The Newt and Demon

“Been a while since I’ve done some testing,” Theo said to no one in particular. “Are you going to work with me today?”

After having dinner, Theo and Tresk had retreated into the Dreamwalk. It didn't seem as though it would fight against him tonight. After all, he had already created the potions he intended to test, so it shouldn't have had anything to complain about. Of course, Trask had already summoned the image of the dragon she had tried to fight and was currently battling it, claiming that she could have beat it, ‘IRL’.

At least she had agreed to set the scene near the ocean so he could test these potions properly.

First was the easiest potion to test. Theo had to convince the Dreamwalk not to drown him as he walked into the sea. He had imagined a drop-off that would allow him to ensure the pressure potion worked properly. It wasn’t shocking when he moved around the depths—weighed down by a rock—and nothing happened. He could feel the pressure pushing in from all sides, but nothing else. But he wasn't crushed by the depths.

Just to put the potion through its paces, he swam his way to the surface, expecting to feel the effects of rapid depressurization. But once again, nothing happened. It was a delightful outcome to an uncertain potion. While he was in the water, he checked the Echo potion, which worked far better than it did on the surface.

"Two down, two to go," Theo said. It was time to test the bombs. Well, he didn't expect anything mind-blowing. It was always very important to know exactly how a potion worked, no matter how specific the description seemed. It could often react in unexpected ways.

Goblins were always an excellent testing dummy. A small goblin appeared on the beach. Looking around in confusion, Theo had imagined it with no purpose. So it just stood there as he prepared to toss a Drown Bomb. It turned out that watching a goblin drown on dry land wasn't as entertaining as Theo had expected. It was exactly as the potion described. The goblin seemed to be without air for a while before he un-imagined it.

But it wasn't as bad as the constrict bomb. The pressures of the deep sea could apparently do some seriously nasty stuff to a body, and the alchemist didn't wish to remember it. It was a horrible day to have a perfect memory.

With time left to screw around, Theo checked out his various core levels of interest. Right now, he was mainly focusing on his alchemy and herbalism cores, but something interesting would happen soon with his Tara’hek core. It had been sitting at level 39 for quite some time, seeming reluctant to roll over to level 40. While his other cores were bound to the maximum level of his two primary cores, this one just didn't care.