Tales from the New Earth: Volume Two

by J. J. Thompson

  Back inside, the wizard got dressed properly, ate a quick breakfast of toast and jam and prepared to Gate to the vicinity of the cattle that Aeris had spotted.

  “Are you sure that that's the right spot?” he asked the air elemental.

  They were huddled over his atlas in the study. Aeris had found the coordinates for Simon to use as his target when he Gated, but he'd sounded just a little bit tentative. It made the wizard nervous.

  “Fairly sure,” Aeris told him and then frowned. “What? Cows move around. This is where I saw them, yes, but they could have moved several miles since then. I won't swear that they are still there; that would be unprofessional.”

  Simon wrote the coordinates on a scrap of paper and slipped it into his pocket.

  “Don't worry about it. I didn't expect us to pop in right next to them, you know. In fact, that would just spook them and we don't want to do that.”

  He closed the book and looked around the room, wondering if he was forgetting something.

  “Okay. Let's go,” he said and Aeris followed him downstairs.

  “Oh, do me a favor and shoot around to the back, would you? Tell Kronk that we're going? He's working in the garden.”

  “He's going to remind me to take care of you and not let you take any unnecessary risks, you know,” the elemental said, sounding a little exasperated.

  “It's because he cares,” Simon reminded him. “Just smile and nod. He only wants acknowledgment of his concerns, that's all.”

  “Fine, fine.”

  Aeris disappeared with a small pop of imploding air and the wizard crossed to the door to grab his staff.

  “How are you doing?” he asked it cheerfully. “Sorry if I've been neglecting you, but you'll be getting a lot of work shortly.”

  Simon ran his fingers over the jeweled runes on the shaft of the weapon absently as he considered the best way to catch a cow.

  This should be interesting, he thought.

  “He just said to have fun,” Aeris said from behind him and Simon jumped with a yelp.

  “Don't do that!”

  “Oh sorry. Forgot. Anyway, Kronk is so busy digging that he barely paid any attention to me. Let's get out of here before it dawns on him that we're actually leaving and he races in here to make sure you're wearing socks.”

  “Be nice,” Simon told him, trying not to smile. “Now grab hold and let's do this.”

  He took the coordinates out of his pocket, fixed them firmly in his mind and then glanced at Aeris, who was holding on to his sleeve.

  The elemental nodded once.

  “Gate,” Simon said firmly, and the tower faded to black.

  “Shield!” he shouted a few seconds later as they appeared in the center of a field surrounded by cows. The bovines were all staring at him in astonishment. All but one. An enraged bull was racing at him from some twenty yards away, its head lowered. Viciously sharp horns at least a foot long were aimed straight at the wizard as he stood on open ground, totally exposed.

  The cows finally bawled in fear and scattered in all directions, mothers and calves among them. Simon was left standing in the path of the maddened animal with nowhere to run.

  His shield appeared mere seconds before the creature smashed into him.

  “Brace yourself,” Aeris yelled just before impact.

  “How?” Simon replied as he gritted his teeth and held onto his staff for dear life.

  And then he was flying end over end, twenty feet in the air. An analytical part of him knew that before the Change, even a bull wouldn't have had that kind of power.

  They're stronger, he thought wildly as he spun across the field. A lot stronger.

  The shield bounced as it hit the ground and Simon slammed into it. He was shaken by the impact and his teeth snapped together loudly.

  “Hang on,” Aeris said from somewhere close by. “It's not done with us yet.”

  “What?”

  And the bull slammed into the shield and sent them flying yet again.

  “Oh come on!” the wizard shouted at the furious bull. He couldn't actually see the beast because he was spinning so much.

  This time Simon landed face first against the shield and he was surrounded by sparks as the energy field bounced across the open field. There was a sickening crunch that he remembered hearing once before, in his old life.

  “Shit,” he muttered weakly as he continued to bounce. “My nose is broken.”

  The shield finally rolled to a stop, resting against a tree. He managed to get his feet under him and stood up slowly.

  “Where is it?” he asked a little woozily.

  Aeris hovered at his shoulder, none the worse for wear.

  “You're bleeding, Simon,” he said, wide-eyed. “Rather badly.”

  “Forget that. Where the hell is the bull?”

  The elemental pointed and the wizard turned quickly and then almost fell as his wobbly legs nearly failed him.

  The bull was racing across the field after its disappearing herd. Apparently it had decided that the threat had been neutralized and now went off to try and round up its harem.

  Good luck with that, buddy, Simon thought with painful amusement.

  He canceled the shield and then staggered a few yards to the small tree they had run into. The bull had slammed him to the edge of the forest as easily as a child would kick a soccer ball.

  He sat down heavily and leaned his head back against the trunk.

  Aeris followed and floated a few feet in front of him.

  “I am so sorry,” he said contritely as he watched a trickle of blood ooze from the wizard's nose and then drip on to his lap.

  “I had no idea that we would appear anywhere near those blasted cattle, let alone close enough to spook that bull.”

  Simon shrugged and shook his head slowly.

  “Not your fault,” he said, slurring his words a bit. “I should have cast Shield before we left. It's a good lesson for me and I'll make sure not to forget it next time.”

  He reached up and gently touched his nose. He could tell that it was pointing to the left a bit. Yup. Broken.

  “Could you set this for me?” he asked Aeris, pointing at it.

  The elemental flew closer and stared at Simon's nose with narrowed eyes. He finally nodded.

  “Yes, I can see the break through your skin. But it is going to hurt, my dear wizard. A lot. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Simon closed his eyes. His nose was throbbing in time with his heartbeat; the pain dull but steady.

  “No, but I have to. I've broken it before, you know. Well, the old me did. I know that the sooner it's set, the better it will heal.”

  He opened his eyes and looked directly at his friend.

  “So do it.”

  Aeris nodded and then searched the ground around the tree. He picked up a small branch that was still green and snapped off a six inch section. The branch was about an inch thick.

  “Here,” he said as he offered it to Simon.

  The wizard looked at the piece of wood blankly for a moment.

  “Ah, of course,” he said as he fuzzily figured out what it was for. “Thanks.”

  He took a breath, slipped the wood cross-ways between his teeth and bit down hard.

  “Okay,” he mumbled and then braced his head against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.

  “All right,” Aeris told him.

  Simon felt the little hands gently press against each side of his nose and held his breath.

  “On the count of three. One. Two...”

  There was a moment of intense pressure on his nose followed by a snap that echoed through his skull. The wave of pain that followed made Simon bite down so hard on the piece of wood in his mouth that he almost bit it in half. He sucked in a deep breath and swallowed several times to keep from vomiting.

  “Three,” Aeris said.

  Simon opened his eyes and glared at the elemental, who winked and moved back a few feet. He looked at the wizard's nose crit
ically.

  “Perfect,” he said with a satisfied nod. “It snapped back into place exactly as it should. You will have some swelling for a few days, which means that Kronk is going to be fussing over you with his usual mother hen routine.” He grimaced. “And he's going to yell at me for getting you hurt. Again, the usual routine.”

  With a careful turn of his head, Simon spat out the wood and touched his nose tentatively. The pain was down to a dull throb again but much more bearable. He used his sleeve to gently wipe the blood off of his face.

  “Glad I wore brown today,” he said. The streak of red on his robe wasn't too noticeable. “Thanks Aeris.”

  He pushed himself to his feet and took a minute to find his balance.

  “Do you want to stay and poke around or head back?” Aeris asked him. “I think you should take the day to rest after that injury.”

  “Yeah, probably. But we'll have to return for some cows later, so let's look around and see if we can find a safe place to Gate back to when we do.”

  “Ah, good idea.” Aeris looked around. “Which direction?”

  Simon shaded his eyes with his hand and looked across the field. The sun was blazingly bright at midday and he could barely see the woods on the far side of the clearing.

  “Well, not that way, at least,” he said with a wave. “One meeting with that damned bull was more than enough for me. Come on, Aeris, you're the scout here. Find me a rise somewhere close, preferably clear of trees so that I can see the surrounding countryside.”

  “Not asking for much, are we?” the elemental replied tartly. Then he grinned. “Ah, I love a challenge. Stay here for a moment while I take a look around.”

  And with that, he shot straight up through the branches above them and disappeared from sight.

  Simon smiled and folded his arms. He leaned against the tree and waited, keeping a careful watch on the field in case the bull reappeared looking for round two.

  Aeris returned a few minutes later.

  “I think I've found just the place,” he said cheerfully. “And it's through the forest behind you, so we won't have to dodge that bull.”

  “Thank God for that. Lead the way. Just take it slow, would you? My nose is feeling better but now I've got a huge headache.”

  “I'm not surprised. Okay then, this way.”

  Chapter 16

  Aeris had been right about Kronk's reaction to the wizard's broken nose. When the two of them appeared back in the tower, the little guy was poking at the fire. He turned with a smile to greet them and Simon saw his face fall and a scowl replace the happy grin.

  “What has happened, master?” he asked and jumped up on to the kitchen table.

  As Simon sat down unsteadily, Kronk tapped across the tabletop and looked at his face closely. Then he whirled around and glared at Aeris, who had stayed away from the table and was hovering in the middle of the room.

  “What did you do?” the earthen rumbled at him accusingly.

  “Told you so,” the air elemental said to Simon. He watched the earthen warily.

  “Easy, Kronk,” the wizard said. “It wasn't Aeris' fault. We popped in too close to a bull and it did what bulls do, that's all.”

  “Aeris should have known better, master,” Kronk replied angrily. “He is the renowned scout, is he not? His instructions for your Gate spell should have been more precise. You,” he spat at Aeris, “are slipping, getting sloppy because you are living here so comfortably. Back in the old days, one of your people would never have made such an obvious mistake and put their master in harm's way. Shame on you.”

  “Hey now, that's a bit harsh,” Simon said sharply. “I told you, I don't blame him.”

  Kronk stiffened at the rebuke and then calmed down a bit and nodded reluctantly.

  “As you say, master. Perhaps I was being a bit too hard on him.”

  “No you weren't, actually.”

  Both Simon and Kronk looked at Aeris in surprise. He flew over to join them, staring down at the tabletop.

  “Kronk is right. In the old days, a mistake like that would have gotten me banished in shame back to the realm of air immediately, no questions asked. Maybe,” he paused and shrugged. “Maybe I am too comfortable here. Getting soft. There is no excuse for allowing you to be injured, my dear wizard. None.”

  He looked up and met Simon's eyes.

  “I will do better; I swear I will.”

  “Hey, I know that. I do. Don't beat yourself up.”

  Simon couldn't remember seeing the air elemental look so distressed before and he gave Kronk a stern glance. But the earthen was staring at Aeris with such a look of concern that what the wizard was going to say died on his lips.

  “I did not mean to say that,” Kronk said to Aeris. He sounded a little embarrassed. “I was angry. You know how I worry about our master. You are a wonderful scout, you really are. We all make mistakes, myself included. Do not take it to heart.”

  Aeris smiled at him tentatively.

  “Thanks Kronk, but you had a good point. I may have lost my edge. The good news, such as it is, is that we found the cows and we've decided on a way to capture several of them. And from now on, our dear wizard will cast his Shield spell whenever he Gates into new territory, just in case. Right?” he added with a look at Simon.

  “Absolutely. Sometimes it takes a hard knock,” the wizard touched his swollen nose gingerly, “to get something through my head. Well, consider me warned. So something good did come out of this.”

  He began to get up and groaned softly.

  “Sit. Stay,” Aeris ordered as he sailed across the table and over to the counter. “I can read your mind. You want tea, yes? Or coffee?”

  “Coffee. Definitely. Thanks.”

  “Good. Kronk, perhaps you can take our wizard's staff and put it in its place and then get him his indoor shoes?”

  The little guy's expression brightened. He always liked being useful.

  “With pleasure.”

  He hopped down and looked up at Simon.

  “I will take the staff, master. You should move to your comfy chair and I will get your soft shoes.”

  “Thanks guys. I don't need the shoes though, Kronk. Thanks. Just take these ones and put them away.”

  Simon handed the earthen his staff and slipped off his shoes. Then he got up stiffly, creaking like an old man, and hobbled over to his chair in front of the fire. When he collapsed into it, he sighed with contentment, resting his sore head against the back of the chair.

  Now that he had a moment to think, Simon felt foolish. Imagine, living in the world they lived in now and Gating blindly into God knew what. How incredibly stupid was that? Aeris didn't deserve the blame; he did.

  “Don't fall asleep,” the air elemental said from the counter and the wizard caught himself just as he was drifting off. He turned his head to look over at Aeris.

  “Why not?”

  “Concussion. You have suffered some head trauma, my dear wizard. Stay awake for a few more hours to be sure that you don't have any side-effects. You know; double-vision, memory loss, slurring of speech. All that.”

  “Since when did you become such an expert on human health?” Simon asked curiously. He sat up a bit to try to stay awake.

  Aeris floated over to the fireplace and hung the kettle over the fire.

  “Since when did I know how to set a broken nose?” he replied. He flew back to the counter to ready the wizard's cup. “Hello. I'm thousands of years old, remember?”

  Kronk snorted a laugh as he made his way back to the chair and jumped up to stand on the wide arm.

  “He has a point, master. I mean no offense, but I have noticed that occasionally you forget that we have existed, and have known many humans, for a very long time.”

  Simon smiled and shrugged wearily.

  “That is true. It's just that you guys are my friends. I never had a lot of friends back in the old days, but the ones I did have were people that I simply liked, no questions asked. Young, o
ld, male, female; it never mattered. Their history was what made them interesting. Yours does too. It's just that you two have a heck of a lot more of it than anyone I've ever known.” He winked at Kronk. “And of course, the fact that you're both cute as buttons doesn't help either. It makes me forget your age sometimes.”

  The earthen's smile widened.

  “I don't think I'm cute,” Aeris protested. “Ruggedly handsome, perhaps, but not cute. Definitely not.”

  Kronk rolled his eyes and Simon suppressed a laugh.

  “Whatever you say,” he said as he watched Aeris putter at the counter. “I'm too sore and tired to argue.”

  When the coffee was ready, the air elemental carried it over to Simon, who accepted it gratefully.

  “Ah,” he sighed with pleasure after the first sip. “I needed that. Thanks so much.”

  “No problem.”

  Aeris moved to float over the other arm of the comfy chair.

  “I was wondering something, master,” Kronk said as he watched the wizard.

  “Hmm?”

  “You said that you've worked out a way to capture some cows?”

  Simon nodded as he enjoyed his coffee.

  “We have,” Aeris answered. He looked across the chair at the earthen. “Why?'

  “I was just wondering how you plan to do that.”

  “Go ahead,” Simon said to Aeris as he snuggled deeper into his chair. “It was actually your idea anyway.”

  “It was?” Kronk asked.

  “Hey, don't look so surprised. I have good ideas, sometimes.”

  “I know you do,” the earthen replied flatly. “You also have some bad ones, like letting our master Gate blindly into a herd of wild cattle.”

  “Let's not get side-tracked,” Simon cut in hurriedly, forestalling another argument. “Just explain it.”

  “Yes, of course.” Aeris said with a cautious look at Kronk. “Okay then, here it is. Since we don't have the expertise to round up cattle, or the manpower for that matter, we've decided to use our dear wizard's talent instead.”

  “How?”

  “The Shield spell. He will simply cast it around a cow at a distance. Then we can approach the animal safely and Gate it back to the pasture behind the tower.”