The Newt and Demon

Theo, Fenian, Khahar, and Tresk sat in a circle around a magical fire. The Arbiter’s Citadel—the tower dominating the center of the largest city on Khahar’s world—had a lovely balcony that overlooked the city below. Unlike a real skyscraper, there was no wind that rushed against them as they sipped the drink of the world. Screwdrivers. Of course Yuri would want his people to drink nothing but vodka in whatever form he could provide it. It wasn’t enough that they all spoke Russian. No, they had to get the true Russian experience. With a flair for the dramatic, of course.

“This drink is lovely,” Fenian said, taking a few sips. He pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders, shivering from the cold.

“Yes, we all enjoy some trashy drinks,” Theo said.

“This is mostly a formality,” Tresk said, taking a few gulps of her drink. “Your magic Russian elixir is making me feel funny, Khahar.”

“A simple formal meeting where we discuss issues,” Khahar said with a shrug. “Let’s talk about the players who could send things tumbling down before the transition.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Theo asked. “I was thinking of calling it ‘The Reset’.”

“The Cataclysm,” Fenian put in.

“Anyway, let’s all list our loose ends,” Khahar said, gesturing to Theo and Tresk. “I assume you’ll have the same elements of concern.”

“Twist, Jan, and Hanan,” Theo said with a shrug. “I have Hanan close at hand, so I’m not as worried about him. But both Twist and Jan are in the wind. No idea where I sent Twist, and no idea where Jan went.”

“We’ll need to kill them both,” Fenian said with a nod. But Theo’s intuition told him there was more to the words than the others realized.

“Care to share with the class?” Khahar asked. “They’re loose elements, not enemies.”

“Twist is unpredictable,” Fenian said. “He was integrated from a world we’re not familiar with. His people were scooped up by Death before most could assimilate.”

A look of confusion spread over Khahar’s face. “Death just took his seat. Twist appeared well before that.”

Fenian smiled. “And Jan was always a pain in the ass.”

“How about you start from the start, buddy,” Tresk said, glaring. “What use is there holding back information to the council?”

“Is that what we are? Oh, fine. Are you fine folks ready for a tale?”

“I like a good story,” Theo said, rubbing his hands together. “And answers.”

“A very long time ago, Iaredin was a system world like any other. We had a few gods, some wars, all that fun stuff. One day, the entire system reset. Everyone was sent back to Level 1, and almost everything changed. Especially the monsters. They no longer worked how we expected, sending the world into chaos. To everyone’s surprise, things came together. The monsters organized, seeking to destroy the things that held the world together. But the adventurers and armies of the worlds united, fighting against the horde and pushing them back. Four cities, four decisive battles.”

“I don’t remember that from this world’s history,” Khahar said once Fenian had paused for breath.

“Because the sixty-thousand years you know as ‘history’ only happened after another reset,” Fenian said. “We called it the Change.”

Theo put it together before Fenian went on. He had heard as much from the system and the other gods, but this confirmed it.

“Anyway, the thing about the change was this small hitch. We had outworlders coming in and out of our realm. I thought it would be a problem at first, but they gave their lives to defend our world. They helped us find a solution in our darkest hour, sealing the world away until it could stabilize.”

“The outworlders were from Earth, right?” Theo asked, scratching his head. He released a heavy sigh. That would have been common knowledge, meaning it happened well before Earth went to hell. That gave the governments enough time to cover up, or forget what happened. Iaredin being sealed away made sense in that regard. “You fought alongside Twist and Jan, didn’t you?”

“Naturally,” Fenian said with a shrug. “Among others.”

“This helps us how?” Tresk asked.

“Because there are a few others we need to bring into the fold,” Fenian said. “Or kill. Whichever. I don’t care.”

“So, hold on. You lived back in… what, 2030? 2050 Earth time? That means you were added to the queue. When did you get released from the queue?” Theo asked.

“Some time ago,” Fenian said, his tone becoming evasive. “I have answers, but not all of them.”

Khahar shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“How much did you know, Khahar?” Theo asked.

“Enough to get the ball rolling. Fenian was the first element to help with our plan. Zagmon, The Burning Eye, Fan’glir all had plots of their own. They would have worked if they accounted for rogue elements such as yourself and Fenian.”

“One more gripe,” Theo said, pointing an accusatory finger at Fenian. “You said Iaredin was sealed away. Is that what destroyed Earth?”

Fenian shared a look with Khahar. The arbiter nodded.

“It was one or the other,” Fenian said. “And Earth didn’t have the Great Shards to keep it stable during a period of hibernation. People on Earth could attune themselves to the Gates, giving them access to the world. Anyone who was attuned had a chance to avoid watching their planet die over the next several-hundred years.”

“Well, that just sucks,” Theo said, folding his arms. “Earth sucked after that.”

“I was there,” Khahar said, nodding to Theo. “I don’t need to remind you of that. But I made peace with the fact ages ago. Fenian was the first piece that helped us thwart the plan, and the Tara’hek was the next.”

“Yes, nice bit of engineering there, Khahar.”

Theo pressed his palms into his eyes, rubbing them. “Of course. All you have are plots.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Khahar shrugged. “Face the facts and get over it. We have a job to do.”

“I hate to agree with the cat, but he’s right,” Tresk said. “The past is done, let’s move on.”

Theo only wanted answers. He didn’t feel he had the authority to weigh sins. Something crazy happened on Earth before his time. Things were set into motion without his participation and he had to accept that. He was now in a position of power to change things and make them better, so he would seize that. It reminded him of his time on Earth, where things seemed dark. Nothing made sense if he thought about it as cosmic scales, balanced by the karma of individuals. Instead, it was some long game to make sure the most people survived. He could relate to that, at least.

“So, we should round up our rogue elements,” Theo said, forcing himself to change gears. “Right?”

“Correct,” Khahar said. “Since I’m bound to Khahak, that falls to you guys.”

“Well, aren’t you just a big stinker?” Tresk asked. “Getting out of work like that.”

“I would return if I could. But I am bound to this world,” Khahar said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Fenian said, adjusting his blanket. “I can act as a gatherer of information. The Bridge still works, so we should count that as a blessing.”

“Agreed,” Theo said. “I want to know more about what happened on Earth, but this is important. I hate the idea of rogue elements this late in the game.”

“See?” Khahar said, rising before draining his cup. “Just a quick meeting. Theo can send you back to bed your elven maiden.”

“Oh, thank the gods,” Fenian said, casting his blanket off as he rose to his feet. “Send me to my deliverance, Theo!”

The alchemist smiled to himself, waving his hand. The elf vanished. “Oh, oops. Might have miscalculated the return trip.”

Tresk covered her mouth, giggling. “Gottem!”

“Are you upset, Theo?” Khahar asked.

“I wish I were more upset,” Theo said. With how crazy everything had been, it was hard to be surprised at things like this. Let alone upset. Stuff like this now simply felt like information flowing into his brain, parsed into bins of ‘helpful’ and ‘unhelpful.’ “Feels like a shame dedicating any brain power to something like this. Earth was screwed and there was nothing we could do about it. But your plot to undermine the ascendants was devious.”

“Seriously, that’s some villain stuff,” Tresk snorted.

“Yes. I miss my villain arc,” Khahar said with a sigh. “But it was for a good cause.”

“Naturally,” Theo said.

Khahar had some interesting things to show Theo and Tresk. They hadn’t had time to tour the world in a while, so it was fun looking at the way the fallen ascendants had adjusted to civilized life. Even someone like Balkor had integrated, somehow. It all seemed so beneath the alchemist that he didn’t care. Balkor, Zagmon, and the Eye could all find their homes here for all he cared. Their stolen power was gone. They were rendered as normal people once again, cores purged from their bodies. His mind instead drifted away from the throneworld, back to mortal affairs.

“Been a blast,” Theo said, nodding at his old friend. “We gotta have more meetings like this.”

“So long as you can interdict the other throne holders, I don’t see a reason why not.”

After exchanging a few more kind words, Theo and Tresk left the realm. They appeared back in town. Tresk didn’t waste time, heading off to adventure with Alex. The alchemist lingered in the town square for some time, but headed for the Newt and Demon to check on the brewing potions. Even from a distance, heh could smell the scent of Searing Regeneration and Lightning Poppy in the air. A random half-ogre was manning the store downstairs. He offered a half-hearted wave before going back to reading his book. Salire was upstairs, tending the tiny stills.

“Oh! There you are,” she said, holding up a flask and swishing the contents. “We have a success.”

“Did both distill without an issue?” Theo asked.

“Minor issues like buildup on the iron paddle, but nothing extreme.”

“And the centrifuge experiment outside?”

Salire shrugged. “Still going as far as I know. I haven’t heard an explosion, anyway.”

“We could technically make the potion we need with this stuff. Intelligence Essence, Searing Regeneration Essence, and some Suffuse Potions,” Theo said, tapping his chin. “As long as the new version of the essences get along with the old, we’ll be fine.”

“And if they don’t?” Salire asked.

Theo thought about it for a moment. He waved a dismissive hand. “I’m thinking a minor reaction. The two things aren’t incompatible. They’re just different, which would cause a small-ish explosion, or a lot of foam. Either-or.”

“Such confidence, big alchemist man,” Salire said with a giggle. “Why don’t you volunteer to mix the ingredients?”

Theo let his intuition guide him on this. He looked at his ingredients and considered what he knew. Each suffuse potion he had made so far was constructed from second tier reagents to create a fake third tier potion. If he mixed what he had on hand, he would use first tier reagents to make a fake second tier potion. Even if it wasn’t powerful enough to cure the space elves, it would be a start. At least he would know he was on the right track. The alchemist wrapped his arm around Salire, dragging her to the table.

“We live together. We die together,” he said, starting the mixing process.

“No thanks!” Salire said, pushing against him.

Theo took on the visage of a mad scientist, ready to take the half-ogre woman out with him. She went from being playfully afraid, to actually afraid. “I can see the future,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll stop if we’re mixing a bomb…”

“Oh… Right.” Salire laughed nervously. “I just thought maybe today was the day.”

“The day for what?” Theo asked, adding the Suffuse Potion to a vial. He watched himself add the other reagents. Nothing exploded, but that fate branched off. A few more appeared, and then more.

“The day that you went insane.”

Theo hummed, holding off on adding the essence as he watched the possible futures. “This is weird. I’m seeing a few outcomes. None are explosions… Oh, that one is. But that’s one in one-hundred.”

“What happens in the others?”

This is where some more Intelligence would pay off. While he could view each fate, his mind hard problems processing them. But it wasn’t possible to go above his current Intelligence. Not unless he wanted to become that insane person Salire feared. But the chance that anything went wrong was low. He mixed the ingredients, watching as the air sizzled within the vial. Lightning actually crackled from the surface of the mixture, shocking the end of his finger like a static discharge. A plume of purple smoke rose into the air, filling the lab with the scent of ozone and burning hair. It wasn’t a pleasant mixture. But the concoction settled down, the bubbles rising to the surface to release burps of that same foul scent.

“Hooray. We’re not dead,” Salire said.

“Not yet,” Theo said, hoisting the potion to look at. “Winner, winner.”

“Let me see!”

[Reforge Mind]

[Potion]

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Purity: 75%

Imbibing this potion reforges a mortal’s mind. The process is extremely painful, but all illness, damage, mental fatigue, etc are scoured clean.

“No more fancy alignment effects,” Theo said, shaking his head. “And the purity sucks.”

“How could you complain?” Salire asked. “That will work, won’t it?”

Theo pursed his lips, thinking about it for a second. The description was vague enough that it should work. But he didn’t know how serious this sickness was or what kind of damage it would do to the person who drank it. At worst, it could fry their brain. But they would be wiped out if he didn’t try something. This was the only thing he could think of to save the space elves.

“Does this imply there’s another version of this potion?” Theo asked. “Reforge Mind is tied to Intelligence because that’s the attribute that influences how quick a person’s mind works. What would the other ones be?”

“Reforge Muscles for Strength?” Salire asked with a shrug. “That makes sense to me, anyway. And… Wait, what would Dexterity be?”

“Might be worth checking out. If only we had a way to test this potion.” Theo gave Salire a look. He held the potion out. “Check out this new drink I invented.”

Salire gave him a flat look. “Why are you feeling so sassy?”

Theo grinned to himself. The reason why he was feeling ‘sassy’ was… He felt the haptic buzz in his inventory.

“I’ll have you know I find no humor in what you’ve done,” Fenian said, speaking through the communication stone. “When I get back to Broken Tusk, I’m going to smack your rump. I’m here to kill Balkor’s shade, you know.”

“More pranks?” Salire asked, folding her arms.

Theo laughed to himself. “Heh. Yeah.”