So the Elf wants a million potions? Tresk asked.
The pair assud their regular seats near the window in the lab, the sun barely a glimr on the eastern horizon. Tresk was going through the random junk she found in the dungeon yesterday, and cursed her patrol duty with the adventurers guild today. She wanted to get more cores and more strange ingredients for Theo, but the guild took priority.
Hes offering very good money, Theo said. But I think my next project is going to be expensive.
Maybe, Tresk said, idly sipping her tea. Youre already rolling in money. Just gonna make more.
Theo idly ate his soup, rembering his lack of laborers. Hey, could you harvest reagents while youre on patrol?
Sure, what do you need?
[Moss Nettle] and [Manashrooms], mostly, Theo said.
Perfect, Tresk said. We usually clear out that horrid cave, anyway.
Theo filled her in on the details of the Dwarven rchant, Thistum, yesterday. She was surprised he would pay so much for stone blocks, but most of the houses in Broken Tusk were wooden. They wouldnt know about the difference in stones or what a higher quality ant. The alchemist didnt pretend to be an expert, but he trusted the judgnt of Fenian. Ziz and his laborers could pay off their debts in a few short weeks if they kept at it, but they had to be careful not to burn out.
Well, Im off, Tresk said, pressing her forehead against Theos.
Tresk departed, leaving Theo in the lab to organize his thoughts. The problem with today was the long list of things he needed to get done. The potions for Fenian were one thing, but he needed to sort out Aaroks research that the capital promised to teleport in and find so laborers. If he kept giving everyone better jobs, thered be no one to collect his herbs.
Theo pulled his threadbare robe close and left the Newt and Demon. The sun had risen, casting the stone streets in streaks of long shadows. He found his way to the square, greeting a few townsfolk before inspecting the monolith.
[Small Town]
Na: Broken Tusk
Owner: Kingdom of Qavell
Mayor: Theo Spencer
Faction: [Qavell]
Level: 10 (1%)
Features:
Alchemy Lab
Blacksmith
Large Farm
Tannery
Tradesn
Adventurers Guild
Upgrades:
[Stone Walls and Gates]
[Stone Roads]
He knit his brow, disappointed that they hadnt reached [Town] status. Theo summoned his mayor interface and scrolled through a few nus. It was mostly statistics and information about taxes, but he found a section on expansion.
[Broken Tusk] can be upgraded to a [Town] when the following conditions are t:
Small Population: COMPLETE
Expanded Land Ownership: INCOMPLETE
Theo tilted his head. Since he beca the mayor, he hadnt gone into these nus. He urged the system to drill down on the concept of land ownership and what it ant. A box appeared defining it for him.
[Primary Land Ownership]: Land owned directly by the settlent. This land is directly incorporated into the land and receives all the benefits of the settlents upgrades.
[Expanded Land Ownership]: Expanded land is land not incorporated into the settlent, but still falls under ownership. An example of [Expanded Land Ownership] is a forest outside of a city, designated for hunting. Expanded land cannot contain another settlent, but may contain dungeons, towers, etc.
Theo summoned his mayor map and zood out, ntally clicking on the swamp to the west. The tag of [Expanded Land Ownership] popped up, detailing the cost of the land and the benefits of obtaining it. From what he understood, it was sothing that prevented others from settling on your land. The other advantage of owning the land was that Broken Tusk would have first rights to delve the dungeon, including the destruction of its core. This sent a chill down his spine. Soone could have co along and simply destroyed their dungeon.
The price of the land was ridiculously cheap, compared to other sections of land. The system inford him houses couldnt be built on the land, and it was only ant as a managent area for the [Swamp Dungeon]. It was 50 silver coins to own the land. Theo bought it without hesitation. The wall to the west didnt move out to incorporate the swamp, as he expected, but a sense of accomplishnt tingled in his mind. A new screen hed never seen popped up in the middle of his vision, complete with a goofy fireworks effect.
[Broken Tusk] has grown to a [Town]!
Theo patted himself on the back for a mont before delving deeper into the mayor screens. Qavell technically owned most of the property in the surrounding area. When he bought the parcels from the interface, he was paying them for the right to own it. Currently, he was at over 50% ownership of Broken Tusk, but that was just for the land. The seed core for the town itself was available for purchase on the screen for 5 spiritstone coins, which must have been the next tier of currency.
Do you ever rest? Aarok shouted from across the way.
Not really, Theo said, smiling.
Youre going to make Miana feel bad, Aarok said, beaming as he approached the alchemist. He clasped a hand over his shoulder.
Miana isnt a demonic alchemist, you cant bla her, Theo said with a wry grin. Right, lets see if the capital ca through on their promise.
Aarok followed him inside of Mianas old building and into her office. Sitting on the old desk was a stack of scrolls and tos, arranged neatly next to the communication crystal. Theo stuffed the crystal in his inventory and gestured for the Half-Ogre to take the papers.
This is what they sent, I guess, Theo said.
By the gods, this is a lot of material, Aarok said, scowling at the papers.
Yeah, they like . So, this is now your building, Theo said, gesturing vaguely to the adventurers guild. Its not a seed core building, so I dont need to transfer the rights to you.
Thanks, Theo, Aarok said. One day, Id like to get a proper core building for the guild.
Well, Im sure we can work on that What ti do you think it is? Do you think Fenian is awake? Theo asked.
Morning? I dont know, Aarok said.
Theo withdrew Fenians crystal from his inventory and held it tight. He felt the familiar trilling sensation for a mont before the Elfs voice flooded through his mind.
Good morning, Theo, Fenian said.
Morning. I have a question about so potions. I created a [Lesser Sprinting Potion] and [Lesser Regeneration Potion]. Are they useful to you? Theo asked.
The sprinting potion is, but not the regeneration one. Honestly, neither are useful for my current order, Fenian said.
Understandable. Another question, do you have any seed cores for adventurers guilds?
Sure. Theyre a bit pricey compared to workshops and such. Three gold, Fenian said.
What are you doing? Aarok asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Talking to Fenian, Theo said. He can bring a seed core for an adventurers guild aroundthree gold.
Aarok nodded. The guild can afford that.
Theo tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. Since when could the guild afford anything?
Alright, bring it around next ti. Aarok wants to buy it, Theo said.
Sounds good. Listen, Ive got to go. Talk to you later.
The connection severed before Theo could say another word. He didnt mind and was surprised that Fenian answered to begin with.
So, the adventurers guild is rich? Theo asked, laughing.
Luras has a contact in Rivers and Daub. He got us in with the network of adventurers guilds in the northlands, Aarok said. Were getting a few coins to help us get started.
Theo couldnt have been happier to have soone other than himself funding everything. He was worried about ownership of the guild falling outside of the hands of Broken Tusk, but it was nice not having to manage it. A thought suddenly struck him about the guild.
Hey, can I post a contract with the guild? Theo asked.
Sure, what do you need?
Reagents, mostly, Theo said, shrugging.
Aarok nodded, pulling a stone tablet from nowhere. He punched his finger on the surface and a screen appeared in Theos vision.
The guild has a template for this kind of quest, Aarok said. Just put in your request, how long you want it to run for, and paynt.
Theo inspected the screen and filled it out. He reviewed it before pressing the submit button.
[Supply Run]
Quest
The proprietor of the Newt and Demon is requesting all adventurers to collect reagents for his potion empire.
Objectives:
Collect [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root] (1 silver per 500 max 1000)
Collect [Moss Nettle] (1 silver per 500 max 1000)
Collect [Manashrooms] (1 silver per 500 max 1000)
Seems like more money than theyd normally make, Theo said with a shrug.
People will snatch this up right away, Aarok said, submitting the quest. You were smart to put a maximum amount on the reagentstheyd have cleaned you out.
Will they be able to see if theyre harvesting the right stuff? Theo asked.
Theyll get quest notifications when they collect the right item, Aarok said, nodding. So, theres normally a deposit fee for the quest, but youre the mayor.
Theo frowned. He hated when people did stuff for free. How much is it?
Aarok laughed. Dont worry about it, Theo. Everyone in town owes you more than you know. Just leave it at that.
Theo narrowed his eyes at the Half-Ogre. Fine, but Im gonna get you sothing nice. You cant stop .
The pair shared a laugh, then spent so ti talking about smaller things before Theo departed. Aarok had to get the old building in working order for the guild. Xam would be happy that adventurers wouldnt be cramd in her tavern all the ti.
Theo left the square, running his regular route through the forest to collect reagents. His [Drogramath Alchemy Knife] sent out the familiar ping, the strange shape revealing itself underground once again. This ti, the alchemists curiosity got the better of him, and he started to dig. He removed his gloves, digging into the earth with clawed hands. Several fat roots were in the way, but he cut through them easily with his knife. Before long he removed the gigantic lumpy ball, hefting it out of the hole and inspecting it.
[Swamp Truffle]
[Alchemy Ingredient] [Food]
Epic
These extrely rare truffles, found typically in swamplands, are prized for their flavor and properties.
Properties:
[Experience Boost] ???? ????
Theos heart skipped a beat as he read the property on the truffle. If a noble house was training up their low-level people, what could be better than [Experience Boost]? He knew Fenian would pay a lot of money for any potions that gave increased experience and stuffed the item in his inventory. He judged it was 5 units by weight, which was absurd for a single reagent. It also helped that he could see the truffles scattered underground, clustered here and there.
It was too good to be true, but his intuition told him there were so drawbacks to using any potion derived from the truffle. He returned to the lab imdiately, intent on running a tiny batch to determine what kind of potion the truffle could make. Theo washed it off with [Purified Water] before putting it through the grinder and into the [Drogramath Still]. He topped the water off and set the [Fla Artifice] to work, ntally informing Tresk about his discovery.
That sounds too good to be true, Tresk said, scoffing.
I figure theres going to be so restrictions, Theo said, watching as the silvery liquid dripped into the flask.
Isnt that always the way?
Theo did nothing else while he cooked down the 5 unit batch. He inspected the essence before moving on, sensing that there was sothing odd about it.
[Experience Boost Essence]
[Essence]
Epic
Created by: Belgar
Grade: Great Quality
5 units (liquid)
Concentrated essence of Experience Boost
The thing that tipped him off about this essence was the quality. He used the sa technique he always did to make the most potent extracts, usually getting excellent quality, but this was only at great. Theo ran his fingers along the side of the flask, trying to figure out what made him so uneasy. Sothing swelled in his chest, radiating a warmth that sent his heart beating His [Drogramath Alchemy Core] wanted him to do sothing and he obeyed.
Theo cleaned the [Drogramath Still] out with [Cleansing Scrub] and dumped the 5 units back in. When the still was done running, he was left with 1 unit of the sa essence at excellent quality. As the alchemist stood there, looking at the flask, he understood what happened. The [Experience Boost Essence] was incredibly unstable. Anything below excellent quality would simply explode when he tried to introduce a catalyst. His core practically scread at him when he went to add the new essence to a vial of [Purified Water]. Instead, he introduced it to a solution of 1 [Stabilized Water] with his standard 2 [Copper Shavings]. The reaction was still violent.
If not for the indestructibility of his glassware, it would have shattered. The 2 unit reaction sent ribbons of light and electricity dancing through the lab, almost striking him in the process. The sll it put off was like cotton candy and the solution had a rainbow color when it was done reaction. Theo inspected the new, dangerous potion.
[Lesser Experience Boost Potion]
[Potion]
Epic
Created by: Belgar
Grade: Excellent Quality
Drink to receive bonus experience.
Effect:
Imbiber will receive 25% bonus experience for 5 hours. This effect doesnt work above character level 10 and may have deleterious effects if used over ti.
Yeah, Im not drinking that, Theo said, laughing.
Reviews
All reviews (0)