Theo woke in the morning to a dry mouth and an empty bedroom. After a moment, blinking the sleep away, he heard clanging out in the lab. Dawn hadn’t broken yet, but he could tell by the faint glimmer outside that it was close. It took him a while to get to sleep last night, his mind darting between ways he could improve the town, but it came eventually. His stamina was fully restored, and he felt rested, if not a little groggy. Stepping out into the lab, he stretched and saw that Tresk was preparing breakfast. She turned her head and smiled at him.

“I made tea,” Tresk said.

“Have you been up long?” Theo asked.

“Not long,” Tresk said with a shrug. “If you get higher [Vigor], you’ll need less rest.”

“Good to know,” Theo said.

Theo ran his hand through his hair, still finding it awkward to smooth it back with the swoop of horns in the way. He crossed the lab, sitting next to the fire and breathing in the scent of the cooking Zee mingling with the citrus tea. His mind raced with the coming of the day, jumping from problem to problem. He’d need to organize the distillation process to run as smoothly as possible if they were going to make the order. The large barrel of [Purified Water] would be enough for this run, but he’d need to refill it afterward. They collected enough motes during their harvest, filling several buckets in the room's corner, but things were getting messy.

“We’re going to need to organize this place after this run,” Theo said.

“Yes. We need shelves. We need to upgrade this place—maybe push it toward a shop,” Tresk said.

Theo hadn’t considered the idea that he could even do that. He understood that monster cores allowed him to upgrade the place, but wasn’t aware that it could do such a thing. “How does that work?”

“The building will reshape itself a little when we upgrade it,” Tresk said. “We should expand it out, toward the river until we can create separate rooms. One for the shop, one for the lab.”

“That’s a great idea,” Theo said.

Theo poured himself a cup of the moss tea and sipped on it, feeling the flood of satisfaction rush through him. Tresk was already carrying her weight. She looked at the world in a different light than him, and wasn’t reserved in sharing her opinion. Luras was always hesitant to provide information unless asked. He wouldn’t fault the Half-Ogre for it—it simply wasn’t his job to hold Theo’s hand the whole way through. The advantages of taking the Marshling up on the offer of Tara’hek was becoming an inevitability.

“Right,” Theo said, rising to his feet. “There’s quite a lot of work to do and I’d like to get started.”

“Teach me, alchemy man,” Tresk said, grinning.

Theo beckoned her over to the [Glassware Artifice]. She tilted her head at the machine and shrugged.

“This is what we use to make the glassware. We’re kinda screwed if we don’t have this. You don’t need any alchemy skill to run it—I don’t think—so you’re in charge of making our vials,” Theo said. He produced a mote and created a flat-bottomed vial with an ornate stopper using the machine before handing it to Tresk. “We’re going to need a lot of these, but let me get the first run going before you start.”

“Sounds good, boss,” Tresk said.

Theo started his process with the [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root]. The amount that Tresk gathered was far too much for their purposes, and would take most of the day to process. He started by washing away the dirt that clung to the roots and cutting them into a more manageable size. He recalled from his last attempt at making healing potions that it was difficult to bring them into a good sized mash. The sharpness of his memory only increased as his [Wisdom] grew, a fact that he loved. With the roots cut and deposited into a bucket, he began smashing them with the large bit of wood he used last time.

“What are you doing?” Tresk asked.

Theo chuckled between breaths, already winded by the process. “We’re making a mash. We’ll mix the root paste with [Purified Water] and distill it. This gives us our essence.”

Tresk watched intently.

Theo transferred the mash to the [Copper Still], washing the bucket out into the mix and standing back for a moment. It was the largest batch he’d tried so far, easily five times what he did the last time. He carefully leveled off the water, coming up to cover the mash, before returning the lid and positioning the condenser over a large conical flask. The fire that Tresk used to make breakfast had burned down to coals, but he stoked it back to steady life.

“We’re going to keep the fire really low,” Theo said. “You don’t want to burn the bottom.”

“I’ve seen magical fire before,” Tresk said.

“Yeah, if you can find a fire artifice, get it,” Theo said. “I’d love to have granular control of this part.”

Tresk nodded, eyes glued to the still.

With a hiss of steam, the first batch of [Healing Essence] was being cooked. If he could keep the flame low enough, it was reasonable to assume he’d extract 50 units of the essence‌, making 50 [Lesser Healing Potions]. Theo tended the fire through the cooking process, Luras arriving half-way through. He came through the front door with a smile on his face, watching the pair crowd around the flame.

“Already working?” Luras asked, laughing. “You two are funny.”

Theo looked out the window, seeing that dawn broke sometime since they started. He really wished there were clocks in this world. “First run for the day—it’s going a lot faster than I expected.”

“Well, since I’m not needed, I have some errands to run,” Luras said. “If you don’t mind.”

“By all means,” Theo said. “We might be done by noon.”

“What’s noon?” Luras asked.

“Midday,” Theo said.

Luras departed with a wave, leaving the pair to their work.

The first run went well, but the fire was temperamental. Theo had a better sense for what the [Copper Still] needed to run at maximum efficiency, constantly removing or adding wood to keep it at a steady pace. Tresk was the perfect assistant, running off to grab fuel when needed. By the end of the run, the alchemist beamed at his 50 units of [Healing Essence].

[Healing Essence]

[Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

50 units (liquid)

Concentrated essence of healing, used to create healing potions.

“Great quality,” Theo breathed. “That’s amazing.”

“Good job! What do we do now?” Tresk asked.

“Start making the glassware. Make sure the bottoms are flat so we can stand them on the tables, then lay them out. I’m going to start the run on the moss,” Theo said.

Tresk nodded, hoisting a bucket of motes and retreating to the [Glassware Artifice]. The machine started cranking away immediately, spitting out perfectly acceptable vials.

Theo filled the still with enough water to wash it out, dumping the contents out the window before returning to start the next mash. The [Moss Nettle] was easy to turn into a paste, and he judged the amount he’d need to make the 50 units. He filled the still with the mash, added enough water, and returned the lid with another flask positioned under the condenser. While the still was heating, he turned his attention to the row of vials Tresk was lining up. She set them down on the table, removing the stopper and setting it with its matching vessel.

“Right, now we start the alchemical reactions,” Theo said. “This recipe needs one unit of the essence, one unit of water, and 2 copper shavings.”

Tresk nodded, continuing to line up the vials in perfect rows.

The first reaction took place, filling the lab with the familiar scent of flowers. Theo felt as though he measured the quantities out better than before, the potion taking on a darker shade of red with more bubbles. He inspected the first one before continuing.

[Lesser Healing Potion]

[Potion]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

A lesser healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

Instantly restores 30 health points.

“Great quality, again! This is perfect,” Theo said.

“Yay!” Tresk shouted, trying to focus on her task.

Theo ran back and forth between the still and the row of vials, tending the fire and setting off the reactions. Tresk watched him after she created the 50 vials, nodding as though she understood what he was doing. She switched to tending the fire alone after a while, and he could finish the rest of the reactions, gaining level 3 in his [Drogramath Alchemy Core]‌. It didn’t come with any additional benefits, but the experience gained from running such a large batch was excellent. With all the reactions done for the healing potions, Tresk organized them before joining him to wait for the [Stamina Essence] to finish.

“This is extremely efficient,” Theo said. “It’s a lot easier with another person helping.”

“That’s the power of friendship,” Tresk said, grinning up at him from the fire.

The pair worked in a whirlwind, setting aside the clutter of the [Lesser Healing Potions] into a crate and moving on to extracting the next essence. As Theo predicted, he gained 50 units of the liquid and he began the process again after inspecting it.

[Stamina Essence]

[Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

50 units (liquid)

Concentrated essence of stamina, used to create stamina potions.

His excitement of the quality was tempered because they had 100 more potions to craft, his stamina bar draining accordingly. Theo cleaned the still out once more and prepared the mushrooms. His [Drogramath Herbalism] skill told him that the entire mushroom would produce the [Mana Essence], so he went about turning them into a paste within his bucket. The process was significantly easier than either of the other ingredients. He had the entire batch of the mushrooms, with some to spare, smashed to pieces within a few minutes. With the still cleaned out, he filled it with the mushrooms and water before stoking the fire.

Tresk moved to tend the fire while Theo started the reactions for the [Lesser Stamina Potions]. The vials erupted with yellow smoke, filling the room with a pleasant citrus smell. He smiled upon inspecting the potion, unable to spare more time for celebration.

[Lesser Stamina Potion]

[Potion]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

A lesser stamina potion. Drink to restore stamina.

Effect:

Instantly restores 30 stamina points.

“This will earn me a good chunk of change,” Theo said, moving down the line and setting off the reactions. “But damn if this isn’t a lot of work.”

“How much are they paying you?” Tresk asked, tossing another stick on the fire and poking it.

“7 silver, 50 copper,” Theo said.

“That’s a lot of money,” Tresk said, scoffing. “The smithy would take forever to make that amount.”

“Adventurers need their potions,” Theo said. “If they bought these potions in the capital, they’d pay 10 times as much.”

“Swamp prices,” Tresk said, sneering.

The condenser sputtered to life, the first of the [Mana Essence] splashing into a flask. Theo finished with the reactions, gaining a significant amount of experience, before swapping with Tresk to tend the fire. The alchemist was sweating profusely, even after opening all the windows and the front door. A breeze swept through the lab, but did little to combat the stifling heat. Midday passed, and the pair was still working, finally extracting the 50 units of [Mana Essence] and moving to the reaction process. His supply of [Copper Shavings] was running low, but there would be enough to see the order through.

Theo barely had time to inspect the mana essence before moving on to bottling.

[Mana Essence]

[Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

50 units (liquid)

Concentrated essence of mana, used to create mana potions.

The alchemist moved in a frenzy, ignoring the window that informed him of skill gains and focusing solely on the task. His plan to produce so many potions was a gamble. He relied on his ability to create 150 potions for the adventurers, but underestimated the amount of work. By the time he bottled his 50th [Lesser Mana Potion], he was exhausted. Both of his cores sat at level 3, along with his character level. He dumped the free point into [Wisdom] without a thought. Luras arrived with Jarson near the end of the day, both of them standing at the door and watching Theo work. Wiping sweat from his brow, he stacked the last of the potions into a crate and managed a weak smile for the adventurer.

“Done,” Theo said, heaving breath. “Only just.”

“How many did you end up making for me?” Jarson asked, moving to inspect the potion.

Theo held one up for him to look at, inspecting it himself.

[Lesser Mana Potion]

[Potion]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

A lesser mana potion. Drink to restore mana.

Effect:

Instantly restores 30 mana.

“50 of each,” Theo said, finding a cloth to dab his forehead free of sweat.

“You distilled 150 potions in three days?” Jarson asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are they all ‘great’ quality?”

“Every single one,” Tresk said, striking a heroic pose. “We’re a team.”

“A damn good team,” Jarson said, setting the potion down on the table. “I expected 5, maybe 10 of each.”

“I told you Theo has talent,” Luras said, beaming.

“And I helped!” Tresk shouted.

“I don’t have to talk to a [Paladin] to see you’re from the Drogramath lineage,” Jarson said. “I’ve heard tales of the Drogramath Alchemists. They’re the stuff of legends. I told you before, but distillery is an advanced alchemical art. Do you mind if I start taking my potions?”

“By all means,” Theo said, gesturing to the crates heavy with vials.

Jarson produced a small satchel, far too small to contain all 150 potions, and shoved them inside. Theo watched in amazement as the big didn’t fill up. The man just continued to put the vials inside without rest.

“Dimensional bag,” Luras said, noticing Theo’s confused expression.

“A perk of being an adventurer,” Jarson said. “Listen, Theo… My team and I will be back now that we know you’re here. We’ll spread the word to Qavell—people are going to fall over themselves to visit Broken Tusk.”

Jarson finished stuffing his bag, digging into it to retrieve a handful of coins. He counted them out and set 11 shining silver coins, embossed with a coat of arms, on the table.

“We agreed on a rate of 5 copper per potion,” Theo said, knitting his brow.

“And even 11 silver for the batch is robbery,” Jarson said. “I suggest you find a [Mercantile] core when you have a spare slot. It will allow you to judge a fair price for items.”

Theo stood there, staring at the pile of silver coins for a moment. 11 silver seemed like an embarrassment of riches to him. Whatever the adventurers pulled out of the dungeon must have been worth a fortune.

“Nice doing business with you,” Tresk said with a grin.

“We’ll be at the tavern tonight,” Jarson said. “Until then…”

The adventurer departed, leaving the trio in stunned silence. Luras broke out of the stupor first, casting his gaze to Theo and smiling. He moved over to the pile of silver and took two of the coins, even though he was entitled to five. “This will do. A half-year’s pay in less than a week is greedy enough.”

Theo wouldn’t push the matter. He knew that he’d establish a very close relationship with the Half-Ogre, specifically buying any monster cores he found in the wild. Tresk was looking at him expectantly, even though she didn’t ask for any of the earnings.

“I suppose you want to be paid, too?” Theo asked.

“I mean… I was a superb helper, right?” Tresk asked.

Theo took a single coin from the pile and handed it to her, bringing his earnings down to 8 silver. She took the silver coin excitedly, stuffing it in a pocket and dancing on the spot.

“I’d like to talk about buying your monster cores,” Theo said, patting Luras on the shoulder.

“Of course. You’re going to upgrade the lab, right?” Luras asked.

“Exactly,” Theo said.

“At a discounted rate,” Luras said, grinning.

“First, let’s go get some food,” Theo said. “Then, I’m going to pass out.”

They left the shop, walking together to the tavern. Tresk seemed as though she was in a good mood, but she was always in a good mood. Luras had a devious grin on his face the entire way, boarding on giddy. Theo dismissed it as excitement for the job they’d completed, but suspected that something was going on. Miana accosted them at the square, and they ignored her. Tresk made a few rude gestures, gestures that Theo could only assume were rude based on the mayor’s response. The Marsh Wolf Tavern was buzzing the way it always was.

“Three of whatever you’re serving, Xam,” Theo said, ordering their food while Tresk and Luras found a table. They settled in near the back, finding a space with a window. A suspicious object wrapped in burlap sat behind the table, the Half-Ogre failing to hide it behind his bulk.

“It’s wolf meat again today,” Xam said, serving up three bowls of steaming stew.

Theo paid the three copper and retreated to his friends, eying Luras suspiciously. He set the bowls down on the table and placed his hands on his hips. “What’s going on?”

“I had something made for you,” Luras said, hoisting the burlap-wrapped thing on the table. “What shop is complete without a sign?”

Luras pulled back the cloth dramatically, revealing a sign shaped like a downward-faced spade. At the top of the sign was a painting of a newt with horns. Below the image, it read “The Newt and Demon”. Theo took in the thing's artistry, at a loss for words. Sat on the top were iron chains for hanging the sign. The Half-Ogre watched, still holding his dramatic pose. Tresk was hopping on her chair, shrieking with excitement.

“Well?” Luras asked.

Theo couldn’t find the words to match his appreciation. He crossed the distance between him and his friend and pulled him into a hug. Tears formed in the corners of his violet eyes, but he refused to let them break. He pulled back after a moment and shook his head. “This is amazing,” he said. “I cannot think of a better gift.”

Some ‌patrons in the tavern voiced their approval of the gesture, cheering for Luras. Others paid no attention, too consumed with their wolf meat stew to care.

“Woah! This is so cool! This makes it look official!” Tresk shouted.

“This is a big step for you,” Luras said, raising his voice for the entire tavern to hear. “But this is also a massive step forward for Broken Tusk. Coins will flow from the adventurers who flock here.”

More of the crowd cheered, and the trio finally sat down to eat their meal. Theo was in love with the design of the sign. The tongue-in-cheek reference to both him and Tresk was perfect, and the image at the top sealed it. He made a promise to himself to make the most out of the name. He’d make sure that The Newt and Demon was on the tongues of alchemists in the capital.

Jarson made his way over to their table. His adventuring party planned to set out with the dawn, wasting no time in clearing the swamp dungeon. Theo knew nothing about how dungeons worked, but it must have been dangerous. But the conversation didn’t linger on things related to dungeons, or alchemy. They spoke lightly of the things they hoped to do in the future. Tresk was even more firm with her proposal of the Tara’hek. The alchemist didn’t want to shut her down completely, but he wanted to wait. It seemed like he was running off to be married in Vegas, although he felt the magnetic pull the woman had.

The group stayed there later than normal, even lingering past the setting of the sun. Theo’s stamina still had 10% to go, and he was happy to celebrate after the difficult job. Luras departed, leaving Tresk and Theo to spend more time bonding. They left soon after, carrying the sign and finding their way to bed after locking the lab up. Sleep came easily enough after the day. He nodded off quickly, exhaustion overtaking him.