The Newt and Demon-8.6 - You’re a Necromancer

Since it wasn’t Theo’s intention to start a drug empire, it was time to take stock of how this new skill worked. Once Rowan was contained in the dungeon—under the care of Sulvan Flametouched, of course—he took a seat near the cell. The former member of the Burning Eye’s control, and a man who had gone from beefy to scrawny to slightly beefy again, pulled a chair up.

“I have to wonder why you do this,” Sulvan said, glaring through a hooded gaze. “There are easier ways to murder your citizens.”

Rowan howled from within his cell, ranting about the bees.

“It didn’t affect me that way,” Theo said with a shrug. “I needed to understand how the new potions would work on different people. Turns out, there are some side-effects.”

“What’s the theory?” Sulvan said, seeming to get over the moral issues of the matter quickly.

“People with less Vigor can’t take powerful potions,” Theo said. “The negatives are vast, but the boons? They’re going to be intense. I can’t even predict what kind of potions I can make with this. You might imagine I’ve created the most pure form of a potion possible, but that’s not it. I can make them even more pure.”

“Which means you can make even more people go insane,” Sulvan said. “I had to heal Sarisa, you know.”

“I get it. I’m a bad guy,” Theo said. “That’s fine. I need to figure out how these potions affect people at different ranks.”

“Rank?” Sulvan asked.

“That’s what I’m calling the jumps in power. Right now, every 10 levels is a new rank. It reveals a tier for my alchemy,” Theo said. “But when the change comes, I think we’ll have tangible ranks.”

“Huh. Interesting. I’m still lodging a formal complaint about testing these potions on people. At least put them in a cell so I don’t have to see their naughty bits.”

Theo looked over his shoulder, craning his neck to see that Rowan had indeed stripped all his clothes off. “Why are they always naked?”

“The bees!” Rowan shouted.

“Please go back to sleep,” Sulvan said with a sigh. He waved his hand through the air, and Rowan collapsed to the ground. He snored immediately. “I’m begging you, Theo. Bring them here when you do this experiment. It’ll be easier to make them nap.”

Theo nodded, turning his attention to some reagents instead. He figured that studying the raw stuff would give him a better sense for how they worked. So long as he focused on replicating first and second tier potions, he could push it pretty far. Eventually, he would master infusion with this new skill, but for now he wanted to take it easy. The alchemist turned a few reagents into the familiar gelatin, observing the way it behaved under several scenarios.

The biggest thing going for Theo was his instincts with all things alchemy. He had been through it, putting his hours in the lab to understand exactly how reagents, properties, and essences worked. Now he could use the skill to create some goop, and have a general understanding of what it did and the dangers that could come with it. Yet no matter how much of the thick essence he made, he couldn’t tell exactly what it would do. Each potion was a mystery, but after a few hours of trying and chatting with Sulvan, he made a minor breakthrough.

Instead of only extracting the first property from a reagent, he forced the second to manifest. After that, it was easy to get the third to show up. It was as though he was going through the learning process all over again. Understanding the subtle way reagents functioned with this new skill was a domain that made his brain hurt, his knowledge of the topic expanding more rapid than it had his first go through alchemy. Thanks to his base of knowledge, and his absurdly high willpower, he was confident he would zip through it.

After flexing his new muscle for a while, the alchemist felt a strange itch in the back of his mind. He let out a heavy sigh, assuming at first that a god was calling him again. But the more he inspected that feeling, the more he realized it was more familiar than that. It wasn’t the gods calling him, but his own realm. Something was happening on Tero’gal, and it required his attention.

“Sorry,” Theo said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the ceiling of the dungeon. “Something strange is happening…”

“Don’t let me stop you,” Sulvan said with a shrug.

Theo folded the void over onto himself, appearing in an instant on Tero’gal. He squinted against the sudden change in light, scanning the area before he found Belgar jogging over.

“Hey! I didn’t know if that would work,” he said, a broad smile on his face. “Balkor wanted a word.”

“Really?” Theo asked. Belgar didn’t wait, trotting down the path toward a low stone building. “I’m working on his problem, but I need time to gather the reagents.”

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“Yeah, he knows,” Belgar said. “I just think he’s getting bored.”

Within the stone building, behind an iron-banded wooden door, was the grump once-god. Balkor stood up, dusting off his robes and scowling across to the alchemist. “Finally. Can I leave?”

“I don’t think so,” Theo said, shaking his head. “I need you to stick around until we destroy the pieces of you. Can’t have you fleeing into the other realms.”

“Why not?” Balkor asked.

Because I’m pretty sure King Leon ignored the rules of the void and went past the local area, Theo thought. This was a fear he wouldn’t share with the dronon. He wasn’t sure if he could trust Balkor to remain within the local area, suspecting anyone could break out of their prison if they tried hard enough. He had no proof of this, but the dronon gods held a lot of secrets. Why not this one?

“You’re a cosmic jerk, and I don’t trust you,” Theo said. “Don’t think the demon gods left a good impression on me. Just because you’re no longer an ascendant, doesn’t mean you don’t have something hidden. We need the switch to go over well.”

“At least let me leave Boar Hollow,” Balkor grumbled.

Theo turned his senses away from the interior of the building, allowing his mind to join with the planet he stood on. He couldn’t talk to Tero’gal, no matter how hard he tried. What he gained from this communication was emotions. Sensations entered his mind, letting him know the limits of the planet.

“Okay. Tero’gal says it can hold you here, restricting your access to the Bridge and all that,” Theo said. “I don’t mind if you run around the planet, but do you have a location in mind?”

Belgar turned to Balkor, giving two thumbs up. “There’s an island nation he was interested in going to,” he said. “They’re studying practical applications of necromancy.”

“Is that a thing?” Theo asked. He didn’t know why he doubted the possibility, but necromantic magic had always seemed so destructive to him.

“I believe it is,” Balkor said. “My experience with necromancy could help their efforts.”

“Someone give me an example of necromancy that isn’t evil, and I’ll agree,” Theo said.

Both Balkor and Belgar shared a look. Theo hadn’t expected Belgar to side with the Demon God of Undeath, but there it was. The alchemist understood there was some connection between death, life, and undeath, but he considered enslaving the undead an evil act. Yet if there was some control they had over the souls of the dead, that might be useful when dealing with Death. Not that Kuzan had been a problem, it was just always better to have a trump card.

“Golems,” Balkor said without missing a beat. “Necromantic magic doesn’t only enslave. It can turn the bones of the dead into a workforce or an army. Experienced practitioners are also a great counter to those who would use the power against us.”

“Us? So, are we allies now?” Theo asked, tapping his chin. “I’m not so sure about that. But Tero’gal is pushing me to agree with you.”

“Well, I’m glad a planet likes me. Even if you don’t,” Balkor said.

Theo wanted to object to the sentiment, but Balkor was mostly right. The alchemist didn’t care for him, and he wouldn’t make it sound any other way. He barely trusted Drogramath. If anything, he felt closer to Toru’aun, who just wanted to live in a swamp world and never interact with anyone else. Even Uz’Xulven had a bunch of motives she wasn’t revealing. He had no proof of this, yet the strong feeling still remained. If he thought about it, his distrust made sense to him.

There were a lot of former ascendants who just weren’t good people. They had to do some gnarly stuff to get to where they were, and were likely pretty upset when they lost their power. Theo hadn’t interacted with many of the ascendants from the Prime Pantheon, but he assumed they were all pretty pissed. But there were people like Glantheir who had seized the higher thrones, but they were rare. The most surprising thing was how much foresight Khahar had to avoid taking a realm. That allowed him the freedom to assume the Throne of the Arbiter.

“I hate to ask,” Balkor said. “But could you teleport me over there?”

Theo shrugged. “Sure. Need anything else while I’m here, Belgar?”

“Nope! We’ve got a rollerblading contest later today, so I’m busy.”

“Glad to see rollerblading is back in style,” Theo said. He turned his attention in the direction of the chain of islands. Tero’gal seemed to feed him information about the area, allowing him to select an area that was densely populated. A moment later, both he and Balkor were standing on a stretch of white-sand beach. The waves rolled over his boots, soaking them through with salty water. The sound of seabirds called overhead as the low murmur of conversation came from over the nearby hill. Small ships sailed around on emerald waters, folks on board craning their necks to get a better look at the interlopers. “Doesn’t look like a necromancer’s paradise. Just looks like a regular paradise.”

“What were you expecting?” Balkor asked.

“A bunch of skeletons, old towers oozing green goop, and a bunch of guys with dark shadows under their eyes,” Theo said. “I’ve been to Gardreth.”

Balkor let out a wispy laugh. He shook his head. “I wish you could’ve seen how it was before we ascended,” he said, letting out a wistful sigh. “Things were different back then. I won’t claim that I was a bastion for ‘non-evil’ necromancy, but there were a few golemancers who were pushing the art as far as it would go.”

“I’m something of a golemancer myself.”

“Are you?” Balkor asked.

“Yeah, I have a small army of them. They’re very useful.”

“Then you’re a necromancer. Sort of. When you bind a golem with a Monster Core, you’re using a proto-soul,” Balkor explained. “Those souls could have become sapient one day, but you imprisoned them.”

Theo frowned. “Well, thanks for ruining golems for me.”

Balkor shrugged. “I’m not here to make you feel better. But I’m happy to discuss the finer points of magic with you. Even if you hate me.”

“Hate is a strong word,” Theo said, walking along the sandy shore. Balkor followed behind as the duo marched toward the hill. Behind it was a town, the alchemist was sure, but he had yet to see any of it. There was evidence of the citizens, though. Folks were coming out from a tropical cluster of trees, jogging down to wave at the two strangers. “But fine. I have a few questions about magic in general. Especially now with the Seal of Intelligence.”

“Tell me about this seal,” Balkor said, raising a brow. “I’m very interested.”

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