Theo was the first to wake the next morning and went about his daily ritual of preparing tea and food. Before the fire was even lit, he was considering how to sell his new product. He’d price it at a single copper coin each, banking on the fact that the townspeople were poor and were unlikely to pay any more than that. It was a business move designed to improve the lives of the citizens of Broken Tusk, rather than turning a profit. His immediate concern was the tannery. The stench he experienced while in proximity was horrid. It was a problem perfect for an alchemical solution.

Tresk woke in time for breakfast, stretching at the threshold and flashing a broad grin. Theo could feel something of her emotions now, but only faintly. But it didn’t require a Tara’hek to see the excitement on her face.

“What’s the plan today, boss?” Tresk asked, sitting on the ground and helping herself to the food.

“I’m not the boss—we’re a team, right?” Theo asked.

“Yeah, but someone has to call the shots.”

Theo let out a sigh. “Alright. I’m going to talk to the tanners and understand their process. That’s an industry that needs alchemy. I’d like you to get some motes—we’re getting low—and push these tables toward the back of the lab.”

Since they expanded the lab, there was a small gap near the back wall that sat empty. Theo wanted to shove the three rows of tables back there, creating a clear walking space near the entrance.

“Right, what about our new product?” Tresk asked.

“The motes are for glassware. I’d like to make 50 vials of [Cleansing Scrub] and set it out front with an honor box,” Theo said.

“Honor box?”

“A little box that people can drop their coin in and take a vial,” Theo said. “I don’t care if they steal it. We’re only going to ask for a single copper coin.”

“I like the idea of helping the town out that way,” Tresk said, nodding and sipping her tea. “Seems like a waste of our talents to just seek profit.”

“Agreed. After I talk to the tanners, I’ll come back to the lab and work on something for you, as well as some research,” Theo said.

“Oh! A present?” Tresk asked.

Theo smiled, patting her on the head. “Some poison for your daggers.”

“I like this idea,” Tresk said.

They ate their breakfast, sharing the excitement they both felt for the new partnership. It was as though they were two hands, reaching for the same goal. This fact brought a new warmth to Theo’s heart, as though he was more complete than before. He couldn’t deny that Tresk would be useful for his goals. She was more than just someone to run errands. He could bounce ideas off her and listen to hers in return.

Theo finished his tea and bid farewell to his companion, fording down the road southward to the tanners. He didn’t have to wait long for the wind to pick up, carrying with it the stench of the tanner’s building.

This smell is worse than I remember, Theo said to Tresk.

They say you get used to it, Tresk said.

Somehow I doubt that.

A Half-Ogre tannery worker was standing outside, looking out over the rising dawn and leaning against the building. She waved at Theo as he approached. The smell didn’t seem to bother her.

“Good morning, I’m Theo,” Theo said.

“The new alchemist? Nice to meet you—I’ve seen you in the tavern. My name's Perg. I run this tannery,” she said.

“A pleasure,” Theo said, plugging his nose.

“You get used to the smell,” Perg said with a shrug.

“Right. Can you tell me about your process?” Theo asked.

Perg shrugged, gesturing to the backside of the building. Theo followed reluctantly, the stench growing stronger the further back they went. There was a pile of rotting hides resting over a cobbled yard, baking in the rising sun. It took everything in his willpower not to vomit at the sight.

“We usually process wolf hides for export,” Perg said. “They come in from the hunters, and we trim the fat off and lay them here after soaking them in water.”

Theo felt the bile sting his nose, but he maintained his composure. “What’s the purpose of letting them rot like this?”

“We need to remove the hair, and this is the best way,” Perg said.

“Right. Step one, remove the hair without destroying the hide,” Theo said, counting on his superior [Wisdom] to lock the information in.

“Then we need to cure the hides,” Perg said, gesturing for Theo to follow her. She rounded the corner of the building where two bay doors sat. They were already open, revealing a massive warehouse inside. Pits were dug in the ground and lined with stones, leathers in different stages of processing sat within. “They sit in a secret mixture that preserves them and gives the leather a pleasant color.”

“The purpose of the curing process is to… what?” Theo asked.

“We’re basically preventing the hide from rotting, making it softer, and adding some color,” Perg shrugged. “That’s the last step for our process, by the way… why are you so interested? People usually find this disgusting.”

“I want to find an alchemical solution to your problem,” Theo said. “I assume by the size of your warehouse that this process takes a long time.”

“It can take up to a year,” Perg said.

Theo nodded, walking up toward the road. The wind blowing from the south cleansed some of the stench from his nose. Perg followed. “If I understand your process, I think I can find a [Cleaning Agent] style potion that’ll do the job. Well, two, if my intuition is right.”

“Let me guess, you want a piece of the action?” Perg said, grinning.

“Not until I have something that makes your life easier. And gets rid of this smell,” Theo said.

“If you can make this process easier, then we can come to some kind of arrangement,” Perg said.

“Whatever we decide, I’ll be fair. My only interest is getting rid of this smell… And improving Broken Tusk, of course,” Theo said, laughing. He almost lost his breakfast, holding his hand to his mouth and heaving.

“I can’t wait,” Perg said.

Theo left, sprinkling some [Cleansing Scrub] on himself when he got out of range of the smell. He mentally reported back to Tresk, who seemed hopeful that he’d find a solution. He’d focus on finding a reagent that would have a property similar to “stripping”, “removing”, or something like that. Then he’d have to find a property that was close to “preserving”. When he returned to the shop, his companion already had a small wooden box with “honor box” written on it in the strange, blocky text. She bid him farewell, leaving him to his research while she collected motes.

“Essential Alchemy” had a section on combining essences that came with a warning. The combination of essences wasn’t well documented in the book, but the warning stated that it was a volatile reaction. Essences that didn’t combine would sometimes explode. Theo decided that this was an experiment for another time and focused on scanning his catalogs for useful plants. While he browsed the books, he started cooking a small batch of the [Widow Lily]. The entire process of creating essences became second nature to him, and he could easily move between the [Copper Still] and his books.

Theo finished cooking down the last of the foul-smelling [Widow Lily], propping the door and opening the windows half-way through, and returned to his books. Two reagents stood out to him. The first was a tuber that grew among cypress trees which had the [Preservation] property. Next was [Swamplight Spider Silk], which the book claimed to have the [Supple] property. If he could combine these two ingredients, he’d have something that would preserve and soften the leathers. That would cover the second step in the tanner’s process. He wiped the sweat from his brow, committing the information to memory before inspecting the [Poison Essence].

[Poison Essence]

[Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

5 units (liquid)

Concentrated essence of poison.

The essence would be too dangerous to leave out in the open, despite its dangerous neon-green color. He stowed it away in a chest and cleaned out the [Copper Still]. The barrel of [Purified Water] was getting dangerously low, but he had no intentions of running another large batch today. Theo surveyed what few ingredients he had left, determined to discover more effects before he went hunting for reagents. The gnarled [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root] didn’t look appetizing, but the [Manashrooms] were inviting enough. He took a bite, feeling a cold sensation rush through his body, followed by stomach cramps. A screen popped up, informing him that he’d discovered a new property. Theo read it from a prone position.

[Properties Discovery!]

You’ve discovered an additional effect from the [Manashroom] by eating it.

[Freezing] discovered.

The ability to freeze something wasn’t useful to him at the moment. After the painful sensation in his stomach passed, he plucked up the courage to take a bite of the root. Where the [Manashroom] tasted like nothing, the [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root] tasted like a copper penny in his mouth. He scrunched his nose up and swallowed, but no pain followed. The familiar window popped up, and he read.

[Properties Discovery!]

You’ve discovered an additional effect from the [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root] by eating it.

[Regeneration] discovered.

While the new property was useful, it wasn’t something he could use for the tannery process. He made a note in the margins of his book and went to move on, Luras entering the lab unexpectedly. The Half-Ogre didn’t say a word, striding across the room to grab the sign and leave. Theo shrugged and turned his attention back to his books.

Any idea where I could find Swamplight Spiders? Theo asked.

Basically, anywhere in the swamp that’s low to the water. The Swamplight Spiders like to build their webs near the Ogre Cypress, Tresk said.

The mental communication ability was incredibly useful. There was a lot Theo still didn’t know about the swamp, and having access to a native’s knowledge at any time was beyond useful. He stepped outside to find Luras hanging the new sign, banging on the lab with a hammer.

“Thanks for that,” Theo said with a chuckle.

“Not a problem,” Luras said.

A farmer came trotting down the dirt road from the north, waving his arms in the air. “Hey! Do you have that cleansing potion you showed us last night?”

“We’re working on getting it ready. I’ll leave the vials outside my shop,” Theo said. “Hey, want to make a copper?”

The farmer shrugged. “Sure.”

Theo knew that the farmers likely dumped all their points into [Strength] and [Vigor], the two stats that made the most sense for farmwork. The big Half-Ogre would have no trouble carrying his water barrel to and from the river. He fished a copper coin from his pocket and flicked it to the man who caught it deftly.

“If you could fill my water barrel from the river, I’d appreciate it,” Theo said.

“Yes, sir,” the farmer said, scrambling inside of the lab and hoisting the barrel before darting off to the river.

“It’s a good idea to delegate tasks if you have the coin,” Luras said, hammering the last nail to hang the sign.

Theo stepped back and looked at the sigh, smiling at the design. Both the name and the icon of the demon-newt were perfect.

“We need more streams of revenue, if we’re going to upgrade the town,” Theo said.

Luras raised an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting plan. Very selfless.”

Theo waved a dismissive hand. “The bigger the town gets, the more business we get.”

Luras nodded, casting his gaze over the swamp to the west.

“I need to harvest some [Swamplight Spider Silk] and [Marsh Tubers],” Theo said. “We’re working on a project for the tannery.”

“You’ll find both near the cypress,” Luras said. “Need an escort?”

“I mean, are you doing anything today?” Theo asked.

“Nope. I don’t want to see you dead at the hands of a wolf,” Luras said.

“Got your water, sir!” the farmer called from around the lab.

It had only been a few minutes since the farmer left. Theo was stunned by the way the Half-Ogre hoisted the barrel effortlessly, despite it being full.

“Thank you,” Theo said, watching as he disappeared into the lab and returned. He wasn’t even winded.

“Let me know if you have any more odd-jobs. My name's Oruk, by the way. Of course I know your name,” he said, chuckling.

“I will, Oruk,” Theo said. His mind spun with the possibilities that a brawny hand could get done. He filed it away for the moment, focusing on the tannery job. The Half-Ogre turned on the spot and left.

“Let’s go,” Theo said, mentally informing Tresk where he was going.

Sounds good to me… I’ve got quite a few motes. We’re going to need a storage system in the lab, Tresk said.

Perhaps we can get our hands on a dimensional bag… maybe a dimensional cupboard, Theo said.

The pair departed for the marsh to the west, quickly finding themselves among the massive cypress trees. Luras killed a pack of marsh wolves and began processing their bodies while Theo busied himself with the trees. He dunked his face in the muck, digging for the tubers below. According to the literature, he would find them among the roots of the cypress trees. It was foul work, but he knew that banishing the filth away was easy now. A window appeared, detailing his core leveling up.

[Drogramath Herbalist Core] received experience (2%).

[Drogramath Herbalist Core] leveled up! Level 4.

The level up came without additional benefits. Theo had a theory that he’d see something at level 5, but disregarded the notion for the time being and inspected the [Marsh Tuber].

[Marsh Tuber]

[Alchemy Ingredient] [Food]

Common

Marsh Tubers grow near the roots of Ogre Cypress trees. The taste is disgusting, but palatable to anyone desperate enough.

Properties:

[Preservation] ???? ????

Luras finished skinning and butchering the wolves, hoisting his haul over his shoulder and approaching Theo.

“Could I buy the hides you get today?” Theo asked. “I’m going to improve the tanner’s process.”

“Sure,” Luras said, shrugging. “I usually sell them for 5 copper each.”

“And you’ll get your 5 copper,” Theo said, nodding. “I don’t want to get into the habit of taking advantage of our friendship. If this process works out, I’ll stand to make a lot of money.”

Luras shrugged. He wasn’t a man that cared about money and seemed to live his life by the day. The Half-Ogre was stoic, most of the time, only showing emotion when it really counted.

“There it is,” Theo said, pointing at a faintly glowing spider web nestled between the jutting roots of the cypress.

“The spiders are venomous, but they’re hiding under the bark during the day,” Luras said. “Never harvest the web during the night.”

The web was extremely thick for spider webs. Theo wrapped it around his glove and removed it in a big wad before placing it in his bag. He looked forward to the inventory ability more than anything. Without a high [Strength] stat, he couldn’t carry much. The pair moved through the swamp, collecting as much tubers and webs as they could carry before heading back at midday. Tresk was already back at the lab, praising the [Cleansing Scrub] as a miracle of modern alchemy. Theo laughed out loud, gaining the attention of Luras.

“You’re talking to Tresk?” Luras asked. “I’ve heard about that ability, but I’ve never seen a Marshling take a life-partner.”

“It’s really nice,” Theo said. “It feels more like having a copy of yourself, versus being in a relationship.”

“It sounds nice,” Luras said, adjusting the bag of dead wolf parts on his back.

Theo explained how the Tara’hek created a new core, granting him a free slot. He explained the quirks of the new core, including how he couldn’t change the skill that was slotted inside.

“That’s unexpected,” Luras said. “You basically level up your relationship.”

They returned to the lab to find Tresk organizing an absurd amount of motes into a few crates. There were several hundred, ‌mostly a blue mote Theo hadn’t seen before. Inspecting the, he found that they were [Water Motes]. It looked like a sphere of water, held back by an invisible barrier. He held one in his hand for a moment before the Marshling approached him. She beckoned him down, and he obeyed, doubling over. Tresk pressed her forehead against his for a moment before backing off and smiling.

“That’s how you say hello to your Tara’hek,” Tresk said, beaming.

Theo couldn’t deny the powerful warmth that flowed through his body from the gesture. It was like seeing an old friend for the first time since childhood.

“I like it,” Theo said. “You got a lot of motes…”

“The river is lousy with them. People down here have little need for them. The fishermen left an enormous pile near the shore. I just scooped them up,” Tresk said, giggling.

Theo fished 15 copper from his pocket and handed it to Luras. “Please leave the hides outside,” he said. “I don’t want them stinking up the place.”

“Wait! Let’s try the [Cleansing Scrub] on one,” Tresk said, withdrawing her vial of the liquid.

Luras produced one hide and held it out. The fat was still attached to the bottom, the gray-brown hide catching the light of the sun in a beautiful display. Tresk placed a drop of the cleansing agent on the hide and it glimmered with the familiar white light. It was left as it was before, but at least it smelled good.

“Worth a shot,” Theo said. “Out back they go.”

The Half-Ogre took the three hides outside, returning only to announce that he’d depart for the day. They bid him farewell and focused on creating the glassware needed to make the [Cleansing Scrub]. Tresk manned the [Glassware Artifice], and Theo turned his attention to the barrel of [River Water]. He easily judged the contents of the barrel, and applied the correct amount of [Purifying Essence], resulting in a level up in his [Drogramath Alchemy Core], to level 4, and a barrel full of [Purified Water]. He then worked on creating 50 vials of the [Cleansing Scrub], chatting idly with Tresk as he worked.

The pair finished the reactions and carried a side table outside. They placed it in front of the shop with a crate containing all the [Cleansing Scrub], and set the honor box next to it. Tresk still agreed that she didn’t care if people stole the scrub. It was the easiest to make recipe they’d discovered so far. They could easily produce tons of the potion.

“Next step,” Theo said. “We’re going to try some volatile reactions.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

Theo gathered his remaining [Cleansing Essence], [Purifying Essence], and several empty flasks. Tresk followed him behind the lab to a wide gravel yard he hadn’t understood the purpose of until now. It was littered with shards of glass and burn marks, the hides Luras delivered sitting in the corner. He understood now that it was an area meant for testing reactions. He placed an empty flask on the far side of the yard and drew the smallest unit from his [Cleansing Essence]. The reaction would be sudden, if it happened at all, and he prepared to retreat after drawing some [Purifying Essence].

“Alright, stand back,” Theo said, positioning his pipette over the flask.

The reaction happened before he could retreat to a safe distance. The flask shattered from the force of the explosion. Theo patted himself down to check for shards of glass before inspecting Tresk. They were both unharmed, and the Marshling was hooting with excitement.

“That was awesome!” Tresk shouted.

“Not the intended reaction, though,” Theo said, cupping his chin in his hand.

Instinct said that there was an issue with the combination being unstable. He used his superior memory to search his books, finding a mention of stabilizing agents. The pair retreated to the lab, waving off concerned citizens and consulting the books. He remembered the page, quickly flipping to it and finding the answer to his problems. [Purified Water] could be changed to [Stabilized Water] by introducing [Flaky Agate]. He followed the instructions and created a flask with 5 units of the stable water, moving back outside. Tresk followed the whole time, nodding to his mutterings with interest.

“So, the reaction was unstable,” Theo said. “But my intuition says that this should work.”

“And you have really high [Wisdom], so you might be right,” Tresk said.

“Yeah… So let’s try a 5 unit solution of the stable water, and work our way up on the other ingredients,” Theo said.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Tresk said.

The first few attempts didn’t result in a reaction, but it also didn’t result in an explosion. Theo reset five times before he found the right combination of the essences. The flask sputtered for a moment and he ran back to safety, only to find that it was a success. His intuition was correct, resulting in the perfect thing for the first step of processing wolf hides. Theo and Tresk inspected the solution.

[Stripping Solution]

[Cleaning Agent]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Great Quality

Remove surface imperfections based on the application. Commonly used in materials processing trades such as the making of silk, and leather.

Effect:

Smooths out the surface it is applied to.

“Smells gross,” Tresk said, making a sour face.

Theo agreed. It smelled like industrial-strength cleaner, leaving his nose stinging long after he pulled away from the flask. Eager to test his new potion, he placed a hide on the gravel and dumped the contents of the flask onto it. The reaction was immediate. The liquid worked its way across the hide, letting off a steam that smelled far better than the solution itself. It sizzled for a while; the solution moved across the hide on its own before stopping. He smiled upon inspecting the ‌result. The hair didn’t just fall off the skin, it completely evaporated. The fat underneath also saw a similar fate.

“Perfect!” Theo shouted, holding it up for Tresk to see.

“That’s step one,” Tresk said, nodding.

“Let’s find a way to preserve this bad boy,” Theo said.