The Newt and Demon

5.37 - Old Gods, New Gods

The cottage in Terogal was stuffier than normal. A fire crackled in the fireplace as several gods sat around the table, sipping tea and trading war stories of times-gone-by. Theo watched as Drogramath, UzXulven, Glantheir, and Benton chatted about the way things were. The bear god was the one with the fewest stories to share, barely having been born in the previous age. But he brought a mortals perspective to how things were before Balkor descended from the heavens.

I remember seeing him, Benton said, nodding nervously to himself. Even from the mountains, I saw him.

Im pretty sure everyone saw that upstart pierce the clouds, UzXulven snorted a laugh, gesturing wildly enough to spill some tea on the table. Then we pounced, casting him to the ground.

Theo took a lazy sip of his tea. Sure was effective.

UzXulven glared, but Glantheir chuckled. He has us there. I knew the Demon God of Necromancy had a plan, the elven god said. Who could have known it was this long-winded?

The conversation went on for some time. Theo had spent his time at the part on the mortal plane, and required something calmer to soothe him before bed. The gods were always willing to travel to Terogal for a nice cup of tea, and they all behaved well enough to make for good company. The alchemist enjoyed his time there, but a nagging knock slammed against the side of his consciousness. He dashed outside, looking up as though he expected to see Uharis breaking through his barriers once again. But there had been upgrades to the realm since then.

What is that? Belgar asked, rushing over to stand with Theo.

Clearing away the clutter of his mind, Theo focused on his realm. The gods could knock on the door of his realm if they wanted entry. It was normally the polite tapping of knuckles on the door. Whoever was requesting entry was pounding with closed fists, demanding entry. But within the realm of Terogal there were only two masters. The alchemist allowed his mind to calm, then granted whoever it was entrance.

A loud snap issued throughout the town square. An archway of blood and bone rose, far taller than the other portals Theo had seen. A figure, at least twice the height of the alchemist, stepped through with drunken swagger. Whelp! the figure shouted.

Glantheir came out from the cottage, still holding a cup of tea. Oh, my. Thats Spit.

Spit. The Ogre Patron of Curing Things Most of the Time sauntered over the verdant grasses of Terogal. As an ogre, he was absolutely massive. The god was at least twice the size of any half-ogre he had seen, with broad shoulders, dusky brown skin, and a shaved head. His features were exaggerated with massive tusks sticking from his bottom lips, and little more than a loincloth wrapped around his waist.

I would invite you for tea, but I think youre too big, Theo said, waving awkwardly.

Spit snorted, then spat on the ground. He approached Theo, looking down at the alchemist. He held a clenched fist before him. Lets fight.

Id rather not, Theo said, looking around at the other gods for direction. They all shrugged. The alchemist felt safe because higher realms couldnt declare war on lower ones. Is this about your hex?

Of course it was. The frogs were funny, but you dismissed them! Before the frog-folk even got there, Spit grumbled, cracking his knuckles. Just like a demon to dismiss such fun.

Im sorry. The frogs were annoying. Ogre magic is annoying.

Spits hand moved in a flash, closing around Theos head and squeezing. The alchemist stood there, watching as the god strained with no effect. UzXulven had showed him that gods dont have power in another gods realm unless they had declared war. Even then, they couldnt approach the place through the normal means. There was an entirely unique path they had to take.

Bah! Spit shouted, glowering down at Theo.

This has been entertaining, Glantheir said, waving a dismissive hand. But I grow bored of the angry ogre routine.

Yeah, me too, UzXulven said, yawning dramatically. This is why no one takes you seriously, Spit.

Plenty of people take me seriously.

They really dont, UzXulven said, walking over to place a comforting hand on Spits lower arm. That was as high as she could reach. Outside of Slagrot, youre a joke.

Spit frowned. But the frogs were funny.

Oh, they were so funny, UzXulven said, patting his arm consolingly. Lets bring the tea and the sweets outside. Have a picnic for the mighty Spit.

Spit nodded, the angry frown still hanging on his face. Theo watched as UzXulven, Glantheir, and Benton carried the tea and the food outside. They brought a table to keep it off the ground. Ever since creatures arrived in the realm, they brought with them insects. Those critters would have loved to latch onto the crystalized sugar pastries that Benton had brought. Spit took a seat on his butt near the table, folding his arms in his lap as he waited for someone to pour him tea.

Much better. Try Bentons tea. Youll change your mind about Theo, UzXulven said, pouring the ogre god a cup.

Theo watched as the massive ogre picked the cup up by the handle, using far more grace than he should have possessed. With his pinky out, Spit sipped the tea. The frown on his face melted away, and he nodded. This is excellent tea.

Only the best, Benton said, chuckling nervously.

Spit drained his tea, smiled, then ate the cup. Another. Please.

Benton winced, his eyes going slightly wide. Of course.

Thats how the daily tea party in Terogal gained a new, angry patron. After airing his complaints, Spit calmed down a lot. He ate every teacup he was given, but Benton seemed to have an infinite supply. When the conversation had evened out, Theo excused himself to have a word with Belgar.

Could we rebuild the cottage again? Theo asked, gesturing to the too-small structure. Make it big enough for ogres.

Belgar stared at him for a moment. His glowing purple eyes flared in recognition before he smiled back. Sure. Why not?

The things the souls had built were impressive. It didnt matter if they hadnt created tools to build things, or organized any specific group to do the work. They had so much time to do whatever they wanted that none of it mattered. The time in the heavens had evened out, resulting in twenty-four hours passing for every five minutes in the mortal realm. For each day that Theo experienced in mortal time, a year passed up here. The alchemist spent some time discussing this with Belgar before leaving. Instead of heading back, finishing dinner, and entering the Dreamwalk, he took a stroll along the trail he had created. Belgar joined him.

You should do more things like this, the eager dronon said. They passed by a group of souls, half-drifting over the dirt path.

Well have an entire world to build on top of before long.

Belgar scoffed. This place is already large enough.

That was the last thing they said before falling into a comfortable silence. After getting their fill of streams, valleys, and other interesting landmarks, Theo departed for the mortal plane. The Bridge of Shadows shivered as he passed over, sending forth its approval. He fell back into his chair, surrounded by his friends. Tresk was in the middle of telling a story.

So anyway, I started stabbing, she said, withdrawing a knife and stabbing at the air.

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I dont recall you stabbing Alran, Sarisa said.

Because she didnt. Rowan shook his head in disapproval, but he was smiling.

But I coulda. Oh hi, Theo.

How was your trip? Sarisa asked.

Theo took a moment, allowing his thoughts to gather. He had gotten into the habit of just leaving the gods in his realm. According to Belgar, they spent a lot of time there, often coming and going as the days passed in the heavens. Spit might have been a problem, but he couldnt do anything about it. For all the blustering an ogre could produce, it wasnt enough to damage the realm.

Very fun, Theo said, briefly explaining the walking path he had created. Unfortunately, the craze of foot-races had diminished. Birdwatching was the next big thing. Belgar has a new body.

Zarali was talking about that, Tresk said, giggling. Says she doesnt recognize her own brother.

The conversation swayed between topics. Sarisa had made some great food, but Theo didnt feel up to visiting the bathhouse tonight. Despite the Coat of Rake, he wasnt enjoying the way this worlds summer dragged on forever. Instead, he retreated to the Dreamwalk with Tresk, eager to feel the nothingness within. They slipped into the dream effortlessly. The marshling constructed the image of the rocky passes outside of Gronro-Dir.

Perfect place to fight a dragon, she said. Or that weird pale elf.

Theo nodded. It was the perfect environment for a dragon to toast a marshling. She didnt stand a chance against even the weakest dragon. If such a thing existed. The alchemist dedicated himself to grinding experience, something he had been shying away from lately. He turned away from his urge to discover new things, leaving that for tomorrow. Instead, he focused his efforts on producing third tier potions to extract as much experience points for his alchemy core. For his herbalist core, he simply grew crops, and constructed golems.

Intuitive Nodes had been an interesting ability. Between batches of imagined potions and imagined crops, Theo considered that ability. The Dreamwalk pushed back when he used it, but the joined will of the Tarahek broke it without issue. The important thing he learned was that the ability had a doubling effect for his wards. A ward that lasted five days would last ten days with the ability. The alchemist assumed that meant the power of an effect would also double.

By the end of the Dreamwalk, Theo had pushed his two main cores to Level 29, as well as his personal level to the same stage. His Toruaun Mages Core hit Level 22, which was no surprise. Thanks to infinite mana, he could cast spells repeatedly. Before leaving the Dreamwalk, he considered where to place his free attribute point. Vigor was the way to go. The Tarahek did a lot to reduce the mind-altering effects of attributes, but he didnt want to push his Intelligence to 30 until he had a solid plan. A duplication of the soul-style potion was needed.

Rise and shine! Tresk shouted, dragging all members of the bond out of the Dreamwalk.

Theo felt himself jolt in his bed. He didnt bother yelling at Tresk. She was already gone. And of course, she had already wolfed down her breakfast by the time he got downstairs. He took his time, reading through administrative reports as he had pozwa eggs with some wheat bread. It would have been nice if Alex stuck around for breakfast, but she was on city-watch duty. She had been ordered to watch for Qavell since they got their information. Both Twist and the high commander from Tarantham had helped to solidify their defensive strategy, and the goose was necessary.

With Rowan still on vacation, Theo was joined by Sarisa in the shadows, and the rent-a-guard following close behind. There were no administrative things to worry about, so he headed straight for the Newt and Demon. Salire wasnt even in yet, giving him time to create a plan for the day. The new Holy modifier from the fermented Swamp Truffles already had interesting interactions with potions. The alchemist had a slew of random potions that produced dangerous effects, and his experience with the art told him the modifier was the perfect thing to calm them down.

Theo was excited to try out the modifier, but Salire deserved to see the changes it made to their potions. Instead, he checked on his golem network and checked the stock within the lab. The golems were all doing fine. Even those with the new artifices were going strong. Within the lab, there was a large amount of first tier essences ready for brewing. Salire had been going hard, making sure she had enough things to provide for the patrons of the shop. Those essences wouldnt make the best potion, but they would do in a pinch.

After checking the supplies, reorganizing the old glassware and reagents, dusting the shelves, sweeping the floor, and dumping Cleansing Scrub on every available surface, he got to work. Salire wasnt coming, and it wasnt his place to force her to work every single day of the week. The alchemist turned to the grump half-ogre guard standing in the rooms corner, thinking for a moment before he spoke.

Could you watch the store? Theo asked.

The half-ogres face twisted into confusion. I dont get paid to run a shop.

You can keep all the money you make.

The guards face lit up.

All the items are organized, Theo said, shooing the guard away. The guard left without another word, a smile lingering on his face.

Sarisa stepped from the shadows, hand over her mouth as she chuckled. Do you hate him that much?

No. Someone has to watch the shop, Theo said, organizing materials for his first experiment. And youre good enough to guard me.

Sarisa shrugged, finding a seat in the rooms corner. Youre the boss. I guess.

Theo nodded. He withdrew a potion from a storage crate and placed it on the counter. The Potion of Desperate Attack was on the line between safe and dangerous. It took half the drinkers health, returning one and a half times the amount taken as damage on their next attack. The alchemist prepared a vial to transfer the potion into, then withdrew a flask of Holy modifier. The potion had settled to a shade of crimson that shimmered with black striations. While he hadnt seen potions settle between colors as they rested, Theo didnt see this as odd. He poured it into the new vial, then added the golden Holy modifier.

The Desperate Attack potion swirled, bubbled, and spewed fumes into the air. Within a moment, the built-in artifice extractor clicked on, sucking away the foul air. It smelled of dried blood and berries. After the reaction settled down, Theo leaned in to inspect the new potion. As expected, the Holy modifier changed the resulting potion drastically.

[Potion of Desperate Attack]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Rare

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

To be quaffed in dire circumstances. This potion exemplifies the Zureahs tendency to perform attacks that put their lives in danger.

Effect:

The next time the drinker attacks an enemy, they gain the Holy Desperation effect.

When Holy Desperation is activated, attacks made by the drinker will consume 1% of their health. Once 25% of their health has been consumed using this method, they will release an attack equal to 2 times the amount of health taken. This attack triggers during their next attack.

That took the edge off of the potion. Instead of taking fifty percent of a drinkers health at once, it took twenty-five percent total. The fact that it only took one percent at a time was a boon compared to the old version. Theo couldnt decide if this was a good potion, but at least it wasnt a bad one. He moved to his next potion, the Potion of Berserk. This one was almost all bad. It took ninety-eight percent of the drinkers health, dealing that back as damage on their next attack. The worst part was the Berserkers Rage effect, which turned them into a killing machine. The drinker cant be killed for twenty seconds, but they also cant recognize who their friends or foes are.

Yikes, Theo said, withdrawing the dangerous potion from his inventory. He was convinced that this would end poorly, but it was worth a shot.

The alchemist placed an empty vial, pouring in the orange-colored potion before introducing the Holy modifier. It reacted violently, bubbling, fuming, and spitting as though trying to escape from the vial. Theo took a few steps back and waited for the reaction to finish. When it was finally completed, he moved in to inspect the resulting potion.

[Potion of Berserk]

[Holy]

[Potion] [Modified Potion]

Epic

Created by: Theo Spencer

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Grade: Excellent Quality

To be quaffed in circumstances without hope. This represents the Zureahs tendency of fighting to the death.

Effect:

The next time the drinker attacks an enemy, they gain the Holy Berserk effect.

When Holy Berserk is active, the drinker connects with the power of the closest-aligned realm. 50% of the drinkers health is consumed.

Depending on the realms strength, an amount of damage is added to the next attack, multiplied by 2.

If the drinkers connection with their realm is stronger than the being they attack, they will enter a state of Holy Berserkers Rage.

The owner of the realm will temporarily assume the drinker as a vessel, controlling them like a puppet. The drinker will gain temporary health based on the realm owners strength.

Each attack they perform will contain the power of the original Holy Berserk effect. When this effect expires, the drinker will restore 25% of the original 50% removed health, plus 1% of all damage dealt.

Theo let out a steady breath. That was a hard potion to understand, given his position as a realm-holder. At least it didnt take almost all of the drinkers health, meaning it wasnt deadly for the imbiber. The numbers were hazy, though. There was no way to know if the amount of damage dealt was worth losing all that health, but it was better. He concluded that this wasnt a potion for anyone without a realm. Unless it was a friendly god, this was just a way to allow the gods into the mortal realm.

Seems like this breaks some of Khahars rules, Theo said, listening to the bell ringing downstairs. After a moment, the sound of footsteps ascending the many stairs came from below.

Salire, with her shoulders slumped, entered the room. She had bags under her eyes, and her complexion was pale. Why dont we have Sanchrin? she groaned.

Hangover? Theo asked, beckoning for her to come over. You should have taken it easy.

And who is running my shop? Salire asked, shuffling over to take a seat. Are you doing alchemy without me?

Theo smiled at his assistant. Come on. Well do some more.