increased ever since they discovered the cave system below.

“Hello,” Theo said, waving at the group. They waved back, and he got to work on the upgrades.

Dead Dog Mine was at level 10. One of the lowest in town. Theo was embarrassed that it had taken him this long to get to the mine, but things had been busy. He sorted through his inventory, ordering the remaining [Monster Cores] he had on him. The alchemist was almost out of low-level cores, and his supply of high-level cores was dwindling. The mine currently had two upgrades. [Miner Fortitude] made the workers less tired when they mined. [Automatic Deposit] made it so that any nuggets mined would appear in a [Dimensional Storage Crate] outside of the mine. Both were great upgrades, and the other two options given were pretty interesting. The mine hit level 15, presenting him with three options.

[Grom Rang’s Banishment]

Monsters are less likely to find your mine.

[Miner Quickness]

Anyone with a [Miner’s Core] (or variant) will move 25% faster within the mine.

[Rock And Stone]

Anyone with a [Miner’s Core] (or variant) will clear away rock and stone 50% faster.

[Grom Rang’s Banishment] and [Miner Quickness] were both older upgrades. [Rock And Stone] was the new one, and Theo didn’t know which was better. Monsters weren’t really an issue anymore, so he dismissed the first one. He couldn’t decide if it was better to move faster, or to clear stone away faster. He polled the nearby miners, and went with their recommendation. They claimed that [Miner Quickness] would help them a lot, especially since the mine had expanded considerably. It took them too long to get to the bottom floors, and it had annoyed them for some time.

Theo added more cores until the mine hit level 20. He was presented with the old options again, and a new one. By now, a crowd of miners had formed around him. They had an interest in making sure he picked the right options, so he didn’t blame them. He read the upgrades out for everyone to hear, resulting in an indistinct murmur of conversation. The alchemist inspected the new option.

[Grom Rang’s Tenacity]

After working in the mine for an hour, anyone with a [Miner’s Core] (or variant) will gain an increase to their Strength and Vigor. This effect increases every thirty minutes, up to eight hours.

The miners normally worked four to six hour shifts, so they agreed this would be the best option. Theo selected it, smiling to himself as the miners discussed the upgrade options. He had never seen them so involved in the process. But perhaps they had never been given the chance. The mine hit level 25 with ease, presenting him with yet another option.

[Escape]

Once per day, anyone with a [Miner’s Core] (or variant) working in the mine may instantly teleport to the entrance. This ability costs no mana and casts instantly.

There was an uproar for that option. Every miner assembled agreed that this option was awesome. They gave their opinions as to why that was. Gridgen had created so many tunnels that ran so deep that getting to the surface was a problem. When a person’s shift was done, they wove a path through the maze-like mine to reach the surface. Several miners claimed they had been lost in the mines before, forcing them to hunker down for the night. As Theo wasn’t interested in forcing his people to sleep in the cold mine, he picked that option.

“One more,” Theo said. The crowd cheered. He fed the last few cores to the mine and read the option for everyone to judge.

[Rail Carts]

Magical rails, complete with magical rail carts, appear within the mine. The rail carts are powered by coins or motes and can be summoned by anyone using a [Miner’s Core] (or variant). These carts can only be summoned at the entrance, allowing a miner to ride to their intended section of the mine with ease. The carts vanish after all occupants disembark.

The crowd went nuts. Once again, this was an option that improved the quality of the miners’ lives. They theorized on how amazing the upgrade would be, or how fast the carts would go. But the one thing they all agreed on was that Theo should pick that option. The alchemist was happy to obey, selecting [Rail Carts] as his last upgrade for the mine. Theo inspected the mine now that he was done upgrading it.

[Mine]

[Dead Dog Mine]

Owners: Theo Spencer

Operator: Gridgen Dev

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 30 (2%)

Rent Due: SUSPENDED

Ore Type:

Copper

Iron

Drogramathi Iron

????

Ore Quality: Perfect

Expansions:

[Miner Fortitude]

[Automatic Deposit]

[Miner Quickness]

[Grom Rang’s Tenacity]

[Escape]

[Rail Carts]

While they still hadn’t found silver or gold, things were looking up for the mine. Nothing in the system’s description of the building included the cave below. But Theo understood that to be some weird stuff created by Khahar back in the day. He left the mine before the crowd got too rowdy, heading back to his manor for some rest. The alchemist wasn’t sure when Tresk had slipped away, but that was how she worked.

Theo settled into the garden behind his manor, finding a shaded spot to sit. The heat of the day only seemed to increase, no matter where he sat. Thanks to his comfortable coat, the weather felt perfect. That wasn’t the case for everyone, though. Somewhere in the distance, he could feel both Alex and Tresk suffering from the heat.