Mark of the Fool

Chapter 130: Forging a Body and Plan

Ooooh, careful with that part," Alex said to Selina as they worked on sculpting the massive foot on the golems left leg. If we sculpt too much filigree in this area, then the foot could get caught on stuff when it's walking.

Hm, that makes sense, Selina said, reshaping some of what shed shaped.

Alex smiled at the progress shed made. With all the work hed put in with The Mark, hed become a talented sculptor in these past few months, and teaching Selina what hed learnedalong with her natural talenthad let her skill grow right along with his. He was very proud of his little sister.

They continued carving the leg and a silence fell over them, one tinged by a bit of sadness. In a way, he didnt want the sculpting process to end: it had been the longest project he and Selina had ever worked on together with such focus andas much fun as he had teasing herhe dearly loved spending time with the little goblin.

Hed miss not having the project for just the two of them to share, even though he was still really excited at the idea of the golems body being completed.

A glance at Selina showed that she was also looking a little sad as they sculpted towards each other, until at last, they finished putting the finishing touches on the leg. Together, brother and sister stepped back to look down on their handiwork.

Were done, Selina said in amazement.

Hold on, let me check. Alex retrieved a measuring snake construct from the worktable and it began to circle the leg, taking measurements and comparing them with the golems other leg, and the two sections of the pelvis where the legs attached.

Hed been using The Mark continually, checking to see if the arms and legs were symmetricaland though it had guided him with mathematical precisionhe still did a check whenever they finished each stage.

Alright, weve got it, he said after the measurements were confirmed. He raised his hand.

Slap!

Selina rushed over and had put everything she had into their high-five.

I cant wait to see it standing up, Alex said.

Then why keep waiting? Thundars voice came from behind them.

Alex turned and saw Khalik, Thundar, Isolde and Theresa piling into the room, with Brutus close behind, and the massive Najyah perched on the princes arm.

Alex noticed that Najyah was blind-folded. What happened there?

Khalik made a face. This overgrown chicken thought to hide and play dead again, but my ability to trace her mana and our connection is much stronger than it has ever been. She is being punished for her tricks

Najyah made a loud, mournful cry.

and she sulks now, he said.

Hah! Alex laughed. And what about the rest of you?

You told us of this monstrosity, and Khalik said that he was to help you finish fusing its parts into a whole, Isolde assessed it. How could we not see for ourselves? Hm, a ferocious design. And quite large too.

Yeah! Itll smash everything! Selina cried giddily.

Ah, Isolde nodded, smiling warmly. The excitement of childre-

Yeah! It will smash everything! Alex cried giddily.

The words died on Isoldes lips and she just shook her head. She gave Theresa a pointed, questioning look and the other young woman just shrugged her shoulders.

I couldnt keep any of these guys away even if you wanted me to, Alex, Theresa said, smiling as Brutus bounded over to sniff the golem curiously, and Thundar walked over tosniff the golem curiously.

Hoo boy, wish we had this basher when we were fighting the earth elemental, Thundar said. Or that it was finished in time for the xyrthak. Id like to see that big, overgrown flying bird-lizard try and mess with us with one of those fists in its beak. Or a boulder thrown by one of them.

Alex had designed the arms to be thick and the fists absolutely massive; he was sure that even a xyrthak would be feeling a punch from this thing for days. Well, unfortunately, the golem wont be ready, but Im sure well be okay if we work out a good plan with the rest of the class.

I have no doubt, Khalik said confidently. Now come, let us get this finished.

Using his Lesser Heat spell, Alex heated the golems left leg to dry it faster, then he and Khalik lifted the limb and moved it into place beside the golems pelvis. With Thundar helping, they positioned the golem parts on a giant floating dolly cart: it could tilt upright by command andsupportenormous objects like Alexs golem.

Once theyd finished that step, Khalik applied the Shape Earth spell hed learned in his earth elemental magic class, andunder Alexs guidance and Selinas encouragementhe fused the legsto the body.

Excitement tinged the air.

Isolde, Theresa and Thundar leaned in with anticipation.

The right arms were attached next.

Then the left arms.

Finally, they fused the head and neck to the shoulders.

With a spoken command from an excited SelinaAlex had given her the honour of instructing the enchanted dolly to bring the golem to the standing position for the first timethe magical, giant dolly slowly rose to a vertical position until the golem was upright before them.

It was, in one word, impressive: ten feet of clay ready to be powered by mana. Its body looked like a massive, armoured warrior with four arms of colossal proportions, and hands that could easily palm Thundars head. Its face was almost a mirror of the ferocious, fanged goddesses from the Travellers sanctum.

The only difference was that its sculpted teeth were the image of Grimlochs shark teeth instead of the needle-like fangs of the goddesses, and its head was covered with a far larger, more intimidating helm.

It looked every inch an unstoppable juggernaut.

Yeeeessss, Thundar said excitedly. Now order it to crush Khalik!

Hey! The prince glared at him.

Fine, finecrushing Isolde would be easier anyway! the minotaur sneered.

A fair point, Isolde said. But certainly crushing the largest of us would be a better test of the golems capabilities, therefore Thundar would be far more suitable-

Ooooh you traitor! Thundar snorted.

Isolde sputtered. How is that treachery? You were trying to crush me and Khalik!

And as the rightful leader of the cabal-

Oh by the elements. She buried her face in her hands.

-it is my right to say that my subordinates should be the test subjects of the war golem thats going to add to our deadliness!

Thmp.

Thundar paused, looking down to see that Khalik was stepping on his hoof. Heh, try again you jer-Argh!

He yelled as the prince delivered a swift kick to his shin.

You shi-

Alex cleared his throat, nodding toward Selina, who was innocently gazing up at Thundar in amusement. The minotaur fell into a stewing silence.

So, while that was hilarious, Alex said. The golem cant crush anybody until its golem core is completed and its all powered up. Cant wait for that, though.

Well, I dont know anything about golem core stuff, Theresa said. But I do know that both you and Selina did an amazing job. I dont think Id ever want to fight this thing.

Thanks! Selina grinned. Itll protect all of usbut I cant think of a name for it. Her face soured like a small, frustrated raisin.

Well, less small than it used to be, Alex thought.

Selina was starting to enter a growth spurt, and he, Theresa and Selina had recently had to pay a visit to the school seamstress enchanted emporium for new clothes for her. Some of the baby fat had disappeared from her facethough her brothers baking still kept plenty onand she seemed to be standing a little taller everyday.

Early in the summer, just after second semester ended, she would turn eleven. He frowned. She still hadnt said much about herself and wizardry, or if she wanted anything to do with it.

A decision would have to be made soon, though: she would need to be enrolled in the program for next year that began magical training for youngsters at the junior school who were interested. Of course, she could wait longer if she wanted to, butif she did want to become a wizardthen an early start on education in the magical arts would be advantageous.

It had really benefited Isolde and Khalik, from what they had said.

When will you construct the golem core? Isolde asked, going behind the golem and squinting at the hole for the core in its back. Ihave some awareness of how this is supposed to go.

Oh, Im hoping to do it soon, but it depends on how quickly Baelin and I go over the analysis of the other core again, Alex said, lowering his voice. Well have to confirm everything, then Ill be ready to go.

Right, Thundar said. Still cant believe that thing makes monsters and you said it was the size of your head? He shook his head. Thats crazy. Theres all kinds of things in the world.

And speaking of monsters, Khalik said. Any more thoughts on the xyrthak? The time is coming soon.

I had a couple, Isolde said. I was speaking with Shiani and Rheadelightful peopleand we thought that since the creatures vision is poor from close range, we could do well by creating a screen of smoke. Both know spells that create more smoke than flame, and that will trouble the beast. As for myselflightning can seize the musculature, which can interfere with flight. I think that would be a boon against the creature.

Mhm, Khalik nodded. Thundar?

Agh, I talked with Grimloch, Malcolm and Eyvinder, he said. Malcolm said he might be able to ice its wings, but thats a lot of area to freeze and hed need time to do it. Eyvinder can move earth, but wed need to lure the beast closer to the ground for him to really do his work. And Grimloch.

The minotaur pulled his lips back from his teeth, and deepened his voice to mimic the giant sharkman. Gimme a boulder to smash it down, and then gimme a plate to eat it off of.

Oh wow, thats cool, Theresa said admiringly. I wonder ifno, never mind.

Everyone turned toward her.

What is it? Alex asked.

Well, Theresa began. I guess he didnt swear me to secrecy or anything.

Hmm? Khalik asked.

Well, the other day Grimloch came around and uhwell he asked me if I could tell him anything about life enforcement. Maybe show him how to start it.

Everyone froze.

Oh that is cheating! Alex cried enthusiastically. That is so cheating! Can you do it?

Well, Theresa frowned. I dont know I wanted to ask my professor about it before I said yes since Im just learningbut I dunno, Ive never really taught it to anyone before.

Hey, you guided me through that thing the other day, Alex said. And you taught me about meditation.

Wait, you know meditation stuff? Thundar asked. Im into something similarish, and listen, theres this instructor and if I got a lot better at it then-Ah, maybe we can talk later? He gave Alex a shifty look when his friends face broke into a sly grin.

I got faith you could do it, Alex added to Theresa. Do you want to teach him?

Theresa blushed a little. Kind ofyeah. I think itd be cool, plus likeIm so much stronger and justeverything since I started life enforcement. Could you imagine what he would be like?

That is a lot of life to enforce, Khalik said. And if he could start down that path before the xyrthak-

If he can, Theresa said. Weve had more students drop out and a lot failed when they tried their path of life enforcement at the beginning of semester two. And I have no idea if Im the right person to help him.

-yes, if he can. That would be a great help, Khalik said. What about you, Alex?

Well, I had a chat with Caramiyus and Angelar, he said. Rayne tooeven though hes a little freaked out by what happened to Minervus. I cant believe they still havent caught the damn thing.

It is why the city fears such creatures so much, Khalik sighed. But they have been caught before, and someone will eventually destroy it and collect the bounty.

Yeah, two thousand gold now, when you add in what Minervus family put up. Anyway, Rayne doesnt want to be the only one flying when the xyrthak comes for us, but I could make a few Potions of Flight: Ive got a free lab in Jules extra lab sessions that I can use to make anything Ive made so far. Im thinking of churning out as many Potions of Running Enhancement, Flight and Haste as I can. Theres a few ways I can turn a Potion of Flight into an aggressive solution too, plus, if Ive got my forceballs up there moving around, thatll mix things up and make more targets to confuse the xyrthak.

Right, Khalik said. And some of my earth spells could impedeits wings, especially when combined with Malcolms ice magic. Alright, well it looks like we have a plan forming. We can coordinate all our resources with the others and see what we can do. He shook his head. No solution for its cry, though. That is troubling. We will need it close enough to have an effect on it, but not so close that its cry can ruin our mana.

Thats where I might help, Theresa said. My bows draw strength is way too low for me nowI could handle one a lot strongerbut its still a good Thameish hunting bow: Ive killed bears with it. But Baelin said the xyrthaks scales are like plate armour, and after talking to an armourer in the city, I know theres no way my bows getting through plate.

Her look turned hard. So, I think Ill head into town to get a stronger one before we hunt it. If I can get a few shots into itinto the softer parts around its long neck or its wingswith some good heavy steel broad-heads, I might be able to wound it at a range, or at least close enoughyet still far enough away from all you wizardsthat it wont be able to use its cry on you.

Hey, heres an idea: something useful from battle magic. I know a spell nowBlows of Leadthat enhances the weight and sharpness of weapons on impact. I can only make it last for about three-ish minutes or so, but it should help your arrows punch through.

That sounds great, Theresa said.

Right then, Alex nodded. Then we spend the next while prepping. He looked up at the golem. And I need to give you a core.