The Newt and Demon-7.71 - Eleanor

It was more of a distraction than anything for Theo to check the old city out. As he had seen during Fenian’s tour, there was damage around the exterior walls that seemed to drag to the interior. Whatever had broken through had truly done a number on the place, and the elf wanted to remember that. The alchemist shivered at the thought as he moved with a small group of others, pressing forward into the mostly empty city.

“I’m unsure what you’re trying to show me,” Thomas said. “Am I meant to learn a lesson?”

Theo waved the question off. He was certain Thomas understood his message by this point, and didn’t need to press it further. Now he was making his way into the city as a curiosity. A natural migration into Erradon was interesting, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how and why people would make the journey. As all the worlds were now fully realized, a person could survive here without intervention. Assuming they were born or reborn in the middle plane, that is.

A mortal like Thomas wouldn’t last long.

Theo glanced back, setting a mental time for an hour. He doubted the man could last much longer than that.

“I’ve already shown you what I wanted to show you,” Theo said. “This is for me. Migration between the worlds isn’t explicitly allowed, but it seems some travelers have taken it upon themselves to come anyway.”

“You don’t seem to suffer from such travel restrictions,” Thomas said, his face going greener by the moment.

“No, that’s true,” Theo said, looking around to spot everyone in the various crowds. There were far more than he had anticipated, and the numbers were growing as they went deeper into the city. “But the Bridge is a sealed system. I didn’t think Uz’Xulven would allow anyone over it. Yet I’m not compelled to tell her to stop…”

“Let’s just get this over with,” Thomas said, taking a deep breath as though to steady himself. “I can handle it.”

The city itself was an interesting design. On the surface, one would assume it was a semicircular city where the interior tiers ascended toward the north. After chatting with a few groups that had made this place their home, Theo learned there was an entire area under the city. It was a place they assumed had once been the docks, granting passage to a sea to the south. In terms of modern-day Tarantham, this was the center of the crescent-shaped continent.

Eventually, the pair came to the spire, and Theo’s mental timer had just about expired. And so had Thomas.

“Would you look at that,” Thomas said, holding up a finger and turning to vomit. He gurgled. “Marvelous.”

“Yeah, I guess we should get you back to the mortal world,” Theo said, running his fingers through his hair as he gazed upward. “I would’ve enjoyed seeing the top of that thing, though.”

“Another day, perhaps,” Thomas said, somehow still holding his composure.

Theo enveloped both of them in his aura, dragging the sickly man into the void. A moment later they were angling for Iaredin, streaking through the barrier between it and the void and appearing near the harbor in Broken Tusk.

Thomas sucked in a breath, then a few more before his breathing evened out. “While that was quite interesting, I’d like to never return.”

“It really isn’t meant for mortal bodies,” Theo said. “Although I really don’t know why. Something about incompatible magic or something. We’re honestly uncertain what the mechanism is regarding heavenly bodies.”

“Absolutely fascinating,” Thomas said, stumbling to one side and catching himself against a wall. “I’m truly horrified, yet I feel enlightened.”

Theo turned, regarding the man with a cocked eyebrow. What exactly was his plan in taking Thomas to the other realms? The expression on the man’s face was indeed one of enlightenment. Maybe this was a good idea. Pulling the important people of the world aside and showing them what would happen before it happened. They could spread information faster than anyone else, right?

“I thank you for the trip,” Thomas said.

Theo watched as the man’s complexion got better by the moment. The color on his face returned and his shoulders were thrust back. After adjusting his hat, he looked dignified once again.

“You’re tough, aren’t you?” Theo asked, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

“I try my best,” Thomas said. “I assume you’re not participating in the combat games, are you?”

“I don’t think so,” Theo said. “Doesn’t seem fair.”

“Excellent. I look forward to displaying my prowess, and find myself regretting I won’t see yours…”

“We may have special exhibitions,” Theo said.

Thomas made pleasant conversation after that. He didn’t take his kidnapping to the other realms as an offense, instead viewing it as an honor to peek behind the curtain. More than anything, Theo was happy to hear Thomas would spread the information to his people in Bantein. Fortunately, there weren’t any other people who needed random tours today, and it was time to check on the apprentice’s apprentice.

Stolen story; please report.

Once free from the representative of Bantein, Theo headed for his lab. Most of the day had burned away, resulting in the coming of mid-afternoon. The alchemist snuck into the shop, silencing the bell and shushing the half-ogre working the front counter. He made his way up the stairs as silently as he could, pressing his ear against the door to his lab. The scents wafting from within were pleasant, revealing the progress Eleanor had made in such a short time.

There was a lull in the conversation, which Theo took as an invitation. He opened the door, finding Salire and Eleanor working on the first step in the process of making potions. The fundamentals were important, after all.

“You’re making some excellent progress,” Theo said, nodding with approval. The woman didn’t look as nervous as she did last time.

“Once I got my confidence back…” Eleanor said, her voice low as she focused on measuring out reagents. “Things fell into place.”

“She’s a natural. Just like me,” Salire said, beaming with pride. “She’s not even using a skill to measure the materials.”

“That’s hard to believe,” Theo said, tilting his head to get a better look at the process. She measured everything expertly and by eye. “I think you found a winner, Salire.”

That was apparently too much for Eleanor, and her face flushed. “I’ll do my best,” she said.

“Maybe we truly need to think about expanding the lab,” Theo said, shaking his head as he looked over the cramped space. “I’ve got these high-level cores burning a hole in my pocket… Maybe enough to get 35.”

“What are the chances we get an expansion upgrade?” Salire asked.

“Pretty low,” Theo said, narrowing his eyes as he watched a rat scurry across the lab’s floor. A normal rat. Not an octo-rat, rat-dog, or some other combination of animals. Just a regular old rat. The alchemist’s sense for auras still wasn’t good, but this one was familiar. “I think we have a spy in the lab. Make some room.”

Both Salire and Eleanor looked with puzzled expressions on their faces. They both fell back when the rat changed. In a blink it turned from a rat to a man. Elrin specifically.

“I wouldn’t call it spying,” Elrin said. He was covered in a layer of grime and brushed his shoulders off as though that would help. “More like a checkpoint.”

“What’s up?” Theo asked.

“We need to move another shard into position,” Elrin said. “We have some imbalances. Unless we move a shard, my work will be reset.”

“What are we waiting for?” Theo asked with a shrug. “Off to the void island, I guess.”

Elrin nodded. “We’ll depart from outside. Trevor can’t fit inside.”

Theo nodded, saying farewell to Salire and Eleanor. They could upgrade the building later. The balance of the world seemed a bit more important. After heading outside, Elrin summoned his giant tiger. A moment later, they dipped into the void. The tiger yawned and stretched, kneading the bottom of the void bubble as they went. They wasted no time angling straight for the void island, landing softly near the ziggurats.

It didn’t take long for Theo to sense something strange about the landmass. He narrowed his eyes, scanning around in search of the disturbance. At first he thought he had missed some void elves, but the signature was different. Despite sending his senses as far as they would go, he couldn’t figure it out.

“You feel it too?” Elrin asked. “Could be an issue with so many dormant shards in one place.”

“It feels familiar, though,” Theo said.

Without a word, Elrin sent Trevor off to scout the area. While the tiger did his work, they found the correct shard and waited. Once it was active, they’d need to send it back to the mortal plane quickly, otherwise bad stuff would happen… According to Elrin, that was.

“He found something you will not like,” Elrin said, stalking off toward the jungle. “A dungeon, according to Trevor. He claims it isn’t right.”

Theo frowned as he followed closely behind Elrin, his brain working overtime to figure out some reason for a dungeon to appear here. He understood dungeons were manifestations of magical energy, given form as a release to the system’s need to compensate. Which meant the system was here, which was something the alchemist was unsure of.

Now that Theo knew what he was looking for, he could sense the dungeon in the distance. It felt similar to dungeons on the mortal plane, with a twist similar to all things in the void. Void corruption felt like a schism—a piece of something that shouldn’t exist. It split what should and shouldn’t be, creating a disjointed feeling that made him uncomfortable.

Theo spotted a massive glowing tiger before he saw the dungeon. Trevor stood at the edge of a clearing, growling at the archway denoting the dungeon’s entrance. The alchemist clicked his tongue, approaching and pressing his hand against the side. A shock of electricity spread through his chest and he shook his head. His Dreamwalker’s Core was close to declaring this thing against the rules of the system. But he felt as it refused that fact without more information.

“We got ourselves an illegal dungeon,” Theo said, wrapping the dungeon in his aura. It fought against him as his shadowy aura glanced over the surface. “It doesn’t want us probing deeper, but I can feel the structure. Feels like a normal dungeon you’d find on the mortal plane.”

Elrin grunted a response, poking a finger into the dungeon’s portal. “Standard message to enter. No surprises there. I can feel the dungeon’s core screaming from within.”

“Screaming?” Theo asked, blinking. “Why would it scream?”

“Fear.”

Theo watched as Elrin entered the dungeon, beckoning for him to join. The alchemist sat in confusion for quite a while, edging toward the entrance but finding himself hesitating. Even when Xol’sa talked about interacting with the dungeons he never talked about them that way. An emotional response from something like a dungeon seemed strange, but they could ascend… He pressed forward, feeling the familiar sensation of cold washing over his entire body as he entered. Then the sickening aura of a void-soaked dimensional space washed over him and his danger sense tingled.

Theo clicked his tongue, looking out over the dungeon’s landscape. “What am i looking at?” he asked. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Elrin folded his arms, frowning as he looked ahead. “I’ve seen one of these before,” he said. “When was the last time you checked on Death?”

“Recently enough,” Theo said.

Elrin’s frown deepened. “Perhaps we’ll pay him a visit when we’re done here.”

Theo shook his head, the ash beneath his feet remembering the impression of his boots. He gazed out onto the gray, floating islands, his mind almost unable to comprehend the landscape.

“Guess you’re the one leading,” Theo said, wincing as he set eyes on a gray spider-like monstrosity in the distance. “Hope this wasn’t a mistake.”