The Newt and Demon

Tero’gal’s new form of alchemy had a lot of twists and turns. Drogramath’s alchemy functioned linearly, seeming to always produce predictable things. Putting an amount of reagents and water into a still would produce almost equal parts out, making it easy to understand. With his new core, Theo found it more of a guessing game when he started a brew. The batches were even different between the ones he ran, and those that Salire ran. Quantity was included in that variation. The stills Throk had constructed would produce anywhere from 25 to 50 units of essence in the end, depending on a few factors including purity and the skill of the alchemist.

Perhaps the paint-by-numbers version of alchemy wasn’t completely gone. But it was heading in a direction where skill and knowledge mattered more than just throwing everything at the still and praying for the best.

“How many projects are you involved in?” Salire asked, wiping her brow. Most of the stills were loaded and ready to go. There was a pile of equipment to test, but she didn’t seem eager to do so.

“This project, obviously,” Theo said with a shrug. “Then just the space elves, end of the world party, and the tethers and beacons. I’ve really whittled down my list of projects.”

“Guess we lucked out with the dungeons, huh?”

Theo nodded, taking a good sniff of the various brewing essences. The Gas Detector Throk had built was useful, but nothing could beat the nose of a seasoned alchemist. He had little opinion about the dungeons. They had formed from the concentrated energy from the fake heavens, which he was viewing more as a corrupted energy as time went on. Although the area was still filled with Tero’gal’s energy, it behaved more like the system had intended.

“We were lucky that the plan to release the true gods worked,” Theo said. “Not that I disagree with the premise. We got very lucky.”

Salire nodded along, tapping her finger along the rim of a hot still. Once this run of potions was done, they would have enough Reforge Mind potions to fix a fair number of the elves. Once the recovering elf was up and talking, the alchemist would be happy enough with the brew to bring the others over. This new version of the potion would be far more potent and should cut recovery time by quite a bit.

“Guess we’re just waiting around. Maybe someone should test the new devices.” Salire trailed off after speaking, as though she wanted nothing to do with it.

“You need to practice your mana control,” Theo said, smiling as he saw her face brighten. “I suppose I’ll take a look at these… things.”

“Huzzah!” Salire shouted, jumping into the air. “Since you can see the future, you make a better test subject… Erm, experimenter. Not ‘test subject.’”

“You’re lucky I’m nice,” Theo said with a wink, scooping all the devices into his inventory. “I’m headed to the giant metal cube of death. Bye.”

Salire waved as Theo left the lab. He was unsurprised when Sarisa and Rowan appeared from the shadows, begging him to let them forgo the experiments. He agreed, summoning a few golems for his guard. Not that he needed them. After cleaning the inside of the metal cube, he took a look at the devices Throk had provided.

Perhaps the instructions weren’t clear, but several of the devices he had provided were variations on the first-tier ones. Well, he was shooting blind like the rest of them so it wasn’t a surprise. Salire had marched into his workshop and requested whatever his mind could come up with, not something that would specifically send them forward to third tier alchemy. The first tier was a paddle, second was a spinner… what would the third tier be? Mana injection, of course. Somehow.

Theo looked over the devices Throk had provided, shaking his head at most. There was an iterative form of the second tier centrifuge that would be interesting. It had some improvements over the original model, providing better control and pressure features that would be helpful. The alchemist focused on one that might work for what he had in mind. During some old experiments they had fooled around with mana injection. That led Throk to develop a mana injection device inspired by Zarali’s enchanting cores.

“This might work,” Theo said, inspecting the device. He accepted two other devices without inspecting them much, and with no intentions of testing them. He took the newest device into his inventory, leaving the others in the giant metal cube. “My job here is done. Time to bother Throk.”

Leaving the cube, Theo stopped in to surprise Salire. She was less shocked than he had hoped, but just enough for him to gain some satisfaction of being out of the cube. Next stop was Throk’s workshop, which seemed to change more as the days went on. The man drew in apprentices like honey drew bears. Did honey draw bears? Theo doubted it, but he pressed forward anyway. For the first time in a long time, Throk didn’t seem very annoyed when he entered.

“What would you like today, alchemist?” Throk asked, not looking up from the device he worked on. Theo didn’t recognize it.

“A variation on this artifice,” Theo said, producing it from his inventory.

“What changes?” Throk asked.

“Can we mimic the mixing chamber from our last venture into Drogramathi alchemy? One still with pressure and heat, and another that can hold mana, injecting it into the main chamber at a set rate.”

Theo waited as Throk turned his head, looking at the ceiling. “Do you want variations on that concept?”

“If you have good ideas, yeah,” Theo said.

“I only have good ideas. You’re free to leave.”

Theo turned and walked out, happy to leave with only minimal grumbling. Once the various essence Salire was working on were done, he could move full force into the next phase. For now, his mind centered on another issue. Something he had wanted to do for a while.

“Tresk, what are you doing?” Theo asked, using their telepathic connection.

“Scouting.”

“Scouting where, exactly?”

“Dreams. That’s my job, y’know?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Let me know when you’ve wrapped up. I want to have an all-thrones meeting with the system.”

“Oh, that sounds far more entertaining. Give me five.”

Theo withdrew his communication crystal, contacting Fenian and giving him the same instructions. Since the elf held the Throne of the Herald—and that throne was on Tero’gal—he could teleport to it… Or use the Bridge, as long as the Bridge was open. Of course he was slightly grumpy about having to leave his newest revenge plot, but agreed to head to Tero’gal in five minutes. Khahar wouldn’t have been busy. Or at least if he was, he would agree to the meeting. Hopefully.

The wings of a giant goose-dragon beat overhead about ten minutes later. Alex landed, her features becoming more dragon-like by the day. Now she was quadrupedal, and the position of her wings had shifted. He hoped she would edge closer to dragon soon, since she looked more like a horror right now.

“Let’s go,” Theo said, jerking his head and dropping them into the void. He brought along Alex, but would just deposit her inside of Tero’gal or Tol’bak before they made their way to the system. A quick zip through the void, and they were standing on the surface of Tero’gal. Fenian waved from the distance.

“What’s this meeting about?” Fenian asked, jogging over. He was wearing his normal frilly clothes and had an air of interest about it. Excited, rather than annoyed.

“Hold on,” Theo said, vanishing from the spot. He arrived at the Arbiter’s Citadel a moment later, finding Khahar behind his big wooden desk. “Meeting in Tero’gal.”

“About?” Khahar asked.

“I want to establish our authority with the system,” Theo said. “I know it has all these rules, but I want it to know us on a personal level.”

“You think the system has a personality?” Khahar asked with a smile. “No, it isn’t a bad idea. Let’s go.”

Theo zipped both himself and Khahar to Tero’gal in a blink. Tol’bak was hovering overhead, distant enough to be as large as the moon was back on Earth. He wasn’t sure if the world had a proper sun, or if it was more of a simulation, but the moon glowed a faint shade of green.

“Okay. Like I just told Khahar, we’re going to meet with the system. I want to make sure we lay everything out for it, ensuring our authority to operate in this part of the universe.” Theo waited for someone to say something.

Of course, Tresk took the chance. “We gonna stab the system?”

“Not everything requires stabbing,” Fenian said with a sigh. “Although, maybe…”

“We’re not stabbing the system,” Khahar said. “Theo is right. The system has hard-coded rules it has to follow, but it has wiggle room in other areas. Those decisions to give us more or less leeway might be influenced by its personality.”

“Our general approach should be that we’re good little boys and girls,” Theo said, nodding to each member of his party. Alex had already flown off. Or teleported away to the moon. “And we’re all really dedicated to our roles. I want this to be a meeting with us and the system. Not the gods.”

“Where did you come up with this idea?” Tresk asked.

“Does it matter?” Fenian asked. “Seems like a good idea to me. Put our foot down. Make our mark on the system itself.”

“I’ve just been talking to the gods, and the system is always there. Since I’m waiting for potions to brew, I figured this was a good use of my time.”

“And our time,” Khahar commented. “Actually, I’m pretty bored.”

“Well, I’m not in bed with a fine maiden, so I don’t mind,” Fenian said. “Although I’m still not good at traveling through the void. Almost got lost, so I latched onto a strand of the Bridge… Do we know if the Bridge is closing after the change?”

“We can ask the system,” Theo said, clearing his throat. “Ready?”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Theo focused on each of them, encasing them in a bubble of his will. This was his job, after all. The Dreamwalker moved through the void, going between the heavenly places. They dropped into the void, getting a good view of the center even from just outside of Tero’gal. A short trip later, and they were stomping across the frozen field, bordered on all sides by darkness. Only the platform straight ahead was illuminated, as though waiting for their arrival.

Theo climbed the steps, shivering as he dusted the snow from his shoulders. To his surprise, the system was already hovering in the platform’s center. Of course it was expecting them. It was the system.

“Hello,” Theo said, bowing his head as he approached the floating crystalline entity. “Thanks for meeting with us.”

The system inclined its head to each of the members. “As you might know, I’m aware of your intentions.”

“Greetings,” Khahar said, inclining his head. “It is the wish of this council to meet with you regularly. To see where we are needed, and to use our specific skills to carry out the system’s will.”

“To crack some heads,” Tresk said, unhelpfully.

“I’m impressed,” the system said, something of a smile spreading across its angular face. Theo still wanted to think of her as a woman, but it was hard. That flash of emotion made it slightly easier. “Each of you has a duty to carry out. My power generated the thrones automatically to act as a counter-balance. When the false ascendants took power, they appeared. It only took you about fifty-thousand years to find them, Yuri.”

“Right. Things were difficult to understand back then. And I spent almost that entire time in deep meditation,” Khahar said.

“That act saved your mind. You’re extremely calculating, Arbiter,” the system said. “As for you, Ivaran…”

“Ah… Please don’t use that name,” Fenian said, chuckling as he looked at the others.

“I wouldn’t have guessed that one,” Theo said. “I like Ian better.”

“Your scheming and plotting must come to an end,” the system said. “If you carry out your current plan, I will seal your throne.”

“What does it mean to seal a throne?” Khahar asked. Fenian looked dejected.

“All thrones will be sealed with the change. Each holder of a throne will be bound to their duty. The Arbiter shall act as the arbiter of the gods and myself, settling disputes and setting boundaries. The Dreamwalker shall be the ferryman for those issues, along with a messenger and enforcer to both the mortal and heavenly realms. The Herald shall be the spear of the system, enforcing the rules on the mortal plane. Finally, the Dreamer shall be the hand of the Herald, collecting information and spreading it through the dreams of mortals. Should your throne be sealed, you will be restricted to your future duties early.”

“Wow. Admonished by the system,” Tresk said, clicking her tongue. “What’s your current plan?”

“He plans to take revenge on several individuals. The Shade of Balkor, the Ogre King Slog, King Hanan… Well, the list goes on,” the system said.

“I understand,” Fenian said, bowing his head.

Theo couldn’t remember the last time he saw Fenian nervous like this. But there was a flare of anger under the surface. The elf was crazy enough to try his wild schemes.

“And of course we’re happy to abide by whatever your will is,” Khahar said, trying to smoothe over the indiscretion.

“We appreciate the leeway you’ve given us to help the Bara’thier,” Theo added. “I know I’m taking my time with the project, but I’ll have it done soon enough.”

“Along with your party,” the system added. “I don’t have a problem with you bringing mortal souls to your realms. They should pass through Death’s Gate when the end comes, but I understand your desire to ferry them yourself. But you still must convince the gods to allow it. Especially Death.”

“This meeting isn’t to discuss the nuts and bolts of that act,” Theo said. “We’re simply setting the table for this relationship and our future.”

“A prudent move,” the system said. “One that I appreciate. You will have as much time—within reason—to move the elves. I’m glad you didn’t bring them directly to your realm. But you should focus on forming the Herald’s world. It won’t be as easy as creating Tol’bak.”

“Ah, right… I need to make a planet, don’t I?” Fenian asked.

The system bowed her head, the tugging at the corners of its—her—angular lips becoming a full-blown smile. “I look forward to working with you all.”