“Elder Wyrmkin pride themselves in their close relationship to their dragon ancestors. The purer their bloodline, the more draconic their magic. It defines the theme of their magic or grants them metamagic. A frost dragon’s descendant will specialize in frostfire. Toxic dragons will spawn descendants who specialize in venom magic.”

The words appeared in the journal’s pages as he called the text forth from ‘A Study Of Draconic Descendents.’

After the delve, desperate to figure out what had happened to Penelope, Lukas visited the research center, citing that he needed to pick something up for her. The library’s restricted section was also on the basement level, a dozen feet or so from the research laboratory. He had a stalker clone break in with the journal and copy several advanced texts, focusing on Wyrmkin, their variants, and especially their magic.

Silverspine’s quests were too valuable to give up currently, and Lukas planned on taking full advantage of them until Spellweaver advanced enough to break free of her control. He was sure more of her interests would involve keeping things out of the Wyrmkin’s reach or foiling their plans. Lukas firmly believed that knowing one’s enemy was vital for victory and, more importantly, survival.

“I’m purging her systems,” Esther explained. “It’s in her blood and magic channels. Overexposure. Oversaturation. She probably beat the shaman in raw power but took too long to put her down.”

“Penny was holding back,” Bass grumbled, pacing back and forth in his housecat form, his wings barely bigger than a chicken’s. “She’d either freeze the tunnel shut or bring it all down if she cut loose. Her magic is destructive, to say the least. Hit big. Hit hard. Even Penny’s precision spells are far too potent.” He looked at Lukas. “This happened because she didn’t want me or you getting trapped or buried.

“This is why I never liked you. You’re a liar. If you were true colleagues and told us the truth, maybe most of this wouldn’t have happened.”

“The keyword is maybe,” Lukas said. “I might’ve not spelled things out for you, but I led you to the answer. Would you and Penelope have believed a nobody like me without evidence? Does my word have that much value?”

The familiar didn’t answer. He just glared at Lukas before walking away.

“Penelope is going to be fine, and he knows it,” Esther said after Bass left the room. “He’s mostly pissed off that this happened at all. But it's not completely your fault.”

“So there won’t be any lasting consequences for Penny, right?”

Esther shook her head. “I can’t, of course, give any guarantees, but it's extremely unlikely. Things would be different if she were human, dragon blood makes her different. She’s more resilient when it comes to these kinds of things. Ordinary toxic flames might’ve had a worse effect, but since these are born from a draconic ancestry, not so much. It also feels as if she cast a version of the Purifying Flames spells on herself to burn out the enemy's magic.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Lukas sighed, flumping against his favorite pillar in the clinic. “Thank you for doing this.”

“My services aren’t free. I expect to be compensated.” Esther paused, turning around and studying Lukas. “Have you thought about what you’re going to tell her? How much of the truth?”

“I don’t know yet,” Lukas answered honestly. “There is no hiding the real soul ability now. She might as well know about the soulbinding.”

Esther checked Penelope’s breathing and pulse. Then, she peeked out through the door Bass had taken. She closed it and ran her fingers over a set of runes by the door. “I’d be careful about discussing the origin. There is no telling who the conclave favors and hates. They claim they’re independent and out to preserve our way of life, but many suspect that they serve a greater master or purpose.”

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“And when they go to great extents to maintain their veil of secrecy, one can’t be sure about their agenda.”

“Precisely.”

“The Cold Fire Sorcerer has a good reputation,” Esther said. “She has done nothing but help people and protect them from Wyrmkin and draconic plots, and stopped several blights. Even though you’re mostly responsible for this one, it's going to add to her accolades. Agent of the conclave saves Iskander from an Elder Wyrmkin plot.”

“It's not over. We still need to uncover who helped them up here.”

“And you suspect the Grey Rats and Stefan Santana are involved?”

“Along with someone high up,” Lukas answered. “Possibly someone with powerful magic. Penelope failed to recognize the cursed seals on their minions. She wasn’t sure about its origins. They disappeared too quickly, and it's not part of her expertise.”

“From what you told me, you’re either dealing with a powerful wizard or a witch. For your sake, I hope it's not the latter. I’m afraid you might be correct.” Esther paused for a moment, checking Penelope’s pulse again. “Good. The fever is down.” She replaced the wet towel on the sorcerer’s forehead. “The Grey Rats run the secret docks. They’re at the heart of the slave trade, and the city guard has to be complicit.”

“Which makes me want to think someone politically connected, either connected to their command or the city council, is involved,” Lukas added. “A slaver ring can’t function otherwise, right? And it's the perfect cover for sneaking in enemy forces.”

Esther nodded. “The question is whether this is a plot against Iskander with the fall of the city as the objective, or it’s all about greed and money.”

“That’s for Penelope to figure out.”

“How are you going to manage the death of Lukas?” Esther asked. “Are you going to tell Kat? The arcane smithy?”

“I don’t know yet. She and Elvis had a nice, clean break. Does she need the additional heartbreak? As for the smithy, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already replaced him. The bastards don’t give a shit about their staff, treating them mostly as tools to get orders done and limiting knowledge to keep them on the hook.”

“It’s a shame that the time for you to leave is almost here. I was just starting to like you.” She sighed. “You feel more powerful. Did you ascend a pillar?”

Lukas nodded. “And got my first conjunction ability.” He manifested Shade’s Mantle and created a shadow sphere no bigger than an eyeball. The formerly liquid shell hardened, taking on the texture of burnt, unpolished steel. He tossed it at the nearby wall, and it struck with a dull, hollow thunk. “That’s the most I can manage without a headache, but it's a start.”

“It certainly is. That conjunction ability just saved you months, if not years, of work.”

“Is Penelope going to be out for long?” Lukas asked.

“Probably for a day or two,” Esther answered. “Her system is purged of all toxins, but her body needs to heal and rest. I’ve dealt with worse patients.” She held up a glass vial containing a wisp of violent green flame. “Why don’t you run along? I need some alone time to study this and ensure there wasn’t anything I missed. If anything changes or happens, I’ll have Bass track you down. I’m sure he can track your scent.”

“What about the prisoner?” His eyes wandered to the stall where the Elder Wyrmkin lay still hog-tied. He had woken up and thrashed for a bit, but Esther knocked him out with a spell.

Lukas returned to the inn. He hadn’t left behind much value. There were a few books, pieces of clothing, a few mundane weapons, and pieces of armor. The landlady asked when Penelope would be back, seeming concerned but more likely for the handsome rent and tips than the sorcerer. Lukas explained the situation and promised to keep her in the loop. Once in the privacy of his quarters, he locked the door and summoned four stalker clones.

“The secret docks,” he said, pointing at El-One. “Hide up top behind the shop if you can. We need to track movements, look out for familiar figures, or whatever happens. News of the Elder Wyrmkin will be out. Involved parties are going to panic or rush to cover up.”

“Got it, boss,” the clone replied.

“Distillery.” Lukas pointed at El-Two before moving on to El-Three. “Research Center and El-Four, I want you to track down our friendly neighborhood Guard Captain. If you spot anything concerning or worth reporting, just save us all the time and dispel yourself.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we worked in pairs?” El-Four asked. “One continues tracking while the other reports?”

“It’s a good idea, but I don’t have enough of you for that,” Lukas replied. “Maybe we can try that once we have genuine leads and aren’t just working off suspicion.”

“Got it, El-Prime.” El-Two threw up a mock salute. The others didn’t copy him. “What are you going to do?”

“Sleep.”