119. Final Preparations

The Shadow Seekers guild house had become a familiar environment. Lukas visited it to update Ogden on the investigation. The resident shopkeepers were always eager to appraise Eins and Zwei’s latest creations. He also liked checking their shard and essence stocks.

After recent clone projects, Lukas had Essence of Dragon, Essence of Dusk, Essence of Force, Essence of Beginnings, Essence of Bonding, and Essence of Quicksilver in stock. He had resolved not to hold onto them unless he found something perfect for any of his abilities. The only one he wasn’t willing to share with Eins was the dragon and the beginning essences. Lukas wasn’t yet sure what he was going to do with the latter and didn’t know what to expect. He wished to see whether it had any compatibility with any of the special clones. All of them had grown.

Fortune’s Favor has progressed to tier 1!

Luck sense has improved. 

Fortune’s Favor has progressed to tier 2!

Keeping the dice in the material plane demands less magic capacity.

Arcane Smithing has progressed to tier 8!

Creator’s Touch is now more potent!

Biomancy has progressed to tier 1!

Biomass storage capacity has increased.

Fortune’s Favor has progressed to tier 3!

Keeping the dice in the material plane demands less magic capacity.

Ace would appreciate the growth. Summoning and keeping the dice in the material plane reduced his maximum magic capacity by half and also affected his arcane recovery. Favorable dice rolls, sevens, gave him a burst of recovery. Ace hadn’t yet achieved snake eyes and believed it was bound to accomplish something extraordinary.

Fortune’s Favor was nowhere near the next tier, but Lukas kept his eyes open for essences to help it flourish. He didn’t know where to start, but asked the shopkeeper to look out for any essence that might relate to divination.

“Why in Yggdrasil’s name would you need that?” the shopkeeper asked.

“My people and I are working on a long-distance tracking and communication device,” Lukas lied. He had convinced a man that his family and companions were primarily artisans. There was no other way to explain the volume and speed of production, especially when he was on the road. “There is a lot to be explored with divination.”

“If only you’d come to me early.” The man sighed, grabbing a ledger from under the counter and checking it. He ran his finger down one of the more recently filled pages. “Essence of Foresight. I sold one a few days ago.” He flipped to a section marked with a tag labelled requests, found Lukas’s name, and added a note. “I have you down for arcane shaping and divination essences specifically, and also anything with metallurgy or that might benefit an arcane smithing ability. What else?”

It was too early to think about Shadow Clone’s next essence. The rest were spoken for, or Lukas had ideas for what he wanted for everything but Biomancy. He suspected its growth would soon slow to a crawl. At the same time, finding a compatible essence for it was bound to be a challenge.

“Perhaps something related to healing, body reinforcement, or something similar. It’s for a Body ability.” Communicating what he wanted without giving away too much information was a challenge. “I’m just keeping my eyes open for a friend. There is a favor that needs to be repaid. He can adopt the physical qualities of monsters to enhance his own abilities. It's things like growing extra arms like a snowman or the Sylicites armor.”

“Interesting. Versatile. I think I heard Ogden talking about an agent like that, should’ve known he was one of yours. It explains your tier-four access.”

“Ah. Yes—”

“Outsider alert.” The shopkeeper snapped the ledger closed, nodding at someone behind Lukas. He straightened up and placed a long crystal piece on the counter. Noxious green fluid swirled within. “If you have any colleagues interested in alchemy or poison craft, this Shard of Toxins might be just what you need.”

“I’m fine for now, thanks,” Lukas said. A familiar scent filled his nostrils. It was Leisel. “Did your meeting go well?”

The woman nodded. “Thank you for putting in a good word. It helped.”

“So you’re a Shadow Seeker now? Cleared of all suspicion?”

“It’ll come down to whether they believe my job history,” Leisel replied, flashing the shopkeeper a little smile. “Can we talk somewhere with a little more privacy?”

“Not a lot of that in here, young lady,” the shopkeeper said. “The walls have ears in the Shadow Seekers’ fort.”

“Come with me,” Lukas said, taking her hand and leading away from the shop. They found seats in a corner of the guild tavern. It was in no way private, but there were over half a dozen conversations, some heated, some raucous. “Tell me what happened.”

“Ogden and the higher-ups need to collaborate on my story, but I’ve shown them records of how much Matias hated me. He denied me jobs I wanted and kept sending me on escort missions to the coast and away from supposed Frost Giant territory.”

“You didn’t know about the Frost Giants?” 

Leisel shook her head. “I knew that there was something intense going on and that Matias didn’t want me involved. I had no idea about the former auditor’s involvement. We had a professional but friendly relationship, but now I can’t help but wonder whether they tampered with my memories.” She sighed, leaning back in her chair and falling silent as the barmaid brought over two mugs of hot cider. “I almost quit over the endless escort missions. The last one was a long-term contract, which meant I was almost always on the road and away from the city for months at a time. It ultimately led to the collapse of my last relationship. Six years and engagement. All fell apart thanks to the bastards.”

“In that case, just give Ogden all the dirt you have on Frozen Phoenix and any, even the slightest, illicit activities you can think of,” Lukas said. “I know you don’t particularly want to betray former companions, but full cooperation is your best bet.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?” Leisel reached over the table and took his hand.  “Can you put a good word in for me? Please.”

“I’ll do what I can. I’m aware that you weren’t involved with the auditor.” Lukas paused, glancing at the group guffawing at the neighboring table. “You have to come clean about something, though. Were you aware of the memory tapering? There are still blank spots in my memories. The shadow golems saw me interacting with the auditor or her apprentice during them. There is no telling what secrets they recovered. I carry sensitive information regarding the guild and the Cold Fire Sorcerer.”

“They did it to me too,” Leisel replied, her voice small. “Whatever information the auditor stole is now gone. As for the apprentice, that’s for your guild to figure out whether she’s telling the truth.”

“I’ll tell Ogden you’re good at what you do and are honest,” Lukas said, taking his hand back. “That’s the most I can do. But I need something in return.” He quickly continued when she raised an eyebrow, concerned she thought he expected illicit favors. “I’m running an off-the-books investigation. It involves an artisan and his organization. Your seismic sense will prove handy. Help me with that, and I’ll ensure the Shadow Seekers accept you.”

“How dangerous is this? I don’t mean physically, but more in regard to career suicide. Say if the Shadow Seekers still reject me, will this ruin my chances with the other guilds?”

“Well, this particular artisan has ties to the Aquila guild. I’m pretty sure he’s a part of their local council. However, taking this risk will show Ogden how serious you are about rooting out corruption in the city and among the guilds.”

Leisel’s shoulders slumped. “So this is about Mira, then. Are the pair of you together now?”

“I don’t think that’s important or any of your business,” Lukas told her. “We decided our relationship would only be professional going forward. Let’s keep it that way, alright?”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Leisel replied, her shoulders falling.

___________________________

“The entire point of stealth missions is to be fucking stealthy,” Flukas hissed, looking over his shoulder at his fellow clones. “So, shut the fuck up and do something useful. Please.”

“I’m just saying a good hat could change your outlook on life,” Ace replied, tossing and catching his dice. All three clones were enveloped in Shade’s Mantle, but the manifestation created by Fortune’s Favor stood out in the darkness. The gold studs on the black metal cubes emitted a faint glow. “With the right hat, maybe you wouldn’t take so fucking long, and we can get on with the job.”

“What hat is going to help with breaking wards, Ace?” Flukas rolled his eyes. “It takes time and patience, especially working on something so complicated. The slightest misstep and I could trigger the alarms, and Ephram’s bloody guards will swarm us.”

“So, dramatic.” Ace sighed. “Just let me use my dice and—”

“Hell, no!” the accompanying Stalker exclaimed. Unlike Ace, he stood on the edge of the rooftop, keeping an eye out for guards or the surveillance summons crawling all over the building’s external walls. Shade’s Mantle, combined with Silencing Shadows, did a decent job of hiding them from the lizards’ senses. However, close proximity had triggered their senses during previous break-in attempts. “The last thing we need is one of your shitty rolls screwing this over. This is the closest we’ve ever managed to get. Just burn all that luck you’ve got saved up.”

“You know how hard I worked for it?! I’m saving it for a good dice roll. Now, if you let me just use them—”

“No,” Flukas and the Stalker said in unison. 

“You guys are no fun.” Ace fumbled his dice catch and almost dropped one, but kicked the second up into the air before it could touch the floor. He caught it and made both disappear up his sleeve. They disappeared into Shade’s Mantle. He stared at Flukas for a moment. “That knot you got there isn’t the one.”

“How can you tell?” Flukas froze. He was on the verge of unravelling it.

“It’s got an orange hue,” Ace answered. “That’s not as bad as red, but not good either.”

“So, burn luck—”

“No. You’re close to a blue one. I can feel it.”

The clones froze when a lizard came over the roof’s edge. When it paused, staring straight at where Flukas stood, the Stalker shaped a part of his mantle into a Shadowsteel blade. He stopped midstep when Ace threw up a hand, eyes glowing gold through the shadows. The lizard lingered a moment longer before scurrying past Flukas. It scaled the large dome nearby and disappeared over its crest.

“What just happened?” Flukas whispered once she had passed.

“Think of it as a dice roll in Table-Top,” Ace replied. “It did a perception check, trying to locate the hidden. I pushed the dice in our favor. Manipulating fortune isn’t luck, my dear clones. It is a game of strategy and skill. That’s it!” He pointed at Flukas. “You’ve found it. That’s the one. Unravel it, tug it, or whatever you’re supposed to do.”

“That’s helpful,” Flukas mumbled. He took a handful of minutes to figure out precisely what needed doing before arcane lights shimmered around the skylight. “That was it. We finally have a way in.”

“See. You needed me, after all.” Ace grinned. “So, what are we stealing?”

“Nothing,” the Stalker whispered. “This mission’s purpose is intelligence gathering only. We can’t afford exposure or them discovering the infiltration at all. Protections will be doubled, and Ephram will put other protections in place. Get in. Investigate the ritual room. Find out what kind of internal protections, guards, and anything else they might have in place.” He paused, sticking his head through the skylight and having a look around. “Any clues regarding where they’re breeding people with arcane heritage and training them will also give Ogden the evidence he needs to attack.”

“Can I—”

“No dice,” Flukas added. “If you come across more wards, stay away. These things have layers.” His attention turned to Ace. “Exploration only. If there is any danger of discovery, dispel yourself. Remember. No one can know we were ever here. Understood?”

“Understood, fake-boss,” the Stalker said.

“Got it.” Ace sighed.