Mark of the Fool
Chapter 687: Rockmoot

“It’s way too early for this,” Thundar grumbled, flying effortlessly through the early morning sky over Thameland. “Way too early.”

“The earlier the better,” Prince Khalik replied, Najyah was beside him. “The sooner this comes to an end, the sooner I shall be able to breathe easier.”

“You and me both, brother,” Alex said. “You and me both.”

Morning had found the delegation from Generasi leaving their castle in Greymoor as the sun barely crested the horizon and the night’s frost still clung to the fields.

The air was still, and the sky uncharacteristically clear. Despite a slight chill in the air that promised the coming of winter, the sun’s growing warmth seemed at odds with the time of year.

Its light beat down on the forests, fields, and rotting bodies scattered throughout them.

Ravener-spawn carcasses dotted Greymoor’s forests, strewn across fields and woodlands well past Generasi borders. Corpses—torn asunder by spell and steel—were left to rot where they fell.

The number of dead monsters scattered about the wilderness counted in the hundreds…but the sight of that much death was not unexpected. Ravener-spawn attacks were increasing, growing worse since the battle at Uldar’s Rise.

The monsters were ravaging Thameland, attacking soldiers and priests travelling across the land; Greymoor now seemed to be a favourite target. Hardly a day went by without the vicious creatures piercing its borders, only to be beaten back, or killed by Watchers of Roal and mercenaries manning Generasi’s outposts.

It was clear that something had happened to cause the Ravener to escalate.

But, Alex hoped that his people’s resolve would hold.

“Maybe we’ll be able to put our differences aside today,” the young wizard whispered, looking at the formation of flying wizards. “That is, if today doesn’t end with violence…but if it does, at least we’re prepared.”

Alex understood how understated his words were, considering that most members of the Generasi delegation around him didn’t only look like they were prepared for violence.

They looked more like they were prepared for outright war.

The young wizard was in the centre of a formation flanked by Professor Jules on one side, and Councillor Kartika on the other. The councilor was along as representative of the city council, while the alchemy professor represented Chancellor Baelin and the university.

Above them flew Alex’s cabal; Prince Khalik had Najyah beside him, with Isolde and Thundar on either side. His three cabal mates were armed and armoured for battle.

Below Alex was Theresa, Claygon and Brutus, the cerberus—despite having flight magic cast on him—was crouched on the iron golem’s broad back, refusing to look down.

Grimloch, clad in his powerful armour and gripping his deadly maul in one hand, soared behind.

‘I wish we could have brought some of Uldar’s gear from his armoury,’ Alex thought, looking at his friend’s equipment. ‘Everyone here has good weapons and armour, but nothing like what we found in his sanctum, that stuff was unique. But that also means it’d be easy to recognise by any priest who’s seen drawings of it in old records, and since we don’t need them asking a bunch of questions we don’t want to answer, maybe it’s better if it remains hidden, at least for now.’

He looked at the Watchers of Roal; dozens flew in a swarm, surrounding the delegation, their eyes constantly watching the ground. Among them were wizard-warriors, including an iron golem, and the leonine captain from city hall.

All were poised and ready for what might come, whether it be an attack from Ravener-spawn…

…or anything else.

The last member of their delegation was someone Professor Jues had insisted accompany them.

‘If we can’t have Baelin with us, then it is best we take another of the school’s more dangerous resources,’ she had said to Alex and Kartika the night before. ‘He is sworn to protect the school and its students, but…make no mistake, he is verydangerous.’

If someone didn’t know much about the university, they might have assumed Professor Jules was referring to a dragon or war golem that was attached to the school.

But, Alex knew better; there was only one entity she could have meant.

He remembered a conversation he’d had with Baelin when he was offered a place on the expedition.

The chancellor’s goat-like eyes had twinkled, then he’d snapped his fingers. “Now, there’s some paperwork I need to go through quickly, then I’ll need to get some signatures from you. If I do not, then I am fairly sure Hobb will kill me.”

Alex had snorted. “Like Hobb could kill you.”

Baelin had paused. “Let us just say that it is a good thing for the city that we have no reason to fight.”

He recalled the chill that had run down his spine as he’d imagined an apocalyptic battle between the ancient wizard and devil.

And now, that ancient devil was right there with them as they made their way to meet the king of Thameland…

The blue-skinned, horned devil—his clothes perfectly pressed and straightened—flew a little to the side, his monocle gleaming in the early morning sunlight. Registrar Hobb’s expression was a mask of calm, completely impenetrable.

From time to time, Alex watched him with concern; if Baelin was with them rather than Hobb and things turned bad with the Thameish delegation, he was fairly confident that Baelin would show them mercy…probably.

He had no such illusions about Hobb.

At the moment, his strongest memory of the registrar kept playing through his mind—the time he’d turned those demons that had invaded university property into a small mountain of ground meat.

If things went wrong with the Thameish delegation this morning, he hoped that the devil would show some restraint. Evenif the king did want him in chains, he didn’t want to see the king filleted.

And there were a lot of ways that things could go wrong.

‘By the Traveller, I can’t wait for this to be over,’ Alex thought, squinting ahead.

The fields and forests of his homeland spread out before them as he watched for a specific landmark; a circle of megalithic stones that had been used as a meeting place from the most ancient days of Thameland.

Rockmoot.

It was an area considered neutral ground by both parties—halfway between Greymoor and the capital of Ussex—with wide open skies and clear fields for miles around. With no forests to hide in, there’d be nowhere for assassins or armies to conceal themselves, minimising any chances of treachery.

Yet, Alex wasn’t naive enough to think that the day would pass by without at least one scheme being hatched.

The hidden church had been surprisingly quiet.

Too quiet.

And if he was the First Apostle, this meeting would be too tempting not to take advantage of, considering it was taking place so far from Greymoor.

He’d be stunned if the secret church didn’t try something.

‘Either way, we’ll find out soon enough,’ he thought.

Theresa pointed head. “There! Rockmoot’s just over there!”

Ahead, the woods fell away to a sea of green grass stretching out for miles. The terrain was flat, contrasting the rest of the hilly and forested landscape; the contrast was striking, even unnatural in some ways.

From what he’d learned about Rockmoot—when he was preparing for the meeting—the ancient Thameish chiefs had ordered their people to clear and excavate the nearby hills, resulting in land that was as flat as the surface of a tranquil sea.

At one time, the area would have been littered with tree stumps where the forest once stood…but now, there was only tall grass, perennial herbs and other plants swaying in the morning light.

A hill ascended from the sea of grass, and from that hill rose the megalithic stones marking Rockmoot; enormous rocks formed a circle on the hilltop, sitting like a stony crown atop its surface.

A painting in Uldar’s sanctum came to Alex’s mind, it depicted the god helping his people raise stones in what looked like the same formation.

Rockmoot wasn’t the only place in Thameland where a stone circle could be found, but he still wondered if this was the spot where Uldar had helped his followers all those centuries ago.

‘I might never know for certain,’ he thought as they approached the hill.

“Fan out!” Watcher Hill barked, leading her warriors at the head of the wizards’ formation. “Check the fields! I want to know if anything’s in that tall grass that shouldn’t be there. It seems we’ve arrived first, let’s not waste the advantage!”

“Guardians of the Hall,” Councillor Kartika said, her voice carrying to every ear within the wizards’ group. “Support the Watchers.”

“Come, let us join them,” Khalik said.

“Yeah, I’ll help—” Alex started to say.

“I think not,” Isolde cut him off. “You are likely the primary target of any enemies laying in wait. So, please, do not make their jobs any easier, Alex.”

“She’s right, you should stay with the Councillor, Registrar Hobb, and me,” Professor Jules said.

“Do not worry father…” Claygon said. “I’ll watch out for everyone who is scouting the area.”

“Same,” Grimloch rumbled.

“Just sit tight, Alex,” Theresa said.

The young wizard sighed. “I suppose that makes sense.”

The formation separated; most Watchers, wizard-warriors, and Alex’s companions spread out and landed, combing the area for signs of an ambush.

Thundar and six Watchers soon returned to the sky.

“We didn’t find anything out there,” the minotaur shouted, looking down. “I caught the stench of Ravener-spawn, but it’s old. Nothing living, except for maybe a few animals, has been around here in a long time.”

“Good to hear,” said Watcher Hill. “Let’s get to the stones.”

Professor Jules,Councillor Kartika, Hobb, Alex and a heavy guard of wizard-warriors and Watchers landed in the centre of the stone circle.

“You can see for miles from here,” Kartika observed, folding her six arms behind her back while gazing around the landscape.

“It’s defensible,” Watcher Hill said. “Anyone with bad intentions would have a hard time reaching this place with anysizable force without us seeing them.”

“In other words, a very good place for a meeting,” Alex commented.

“Hmmmm,” Hobb suddenly said, both hands clasped behind his back. The horned devil examined the standing stones. “I see.”

He didn’t elaborate.

“Registrar, do you detect mana underground, below the hill?” Professor Jules asked. “Anything that might indicate a dungeon? It would likely be mana that’s thick and unpleasant.”

Hobb cocked his head, raising an eyebrow.

“Aside from the mana staining everything in this land—which I assume belongs to this Ravener—there is nothing below us,” he announced. “Will the Thameish delegation arrive soon? I have paperwork waiting for me at school.”

Professor Jules checked the position of the sun. “They should be here soon.”

“I’ll go up and watch for them,” Theresa offered, flying to the top of a standing stone.

“Najyah will join you,” Prince Khalik said.

Ruffling her feathers, his familiar spread her wings and soared into the sky, circling higher and higher above the hilltop.

An abrupt gust of wind filled the air with a sudden chill.

Alex gripped his staff as the aeld emanated apprehension.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “We’ll be okay.”

Of course, he couldn’t know that for sure.

But, he was hopeful.

Time passed, the Generasians waited, taking up positions against the stones. Hobb conjured some comfortable chairs, arranging them in the centre of the circle, and the Councillor, humming softly to herself, gladly took a seat.

The others were much too tense to consider sitting down.

‘Are you…ready…father?’ Claygon asked in Alex’s mind.

‘Maybe?’ he replied. ‘It’s not everyday you meet your king.’

‘But…he is only partly your king now…’ Claygon thought. ‘Did you…remember your proof of citizenship…father?’

‘It’s right here,’ Alex tapped his satchel.

The bag contained a waxed leather container that held a document stating that he was now a legal citizen of Generasi, with all of the rights, responsibilities and protections that entailed.

He could hardly believe it.

There were a number of benefits that came with citizenship—most he hadn’t had time to consider yet, but for the time being, the key one he was interested in was that he could show King Merciex that…he was not entirely his subject any longer.

The full legal ramifications of this new situation weren't clear yet, but—for now—he hoped the document would restrain King Merciex from being too eager to claim him.

‘I have it,’ Alex thought.

“Be ready!” Khalik suddenly shouted, startling the delegation. His eyes were unfocused. “Najyah sees an army coming this way with banners flying high, some bear the symbol of Uldar. She also sees a man with a crown among them.”

“This is it then,” Professor Jules said solemnly.

“Hold now,” the prince paused. “She sees…oh. The Heroes are with the king.”