The Newt and Demon-8.83 - The Gods Aren’t Talking

It took Theo a while to wake up and when he did, something was missing. His dreams had been strange, and it took him a long time to realize it was because he was dreaming inside the Dreamwalk. His constant companion was Alex, who had assumed the form of a gosling and never left his side since the start. When he awoke, he did so with a start. His body was covered in sweat and he felt a deep hole in his chest.

He had been wrong.

Moving the island to Tero’gal had taken from him more than he had to give. He felt it in his aura. A piece of his soul had been torn away, removing from him something he had worked so hard to build. Perhaps that was better, though. It fell in line with what the reset represented. And without sacrifice, could he truly claim he had done everything he could in his position as the Dreamwalker?

Most concerning of all was his connection with the void. It had evaporated into nothing, making him feel more disconnected than ever. His chest ached, head pounded, and all his joints were generally sore. But when he finally pushed himself into a seated position, he felt more content than he had in quite a long time. It had taken a long time to awaken, and getting to his feet was just as difficult. Theo took unsteady steps at first, eventually finding a broom handle to steady himself. The stairs were the worst. The alchemist clutched the railing, taking them one at a time, eventually working his way to the front door of the manor.

Opening the door, Theo was greeted with brilliant light from the sky above, and cool winds blowing over Broken Tusk. He spotted a group of people chatting in the distance, instantly recognizing Alise and her team of administrators. As the alchemist hobbled over, he caught her attention. The woman’s eyes went wide and she rushed over, barking reproachful words at him.

“You need to be in bed!” she shouted, supporting as much weight as she could. “Someone go grab an ogre!”

The administrators scattered, and Alise looked up at Theo with a concerned expression.

“I’m fine,” he said. He wasn’t fine, of course. Everything hurt. “Just wanna see my town.”

Alise scoffed. “That’s no excuse for pushing yourself like this.” She looked over her shoulder, finding Bilgrob, of all people, thundering over. “Bilgrob, can you hoist this idiot into your loving embrace?”

A crooked smile spread across the ogre’s face. Before Theo could say anything, he was locked in a princess carry he had no hope of escaping. “I got you, little friend.”

“I’d rather die than endure this humiliation,” Theo grumbled.

“Two options.” Alise held up two fingers. “I know you’re stubborn. Too stubborn to realize you should be in bed. So, you can go to bed, or Bilgrob can carry you around like a doll. Which option do you pick?”

Theo looked up at Bilgrob with a wince of pain. “I guess I’m taking the Ogre Express…”

“Good. You’ve been out for about a week.” Alise gave him an even sterner look. “Did you forget about my wedding?”

“It might’ve slipped my mind.”

“Good. We’re planning that right now. Decorations, flowers, all that fun stuff.” Alise pushed some hair from her face that had been matted down by sweat. It didn’t seem like she had time to breathe, let alone take care of herself. “The airships are running decently, and we’ve seen a migration out of the Alliance. By the way, we need a new name for it, since we’re no longer in the Southlands.”

“Right… We’ll have to name a lot of things, I think.” Theo let out a sigh, feeling some pain still in his ribs. “The new system hasn’t established itself, yet?”

“Not as far as we know. But communication isn’t easy. We’re basically isolated to the region, but Belgar is collecting all the information he can with his network.” Alise let out a heavy sigh. “Don’t worry about that stuff right now. I’m sure you want to see your work… Bilgrob, could you take him for a walk?”

“Certainly,” Bilgrob said, ignoring Theo’s protests. “I shall bear the weight of the infirmed.”

Theo couldn’t deny how much he wanted to explore their new world. He had to come to terms with the idea that his body wouldn’t allow him to do so, meaning he had to deal with being carried around by the ogre. One thing he wouldn’t say was how worried he was about Fenian. What little he could glean from Tresk’s memories, she was clearly guarding her thoughts, the elf had gone apeshit. World-shaking, planet-destroying, absolutely batshit insane, powerful. What happened to him after the battle on Iaredin was anyone’s guess. With communication basically gone, they wouldn’t know for quite some time.

“So, you decided to stay?” Theo asked.

Bilgrob laughed. The big ogre was carrying him toward the harbor, which had been completely drained of water. Resting in the muddy bottom were several ships, the crews of which were either doing their best to salvage the wrecks, or had otherwise abandoned them. The ogre came to a stop near the stone edge, allowing Theo to walk on his own, even if that was under his support.

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“Where else would I go?” Bilgrob asked. “Lots of work to do here. Plenty of people to help, even if I don’t have my powers.”

“I should’ve considered the water situation.” Theo laughed, shaking his head. Even that small action had him swaying. He was glad that the ogre wanted to stay, and had to wonder what kind of loyalty he held for Broken Tusk and her people. “Lots of work to do, huh? Are the gods still around?”

Bilgrob nodded. “They are. I’m trying to become a Follower of Hallow, but the gods aren’t talking anymore.”

It was faint but Theo could feel it. A proper Seal of Passage had been put in place. The system finally fixed some problems with the sector’s system, and he hoped the other facets were functional. But his connection to his Dreamwalker’s Core was weird, coming to him as a faint waft of what it once was, rather than a torrent. The change had been so sudden, even if he had been out for a week or whatever. That was hardly enough time to adjust to such a change.

“We can fix the water stuff later,” Bilgrob said.

“Well, what the hell can we fix right now?” Theo asked. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Bilgrob’s substantial hand fell on Theo’s shoulder. “That’s your problem. There’s nothing to fix. This new land is forming. Fonts of water magic are forming upriver. People are coming and going via the airships. As hard as this might be for you, there’s nothing for you to fix. The only thing you can do is get ready for the wedding. Pick some flowers. Help Alise and Nira select the venue. Rest, Theo.”

Blowing out a heavy breath, Theo felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. The rush up until the reset had been constant. Hell, it had been constant since he arrived in Broken Tusk. Gazing off into the empty harbor, the sick feeling in the alchemist’s stomach finally faded.

“Are the trams working?”

“Nope.”

The alchemist released another sigh. “Interested in carrying me to tour the island?”

“Carry you?” Bilgrob snorted. “We’ll take a skiff.”

To Theo’s surprise, a “skiff” meant a tiny airship. He didn’t have a single clue how Belgar had mastered the technology that had been out of his reach for so long, but a small boat-shaped airship was waiting for them back in Broken Tusk. Apparently, Tresk and Alex were busy somewhere. The connection of the Tara’hek had not been destroyed, but the abilities associated with it were gone. No more easy communication.

When the airship, piloted by a Drogramathi Dronon Theo didn’t recognize, finally took off, it was wobbly. Theo sat, holding on for dear life as they ascended through the clouds. Below him, even before they reached their maximum height, he saw the sprawling landscape of the new floating island nation. Sure enough, a small creek was forming to the north, where the once-mighty river split Rivers and Daub in half.

“Take us down,” Theo said, gesturing toward Rivers. Another skiff was taking off from the town, zipping eastward. “Softly, please.”

The skiff landed outside of the walls. By the time Theo disembarked, Bilgrob hoisted him up into his arms again. As humiliating as it was, seeing Rivers and Daub again was amazing. Since the last time he had given the town a good tour, there had been many improvements. Not just improvements focused on dismantling the Mercantile Chair system, but the quality of the buildings. The best thing of all was how many people were there, just going about their day as though nothing had happened.

“Harvest is looking good,” one passing human farmer said, elbowing his companion with a broad smile.

“Slow growing stuff now,” the other sighed. “Patience required…”

“I don’t really give a karatan’s ass who runs the place.” A passing elf, black haired with sharp features, said. “As long as I get to hunt the land and sell game meat, I’m happy.”

Theo took his time eavesdropping. The people in Rivers and Daub were hopeful, and very happy with their new lives. This new pace of things was agreeable to them, and the near-infinite amount of food meant no one was going hungry. Maybe they had only prepared for the arena games, but the stocks they had accumulated were absolutely vast.

“Archduke Spencer!” Alran Cherman’s voice called out from afar. The portly man came rushing down the road, his cheeks flushed red. “Thought you’d never awaken!” After he caught his breath, he pointed at Bilgrob. “Shame you’re exploiting Noble Bilgrob’s kindness this way.”

“I offer my services happily,” Bilgrob said, bowing his head. “Good to see you well, Alran.”

“Everyone is happy,” Theo said with a laugh. “How is Gronro doing?”

“Fine, just fine.” Alran dabbed his forehead. “You saved quite a lot of their area. Impressive as that is, the dwarves wanted more.”

Theo laughed, breaking into a coughing fit. His chest burned and his stomach soured. “Ugh. Do you think the items in my inventory will be there when I get my system back?”

“Not likely.” Alran shrugged. “Well, don’t count on it anyway. Anyway, who cares?! We’re alive! Huzzah!”

Anyone who heard Alran’s declaration cheered along with him, and Theo had trouble holding back his laughter. He gave a half-hearted “woot,” but ended up coughing a lot. Bilgrob continued the tour of Rivers and Daub, eventually returning them to the skiff and taking off for the north. They eventually got to a point where the mighty river was spewing a decent amount of water.

Even before the skiff descended to the rocky slopes of Gronro, Theo could see Grot working his men outside of the gates. The town itself had been saved completely, but their land only went as far north as the bridge. That meant they really got screwed on territory. Of course, the alchemist knew how lucky they had been. Without the advanced aura-shaping technique, they would’ve had absolutely nothing.

If the dwarven leader had any issues with this, he didn’t express it upon first seeing Theo. Grot waved his arms through the air as the skiff landed, bounding over and pumping his axe in the air. “What an absolutely wild ride, archduke!”

Held firmly in the hands of Bilgrob, Theo nodded. “How is Gronro-Dir doing after the switch?”

“We’re fine! Better than your ogre-bound ass, anyway! HAH!”

Theo forced a smile on his face. “Mind giving me a tour? I don’t think we can reshape what you have, but with the seed core system dead, we could expand your holdings to the south.”

“Why?” Grot asked. “We’re taking a page out of the dwarves of old. Do you have any idea how much underground you brought along?”

“No?”

“Halms of it! We’re gonna carve out a city!” Grot slammed his fist into his chest. He laughed a bunch and then sighed. “Wanna see?”

“Absolutely.”