Mark of the Fool

Chapter 390: Rewards Under a Grim Sky

The elder witch floated to the nearby guest table, the cauldron following like a loyal familiar. The witches had gone quietall settling down for the ceremonyas were Alex and his companions.

Let it never be said, Blodeuwedd declared with deep pride in her voice, that Witches of Crymlyn Swamp are bereft of gratitude. The old witch and her cauldron hovered before her guests. For that would make us no better than those you saved our people from.

She looked over each of them. We are not ones to amass stores of gold and silver like the great dragons of old, though a reasonable amount is useful for trade. But because of you, we now have more from the supplies we gained from the enemy than we can use for our needs.Their wealth is now our wealth and our wealth should be shared with those who made it possible.

A crisp snap of her fingers, one spoken word, and the cauldron went into a frenzy of bubbling, smoking and shaking. Out popped heavy sacks that should have been dripping boiling liquid everywhere, yet were unexpectedly dry, and with a wave of her fingers, each one floated into the cupped hands of a guest.

Alex whistled, curious at the amount of weight he was holding, but for politeness sake, he controlled the urge to rip the ties open and look inside.

Three hundred gold coins for each of you, Blodeuwedd said, answering Alexs unspoken question. From all of us with our deepest gratitude. Use it to equip yourselves in future battles, or simply live in comfort. The choice is yours. However, the gift-giving isnt finished yet. Her grey eyes sparkled.

She raised her hands to the illusions and fairies above. We witches do not stockpile coin like we do stores for winter, it has less value to our way of life, but we treasure and are rich in relations and magic. And so, we will give you a gift of each.

With another wave of her hand, she summoned a collection of items from the pot. A group of ringseach made of roots twisted around each other in intricate knotsfloated from the cauldron and into the waiting hands of Alex and his companions.

These are the Rings of Safeland and they are only presented to those who have done us a great service. They will mould to the wearers finger and are made from the hearts and roots of our walking trees when they reach an age where they have grown ancient, and their spirits pass from the land. A hint of the essence that remains within our aeld tree, collected when it was in the twilight of its life, is woven into them too. When you wear your rings, you will find that weapons and attacks are hindered, that the bitterness of poor weather will affect you less, and that poisonous plants native to our swamp and other parts of Thameland will do you little harm. May they protect you well. And

She gestured to the pixies, who fluttered down in a swarm like migrating butterflies. Each one kissed the rings and briefly glowed like they were caught in moonlight. They giggled with glee, their laughter pealing like little bells, then flitted away, chasing each other into the sky.

There it is friends, Elder Blodeuwedd said. The blessing of the fae now lays upon your rings. They will glow when you are near a fae gate andif you should find yourselves in their realm by accident or on purposethen the rings will show you to be friends with us, as we are friends with many fae. You will be guided and shown hospitality while you are in their world. In return, you must not curse or bring destruction to them. For if you do, it will reflect poorly on us.

Ill make sure they act properly, mother, Drestra said.

I am sure you will, the elder smiled, then turned back to the honoured guests. Finally, we offer each of you a modest cache of potions.

She called up various potion bottles, all bound together with vines, and floated each set into their guests hands.

I understand that you are to fight these menaces in the future, Elder Blodeuwedd said. And so I give you these potions of mana expulsion. Without the proper painting techniques, their effectiveness ismuted, but I have taught Drestra to draw the symbols and she can teach you when you are ready to learn the skill. May these boons make your future journeys lighter, and please know that you are welcome within Crymlyn Village and the rest of the swamp any time.

The small woman nodded to each of them, holding their eyes for a few breaths. May our spirits and your deities help you as you have helped us.

A shudder of irony went through Alex. Lets hope that he does, he thought. Otherwise, were going to have major problems.

The celebration ended after hours of mingling, feasting, and toasting well into the evening and Alex and his companions gathered up their gear and gifts, exchanged farewells with those who theyd fought alongside, broke bread with, and now counted as friends. There were invitations to stay longer, and under better circumstances, staying in and exploring the magical village would have been welcome, but, divine mysteries were waiting for answers, and the Heroes in particular wanted to go looking for them.

And so they had gathered in their treehouse cottage, all packed up and ready to go.

First, we shall return to camp and Alex, Theresa, Claygon and Brutus will take the teleportation circle back to campus, the chancellor said. And the three of you can continue onand as per your requestI will teleport you in close proximity to the Travellers Cave then you can make your way from there, he told the Heroes. Are you sure that is what you want? We would gladly host you in the encampment while you rested for a time?

Thanks for the offer, chancellor, Drestra said. But its better if we get this taken care of right away. We only have a couple more days before were supposed to meet up with Merzhin, and honestly, this is something we have to do without him anywhere around.

Aye, Cedric said. San easy excuse tmake: well just tell im we had ta get ta Alric quick an make sure cultists an demons dont got a backdoor ta Thameland through the Cave o the Traveller. Makes a good excuse that nobodys gonna question an since well be tellin the priests and him that gettin there woulda been too urgent ta waste precious time pickin im up an explainin everythin thim, they shouldnt be sayin nothin tus.

Lets be honest, hes going to question things anyway, Hart pointed out. But, all he can do is whine and complain and then get over it. If hes right there, itll be a real problem if we find something that he cant know about.

Alex fought to keep his face straight. He hoped thatwhatever they foundit could help him with his own search for information about the Traveller. If only there was a way to translate her book.

Well, quite right, and it does make absolute sense to keep on with things and strike while the irons hot, as they say, the chancellor agreed. Very well, lets be on our way, and I hope that your hunt will be fruitful and may we discover the truth in all of this.

Yeah, Alex said as he and Theresa shook each of the Heroes hands. Lets hope you learn something. If you dont, feel free to come to us when you can and well try and put our heads together.

Aye Cedric said. An I hope I gots this all sorted in mhead by then. Itsa lot.

It is, Theresa agreed, turning to Drestra.

The two women hugged each other.

I hope you find Alric peaceful, the huntress said.

Im not sure well have to go there, the Sage said. Were going to focus on the cavebut if we do, I hope so too.

Good hunting. Alex offered.

And to you too, Hart said.

And with that, Baelin began to chant his words of power and the teleportation magic rose.

In a few breaths, Alex, Theresa, Brutus and Claygon were at the teleportation circle in the encampment, and Baelin was leaving the Heroes near the Cave of the Traveller.

Do you wish you could tell Selina? Theresa asked as she and Alex walked along campus to the insula.

Oh, by the Traveller, I didnt even consider that, he groaned.

They had arrived on campus just a few minutes earlier with the cerberus padding ahead through the moonlight, his eyes shining, while the golem strode behind, gripping his new spear and wearing his new wounds.

First thing in the morning, hed go to Shales, buy some clay, request a workstation and repair that damage. He hated seeing Claygon like that, and tomorrow couldnt come soon enough. I wonder how long itll take?

Selina was not going to be happy to see Claygon like this.

In a way, I wish I could tell her, he said. Buton the other hand, Im glad the oath magic stops me from telling anyone.

What do you mean? his girlfriend asked.

Well, learning what we did shook the two of us. It shook Cedric, it shook Drestra and Carey looked like she was almost destroyedthough I gotta admit, she pulled herself together more than I thought she could.

Shes braver than she thinks. Theresa looked up at the moon. She wouldnt have come to see Ffion with us if she wasnt. I know Selinas brave too.

But shes also young, Alex said. She prays to the Traveller and to Uldar. She believes in the Heroes and wants the dungeon cores gone. What happens if she starts questioning so much of what shes always believedwhen shes so young?

Maybe its better if she is young, Theresa countered. She might be able to adapt better.

He sighed. Yeah, maybebut in either casewere not allowed to tell. Andeven if we were, I kinda think its better to tell when we have the whole truth. Ive been going crazy with all the possibilities, and I dont want her going through that too.

Yeah, I guess youre right there. Even mother and father are going to have a hard time with this, so Id want to give them proper answers and foundation, not part truths that just makes them have a bunch of scary questionslike

She muttered something beneath her breath.

What was that? Alex asked.

Like if we have to fight our own god, she muttered.

Ohoh. He winced. Yeah thatsthatthats something Ive been trying not to think about.

Its a possibility, Theresa gripped her swords. Oreca defeated a demigod, and the Watchers have told me stories about gods being killed throughout history.

Well thats sorta comforting, maybe, he said. Oh boy, well we dont know if well have to do that. Maybe our faith lets us control the cores forI dunno, some other reason besides: Uldar hates us and he wants us to suffer with the Ravener.

Maybe, she said, drawing the swords. The blades gleamed in the moonlight. Well, either way, I think things are about to become a lot more dangerous for sure. And I need a breakthrough.

A breakthrough? Alex asked.

She nodded. My great-grandfather terrorized pirates across the seas with these swords. My grandfather used to tell stories about them cutting villains in half with a single stroke and so on, but I havent seen anything like that. I mean, theyre very good swords. Ive never held any other weapons that are so balanced, Ive never needed to sharpen them, and no matter what I strike, they dont break, dull or chip. But, they only cut like regular swords do.

Her frown deepened as she turned the blades. Somethings missing. Im missing something about them and I really need to figure that out or I'll never match the type of opponents well be fighting.

Well. He put his arm around her shoulders. If theres anyone who can figure them out, its you. Youre a badass, beautiful death machine, and right now, I have morefaith in you, than I do my own damn god.

She laughed bitterly, blushing at the same time. I don't know if that's the nicest thing a guys ever said to me, but Ill take it. What about you? Howre things going with third-tier spells?

He frowned. In terms of summoning spells? I think Im just about there, he said. Hopefully, the next few days wont involve anymore apocalyptic battles and maybe Ill get a breakthrough soon myself. Ill get back to practising tomorrow. Well, probably tonight, after a couple of hours of sleep.

Right. She looked at Brutus and Claygon. Well, we need to be ready for whatever comes next, no matter what it is.

Yeah, he said. Ive gotta get third-tier summoning spells soon then, and Im gonna push hard to get them."