by Lars M.
Damage upon impact: 12-25 piercing + 12-25 blunt
Effect:
-12% piercing resistance
-12% disease resistance
I whistled, impressed. Just like that, the effect of a single bomb doubled. More than doubled, when I used common items. Grinning like a loon, I admired the glittering piles in front of me. Time to 'speriment. A sigh escaped me. Precautions first, though. I'd be an idiot if I didn't listen to the numerous warnings Mrs. Bertinga had given me. It'd be just my luck if I combined the wrong thing and burned down the inn. A brief discussion with Jeb allowed me use of the small barn behind the tavern. It wasn't much to speak of, used mostly as an impromptu stable when the caravan boarded pack animals, but it was empty and not as much of a firetrap as the tavern itself.
I found a broken old saddle and riding blanket, arranged them as a chair and sank down before entering a different world of combinations and possibilities.
First off, more bombs. The damage was going to be impressive for Arack, but I didn't intend for her to become a one-trick pony. No need, with the spread before me. When she started getting into alchemy, she could become our very own fount of potions. Until then, why not provide her with the means to become a buffer?
Fighters first. Strength and movement speed? Sounded like a winning formula. The actual item didn't disappoint, either.
Small Clay Bomb
A fragile clay shell surrounds the Tinkerer’s core and will release the enchantment contained within upon impact with the target.
Effect:
+12% in-combat movement speed
+1 strength
When I ran out of ingredients, I moved on to the second best combinations. Movement speed and blunt damage resistance would be good against heavy hitters. Again, I marveled at how my increased intelligence attribute was helping me avoid failures. Even though using two cores was sure to be more difficult, I only failed about one in every five attempts.
Small Clay Bomb
A fragile clay shell surrounds the Tinkerer’s core and will release the enchantment contained within upon impact with the target.
Effect:
+12% in-combat movement speed
+12% blunt damage resistance
I saved five movement speed cores and was humming to myself in anticipation. This other combination was almost too good to be true. Movement speed, perception, and intelligence for casters and archers. I produced the first grenade without a hitch, but the second I selected the button for crafting the second one, something happened. As the core combined with the clay ball in front of me, everything looked normal. With a brief blaze of light, the glow settled into the clay ball. I reached for it to put it into the inventory with the others - except, this time the light didn't fade away. It ate into the clay ball, which collapsed, releasing a roiling wave of flesh. The tiny ball exploded into a nightmarish mass of flesh and eyes, and I threw myself backwards in panic, trying desperately to summon the concentration needed for a Stun Blast. I failed. I screamed as my lower legs were pinned by the mass of flesh and several stabs of pain started near my feet, traversing upwards... and, miraculously, stopped. I stared in horror as the monstrous amalgamation of flesh stopped its forward momentum and slowly, blessedly, faded into nothing before fully dispersing and leaving only a whiff of ozone and blood behind.
For a couple of seconds, I just sat there in shock. Then, my attention in short succession flew from my health bar over the 'heavy bleeding' debuff I'd received to rummaging through my inventory to locate one of my health potions. After those nerve-wracking couple of seconds, I realized that I'd be alright - my health was going to hold steady at about 10%. I set the health potion aside and breathed out in relief. So Mrs. Bertinga hadn't just been needling me. Tinkering really was a dangerous profession. I spent a couple of minutes recuperating before I was able to get my mind back on track to inspect the remains of the clay bomb. Damaged beyond recuperation - no surprise there. There were no remainders of what had sprouted from the bomb, but in retrospect, it was easy to conclude that the expanding mass had been a mixture of the eyes and legs that had formed part of the cores, expanded into grotesque proportions. Weird, though. It was the second bomb I'd created from those exact cores - why would it act like this? I pulled the first one out from my inventory.
Small Clay Bomb
A fragile clay shell surrounds the Tinkerer’s core and will release the enchantment contained within upon impact with the target.
Effect:
+12% in-combat movement speed
-3 Perception
-3 intelligence
Radius 1.0 m
Oh. Damn. Those were not all buffs? Well, if somebody had been paying attention while they crafted, they could have avoided this. The bomb was also different from the others. It felt heavier and had a... glow that the others didn't. So what was the lesson here? I'd been mixing green and brown items up until now, with no issues and no difference, regardless of which one I put in which slot. But... yeah, this was the first time I had crafted an item from two of the same color. I suddenly had an idea, opening my Chronicler's Journal and starting to scribble. I might as well jot down these rules and ideas from the start, to make sure I didn't screw up anything twice. Could help me figure things out faster too, perhaps.
Back to experimenting. No combining two cores of the same color... hmm, that limited me somewhat. Even so, I realized I hadn't created anything from black items yet. How about - yeah, I'd see how these two would hold up as an automaton. I took the cores from the Maggot Skin and the Dark-infested Maggot Skin and combined them - right after I put a healing potion behind me, ready to use. The result left me scratching my head as I jotted two new notes in my journal.
- Two effects of the same kind do not combine, even if they're different colors.
- Black items give something different. A 'cursed' effect.
I repeated the process three more times, combining brown movement speed cores with the black blunt resistance cores, and was left grinning at the items that resulted. The materials were still as basic as they came, and the automatons I created had that classic 'voodoo doll about to fall apart' look. I would soon have to upgrade to some better materials from Mrs. Bertinga. Right now, it was all about learning. And what I learned was that combining black with another color gave it a 'cursed' effect on top of everything and was... well, slightly overpowered for being made of common materials.
Cursed Small Twine Puppet
This most basic of automatons, made out of sticks and twine, is close to falling apart but might serve for a distraction or two.
+12% in-combat movement speed
Damage: 12-25
Effect: Grants minor cursed effect upon hit. Duration 1 minute
Hitpoints: 12
Activation cost: 30 mana
Activation time: 30 seconds
Duration: 3 minutes
Siccing these three fellows on any boss, they'd still be utterly destroyed in a single hit, but they might debuff him enough that it would make a difference. If anything, it meant that the future was looking up whenever I got the chance to work with better materials and learned enough to combine even more items. There was still one detail I needed to look into. Some of the black cores were dark-infested, while others were infused. At a guess, it was a matter of scale, or how thoroughly the item was infused with dark magic. One additional item confirmed my working theory, and I added another note to the list.
- Difference between 'infested' and 'infused': 'minor' effect becomes 'minor to medium.' Better grade items will result in a more pronounced curse effect.
The obvious choices were becoming scarce now, but I mixed and matched to my heart's content, and the results were looking sweet. Six bombs would go to Arack - an efficient way of dealing with any close-combat types trying to close in on her.
Small Clay Bomb
A fragile clay shell surrounds the Tinkerer’s core and will release the enchantment contained within upon impact with the target.
Effect:
Damage upon impact: 10-40 piercing + 12-25 blunt
Effect: -12% disease resistance. Chance to cause knockback.
Radius 1.0 m
I made another handful of bombs for myself. They would probably not be useful any time soon, but they'd make any nighttime ambush that much more fun.
Small Clay Bomb
A fragile clay shell surrounds the Tinkerer’s core and will release the enchantment contained within upon impact with the target.
Effect:
Enable heat vision. +12% in-combat movement speed
Radius 1.0 m
I created a final batch of bombs for Lyle, Arack, and myself; the majority for self-buffing before difficult fights, and a few cursed ones for simple damage. The buffers had +1 to Block for Lyle and +1 to Unarmored dodge, Perception and Intelligence for myself and Arack. They might not make a huge difference, but used early on in a battle, they could still decently improve our chances002E
When I closed the crafting window, it was with a smile and a satisfied huff. I'd hit 12 in Tinkering already and had enough items to equip a small army, or at least a small kobold. I still needed to have a friendly chat with my so-called 'teacher,' though.
Chapter 16 – NDA
I probably should have waited for the next day, but I had been annoyed and intrigued enough that I went to see Mrs. Bertinga immediately, despite the in-game time approaching evening. Faced with the opportunity to talk about tinkering, she cheerfully let me into her shop. The moment we were inside, I blurted out, "I can't believe you almost got me killed." The beaming smile from Mrs. Bertinga stood in stark contrast to my words. "I mean, yes, you warned me. Even so, it's one thing to hear that tinkering can be dangerous - but I'm going to have nightmares about eyes and feet for the next month."
She tittered. "I do apologize, but it was necessary, my dear. Would you hazard a guess as to why?"
I groaned. "It better not be because I haven't paid for real tutoring.” I relented and gave it proper thought. ”No, I guess I could come up with a few reasons. The first time for a newly fledged Tinkerer is easy and safe, I guess - could lead to cockiness and overconfidence. I'm going to be pretty damn careful for the time being, that's for sure."
"Go on." Her kind smile told me I was on to something.
"Then there's the part you've said several times by now: if I want to be a good Tinkerer, I need to tinker, not just go with the safe routes. You wouldn't want me to have a false idea of what I'm getting into. If I'm going to learn the intricacies of the system, I will need to risk myself over and over. That's something that one should go into with open eyes. In other words, you want to teach me that becoming a real tinkerer is dangerous."
"You're not wrong, there, love."
"And... well, this is just a guess, but I'd wager this is some sort of ritual?"
She slammed her hand down on the counter. "Hah. Three for three. Take that, Sebastien Silvergut. Apologies, dear boy. I have been corresponding with an erstwhile competitor of mine. He had his doubts about my apprentice's grasp of tinkering. I cannot wait to explain this to him - in detail." She chuckled. "It's not a kind ritual, but it works. It also works as a good icebreaker when you're introduced to other apprentice tinkers. For our regular apprentices, we also limit them to basic cores and apply certain precautions, so the results are less life-threatening. I gave a bit more leeway with you, of course, since your gut could melt away without providing anything worse than a good teatime story. So tell me, what did you do?"
"I used two green cores. Actually I did it twice, but nothing happened on the first go, and I hadn't realized that it was created... wrong, somehow."
She nodded. "That would do it. I am no Alchemist, but I can assure you that this piece of advice holds true for them as well: Adding twice the amount of something to a mixture does not always result in twice as good of a result. In this case, you are trying to introduce twice the amount of magic to a container than it can safely hold."
Something about the way she said that… "Safely. Let me just understand this right. Some people still create combinations that they know are going to fail... on purpose?"
A frown grew on her brow. It was an uncanny sight on the ever-cheerful grandma. "Yes. There are certain combinations that you cannot obtain otherwise. Also, while the results seem random, that is only true to a certain limit. Theoretically, you could end up with more powerful combinations if you were to take that chance. I would ask you not to delve into that yet, however. Not only does it require an intricate knowledge of the cores and the logic behind them, it also requires equipment beyond your means - and mine."
"That's... not going to be an issue. That first result was scary enough for me. Since you went ahead and mentioned the logic behind the cores and all, though..."
"Yes?"
"I get that apprentice Tinkerers need to put in the footwork, learn for ourselves. I even respect that. Following a recipe might teach me how to create the cores, but leaves me ignorant as to why things work the way they do. I also get that I'll have to find out the finer details and actual combinations for myself."
"I sense a 'but' approaching.” She folded her arms.
I fiddled with my fingers. Criticizing Mrs. Bertinga felt wrong on so many levels. "Right. But I don't understand why you're not teaching me the fundamental rules. I am going to figure it out at some point, merely by trial and error. Except, we're not talking about a shortcut or anything. It feels more like you're withholding the information I need to make intelligent decisions – and I don't get why."
As I explained, Mrs. Bertinga's expression softened. "Oh, Arcangelo. You are an impatient one, are you not?"
"...Yes?"
She tittered. "Honesty. How refreshing. Your answer is simple, however. In order to receive your answers, you would simply have to... wait."
"Wait? For what?"
"For this conversation, silly. It would not make any sense to reveal the secrets of tinkering for you, if you never improved enough to actually make use of them." She raised an admonishing finger. "Because they are secrets, mind you. Even if they are not the actual recipes, should the public at large learn about the logic behind tinkering, things would change. For one, some of the items that we can currently procure at decent rates would see a monstrous increase in price if merchants at large realized their importance to us. Some might even work against us to... but I digress. Just keep in mind that we keep our cards close to our chests. As to reasons… traditions, again. We have found that students who keep the dangers of our profession close in mind will pay more attention when we introduce them to the theories behind tinkering."
"So you're telling me that you would have told me today anyway? Geez, now I feel bad."
She patted my hand. "There there. You couldn’t have known. Now, are you ready for an actual lesson?"
I nodded eagerly.
"In that case, I expect Greck has taught you the fundamentals of magic theory?"
"Greck? I mean, when he's not too drunk, he's sorta helpful, but-"
My dissembling was diverted by the dignified elderly lady rolling her eyes. "Please, Arcangelo. You forget who you are talking to. I have been maintaining my own facade for decades - it is not that hard to see the signs. Our tiny kobold 'friend' is as lucid as they come."
"You know?"
"For years. A few others do, as well, which is a testament to the fact that not everybody in this dump is blind, dumb, or both."
Youch. Granny has claws. "In that case, then, yes, he has taught me about general magic theory. About magic coming from the same well, and how the methods the different classes use to access the well tends to flavor and change the magic - can't remember his exact words. Erm, he also taught me that while you don't actually need to be of a certain class to learn spells from other classes, obtaining the expertise to do it well is a pretty hefty barrier."
She nodded. "There are a few examples in our history of people who have defied that limitation and
created interesting combinations between different types of magic. That is irrelevant to our current subject, however. The following is not: while he is right that the types of magic all originate from the same place, the path the magic travels differs - a lot. To a Tinkerer, this matters significantly. Have you had any thoughts regarding how the actual magic imparts any difference on the items and cores you receive?"
"Magic? I've noticed the colors of the cores - is that what you mean? How different types of monsters and animals give different color cores?"
"Exactly. There is a pattern to it. You may have wondered about it already. You will find that the creature or monster that drops the core defines exactly which color you are going to receive. This is not a case of memorization, however. No, there is an underlying pattern you will need to learn in order to understand the connection. As it stands, we have seven different life paths, which, in turn, produces seven types of magic wielders. Each type handles the magic differently, resulting in a different ‘flavor’ in magic, as you frame it." I wanted to ask a question, but didn't dare to interrupt. Mrs. Bertinga must've caught my expression, because she smiled fondly. "This is not a classroom, Arcangelo. If you are curious, by all means, ask."
"Seven types of magic wielders? That doesn't seem like enough."
"Really, then? Would you care to list them?"
For not being a classroom, she sure did a good impression of a teacher. "Erm. Bards, obviously. Clerics, summoners, demonologists, and warlocks. What else is there? Druids and shamans. Oh, and sorcerers. That's eight already. And from what I know, both hunters and knights can learn spells. That's ten."
