Theo and Tresk ate breakfast together the next morning, cursing Perg’s betrayal. She once again failed to bring the bread she promised, but neither of them knew how to make it. With things being so hectic lately, they had little time to spare to pursue it. Fortunately, the soup hadn’t lost its luster. Back on Earth, the alchemist wasn’t picky about his meals. When food came after the collapse started, he was content eating whatever protein bars they threw him. Compared to those tightly packed “chocolate” flavored cubes, the soup was a delicacy. The delicious orange-flavored tea didn’t hurt the matter, making their time staring out the window into darkness enjoyable.

“I used to sleep in a lot,” Theo said. “Whenever I could, really.”

“People in the big city sleep a lot,” Tresk said, slurping her soup. “That’s what I hear, anyway. Can’t afford to do that out in the middle of nowhere.”

“No, we have to make the daylight count,” Theo said.

The thought that he’d have to contact the capital hung over his head that morning. Tresk sensed it and tried to motivate him.

“You can’t put it off forever,” Tresk said. She didn’t even need to ask to know what he was worried about.

“It’s easy to be in Broken Tusk,” Theo said. “But now I have to talk to someone in Qavell?”

“We need those guards,” Tresk said, shrugging. “It’s not fair to expect them to patrol the town without a wage.”

Theo let out a long sigh and finished his soup. The adventurer’s guild was a step forward, but it would take even more effort to have the town properly defended. The dungeon provided enough problems, not to mention talks of war in the north. If the rumors were true, they would have bandits fleeing south. The alchemist thought about his customer yesterday, Zan’kir the Khahari, and wondered if he was on the level. He explained the encounter to Tresk, aiming to get her opinion of the man.

“Are the Khahari good people?” Theo asked.

“As good as any other people,” Tresk shrugged. “Bandits won’t come looking for a home. They’ll come to pillage, hiding out in the forest and striking towns for loot.”

“He might buy some property in town,” Theo said, nodding. “Seemed like a guy who just missed home.”

“That’s good,” Tresk said. “We need more adventurers here.”

The pair cleaned their breakfast away before Theo showed the cleaning technique Azrug came up with. She laughed at the alchemist for a while, slapping herself in the forehead. “How did we miss that?” she asked.

The sun was creeping over the horizon when they left the shop. Azrug was leaning up against the wall outside and he flipped the sign and entered the shop without a word. Tresk shrugged it off, and they made their way to the monolith in the town square. The adventurers were already gathered, receiving a speech from Aarok. Theo’s mind drifted in and out of listening. The man was talking about ‌keeping the swamp secure, and ‌that they were so close to getting the walls they desperately needed. The alchemist was too worried about what he’d say to the people in the capital. All the expectant eyes of the adventurers fell on him and he snapped back to reality.

“What?” Theo asked.

“He asked if you made progress on negotiating with the big guys,” Tresk said, punching Theo in the arm.

“I have—kind of—I’ll contact them today and negotiate a salary,” Theo said, swallowing hard. “They gave the wolf quest, so why wouldn’t they give us more money to defend the town?”

“More adventurers hitting the dungeons means more in taxes,” Aarok said, nodding. “We’re putting our faith in you, alchemist.”

“That’s Lord Administrator to you, Aarok,” Tresk said, blowing raspberries.

“Calm down,” Aarok said, laughing. “Anyway, concerning the [Monster Cores], we’re donating until it hits level 5, at that point…”

Theo’s mind wandered again, leaving the Half-Ogres words behind. He knew too little about the way the kingdom distributed funds and felt uneasy going into negotiations without that knowledge. He set a simple plan in his mind, the same plan he used on Zan’kir, aim high and accept low. Broken Tusk would request 10 copper a day for guards with four guards in shifts, two for the day and two for night. Realistically, he’d be happy if they offered two copper coins per person.

“We’re going,” Tresk said, nudging Theo. She beckoned for him to lean over and pressed her forehead against his. “You’ll do fine.”

The adventuring party filed out of the square, leaving two people who left in opposite directions to patrol the town. Theo took a deep breath and knocked on Miana’s door. She emerged quickly, narrowing her eyes at him and grumbling. “What?”

“Need to use your fancy crystal,” Theo said, managing a weak smile.

“Fine. You know where it is,” she said, holding the door open.

Theo found his way to her office and retrieved the crystal from the unlocked chest. He sat down in a chair and looked at the curious object, rolling it over in his hands. Without defined instructions on how to use it he just sat there for a while. After a few frustrating attempts, he closed his eyes and focused on what he wanted. The alchemist fell through the air, plummeting from the room into a sheet of inky blackness. When he tried to shout, nothing came out, and he was suddenly standing on a stone platform, illuminated from an unknown source.

“Hello?” he shouted, his eyes refusing to focus. His voice echoed over the platform.

A figure appeared in front of him, appearing out of nowhere. It was the vague shape of another person, possibly a woman, but cloaked in darkness. “Hello, thanks for reaching out to the Qavell City Administration Services, how can I help you?”

Theo had flashbacks to customer support people back on Earth. Her tone was far too cheery for the darkness surrounding them. “Yes, I have a question about Broken Tusk’s defensive… fund.”

She took a moment, tilting her head before exclaiming. “Oh! You’re the new Administrator for Broken Tusk. Theo Spencer, I got you right here. Miana has a lot of good to say about you and the town has been growing rapidly since you took over. All good marks,” She said, barely taking a breath. “I’m Lauris, by the way. Do you have any specific requests at this time?”

“We’re having a bit of a wolf problem. From the dungeon. It’s growing rapidly,” Theo said. Despite his initial fears of this conversation, he was growing comfortable.

“Right. Wolves. Let’s see,” Lauris said, pausing for a moment. “We assigned a quest to take care of the wolves, is the dungeon still growing in strength?”

“Yes, we’re seeing more wolves in the swamp and some goblins,” Theo said. “I created an adventurer’s guild, but we still need people to run patrols through the town.”

“An adventurer’s guild? Smart move,” Lauris said, chuckling. “I can provide another quest for you. How many patrols is your guild master running?”

“Two for the day, two for the night,” Theo said.

“Four adventurer subsidies—your adventuring guild master can assign whoever they want—five copper a day per person,” Lauris said. “Does that sound good?”

Theo blinked, unable to understand why this went so well. “That’s perfect.”

“Any other questions?”

Theo thought for a moment. The situation was extremely easy, and he wasn’t expecting it to go off so well. He had to think for a moment before responding. “That’s it. I can use this crystal at any time?”

“During business hours.”

“That’s it,” Theo said, scoffing. “Thank you.”

“Bye.”

The connection was cut without warning, and Theo was sent hurtling upward through nothingness. He was back in the chair, Miana staring daggers at him.

“Did it work?” she asked. “They’re usually jerks.”

Theo blinked, unable to process the sudden change. He stammered for a moment before collecting himself. “Oh, yeah. Real tough lady, Lauris. I had to threaten her life, but she gave me what I wanted.”

Maian narrowed her eyes. “I hate Lauris.”

Theo left Miana’s home, shocked at how easy it was to get what he needed.

Aarok said he got a notification about a new quest, Tresk said, speaking into Theo’s mind. How did you seal the deal so quickly?

Ah, you know. I’m just an extremely good negotiator, Theo said, beaming. It felt silly to smile while you were talking to someone through telepathy.

You didn’t have to do anything, did you?

Nope. Some nice shadowy figure sorted it out for me, Theo said. Which makes me mildly suspicious. Why are they so interested in Broken Tusk doing well? I understand the tax angle, but a few silver will not tip the scales.

A broader mystery? Tresk asked. Maybe. I’m sorry, Theo. I’m just a country Marshling, so I don’t understand all this stuff.

Right. Stay safe out there, Theo said.

Relief flooded through Theo’s body. He took his time walking back to the shop, picking an ambling path out into the forest to the east. Things were going better than he expected. Leading a life that led from one bad thing to another hardened him against such things, though. He constantly flung himself into motion to prevent those bad things, preparing for an eventuality that never came. The alchemist returned to the shop, finding Azrug with his feet kicked up and reading his book.

“I’ve secured funding for the guard patrols,” Theo said.

“That’s good,” Azrug said. “Someone said they saw a wolf up near the tavern last night.”

“We’ll get the walls today,” Theo said. “As long as they find enough cores.”

“Well, I made a sale,” Azrug said. “10 copper’s worth.”

“Good. Keep it up,” Theo said. “I’ll be in the lab.”

Azrug grunted a response without looking up from his book. Theo took stock of his dimensional crate, deciding that he wanted to make a run of [Stamina Essence] and [Healing Essence] today. That would put him 100 potions shy of his order for healing potions, and 300 short on the other two. His process was simplified once more, bringing his production capability up significantly. Cleaning the stills was a task that he hated, and now he didn’t have to worry. The [Cleansing Scrub] took care of the caked on reagents that gave him so much trouble in the past.

Theo prepared the [Moss Nettle] first, mashing 200 units fairly quickly and transferring it to the first still. He leveled it off with water and prepared the [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root], cutting them into small pieces and smashing them down. His increased [Strength] was paying off, and he completed the task in half the time it normally took. The [Flame Artifices] burned away on the lowest setting, slowly heating both stills. The alchemist had his process down exactly, allowing him to leave the shop and search for herbs while the stills did their work.

Between his cores, the [Drogramath Herbalism Core] was the one that needed more experience. While his alchemy core hit level 7, the herbalism core was still at level 6 and he wanted them to be in a similar range. Theo made his way to the river, mentally keeping time while he picked [Water Lilies]. He knew the locations of the flowers that enhanced [Wisdom] and [Vigor], but didn’t have a lead on any other stats. The stat-enhancement potions that Fenian requested were optional, but the alchemist wanted to make the most money possible from the request.

Tresk updated him on the day’s journey so far as he headed back to the shop. The adventurers were at a point where they didn’t need help taking on the marsh wolves. A few of them were even venturing to other areas to check on the local dungeons. The closest one after the [Swamp Dungeon] was the [River Dungeon]. Next was the [Hills Dungeon], to the north, which Theo had heard nothing about. He reasoned it was an extremely low-level dungeon, not worth mentioning. His Marshling companion took all of this as good news, as she could now focus on herself more. Luras became her adventuring partner for the time being until the wanderlust took him.

Azrug hadn’t made another sale by the time he got back, and didn’t acknowledge him when he returned. Theo swapped the flasks under his dual condensers and planned his next run. The next batch would be [Mana Essence] and [Stamina Essence], which should put him at midday. There would even be enough time to do another run if his stamina held out, but he had his doubts.

Theo ended the runs and added the essences to his inventory, pulling out a bottle of [Cleansing Scrub]. He dripped it in either still and started the mashing process again. Thankfully, this run would be the [Manashrooms] and [Moss Nettle], the two easiest reagents to process. When he fired up the first still, after leveling it off with [Purified Water], the [Flame Artifice] sputtered to life then died. It was the first time his new tools ran out of power, but he crammed an [Earth Mote] inside and it fired back up instantly.

Midday came with Theo staring out the window. It was the second half of his last run of the day when a prompt suddenly crowded his vision.

[Broken Tusk] has advanced to level 5!

[Broken Tusk] is eligible for an upgrade. As the Administrator, you may make a section of the following:

[Stone Walls and Gates]

Your [Small Town] will gain stone walls around its borders complete with gates. The walls will adjust if your borders expand. One gate will be placed on each cardinal direction aligned with the road exiting your town.

[Stone Roads]

Your [Small Town] will gain stone roads that cover all interior roads within your borders. The roads will expand as you expand your town.

[Watchtowers]

Your [Small Town] will gain watchtowers placed along the border. The watchtowers will move to match the edge of your borders, should you expand. 12 watchtowers will be placed.

Theo was tempted for a moment to select the roads, but the walls were a clear winner. Roads would only prevent people from getting their feet wet in the mud, and he couldn’t see much use for the watchtowers. He mentally selected the walls and felt the ground rumble beneath his feet. The alchemist steadied his flasks as the rumbling continued, almost losing his footing to the sudden shift. Azrug bolted up the stairs moments later, his eyes wide with fear.

“What happened?”

“We just got an upgrade,” Theo said. “We’ll check it out once my distillation is complete.”

Azrug stayed with Theo upstairs, bouncing up and down with excitement. The alchemist somehow kept him calm enough to wait for the last of the essences to finish. They departed the store and made their way to the town square. A group of people was already there, babbling to one another with excitement. Thanks to the clearing to the west, he could see the sizable stone wall and gate. It was a portcullis style gate with a cranking mechanism nearby. The gate was currently down.

Theo addressed the crowd, spotting Miana popping her head out of her house. “We have walls,” he said, keeping it simple.

Those few words were enough to send the group into a frenzy. Azrug joined them, jumping some more and hooting as loud as he could. The alchemist couldn’t help but smile, and added a few excited shouts of his own. The adventurer who fed the last core to the town stood nearby, sheepishly smiling as the group praised him. Theo inspected the monolith.

[Small Town]

Name: Broken Tusk

Owner: Kingdom of Qavell

Mayor: Miana Kell

Administrator: Theo Spencer

Faction: [Qavell]

Level: 5 (1%)

Features:

Alchemy Lab

Blacksmith

Large Farm

Tannery

Tradesmen

Adventurer’s Guild

Upgrades:

[Stone Walls and Gates]

Theo knew that the climb to level 10 would be arduous. His plan was to use his alchemy earnings to buy powerful cores from the traders and upgrade fast. He hoped that a new set of upgrades would be available at level 10, because he couldn’t stomach getting either the roads or the towers. They both seemed like a waste of an upgrade slot. The townsfolk were safe, for now. He raised his hands to get the attention of those gathered.

“I’m sure Aarok will spread the word, but we’ll have two adventurers on patrol in the city all the time,” Theo said. The crowd roared, and he waited for them to settle down. “I think we can all agree that the gates should be closed at night, but I want to put it to Aarok first. See what he thinks.”

“Speaking of,” Azrug said, pointing toward the western gate.

Theo could faintly see the adventurers standing outside the gate. They were waving their hands and shouting something he couldn’t hear. The group moved through the mud to the gate, taking a while to figure out how the mechanism worked, and slowly raising the portcullis. The alchemist spotted the mechanism that would release the gate, causing it to come crashing down, and hoped that the entire assembly was magical. He didn’t want to see his new gate rusted out.

“I see you selected the correct upgrade,” Aarok said, beaming.

“The other options were terrible,” Theo said. “Do you know if we get different options at level 10?”

“You’re already planning for level 10?” Luras said, creeping from behind Aarok.

“I have a plan, yeah.”

“Theo always has a plan,” Tresk said.

“Yeah. We should see new stuff at 10, but you can pick the old stuff too,” Aarok said.

Theo joined the adventurers as they walked the length of the wall. As the description promised, it followed the border of Broken Tusk. It even wrapped all the way around the farmland, putting the alchemist’s mind at ease. He was worried that the farms weren’t considered part of the town, but remembered seeing them on the town’s map when he inspected the plots. He pulled up that same map again, finding that the wall traced an outline around the town. When they finally finished their circuit back to the western gate, Theo was exhausted, and the day was getting late.

“We should head to Xam’s for food. To celebrate,” Tresk said, giggling with excitement.

“I don’t think that’s much of a celebration, but I’ll go,” Theo said, grimacing.