Mark of the Fool
Chapter 623: If We Happen to Die

This was it.

They had a direction.

Floating freely in the jar, the third eye was fixed on the southeast—Alex had placed the Eye-Finderdown on the peak of a mountain—its ‘vision’ piercing hills, distance, and woodlands. Somewhere to the southeast, Carey waited along with one of the greatest trials of their lives.

Alex could only pray that he was ready.

“We need a plan,” Watcher Hill said, standing near the peak.

The other Watchers, Alex’s cabal, and everybody who’d come searching for Carey stood on the mountain, looking southeast. A gusting wind licked at their clothing.

Determination filled their hearts.

Doubt played in their minds.

“We have no idea what we’ll find when we get to wherever Carey is,” Watcher Hill said. “But whatever’s waiting, it’s best to assume that it’s not just going to give her or Merzhin up without a fight.”

“We don’t know what state she’s in either,” another Watcher added. “She could be—”

“She’s not dead,” Professor Jules’ voice was like flint through the far-speaker. “I examined the organs Ravener-spawn use to track people who’ve controlled dungeon cores, and they bear similarities to the lifesense organs of aether drakes.”

“Aether drakes? What are those?” Drestra asked, her interest piquing at the word ‘drake’.

“Dragons, close in size to horses. They can sense living things within a certain distance,” Hart rumbled. “But,theycan’t sense anything dead, or undead for that matter.They gotta rely on their eyes, ears or noses for dead things, so smelling a rotting zombie’s real easy for them..or anything else with a nose.” He grinned.

“That…is correct,” Professor Jules said, surprise in her voice. “How did you know that? Are you a scholar, Mr. Redfletcher?”

“No. The Ash Ravens killed their share of wizards along the way: you’d be surprised at what kinda beasts wizards keep locked up in their towers as guard dogs. No offence,” he said.

“None taken. And I’d be less surprised than you might think. But Mr. Redfletcher does have the right of it: the sensing organs in Ravener-spawn seem to only pick up prey if they are alive, that’s if they work similarly to the organs of aether drakes, as they seem to. Which means, Carey’s most likely still alive.”

“Though we can’t be sure how long that’s going to last,” Alex said, his tone dark. “So yes, Watcher Hill. What’s your plan: you’ve got the most combat experience of anyone here.”

“I say we go crack some heads open an’ take our people back,” Cedric cut in. “Like y’said, Alex, the time we spend here jawin,’ could be takin’ Carey and Merzhin another second closer t’dyin’. We need t’bring ‘em home.”

He flexed the quicksilver gauntlet sheathing his arm. “Be they mortal or beast, whichever it is, they declared war when they started kidnappin’ people. So maybe we should jus’ kick their shit in!”

“They’ll kill Carey if we do,” Drestra’s voice crackled.

“And Merzhin too,” Hart rumbled.

“Exactly,” Watcher Hill said. “There’s a strong likelihood that they’ll use them against us.” She looked at Alex and Drestra. “There’s also a good possibility that they’re using Carey as bait to lure you two, considering what Professor Jules told me you three can do with dungeon cores. The moment you show up, their usefulness expires and the kidnappers could end both of them without a thought. That being said…I wouldn’t be able to convince the two of you to stay behind, could I?”

“We’ll need every hand on deck,” Alex said, feeling a bit weird knowing that some of the Watchers had been told what he, Carey and Drestra could do with dungeon cores. But, he supposed in this case, some secrets had to be sacrificed. “Drestra’s too powerful to leave behind, and I’m our best bet for extraction. But, I agree that I shouldn’t go in at first: the best place for me is at a distance, somewhere where I can grab people fast in an emergency.”

“Then we’ll make use of you. First: since you move faster than any of us, take the Eye-Finder and locate where Carey and Merzhin are being kept. Once you find them, figure out where the closest fae gate is, then return here with your information,” Watcher Hill said. “The next thing will be to teleport an infiltration team of Watchers—lead by me—to the location, while the others travel over the fae roads. Once everyone’s gathered at our target, my team scouts the area, then goes in and gets our people. I understand that you can sense teleportation magic quite acutely, Mr. Roth?”

“That’s right,” Alex said.

“When we findCarey and Merzhin, one of us will cast a Call Through Fire spell as a signal, then you can teleport to our position and extract both the hostages and us. When everyone’s safe, we return and hit them, neutralising, punishing, and investigating these kidnappers. We can modify the plan as needed once we actually see the location. Any questions?”

“I’ve got one,” Cedric said. “Who’s gonna be on that stealth team, an’ what’re the rest of us gonna be doin’?”

Watcher Hill pointed to the other Watchers under her command. “I hate to even say this, but under my watch, I’ve allowed enough young people to be captured, so the infiltration team will be solely made up of my own people.” She looked at everyone else gathered around her. “The rest of you will form the core of what is to be the second wave.”

She made a chopping motion with her hand. “Your jobs will be to adopt an extremely aggressive approach if our infiltration is compromised.”

“So the plan is basically for you and your Watchers to rescue our people and—if something goes wrong—the rest of us hit the enemy while you complete the rescue? Is that right?” Prince Khalik asked.

“You have it,” the Watcher replied. “I know a lot of you will want to rush straight in, but please don’t, just be patient.”

“You will not have to worry about us acting foolishly or prematurely,” Isolde said. “Chancellor Baelin has trained us well on tactics and priorities; we all want Carey and Merzhin returned, and taking any foolish risks that could put them in further danger is not what we have learned to do. Your plan is rational, and we will stick to it.”

Cedric suddenly agreed, words like, “we should jus’ kick their shit in!” gone like they’d never left his lips minutes before. “Aye, better t’go crackin’ skulls after we get our people back,” Cedric said thoughtfully, sneaking a quick glance at Isolde. “There was a time when I might’ve gone ahead wit’out thinkin’ too hard, but if that ruinsour chances, then I’ll not be doin’ it. I’ve learned too much t’try that kinda shite anymore, knowin’ what’s at stake if I did any o’ that kinda silliness.”

Isolde stared at Cedric, looking so proud and taken with him at that moment that—if things were less tense—she might’ve run right into his arms. He gave her a sidelong look and a small crooked smile, almost as if asking: ‘Did I do good?’

She took a step toward him before catching herself and blushing furiously.

Thankfully, Watcher Hill saw none of that; being too busy looking southeast to pay any attention to the two of them. “Time to get moving. We have our preliminary plan; so what’s left to do now is find our people. We can finish our assessments once we know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

“Right,” Alex looked at the jar. “I was thinking I should take Thundar and Drestra with me. They’re powerful, know illusion magic, I can move across the land faster than anyone else, and with them watching my back, chances of success increases if anything goes wrong.”

“What about…me…father?” Claygon asked.

“Yeah, you know what? You come too,” Alex said. “Everyone else? If you could go back to the Research Castle through the fae roads and round up anybody you can for our strikeforce? That’d be great. Bring them here to the mountain to meet up.”

“Sounds good,” Grimloch rumbled. “This is gonna be a battle to remember. We want people with us.”

His demeanour surprised Theresa. “What’s the matter, Grimloch? Where’s your excitement? You’re always excited before a tough fight.”

The sharkman growled. “Something’s different. Any predator in the sea’s gotta know when the tide’s changed. And the tide’s changed.”

His growl deepened as his black, doll-like eyes took in the land.

“There’s blood in the water.”

“So…” Thundar rumbled, his deep voice carrying over the high, summer wind. The minotaur was invisible as he, Alex, Claygon and Drestra flew above the countryside. Forests, rivers and fields sailed by far below. “Is the eye still pointing southeast?”

“Like iron drawn to a magnet,” Alex said, looking at the jar. He’d been holding the Eye-Finder when Drestra had cast invisibility magic on them, which made him the only one who could see the third eye and the direction it faced. “Directly southeast, and be ready to jump, I've almost recovered enough to go again.”

“Yes…father,” Claygon said.

The group of four had been travelling for some time now, alternating between flying and using Alex’s inner power to move them through space, eating away the miles. His strategy was to push forward until he burned away nearly half of his energies, then stop, letting them replenish before starting again.

He could have pressed himself harder, but that might have meant reaching Carey and Merzhin too drained to teleport anyone.

“Father…do you know…if we’re getting close?” Claygon asked.

“It’s hard to tell,” Alex said. “Professor Jules’ device can tell us what direction Carey’s in, but not how far she is. I just hope we get there soon.”

“Better we find her when there’s still plenty of light to work with,” Drestra’s voice crackled. “I can see in the dark, but many of our allies can’t.”

“Yeah,” Thundar said. “And we don’t have a clue if whatever we’re about to pick a fight with can see in the dark or not.”

Silence hung for a moment.

“Hey…Drestra, can I ask you something?” Thundar said, his voice growing quieter. “It’s something I’ve been wondering about.”

Another moment of silence.

“...go ahead,” the Sage said after a pause.

“You let people see your true form at Luthering, right?” he said. “I mean, all of us who were in Tenebrama with you already knew, but the Watchers weren’t there. Neither was Tyris. The deleo Alex brought from Generasi… Even the Ravener-spawn saw. So, I was surprised you decided to show your true self to everyone.”

The wind blowing past them was the only sound they heard at the moment.

“The situation we’re in is urgent,” Drestra’s voice crackled. “We need to do everything we can to get our people back. I don’t know Carey very well, but she seems to have a good heart and can control dungeon cores, and even if I didn’t care for her, no good could ever come from letting some enemy use her to make an army for them, or find a way to make dungeon cores more dangerous by experimenting on them. And…truth is, I don’t like Merzhin, but he doesn’t deserve to die somewhere alone.”

“So you decided to use your full power?” Thundar said.

“Yes. And I’m probably going to use it on whoever took them anyway, so better I did it early and make our lives easier.”

“Yeah,” Thundar said. “Makes sense. I’d do the same thing, if I was you. As a matter of fact, if I was a dragon, I don’t think I’d keep it a secret, no matter how much sense it made. I’d be a dragon every waking second or every day. It’s cool as hell and I couldn’t resist it. As a matter of fact, I’d use illusionary duplicates all the time just to show off my dragoness.”

After a startled moment, Drestra’s crackling laughter came from thin air. “Even at a time like this, you know what to say to make me laugh, Thundar.”

“Yeah…” the minotaur said. “Yeah…”

Another few heartbeats of silence.

“Listen, there’s something else I want to ask you, if you don’t mind,” the minotaur said.

“What is it?” Drestra asked.

“Look, I don’t know what’s about to happen,” Thundar rumbled. “Maybe Grimloch’s just got me nervous but…it kinda does feel like the winds are changing. So, I dunno, best to just put yourself out there before anything happens that you can’t recover from…and uh…do you like festivals?”

“...pardon?” Drestra asked.

“I mean…uh…exactly what I said, do you like going to festivals?” the minotaur asked.

“We don’t have many festivals in the Crymlyn…we do celebrate the spirits and the passing of winter to spring with a festival. I like those, but why?”

“Well, Generasi has a bunch of festivals,” the minotaur said. “Y’know, they’ve got like…good food…music and stuff like that. Some can be really good. Uh, I was wondering, if—if we’re all in one piece after this—if maybe we could, I dunno, go to a festival together or something. Just you and me?”

“...Thundar, are you asking me to step out with you?” Drestra asked.

“Well, uh, I mean…yeah, I guess. Look, you’re smart and you’ve got a good heart and I like your voice and you’ve got the most interesting eyes I’ve ever seen and I like the way you tell stories and—I dunno—maybe we could like…see how much time we’d like to spend together alone and—you know what? I’m gonna cringe myself to death if I keep talking—”

“No, don’t stop talking,” the Sage said. “I like listening to your voice too. Ever since you…supported me in Tenebrama…I’ve always liked listening to your voice. I’d…love to listen to it at a festival with you.”

“Good, uh, it’s a date, then,” Thundar said awkwardly. “Once we make it out of this…which is what everybody who’s about to die in all the stories always says.”

“You owe me some time stepping out together,” Drestra said firmly. “I’ll make sure you don’t die.”

“I think they say that too—” Thundar rumbled.

Suddenly, the third eye turned downward, looking toward an expanse of forest they were over.

“Hold up!” Alex hissed. “The eye’s shifting. We must be getting close!”

As he said those words, a wave of emotion surged from the aeld staff strapped to his back.

“Father…the staff…” Claygon said. “It says…this forest is familiar…this is where it came from…before the blue annis hags’ minions took it to Greymoor.”

“What?” the young wizard exclaimed. “Then we’ve—”

He felt something pass through his mind.

“I dunno, Alex,” Thundar grunted. “I’m thinking maybe you’re misreading the eye.”

“Yes,” Drestra said, a note of irritation in her voice. “We’re wasting time. Look. There’s nothing down there.”

Alex had the same thoughts that they did.

But he knew enough, having experienced the Mark for more than two years, to recognise interference.

Those thoughtswere definitely not his own.