Shadow Clone Sorcery
Chapter 11: Window Shopping (2)

Lukas noted a pattern and made mental notes.

The Pillar of Body granted active or passive physiological improvements or made one better at a specific task or trade. The Copycat ability that the Shard of Duplication would’ve given him seemed like an anomaly, leaving him to wonder whether it was a product of Lady Silverspone’s magical influence.

The Pillar of Heart came with primarily passive abilities, physical or magical. On occasion, it allowed the sharing of said boost in the form of an aura. He didn’t encounter any other gifts like Heartforge’s fire-breathing, leaving him to wonder whether it was a rare occurrence.

Finally, there was the Pillar of Mind. It was the most consistent in the sense that it produced magic-adjacent abilities that allowed replicating a spell or school of spells without going through traditional casting procedures. Some also fundamentally altered one’s magic or provided metamagic. The latter, like Twice Magicked, also seemed like a rarity, and of the dozen or so shards he encountered, only one other had a similar ability.

Merchants seemed far more honest and consistent when it came to labeling essences. Lukas only spotted one Ember Essence labeled as Flame Essence. It felt like a case of a merchant trying to exaggerate the potency and quality of his product.

Lost in exploration and curious about what the journal had to say about everything, Lukas wandered deeper into the city and away from the main market street. The street ran out, and a final store caught Lukas’s eye. The worn armor, weapons, and clothes gave it a pawn shop feel. He peeked through the window and caught sight of a shard and a man arranging a display case full of essences.

“Here to buy or sell?” The shopkeeper asked. He sped to his shop’s centerpiece, the enchantment covered glass cabinet that housed the shard. It was as big as Lukas’s hand and floated within. The man closed the front glass panel and locked it with a key that hung around his neck before finally facing Lukas.

“Buy,” Lukas said, walking down the length of the long, narrow store. The display case containing the essences was closer to the rear than the front. It sat not far past the shard and next to shelves of glass bottles filled with colorful fluids, probably alchemical brews. “My Soul shard is closing in on the next tier, and I want to be ready with an essence.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. He wasn’t sure if it was the regular dispelling and resummoning or pushing the clones to exercise, train, and learn and then absorbing all of their efforts that did it, but Shadow Clone had reached rank seven a week ago, and the next one up felt close.

The man put on the stereotypical salesman price. “Forgive me if this comes across as rude, but I hope you know that shards don’t come cheap. Are you here to buy or plan a purchase?”

“Can’t it be both?” Lukas asked, raising an eyebrow. “This will be the shard’s first essence, and I don’t want to be hasty with my decision. Most of today has gone into checking what’s available, how much everything costs, and shortlisting candidates.”

“Right.” The man’s eyes lingered on the sword hanging from Lukas’s waist for a moment. “Careful,” he said when Lukas took a step back and almost bumped into another shelf. The fluids within the glass bottles appeared to move in their containers, swirling, bubbling, crackling, and, in some instances, floating. “Can you tell me what the shard does?”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“I’d rather not.”

“I’m afraid I can’t help or advise without a rough idea of the ability, its function, or type.”

“Conjuration,” Lukas said after some thought.

“That’s a good start.” The shopkeeper returned to the open display case containing the dozen or so essences. “Next, we need to figure out what you want from the next rank. Are you trying to gain potency, reduce cost, make the ability more efficient, or get an entirely new function?”

“Cost and volume are a priority.” Lukas didn’t pull out the journal, relying on a visual inspection instead. It would be invisible to the shopkeeper, but Lukas worried he’d look strange staring at invisible pages. “ I’d like to be able to conjure more and do it for cheaper.”

“I don’t have enough information regarding your ability to offer a lot of advice. However, the best way to reduce the cost of an ability and increase its volume is to modify its nature. Removing the magic cost of a conjuration completely is impossible. However, you can substitute part of the demands with an easily available, common, environmental substance. The man grabbed a tray covered by a thin velvet mat. He moved four essences onto it, along with the little cards that listed their name and price. “Essence of Blood. Essence of Dust. Essence of Light. Essence of Shadow. I’ve placed them in decreasing order of cost for your convenience.”

Blood clones would be pretty metal.

“Why are light and shadow so much cheaper than the other two?” Lukas asked, studying the two glass spheres. A bright white light shone in the center of one while wispy black floated in the other, reflecting him and the shopkeeper but as dark silhouettes.

“They’re intangible, and effects born of them can frequently be metaphorical,” the shopkeeper answered. “Hence, they’re not always compatible with the conjurer's desires and lower in demand.” He picked up the sphere filled with billowing clouds of yellow-brown specks. “People turn their noses up at dust, thinking it's below them. But dust is infinite, has countless sources, and can be strong when packed together.” He moved onto the glass ball that looked like a lava lamp filled with bright, viscous red. “And don’t get me started on blood. Move past disgust, and it's an incredible essence for most shards. Easily available. Rich in iron and bound to terrify even the most stalwart of foes.”

“I don’t disagree with you in the slightest. Dust and blood are well beyond my means, unfortunately.” Lukas’s hand moved to the coin pouch in his pocket. “I have an undercity job coming up later this week. The pay for that should be enough to almost get me the shadow or light essence.” He hesitated. “Maybe a few days of extra long courier shifts—”

“Why don’t you sell me your sword?” The shopkeeper interrupted. “You don’t have to settle. I’ll trade it for the blood or dust. It’s up to you.”

“I’m afraid it's not for sale,” Lukas said, surprised by the offer. Kat had offered him far less than what the sign cards claimed any of the essences were worth.

“Oh no.” The shopkeeper’s eyes glanced past Lukas toward the entrance. “I’m afraid it is.”

Lukas looked over his shoulder. A man and woman now stood on either side of the shop’s door. They weren’t present when Lukas first entered. Both were armed.

“Do you really want to steal from me?” Lukas chuckled. He presented a calm and pleasant front. “I work closely with Captain Stefan of the Iskander Guard.” Lukas tapped the courier badge pinned to his lapel. “I was on his way to report for a pick up from him—”

“I wasn’t going to steal from you!” The shopkeeper feigned offense. “I’d never do that. I’m a law-abiding citizen. We’re going to trade the sword for the blood essence. It’s a fair deal. Guard Captain Stefan will agree. I certainly pay him enough protection for his support on most things.”

Lukas pushed over the glass cabinet of essences and shoulder-charged the neighboring shelf of alchemical brew containers. Things shattered. Fluids splattered across the floor. Fumes filled the air. The shopkeeper let out a high-pitched feminine scream, and the man by the door roared angrily. He and his companion charged at Lukas as he raced toward the door.