--- ELIAX CLONE ---

It was odd to once again not be real, but not as odd as I’d hoped it would feel. In the end it didn’t really matter, I supposed that I actually wasn’t real this time, but I was still just… Eliax.

This time there were two of me though, and without Fora in our heads it was actually weird somehow. I thought I’d been desensitized to weird crap after Fora started taking control again, but it shouldn’t be so surprising that the world still had things it could throw at us.

I shook my head as I walked quietly through the street. I’d been tracking Kinthek’s communication stone—because seriously it was a horrible idea to not know where it was in an emergency—and using his previous locations, I’d managed to make a gate all the way to Thundercrossing.

That was good, since according to everything I read, the underground there had to be much more developed than Starlights. There might actually be someone there who knew something about gates between worlds.

It worked out nicely since Kinthek and the rest of his caravan had left Thundercrossing a few months ago. The only thing I couldn’t cover up was that it was the middle of winter and no one would have any idea how I’d even gotten there. The cold was significantly more devastating here than I remembered back in Melor. Enough so that as I walked through the quiet streets, I found myself shivering.

Spark this tiny body… it could barely even hold in my own body heat… I was a sparking clone, I shouldn’t even have to shiver! But nooooo, whoever designed that spell had decided I couldn’t eat or sleep but being cold and feeling pain were still on the table.

I might have joked about revenge, but I knew I would never seriously consider it.

I watched the shop names pass by as I tried to think of various funny revenge schemes so I could tell them to Fora later. The real Eliax might prefer to have Fora think she was distant or some crap, but I didn’t have to do that. I searched for a specific shop, wondering how long it would take Fora to realize that Eliax was actually just an idiot. I wasn’t the same Eliax, so clearly I could see everything she was doing wrong. Clearly.

I felt my steps slow down as something started to feel… well something seemed a bit off. I frowned at my feet for a long moment, staring at them and then flexing my hand as was habit whenever I was a clone since the sensation was slightly different from normal me.

I jerked my head upward as something shot toward me, a dart or arrow—something. I barely even registered that it was there before the air around me distorted and the object flew past. I stared in that direction for a long moment, hardly even able to process the woman who stood there with a crossbow trained at me, also watching me with a startled look. Sparks, why a crossbow? That would pierce my skin but not my exoskeleton. Unless it hit in exactly the right way it would barely even do anything.

We stared at each other for a long moment before I relaxed my posture. “You’re with the Keeper’s, I presume? I haven’t found much regarding them, but what I did suggested they’d know if I knew it. How is that?”

The woman stared at me for another long moment before she swallowed, “I… You’re from offworld. And not Arendi. That’s what they said.”

I regarded her with surprise at that, apparently they were a shady group with their hands in everything. Most of the information brokers back on Virna hadn’t known anything about other worlds though… that felt odd to me. “Well perhaps I am. They take issue with that?”

She stared at me for another long moment, her voice wavered slightly, “I… acted on my own here. I just thought they’d tell me more if I took care of you for them. They’re very secretive but they wanted to talk to you. Try to reason with you. They don’t do that with anyone else.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

She could be lying, but this was also a plausible turn of events. If people like this knew I was from Virna, they wouldn’t have to look much farther to find out why I was here. By that logic they should know I couldn’t be permanently killed. Not that I had any idea what clues they had even picked up.

In short, I needed more information. I regarded the woman for a moment longer before nodding, “How did they even know I was here?”

She shuddered slightly, “They have their ways.”

I considered her for another moment, deciding that she didn’t seem inclined to try shooting me again with that crossbow. Mostly she seemed scared. That wasn’t terribly odd, she’d seen space itself warp to keep me alive. “Alright, I’ll allow you to escort me to them then. So long as you put the crossbow away. I’m not particularly sure but from what I’ve seen, it’s customary to exchange names when meeting strangers? Crossbows aren’t often part of the equation.” I held out a hand, “I’m Eliax.”

She seemed confused, but slung the crossbow over her back before taking my hand, “Zouaia.”

--

~It seems like she’s actually taking me to them, I wasn’t expecting that.~

~Really?~ The true Eliax responded, ~Try to find out the answer to our dilemma then, or memorize a few spots for teleports and we can sneak back in later on.~

I nodded to myself, sending an affirmative to Eliax before cutting the connection. It wasn’t until then that I scoffed to myself. Try? I knew that if she was here herself she would have been absolutely certain of her ability to get at least that. I wasn’t sure if I should be annoyed at her or excited to prove her wrong.

I’d probably do both.

I followed right behind Zouaia, and I could tell she didn’t like that much. She was the type of person who not only wanted to see a knife coming for her, but even seemed to expect it. I generally avoided people like that. I would always trust friends easily, but if someone expected you to betray them, that just meant they’d betray you before you got the chance. It wasn’t exactly the kind of thing I knew how to work with for longer than an hour or two, which was honestly Fora’s fault. I sent that thought process to the true Eliax so she could mull over it more. It wasn’t likely that it would even go anywhere though.

Zouaia led me through the streets regardless of my thoughts, and despite knowing I was making her uncomfortable, I didn’t move to walk beside her. Thundercrossing was a relatively boring city by my estimate, but the longer I existed the harder it was to be interested in any city, and that interest had mostly been Fora in the first place.

I shook my head as we passed a tavern, and it wasn’t until we were entering a dubious looking tent five minutes later that I remembered how long Fora had looked for a tavern in Starlight. I sent the location to Eliax so she could use it as a bargaining chip with Fora.

The inside of the tent was crisp and clean, fashioned like a shop with prices and various items strewn about the area. It didn’t feel right though, and I wasn’t even sure what was wrong about it. I tracked my gaze around the area, watching the shopkeeper and Zouaia with equal measure.

The shopkeeper seemed to understand who we were, which was understandable considering how much I stood out in this world. Sparks, I missed blending in. He nodded to Zouaia, who swallowed visibly before leading me to the back of the tent, into a sectioned off room.

I peered in after her and stopped, frowning at the hole in the ground and the ladder leading into it. I hadn’t realized basements even existed on Arithren. They hardly seemed to build any permanent shelters.

I examined it for a moment longer before starting down the ladder after Zouaia, who seemed much more shaken than I was by the act of descending into the earth. I did know that the Larborak held shaping earth as some kind of sacred action. I doubted Zouaia was particularly religious, but those things always got stuck onto the culture of a people rather thoroughly.

The distance was longer than I’d assumed, but after a few minutes I heard my crossbow companion drop down to the ground. It was dark down here though, wasn’t she going to light a torch or something?

I frowned at the ladder as I reached the bottom, dropping down the remaining two or so lengths before regarding the space around me. “No torches?” I asked as she led me down the tunnel without one, giving her a curious look.

Zouaia shook her head, “The keepers don’t like them.”