Mark of the Fool

Chapter 716: Promises of Eight and Ninth

Control Weather.

Magic Alex had always imagined, the true wonder of wizardry he always saw himself casting from the time he was small; images filling his mind of an ancient, powerful, bearded wizard wearing flowing robes and a wide-brimmed hat, holding his mighty staff aloft, raising it toward the heavens.

The spell Noarc was most famous for had captivated him when theyd visited the wizards magical tower to celebrate Selinas eleventh birthday. With that one spell, he could call down rain, conjure storms, and even summon the sun from behind cloud cover. A true, legendary magical spell-guide was in reach of Alexs fingertips; all he had to do was take it. With a shaking hand, he picked up the book, running his fingers over the cover.

Using this spell is a big responsibility, he thought. If you change the weather in one place, itll cause ripple effects for hundreds or thousands of miles. Id have to be careful with ithell, I might never have any reason to use it, but, by the Traveller, I want to try it.

He thought about the war back home. Maybe I could use it against the church or the Ravener-spawn. Yeah, maybe I could conjure waves of thick fog thatll cut visibility, or maybe summon a lightning storm and strike a whole bunch of monsters at onceno, no!

A grin spread across his face. I got itmaybe I could conjure a rainstorm to flood a dungeon! And when all the Ravener-spawn drownI summon greater water elementals, they swim through the tunnels and get the core! Thats it, now I have an excuse to useI-I mean, a proper and valid reason to use the spell. Yep, proper and valid.

He quickly stuffed the guide into Claygons pack then went in search of more magic.

The next spell to catch his eye was a powerful form of blood magic known as Curse Wound. He flipped the pages, speed-reading; with a pulse of mana, a wizard could disrupt the life force of an opponents body. This would cause their flesh to erupt anywhere the spellcaster chosethe chest, eyes, the ears, a limb and so onquickly turning foul with rot. The wound becomes infected with an aggressive blood magic curse that resists all forms of healing.

Thatd be perfect to use on the First and Third Apostles, Alex thought. Or any member of the hidden church, for that matter; theyre able to heal their wounds, but this could slow them downor better yetfinish them off. It says it takes a lot of mana and skill, soitd be hard to use in combat if youre new to it. Something to experiment with when I finally find Keldas sanctum and try to change the Mark.

He dropped the spell-guide for Curse Wound into Claygons bag. Another book caught his eye.

What in all hells is Conjure Objects? he wondered, picking up the thin guide and quickly flipping to the spell description.

Alexs heart began pounding. Does this conjure any object by using pure magic? Does such a miraculous spell really existah, of course it doesnt. You can only make an object that you already own come to you from anywhere in the world. Too bad, thats disappointwait. Waaaaaaiiiit. Thats still awesome! I could leave my staff in Generasi and call it to myself from anywhere, even here in the Empire. Holy hells! Thats going to work fantastically with the Travellers power. Okay, this spell is a definite must.

He glanced at a timekeeper. Two minutes before it was time to meet up with the others.

The eighth floor door tempted him.

Greed burned in his chest

What do you think, should we head up to the next level? Alex asked Claygon. Those four arent interested in going, so, Im thinking we could look through some of the shelves up there, snag a few spellbooks, and be back down before they even know we were gone.

That soundsriskyfather Claygon thought. Who knowswhats up therebut then againI will be there to protect you The golem paused for a moment. If teleporting up therewill get us more powerand more ways for youto protect yourselfthen I am for it

Youre the best, buddy, Alex thought, touching his golems side. Lets go.

They teleported through the crystal door and up to level eight.

Security was no less impressive than on the seventh, with some additions. Three teleportation circles were positioned around the centre of the floor. Eight golem knights were present on this floor, with four guarding the door to the seventh and four guarding the door to the ninth. They seemed even less engaged.

On the seventh floor, students had been few and far between, but, on the eight, there were none. The only sign of mortal life were the guards.

Here, the bookshelves stood like grapevines, ripe with fruit that was waiting to be plucked. The atmosphere was quite lively for a library; the two intruders could hear guards snoring, while others were telling jokes, laughing and teasing each other.

Jeez, Alex thought. I get that thieves have probably never made it this far, but dont stand and look around, do something!actually never mind, thatd be bad. Dont take your jobs seriously, just relax. Yeah, relax so I can help myself to what I want.

He directed the Travellers power at the three teleportation circles, finding three staging areas with sleeping iron-watchers snuggled comfortably in their cots, right beside their dozing mounts.

Itseems were safefather Claygon thought. Theres no one hereyou cankeep stealing

Shopping, Claygon. Im shopping, Alex thought.

Shopping involves the exchangeof coinand goodsfor other goods the golem replied. Whatare you exchanging for thesebooks you are taking?

Uh Alex paused. Well, Im

Then you are stealingfather

The young wizard glared in Claygons direction, though he couldnt see him. Deciding to concede the point, he went to back to his steali

Shopping.

He went back to his shopping.

The first spell he found was at the end of an aisle.

What the hells is Summon Construct? Alex quietly took the book off the shelf, looking through its contents. Teleport any construct to your side that you have created, even across planar boundariesoh! Oh! Thats amazing, you hear that, Claygon?

Yesfather Claygon said, sounding excited. You can call me from home to anywhere!

Thats right, Alex thought. Its perfect. Im keeping this. And what else do we have here? Wall of Lava, eh?

The title was self-explanatory. The spell conjured a towering rampart of lava; a moveable wall of boiling stone that could be guided by a wizards will.

Alright, this is coming with meand whats thisFamine? That sounds terrible. Oh, oh by the Traveller! he thought, flipping through the book. This sucks the nutrients out of a living being, it wilts plants, withers animals, and monstersholy hells. No wait, not just a single living being, it can affect entire groups of living things! And the life force is transferred to the wizard who cast it? Damn, what a monstrous spell! Im definitely taking it.

He floated past rows of bookshelves.

Lets see, Famine sounds amazingWall of Roiling Manacreates a wall of mana that can disrupt and damage anyone with a mana poolthats not badIll take it He floated to another shelf. Curse of Eternal Nightcreates an environment of permanent night in a large areameh, that sounds kind of niche

He continued floating along, moving at speed, eyeing rows of spellbooks.

Then stopped.

Wait, whats Steel Body? Alex opened the spell-guide. A powerful transmutation and blood magic spell; it allows a wizard to use the iron present in the bloodstream as the catalyst to transform themselves into a being of pure steel, greatly enhancing physical strength, toughness and power at the cost of a loss of agility and a slowing of mana flow. It is an excellent tool for defensive measures. Okay, yeah this is coming with me. And what elseoops, times almost up.

Alex teleported beside Theresa and Brutus; they were keeping watch on the seventh level.

Any problems so far? he whispered.

Nothing yet, she said. Im starting to get nervousthings never go this well

I hear you, Alex agreed.

Everyone here? Rat suddenly whispered.

Were all here, Mouse said.

Good, were nearly done, Rat whispered. I think this jobs giving me a stomach ulcer, I keep expecting alarms to start blaring.

Dont curse us, Fox hissed. Now, let's get to the ninth level. Thats our last stop.

Everyone hold on, were almost finished, Alex whispered.

He teleported the team through the eighth, then appeared on the ninth level of Brightfires library.

The floor was nearly silent, far smaller than the rest.

It was only lit by a few glowing forceballs, with most of the light focused on the guard station at the rooms only entrance; the crystal door leading back down to the eighth level. A dozen golem knights sat at the guard station, most asleep and out of their armour.

Like the floor below, not a single student or professor studied here, and dust coated every surface.

Alex swallowed.

The books here were much thicker than those below. Older, as well; with titles on their spines handwritten in flowing script, and bound in material that looked suspiciously like dried skin.

Alright, this is the last stop before were outta here, Rat said. Move and move fast.

Five minutes, Alex said, eager to go through the bookshelves.

He flew to the battle magic section. This is the sort of magic Baelin might use in battleso let's see what we have hereShred Magic? he thought, opening the guide.

Shred Magicwill tear apart any spell or magic effect within a targeted area as long as the magic does not eclipse the casters own power. This spell creates disjunction, destroying any spell, magical item, or construct Hmm, I like the sound of that. He carefully placed the thick spell-guide into Claygons bag while eyeing a spellbook bound in what looked like crimson dragonscale. Annihilation he translated for Calygon. This spell will cause a mighty hurricane of flame to blaze across a battlefieldthe flame is laced withdisintegration magic? Holy shit! Thiscould level an entire army of Ravener-spawn!

Alex added it to Claygons rapidly filling bag.

This one looks interesting, its called Meteor Fallit says itll conjure a meteor from the sky, thatll collide with an area at great speed. It says it also erects a barrier that keeps the destruction contained to that area, preventing continent-wide devastation, while keeping destruction targeted. Alexs jaw dropped. This is amazing! Reminds me a bit of a chaos bomb.

He searched the shelves, findingTempest. A spell that conjures a concentrated swarm of lightning from even a clear sky, capable of burying vast areas in lightning bolts. Oh my yes! And theres something here calledWhite End

Alex flipped open another spell bound in dragonscale. This spell will conjure a concentrated blizzard that can freeze an entire army in heartbeats. Now, thats power.

He put the book in Claygons bag with the others, then found another one that looked interesting.

Tidal Wave summons a massive wave from the elemental plane of water, capable of washing away armies and forests. Okay, that should work super well with Tempest or White Endor wait, what if I used all three? Yeah, Id love to experiment with that

The book quickly went into Claygons bag, as he eagerly looked for more spells.

In his enthusiastic search, something had escaped him.

As hed moved from shelf to shelf, carefully collecting spellbooks, he hadnt noticed what the thieves were doing.

One of them, working invisibly, had quickened the pace at which they were taking the precious bounty they were sent here to steal.

Theyd quickly found the books their client was paying for, perhaps moving with too much haste and too little caution. On lower floors, they might have been able to get away with thatbut here, on the ninth level, books were rarely used as there were few wizards in Brightfireor the worldcapable of casting such mighty magics.

Dust had lain heavy and undisturbed on most surfaces, growing thicker as time marched on.

Dust that was now whirling through the air as the invisible thief raced back and forth, opening their loot bag, shoving spellbooks in, shedding minute particles as they went.

Dust that was now moving through the librarys ninth level like the beginnings of a snowfall.

And in such dim light, even Theresa hadnt noticed.