“I really don’t like it,” Salire said, folding her arms as she looked at the resulting essence.
“Come on,” Theo said. “Live a little.”
Theo smiled to himself as he brewed the potion. He put the essence in an empty vial and mixed in the enchanted water. When he added the catalyst, he could have sworn he heard the sound of a storm outside, but the light spilling through the cracked window told him otherwise. The reaction was just as violent as expected. It sputtered and spat until it settled down to a bubbling effervescence.
"What do you think about that potion?" Theo asked.
Salire shook her head. "Looks just as dangerous as the original."
He laughed as he inspected the potion.
[Infused Hurricane Potion]
[Potion]
Epic
Created by: Theo Spencer
Purity: 85%
Imbibing this potion creates a fast-moving cyclone of air. The effect sweeps over the drinker in a random direction. Entities caught in the storm will be granted the [Storm’s Haste] effect, granting them increased speed and reaction time.
Infusion Array:
[Haste]
Effect:
Summon a hasted hurricane.
"I'm not sure if it would ever be useful," Theo said with a shrug, "but it certainly is interesting."
"Got any more big brain ideas?" Salire asks.
This was about as far as Theo had thought. He had made no progress with creating his own magic, so he just wanted to make some silly things. There wasn't really enough time left in the day to tackle anything else, but the alchemist's schedule was mostly clear. Thankfully, he didn't need to be involved in the clearing of the current dungeons. The adventurers and the city’s wizard would handle that.
This all meant he didn't have to wake the next morning and feel as though he was rushed to experiment more with his alchemy. That was the most exciting part of getting all this stuff under control. He could actually work on the things he wanted to work on. Instead of calling it early though, he allowed the infusion to finish its work. He put a cork in the flask and placed it in the building's storage. He then helped Salire with the projects she had going. As expected, it was a bunch of restoration and attribute enhancement potions.
Those were the backbone of the town's consumption. So, they were the most important potions to brew. It was funny how it had worked. Salire had taken over the serious side of the potion business, while Theo spent his day experimenting to create weird things. Once they finished up, he bid her farewell and helped close the shop down. Excitingly, Tresk was bringing dinner guests tonight. It was going to be an auspicious collection of weird people.
Theo stepped into the manor, finding both Sarisa and Rowan scattering around to get dinner ready. The table was already set, but there were no guests. The manor was filled with the smell of pungent herbs and savory meats. Smoke wafted from the kitchen area, so the alchemist opened a few windows and watched as the pair conducted a frenzy of work.
At first, it was hard to tell what kind of meal they were making, but the more nosy he got, the more he put together the dish. It was effectively grilled cheese and a soup to dip it in. But of course, this was Broken Tusk, so it wasn't normal grilled cheese. They took two pieces of flatbread, stuffed it with cheese and shredded meat, and then fried it on both sides before plating it. The soup was a dark brown color and smelled like a mix between French onion soup and tomato soup. The alchemist got distracted when the guests arrived.
Tresk wasn't the first to arrive, Fenian was. He strode in, giving a hearty wave and taking a seat at the table. "Something smells absolutely delectable," he said, rubbing his hands together.
Theo found his way to the table. Taking a seat and assessing the elf, Fenian was normally up to something, but he had seemed more placid as of late. He didn't have a chance to say anything, though, as both Jan and Twist entered. They strode awkwardly to the table, found their own seats, and sat down. While Jan was slightly more outgoing, Twist folded his hands and put them in his lap.
Tresk kicked the door in, sauntering over to her place at the table with a broad smile on her face. She pointed an accusatory finger at the masked elf and shouted, "How's he gonna even eat?!?”
"Like this," Twist said, tilting his mask up slightly. He returned it to his face and shrugged. "I'm not sure why everyone's so hung up on that."
“Twist only wears the mask because he's butt ugly,” Fenian declared. "Everyone knows that."
"That's true," Jan agreed. "Might be the ugliest self I've ever seen."
“The mask is magical,” Twist countered, “And it gives me an air of mystery.”
Theo listened as the group bickered. It was like watching an old group of friends reuniting after a long time apart. Twist, Fenian, and Jan all talked as though no time had passed since their previous life. They had their problems in that old world, but it didn't seem to be anything they couldn't overcome. Instead of plots of revenge, they seemed to have engaged in competition. Whatever perceived betrayal had fallen by the wayside. The alchemist was most interested when the topic came up properly.
"I've always been the odd one out," Twist said, fiddling with his fingers. "So it was hard to get a word in with the old guild."
"As if matters weren't confusing enough," Jan said, shaking his head. The conversation paused when the food was served.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Sarisa and Rowan delivered plates to each member at the table, setting a spot for themselves, of course. Now that the food was done, Theo got a good look at it. The Broken Tusk grilled cheese looked especially appetizing. Both sides were crispy, and gooey globules of cheese oozed from every side. The soup itself seemed like a meal on its own, and he was eager to try it.
When Theo took his first bite, it crunched, resulting in an explosion of flavor that melded the flatbread, cheese, and shredded meat together perfectly. It was something that was so entirely greasy that each bite required dabbing both his mouth and his hands. When dipped in the soup, those flavors in the sandwich took a back seat. The soup shone through with a pungent, oniony, garlic flavor that mixed with an earthy, meaty taste. Together, it was almost too overwhelming, but the alchemist still ate.
"You see, Twist's people weren't originally from our world," Fenian explained, daintily dabbing the corners of his mouth. "They were from another race altogether that somehow got caught up in the mix."
"I believe the phrase you meant to use is 'Advanced Scouting Team',” Jan corrected, having no such reservations about getting messy while eating.
“Yes, well, that didn't work, did it?” Twist said, seeming hurt by the statement. “You see, I'm from a different world with a system, and we intended to invade Earth just as the system integration occurred. But something went wrong, and well, you know the rest.”
"I'm not really sure I do know the rest," Theo said, tilting his head to one side.
Nobody really knows what happened. Fenian said, "On our end, the entire world reset. Everybody passed out and woke up in different states. Some of us were at level 1, others were at level 20, and so on. But everybody had something changed about themselves. Twist was the only one that came from that other world, although I believe I remember him saying there were more when he left."
“To the best of my knowledge, there were crossing streams between Earth and Iaredin. When I attempted the jump, I triggered something between those streams,” Twist said. “That’s why I think the worlds smashed together the way they did.”
"Of course, this is all conjecture," Jan said. “Even if he made the jump, Twist doesn't know exactly what happened. Elrin might be the best person to ask, but even so, he seemed like he was in the dark as much as the rest of us.”
The conversation rolled on like this for a while. It truly seemed like nobody knew what actually happened. As Jan had said, it was all conjecture. The conversation was entertaining, though. The group had been through some serious stuff. Perceived betrayals and vendettas which turned out to be mostly misunderstandings. They had even less information back then, so it was easier to point fingers.
But the meal was pleasant enough to shift the conversation away from such dreary topics, and they eventually landed on the upcoming reset of the world. That was a much more soothing topic to entertain, and it filled Theo with joy. They spoke about the way they hoped to reform the system into something that supported long-term growth, rather than the building up and destructive cycle they currently experienced. Jan and Twist weren't directly involved in this, but they seemed like men of means and action.
Tresk had some of her lizard wisdom to bestow upon the group, but it was mostly threats of stabbings and poison. Yet that was her way, and Theo wasn’t there to stop her. The alchemist was just shocked at how pleasant of an evening it was. The group even retired to the study after their meal, chatting far later than he would’ve normally stayed up. Yet the thrill of the Dreamwalk still called him, and they eventually parted company.
“Might be the best thing you guys have made,” Theo said, patting Rowan on the shoulder.
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” Rowan said, stumbling to the side. He had cracked open a jug of the rotgut zee liquor earlier in the night.
The alchemist watched as the half-ogre tripped, falling to the ground. A few moments later, the sound of his rhythmic snores filled the sitting room.
“Boy can’t hold his zee!” Tresk said, cackling with glee. “Let’s go. I’m sleepy.”
###
Most of the time, Theo was happy to do just about nothing in the Dreamwalk. His experience gains had become minimal, which meant grinding levels wasn’t efficient. Experimenting with things he hadn’t discovered yet was mostly closed off. That just left combat training and testing the things he was familiar with. He wouldn’t complain, though. Some downtime was just what he needed…
Right after he tested the Hurricane Potion.
“Hurricane in a bottle, huh?” Tresk asked. “Nothing will go wrong, I’m sure of it.”
A potion like this was mostly nonsense. When it came to potions that operated in an overly magical way, the concept of consuming something to summon a hurricane was pretty normal. He quaffed the un-infused version first, allowing the liquid to slide down his throat. His tongue buzzed after the potion slid over it, feeling as though tiny bolts of lightning struck it.
“Spicy,” Theo said, belching.
“How long does it take?” Tresk asked.
The description was vague about that, but it didn’t take long for the sky to darken. Above them, dark clouds formed. Lightning struck somewhere in the distance. Tresk and Theo watched as the eye of a hurricane formed. They could see the clouds part, forming on the edges of the horizon. And then it spun, heading off to the north of the imagined version of Broken Tusk.
The wind it whipped up was absolutely brutal.
“Hang onto your hats!” Tresk shouted, imagining a hat like Fenian wore to hold onto.
Theo imagined his own hat, holding onto it and grabbing onto the nearest solid thing… Which was the statue of Xol’sa and Zarali. Houses were torn from their foundations, spinning into the air and crumbling to pieces when they impacted others. The wind was loud enough to deafen Theo. Although he knew they were in an imagined reality, he couldn’t help but fear the level of destruction the potion wrought.
At one point, both Tresk and Theo’s grip on the statue faltered. They were both sucked into the sky, sent careening through floating fields of debris. Both were knocked around and ‘killed’ a few times during the absurd storm. When they were both cast to the ground, Tresk came scampering over with a smile on her face.
“Again!”
“Actually,” Theo said, withdrawing the second potion from his inventory. “We have the infused version to check next.”
“What does this one do?” Tresk asked.
“Gives us a special version of haste. Also the storm is supposed to be faster,” Theo said. “Although I don’t really know how fast it will be.”
“Only one way to find out,” Tresk said, snatching the potion from him. She blinked, and the town was reimagined. “Bottoms up!”
The formation of the storm’s eye was much quicker this time around. The dark clouds formed above and split in under a minute. When the center spun, it whipped up a wind that rivaled the other at full strength. The alchemist had no chance to grab onto something. He was sent into the air right away. The city didn’t do better. Buildings were shredded in an instant, nothing left of them before they even left the ground. Even the mighty stone walls were torn down as though some giant had sneezed on a house of cards.
Tresk shouted with joy as she was knocked through the air. This storm moved much faster, covering the distance between Broken Tusk and Rivers and Daub in what seemed like a blink. It tore everything up, leaving nothing behind on the landscape aside from large boulders and strips of undisturbed earth. The storm ran out of steam near Gronro-Dir, finally petering out and depositing them in the mountains.
“At least the haste effect is good,” Tresk said, zipping around the area with unnatural speed.
“Somehow I don’t think that’ll be useful,” Theo said, shaking his head.
“Yes, but think of the potion’s application as a weapon,” Alex said, landing softly nearby.
“Did the storm not affect you?” Theo asked.
“No. I was hiding in the caves,” Alex said. “The caves flooded, though.”
“I’ve always wanted a weapon of mass destruction in my pocket,” Tresk said. “Can I have a few?”
“Absolutely not.”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.