As long as Void didn’t oppose the idea, Theo could test his new potions whenever he wanted. Something inside him told him to test it on something less valuable before he tried the space elves themselves. But there were few subjects he could think of, and most of them were animals. That wouldn’t be a good test, and he couldn’t afford to waste time. Although the gods had sealed themselves away, they left behind a ticking clock. There was work to do, and he couldn’t put off progress much longer.

    Sitting at the massive table in the manor, Theo took small bites of his food. Sarisa and Rowan had prepared a pasta dish tonight, slathered in a light brown sauce with chunks of mystery meat inside. They refused to tell him where the meat came from, but were eating it themselves. Therefore, it wasn’t poisonous. They poked fun at him for being so pensive, but there was a lot to consider. The coming days and weeks would be packed with excitement and challenges.

    “So, there he was,” Tresk said, giggling to herself. “In his underpants...”

    Theo half-tuned Tresk out as she retold the story of the mostly naked elf for the tenth time. His only hope for testing his potion was within the Dreamwalk. Using it in the real world would be too costly, assuming there might be an issue with the way it functioned at a lower rank. At least he could hope...

    “Rumors are spreading about a worldwide party,” Sarisa said, hitting Theo with a cautious look. “I wonder who came up with that.”

    “I wonder how news spreads so quickly through the town.” Theo sighed. There was no reason to keep it from them. “I want to invite as many people as I can to attend. Which gives us the best chance of moving many souls to the other worlds.”

    “Yeah, we’re gonna have a party!” Tresk said, bouncing in her chair. “A big one. With booze and games. Maybe a few more fights.”

    “I’d like to keep the fighting to a minimum,” Theo said.

    “Yeah, right,” Rowan scoffed. “You went all in on that fight with Fenian.”

    “He didn’t, actually,” Tresk corrected. “Theo and Fenian both held back. I’m certain they feared the safety of the crowd.”

    While that was only partially true, the alchemist wouldn’t correct her. But the sentiment for a worldwide party seemed exciting. Theo thought back to when he first arrived, dealing with constant monsters waves to the point where they feared the entire planet being overrun with them. Now they had mastery over their dungeons, and monsters hardly posed a threat so long as they were cautious and proactive. Now he gazed forward, into a future where he could let loose with people from the other nations. Once that was over, the party would continue into a wedding in their new world.

    “What are we going to call the new town in Tero’gal?” Theo asked.

    “Broken Tusk,” Tresk said, thumping her fist on the table. “What’s the point of bringing all our crap if we’re gonna rename it?”

    “Agreed,” Rowan said. “If your plan is to move us, why change the name?”

    Theo nodded along. That was an excellent point. There might have been some history to the name, but it was also just a decent name. Some ogre had likely chewed on a rock, breaking his tusk along the way. They then called it Broken Tusk because... why not?

    “Let’s get to bed you little scamp,” Tresk said, poking Theo in the side. “I can feel how eager you are to test that potion.”

    “Theo nodded, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a napkin.”

    Dropping into the Dreamwalk was always a comfort. Theo felt his feet fall against cracking sticks. A landscape of sparse trees and snow-covered rocks spread before him. It was a memory from back on Earth. Somewhere in Canada, but he couldn’t remember exactly where. Not that it mattered. He had only been there once. They had delved into this place before, revisiting an old memory as some kind of magical therapy. While it had worked, he now found the environment uninteresting.

    “Get to work, alchemy boy,” Tresk said, mounting Alex.

    The dragon-goose had experienced more changes. Her face had taken on the appearance of half-goose, half-dragon. She had stunted teeth and little horns poking from her head. Patches of feathers had gone, leaving them more sparse than before. Her front legs were almost long enough for her to walk on all-fours and something of a tail was sprouting from her butt.

    “You are the most hideous creature I have ever seen,” Theo said.

    “How are things?” Theo asked, interrupting the man’s prayers.

    Sulvan turned from his crouched position on the ground, giving Theo a stern look. “This is a place for prayer.”

    “‘Bout to be a place for a bunch of voided up space elves,” Theo said. “Can you care for some elves being reforged?”

    “Do I have a choice?”

    “Of course. I’ll just be upset if you decline.”

    “Give me time to create an infirmary. How many are we expecting?”

    “A few hundred.”

    Sulvan groaned, turning back to his prayer. “I’ll inform you when I’m done.”

    Before getting to some serious alchemy experimentation, Theo headed to Xol’sa’s tower. He made more noise than he needed to before entering, knocking a few things over on his way up the stairs. Zarali and Xol’sa greeted him. Considering the amount of strange magical device parts on the table before the elf, Theo assumed the tether and beacons were still in development.

    “Any progress on those?” Theo asked.

    “Just a bit.” Xol’sa said, shrugging. “Early testing shows we have some issues.”

    “More than a few issues,” Zarali said, placing a comforting hand on Xol’sa’s shoulder. “Something in the way the magic functions changed.”

    Theo clicked his tongue. “The heavens were sealed. That makes sense... How far did this push you back?”

    “I can’t say.” Xol’sa swept a few devices from the table. Straight onto the ground. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

    “No disappointment here,” Theo said, shaking his head. He withdrew his newest potion from his inventory, holding the Reforge Mind Potion out for him to see. “I made a cure for your people.”

    Xol’sa’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”

    “That’s amazing!” Zarali shouted, clapping with excitement. “Are you certain it works?”

    “Not really.” Theo didn’t want to lie to them. “I’m about 90% confident, but it could always fail. Sulvan will help with the effort.”

    “So will I,” Zarali said, placing her hand on her chest. “I have a healing core. Perhaps I can help them. Once they’re here, that is.”

    “Right. Keep me updated. I don’t expect the tethers to be ready tomorrow, so don’t rush.”

    “As long as the gods don’t smite you first... Okay. I can do it, Theo.” Xol’sa locked eyes with Theo. “We’ll make it work.”