The Newt and Demon

It took the raiding parties a while to break through the collapsed stone tunnels. Theo folded his arms as he watched them pour forth, extending his aura to ensnare them all. He would have felt bad for them, had they not been so completely prepared for war. Instead, he saw the battle as a reaping of wheat where he held the scythe. As long as he could encourage those souls to move on, they weren’t really dying. But the first wave came with fervor, and the second with slightly more trepidation. But the fourth, the underground elves had lost their heart.

While the metal golems were good at their job, the defense of the abandoned city still required the intervention of adventurers. The early morning came by the time the attacking forces were mopped up, several hundred souls in all. Theo joined with Aarok, Luras, and Twist as the other adventurers took care of the bodies. There would be a mass-burning, as was tradition in Broken Tusk.

“Curious. They were so under-prepared,” Twist said, rubbing the chin of his mask.

“I’m not happy about defending the damned tunnels, Theo.” Aarok had been grumbling the entire fight. He wouldn’t stop now.

“Elf, do you know if we could place a town core down here?” Luras asked.

“There already is one,” he said, gesturing back toward the city. “Saw it on the way in.”

Luras, Theo, and Theo shared a look. Their descent into the underground had been hasty. None of them inspected the area fully. The group approached the platform that Pogo had rested on, finding a curious monolith there. A smooth gray monolith rose from the platform, surrounded by hard roots. The dragon had been wrapped around the monolith, hiding it from sight.

Theo looked back on his memories. Had he actually missed it? He shot Twist a look, but got nothing back under that mask. He looked back to the scene of the battle, unable to see the ghosts but knowing they were drawing closer to him. The version of Theo that had just arrived in Broken Tusk would claim the monolith right there, snatching at whatever he could get his hands on. But the newer version favored caution.

“Don’t touch it,” Theo said. “Not until we have some people look at it.”

“I think you should claim it,” Twist said.

Because you planted it, Theo thought. Although he couldn’t sense the plot, there was indeed something afoot. He had accepted too many gifts from gods lately. If this was Earth, and Theo had infiltrated some nation’s support network, this was the time to strike.

Some folks considered half-ogres to be stupid. Perhaps that was true. From what Theo knew, it was rare to see a half-ogre mage. But they were wise with an innate sense for people. Aarok wasn’t as tactful as the alchemist. “Did you plant it?”

An aura of blue-purple energy sprung up around Luras. That guy didn’t miss a beat.

Twist remained motionless for some time. He cleared his throat. “I watered it. The seed was left behind.”

“Was that so hard?” Aarok asked.

Theo waited a breath for his Wisdom of the Soul to tell him otherwise. But he could only guess that Twist was telling the truth. Not that it mattered. Not only would he allow Zarali, Xol’sa, and Sulvan to look over it, he would poke around in the heavens and ask for advice.

“My hands act on their own,” Twist said with a shrug. “I couldn’t pluck the seed for myself, so I watered it.”

“Curious hands indeed,” Aarok said with a sigh.

“If I wanted to betray you, I could have slit your throats in the night.” Twist shrugged as though that explained everything.

“Elves in the deep have trouble making friends, don’t they?” Luras asked. “Bit rough around the edges. And other parts.”

“So I’ve been told.” 𝘧𝑟ℯℯ𝓌ℯ𝑏𝓃𝑜𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝓂

“Then you’ll forgive our caution,” Theo said, inclining his head toward the masked elf. “You warned us about the dragon vanishing, and the alliance appreciates it.”

“Anything for the alliance,” Twist said, bowing deeply.

Theo departed from the scene, rubbing his eyes with both hands. He assigned a group of golems to watch the core with orders to restrain, not kill. His interests shifted toward a topic that was more entertaining than the underground world. With only a few hours left in the night, he urged Tresk and Alex to head back to the manor for some rest. Neither disagreed, and they were joined by Sarisa and Rowan, who looked exhausted.

Once the trio was safely within the Dreamwalk, Theo allowed his thoughts to unravel. They landed in the caverns below Broken Tusk, looking over a simulated version of the battle. The thing he was so eager to test was the amount of rest they needed during the night. He had suspected they only needed an hour.

“So, the weird elf is being weird?” Tresk asked. “I’ve been in his dreams.”

“What does he dream about?”

“Women.”

“Ah.”

This was an excellent chance to grind experience for his cores and assess where he was. His Toru’aun core had stagnated recently, and his sorcerer and Zaul cores were going to hit Level 10 at any time. His Governance Core had caught up to his main cores in an instant, and the Tara’hek Core was skyrocketing as always, almost hitting Level 35. Theo suspected it would get stuck at Level 40, right on the edge of the next tier.

With only two hours within the Dreamwalk, he couldn’t accomplish everything he wanted. He simulated the battle a few times and imagined Twist feeding some hidden Town Seed Core on the platform, but that was all he could do. The group woke in what felt like moments.

“How do we feel?” Theo asked, looking over to the horse-sized goose. He really needed to get Sledge off her egg clutch to fix the manor. Larger doors and larger halls were needed.

“Well-rested!” Tresk shouted. “And without the drowsy effects of your potions.”

“Let’s get breakfast started,” Theo said, cracking his knuckles. “I don’t think Sarisa and Rowan will be up to it.”

Tresk helped Theo prepare a breakfast of burned eggshells and charred bacon. It was disgusting, so Theo withdrew some month-old soup from his inventory and placed it on the table. When the half-ogre siblings didn’t rise, he summoned a few golems to come perform guard duty on him. While the golems weren’t as powerful, they would do for today.

Theo reviewed his administration screen over breakfast. Alise had done an amazing job keeping the channels of information organized, sorting through the reports until the early morning. She was smart enough to stagger her shift with Gwyn, which would ensure the flow of information was constant. The alchemist watched as Alex forced her way out of the front door, shoving her massive body against the frame and finally popping out. The town outside was silent, with only a few citizens walking around. Before things got even more crazy, he made his way to the Newt and Demon.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The small fridges Salire had purchased worked wonderfully. Theo held the refined Tier 4 potion in his hand. It was derived from the Water LIly, and should have made a potion aligned with the Wisdom attribute. Before he could inspect his newest creation, a familiar screen appeared.

[Potion of Significance]

You are the first person to create a potion of great significance. This potion has never been created by another mortal. Please select an attribute to boost from the following list:

Strength, Vigor, Dexterity, Wisdom, Intelligence, Willpower.

Three sharp knocks came from the door. Of course Fenian didn’t wait for an invitation. He let himself in, smiling as he leaned against a cabinet. “Doing more naughty things?”

Theo held the potion up. “Be straight with me. Is this breaking the rules?”

“Not anymore.” Fenian strode over, a smile hanging on his face. “Not after the last time. What have you created this time, my dear alchemist?”

“The strongest potion ever crafted. No big deal,” Theo said, offering the elf an equally enormous smile. “Wanna see?”

“Naturally.”

Theo waited to make a selection on the prompt. When he placed his ten free points into Wisdom, he would be sent reeling for a while. For now, he inspected the potion with Fenian.

[Insight Overwhelming]

[Elixir]

Unique

Created by: Theo Spencer

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Tero’gal (Perfect Bond)

Drink to double your Wisdom and double the prediction effects of that wisdom.

Elixir Restrictions:

Only one Insight Overwhelming may be consumed or crafted(worldwide) every five days.

“That is a mighty potion,” Fenian said, licking his lips. “I shall quaff it.”

“You can’t. Give it a try.” Theo shrugged. Did Fenian even read the description?

Fenian tipped the potion back, but it refused to leave the vial. Five days needed to pass before anyone could drink it. Theo was only thankful that no one else was crafting this stuff. Otherwise, he would never see these potions in use.

“Ah, rats,” Fenian said, handing the potion back to Theo. “Worth a try, though.”

Theo placed the potion in his inventory, finding a chair to sit on before getting ten free points in Wisdom. He found the prompt and selected wisdom. Then his head swam.

“That is a mighty surge of power,” Fenian said. “Are you doing something sneaky?”

“No, just accepting my free points from discovering a Potion of Significance. Nothing weird going on here, officer.”

“Wisdom, right? How much are you at?”

“52 Wisdom.”

“Damn, Theo. Save some for the rest of us. How do I get a Drogramathi core? Can I have… Four?”

Theo watched as phantom versions of Fenian did various things. He was surprised to see one where the elf slapped him and was thankful that didn’t come to pass. His predictive powers had increased from a fraction of a second to about one or two seconds. He needed to dump more points into Wisdom, though. He was certain that breaking the one-hundred mark would give him enough predictive power for his plans. Combined with the Insight Overwhelming potion and standard Greater Wisdom Potions, he could reach that goal sooner than without.

“Talk to Drogramath about that… Speaking of the gods, I want to have a summit.”

“With the gods? Go for it!”

“With holders of the thrones.”

“Ah. A meeting you cannot attend.”

Theo glared at the smiling elf.

“I joke! Of course that’s a good idea. But do you have leads on where to find the Throne of the Dreamwalker?”

“Yeah, the space elves have it. I just have to find the space elves.”

“Perhaps you can use your new Wisdom cheat to find them. I kid! Gods, you’re so boring.”

“Well, as long as you’re here I could use some help.”

“Oh, yes.” Fenian clapped with excitement. “Who are we killing?”

“I’m boring. Remember? Come help at Town Hall. I’m sure the functionaries are overwhelmed.”

“You’re right. You said it! Boring!”

The work taking place in the Town Hall was indeed boring. Both Gwyn and Gael were working with the junior administrators to gather information and make plans for the underground town. Zarali had already submitted a few reports about the monolith, which seemed without sabotage.

“Have we met?” Fenian said, fluttering his eyes at Gwyn.

She gave him a flat look, moving off to handle other work.

“Ah. Guess I don’t have it anymore.”

“I thought you’d be gone by now,” Theo said, thinking back. “Didn’t you leave?”

“Yes, but I’m back. I went and now I’ve returned. I can travel with the Bridge, Theo. A continent is a breath away for me.”

“Huh. Have you been to Veosta?”

“No, I was looking for a woman. I met her in the Spine a while back, but I can’t find her. But that’s Uz’Xulven Dronon for you. Popping up here and vanishing when you blink.”

Theo thought back. A long time ago, Fenian had mentioned something about dronon in the north. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to practice a new move. “Hey, wanna go to the heavens?”

Fenian shrugged. “Why not?”

“Alright. Uz might get mad at you, though. Just hold on tightly.”

“Wait, what?” Fenian asked, slapping at the shadows that wrapped around his body. “Please don’t make her mad.”

Theo had already dropped them into the void. Fenian screamed, but the sound was muted enough that he didn’t care. His willpower had grown to such a point where he could pierce the veil with another person. That was a good start. He needed to get to a point where he could do so with an entire town, but a single person was good. This type of interdiction action was outside of the system’s rules for his Tero’gal Dreampassage ability. This was a piercing of reality’s membrane he could do whenever he wanted. However powerful it might have been, it still wasn’t good enough to move as Fenian did on the Bridge.

“Uz’Xulven save me!” Fenian shouted as the pair passed through the wall created by the bridge. Although his shouts were quieter, Theo could still hear him. Unfortunately. “Where are you taking me, demon?”

“The edge of the inner void,” Theo said, moving them forward with his willpower. The higher it got, the faster he could go. That massive expanse between the near and far void required him to go much faster. “See the ribbons?”

“Is that what the heavens look like?”

“That’s how I interpret them. I’m guessing you’re seeing them through my lens.”

“You’re a dirty little demon boy. Could we visit somewhere else?” Fenian begged. “I don’t like this.”

“We could visit Balkor’s realm,” Theo said, gesturing to a pale green orb below.

“Oh, you’re just the worst.”

Theo pushed himself as far as he could go, feeling more of himself flake away as he reached the edge of the local void. He had named the area with all the realms the Near Void, and the places beyond the Far Void or Deep Void. Standing on the precipice was like looking over the edge of a skyscraper. An infinite dimension of darkness stretched in all directions. Fenian screamed, floating next to him in the bubble fueled by Zaul’s magic. The alchemist would be ready to pierce the Far Void in a few days, as long as no more underground elves attacked.

“Could we please go back?”

Theo turned them around, angling for a singular realm. His plan wasn’t to intimidate Fenian, but show him the scope of the void and all within it. This would also reveal weaknesses they would need to fix before they restarted the world.

“We’re making a quick stop before heading to Glantheir’s realm,” Theo said.

“Wait a second… I recognize that realm,” Fenian said. “I’m growing to hate you, Theo.”

The duo approached the edge of one glowing realm within the void. Theo interdicted them inside, appearing in an opulent chamber. The walls were polished white marble, and a throne of gold sat on a dais. The alchemist half-expected to see elven maidens waiting with fans made from palm fronds.

“You should protect the Throne of the Herald better,” Theo said, tutting.

“I didn’t make it like this! Karasan did! I swear!”