Mark of the Fool

Chapter 594: Flim Flam

There was blood in the water for a moment there. Shale shook her head. Because people are idiots. Now, drink up.

Toraka, you still havent told me what the hell happened up there. Alex took a long sip of his beer, the second one bought for him by his business partner.

Thats because when you nearly get slaughtered in business, you drink first, and talk later. Were like soldiers on the battlefield. Its just that the blood we shed is gold instead of red. Toraka guzzled a foaming stein of beer.

She and Alex were hunkered down, sitting in a corner of a beer tent near the Duel by Proxys arena, with their hoods pulled up, and their cloaks wrapped tight. In a way, they looked secretive, like two unimaginative thieves meeting in a dim tavern just before a caper, thoughin this casethe hooded and cloaked look was less for cliche mystery and more for a practical need for some privacy since fans and admirers had clung like cobwebs after the match was finished.

His and Claygons victory in the Duel by Proxy had left the audience wanting more, and they hadnt had a second to themselves long after the match was done.

Ram had quietly departed before Alex could even speak to him, and thenas soon as he and Claygon had stepped outsidean excited mob of admirers had surrounded the two of them. He and Clayton had been bombarded with questions ranging from what sort of golem Claygon was, to how hed gained intelligence and evolved, to what kind of training he had, and even if he ate.

There were offers from businesses looking to collaborate on sponsorships, people asking for interviews for the local gazette,and even a fewmore racier invitations.

Hed basked in the attention for a time, using the opportunity to reintroduce the crowd to Claygon.

And drum up some business.

Claygons state of the art. Alex had clasped the golems arm. Completely unique, butif anyone wants a similargolemthen Shales workshop is putting a new line into production. Youll never have to worry about security again with one of our new golems protecting you, or your loved ones, or valuables. You saw what Claygon did to his competition in the arena. Even an experienced battle wizard with a state of the art construct couldnt bring him down. Now, imagine what hed do to a burglar, assassin, or a hungry monster?

The word jam comes to mind, a teenage boy had said, drawing a ring of laughter from Alex and some of the others in the crowd.

Yeah it does, doesnt it. And speaking of jam, Alex had said, smiling at the young man. He was surprised when the boy flinched and looked away, like a nervous fan meeting his idol. The Roth Family Bakery is operating on the tournament grounds. If you liked what you saw today, why dont you stop by the Vendors Alley. You cant miss it: our stand is the one with all the illusionary Claygons above it. Buy enough bread and cookies, and I might be able to afford some new polish for Claygon!

More laughter had spread through the crowd while his golem struck poses from the signs. We makethe best foodthough I cant taste itso go andtaste it for me! Claygon said, his voice that of an enthusiastic young man.

And that enthusiasm had been infectious.

By the time Alexs friends and familywhod been standing at the side, chatting with Shale and Khaliks parentsdragged him from the crowd, there was an eager tide of hungry customers heading in the direction of the bakery stand.

That was when Torakas hand had fallen on his shoulder. Come on partner, your friends have agreed to let me borrow you for a bit. Lets grab a drink and talk.

And now they were settled comfortably in the beer tent, with Alex sipping his second mug of ale while Toraka had downed three in the same span of time.

So, she finally said, wiping her lips with a handkerchief. I take it you saw my panic?

Yeah, Alex said. Those buyers looked ready to jump ship.

Idiots. Toraka grumbled. They took one look at Prime and all they could think of was, free golem!

Alex scoffed. Free golem? A half-complete seventh-tier spell cast by one of the most powerful battlemages at the university does not equal free golem...but I could see why they would have gotten so excited. I meana lot of our clients are archwizards, right? The way Prime looked in the beginning of the match, it seemed like all someone had to do was pick up a spell-guide, learn Force Construct and bam

they get a construct without having to hand over a pile of coin, its a powerful construct, it can change shape, and goes away when its not needed. Toraka rolled her eyes. So, you can see why some of the non-wizard buyers were looking at Prime and salivating. You know what one of them asked me?

Whats that? Alex leaned in, taking a long drink of ale.

The woman actually said, if she could get a golem for free, then what use was I? Toraka snorted. And I get it: Im a businesswoman. The idea of free or easy supplies, labour or product is what I dream about, but listen to this: the one who asked me that? She was a merchant, not a wizard! She couldnt even cast a first-tier spell!

Alex burst out laughing. So instead of making a one-time payment for a golem that she owns forever, instead she pays a wizard to conjure a force construct whenever she needs one, and stick around to feed it mana? She might save coin in the beginning, buteventuallykeeping a powerful wizard on staff is going to cost her a lot more than just buying a golem outright.

Thats what I said, and let me tell you, I was nearly impolite when I told her that, but I kept things professional. But that idiot almost had most of the other buyers convinced. Hells, I was nearly convinced after the first round! She shook her head, finishing her drink and ordering another one. Visions of financial ruin were crawling through my mind.

Well, I cant blame you, Alex said darkly. Listen, if I were you, Id either start funding Professor Rams research as a sponsor, or developing something that can compete with Prime. We saw what limitations the spell has right now, but Id bet you a lot of coin that Professor Ram went right back to the Cells and started working on ironing out those problems. What if he manages to up the efficiency of the spell and simplifies the spell-circuit? What if he manages to cut down on the feedback issues or somehow make the force construct autonomous? Then we really would be dead.

At those words, Shale gave him a startled look.

Then she burst out laughing, starting first with low giggles that eventually grew into silent, body-trembling, fits of laughter with the occasional short creeping in.

Alex watched her, dumbfounded. Whats so funny? I dont think its funny: weve got to be ready for advancements in magical knowledge, or were going to be pushed out of the golem business.

Sorry, I shouldnt laugh, Toraka chuckled. Its just thatwell, sometimes, I forget how young you are. Listen here, Alex, youre right to a certain extent, but you dont have to be as wary as you think. Every year, some wizard comes along, claiming that they have, or are about to overturn everything we know about magic, and that theyre going to set the world on fire with some new revolutionary spell. But heres the thing: most of the time, what theyre saying is complete and total garbage.

She snickered. We call them flim-flam masters. Here, let me tell you a story. About five yearsno waitit was longer than that. Toraka pondered for a moment. This would have been about twenty-five years ago.

Right, so before I was born, Alex said.

Toraka froze, giving him a pained look. Do me a favour, partner. Please dont remind me that I am hurtling toward becoming decrepit? I mean, I am, but you dont have to remind me of it.

Fine, fine, Alex said. So what about this person from twenty-five years ago?

Well, there was this wizard who claimed that they had achieved the miraculous and had managed to rework the efficiency of fireballs spell array. I told you before about young wizards claiming that theyd made the most revolutionary discoveries, well, this storys different.

Itd be okay if you already told me the story. I know the elderly tend to repeat themselves, Alex said.

Toraka glowered. Gods, I wish I could still fire you.

Fine, fine, sorry.

I know youre not sorry, but Ill move on anyway. I thinkhis name wasLiznoOliveramaybe? I dont remember, and honestly, the names not important. What is important is that heclaimed to have so thoroughly reworked the spell array, that hed transformed fireball into a first-tier spell. With no loss in power, and no loss in control.

Alex whistled. Thats He considered fireballs spell array. It wasnt a spell hed studied in great detail, but hed taken a look at it when he was in the library thinking of ways he could help Selina with fire magic in the future.

Naturally, everyone ignored him at first, but then came the demonstrations.

Toraka suddenly flung her hands in the air as though mimicking an explosion. He set up this booth invarious placesalways far from the universityand began throwing fireballs. Boom! Pow! Kaboom! They were some of the biggest fireballs people had ever seen. Just absolutely spectacular stuff,andeveryone observing could see that they were first-tier spells. He even showed off the magic circuits. Well, that got people more interestedand then the buyers started showing up.

Again her hands flew up. Boom! Boom! Boom! Young wizards all over Generasi were suddenly throwing around fireballs using his unique first-tier spell. Naturally, a lot of people were now rushing in to buy it. But, the more experienced people smelled something fishy: if a spell is third-tier, then its third-tier for a reason. Sometimes, youll get some sort of advancement in wizardry that changes our paradigms. But those are few and far between. If the world changed paradigms every five minutes, then everything would be a sea of chaos. Up would be down and left would be right from one day to the next. Nobreakthroughs are costly, and spells that are third-tier do not suddenly become first-tier. Sleight of hand.

Wait, what? Why did the phrase, sleight of hand just come out of nowhere? Alex said.

I mean the whole thing was sleight of hand, she said. The wizard and his customersall of whom were hired plants, by the waywere casting a simple first-tier spark spell that created a moderate burst of flame. Effective for starting fires, but not a fireball. So, what they were actually doing was throwing out a tiny, butvery concentratedalchemical explosive that was hidden in the spells fire-bead. It would rupture and ignite, causing the resulting flame from the spell to appear much larger than it really was.

Oooooh, thats bloody clever, but they mustve gotten caught pretty quick, Alex said.

No. He was actually smart about it. Hed tell people his supply of spell-guides were rare first-printings that one could only get by going to his office and placing an order. These guides would then be delivered right to peoples homes. Toraka chuckled. I almost admire the brilliance in the attention to detail in the scheme. By making it so that people received their spell-guides individually, it took longer for recipients to start comparing notes when, obviously, the spells failed to produce the expected results. In addition, hed designed the spell array for his fake spell to be finicky, so even for more experienced buyers, learning it would take time.

She shook her head. It took about a day for the first buyers to realise theyd been scammed and a few more before news really spread. By the time people realised what had happened, he was long gone. My point is, you sounded a bit like those flim-flam masters, saying thattomorrowa spell thats seventh-tier and requires an advanced battle mage to even operate it, would soon be ready for public consumption.

Toraka raised her glass. One day, Im sure Ram will crack it. But we have time. Andas our new, actual revolution gets under way, well look into new frontiers. Thats what business is all about.

Ill drink to that, Alex said, finishing his beer. So basically, some of these buyers were thinking that the spell might be accessible tomorrow.

Exactly. A promising prototype is only a promising prototype until the final tests are done. Youve got to hunt for and perfect the next step before you can reap the rewardsmmm, speaking of hunts. Youre in the Grand Land Hunt, arent you?

Alex smiled. Thats right: Theresa, Claygon and I are entering again. And were going to win this time.

Confident talk. I remember that Raniertook first place last year with ease.

Well, lets just say Ill have a little surprise waiting for him this time around.

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