The Newt and Demon-8.11 - Spit’s Pumice

Theo wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but there were plenty more tunnels for them to pass through. Ogres were scattered throughout those passages, and while a few challenged them to duels, they weren’t the blood-thirsty folk the alchemist had been expecting. The more he saw the ogre culture for himself, the less he believed the stories.

The temperature of the volcano wasn’t as even as Theo had expected. He thought it would increase as they descended, but it would fluctuate depending on how close they were to random pockets of lava. With Tresk in the lead, the alchemist was brought from his thoughts when Fenian held his hand up to stop the procession. He looked back, eyes glinting in the light of a magical lantern, gesturing for everyone to get down.

“Monsters,” Fenian whispered. “Quite a few, according to Tresk.”

Theo swapped his own sight for whatever it was Tresk was looking at. Before her stretched a wide cavern, much like the one the ogres were hanging out in. But within this new space were rivers of lava tracking winding paths through the stone. There was even a lava waterfall on the far side of the room. More interesting than the lava were the monsters. The creatures were unlike anything Theo had seen before. They appeared to be large boars that had been shortened in the middle, given hunched backs, and covered in thick glowing plates.

“Lava pigs,” Theo breathed. “That might be a problem.”

“The dreaded lava pig,” Fenian said with a solemn nod. Tresk soon joined with the group, crouching out of view of the monsters to make a plan. “Theo, can you do anything about the ‘lava’ aspect of the monsters?”

“Guess I could freeze them,” Theo said. “I haven’t tried making a Freezebomb with my new skill.”

“Excellent. Jan, keep the backliner safe and pick your targets. Twist, look for gaps. Tresk, poison them,” Fenian said. “I’m going to dance between the monsters with such elegance you’ll rethink your life choices and dedicate yourself to my style of combat.”

“Fat chance,” Tresk grumbled.

“I guess Theo can brew potions wherever now… So… Do it,” Fenian said, gesturing vaguely at the alchemist.

Theo got to work, feeling like this wouldn’t be that hard. He brought a Manashroom from his inventory, using his new skill to make an essence for the Freeze property. Getting it into a bomb-style vial and brewed for combat was easy enough. But he knew better than to put the pure form of the essence in there, instead diluting it to about half strength. Even then, he wasn’t certain this would be anything other than the example he had seen with the firebomb.

“I suggest we stay back,” Theo said, creeping to the mouth of the passage. With a wave of his hand, he placed a series of barriers that would keep some seriously powerful magic out. He looked back at his companions one last time before tossing the vial into the room, retreating with haste behind the barrier.

The sequence of events that happened after that were confusing. Theo didn’t expect an ice-based bomb to deafen him, but it did. The rush of wind that roared from the entrance filled the passage knocked everyone off their feet. It blasted through the barrier with enough force to deal significant damage to everyone. Shortly after, it was followed by a rush of boiling steam. The alchemist blinked after regaining consciousness, patting himself down to ensure all limbs were where they were supposed to be. Once satisfied that he wasn’t missing any arms or legs, he drank a new healing potion imbued with the Web modifier.

The web shot out, wrapping around him, Tresk, Fenian, Jan, and Twist. Theo’s health shot to full as his flesh knitted itself back together, all damage from the combination of ice and steam scoured away in a moment. His hearing went from a constant buzzing drone to the sound of his own breathing and the curses pouring out of Jan’s mouth.

“That was a bit much, don’t you think!?” Jan shouted, digging a finger into his ear. “How are we not dead?”

“Well, there goes my plan,” Fenian said, coughing into his hand.

Theo edged forward, as he seemed to be the first to regain his senses. Poking his head around the corner, he stifled a laugh. “So, uh… I think we’re good?”

“What did you say!?” Tresk asked. “I can’t hear a damn thing.”

“We’re good!” Theo shouted back.

“Oh, my,” Fenian said, wobbling over to check the room. “Yes, I suppose that’s one way to handle the problem.”

“So, I think I froze the entire room. Lava included. So we got hit with a wave of pressure from the steam. Just a guess, though,” Theo said.

The entire room was encased in ice, aside from the areas where lava actively flowed. The fire pigs were frozen in place, their flames extinguished. Steam still rose from the lava, filling the air with billowing clouds. The group entered the room, Jan slipping on the slick ice and cursing.

“Okay, now I know not to mess with the alchemist,” Twist said.

“That potion was diluted to half of its potential power,” Theo said, letting out a low whistle. “I could’ve made it stronger.”

“Holy climate change, potion-man,” Tresk said. “Y’all wanna mess up the planet before it resets?”

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“Let’s not,” Fenian said with a hearty chuckle. He slipped, barely catching himself before he fell on his face. “I don’t care for the cold.”

“We could also make it hotter,” Theo offered.

The group decided that changing the planet’s climate was a dangerous move. Theo was certain there was something wrong with his new skill. There shouldn’t have been that much power within a skill, no matter the rarity, so this was likely something the system wouldn’t allow to continue. But based on the absurdity of what he needed to accomplish before the reset, he might need every cheat potion he could get his hands on.

Instead of making the chamber hotter than it needed to be, the party pressed on. The alchemist didn’t use more of the high-powered freezing potions. Instead, he concocted versions of his attribute-enhancement potions that turned each member of the party into absolute monsters. They all moved at least twice as fast, hitting with enough force to send fire pigs sailing into the wall. Some creatures simply left greasy smears on the walls, almost nothing else remaining to claim their existence.

A mushroom designed for only the bravest spice heads. It’ll put hair on your chest, arms, eyeballs, and every other body part… Assuming you don’t die. This loremaster description sponsored by the Cult of Spit.

Properties:

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"Yeah, the ogres are definitely using the item description as a way of advertising," Theo said. With a shake of his head, he quickly snatched the mushroom up and added it to his inventory. Although he was confident he could break down either the pumice stone or the mushroom, he wanted to have enough samples in case the recipe he had been given didn't work properly. Improvisation in alchemy often required an abundance of spare materials.

The party then only had to search the area to find enough of the mushrooms. Theo settled on an amount close to 50 and was eager to never work with the material again. Each time he touched it, his glove burned, filling the air with a smell of burning leather. The alchemist gathered the party, claiming he was prepared to leave. That’s when he noticed a strange expression flash across Fenian’s face. It was the same distant look he got when he was plotting something.

"What is it now?" Theo asked.

"Well, it's just that we're so close to the end," Fenian said with a weak shrug. "We might as well see it through."

"And how would you know the end is near?" Tresk said, folding her arms and glaring at the elf. "You know more than you're letting on, as always."

"Well, it's just that there's a particularly powerful creature at the end of this. I'm fairly sure of it. If we were to defeat it, our reward would be great."

Perhaps Fenian simply wanted to show off his power now that he was infused with extremely potent potions, or perhaps this was something he had planned all along. Maybe the phylactery had nothing to do with this; he just wanted an excuse to get everyone down into the volcano. The alchemist could kick himself for showing off his fancy new potions, but eventually he shrugged. What use was there in fighting against the will of the Fenian Feintleaf.

"Okay, but I'm leaving if things get hairy," Theo said. "Lead the way."

And, of course, Fenian knew exactly where he was going. He navigated through the tunnels with expert precision, taking every turn as though he had trodden down this path a thousand times. The alchemists couldn't even guess what these islands meant to the people who had lived in the previous world, but they seemed to hold them with some kind of reverence for a volcano that appeared perpetually active. Perhaps it was some sort of spiritual deity he couldn't comprehend, since he hadn't lived in that world.

The tunnels snaked this way and that, and the prevalence of the two reagents became greater. Eventually, the group entered a massive cavern, significantly larger than anything they had seen before. It defied all logic regarding how volcanoes worked, for now they found themselves in a vast underground area notable for rivers of lava and no other light sources.

It reminded Theo of the underground areas he had found below the city, and it made him shudder as much as he was interested to see what Fenian wanted to kill. He couldn't deny the danger of the things down here. Still, he followed the elf forward, watching his step as he made his way across jagged rocks and over the bubbling magma. The ground rumbled as they moved closer to a central area, the prevalence of the molten rock growing common.

Ahead, a massive pool bubbled. Fenian did a little dance.

“Who dares disturb my slumber!” a voice bellowed from the lava. From the center of the pool, a scaly limb burst forth, grabbing onto the edge.

“Oh. My. God,” Tresk said, spasming. “Is that what I think it is?”

Next came the head of the creature, bursting forth in a geyser of lava. When Tresk caught sight of its head, she nearly had a heart attack.

“Is that a lava dragon!?” she shouted. “Are we gonna kill a lava dragon!?”

Theo gave Fenian a disapproving look.

“Don’t look at me like that. The dragon is quite evil. Extremely nasty,” Fenian said. “Anyway, it's too late. Once you awaken it, the dragon destroys the world. That’s the deal.”

Theo let out a heavy sigh. “You suck.”

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l