Mark of the Fool
Chapter 675: The Cabal's Gathering with the Fool

Prince Khalik Behr-Medr’s villa suited him perfectly.

Peeking from behind a stone wall was an older grey building situated near the southern wall, standing at the end of a quiet boulevard on a hill, offering its occupant a fine view of much of the district. A copper roof—long turned green—capped rough walls thick with ivy.

Alex stepped through the open gate and was greeted by gardens abundant with shrubs, grapevines, fruit trees, patches of fragrant herbs, and flowers. A magical fountain sprayed jets of water high in the air, twisting it into a whirling column of droplets that swirled back into the basin, and repeated.

Every plant in the garden was perfect, not a blemish anywhere to be seen. The young wizard paused, recognising Professor Salinger’s techniques from the look and composition of the soil, techniques he wasn’t sure he’d be using anytime soon, but for an earth mage like Khalik, they were key.

Hummingbirds flitted from bloom to bloom, dipping long beaks into nectar, as a trio of frogs croaked below the fountain’s edge. Alex made his way to a courtyard ringed by a low inner wall enclosing outbuildings, more gardens, and the main house. He looked behind him. Lining the top of the outer wall like a row of gargoyles, a flock of crows had gathered, giving the peaceful scene an ominous turn.

“Omens of doom and gloom are kinda fitting right now,” Alex muttered to himself, his hand reaching for the door knocker.

A piercing screech startled him.

Something blurred by, striking the ground.

He yelped, instinctively raising his staff.

Had the church found him? Did they send an assassin? Were they here to ambush him in front of his friend’s house?

No.

The only assassin around was Najyah, here killing his already tightly wound nerves. She clutched a freshly caught hare in her claws, keeping it pinned to the ground as it struggled to get away. The eagle turned her head to glare at Alex as if daring him to approach her meal. Her back arched as she fixed him with a cold gaze, then abruptly turned away, totally disinterested.

“Bloody bird,” the young wizard swore, “you scared me—”

Suddenly, the front doors burst open, revealing a certain muscular prince standing in the entranceway. He looked bewildered. “Alex, I did not expect you to be here so soon. I heard someone scream and thought Najyah was chasing off some intruder. Thank the gods it was you. Come in. Come in.”

The prince waved him inside, barring the door behind him.

“You will have to forgive me; I would have gotten some proper food, but this meeting happened so suddenly.” Khalik pointed to a spread of fresh fruit, vegetables and cheeses on the table. “This is all I had time to prepare.”

“Hey, man, it feels wild to me that I’m about to eat anything prepared by a prince.” Alex took a seat at the table, noting it was set for four.

“It is a ‘privilege’ few will ever experience.” Khalik grinned, sitting across from him. “But, in truth, few royals in Tekezash can actually cook.” He laughed, but the laughter did not reach his eyes.

It soon faded. “Isolde and Thundar should be here shortly.”

“That’s good,” Alex said.

“Do you wish to talk before they arrive? Are you well?” the prince said.

“No, man, not at all,” Alex said grimly, reaching for some grapes. “I’m bloody tired. Part of me wishes I could teleport to Thameland right now and slap those bastards in their nasty faces. Another part wishes I had more time. I’m trying to hold it together, but…ugh, my mind’s all over the place.”

“Mine would be too,” the prince started to say. “When I—”

There was a knock at the door.

Both young men slowly looked at it.

“Oi! It’s Thundar! Isolde’s right behind me—she’s paying the sky- gondolier—let us in,” the minotaur’s deep voice boomed.

The prince and wizard breathed a sigh of relief, and Khalik stood up, going to the door.

Alex fought a moment of panic, remembering how the clawed hunters mimicked voices. He was already standing up when the prince unlocked the door, revealing a very worried looking minotaur on the other side.

Behind him, Isolde had left the sky-gondolier just beyond Khalik’s outer gate, she was jogging toward the minotaur.

“We are here,” she said, giving Thundar a stern look. “You could have contributed to the gondolier’s fee.”

“You’re rich,” the minotaur fired back.

“Yes, well now so are you, cheap son of Gulbiff!” Isolde snapped, stepping inside. Khalik closed the door behind them, barring it.

“Not as rich as you,” Thundar said simply, taking a seat at the table. “But uh, you know what, I’ll get you next time. Besides, Alex should’ve just teleported us here, ain’t that right, Alex?”

The minotaur grinned at the young, Thameish wizard.

But Alex’s smile was tight. Forced.

Thundar’s grin quickly vanished as Isolde took her seat at the table.

The cabal was together again.

Silence fell.

Isolde glanced at Thundar, then cleared her throat. “Your message, Alex…would…you care to give us more details.”

And so he did, telling them everything Professor Jules had told him, her concerns about all of it, and what they were planning.

The cabal took it all in, silently, grimly.

None of them took even a sliver of food from the table, only listening as Alex explained what the church had planned to do, and what Professor Jules’ and his response was going to be.

He also told them about wanting to meet with Kartika, and how that meeting would likely decide his fate.

When he was through, Khalik nodded gravely. “So, at last, it has come to this.” He looked at Alex. “When you first told me your secret, I knew that a day would come when we would need to defend that secret. Defend it, and you.”

“And now that time has come,” Isolde said, shaking her head. “At the time you told me, it seemed like such a small distant, thing.” She gave a bitter laugh. “The thing that I was most focused on then was how the Mark affected your ability in your studies. I was relieved when I learned that you had not simply overtaken me in terms of intelligence and work ethic. Now? Such thoughts seem irrelevant.”

“I hear you,” Alex said. “Honestly, marks, tests, assignments…that all feels so small now.”

“Which is ironic, since they’re gonna affect our future,” Thundar added.

“I would not be so sure,” Isolde said. “My grandfather told me that the reason to achieve high marks is twofold: one for pride and prestige in school, and the other to demonstrate that you have properly absorbed the material. Wizardry is too dangerous to learn in half measures. We must know it well and cold. But—” She winced. “—and I cannot believe I am the one stating this, but he admitted that individual marks achieved during our university career will not help us much in life. How did he put it…”

She drew herself up, her voice dropping low and deep. “Isolde, the number on any paper you achieve will seem like the end of the world to you. Exceptional success will feel like life, while moderate success will feel like crushing failure. But, Isolde, in even as short a time span as five years after you complete your final studies—graduate level, of course, you are a Von Amnut—you will not even remember those numbers and sometimes you might catch yourself wondering why you worried about them at all. After all, no monarch will be interested in what your grade was in Magic Theory when they are selecting a court wizard. Any army you join will not demand your grade for your third year assignment in battle magic, and no entity that you conjure will ask for your final grade in your summoning assignment.”

Isolde took a deep breath, tapping the side of her head. “Then he tapped his temple and finished with: “However, that king will ask you to demonstrate your mightiest magics, and if you wreck yourself with a mana reversal, then it will be the end of your path through magic. An army will demand your greatest battle magics and—if you do not know them well—you will ensure that soldiers fighting on your side die. And die terribly. And lastly, while a demon or devil will have no interest in your final summoning grade, they will be very interested in the flaws introduced into your summoning circle by sloppy work. In short, competence, confidence, and knowledge gained from your training will matter all your life. The numbers on a piece of parchment? They will be worth less than the ink used to write them.”

Thundar gaped at Isolde. “Are you…feeling okay, there?”

“Have you taken ill?” Khalik asked.

“Do you need to lie down?” Alex said. “Are you a mana vampire pretending—badly—that you’re Isolde?”

“Honestly, I feel the same as you; at the time, my grandfather’s words seemed completely misguided. I had thought them out of touch and that marks were of the utmost importance. But are they?” she said. “I am not so sure. Look at what Alex has achieved: in your businesses, have any of your prospective clients asked you about your marks?”

“No,” Alex admitted.

“My potential academic supervisors for my graduate studies are interested in my marks—which are still essentially perfect, I might add,” she sniffed. “But they show more interest in my interests, the research I have performed on the expedition, my battle experience, my relationship with Baelin, and even my connection to my grandfather…my marks seem almost secondary. And now, here we are, speaking of the apocalyptic coming of the church of a dead god. It makes all talk of marks seem rather frivolous.”

“I hear you,” Prince Khalik said.

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “At this point, if it wasn’t for the Mark’s downsides, I might be able to challenge the Exam for Credit for every single class I have, then graduate at the same time as Isolde.”

“Show off,” Thundar grunted.

“Thundar, my brother, your girlfriend is a dragon,” Prince Khalik said pointedly. “You do not get to call anyone a show off. Ever again.”

“A dragon slayer,” Isolde said. “But without the ‘s’.”

“Isolde!” Thundar gasped. “Look, we’ve been on one date! We just….come on, don’t make this weird! And—wait, how are you the one making that joke?”

Her smile was evil. “Thundar. Remember all of the hell you and everyone else gave me over Cedric?” Cold blue eyes turned toward Alex and Khalik. “You will all feel my wrath in time. But, we are getting distracted. Alex, tell us your thoughts.”

The young, Thameish wizard blew his breath out. “Look, thanks for lightening the situation up. I kinda needed to hear some normal conversation right now, and well, I’m worried about the future, to be honest. Things should be alright, but who knows how Councillor Kartika will react. And she’s a big deal; if she decides I need to be handed over to preserve relations with Thameland, then that’s it for me.”

“I would hope not,” Khalik said. “But I could see it. Monarchs and nobles will—at times—capture fugitives from outside their realm, if they are important enough; surrendering them to their pursuers can meanhaving a debt owed to them. Perhaps Generasi will want Thameland to owe them.”

“Thameland already owes Generasi a lot,” Alex said. “But…ugh, yeah, maybe the council will want to give me up in return for exclusive harvesting rights to dungeon cores.”

“Yeah, ‘specially if people here start turning against you,” Thundar growled. “They might blame you for shit you never did. Like, you know, for all those people who died trying to harvest dungeon cores in Thameland? Maybe they’ll blame you for that.”

“Really? Why—Oh,’ Alex groaned, catching the minotaur’s logic. “If I hadn’t discovered the dungeon core essence, or never showed it to Baelin and Professor Jules, then there never would have been a dungeon core rush. Those folk would still be alive. In a twisted way, I get it.”

“Even my cousin might take issue with you,” Isolde said grimly. “The attack on his villa was by Ravener-spawn, after all. I could see how he might blame you for putting his family and guests in danger. Come to think of it, his guests might blame you as well.”

Alex felt something wither inside himself.

He slowly met Isolde’s gaze. “And what about you? Do you blame me for the attack?”

Isolde looked at him carefully, then sighed, blowing black bangs away from her eyes. “I shall be honest with you. Under slightly different circumstances? Yes. Yes I absolutely would.”