Mark of the Fool

Chapter 695: A Lesson on Terminal Velocity...and Lying

Alex Roth had entered the trading post of Turksini, knowing two things were guaranteed.

The first was that any locals he met there would be hardened frontier folk who would see him as a foreignwhich meant badgreedy, young merchant hunter who was way out of his depth in their land.

So, hed reinforced that image by sounding greedy, desperate, nervous and inept the entire time he was in the trading post, inviting disdain. His act had drawn scorn from Old Illianaand the hunters and trappersright up until the moment hed pulled out his gold.

That was where the second guarantee came in:

Basic mortal greed.

When hed paid Old Illiana, hed made it a point to flash his coin pouch, giving a glimpse of its contents to every ruffian and hunter in the place. Hungry looks started immediately, and the old woman had become very interested in seeing Alex, Theresa and Brutus join some of the local hunters.

When hed refused her suggestion, he knew that when they left the trading post, theyd be tracked.

And sure enough, hed been right.

He smiled, looking back at the obvious tracks theyd conveniently left in the snow. Looks like they took the bait.

Bait? Theresa asked.

Alex quickly explained. now we have a better chance of getting some proper directions. How far are they behind us? he whispered.

Theresas eyes narrowed. About three hundred paces. Theyre moving slow and quietI cant see them yet. Theyre using the trees for cover.

Right, Alex said. Lets lure them a bit further away from town. Tell me if they start closing the distance.

I will, she promised.

The young wizard mentally reached out to Claygon. Buddy, were about to have trouble. Be ready, and make sure youve got a good grip on my staff.

Yesfather

Theresa, Alex and Brutus continued walking along the snowy trail, their boots crunching through drifts. Trees creaked, frigid winds blew, and the calls of beastsand other creaturesechoed through the woods.

Theresa was silent, her head slightly cocked.

One of Brutus heads looked behind, his nostrils flaring.

Alex reached for the power within.

An hour passed.

Theyre closing, Theresa said. Theyre probably trying to manoeuvre themselves into bow shot.

Righttell me when theyre a hundred paces away.

The huntress listened intently.

Trees thinned. Snow-filled meadows broke the treeline. Blackened pinesseared by past forest firesloomed, leaving clear spots for an archer.

Ahead, he spotted a tree larger than the rest, resembling a withered old man.

A hundred paces, Theresa said.

Where are they exactly? Alex pretended to stretch, glancing back toward the treeline.

He saw no one.

Third tree to the right of the woodcutters path, the one with all the lichen, Theresa whispered. Her lips hardly moved. Two there, the other three are hidden and spread out.

Got it, be right back.

Should I shoot them?

Not all.

Got it. Her hand reached for her bow.

Alex teleported, the forest disappeared.

A rocky outcropping beside a fjord manifested; a snowpile rose before him, revealing Claygon.

Ready, father The golem handed the young wizard his staff.

Good. Alex touched his chest, finding it surprisingly warm.

Suddenly, he was surrounded by cries of pain and cursing voices. Nearby, five living hunters had been reduced to three; two splayed on the ground with arrows protruding from their throats.

A third desperately grappled with the now horse-sized and bone-sheathed Brutus.

The bandit was not winning that fight.

Screaming, the last two were trying to escape.

Ones bow was drawn; she fumbled with an arrow.

The other was panicking, trying to string his bow.

Crush the one trying to shoot Theresa, Alex thought.

The golem took a step forward.

His fist swung out, striking the hunter.

Both the woman and tree she hid behind were fused together.

The hard way.

A grinning Alex materialised beside the man struggling with his bowstring. Lets talk, shall we?

He teleported a mile.

Straight up.

Grasping the screaming mans wrist, he floated far above the forest, keeping the hunter at arms length.

Agh! Whats happening? Whats happening? The mans eyes rolled in panic.

Ill make this short, Alex said, his voice as cold and hard as steel. You tried to kill my fiancee, which makes me really, really want to drop you.

The would-be bandit trembled while the powerful wizard eyed the forest floor. Ah, I can see youre finding it a bit chilly up here; well youre certainly well dressed for the season, but the colds got a stronger bite this high up

As he spoke, a sudden gust of wind blew. well, will you look at that, it seems the winds stronger, too! Huh, I dont think youll last too long up here, friend.

P-please, the mans teeth were chattering. S-spare me, t-take me back down! I beg of you.

Oh, so you can kill us and rob our dead bodies of our coin? Alex wagged a finger in front of the mans face. I dontwhoa!

The man scrambled for the knife on his belt, fumbling it free of its sheath.

Oh dear, Alex said lightly.

With a strangled cry, the hunter swung the blade.

The aeld staff flared.

Call Through Ice took form, the portal opening in front of the blade. Yelping as his hand passed through the gateway, the man jerked it back, dropping the knife.

A second portal opened behind the young wizard, and the blade fell through, plunging toward the ground.

Alex whistled, shaking his head. None of that. If you threaten me again, Ill drop you.

To emphasize his point, he unwrapped his pinkie and ring fingers from the hunters wrist.

The bandit screamed. No, no please, dont!

You know, that knife is going to hit terminal velocity from this height, right? Alex said quietly. Like you. Do you know what terminal velocity is? He didnt wait for an answer. When something falls, it acceleratesfalling faster and fasteruntil it hits a maximum speed. For a man your size, taking into account air resistance, I think youd take ohmaybe fifteen hundred feet to reach it. Thats about twelve seconds.

P-please, the man moaned, his teeth chattering faster, eyes looking wild.

And at that velocity? You pick up a lot of energy. Which means that when you hit the ground, all that speed is going to instantly dropexcuse the wordto zero. All that energy will be transferred between you and the ground. Do you have any idea what an impact like that does to the human body?

Alex peered at the ground clinically. The snow will absorb some of the energy, but at this heightwithout anything to protect youthats not going to matter much. Youll turn to paste, your heart will likely burst, and your bones? My friend, one would probably see piles of sand on a beach stronger than your ruptured skeleton after a fall from this height. And you might want to pray to your gods to make sure you die on impact, because if you dont.

The young wizard cringed, pulling his lips back from his teeth and sucking in air. Well, lets just say I wouldnt want to go that wayah well, my hands getting tired

No, no, no, no! Wait, wait, wait, wait! the hunter cried, squeezing his eyes shut. P-please spare me. Y-you cant!

Technically, hes right, Alex thought sourly. As much as Id love to whip this bastard into the ground, Uldarin his infinite wisdomthinks that protecting myself from bandits and monsters shouldnt be something I can do. By the Traveller, I cant wait to fix thisbut, for nowhe doesnt know I cant hurt him, does he?

Alex unwrapped his middle finger from around the mans wrist.

Aggggh! No, no, no! the hunter shrieked, grabbing the wizards thick forearm with his other hand. Ill do anything! Ill give you anything!

Okay, okay. Alex winced. Not so loud, youre going to rupture my eardrums. I tell you what: youve got a deal going with Old Illiana, right? She gets a cut of your spoils when you gut someone she tells you to?

N-no! Thats not it! the hunter cried. Oh, by the gods, dont drop me!

The faster you talk, the more likely my hand doesnt get numb. Oops, the feelings leaving my fiiiingeeeers.

Illiana w-works with o-others! W-we justwe take what we can get, we work by ourselves! We hunt in these woods and take what we can g-get, even from barb-I mean, good foreigners like you!

I see, fair enough. Which means that if you hunt the woods, you must know them real well, right? Tell me where we can find the elf and the firbolg communities in the forest.

And the man talked.

His directions were much better than Old Illianas; he identified several landmarks that would guide Alex to both the giant firbogls and elves.

The young wizard smiled.

With so much good information, teleporting there shouldnt be too hard at all, he thought.

Alright, alright, thank you for all your woooonderful help. Alex flashed a huge smile. His expression was that of a kindly teacher.

The man met the young wizards gaze. His shoulders relaxed. S-so you wont drop me?

Alexs voice dripped honey. Of course Im not going to drop you. You told me what I needed to know.

Mentally, he was already talking to Claygon.

Conversation passed through their mental link.

Lets get you back down to the ground. You must be cold. Alex said. Youve probably wet yourself and itll be a long way back to town. Best you get started on your journey.

He teleported into the forest, some fifty paces from where the hunters had set up their ambush. The bandits eyes rolled with shock as his feet touched the snow, body shaking, legs buckling.

T-thank you! he cried. I-I swear I wont tell anyone anything about you!

I know you wont, the young wizards voice was ice. You tried to kill my fiancee. Why in every hell should you get to live?

The mans eyes grew wide.

Alex casually stepped to the side, one hand folded behind his back.

Something crashed through the trees.

Claygons war-spear shot from bare brush, striking the bandit, pinning him to a trunk. A creaking sound followed as the tree toppled to the reddening snow.

The wizards expression was sour as he looked at the dead hunter.

There was a time when I would have balked at doing something like that. But, people like you never do, and people like me end up dead. Its time we stopped being the ones to die, he thought, turning his back on the corpse.

He teleported back to find Theresa and Claygon cleaning their weapons and fists.

Alex could hear Brutus crunching on something behind a tree.

Is everyone alright? he asked.

Were fine, Theresa said. Those murderous bastards might have been good enough to kill some hapless travellers, but were not a bunch of poor unsuspecting travellers. They more than met their match, so were just fine. The only way theyd have a chance of scratching me is if I was asleep. Brutus is fine too.

Andso am Idid I get that bandit? Claygon asked.

Your aim is better than ever, buddy, Alex confirmed. And speaking of aim; we got what I was aiming for. That bandit gave us proper directions to the firbolgs. We can stop walking, go invisible, and teleport.

Sounds like a much better way to travel, Theresa smiled.

Agreedfather Claygon said.

Brutus stepped out from behind the tree, licking three sets of lips.

Casting invisibility and flight magic, Alex teleported himself and his companions over the treetops, watching for landmarks the bandit had described.

He soon caught sight of the first one, then continued on, teleporting to the next landmark and the next. But as they travelled, henoticed a problem.

Wait, is it getting dark or am I going crazy? Alex asked.

It is getting dark. Theresa squinted at the dimming horizon.

Shit, Alex cursed. Were so far up north, the days end earlier. Nightfalls going to be here soon.

What do you want to do? Theresa asked.

Lets find the firbolg settlement, but we wont make contact today. Well save that for our next trip up here. Itll also give me a chance to research them.

Sounds reasonable, Theresa said. Are you going to tell Professor Jules what we found?

Yeah, Alex said, I can do that before meeting with Professor Mangal. She and I are going to really start working on Relational Contract Summoning tomorrow.

The rune-marked stood over the ruined corpses of the hunters.

Some had been split apart. Others, crushed. One looked to have been impaled by an immense weapon; a weapon that was now gone.

New violence their warleader whispered, his breath misting through his visor. New enemies to slay.

Shall we track them? a warrior asked, rifling through the clothing of a broken body.

Later. For now, blood calls to us. Giant blood. The portents say that we must seek something.

His voice was like two boulders grinding together. Something the firbolgs have.