Theo was nose blind to the stenches of the swamp by now. Only the discovery of the [Cleansing Scrub] was enough to pull him out of it. He was glad that Tresk could appreciate how amazing the new creation was, not entirely certain how her nose worked. The feeling of freshly laundered clothes pressing against his body was amazing, and he couldn’t go back. They’d need to keep a supply of the [Ogre Cypress Bark] on hand to manufacture as much of the scrub as possible. Not every Half-Ogre in town would care about feeling clean all the time, but there would be an interest.

“Luras wanted to hang out at the tavern,” Tresk said. Her excitement remained, but she had a concerned look on her face. “We’ve been gabbing about this new [Cleansing Scrub] for too long—he’s waiting.”

“Alright, hold on,” Theo said, grabbing a few motes and approaching his [Glassware Artifice].

The alchemist imagined a dispenser for the liquid. He held an image in his mind before inserting the mote. It would have the vial-shape he used for his potions, but the stopper on the top would have a rod that went down into the inside. The artifice spat out three vials to his specification, and he filled each with 1 unit of [Cleansing Scrub].

“Just pull the stopper off, and use the little rod to apply the scrub,” Theo said, handing Tresk one vial.

“Genius,” Tresk said, nodding. “Let’s go.”

The pair left the lab well before dusk started settling in over Broken Tusk. Theo felt the warmth of friendship spreading through his chest, his tail waggling in time with Tresk’s the entire way to the Marsh Wolf tavern. They even received a ‌vile sneer from Miana and shrugged it off. Luras was waiting for them at their normal spot near the window. Where he expected to see bowls of stew, there were three plates with a fat steak on each.

“Wow, something other than stew,” Theo said, sitting down.

The scent of the meat was overwhelming, causing his mouth to water immediately. He hadn’t seen a solid cut of meat since he arrived in the town, and he didn’t care what kind of creature it came from. Without waiting for an invitation, he cut into the meat and took a bite. It tasted exactly like a medium-rare steak back on earth. Tresk was also eating, shoving large chunks of meat in her mouth and chomping noisily.

“Why do you two smell so clean?” Luras said, raising an eyebrow.

Theo’s nose was already adjusted to taking in pleasant smells again. The tavern had the stink of mud and sweat, but it hardly diminished his appetite. He withdrew a bottle of the [Cleansing Scrub] and handed it over to the Half-Ogre.

“Put a drop on your skin, and a drop on your clothes and boots,” Theo said through a mouth of steak.

“Yeah, you stink,” Tresk said, almost halfway done with her meal.

Luras had a skeptical look on his face, but did as the alchemist said. He shouted when the light spread across his body, joined by the surprised yells of the tavern’s patrons. After a moment, the bath in a bottle did its work, and the Half-Ogre smelled fresh, the muck on his clothes and boots scrubbed away.

“We’re calling it ‘bath in a bottle’,” Tresk said, grinning.

A small crowd formed around their table, some ‌patrons running their fingers over Luras’ clean armor. They were amazed that he was covered in a thick layer of swamp muck just moments ago, but now appeared as though he’d just washed himself and his armor. All eyes fell on the alchemist, who grinned through a mouthful.

“Stop by the Newt and Demon tomorrow, and you too can purchase some Bath in a Bottle!” Tresk shouted, leaping up onto the table.

She pulled her bottle out and started dripping it onto random patrons. Theo just watched as shouts of excitement filled the tavern, the flash of lights almost blinding. The stench that filled the tavern slowly abated, giving way to that berry smell that the scrub left behind. Patrons returned to their seats, eventually, just after the alchemist finished his meal.

“Well, that’s one way to drum up interest,” Luras said. “I’m guessing this bottle is mine to keep.”

“Naturally,” Theo said, waving a dismissive hand. “What’s this steak, anyway? I was just settling into the stew.”

“The tavern put in an order from the northlands months ago for some aged Karatan steaks,” Luras explained. “Xam wanted 5 copper per plate, and I gotta say it was worth it.”

“It was so worth it,” Tresk said, letting out a heavy sigh.

“So, when are you two going to do the Tara’hek? Seems like a good match to me,” Luras said.

“When he is ready,” Tresk said, narrowing her eyes at Theo.

“I don’t even know what it is,” Theo said, scoffing. “I understand it’s a bond, but that’s about it.”

“It’s a lifetime bond between friends,” Luras said. “You’re basically making a promise to forego romance with anyone, and focus on making each other better people.”

“There are benefits, too,” Tresk said, nodding. “We can talk to each other from anywhere. I think there’s other stuff, but a bond is rare enough that I haven’t seen it.”

“That sounds useful,” Theo said.

The reality of his companion running off to adventure was that he would never know if she was alright until she returned. If he could speak to her from anywhere, that’d remove his fear. As far as romance went, he had no interest in pursuing it. He’d ruminated on the topic for a while, but it was just something that he couldn’t bring himself to do. If he had a companion that he could share his successes and failures with, bound by the Tara’hek, he’d be much happier.

“Alright. I’ll do it,” Theo said. “Is there some grand ceremony?”

“Nope,” Tresk said. “It’s a very personal thing. We can do it before bed tonight, if you want.”

Theo shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

The conversation switched to lighter topics from there on. Dusk settled in over Broke Tusk, and Theo’s stamina bar was still a quarter full. He’d have enough energy to undertake the Tara’hek, and spend time with his friends without worrying about getting exhausted. Conversation died down as dusk gave way to nightfall, Luras looking ‌exhausted. He bid the pair farewell and departed before them. Theo and Tresk stayed for some time before leaving. They walked in time down the muddy roads.

“I was thinking about how we’d get stone roads in town,” Theo said, stopping at the monolith.

“Well, we can upgrade the town if we feed it enough monster cores,” Tresk said. “Here, inspect the monolith.”

Theo obeyed, reaching out his hand to touch the monolith with the intent of inspection.

[Small Town]

Name: Broken Tusk

Owner: Kingdom of Qavell

Mayor: Miana Kell

Faction: [Qavell]

Level: 2 (31%)

Features:

Alchemy Lab

Blacksmith

Large Farm

Tannery

Tradesmen

Upgrades:

None

“Wow, I didn’t know our town had a level,” Theo said. “Why isn’t it higher than level 2? Hasn’t it been here for a long time?”

“We’re dirt poor, that’s why,” Tresk said. “People want to sell their monster cores, not dump them into the town.”

“I wonder what level paved roads would be,” Theo said.

“I don’t know, but that’d be nice. We wouldn’t be tracking mud everywhere,” Tresk said. “We’re already hoarding monster cores, we might want to think about putting some in.”

“The mayor decides what to do with the upgrades, right? She’s basically the owner,” Theo said.

“I think that’s how it works,” Tresk said.

They left the monolith behind, and Theo fell into thought. He didn’t know if he could trust the mayor to do the right thing with his investment, but upgrading the town seemed like a great idea. The bigger the town was, the more customers he’d get in his alchemy lab. It made sense to split his efforts between the town and his lab.

Theo locked the door behind them, lighting the candles in the corners of the room to prepare for the Tara’hek. Tresk seemed giddy with excitement, and he reserved himself to trust her judgment on the matter. He’d weighed his options and selected this one as the most likely to benefit him in the long run. She cleared away a section near the bedroom and laid her bedroll there before setting out candles in a circle.

“Sit,” she said, taking a spot on the far end of the bedroll and gesturing to the other.

He sat cross-legged on the bedroll, and Tresk reached her hands out from him to take. She didn’t say a word, simply grasping his hands and staring into his eyes. They sat like that for some time before anything happened. He felt himself drawn into her gaze, his head swimming. The deeper he fell the more he felt a connection with the Marshling, as though he was understanding the contents of her soul. It seemed like a vague thing until he felt the ground fall out from under him, plunging him into a black void.

Theo tried to let out a shout, but nothing came. The darkness was all around him, although vague shapes roiled in the distance. After what felt like an eternity, something appeared before him. A light pink light formed out of the darkness, mist swirling to create a ball-shaped form. He recognized it as Tresk’s soul and noticed that red mist had formed around him to create his.

Gaze into her soul, and judge its contents, a voice spoke into his mind.

The alchemist found himself unable to do anything else. He saw Tresk’s ambitions laid bare for him to prod. She wanted nothing more than to prove herself to her family, showing that one of their line could rise to be an adventurer. There was fear of failure there, and a hope that lingered like a fire. The hope she held was in Theo, and his ability to elevate her to that status. At that moment, he could sense the potential in her, more than he’d ever seen before. She had all the traits of a powerful rogue, maybe even an assassin. Her decisiveness shone through the brightest, then her tenacity, and her loyalty.

She would make you great. There is no better pairing for your Tara’hek.

Theo didn’t know where the voice was coming from, but he knew it was right. It spoke into his mind in a monotone voice, echoing through his skull with reverberating truths.

[Tara’hek, Life Partner proposal]

Tresk would like to be your Tara’hek. If you accept, you’ll be bound to her forever. You gain experience by accomplishing tasks together and have access to more powerful abilities as you grow as partners.

[Do you wish to accept the Tara’hek? Y/N]

Theo didn’t hesitate in accepting the offer, mentally affirming his bond with Tresk. A painful rush flooded through his mind as the darkness dropped around him. He was left gasping for breath on the floor of the alchemy lab, the Marshling also having difficulty breathing. After a moment it faded and he noticed a new notification from the system.

[New Tara’hek bond]

You’ve performed a Tara’hek with a Marshling, gaining a new core slot. This core slot cannot be changed at any time, for any reason. Only the [Tara’hek Core] may be placed in this slot, and it can never be removed.

“Oh! We got a core!” Tresk shouted.

Theo examined his core screen, finding a new slot already filled.

[Tara’hek Core]

Legendary

Tara’hek Core

Bound

1 Slot

Level 1 (0%)

[Tara’hek] cores are given to those who accept a Marshling life-partner. You cannot change the skills inside the core, or remove it at any time.

Effect:

+2 Strength

A skill was already slotted in the core, and he inspected that as well.

[Tara’hek Communication]

Marshling Bond Skill

Rare

The first step to a Tara’hek is communication.

Effect:

Allows you to communicate with Tresk no matter how far away they are. Others cannot hear your conversation.

We can talk into each other’s brains! Tresk said, without moving her lips.

This is weird, Theo said, shocked at how easy it was to use the ability.

“Yeah, let’s use our faces to talk for now,” Tresk said, grinning.

The bond that Theo already felt to the woman was absurd. It transcended anything he’d felt before; it was like having another half of him sitting there on the bedroll. The ascendant sensation he felt in her presence was unlike anything else, trumping that of any girlfriends he’d had in the past, as well as parents, brothers, or friends. The downside was that the process left him feeling exhausted. He didn’t know how much time passed, but the darkness outside told him it was late.

“I think it gave me a strength bonus because you’re always calling me weak,” Theo said, smiling.

“Yeah, now you’re less weak. It gave me a wisdom bonus,” Tresk said.

“I think it’s time to go to bed,” Theo said, yawning.

Tresk nodded, moving around the room to extinguish the flames before dragging her bedroll back into the room. Theo laid on his clean bed, savoring the scent of berries. He wouldn’t miss how everything smelled like stale laundry and rotting vegetation. Sleep threatened to overtake him quickly. His eyes got heavy even before the Marshling settled down in her bed.

He closed his eyes and felt the familiar tingle of Tresk speaking into his mind, Good night.