6.13 - Deathbloom

The wind whipped by as Theo took the tram north. Several golems working in Gronro-Dir needed maintenance and it had been too long since he had seen the area for himself. While Fenian’s battle with the Worldbreaker had been bad for the continent, he avoided slicing the southlands up. While it was normally fun to see how the people up north were doing, the alchemist was accompanied by the masked elf, Twist. Their deal still stood, and it was his responsibility to get him back to the place where Qavell once was.

Grot was there on the platform to greet them, laughing as Theo attempted to tame his hair. Throk still hadn’t found a way to install windows without taking away the view. “Alright there, Theo?”

“Yeah.” Theo took a long moment to take in the sight. The sickly green hue that had floated in the air was gone along with the pungent scent of necromantic magic in the air. “How bad is the damage?”

Grot gestured for the duo to follow, walking up the slope that led to the town. “We’ve got some construction projects in our future. Already started, but we’re going to be a land of bridges soon enough.”

Since Broken Tusk had required so much stone to get their various projects done, Gronro had pitched in by cutting stone from the mountain. The result was a surplus that opened the gates to bridge building.

“Is there no direct path to Qavell?” Twist asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Not unless you can fly. Even then, there’s some nasty energy up north.” Grot led them to a karatan-drawn carriage, and the group set off.

Theo’s golems and wards had done an amazing job of clearing the immediate area of necromantic energies. The alchemist spotted rails before long, but was unaware that Throk had already started laying them. A half-hour into their ride, they found Gronro workers erecting the metalwork, adapting the straight railing for the hilly environment. The landscape leveled out after the initial rise, giving way to a straight cut through the mountains. Until an hour later, when the karatan reared to a stop before a clittering chasm.

“That is the problem,” Grot said, scooting close to the edge. “Still hot, somehow.”

Theo looked on in awe. Fenian had carved a hundred-foot swathe in the landscape. The sections near the bottom had already filled with water from the ocean, while those near the surface glowed with molten rock. He swallowed hard, considering the implications of the Herald’s power. Could he have actually taken him in a fight? Even with his nonsense dimensional powers, it would have been difficult. Fenian could be an asshole, but at least he was on the right side.

“Span like this is tricky. Ziz came to check it out, but he’s worried about stability.” Grot scratched at his beard.

Theo took a seat on a rock, picking a blade of grass from the ground to fidget with. The area was already coming back to life. Whatever alpine plants grew here before were bound to return. Especially when considering the magical density in the air. So long as some energy from Tero’gal or Drogramath’s realm came, they would come back. Ziz’s ability to build bridges was getting better, but the chasm was vast. Even with an Earth Sorcerer’s Core, he wasn’t sure how well he could fill it. He plucked more grass, trying to force his Wisdom to provide a solution.

“We could fly you over, but I don’t know,” Theo said, holding a finger in the air as though to check the weather. “The necromantic energy is gone, but whatever rushed to fill the void feels just as potent.”

Theo had expected to travel more that day, leaving him feeling aimless. Tresk had done some scouting of the area, but had failed to express how wide the chasms were. Between the point he stood and the place where Qavell once was, there were at least four breaks. She estimated as she went since the flight north would have taken too long.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Theo said, standing and gesturing to the cart. Both Grot and Twist shrugged as they made their way back.

Something caught the alchemist’s attention as he went. A small bush clung to the rocks near the road’s edge. It was a squat thing with tiny flowers dotting the surface. Each flower was a brighter shade of green than the leaves. He could feel the alchemical potential radiating and came close to inspect. After confirming they were viable for potions, he plucked several bushes clean, placing the flowers in his inventory. Then the group was off. Back to Gronro, then Broken Tusk.

“I hope you don’t feel as though you’ve left empty-handed,” Theo said, offering a grimace to Twist.

“These things take time.”

“We’ll work on it, but... I don’t know, Theo. Dangerous working conditions and all,” Grot said.

“Hmmm. I have an idea, however stupid it might be.”

“I like stupid ideas.”

On the tram ride back to Broken Tusk, Theo deconstructed a few samples of the new flower to reveal all four properties, including the hidden one. He inspected one flower sample.

[Deathbloom]

[Alchemy Ingredient]

Rare

Bushes filled with this flower are known to grow on the graves of great people.

Properties:

[Poison] [Spiritsense] [Obstruct] [Soulcleave]

There were a few things to take in with this flower. It was born from necromantic energy, that much was clear. While the first property, Poison, fell in line with what Theo expected from a necromancy reagent, the others were strange. Spirit sensing, obstructing, and the cleaving of souls were only moderately in line with what he expected. Experiments were required, but he had a good feeling about this one.

But this was wrong. The spirit shouldn’t have been here. Its form shifted, as though a wisp blown by air, but maintained its general shape. Theo didn’t know why he felt some much hate coming from the thing. The potion only allowed him to see the spirit. If it had been there for a while, this was just what it did.

“You can move on, you know,” Theo said. He wanted to point in a direction, but that was meaningless. “You should have already moved on. Should I get a priest? An exorcist? I’ll need a young catholic priest and an old one.”

The spirit moved a bit at the joke, and Theo raised a brow. “So, you can hear me?”

“What’s going on?” Salire asked, climbing the stairs to the third floor. “You don’t normally talk to yourself while you work.”

She had cleared herself of the ink, looking as fresh as always. Theo brewed another Sense Spirit Potion from his stock of essence and handed it over. “Drink it.”

“Uh, no?”

“Come on.”

Salire hesitated a few more times, but downed the potion. A moment later, she fell back on her ass with a yelp. “Is this normal, Theo?”

“No. I don’t think so,” he said, leaning in to inspect the spirit’s features. “Come on, let’s see if there’s more outside.

Salire shot him a look as though he had offended her. “How about ‘no’?”

Theo shrugged, trudging outside. He paused at the entrance to the lab, swallowing hard. Broken Tusk was filled with angry spirits. They crowded the streets, standing outside of doorways or lurking between buildings. Salire screamed when she exited the building.

“I don’t like this potion, Theo. Why are they here? Why are they so mad?”

Sulvan or Zarali might now. Theo turned away and went back into the lab. He had enough essence to make another four potions, and brewed them as the angry spirit looked on. It took interest when he was brewing the potions, but nothing more than a sidelong glance.

“Hopefully the Obstruct property provides a less...” Theo paused, looking at the spirit and shivering. “Unnerving potion.”

Theo brewed the next potion, finding it to come out as a murky silver, rather than the brilliant color like the creepy spirit potion. The reaction was slightly more violent, spewing some black smoke into the air and rumbling on the table. The alchemist hoisted it for inspection. Salire leaned in to inspect it at the same time.

[Obstruct Potion]

[Potion]

Rare

Created by: Theo Spencer

Grade: Perfect Quality

Alignment:

Drogramath (Minor Bond)

Reduces the effectiveness of all forms of restoration.

Effect:

For thirty minutes, the imbiber of this potion is unable to restore health, mana, stamina, etc.

“Hardly a useful potion, is it?” Salire asked. “Turning it into a bomb might help, but as is? I wouldn’t drink it.”

“Bomb makes the most sense. Or Aerosolize it and toss it into a crowd.”

Theo couldn’t keep his eyes off the spirit. As much as he had leaned on Zarali and Sulvan for help, he would need to do it again. If anyone knew about the way souls should work, it was those two.