Mark of the Fool

Chapter 689: Heroes, Devils and a King

Under the Regulations of the University of Generasi, all students of the school will have the freedom to attendas long as they are of sound mind, pay tuition and follow both university regulations and Generasian lawuntil such time as they graduate or withdraw under their own will. Your god is not a Generasian authority, and therefore your forcible removal of a student from their studies not only breaks university regulation

Hobb took a step toward the High Priest.

The scent of brimstone rose into the air.

The devils eyes glowed like hellfire. ...but, would shatter it. And Ias the Registrar of the University of Generasi per the pact between myself and one Chancellor Baelinwill not allow anyone to ruin my ledger.

Knights surrounding the king bristled, as many hands reached for sword blades.

Registrar! Professor Jules cried. There is no need for threats.

It is important to establish the parameters of any negotiation, the registrar said. Otherwise, one might get the impression that certain things are negotiablethat are not. For example, say that you decided to offer Alex Roth to King Athelstan in order to quickly broker peace. If Alex did not consent to this, then I would be forced to step in. The deal you made would be nullified by my need to fulfil the bargain struck between me and the chancellor, which would cause unnecessary grief to both you, and this king.

Then you do not bargain in good faith! the High Priest shouted.

Neither do you, Alex countered. Your excellency, you came to bargain with another state, but if youre just going to cite divine law as an excuse to do whatever you want, then this isnt really bargaining, is it?

Ah, from the mouths of babes, Councillor Kartika said lightly. He is correct. I think we both came here with no intention of letting go of what we want.

It would seem that way, the king sighed, pressing his fingers to his temples. He squeezed his eyes shut. I do not want to do battle with Generasi.

And I dont want to do battle with Thameland, the councillor agreed.

So then, how are we to resolve this? King Athelstan asked. This devil will not let Mr. Roth come to us unless he consents to surrendering himself. Our god will not allow us to simply overlook the Fools desertion.

WIth respect, your majesty, Prince Khalik suddenly said. You are bound by the law of the divine, but you also have the divine right of rulership; in the absence of Uldar, you are his delegate. Your word is law in his eyes, by my understanding. If this were not the case, then no monarch who rules by nature of divine right could make any decisions unless they ask permission from their deity. Your deity has not spoken or given any sign on this matter, so you would have freedom to decide as you wish in relation to Alex. And, he is not necessary for the other Heroes to succeed in their task.

Your majesty, the Heroes of Thameland have slain the Ravener without the Fool in the past, have they not? Isolde added. Is Alexs presence truly necessary for your victory? I ask this with respect.

The king looked at them both. You two speak as though you have dealt with matters of this scale beforewhich makes me wonder just who you all are. But, there is also precedent to consider. It is true that other Heroes have defeated the Ravener without the Fool by way of necessity. Their Fool had either died or disappeared, unable to be recovered. I cannot just let the Fool go when he is standing in front of me; in future cycles, what message would that send? No, he must fulfil Uldars divine duty.

Your majesty, Alex said, moving beside Hobb. I am fulfilling my duty. I fight Ravener-spawn, delve dungeons and research the Raveners end. I support my kingdom; I havent run off just to drink wine and eat grapes all day. But, I did things in my own way, sire. I am most useful where I am.

The kingnow forced to listen to Alexlooked at him with more consideration.

Tension hung heavy in the airthe young wizard doubted that most in the kings delegation had expected him to be present, or for the Generasians to put up such a fight to keep himand the threat of violence seemed close.

He watched the soldiers eyeing Claygon, the other iron golem, and Grimloch, as though considering their chances against them.

From their demeanour, the answer seemed to be that they would fight, but they wouldnt like it. Alex could sympathise; he wouldnt want to fight them either.

Your majesty, Court Wizard Errol suddenly said. You could always have the other Heroes bring the Fool home.

Surely our young Heroes would make short work of this devil, the High Priest said derisively.

I am not so certain that things would be that easy, Errol looked at Hobb closely.

The devil simply smiled back.

But, I do know this, he looked at Professor Jules and Councillor Kartika. We have good relations with each other, and I am sure you want to preserve those relations in the current state. I know, I certainly do. I wont pretend to be a master of devil summoning, but I know enough to recognise just how powerful that individual with you is. But our Heroes are also powerful, and theyve been working with your expedition to grow stronger. If we come to blows, a lot of people, on both sides, will die.

His focus turned to Alex. If you are as dedicated to Thameland as you say you are, young Holy Fool, then you will come with us willingly. You are both a subject of Thameland and Generasi; both sides have reason to come to blows over you. If that happens, then it is likely that many of usincluding the people who have come here to argue on your behalfwill die. Some of the Heroes could die as well.

Preposterous! High Priest Tobias said.

Tobias, it is possible. There are devils around who can be devastating even to Uldars Heroes. But I do not think this devil is so powerful that such a fight would be free of casualtiesespecially now that we know of the secret the Sage was keeping.

The court wizard glanced at Drestra, who refused to look at him.

Ive been talking for too long: Alexander, you must come with us, willingly, the court wizard said. If you do not, then the battle that results could not only cost you your life, but also the lives of those willing to protect you.

King Athelstan looked at Errol, his eyebrows rising in respect. Impressive.

Alex glared at the old wizard, his teeth grinding.

It was a threat, and not a terrible one.

Butno matter what happenedhe could not allow himself to be taken. Not now. Not after all hed gone throughunless

I could go with them, he thought. And simply teleport away. Then theyll only have reason to blame me, not Generasi. Butwhat happens if therere secret church members hidden among them? If that Third Apostle is with the kings army then I could be dead before we even lose sight of the hill. No, Ill need another plan

Before he could say anything, Cedric cleared his throat.

Ah, jus one wee problem wit your fancy plan there, Errol, the Chosen said, stepping forward to stand beside the court wizard. He held up his left handcovered in the morphic weapon in gauntlet formand wiggled his fingers. I sure as shite aint battlin Alex.

Hah! I was wondering when we were going to jump in. Hart stepped forward to stand beside Cedric. Too much standing around; so Ill just make what I say simple and quick. Im not fighting the Fool, king. No way.

That goes for me as well, Drestra walked up beside the Champion and Chosen. You invited us here to support you, but the only reason I fight in this war is to destroy the Ravener. I will not throw spells at the very people whove been helping us.

Her reptilian eyes outright glared at Tobias. Those whove been helping us more than any priest has at home.

How dare you? Tobias cried, looking at Merzhin. What does the Holy Saint have to say?

Every eye fell on Merzhin.

This was his moment of truth.

The smallest Hero looked around anxiously, biting his lip. His arms hugged himself, and he resembled a drowning sailor desperately seeking a raft to cling to.

He shifted his weight back and forth from foot to foot.

Then, with a groan, he looked skyward.

Guide me, he whispered, coming up beside the other Heroes. He bowed to the king and the High Priest. Forgive us, your excellency and your majesty. I do not believe that capturing the Holy Foo he paused. that capturing Alex would be in our, or Thamelands best interest.

Merzhin looked at Alex. Hes been doing good work in Generasi, generating knowledge that will help end this war forevermore. We cannot risk him by taking him into battle. With his research lost, we could lose our chance to defeat our great enemy permanently.

Aye, hes been aidin us. Cedric clapped Merzhin on the shoulder. He didn tell no lies about helpin us.

In a way, hes already fulfilling his holy duty in a manner more useful than if we had taken him with us into the field, the Saint said. I beseech you, kind king, let him continue. Maybe this path is the one that will truly save us.

And maybe this was Uldars will, Drestra said, knowing better.

I the court wizard began speaking.

Hold now. King Athelstan held up his hand. You speak as though you have known of Alex Roths true identity for some time.

Silence followed.

The kings eyes bore into the Heroes. Did you know of him?

Aye, Cedric finally said.

The kings eyes hardened. How long?

Long enough, Hart said.

What does that mean? When exactly did you learn of him?

We knew when we needed to know, Harts voice rumbled. Your majesty, he added after a bit.

Its as they say, your majesty, Alex bowed his head. Ive been working with them in my own way, and Im going to disagree a bit with Merzhin; I can now protect myself on the battlefield. Ive had to work hard to find ways to defeat my enemies, but I found them. But, your majesty, I need to be able to research and do battle against the Ravener-spawn. I cant just follow the Heroes around, setting up camps for them and cooking their food. Ive made myself into more than what people like Galloway and others think the Fool is. Please, let me be more. Thats the thing, I never did desert Thameland; I retreated to find my own way to fight. My own battle to fight. He pressed a hand to his chest. And now I have found that way. Im going to continue fighting that way until the Ravener is destroyed.

He looked at the court wizard next. Court wizard, why fight for something thats worse than what you already have? I am helping out in the war effort. I am already helping the Heroes, and I am serving my purposenot in the way that everyone else has said I shouldbut in a better way. Even if the Heroes agreed to fight me, would you throw away so many lives just to have me be less useful to Thameland? Im not some village dullard who Uldar stamped with a jesters face. Im not a coward or a sneak thief. Im not some piece of trash.

The divine plan of Uldar dictates you must be with the Heroes Tobias Jay insisted, though Alex could see something shifting in his body language; the old priest was wavering.

The change had started the moment the Saint spoke, now the words of the Heroes seemed to be pressing uncertainty into his mind.

It does, Alex said. And am I not with the Heroes? I have fought beside them on the battlefield as well as supporting them in my role at the university and the Research Castle. My friends and I have shed blood and bled to help Thameland. How can I be any closer to the Heroes than this? And what would Uldar h the young wizard paused, coming close to referring to the god in the past tense. what would Uldar want? Hed want to end the war, wouldnt he? Hed want the Ravener gone forever.

Alex looked at the king. So what do you say, your majesty? Youre the vassal of Uldar and the ruler of his kingdom. What will you do?