Chapter 17: The Bell

“You got your inventory power,” Luras said, watching as Theo shoved 10 barrels into his inventory.

Tresk approached, unhooking the dimensional bag from her belt and holding it out for the Half-Ogre to see. “I got a bag!”

“Luras, shouldn’t you sleep,” Theo said, knitting his brow.

While Theo’s tasks were many, he had a good night's sleep and a square meal. He felt Luras’ intention to help him with the barrels, but wanted to head that conversation off. Whatever adventures the man had in Rivers and Daub could wait to be told another day.

“I should,” Luras said.

Despite the effects of the [Lesser Stamina Potion], he looked tired beyond reason. He turned on the spot and shambled up the hill, dragging his feet through the mud as he went. Theo felt bad for a moment, but the big guy just needed some rest.

“Stamina potions don’t remove the need to sleep,” Tresk said. “It just gives you a jolt that doesn’t last long. Your stamina bar could be full, but you’ll still be dead tired.”

Theo made his way around the water tower and behind the blacksmith’s shop, east toward the river. He turned on the spot, beckoning for his companion to follow. Filling the barrels at the river would be easier if someone with more than 7 [Strength] came along to help.

“Ten barrels at 200 units each—we'll need to make five trips to fill the tower,” Theo said.

“You don’t have to fill it all the way,” Tresk scoffed. “This is work for a hireling, anyway.”

Theo stopped and sighed, turning back again to look at the water tower. The tank of the tower was a perfect cylinder of wrapped copper perched atop a wooden frame. It sat two Half-Ogres high and caught the rising sun perfectly. He could easily hire someone to collect the water, bringing it to the lab to be purified, but he wanted to do it himself.

“I want to do the first filling myself,” Theo said. “This was the first idea I had to make Broken Tusk better, and I want to see it through.”

Tresk hopped over to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the river. “Then let’s get this done.”

The pair arrived at the river, spotting the same Marshling fishermen Theo had seen before. They waved and smiled at Tresk, heading southward toward the ocean. Filling the barrels was significantly easier when Tresk held them steady in the water. Despite her slight build, she kept them in place with ease. Compared to his attempt at filling his personal water barrel, this went well. They had all ten barrels filled in a matter of minutes, quickly returning to the lab to pick up their leftover [Purifying Essence].

Theo had the [Purified Water] reaction memorized and withdrew the barrels outside of the blacksmith. In a matter of moments, he turned 2,000 units of [River Water], with their deadly pathogens, into [Purified Water]. Tresk volunteered to dump them into the top of the water tower, stowing the barrels into her bag and ascending a rickety ladder. Her superior [Dexterity] and [Strength] meant that she had no trouble handling the heavy barrels, and was back down with the alchemist in minutes.

Theo turned the spigot at the bottom, causing a torrent of water to rush out. He put his face under the tap and let it wash over him, guzzling the water and turning to cast a beaming smile at his companion. She laughed and shoved her head under the tap to drink the fresh water. A crowd gathered as they frolicked in the pure water, absorbed in their celebration of accomplishment. Oruk, the Half-Ogre laborer, was the first to voice his confusion.

“What’s this?” he said, cocking his head.

“Fresh water,” Theo said, turning the spigot off and addressing the crowd. Only after the flow had ceased did he realize that most of the town was gawking at him.

“Free [Purified Water],” Tresk said, bouncing up and down. “For everyone to drink. No more boiling your drinking water.”

A ripple of excitement spread across the crowd. Townsfolk rushed off to their homes, shouting about retrieving buckets to collect the precious water. Theo had easy access to as much drinkable water as he needed, aided by his powerful alchemy. The Marshlings didn’t have need for the pure water, but every Half-Ogre in town needed to boil their water before consuming it. Tresk and Theo grinned at each other, heading back toward the river for another run.

While they had no intention of filling the water tower to capacity, they did exactly that. Each time they returned from the river, different people gathered to fill their buckets. Only on the fifth run did the crowd disperse, the excited murmurs still flowing through them like the surge of the river. Tresk returned the barrels to her father, giving him her thanks while Theo ascended the ladder. His [Drogramath Distillery Specialty] skill allowed him to judge that only a barrel’s worth of water had been taken in the initial surge. The massive capacity of the water tower would last a long time.

“How many cores did you find on your adventure?” Theo asked, climbing down from the ladder.

“15 cores, and a bunch of other junk,” Tresk said. “I was thinking of picking up the quest once Miana posts it… Could’ve made 30 copper yesterday.”

“Not to mention the money you’d make selling the hides to Perg,” Theo said.

“I’m still not good at skinning the beasts,” Tresk said.

Tresk cast her gaze over the water tower, admiring her father’s work. Theo fell into his thoughts, going through the things he still needed to do. Food was an issue again, and he didn’t have a suitable solution. The Zee was already overstaying its welcome as a part of his diet, and he didn’t have an alternative. As he weighed his options, his inventory came to mind. The assumption was that food didn’t rot when it stayed there, and until he found a proper storage solution for his shop, it would do.

“Well, we’re almost out of Zee… I think I’ll sort our food situation out before moving on to other projects.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to spend the day adventuring,” Tresk said, grinning.

“That’s perfect. Even if you can’t skin the wolves, bring some meat back. We can try our hand at wolf meat stew,” Theo said.

“That works for me,” Tresk said, beckoning for him to bend to her level. She pressed her forehead against his before departing toward the swamp.

Theo went around the water tower, finding his way to the blacksmith. Throk hammered away at a bar of red-hot iron. The alchemist had to wave his hands to get the man’s attention. “Do you sell pots?”

“Copper pots, sure,” Throk said. “You know you can go inside of the store—this is just the workshop.”

“I didn’t know that,” his violet face flushing a deeper shade of purple.

Throk simply smiled and gestured to the front of the building. A bell jingled as he entered, and he made a mental note to get his hands on one. A small Marshling stood at the counter, tapping his foot impatiently. He was the spitting image of his father, and Theo pinned him for Throk’s son.

“Hello, I need a pot,” Theo said awkwardly.

“Copper pot? How big?”

“Somewhere between 20 and 50 units,” Theo said.

The Marshling disappeared for a moment, returning with a cauldron slightly larger than his head. “Five copper.”

“Do you sell those bells,” Theo asked, pointing back toward the door.

The Marshling disappeared behind the counter again, returning quickly and slapping the jangling bell on the counter. It had the mounting bracket with it. “Eight copper—total.”

“And what about a stand for the pot?”

“Needy, aren’t you?” the Marshling said, disappearing and reappearing with a stand. It was an iron tripod with a ring of metal in the center to hold the pot in place. “Ten copper. Anything else?”

“That’s all,” Theo said, retrieving 10 copper from his inventory and presenting it to the shopkeeper.

“A pleasure,” he said, affecting a shallow bow.

Theo stored the items in his inventory, gaining a judging look from the Marshling. He departed before the man could ask him about the power and made his way south down the muddy road. The Newt and Demon was empty, as expected, and he placed the copper pot and stand upstairs, leaving the bell downstairs until he could figure out how to mount it. Even on Earth he was bad with tools, never could drive a nail straight. The food would have to wait until later, as the lab had nothing edible. Instead, he focused on organizing the shop downstairs.

The alchemist started by working the [Glassware Artifice] to create 50 of the vials meant for [Cleansing Scrub]. Using his new technique, he kicked off a 50 unit reaction in a large flask before distributing it into the individual vials. He laughed at himself for ever doing individual reactions the way he had before and had the entire batch sorted in less than a half-hour. Theo brought the entire stock of his potions into his inventory and made his way downstairs to place his wares. He propped the door open as he grouped them on the shelves. The stock was pitiful with only 4 [Lesser Vigor Potions], 13 [Lesser Healing Potions], and 50 [Cleansing Scrub].

We’re going to need an ‘open’ sign for the store, Theo said.

Tresk took a moment to respond. Her voice came with ragged gasps, and his heart stopped for a moment. Ten wolves at once! If they were higher than level 5 I’d be in trouble… Good idea on the sign, though.

Are you alright?

I still have health potions, so yeah! Tresk said.

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Theo reserved himself to that fact. He loaded her up with enough potions to survive out there and had to trust that she was a good adventurer. He couldn’t see himself taking on a single wolf, let alone a pack of ten. It seemed like an impossible feat, but his cores were focused on crafting and gathering. The alchemist jumped when a voice came from the doorway.

“Got any work, boss?” Oruk said, grinning from the threshold.

“Actually, I do,” Theo said, laughing. “Can you mount this bell?”

Oruk entered the shop, striding over to the counter and inspecting the bell. He swiveled his head to look at the door frame and nodded. “Yeah, no problem. Can’t swing a hammer?”

Theo held up his thin arms before shrugging. “I’m more likely to hit my fingers than drive a nail, friend.”

“Sure thing, boss. Let me go grab a hammer and nails,” Oruk said.

Theo withdrew a copper coin from his inventory and flicked it toward the Half-Ogre. He caught it from the air and grinned, darting out of the door. Mounting the bell might have been too much of a job for him, but certainly he could write a sign that said “open” and “closed” on either side. Lacking paint, he trudged down the road toward the tannery. The stench hadn’t subsided yet, but it would take them days to process all the hides.

“Perg?” Theo called. She wasn’t at her normal perch.

“She’s in the warehouse,” a tannery worker said, peeking his head out from around the building.

Theo plugged his nose and walked around the building to find the woman using his potions on a pile of hides. She turned and grinned at him. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Do you have any paint? I need to make a sign for my shop,” Theo said.

“Begrut!” Perg shouted.

A rotund Half-Ogre came around the corner.

“Help the alchemist out. He needs some paint,” Perg said, going back to her work.

“Follow me, sir,” Begrut said, trundling out of the warehouse.

Theo followed him to a small storage shed, where the man produced a bucket containing a tar-like substance, and a brush.

“Thank you,” Theo said.

The alchemist retreated to his shop with the paint and found a small bit of wood on the outside of his shop. When he wrote “open” on one side, he found the action strange. He’d never written in his newly adopted language, and didn’t even know what the people of the land called it. The blocks of letters came out strange-looking, but it would do. He wrote “closed” on the other side, leaving it to dry as he returned the paint. He didn’t find Begrut there, so he just left the paint where the Half-Ogre retrieved it from.

Theo returned to the lab, finding Oruk banging on the inside frame of the door. He slid past the laborer and went upstairs to retrieve some string. Among the many piles of junk that littered the lab, he found a length that would do. By the time he made it back downstairs, Oruk was done with the job. He opened and closed the door a few times, producing a pleasant jingling noise.

“Could you hang a sign for me?” Theo asked.

“Sure, just don’t pay me,” Oruk said, scoffing. “You always overpay people.”

Theo’s face flushed again, and the Half-Ogre followed him to the drying sign. He grunted something and retrieved a hand drill from a wooden toolbox, drilling two holes in either side of the plank of wood. Oruk then placed a nail in the center of the door, hanging the sign and turning to grin at the alchemist.

“See? Easy,” Oruk said. “Looks like a kid wrote it, though.”

“There’s a disconnect between speaking this language and writing it,” Theo said.

“I always forget you’re an outworlder,” Oruk said, scratching his chin. “You fit in far too well here at Broken Tusk—I even forget you’re a Dronon.”

“Do people in the wider world fear the Dronon?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Oruk said. “I’ve lived my whole life here. Seen everything from Elves to Goblins pass through, and the only thing I learned from them was that a jerk is a jerk. No matter the race.”

“Good to know,” Theo said. “I may have more work for you later. That’s all for today.”

“Thanks, boss,” Oruk grunted, waddling up the muddy road.

Theo retreated ‌into his shop, smiling as the bell jingled. He mentally updated Tresk on the shop’s new features, which she seemed excited for. The alchemist went upstairs, working on a list of the potions he wanted to stock when the faint tinkle of the bell issued from downstairs. He perked up, descending with the expectation of seeing Perg or Luras. A Half-Ogre woman he vaguely recognized stood behind the counter, her eyes snapping to him as he descended the stairs. She had a chipped sword fastened to her belt with tattered leather armor covering her body.

“Oh! I’ve seen you at the farm,” Theo said, suddenly realizing where he’d seen her.

“Yes. I need some potions, alchemist,” the woman said.

He shrugged, coming to stand before the counter. “Are you planning to go out adventuring?”

“Yes. The bounty quest on the wolves is too good,” she said.

“I’m guessing, on a farmer’s wage, you have little coin,” Theo said, smiling.

The woman rummaged through her bag, producing 10 copper coins and placing them on the table as though they were a fortune. Theo’s heart ached at the destitute nature of the farmers. A two copper bounty on wolves was an amazing opportunity for them. They’d earn that with a day of hard labor out in the fields, if they were lucky. Oruk’s words of the alchemist being too generous rang through his mind, but he couldn’t help himself.

Theo found the shelf with the [Lesser Healing Potions] and plucked five of them before grabbing a single [Lesser Stamina Potion]. He laid them out on the counter and smiled. “I won’t lie to you, adventurer. I’d expect to charge five copper per potion, minimum.”

“I’m not looking for charity,” she growled.

“And I’m not looking to give it. Consider this an ‘adventurer starter pack’, until you can bring in some bounties,” Theo said. “There’s no shortage of wolves. You’ll stand to make a farmer’s yearly wage in a week if you can kill the wolves.”

She hesitated for a moment before taking the potions, stuffing them in her bag. Her gaze locked onto Theo’s eyes, a cold, piercing look that sent a shiver up his spine. “The next time I come in here I’m paying full price.”

The bell jingled merrily behind her, and the alchemist let out a heavy sigh. The Half-Ogres hated getting things for free. They seemed to have honor that was sorely lacking back on Earth. He knew that she’d return to the shop and buy the potions at full price, and she’d be able to afford it if she spent her days in the swamp, slaying wolves. Theo just couldn’t stand the thought of hearing about a citizen of Broken Tusk, dead in the mud because they went unprepared. He added the 10 copper to his inventory before the thoughts got out of control, returning to the second floor.

Something unexpected happened, Theo said to Tresk. He underlined the entry on his parchment for [Lesser Healing Potions], and turned to assess their stock of the [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root].

What’s that?

A farmer came in, fancying herself an adventurer. I gave her potions for a steal—I don’t think she can handle herself out there, Theo said.

They have one thing on their side. Farmers put their points into [Vigor] and [Strength, Tresk said. The wolves are usually level 5, and the farmers aren’t dumb.

Theo thought for a moment before he responded. Assuming that every backwater farmer was an idiot was his fault. The allure of more coin was strong, but the Half-Ogres were strong and smart. They lived in Broken Tusk their entire life, and would be well familiar with the local monsters. Armed with 5 [Lesser Healing Potions], she could get out of most scrapes.

You’re right. I’m going to craft more healing potions. I have a feeling we’re going to have a surge of would-be adventurers soon, Theo said.

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