Mark of the Fool
Chapter 674: Desiring a Confrontation

“In turn, I have a question for you,” Professor Jules said, stepping away from Alex and meeting his eyes. “Could you answer mine first?”

“Of course,” Alex agreed readily.

“Have you taken leave of what little sense you have left?” she shouted, startling him. “I swear that old goat has completely ruined your mind, Mr. Roth! In all the long and miserable history of terrible ideas, this is quite possibly one of the worst I’ve ever heard—and trust me—that is a feat.”

“Oh jeez, well, why don’t you tell me how you really feel, professor,” Alex’s tone bled sarcasm. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“On what planet?” she demanded, her voice dropping low. “On what plane, the plane of foolhardy jackasses?”

“Okay, okay, I think that’s going a little far, now,” he huffed.

“Is it? Is it truly, Mr. Roth?” she said. “Have I not mentioned the army that was waiting in ambush to drag you away in chains?”

“You did—”

“Then why are you asking if you can attend that meeting?” she said. “Listen, to me; they feel entitled to you. They feel as entitled to your life as I do to a-a—” She stuttered, searching for a word. “—as I do my own shoes! They just want to walk over you and not give a single damn as to what you want. They don’t care about your life, your responsibilities, your family, the great things you do, all they care about is that stupid, nonsensical, dogmatic plan of a treacherous, dead god!”

Her words—spoken with rising volume—dropped to a whisper when she mentioned Uldar, and in those whispered tones, she continued, sounding like a hissing, angry serpent. “They’re not going to play fair, no matter what boundaries we put on the meeting; after all, what are the needs of mortals compared to the laws and deranged plans of their precious deity? Listen, if they find an opportunity to grab you, they will. We cannot trust them; those priests might be acting as diplomats, but they have no interest in rational diplomacy.”

The professor’s face blazed bright red, and her passion blazed equally as hot, surprising Alex. He could count few occasions where he’d seen his alchemy professor so angry.

“To them: you have a duty, and that duty is one that trumps all words, actions or commitments,” she finished. “So no. I do not think you should be at the meeting.”

Alex swallowed. “I hear you, professor, I honestly do; you want to keep me safe. You’ve given me a lot of freedom in the expedition, but you don’t want me to walk into such an obvious trap. Is that right?”

He shifted his voice so that it was soft, slow, and less threatening. He bent his knees ever so slightly, slumped down and rounded his shoulders, releasing some of the air from his chest.

The hulking wizard, Alex Roth, visibly shrunk, displaying a calm, even demeanour to his professor, relaxing her.

“Yes, Mr. Roth. That is exactly right. But, if you are astute enough to grasp the reason for my words so thoroughly, then why would you even suggest such an action?”

“Because I want to plead my case in person,” Alex said slowly, putting all the sincerity he could into his voice, pain tinged his tone. “Professor, for over two years, I’ve been waiting for this sword to drop on my head. Everyday, it’s been hanging there, and now it’s finally coming down. I want the chance to say my piece: I’m tired of other people telling me what the Fool is. Uldar, the crown, the church, my people…all of them act like they know what I am. And I use ‘what’ on purpose. Because they see me as a ‘what’. Not a ‘who.’”

He straightened back up to his full height, shoulders expanding, chest swelling. The young Hero of Thameland pressed a palm over his heart. “Because that’s the problem: they all see me as a what. I’m half-convinced Uldar saw all of us as a what. I know I have plenty of people here who support me: you, Baelin, my cabal, Mr. and Mrs. Lu, my friends, my family…they all know the ‘who’ of Alexander Roth. But for once? I want those bastards who want to put me in chains to know who the hells I am.”

Words spilled from Alex’s mouth, words he didn’t even know he had in him. “I have nothing against the king, and—hells—even most of the priests of Uldar I’ve met aren’t evil, they’re just misguided. I want the chance to tell them what I’ve done for the war effort, and how valuable I am to it.”

“The misguided can still harm, Mr. Roth,” Professor Jules said, her voice growing strained. “You know who was also misguided? Amir. Yet he caused more harm to Generasi in mere months—by helping his filthy, demon worshipping friend—than most of our city’s enemies had in entire lifetimes. One could say even his demon summoning scummy friend was misguided in his own way. But he still harmed others, all the same. These misguided priests will harm you; you need not be the one to save them.”

Suddenly, Alex began to laugh.

His laughter rolled from his lips, growing in volume until it echoed through the office. He doubled over, hands on his knees, barely supporting himself.

Professor Jules looked at him like he’d gone completely mad.

Alex held up a hand, shaking his head. “Give…me…a second…”

When his laughter finally died, he looked at her with a broad smile. “Oh, I know that, professor. I’ve got no interest in saving them—” He paused, thinking over his next words. The young man examined his own thoughts and emotions. “—actually, I do want them saved. The true bastard in all of this is Uldar, not them…really. Another monster is that First Apostle…basically the entire hidden church. They’re all pure evil, every last one of them, but I think the rest might deserve some guidance, at least. But I’m not the one who should be interested in guiding them—not when they’re trying to get me killed. No, what I’m suggesting is for me. I want to explain my accomplishments. I want to explain what they’ll be losing for the war effort and the future, if they chain me up like a dog.”

Professor Jules sighed. “I’ve already explained that to them, Mr. Roth. It’s no use.”

He shook his head. “It ‘ll have more impact if it comes from me.”

The professor raised an eyebrow.

“Let me explain; they see me as this cowardly deserter. They see me as this useless Fool who ran from his rightful duty in order to save himself. They see me as someone afraid to face them, right? Well, what happens when I do face them? When I walk up to them—head held high—and tell them from my own lips, who I am. That’s not exactly the move of a cowardly deserter. And even if High Priest Tobias doesn’t change his mind about me? Then maybe the king will. If not him, then maybe his nobles. Maybe the court wizard. Or the soldiers. As long as I can plant some seeds of doubt in their minds, we could see their perception shift in our favour. And that can only help us.”

Professor Jules’ eyebrows knitted together. “That is not even a hypothesis, Mr. Roth. That’s just supposition.”

“It’s experience.” Alex tapped his right shoulder. “For one: the Mark of the Fool has taught me a lot about how to change people’s minds and how to read them. Look at Merzhin: he was about as fanatical as fanatics come. If you or I had told him about the church’s nasty secrets, he wouldn’t have believed us. But you know what changed his mind?”

Alex pointed to a painting on Jules’ wall depicting a beautiful garden filled with butterflies. “Seeing the difference between what was real, and what was no more than an image in his mind; he couldn’t deny what the hidden priests did to Carey. And because of that? The image of the church—the one in his mind—completely changed because of their actions. What if the Fool appears before the king and priests and he breaks the image they have in their minds. I think it’s worth a try; anything that might get them to change their minds, even a little. The more we make them question, the less likely they are to come after me, and—with any hope—they’ll have a better chance of seeing things differently, making it easier for everyone when they eventually find out the truth about Uldar…well, if they do.”

“They will capture you anyway, Mr. Roth,” Professor Jules warned. “No matter what you say to them.”

“Then I’ll just teleport away. As many times as I have to.” To illustrate his point he teleported across Professor Jules’ office and back, startling the alchemist. “It’ll be a display of power, one that’ll show the king and the High Priest how futile trying to catch me would be.”

“And what if the hidden church is there?” Professor Jules pointed out. “The First Apostle sounds very old and dangerous. I would be shocked if he is not currently trying to create a way to pen you in—teleportation or not.”

“That’s not as easy as it sounds; Hannah’s power is…well, powerful. And more importantly.” He rubbed his hands together like he was anticipating a delicious meal. “If we bring along a powerful enough force with us, then we’ll be able to stop them; try to capture me and get crushed right then and there.”

“If only we would be so lucky,” Professor Jules said grimly. “Hmmmm, a powerful force…the First Apostle and Third Aposte alone sound like monstrous opponents with well-trained strike forces…possible Ravener-spawn support. We would need to have our own exceptionally powerful force, or risk casualties in any battle that they would gladly blame us for. Hmmmm, that means a sizable force of Watchers. Maybe Gemini herself…perhaps Professor Mangal could summon something nasty. Hm, if only Baelin were here; this would be so simple. He would be our most powerful resource. Nothing else comes clo—”

She paused, a deep frown crossing her features.

Alex could see her thinking long and hard.

“What do you have in mind?” Alex asked.

“A thought, but it could be nothing,” she said.

“Anything I could help with?” he asked.

“No, actually. Trust me: it would be better if you’re not involved. It would be better if as few people as possible were involved…but, it could work. I am going to try something, Mr. Roth, and if it works, we will have a shocking amount of strength with which to crush the hidden church or anyone fond of ambushes. Seeing as I’m not sure whether or not it can be done, I’ll keep the idea to myself for the moment.”

Alex was about to say something else, but the words died on his lips. He knew better. “Fine, I’m going to trust you.”

She smiled weakly. “Thank you, Mr. Roth. Fine, then, I shall trust you as well. If you want to come to the meeting, then do so. But please…you must be careful.”

“I promise I will, professor,” Alex said.

“No, listen to me.” She looked at him solemnly. “You must take care of yourself, Mr. Roth. Don’t become another Miss London; I could not stand it. So, please, don’t do that to me. Are we clear?”

“Yes, we’re clear,” Alex said. “And I won’t do that to you, professor.”

“Good, then I’ll arrange the meeting with Councillor Kartika as quickly as possible,” she said. “What will you do?”

“I have to tell my friends what’s happened,” he said. “They deserve to know and we’ll have to get ready for whatever’s coming.”

She looked at him gravely. “Tell them to take care of themselves as well. I do not want any of their lives on my conscience.”

“I’ll tell them, professor.” He lowered his head. “I’ll tell them. I’ll see if I can meet up with them at Khalik’s place”

“Good; keep me informed of where you are so I can send you a message as the situation develops. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go prepare…possibly for war.”