The Newt and Demon

5.50 - Earth Sorcerer's Core

Unfortunately, Xolsa had adopted a local Broken Tusker tradition. As Theo sat with him and Zarali in the wizards tower, a faint fire crackled in the fireplace. If not for the Coat of Rake, the alchemist would have been uncomfortable. Instead, he sat among those musty tomes with his companions feeling as though he was experiencing a cool summer breeze.

Earth magic is interesting, Xolsa said, rising to pull a few books from his shelves. It might pair well with your personality.

As in, youre stubborn, Zarali interjected.

Xolsa nodded in agreement, returning books and pulling new ones as he went down the line. He returned to the plush sofa, setting the books down and spreading them out over the table. After a moment, he selected one and opened it, flipping through the pages before finding what he was looking for.

Your desire to increase your willpower is a problem, Xolsa said, holding the book out for Zarali to take. He then found another and began flipping through that. But there might be a solution.

Yes, willpower is difficult to train. Most crafting cores give you a bit, but not enough to make a difference.

We can consider exploiting the system with spells and potions, but that might not be enough for you, Xolsa said, shaking his head. I have a better idea.

Theo waited as the pair went back and forth, searching through books to find what they were looking for. Eventually, the wizard nodded to himself and placed several books on the table, open to the pages he wanted.

First, we need to talk about magic. Do you remember when I had you learn Axpashi?

Of course, Theo responded in the language. I love ducks.

Xolsa gave him an annoyed look at first, but smiled. Decent. For a slacker. Most mage-style cores open magic to their users with three distinct modes of casting. Channeling, which means that you form magical arrays in your soul. Chantingthats the one you usemeans that you form the array through words. Somatic gestures allow the caster to make arrays with hand gestures, like this

Xolsa performed a series of rapid hand movements. A magical circle appeared in the air before him, laced with intricate sigils. Theo clapped.

Thank you, Xolsa said with a bow. The system tags all cores that use that form of spell work as mage. Your mage core is based off of that, although I think it was originally a demonmage core before it was altered. There is another mode of casting, though.

Thats where I come in, Zarali said, jabbing her elbow into Xolsas ribs. He grunted, giving her a look. Priest-style cores use faith to cast spells. We request the power from our god, usually through prayer, and the spell is granted by that god. But there is another style of magic.

There is another style of magic that uses your will. Spells are formed through instinct, but theres a problem, Xolsa said.

Theo inspected the book. Whoever had written it distinguished between magery and sorcery, and determined that the second one was almost useless. Compared to a spell cast through an array, one woven with ones willpower was absurdly weak. It was the difference between tossing an exploding fireball, and hurling a flaming dart.

I should hamstring myself to get more willpower? Theo asked, looking up from the book.

Thats the point, isnt it? Xolsa asked. The magic you use will be weaker, but your willpower will expand considerably. Also, sorcery is better at interacting with the natural world. If you want to perform earth magic, that might be the way.

What kind of core am I looking for? Theo asked.

A Earth Sorcerer's Core, Xolsa said. Traders should have them. Theyll sell them for cheap.

Theo drummed his fingers on the cushion of the sofa. This was perfect. Getting a weak, seemingly useless core, worked perfect for his current plan. He would buy the core and evolve it using his new Drogramath ability, turning it into a Drogramath Earth Sorcerers Core. The alchemists base-level willpower was weak compared to Zarali, but with his access to Terogal he could easily put her to shame.

This is perfect, Theo said, rubbing his hands together. You guys are great.

Oh, please go on, Xolsa said, fanning himself.

Theo stayed in the tower for a few hours, talking to Xolsa and Zarali. The way was shaping up to be a relaxing one, even if there were some new items in his administrative screen. The alchemist wrapped up at the tower and headed back to town. Sarisa and Rowan had not traveled through the portal with him, instead waiting on the other side back in town. They just hadnt gone through it enough to build up their tolerances, unlike most of the adventurers in Broken Tusk.

Ziz was looking for you, Sarisa said, jerking her head toward the lab. He dropped off some requests with Salire.

Ah, Theo said, looking around for a moment. His body wanted to go in two directions at once. The harbor and the lab. After shaking away his intrusive thoughts, he angled toward the lab and headed off. Lets see what he needs.

On the first floor of the Newt and Demon, there was no one to be seen. Theo sniffed the air, detecting the scent of something familiar. He had to pause for a few long moments to identify what it was. Salire was running the stills upstairs. The smell was that of churning river water mixed with something more metallic. It was the Living River Water being run through the stills, and one of the least offensive scents produced in essence making. The alchemist headed upstairs, placing his hands on his hips when he saw his apprentice working diligently. The reagent she was working with was forgiving, allowing her to perform all steps of the process alone.

Shes all grown up, Theo said, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

Salire turned, revealing the big smile on her face. I knew you would say something like that. Ziz dropped by for some Tunneling Potions. He said you were covering the cost. Is that true?

Yes. Were covering whatever expenses he has with his new projects. I just dont want to burden the town.

Salire chuckled nervously, returning to her work. Im not sure we can afford it.

Theo waved her objections away, walking over to check on her work. Everything looked fine from where he was standing, but it took little to get the Living River Water going. When you work with Ziz, you have to understand what he means. Well provide his workers with their standard rate and cover the cost of the potions. Hell provide the stone for free, as always.

Stolen story; please report.

Oh. Guess I dont know the secret rules, Salire said.

Theo shrugged. No point digging our hands into each others pockets when were trying to build something nice.

Only outsiders seemed to misunderstand the way they did things in the town. Anyone who wasnt a Broken Tusker was more selfish than someone who was. There were many people looking in from the outside, objecting to the way they did things here. Those people could keep their coins. Perhaps they would use that money to fill a pool in which they could swim. They would do so alone, of course. Sad and alone. The alchemist shook the thoughts from his mind, unwilling to entertain the whims of others.

Salire had started three stills to make a large batch of Tunneling Potions. While Theo would assume he could produce fifteen-hundred units of essence from that, the apprentice would have some loss. It would be far more than enough to finish the river job, and would leave a surplus for them to use later. The alchemist admired how smart that was, as he didnt enjoy doing one-off brews when they needed it. It was always better to have it on hand all the time, only doing new batches to bolster their supplies.

Youre doing well, Theo said, patting Salire on the back.

Thank you, she responded, her eyes snapping back to the stills.

Before heading to the harbor, Theo checked their current stock of Refined Hallow Ground Essence. Over in Gronro, Grot had been giving reports of their Hallow the Soil Potion usage. It was far less than the alchemist had expected, representing another surplus. They would burn through their current stock in a few days, but that was all the time the lab needed to replenish. If the Wanderer made good on his deal, then it would be even easier to push back the corruption with his help. Glantheirs plan remained his own, and the alchemist wouldnt concern himself with it too much.

Do we have traders in the harbor? Theo asked.

Some from Tarantham, and one from Bantein, Salire said. She always enjoyed hitting the stalls. They always had cool stuff to buy, and their prices were cheap enough.

And one Khahari ship. If you could call it a ship, Sarisa said, laughing to herself.

Strange, Theo said, tapping his chin. The Khahari hadnt been engaging in trade lately. That might have been because their boats sucked, but Anyone wanna make a bet?

Sure, Rowan said, straightening up.

I bet you a copper coin I can say which trader has the exact core I need, Theo said.

Rowan narrowed his eyes. He grumbled. I like bigger stakes, but sure. My copper is on the ship from Tarantham.

Ill take Bantein, Sarisa said, producing her own copper coin.

Put me down for the Khahari ship, Salire said with a wink. Theo laughed at that. Theo knows it will be the Khahari ship because Khahar orchestrated this before he ascended.

Rats, Rowan said.

Theo pat Salire on the shoulder. She gets it. Khahar could see into the future to an extent. Im guessing he predicted this.

Rowan cracked his knuckles, a grin spreading across his face. Buy everything they have.

What? Theo asked.

If youre right, then Khahar assumed you would know what you needed. But what happens if theres something there that you need, but you dont know you need it? Rowan asked, puffing his chest out. Im a genius.

Theo didnt want to admit it, but that was pretty smart. He had no plans to buy everything offered by the Khahari traders, but picking up quite a few of their wares was a good idea. You are, the alchemist said with a nod. Thats actually clever.

Actually? Rowan asked, the look of pride fading from his face. He now looked offended. Ill have you know, I was the smartest boy in our class when we were growing up.

Sarisa grimaced, looking at her brother in disbelief. A turtle was in our class.

He wasnt officially in the class, Rowan objected. Snappy didnt take any tests, so he was only an honorary member of the class.

I saw him take a test, Sarisa said.

You did not.

But he could have!

Theo pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. He only did so to hide the smile on his face and stifle his laughs. Once the bickering was over, he left Salire to her work in the lab and made his way to the port. Instead of taking the road to the north, which ran east near Mianas ranch, he walked through the sparsely wooded area behind his lab. Both the greenhouses and the experimental garden plot were doing fine. The Plant Golems saw to that.

Even before they reached the harbor, Theo could see the masts of the massive ships from Bantein and Tarantham. Those built by the elves had a sleek design that seemed as though they couldnt handle the open ocean and would tip over at the slightest breeze. The ships from Bantein had a stockier design, sitting wide and low in the water. They seemed made for war rather than trade. But the moment the alchemist crossed over the wall, he saw the pathetic offering from the Khahari. Their single-masted ship was dwarfed by the two larger ones, looking as though it would have trouble sailing in a lake.

Look at that, Rowan breathed.

The merchants had set up stalls throughout the harbor, flying flags and barking their offerings. Theo wasnt sure how much money they actually made by selling to the alliance, but it must have been worth it. Broken Tuskers were always parting with their money to buy foreign goods. Once the north was clear of the undead, that trade would balloon even further.

Should we bother with the others, Sarisa asked, gesturing to the human and elven merchants. Or should we go find the cheat option?

Theo had no interest in distracting himself with other things, and was certain that his hunch was correct. He approached the Khahari stalls, browsing what they had out. There were a few interesting whole plants that he wanted to buy, but he didnt see a collection of cores. Khahar had mentioned that his little kingdom had coresmiths. He leaned in, inquiring about any cores in Russian. That fact still tickled him.

No cores this trip, the man said, waving him away.

Oh. Are you sure? Hiding it in your pockets, maybe? Theo asked.

No.

Huh, Theo said, turning away from the stalls without buying anything.

Cores? You looking for cores? a human vendor for Bantein asked, beckoning the alchemist over.

Theo glared at the Khahari trader for a moment, earning a shrug in return. Yeah. Do you have any sorcerer cores?

Oh, yeah, the man said, raising a brow. Got plenty of those. But wouldnt you like to buy something more expensive?

Let me see your wares, vendor.

Theo had never seen so many cores. The Bantein vendor had enough cores to choke a dragon, including a lot of stuff the alchemist couldnt have imagined. Sure enough, he had a Earth Sorcerers Core for purchase. Only one silver, and the vendor had twenty in his ships dimensional storage. He inspected the core after purchasing it.

[Earth Sorcerers Core]

Common

Sorcerer Core

Unbound

2 Slots

Level 1 (0%)

A sorcerer core focused on the earth element.

Innate Skills:

[Earth Attunement]

This was the most plain core Theo had ever seen. It wasnt particularly interesting on the surface, was common rarity, and came with one common skill. The alchemist drilled down, inspecting the skill.

[Earth Attunement]

Sorcerer Skill

Common

Allows the user to sense and manipulate materials aligned with the Earth element, which includes dirt, stone, sand, etc.

There was a level of excitement that came from this core and the attached skill. Not because of the raw power they representedthat was minimalbut the potential. He turned away from the grumpy vendor, nodding and thanking him for the core. Theo approached the Khahari vendor, intent on buying some of those plants.