The Newt and Demon

5.33 - Herbalist's Workshop

Twist had become an annoying carbuncle on Theos otherwise-pleasant day. It wasnt through the deep elfs words or actions, but his mere presence. He didnt make noise when he moved, and only spoke when needed. Those things left the alchemist feeling a strange sense of foreboding that he couldnt shake off. He did everything he could to turn his attention away from the elf to focus on his new building.

The interior was pleasant enough. It was a single room with a fireplace, a table with chairs, and a few shelves for storing things. Very little light found its way through the slitted windows, casting the interior with darkness. Twist enjoyed those shadows, finding his way to a chair and taking a seat. There was a comfortable sense to the workshop that brought a great sense of ease to the alchemist.

It seems wise to have an herbalism workshop, Twist said, his single visible eye lingering on various things in the room before moving on.

I never thought about it, Theo said. He took stock of his Monster Cores, finding that he had enough to bring the building to at least 10. There were always the vendors selling their wares in the harbor. But I agree.

Inserting Monster Cores into the Herbalists Workshop, Theo selected each expansion to go behind the building. While there was enough room on either side for both the workshop and the lab to grow, he wanted to be cautious. Monster Cores dwindling in his inventory, the alchemist felt another ripple of will as the first upgrade selection appeared in his vision. The workshop had hit Level 5.

[Radiant Growth]

Plants will grow quicker and larger within a radius based on the Herbalists Workshop level.

[Research]

Plants inspected within the workshop will display additional information. The amount of information revealed depends on the level of the workshop. The type of information revealed depends on the cores of the workshops owner.

[Terogal Inspiration]

The owner of this workshop may select growing areas (including fields, plant beds, pots, etc) to spontaneously grow plants from the realm of Terogal.

Twist said something, but Theo ignored him. There was a lot to take in here, and the alchemist wanted to take every one of the upgrades. Sometimes a building would present decent upgrades for the Level 5 upgrade, but these were all great. Radiant Growth would be an easy pick. Everything within the greenhouses would likely grow at an increased rate. Research was also interesting. Theo could only guess as to what kind of information he would get from that one. Terogal Inspiration might have been the worst pick, only because he could just go to Terogal.

What are the upgrades? Twist asked, apparently repeating the thing he said before. He did so in monotone, looking from his comfy chair as though bored.

Theo read the first two out, but made one up for the third. No reason for the random deep elf to know about Terogal. Last one increases the chance of hybridization, he lied.

The first is the best, Twist concluded.

With another chance to get the Research upgrade, Theo agreed. He selected Radiant Growth and got back to shoving Monster Cores into the building. The interior expanded to the east, making the building a quarter as long by the time it got to Level 10. After hitting the next upgrade level, Research and Terogal Inspiration appeared alongside a new upgrade. The alchemist inspected that one, reading it out for the strange elf.

[Experimental Garden Plot]

A small garden plot appears behind the workshop. Anything planted within the plot may be closely controlled. Cultivation rate, hybridization rate, growth rate, etc, may all be changed. If the owner of this workshop does not have an herbalist-style core, some features may be restricted.

Thats what were looking for, Theo said, releasing a contented sigh.

Twist only nodded as the alchemist selected the upgrade. The building rumbled for a moment. Through the narrow windows, Theo saw the garden plot spring up behind the workshop. He was getting a better idea of the purpose of this building the more upgrades he saw. The greenhouses were made to grow plants, but there was a research aspect to the Herbalists Workshop. With Level 30 coming up for his Drogramath Herbalist Core, this building might pair perfectly with his next ability.

But Theos supply of Monster Cores had run dry, and the day was growing late. He gestured to the door and Twist stood up and slumped to one side.

The underground is so boring, Twist groaned.

Not my problem, Theo said, smiling from the door.

The pale elf marched out of the building, but stayed there on the road.

You dont have to go home, Theo said, waving and smiling at the elf. But you cant stay here.

Without further warning, Theo allowed himself to slip through the veil of the mortal world. Observing the sensation as he fell, the alchemist felt more at ease in the void than ever. He focused his will, finding it pathetic compared to Tresk, and lingered in the darkness for longer than normal. One could imagine the structure of the mortal realm, void, and the heavens as layers of fabric. Between the heavens and the mortal world was the void. Spanning over that void was the Bridge. After piercing through that thin fabric, a person or spirit could go anywhere they wanted. With the appropriate approval.

Heavenly words within the fabric of the heavens were like planets drifting through a starless universe. Traversing between those things was a matter of will and permission. Theo urged himself forward, only flitting over the Bridge for a moment before moving on to his own realm. The moment he landed, he sensed the presence of other heavenly beings. Drogramath, UzXulven, Glantheir, and Benton were in the expanded cottage. He could smell the scent of confections and brewing tea from the villages center.

A few souls for you, Belgar said, trotting up to greet Theo.

Belgar was completely formed. The form he had created for himself was distinct from his old one. Theo was happy that he didnt need to stare into a mirror every time he came to his realm.

Thanks. How are things going?

Very well. Foot races have become popular amongst the souls.

That sounds fun, Theo said, imagining the various souls in his realm racing around. He got an idea, but kept it in the back of his mind until later. For now, he was happy to accept the 40 souls into his realm.

We have a spread this time, Belgar said, gesturing to the gathering of souls.

When souls gathered in Terogal, they always seemed so worn-down. The longer they stayed in the realm without permission, the more of their essence was dragged away by the void. Theo still wasnt that excited to accept Zagmoni Dronon into his realm, but they seemed repentant. He could cast them into the void if they did anything nefarious, anyway. But there were other interesting souls today. Some elves, humans, and even a stray marshling.

Thats not a bantari, Theo said, accepting the marshling into his realm. Doesnt look like one from the lizard-islands either.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

No, Ive never seen one of their kind. We can ask them in a few days when they have their senses.

Theo approached one soul and grimaced. They had been torn to shred by the void. The soul was little more than tattered streams of blue-green energy lashing from a central core. Could you go grab Glantheir. Please? he asked, turning to Belgar with concern on his face.

Oh, yeah. Be right back.

Belgar dashed off, leaving Theo alone with the soul. Seeing a souls core was never appealing. It was a small ball of dancing light in their chest, and this souls core was weak. He only got a few moments to study the being before Glantheir came to the alchemists summons.

What do we do about souls like this? Theo asked, gesturing to the tattered ball of energy.

Ah, Glantheir said, approaching the soul. He pressed a hand into the core. A moment later, it vanished. I sent him to the House of Healing for now. He needs time to recover, then hell come back here.

How does that happen? Too much time in the void?

Indeed. When a person dies, their soul enters the void. If they have a strong connection with a god, they will gravitate toward that god. But if they have doubts, or they have been scorn by their god, the journey will be hard.

Yet, some souls that come here are years old. Decades. How long can they live in the void?

Centuries, or millenia Id guess. Glantheir shrugged. Someone like Khahar could live in the void forever. The strength of their soul core determines come on.

Khahar had appeared behind Glantheir, a stern look on his face. He doesnt know about that.

Well, he does, now. Glantheir folded his arms. The legendary patience was present nowhere on his face.

I knew about soul cores, Theo objected. Not exactly. But knew that everyone had something in their chest that held their other cores.

Khahars serious expression faded, then he smiled. Fair enough.

Anyway, Glantheir said, clearing his throat. He knows about hidden attributes. The soul core is one and it is tied to willpower, dimensional stability other stuff, too. But that guy will yell at me if I get into the specifics.

Khahar nodded. Yes. Yes, I will.

Since youre here, Khahar Can a spirit ever return to the mortal plane?

Yes. But it would be like a soul without a realm entering a realm. They would only last for so long. Mortals have a limited time in the realms, too. Unless youre a precious, special boy like you.

I am special, arent I?

Terogal was a great place to get away from the stresses of the mortal realm. When the conversation with the gods died down, he went off to work on the project Belgar inspired. There wasnt much to it, but his Landscape Manipulation upgrade allowed him to reform the world however he saw fit. The realm had been siphoning power from the souls and collecting ambient energy from the void for a while. The alchemist made his way to the far side of the village built by the souls, looking out over the rolling landscape.

Since the souls had taken up foot-races, Theo thought they might enjoy other leisure activities. He activated the Landscape Manipulation ability, and got to carving. From the village, he carved a wide footpath to the northwest. Along the way, the alchemist created different features. At one point he created a tall hill for the souls to hike up with switchback paths cut into rocky cliff faces. At the top of that hill he carved out a picnic-style area for the souls to observe a sprawling forest below.

One last touch, Theo said, poking his finger into the interface. A small pond appeared in the clearing below.

Theo zipped along the trail, adding different landmarks where he saw fit. The trail snaked a path from the village to the Sea of Terogal. Thats what the locals had been calling it, anyway. Along the hard-packed earth trail, the alchemist placed clearings where the souls could construct buildings. Caves for them to explore. Cliffs for them to climb. He thought about all the fun things he would want to do if he were here for eternity. The souls here were trapped, in a way. They were saved from the void, but that didnt take away from their imprisonment. Unless they were accepted by another realm, this was all they had.

At the beach, Theo stood in the sand and looked out over the water. More fish had come to swim those waters. While he knew little about fish from Earth, he could recognize many of the critters living in the forests. Squirrels, rabbits, boars, and so on. All native to Earth, now brought to life here in this realm. The alchemist could feel his time in Terogal wearing thin. He sent himself back to the village, then found Belgar chatting with other souls. Everyone seemed excited enough about the trail, and promised to use it for racing each other.

That wasnt Theos intention with the trail, but whatever made them happy. He bid farewell, falling through the veil and landing right back where he started in Broken Tusk. Mercifully, Twist was gone. And the merchants were still in the port. After pilfering some of the profits from his shop, Theo went to the harbor to buy more Monster Cores. Almost every merchant who docked in the harbor seemed to sell the cores, so he bought from the one giving the best price.

The upgrades for the Herbalists Workshop had proven to be too interesting for him to resist. Daylight was fading, but Theo wanted to get at least one more level out of the workshop. He headed over, shoving cores into the building until it hit Level 15. Along with the Research and Terogal Inspiration upgrades, a new one popped up for his consideration. The alchemist inspected the new upgrade.

[Splicing]

Herbalist-style abilities that combine two (or more) plants will be more successful in a certain radius around the workshop.

Intentionally combining two plants was something Theo had on his mind for a while. The only problem was one of labor and time. It was hard enough keeping up with regular reagents. He couldnt imagine dealing with a doubling, or tripling of those things. It was still a great upgrade that he intended to pick later, but for now he selected Research. The building shivered with recognition, likely sensing the pile of reagents within his inventory. The alchemist withdrew a Mages Bane flower and inspected it.

[Mages Bane]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Rare

A flower with anti-magic properties.

Research:

Infused with a mixture of Drogramath and Dreamrealm power.

Fast growth cycle with great anti-magical properties.

Hidden fourth alchemical property.

Properties:

[Resist Magic] [Absorb Magic] [Mana Seep]

That was interesting enough to make it worth taking the upgrade. The description of the upgrade claimed that different information would show up depending on the level of the building and the cores he had in his chest. He already knew about the mixture of powers in the air, but it was nice to see the system confirm that it was both Drogramath and Terogals energy mingling there. Theo headed off from his new workshop for now, crossing the street to enter his manor.

Tresk had already come home for the night, and was waiting patiently at the table. As patiently as that woman could wait. She was fidgeting endlessly. She looked up from the table, waving at Theo. Xolsa and Zarali are coming over for dinner. Think theyre gonna pitch their wedding date.

Theo found a seat at the massive dining table. That would be nice.

Right? Get some more babies in town. Every baby is a future worker.

Theo grimaced, but nodded. Oh, I saw Sledges eggs.

Did you? She wont let anyone get near them. Tresk sighed, shaking her head. Shell get over it, but for now I heard Bob is keeping his distance.

She hissed at me.

Youre lucky she didnt bite you.

Zarali and Xolsa showed up for dinner eventually. Sarisa and Rowan had already served the food, taking their own seats to dig in. It took the lovebirds a while, but they eventually broached the topic of their marriage.

Were always putting things off, Zarali chuckled. But weve settled on a day.

The first of Death, Xolsa said, nodding.

Theo winced. Setting a wedding on the first day of a season called the Season of Death seemed like a grim portent. But if they were happy with it, he was happy. Sounds good to me. As long as youre prepared to move it around.

Of course. Things happen, Zarali said.

What style of wedding are you guys doing? Tresk asked, belching after consuming her entire meal in one go.

A great question, Zarali said, shooting a glare at Xolsa.

Ah. Thats a problem, Xolsa chuckled nervously. I dont know what my people do for weddings, and dronon dont get married.

Do a Broken Tusk wedding, Tresk said.

What does that entail? Xolsa asked.

Lots of fighting. Lots of booze. If someone isnt seriously injured by the end, it wasnt a good wedding.

No, thank you. Zarali shook her head.

Just do your own thing, Theo said with a shrug. Make it up as you go along and let me know if you need any support from the town. Everyone likes a festival, anyway.

The conversation swayed from here to there. Each culture in the world had a different way to do their weddings. By the end of the conversation, Xolsa and Zarali were talking about picking traditions from several cultures, along with inventing a few of their own. Before taking the Intelligence of the Soul potion, the wizard would have shrunk away from so much responsibility. He seemed positively bubbly now, and it only reminded the alchemist that he needed to find a solution for his own growing Intelligence.

After dinner, Theo, Tresk, and Alex went off to have a hot bath at Xams place. The attendants were nice, as always, and a good soak did a lot to remove whatever stress the day brought. Once cleaned and thoroughly hot, the Tarahek headed off for the Dreamwalk.