Mark of the Fool

“Professor Jules is not going to like this,” Alex murmured. “I’m not sure I like it.”

Baelin, his eyes sparkling while he remained floating in mid-air as he schemed for the future, looked at Alex with incredulity. “Truly? Now you wish to turn coward? Bah, I say! When we spoke of slaying Ezaliel and obtaining information on the Traveller, you were as eager as a rabbit in spring time. Don’t tell me this little…disaster today has caused you to lose your nerve?”

Alex paused. “I wouldn’t really call it a ‘little disaster’ Baelin: a couple of dozen people lost their lives.”

“And I mourn them,” the chancellor said, a note of gravity in his voice. “In my own fashion, I mourn them. I will ensure they are remembered well and their families are well-compensated.” He sighed. “The loss of Watcher Shaw stings in particular: the man served with the Watchers near-on thirty years. He was a fine warrior, a good tactician, and a Proper Wizard. Gemini—the leader of the Watchers—will be most upset. However—”

He gave Alex a serious look. “—along the great path of life as one moves through the world, there will be bumps, sinkholes and dangers. Every single expedition member joined with the understanding that they would face great dangers. Safety can be maximised and loss of life minimised, but—in the end—nothing is guaranteed. This could have been far worse, Alex. Far worse.”

“Oh, I know,” Alex agreed. “But, ‘small disaster’...‘small’...the words just make it feel a bit too insignificant for my liking.”

“Ah, well that comes from a matter of perspective,” the chancellor said. “I have seen things that would drive others to catatonia: wars, demonic eclipses, plagues, famine, and spells so powerful that entire lands were washed out to sea when the spell went awry, yet, they were forgotten by the vast majority of history.”

He glanced at the map, eyes distant as though looking through it to watch something else. Something Alex couldn’t see. “I am sure you will find a way to have a very long lifespan, Alex. You might see my perspective as alien now—if I were your age and raised in your circumstances, I certainly would—but amass enough years? And you will likely see disasters in an entirely different way, and on an entirely different scale.”

Alex opened his mouth to reply…but closed it immediately as a thought and context occurred to him.

Baelin was probably right, if he really thought about it. Back when he’d first been Marked, he’d paid a visit to Alric’s local magistrate to claim the entirety of his and Selina’s inheritance.

At the time, the funds had seemed a vast sum that would utterly change their lives.

Now? After living in Generasi and seeing what great wealth looked like, and if the financial part of Operation Grand Summoning Ascension went as planned, all of that coin—the sum total of his parents’ wealth—would seem like pocket change compared to what he could earn. Maybe in time he’d begin to look at death in the same way; over twenty dead was a catastrophe now, but perhaps, with the passage of years, and surviving more deadly battles…

He shook his head, clearing his mind. ‘I can consider that another time.’

“You might be right,” Alex said. “But, anyway, we got a bit off-track. I’m not reluctant to go down to the hells because I ‘turned coward’. It’s just that…well, I have the distinct memory of you saying that you wanted me to know fourth or fifth level spells before we went down there.”

“Ahhhh, true,” Baelin said. “I did say that. However, that applied to that particular mission. When the time comes, you will be facing the forcesof a greater demon, quite possibly without my help, which means I will likely be directly engaged with Ezaliel—and any of its allies. I most likely will not have the attention or time to protect you, even if you fall under dire circumstances. Further, and let this serve as your first lesson in journeying into dangerous planes—”

He conjured a pair of illusions, letting each hover above his palms. Over his left was an army of powerful soldiers and wizards, mustering to march through a portal to a hellscape. Floating above his right palm were a trio of adventurers—well-equipped with weapons and supplies—moving stealthily like experienced warriors over a blasted abyssal desert.

“—there are two main ways to lead an expedition into dark, otherworldly realms,” Baelin said. “The first—” He wiggled his left hand, and the illusionary army above it charged a horde of demons, crashing into them with fury. “—is what I would call the ‘Bombardment Approach’. Not an official academic term, but it serves the purpose. Essentially, you assemble a small army of powerful individuals to breach the plane in force. It is loud. It is messy. It is dangerous. And it is expensive. Truly, it is only useful for destroying targets, or defending otherworldly citadels. And when we—”

The image of the army faded, replaced by an illusion of Baelin, Alex, his cabal, Claygon, the Heroes and other members of the Art of the Wizard in Combat attacking a horde of demons.

“—attack Zonon-In’s enemies, this will be the approach we will use. We will be loud, and I will handle their most dangerous forces while I assign you enemies to face that can help your learning without overtaxing you. We will rain fire, and that will be the end of them. But, this approach will not work well when it comes time to obtain the information about the Traveller from Ezaliel’s subordinates.”

He wiggled his right hand, and the image of the grizzled adventurers changed to one of Khalik, Alex and Theresa infiltrating an ancient, demonic temple. “The Guile Approach is what we’ll need: you need to obtain something, and we don’t know precisely what it is. Is it a scroll that can burn? A stone tablet that can be crushed? A rumour in some demon’s mind that will be lost forever if they are slain?”

“Right…” Alex said, running his hand through his short beard. “So if we go in with the ‘Bombardment Way’, we might destroy the information before we even get it.”

“Precisely,” Baelin said. “At that time, you and a very small group must act autonomously. I can move unseen when I wish to, but I will be needed to draw Ezaliel’s attention. As such, you—and this small group—will have to act independently. I would not send you into literal hell without being sure you can defend yourselves under such circumstances. But for the Bombardment Approach? As you are now, you are more than capable enough. You will have me as a safety net, my spell-marks to whisk you away from dangers, as well as a group of powerful allies around you. Under such circumstances, we can proceed!”

“But wait,” Alex said. “What about the Heroes? They said that things are escalating here. They’ll be more than a little bit needed right here to…you know…fight the Ravener.”

Baelin waved a hand dismissively. “Simplicity in itself.Remember, our COMB-1000 classes took little more than a single period each week. The Heroes can travel here through the fae roads, or I could teleport them to the Research Castle. From there, one little spell and we will appear in the precise location within the hells to proceed immediately. If the Saint complains, I could see to it that some of our resources are dedicated beyond Greymoor. We are building to that, anyway.”

“Right,” Alex said. “But what about Professor Jules not liking this?”

Baelin was about to respond when quick, familiar footsteps echoed from the hallway.

“Ah, speak of a devil, and they may appear,” the chancellor said just as the doors opened.

“Who’s a devil now?” Professor Jules asked, shutting the doors behind her. “What are you planning? Something I’d disapprove of, no—”

She paused, her eyes falling on Alex and then Claygon. “Well, good…wee hours of the morning, Mr. Roth. What brings you here so late?”

“Planning,” Alex said. “Baelin was just thinking of ways we could take advantage of a few opportunities.”

“Oh?” Professor Jules looked at the chancellor dubiously. “Nothing too dangerous, I hope?”

“I will be taking my combat class to the hells,” he said proudly.

The younger professor stood by the doors for a full five seconds, her eyes bulging. “Really? Really, chancellor?” A deep frown creased her brow. “After what happened today, you’re planning on bringing students into more danger?”

“After today—if anything—I’m more convinced than ever that such dangers presented in a controlled environment are more necessary than they’ve ever been, Vernia.”

She gave a deep, heavy sigh. “Well, I won’t be the professor who tries to dictate another’s curriculum. That’s too gauche, but still…” Professor Jules gave Alex a pointed look. “...I assume you will be a party to this madness?”

He shrugged. “You know me well enough; what do you think I’ll do?”

Her sigh deepened. “You spend far too much time running headfirst into danger, Mr. Roth.”

“I do not!” Alex protested. “I take measured risks. They’re calculated.”

“Then you’re worse at mathematics than I’d thought.”

“Hey! I’ve gotten loads of benefits from my way of doing things, and they aren’t that risky!”

“Monster hunting isn’t risky?” The alchemy professor raised an eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips. “Battling cultists isn’t risky? Using a mana vampire like a power source then draining it to propel a golem with an untested mana core isn’t risky—”

Claygon waved at her, and she nodded in return.

“—Ah, hello, Claygon. Sorry I didn’t greet you, how impolite. Must be the lack of sleep. In any case, Alex I am fairly sure that you are the Chancellor of Risk. Well, you would be except for Bae—”

Her words trailed off, her head slowly turning back to Claygon.

“Wait…” she murmured. “Did you just…?”

The golem nodded, drawing a new note on his sheet of paper.

Hello. Professor Jules.

The older woman’s jaw dropped. “You…you’ve awakened to intelligence!” She cried. “This is incredible! Oh my goodness!”

In an instant, all complaints about dangers were forgotten, and she was scurrying up to Claygon like an excited child, producing a pen and paper from seemingly nothing at all. “Goodness me! Changes outside and within! I had thought yourawakening—if it were to come at all—might be due to certain conversions of the properties in your inner elements. There are certain theories about silicon…”

Her pen danced across a page.

“...but enough of that, how do you feel? What’s your first memory? What are your thoughts? Do you have a sense of touch?”

Claygon looked at Alex as though begging for help, but the young man simply shrugged.

The golem seemed to give up, scrawling a new message: I am. Learning. Things. Write. Slow.

“Ah, I won’t overwhelm you, then.” Professor Jules whirled on Alex. “Mr. Roth!”

“Yes!” Alex’s back straightened as though he were a soldier and his commanding officer had just snapped at him.

“Oh, calm down, this isn’t the army, Mr. Roth.” Professor Jules rolled her eyes. “But, I need you to answer my questions. In particular, what is Claygon’s learning capacity? He is already capable of writing which indicates that he had a form of memory storage before his awakening…unless he gained intelligence some time ago?”

“No, it was right after the battle,” Alex said. “And uh, I haven’t really had time to test how quickly he learns.”

“That should be your first priority!” Professor Jules declared, looking at Alex with disappointment. “You have such a rare opportunity, Alex: a new mind to form, and one existing within a corporeal shell that has no biological limiters. It could be that we have a genius on our hands?”

‘What is…a genius?’ Claygon asked mentally.

“It’s basically Isolde. And Baelin. And Professor Jules. I’ll explain it more later,” Alex promised.

Thank…you.

“Hmmmm?” The alchemy professor’s head darted between them. “Ah! He can communicate through your link? Excellent data.” She jotted down a note. “You must build him a speakerbox soon. Very soon.”

“It’s on my to-do list, professor,” Alex said. “Trouble is that it’s a very long, and growing list.”

“Perhaps some reprioritising would help you. For example, I’m suggesting you lower the priority level of ‘horrendous risk’, which might give you time for other, more productive activities.” She glared at Baelin.

“Hmmm…Professor Jules might have a point.” The chancellor stroked his beard, peering into Claygon’s fierce expression. His eyes flicked to the war-spear in the golem’s grip. “Hart might present a good opportunity to test such a thing. He is a repository for centuries of combat knowledge. You could have him train Claygon in various spear-fighting techniques and see how quickly our friend would take to them.”

Alex froze, then gave a wide grin. “That’s perfect! What do you think, Claygon?”

Good. Will…help me protect.

Professor Jules gave a devastating sigh. “Of course. You have a new mind to shape. You have a new form of life to study. And what does everyone want to do? Teach him how to hit others with a sharp piece of metal! Gah!” She threw up her hands. “You’ll just infect your little sister with such urges.”

‘Too late,’ Alex thought, remembering Selina’s knife. ‘She’d probably want Claygon to learn how to fight the most…I wonder how she’ll react when she meets him? I guess I’ll find out soon enough.’