jmclarke
patreon
Chapter 754: Hidden Icons (Final Chapter of Book 8)
🕑 Added 2024-01-04 16:09:09 +0000 UTC“You know, I thought we were going to die,” Birger shook his head, seeming shocked that they were still alive. He raised his arms toward the ceiling, stretching his aching back as the trio entered the lab. “You went through all the trouble of making us stay out of the summoning room when you were conjuring simple elementals, big birds, and engeli. But you keep us right there with you when you call the Slaughterer of the Infinite, literally, something called the Slaughterer of the Infinite! Then you try and antagonise it?”
Bjorgrund shuddered. “When you started talking about revenge near the end there, I was sure she was going to leap out of the summoning circle and start butchering us!”
“I wasn't worried, not even for one second!” Alex said loudly, like someone lying about not being worried. His hands shook. “The only thing I felt was the sweet thrill of victory!”
The giants looked at each other, then back to the young wizard sceptically.
Alex’s grin cracked. “Okay, I'm lying. I was actually shaking in my boots. For a moment there, I wasn’t sure how offended she’d be, but I also had to show her that I wasn’t afraid of her. She made it pretty clear that she had no respect for weakness. But yeah, I wouldn't have had you with me if I didn't need you. Bjorgund and I needed to do that demonstration, and I didn't think you'd want to leave your son alone with me and something like her, Birger, and besides, if she’d started going berserk, I would have grabbed you two and teleported the hells out of there before she could get out of the summoning circle.”
“Well, you thought right. I'm just glad she seemed to admire you showing her some backbone,” Birger said. “So, does this mean we’re all ready, then?”
“Just about,” Alex nodded to the control panel for the sanctum. “Did you finish mapping a route for our ‘guests’?”
Birger gave him a nasty smile. “Why don't you take a look? We wrote everything down in that book over there.”
The old firbolg pointed to the notebook lying open beside the controls.
Alex eagerly picked it up, reading each notation carefully, his smile growing wider at everything he saw. Laid out across the pages, was a detailed route through the sanctum, beginning at the entrance chamber with the goddess statues, and leading through a number of rooms. The trap in each area was highlighted, along with which pathways would go to the next room along the giants’ diabolical route.
Every room had two exits, each one leading to a different branch along the passageway, giving the hidden church the illusion of choice. They would be drawn in, believing that they were moving through the sanctum of their own choosing, while in fact, they would be led along a set path to death.
Alex nodded in approval. “This is vicious,” he said admiringly. “Well done. Now, they can get a taste of what being ambushed feels like.”
“And it never leads to anywhere we don't want them to go: no summoning chamber and no lab. But you know what the best part is?” Bjorgrund pointed at the end of the route, all smiles. “Look where they end up.”
Alex’s eyes went to the end of the route, then he burst out laughing. “Right back to the goddess statues! Oh, that's evil!”
“I'll be sitting at the controls, turning traps on and off,” Birger grinned. “If they look confident, then all the traps will be on in every room they go to. If they look like they're starting to get nervous, I'll turn off a few traps—give them a bit of hope—and keep luring them in. Once they get comfortable again, then we start hitting them with the ‘good’ stuff. I think the best part is when they first get to the entrance chamber, the statues will be off. We won't be so kind when they find themselves back in that same room at the end of it all.”
“Excellent, just what I like to hear.” The young wizard rubbed his hands together. “And by the time they get back there, the summoned monsters waiting for them, as well as the traps, will have whittled their numbers down so much that very few will be left. And if that sneaky fae, any priests or those two Apostles are left, they’ll get a taste of what’s waiting in that room. That's when we hit them with my most powerful summoned monsters, including our new ally.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Birger said, looking at his son. “You understand you don't have to be involved in the last part of this fight if you don't want to be, Bjorgrund?”
“That’s absolutely true, you've done more than enough for me,” Alex agreed.
Bjorgrund snorted. “You're gonna have me do all that training with you, and then not let me take part in the best part? No way. I want a piece of them myself, you didn't give me this axe and armour so I could just sit around and admire them.”
“I thought you'd say something like that,” Birger said. “Just make sure you don't let them best you, son.”
The larger giant patted his father on the back. “I won't, father. None of your stories end that way, so how could I let that happen?”
Alex and Birger looked at each other in confusion.
“What do you mean?” the firbolg asked his son.
The young giant grinned. “What, you didn't figure it out yet? This is just like one of your stories! You know, the ones about the young farm boys?”
Alex raised a brow in amusement. “What farmer stories?”
“Oh, those ones, “ Birger said, suddenly laughing. “I see what you mean, son!”
“Okay, now I feel like you’re sharing a joke that I don't know the punchline to.” The young wizard looked around suspiciously. “What are you two talking about?”
“Well, there wasn't much to do to pass the time in the woods,” Bjorgrund explained. “So when I was little, father would sing and tell me all sorts of stories at night. A lot of them were about young, human farm boys who’d always get chosen for some great destiny. Usually, they’d get some sort of mark or something like it that shows their greatness—”
“Clearly works of wild fantasy,” Alex said dryly.
“—and they'd always be raised by grumpy grandfathers, aunts or uncles,” the young giant continued.
“Not too grumpy,” Birger said, sounding offended.
“Anyway, they would live on these farms, or in the middle of the woods, until one day a wizard comes to them. Usually they'd be old men, but sometimes, they'd be beautiful women…” Bjorgrund trailed off, his eyes shifting to Alex.
“Why are you looking at me like I'm some merchant who just gave you a bad deal?” Alex asked, squinting at the young giant.
“I don't know, why aren't you some beautiful sorceress?” the giant shot back.
“Yeah, fair enough. I'd be kind of pissed too,” Alex said. “Well, at least I'm not an old man.”
“You’re old compared to me.”
Alex shuddered, imagining grey already replacing brown hair. “Don't make me wish I left you back at that cottage.”
“It's okay, it's okay! I'm joking!” Bjorgrund laughed. “Point is, this wizard would sweep these farm boys up on these grand journeys of adventure, and would mentor and train them for some great destiny of theirs. I mean, things are a little different with our situation, but I did get marked with a rune when I was younger, and then a wizard did show up at my door to take me on a grand adventure, and I did get trained by that wizard.”
Alex burst out laughing. “I know those stories! By the Traveller, how come I didn’t see it myself? That's too funny!” He paused. “Wait, doesn't the mentor usually die in those stories?”
“Uh…” Bjorgrund went quiet.
“Well, as you said, works of wild fantasy…” Birger said, shifting uncomfortably.
“They better be, because I ain't dying,” Alex said. “Not to the church.” He paused, thinking of Carey.
Talk of friends dying, and the church, brought her to mind, leaving him wondering if she was alright, and growing stronger by Hannah’s side. He wondered how her parents were, and if they ever took comfort in the painting he’d made of Carey’s final celebration with her friends.
The young wizard paused again.
A final picture.
He reached into his satchel, feeling around.
“Hey, before we give our ‘guests’ their invitation, would you mind if we do something?” He pulled out Hannah’s phone. “It'd be great if we could take an instant portrait together—I mean, this device will immortalise an image of the three of us. Think of it as making a realistic painting really fast as a keepsake in case…things don't go right.”
Birger looked grimly at Kelda, laying at rest in her glass coffin.
“Aye, seems like a proper thing to do,” the old firbolg said. “How do we do it?”
Well, the easiest thing to do would be to have a Wizard’s Hand take it…hold on for a bit, let me fiddle with it for a second, let me try something.”
He began looking through the menus slowly.
“I don’t know what’s all in here, so there might be hidden functions…ah, here’s a menu I’ve never seen before…there's all these unique looking icons in here…” The young wizard tinkered with the artefact, scrolling through different characters.
“Maybe this…wait, what's this?”
He touched a symbol that displayed another menu, then pressed an arrow.
Music blared through the room.
“Gah!” Alex cried.
“What is that?” Bjorgrund shouted, lifting his axe. “Are we under attack?”
“I've got to get to the controls!” Birger shouted.
Meanwhile, Alex was fumbling with the phone, juggling it in both hands, trying desperately not to drop it.
The melody rising from the artefact changed as a singer with a clear, climbing voice joined in, adding lyrics to the melody that soared through the air. By the time the young wizard caught the phone and secured it, the singer had reached a chorus.
“We are the chaaaaampioooons, weee are the champions! No time for losers, ‘cause we are the champions of the world—” the vocalist repeated the lyrics.
At least, that is what the sounds sounded like, though Alex did not know their meaning.
“It's okay, we're not under attack, that’s coming from the phone—I mean the artefact—I mean the thing in my hand!” Alex quickly shouted.
“Sounds like music! Good music from the sound of it. I like the melody, though I don't know what the words mean!” Bjorgrund cried.
"We ar tha champeeons?" Alex asked, enjoying the music now that he realised the phone wasn't about to explode. "Birger do you know?"
“No, but it's a very good use of melody,” Birger said. “And the singer is fantastic. The voice is a little too high for my tastes, but it's nice and clear. Does it say who the performers are?”
Alex shook his head. “I can’t tell, I don’t know what all of this says. There's an image of a creepy-looking bald thing here, but I don't know anything about it. It looks kind of like a ghoul.”
“Ghouls that sing like kings, wonder of wonders,” Birger said. “I can't believe such a thing was hidden in there.”
“Yeah, me neither. It must have been important to Hannah if she had it on here, maybe she can tell me the words in the common tongue if I see her again," Alex chuckled. “It seems all sorts of things could be hidden in a device like this. I mean it can record information, images, music and Traveller knows what else, so why wouldn’t it have all sorts of…other…functions…”
Alex suddenly gasped.
“What is it? Is it exploding?” Bjorgrund said, looking ready to run for a portal.
“Something just occurred to me…” the wizard said. “I don't have any hard evidence to support this, so it's only a hunch but…”
“A hunch about what?” Bjorgrund asked.
“About where someone might hide information…” the young wizard said.
Alex was thinking about Uldar’s sanctum, to the mostly empty rooms. The god had immortalised so much of his life in that sanctum—through notes, carvings etched into the walls of the staircase—but there was also so much that seemed to be missing. In his throne room, the expedition had found a scene that looked to be right out of a murder story.
A dead body.
Mysterious black ichor.
A place setting for a guest who’d never arrived for their meal.
But Uldar had left no recordings or diaries anywhere.
Or had he?
Perhaps they simply hadn’t found any.
Perhaps they hadn’t looked in the right places.
Alex considered the throne room where Uldar once sat looking upon the entirety of his kingdom, watching moving images that surrounded him on all sides.
The god had recorded his voice to greet guests…what if he’d recorded something else elsewhere?
What if, just like the music on Hannah’s phone, there were secrets hidden in the chamber of images in his sanctum?
He had to contact Claygon—it was only a hunch, right now, but if he was right, it could be the first lead they’d had in months. Theresa should know so she could tell their allies.
‘I wouldn’t mind taking a look around myself,’ he thought. ‘And even if I'm wrong, maybe I can find a way to take control of that room now that I've unlocked the Mark of the General. We could look for the Ravener in more than one place at a time. But, in order to be free to head back to Thameland, I need to get rid of those people hunting me.’
He balled his right hand into a fist.
‘We’re ready now. First, we take the hidden church, then we put an end to the Ravener for good; no more cycles, no more spawn, no more coming back killing people, creating chaos, making five young people fight it every hundred. It has to end forever,’ Alex thought.
In the background, while a clear voiced singer sang of champions, the General of Thameland got ready to take a picture of himself and his two companions.
After that, it would be time to lure their enemies.
Time for the final battles in the endless cycle of Thameland’s wars.
###
Author's Note
Hello forty-one cool fools, almighty chosen, wise sages, and mighty champions! Thank you for your support!
Well, here we are, finishing off book 8 right at the beginning of the year. We're almost three years into Fool, and we are reaching the end of the second to last volume together.
Book 8 was the longest book in the series: a LOT happened and a lot had to be set up for the final volume, and now it has. Things are ready for the final steps, the final battles and the final mysteries to be solved.
It's pretty emotional to think that I've had the privilege to tell this story-in such detail-to all of you. It's been fulfilling, humbling and confidence-boosting all at once! A fantastic experience so far.
And now, there's only one more volume of Fool to go.
One more until Fool is a complete series, just like the ones I read when I first got into fantasy all those years ago. To think that we've come here together is just...mind-blowing to me. I've been writing for a very long time, but I've never reached this far in such a long tale, let alone WITH an audience beside me.
I'm so thankful to you for following Alex's adventures, from the moment he first tricked McHarris to now, when he's about to begin the great battles of his kingdom and his time.
After Fool is done, the plan is for a new series to be released on Patreon first so that y'all can experience it before it becomes public.
It should launch shortly before Fool ends.
The current title is Godslayer. And it's another story I've wanted to tell for a long time, one that will be set in the same universe as Fool, though not on the same planet. There will be a new protagonist and other characters to meet, magics, secrets, and powers to explore and foes to conquer!
Look forward to it when Fool is coming to a close. :)
Book 9 begins tomorrow! Let's finish this!
Cya then!
Comments
Nathan moi
Bro i swear we don't read the same chapter, where does it say they understand it ? Didn't Alex say he would ask Hannah for a translation if he had the opportunity ?
Gareth S
Yeah but it’s just unnecessary… what does it really add to the story? I just prefer to keep it seperate, I find in most cases real world cross overs into fantasy land to be a bit … immature
Maya Sepulveda
Yeha but isn’t Hannah confirmed to be from our Earth? He is using her phone, I feel like it makes sence in this context
Gareth S
I hate real world fantasy world crossovers they are just an unnecessary distraction
S Money
But they don’t understand it. That’s why Alex is saying he might ask Hannah for a translation. Doesn’t mean they can’t sound out the words on repeat. People can frequently repeat things they’ve heard in other languages, doesn’t mean they understand what any of it means. Just that they have ears and can sound it out.
Surgebinder
Everyone in universe understanding we are the champions is really bothering me, it’s immersion breaking
Reds
That would be a bigger cliffhanger but at least it would be a more satisfying cliffhanger. So I agree. Or end it with the resolution of the church fight. Either option I think would be better for a novel. As web serial, it doesn't matter as much.
Reds
Dang I didn't think about this but yeah I 100% agree. If I were reading this as a novel, I would be very annoyed at the ending.
Vaylor
Seems odd that they would be able to understand English from the song. Maybe Alex I could see, but why would Bjorgrund know it. Book 8 could have ended either when they reached the sanctum or when Alex removed the patch.
Jordan Svec
Also, I truly truly truly appreciate your writing schedule. Other authors on Patreon put 2-3 chapters a week, and take multiple month long breaks. You and Zogarth are my only regular authors.
Jordan Svec
I’ve been reading along with you for a good bit of time now, and have been dreading my favorite series ending. I’m thrilled that the new series is set in the same universe. I truly hope we get to see some of our favorites from Fool in passing in the new series.
mmarkgraf212
I'm going to be honest, this ending felt flat. The whole book was hyping up this fight, only for it to get delayed. If I were reading this in book format, I would be extremely upset. As I am not reading it in book form, I'm just a bit annoyed. If you're ending it here because it's getting long, I can think of two chapters that could get cut out without missing much.
Scott Emery
Aack, I am not looking forward to 12 to 20 chapters where the secret church gets beat down in a classic dungeon. That sounds just horribly tedious. I sure hope he doesn't go that way.
stardast24
Looking though the comments saying the fight should have been in this book comes across as not read the other book. Almost all the books just end with lots of loosen ends. book one with Selina screaming. book two end with Alex finding the secret code in a book and showing it to Bealin. Book 3 Is the only one that ends in a good spot with Alex going back home. Book 4 end just after the fight at the windmill. Book 5 ends at Cloygons first words. So book 8 stoping here is par for the course,
RyanR-Reviewer
That would be nice. Still bummed that we won't be getting a Selina focused story. I honestly thought that was where the author was going. It seemed like the perfect set up for after Fool finished. Oh well. I just hope Godslayer is as good as Fool.
Revan694
I agree as well. Just to be clear I only think this impacts the book format! It's a good summary chapter. And, those can be necessary, certainly. For instance, at the start of a new book, to bring readers up to speed. Or when a new character is introduced to bring them up to speed. Preferably those two events happen at the same time and the summary or 'recap' feels natural. Summary chapters aren't needed to summarize the events of the previous chapter though, especially right at the end of a book. The chapter works great to contextualize the narrative from the giants point of view. But, this would be much more impactful after they resolved the secret church problem. They would have won to some degree. Alex would have been the wise old wizard offering an adventure instead of possible doom. Playing 'we are the champions' would be cathartic instead of possibly ironic. Chapters like this can also happen after the climax, when the main narrative antagonist (group, person, or ideal) is either beaten back, destroyed, or overcome. Alex becoming the general could have been the climax to the book since he overcame the fool mark. But it was clear that it was mainly as a means to fight back against the secret church. The author has done a great job setting up a climactic fight, but without resolving it, the book feels hollow. Right now the characters have all leveled up, but are stuck in a keep with an army pounding at the doors. There's a plan, it's realistic, but it won't be realized. Readers will forget the build up by the next book and it will lose its impact, unless they specifically reread the previous book. If this was the battle for Helms Deep, this would be the point where Aragorn says, "Ride out with me." And instead of the resolution of the battle its just the credits. Again, just to be clear I only think this impacts the book format! And only since this is supposed to be the end of a book. The chapter its self is a good bit of levity before a battle. For a serialized production with regular chapters, it's great, it fits the stories' literary style of being serious without taking it's self too seriously. It summarizes while humorously adding to the story from a new perspective. I just don't think it will work if the readers of the book have to wait 3-6 months for the next chapter.
Christopher Mackey
Well, I was way off, I really thought it'd end with Theresa calling Alex for help from the sanctum. Honestly, the moment the author stated there were less than a half-dozen chapters left, I figured the fight was going to be in the next book. After reading, I got Halo 2 vibes with the sudden ending. I wonder if it would be viable to combine book 8 and book 9? Can't wait to read more though!
Daniele Di Vitto
Yes, I remember that part, but super heroes or not, it's still our world. It's functionally the same thing for the sake of pushing me out of the story. Her phone just played "we are the champions" for crying out loud... This is a matter of tastes but I would have very much preferred if she had been isekaied from a completely different world within the MotF universe, technologically developed so that a phone-like device and her knowledge of programs and patches would not be out of place but different enough to not just be an alternative version of Earth. And no pop culture references.
Code Reed
After thinking about it for a while, I think book 8 should have ended after he removed the mark of the fool. That would have at least been a more satisfying ending than just ending the book after a short conversation.
mag28
Can't remember exactly but pretty sure when he meet hannah as a ghost, before she became a hiding goddess, she sorta kinda download English into his brain. It wasn't exactly said/described like that, that was what happened if I'm remembering it correctly
Jayson Legott
Thanks for the chapter! Excited and sad about Fool coming to an end but all good things must end eventually. Though I do hope after Fool ends you’ll take a break or go on a vacation before you start the next one. You deserve it!
BoxQueen
It kind of exciting to see an end of a journey, since all stories come to end eventually. I found your stories on amazon and if your sample wasn't enough to draw me in then I wouldn't have experience a nice fantasy story with great loads of characters. And congrats with the end of book 8. Personally, if I read book 8 and it ended like this, I would be fairly disappointed with how the story built up to end with more secrets to unravel. It is not bad cliffhanger, nor does it feel cheap and awful. Just a cute allusion to Lord of the Rings and other Higher Fantasy stories with Hannah's phone singing Queen's music. Still, it is your type of ending and I wouldn't have it any other way. I thoroughtly enjoy book 5's ending in that regard.
Allastin
It would be nice to see Alex in the new story, however brief. I assume he’s going to be exploring the cosmos and whatnot lol
Raivshard
I think your expectations are 100% on point. The narrative structure of this book points directly at "this is happening," but then it just ... doesn't. There have been some big moments for Alex. I suppose that changing the mark could be considered the climax. Aside from that, It's been a series of low waves that occasionally eddy around in confusion. The only other thing that was sure was that it was supposed to culminate in the confrontation with the hidden church. Subverted expectations can work great, but not when it's just a giant arse-pull. I dearly hope that this book gets a proper edit and a restructuring before it gets anywhere near a publisher, because it's a mess.
Raivshard
Agreed. Even if the battle itself is meant to be underwhelming after all the work they put in -- "not with a bang, but a whimper" etc -- It's still a completely unresolved plot point which needs to be handled within the same book. And then there should be a proper epilogue chapter after that.
Alex
Yeah, this is dragging for way too long. And this chapter is a weird one to finish the book.
mant06
I wonder if Godslayer will be a cultivation story as the author once stated wanting to do one. Also isn't the manapool connected to the lifeforce is a bit reminecent of cores condencesd into dantians of some cultivation stories.
Some person
When I stumbled across this story it was only just into the 100s (chapter 110 specifically) been quite the wild ride but I’m dammed glad I found this story… pretty sure it’s in my top 3 favourites of all time… (don’t ask if it 1st 2nd or 3rd, because I don’t know either)
Dennis
I Agree not having the fight which has been built up through book 8 delayed till book 9 seems miss guided.
Eivind Aabakken
This is just a first impression from someone who reads chapters on release. Keep in mind I had expected today to be the church beatdown, so my subverted expectations might be influencing my poor impression of this chapter. In my opinion, the choice to move the final conflict which has been central to book 8 into the first arc of ending The Ravener isn't satisfying. In other works I've read where something similar occurs, the best case has been that it's simply a distraction from the plot of (in Fool's case) book 9. Progression fantasy (again; in my opinion) has two main axis which defines it: The progression of our character, and the conflicts/goals which fuels it. The progression payout for the reader has been great and fun to read, but with no Stalker to showcase it on, it feels much less substantial. Other than that, I have two issues with the chapter itself. Breaking the 4th wall for a 3rd(ish) part of what is essentially the epilogue to book 8 was off-putting. Most people who've read eight books in a progression series don't need the Heroes (heh) Journey explained to them. If it was intended to be an on-the-nose, I see what you did there kinda thing, it didn't land for me. It just broke immersion. The second issue is the phone, which is three separate concerns. Firstly (minor): They can understand English songs but not the written word. Secondly: 'We are the Champions' is most often used either as a hype-up song or a celebratory one, both of which can't be realized without the conflict occuring (in book 8). The third concern is more a question of if Alex' revelation from the phone will undermine Theresa's character development in hunting the Ravener. How will Alex swooping in with insane power and (from her perspective) deus ex machinaing her quest be received? Logically, she must know that her feelings don't matter that much compared to finding The Ravener asap, but how will she actually feel? Superflous? Underperforming? What about the power balance in their relationship, which has dramatically changed in one aspect? Now, it's not like they're very interested in power-balance internally in the relationship, as it's a true love kinda thing, but it's still a large change. This, taken with Deus ex, might also influence her feelings towards herself. My intention here is to provide feedback and communicate my experience as a long time reader and fan of your work, Mr. Clarke. I hope it provoked some thought and was useful to you in some way. It's been a hell of a ride since binging up to book 2, getting cravings for more and ending up here. What an accomplishment, eight books in three years! Looking forwards to the commencement of the culmination <3
just_a_guy
Leading the church into some traps is a great idea, but planning to lead them through what sounds like a dozen or more room with multiple booby traps each makes the plan sound a little silly. Somehow Alex expects the church to be incredibly powerful…and simultaneously as stupid and gullible as a toddler. Other than that, I’m super stoked to see the church put down, and I can’t wait to have Alex back in the world again doing his General thing!
Reed Montemurro
it’s probably not likely, but as soon as the book mapping out the route and the traps was described, i couldn’t help worrying that the church will get their hands on it somehow and use it to launch a counter trap
The traveler is not from our world if you recall her world had superheroes.
George R
Super interested in the the new series. Loved the ending can’t wait for the next book!
Overclocked
100% agree on this. Having all that hype and ending here is a very odd place to end a book and would leave readers completely dissatisfied
Enif
Phone translation maybe?
Enif
If you pay attention it's not our world it's a super hero version of our world.
Code Reed
While it's probably a good idea not to rush this battle, I can't help but think it was a mistake to make this a cliffhanger. I can pretty much guarantee you're going to get a bunch of bad reviews because of it. There was far too much anticipation and build up for this showdown that cutting it off for the final book will leave a lot of people unsatisfied. Maybe not so much here on patreon since we can immediately get to the next book, or whenever you start doing it. But for the actual completed books on Kindle or audible? Yeah people are going to be annoyed.
Obi-Wan-Sage
woot congrats man!! it has been a journey!! please tell me godslayer will a crossover with the fool well now general!!!
Sam
Interested to learn more about the new story
Daniele Di Vitto
A bit of a let down as a book ending chapter. I was never a fan of the Traveller being isekaied from our world, the pop culture references ruin the immersion for me.
Bender
Nice. Will Alex be battling alone? Hopefully he gets his crew down there too!
Mohammed Sheekh
how did the group understand English? it is technically a language from another realm of reality
RyanR-Reviewer
Wow! Early chapter today. Thanks a bunch! Can't wait for the next one. Keep up the excellent work Mr Clarke.
