Shadow Clone Sorcery
Chapter 43: Preparing For War (2)

Lukas and El-Four watched in silence as Bass rejoined Penelope and the clones. They took another handful of minutes to get themselves together before moving on. He hoped Penelope wouldn't ask El-Two to identify anything else anytime soon. Excuses like he needed to conserve magic wouldn't necessarily hold up.

Lukas wrapped his finger around the thread attached to El-Four figuratively. He hadn't noticed it before, as they were a constant presence in the background, but it had become clearer during practice prior to the delve. Faint arcane tethers connected him to all of his clones. He pulled, and the clone went from a low-mass state to neutral.

He had crept close to the fight and done the same to El-Two during the battle, giving him speed when he needed to attack and putting him in a neutral state while defending. The manipulation minimized any damage the clone took and didn’t slow him to a noticeable degree. It wasn't ideal and required micromanaging, but it would suffice until they gained access to the shard abilities.

Lukas returned to the clone to his low-mass state.

“I wish you wouldn't do that so often, boss,” the clone whispered. “It's disorienting when we're not ready for it or know the change is coming.”

“That's the point. We're going to practice this whenever we're at rest so you lot get used to it and can adapt accordingly.”

“Why are you so mean to us? First, you break up with Kat without warning. Then, this. Next, you're going to—”

“Shut up and pay attention. They're moving again.”

The duo took off after the group, their energy and magic restored during the rest. Absorbing ambient energies while also using Silencing Shadows slowed the process. Only a trickle found its way in as they circulated everything through and around them, attempting to make it look like they didn't exist at all. So, they continued to burn energy conservatively.

The pair carried light packs. Lukas’s contained all of his money while all the essences he owned sat in the rolled ritual leather tucked away inside of his coat. Meanwhile, El-Four’s was laden with bottles, flasks, and waterskins. None of the fluids were for drinking.

When passing a phaser, Lukas successfully approached the creature without detection. It was nearly impossible to see in its high-mass form, blending perfectly into the dark as it seemed to absorb all light. However, refined magical senses and arcane senses led him straight to the great-dane-sized specimen. It failed to detect him through Silencing Shadows. “Bryna. Frar.” Lukas’s arm blurred as he drew and slashed the runic shortsword in a single movement, decapitating the creature.

It didn’t drop an essence. Lukas didn’t care. He wanted to test his personal strength against the monster and came away from it successfully. It wasn’t giant and mutated, but he had seen smaller phasers trouble delvers with far more experience and accomplished trainers than him.

After killing the creature, he and El-Four closed in on Penelope, Bass, and the other clones. The Elder Wyrmkin’s camp was close. Draconic energy mingled with the ambient magic, leaving Lukas with a mild sense of dread. Now that he had a Mind shard, he hoped to learn more spells. High on his list of priorities was Mind Magic, but more for personal defenses and locking away traumatic memories. If he ever encountered the Void again or its sanity-draining inhabitants, he wanted to be ready.

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He also hoped to pick up body enhancement alongside a few offensive spells so he could stand his ground in a fight. Esther had advised that he revolve his early spells around his shard and essence-born abilities since they’d always cost less and come naturally to him, unlike unrelated concepts. It was sound advice, but at the same time, Lukas didn’t want to limit himself, especially when he had mage clones to work tirelessly and practice whatever he needed. Also, he had doubts about clones enjoying the benefits of spells related to his other shard abilities when they didn’t have access to their essences or themes. It was all still very complicated, and Lukas still had a lot to learn, understand, and figure out.

“Good,” he whispered after following Penelope and the clones for a while. “El-Two and Three are taking them down the long way. Should we circle ahead of them?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, boss?” El-Four asked. “If we get pinned or caught, there won’t be any backup or rescue until Penelope catches up.”

“I’m sure. We’ll just have to be extra careful and not make any unnecessary moves. Stealth and sabotage aren’t her or Bass’s strong suits. They’re most likely to be loud and attract attention as soon as they make their move. We need to be ready and in place with ours when the time comes.”

“Got it.”

The clone and he moved as fast as safely possible, avoiding brightly lit areas and staying away from any and all creatures. They passed a slime bigger than the inn and a monstrous troglodyte with a lizard snout and most of its fur missing. Silencing Shadows concealed them from all. Maintaining the spell still demanded concentration, and burning Haste drained their magic stores faster than either of them could replenish it, but they couldn’t afford to slow down or make mistakes.

It seemed Bass’s recent visit to the depths had concerned the Elder Wyrmkin. The familiar claimed to have only wandered close enough to sense them, but that probably meant his arcane signatures had been picked up by them, too. He was an intimidating presence even when in his house cat form. A trio stood at the mouth of the main tunnel system leading to the cavern where they lived and worked.

Fortunately, the clones had found an alternate route when fleeing during their visit. It was a long, winding path, barely wide enough for one person. Lukas and the clone had to shuffle through it sideways while keeping their breaths shallow.

Traversal took annoyingly long, but since he didn’t hear El-Three’s whistles, he was sure the others were still far behind them. They emerged above the area between the Wyrmkin’s camp and the ritual laboratory and the silver dome protecting Silverspine’s cousin.

The area had changed significantly since the clones’ visit. There were far more Wyrmkin, and instead of a camp, it looked like the beginnings of a village. There were huts, a butchery corner, a kitchen with Wyrmkin processing fungi, meat, lichen, and moss, and then a meeting area where several huddled together, speaking quietly amongst themselves.

The ritual laboratory was also rife with activity. Five naked Wyrmkin stood around it, pulsating with energy, while a writhing phaser stuck in its neutral phase lay in the center. Its spasming arms gained length and girth. Unlike the great-dane-sized specimen, Lukas had not long slain, it also had a long, spiny tail and a lizard-like head. Prominent scales covered its neck and spine.

“They’re refining their process,” El-Four whispered. “This can’t be good, boss.” He removed his pack and checked its padded and wax-sealed contents. “We need to stop them. Things might get ugly if they finish.”

“No. We need to trust Penelope and Bass. Things will end poorly for all of us if we move prematurely.”

“What do you want to do then? Just sit here while they finish and unleash that thing?”

“No. We’re going to get close, and I’m going to try to unravel their defenses. That was the entire point of rushing this shard ability and me coming down here. If their arcane protections are down, Penelope can do her job better. And we can sabotage the laboratory.”

“Got it.” The clone sighed, not bothering to veil his annoyance. The pair carefully descended, moving slowly and staying low, desperate to stay out of the silver dome’s glow.