Mark of the Fool

Chapter 364: Convictions

When ya called us up here I never thought Id be watchin one o yous carryin around a livin dungeon core. Cedric eyed the orb like it was a coiled snake. Never seen anyone do that beforealmost expect it tbite ya or somethin.

Yeah, if I think about it, its the first time Ive ever seen a live one up close like this. Hart inspected the core. Its got kind of a sheen to it. Almost looks like a giant pearl.

But more dangerous than any jewel, Drestra said, her voice crackling like flame. She looked from the orb to the Generasians. Are wesupposed to see an image in it? Like in a crystal ball?

No, Alex said, taking the core in both hands. Nothing like that. As a matter of fact, youll want to watch the wrecked dungeon down there. Oh, and Cedric, Drestra? Pay attention to your mana senses. Youll know why in a sec.

The two Heroes frowned, but Hart already had his large eyes trained on the ravine, scanning the debris and dark crevices below.

RightIm watching, Cedric looked down.

What am I looking for? Drestra asked.

Youll know it when you see it, Alex said, directing his mind to the core then shattering his mana into hundreds of streams and pouring it into the dungeon core. He called on the Mark and attacked the core from all sides, expecting resistancebut he neednt have bothered. The orb was stronger, but not strong enough to stop his mana. It rushed through the entrances, bypassing the cores weak attempts to eject him and then, he was in, right where he wanted to be, in the centre of the dungeon core, where its magic originated from.

Alexs mana had entered a control centre of sorts, like a windowless room filled with levers, dials and buttons that drove the core, deploying its power in countless ways.

Eventually, the research team would have to explore and map it, but not today. Today was for controlling the dungeon core for the Heroes to see. So he moved his mana, sending it flowing into the centre of the core, then pulled a lever.

A sudden rush of dark mana poured out.

What? Drestra cried. Beware, everyone! The core, its

Thoom!

From the bottom of the ravine, a five-foot wall erupted, shedding soil as it rose. Carey made a choking sound as the colour drained from her face, then she began to whisper, making the sign of Uldar over her heart.

I can hardly believe it, even though Im seeing it for myself, Professor Jules murmured, taking a notepad from her robes. She conjured a pair of Wizards Hands and a pen. One held the notepad steady, while the other began to record her observations.

Baelin simply said. And there we have it.

As for the Heroes?

They looked stunned.

Wha? Hart grunted, drawing his blade. His head pivoted between the orb and the wall. What just? Cedric, Drestra! What happened? What in all the Ravener-spawning hells did I just see? Since I cant do any of that fancy stuff like sensing mana,what just happened?

No Cedrics jaw dropped. Noooo bloody way. No. No, I mustve been bewitched cause Im bloody well seein things! Feelin things that dont make any bloody sense! I thought I felt mana come outta the core and flow inta the gorge down there, then that bloody wall popped up! He was wild eyed.

Cedric ground his teeth, his gold tooth glinting in the sunlight. No, no, no. No. Cant be. Did the dungeon core do that on its own? They cant do that! They need a monster to control em! Everybody knows that, I learned that shite from the priests a day after I got marked! He touched the golden scales glowing on his bare chest.

Drestra! The Chosen turned to the Sage. Drestra, your mana sensesre better than mine! Drestra? Drestra?

But the Sage wasnt moving.

It was like shed become a statue in mid-air. Her cloak and veil blew listlessly in the brisk autumn wind. She was shivering, but Alex suspected it wasnt from the cold. Her golden reptilian eyes slowly slid from the wall below, up to the dungeon core in Alexs hand.

Impossible, she murmured. I felt your manaI felt it flare and go into the coreand then that wall came out of the ground. It felt like when a dungeon commanders controlling a coreitsoh by the spirits! Did you do that?

Alex slowly nodded. Yeah. It takes a lot of practice with mana manipulation, and when the cores fully powered, itll fight you like a demon, but yeah: you saw what you saw and you felt what you felt. I actually controlled it.

His eyes drifted from Hero to Hero, noting their body language.

Cedric oozed disbelief. Hed crossed his arms defensively, and his openness wavered before Alexs eyes. He was trembling. Drestra was stiff, and though her veil hid most of her face, her emotions were coming off of her in waves, just like the aeld tree.

Disbelief. Fear.

Anger.

As for Hart?

Alex couldnt really read him: the Champions body language was a jumble, too alien for him to distinguish one past Champion from the next. But his face?

Shock had faded.

His jaw was set.

His eyes were measuring. Calculating. Like the experienced soldier he was.

All of a sudden, a deep sound boomed off the ravine and soared above the trees as Cedric burst out laughing. His head was thrown back, his eyes were closed. But the laughter had no trace of humour in it, it was harsh and cynical, and he kept it up until he was coughing, breathless, and his voice was hoarse.

When he finally opened his eyes, they were hard, ringed with anger and something else. Mixed emotions? Maybe uncertainty? Maybe fear?

Look, ifn this is some kinda bloody joke that you people are puttin on, then snot bloody funny, the Chosens voice was like flint, his eyes raked over all four Generasian wizards before returning to Alex. Whats this, some sort o illusion? Some trick? They flicked back and forth between Carey and Alex. The two o you should know better, bein fellow Thameish an all! Draggin us all the way out here for some cruel trick, Id expect that from the fae, but you lot?

An eyebrow rose, his eyes filled with suspicion, and Alex watched him closely. There was something fighting within him. Confusion? Recognition and denial? Desperation? Horror? Either way, Cedrics outrage was shaky. Anger was leaving his voice. An you, Alex, back in the

Stop, a deep voice cut in.

Hart was looking at Cedric with an expression that couldve been carved from stone. Stop. Youre not making any sense and you know it. Why would this be a joke? You sound like youve lost your mind.

Cedric whirled on Hart, going red in the face, then seemed to bite back his words. His attention turned to the orb. Bloody helljustbloody hell. Was all he said.

And now you can see why we wanted to show you this, Baelin said. And why we kept quiet about the details until you could see it for yourselves. You didnt believe your eyes when the evidence was right in front of you. You certainly wouldnt have believed anything we simply told you, and I cannot blame you: as weve been discussing, this has been an unforeseen development that calls many things into question.

Many, many things, Drestra agreed. Howhow did you learn about it?

Alex glanced at Baelin. We were here investigating a dungeon and looking to get our hands on a living dungeon core to see if we could figure out how it made its monsters. Butwhile I was messing with itwell, you just saw what happened.

By Uldar, the Sage said. This isthis could change the war. But how did you make it work? Did you use some special mana technique from Generasi?

No, he said. As a matter of fact, you and Cedric could probably do it with a few minutes of practice. The core doesnt have much mana left, so it wont be strong enough to stop you.

Whatwhat? By wildfire, the Sage swore. Well if you could do itand Cedric and I could

Ugh, bloody hell, cant bloody believe it. Cedric ran both hands through his hair. Cant bloody believe what Im listenin to. Mortals controllin dungeon cores? Not even the most crazed doomsayer couldthink up such bloody nonsense.

Drestra looked at him for a moment, then at Baelin. So when you did it, Chancellor Baelin, you must have

Now it was Baelins turn to laugh. Cedric and Drestra startled, but Hart was still focused on the ravine, calculating.

Oh, no, I cannot do it, the chancellor said frankly. Unfortunately, I could not even begin to try.

He explained how he couldnt interact with the dungeon core.

Now Hart's focus shifted back to the wizards. It kinda sounds like a gate that only opens for some folk, but not others. He looked at Alex. And if it only opened for you, why do you think Drestra and Cedricd be able to do it?

Because I, to my dismay, did it too.

The Heroes heads abruptly turned toward Carey.

Im afraid its true, she said. The young Thameish woman set her jaw and held out her hands toward Alex. Would you be ever so kind as to hand me the dungeon core?

A determined look had taken her features, and Alex did as she asked. You needany guidance?

No, itd be better if I did it myself, she didnt try to hide her bitterness. And show off thisgift Disgust had joined the bitterness of her words. thats been given to us.

What dyou mea Cedric started, but trailed off.

Careys eyes were closed. She gripped the orb tightly between both hands, and her knuckles paled. Alex felt her mana pierce the dungeon core.

She was slower than he was; minutes passed as they floated in silence, with Drestra, Cedric and Hart watching the core, Alex and Baelin watching Carey, and Professor Jules Wizards Hands taking notes.

Time dragged by, but Carey stayed focused until finally, she found her way into the centre and took a deep breath.

Alex felt her mana twisting, trying to catch on toanything inside the core.

Then a rush of dark mana exploded.

Thoom!

In the valley below, earth shuddered and a patch of soil became a spewing mound of mud. It reminded Alex of Vesuvius shell.

Damn my eyes, Cedric muttered. Damn my bloody eyes!

Carey handed the dungeon core back to Alex without a word. Her fingers clenched and released, her face quivered as though she were fighting tears, but beneath that, her anger was unmistakable.

There you have it. So far, Im the only oneaside from Alexwho can control this thing, she paused, biting her lip. Her tone was resentful. Do you want to take a guess as to what Alex and I have in common that no other member of the research team does?

Youre both Thameish, Hart said. I remember that theres nobody else from Thameland whos part of your expedition.

Theres another thing, holy Champion: were both followers of Uldar, she said, and her words were solemn, like she was pronouncing a death sentence.

The air seemed to grow colder and nobody spoke for heartbeats.

...oh. Oh, Drestra said, her voice very quiet. Oh.

It just keeps gettin better n better, the Chosen said, looking up at the sky, his eyes searching through the blue. Whatre you thinkin up there, Uldar? Whats the plan in all this?

Whywould only our people be able to use it? Drestra asked.

Thats not the question you need to be asking, Hart growled.

All eyes turned to him.

This tells me something. Either weve been lied to, or every scholar, priest, and Hero who came before us have been the biggest idiots ever born. He shook his head, clearly irritated. And you cant tell me nobodyever picked up a dungeon core in the last how many thousand years and thought to fiddle with it. Cmon, Ive seen enough wizards to know that theyre all the sameno offence meant to you fourpoking around in all kinds of different magic stuff. I cant believe that not even one of them ever tinkered with a core; it'd be like expecting a fish not to bite at a worm. Way too tempting to ignore.

Youre thinkin folkre lyin to us? Cedric asked.

Yeah, I kinda do, Hart said. It wouldn't be the first time Ive been hired by someone to do a dirty job, only to find out the jobs a hell of a lot dirtier than they said. Mercenaries get lied to all the time. You know why?

He bared his teeth. Because a lot of lords think were fodder. And I sure as hell dont like being treated like fodder.

Alex saw doubt go through the other Heroes.

Thisthis was going better than he could have hoped.

Drestra looked at Hart. Youre rightsomething is wrong. This is too big to never have been noticed. And the fact that weve only seen followers of Uldar control this core, wellit makes me wonder.

You said Cedric or I could do this, Alex?

Yeah, he said.

Good. She held her hand out. I want to try it and see for myself. Thenwe have a lot to talk about.