“Invectis,” he whispered and faded to black.
A moment later he was standing on the beach, close to where he had fallen asleep the day before. He stood quietly for a moment, feeling for any weakness within himself but, aside from a slight light-headedness, he was fine.
Ha, he thought. Just like I figured. A short hop takes almost to effort at all, especially when I'm only transporting myself. But I have to be quick.
“Kassus, I need you,” he said firmly and watched as the ground in front of him began shaking violently.
When Aeris returned to the tent, Simon was staring into the mirror with a frown.
“Sorry it took so long,” the elemental said as he handed over a steaming cup. “They were just making a fresh batch and I had to wait.”
“No problem. Thanks.”
Simon took the cup, sipped the hot liquid carefully and then sighed with pleasure. He looked over the rim at Aeris, looking for signs of suspicion, but he was just watching curiously.
“Are you having a hard time getting hold of the Changlings in Australia?”
The wizard put the cup down on the floor next to him and stared at the mirror. He nodded, frowning at the foggy surface.
“I'm getting no response, at all. It's making me nervous.”
“Do you have the coordinates of their camp? You could just use those to check out the area instead of contacting someone.”
Simon hissed in exasperation.
“Oh damn it, I don't. They're marked in my atlas but it's at home. I could Gate there and get it...”
“Bad idea,” Aeris said quickly, cutting him off. “Using your strength unnecessarily would be foolish, especially if you are thinking of heading into the elven realm soon. Conservation, my dear wizard. That should be your watchword.”
“And if they're under attack by dragons down there?” Simon snapped at him. “They might need my help.”
“I hate to say this, but to be brutally honest what good could you do them? Gating there would drain you. Do you have any spells that could harm a red dragon, considering how low your power level is right now?”
Simon glared at Aeris for a moment and then looked down in defeat.
“I hate it when you make sense, do you know that?”
“I know, my dear wizard. But remember, they have a mage, a cleric and a witch within their ranks. That is a formidable combination. As we're just seen with the mages in London, the red dragons can be beaten back by powerful humans. Hold on to that thought and do what you can do to help where you can.”
“Yeah, fine. Okay, if I can't contact Australia, I'll try to contact Daniel. He said to call every week or two and it's been over a week now.”
“Now that is a good idea. By the way, Kronk is back. He should be popping in any time now.”
Simon looked up from the mirror in surprise.
“That was quick. Did they get a lot of wood?”
Aeris rolled his eyes.
“I think they denuded an entire forest. The earthen are definitely over-achievers. There should be enough to build as many homes as the small population here will need for quite some time.”
“Excellent. Some good news for a change. Okay, let's see if Daniel is going to answer.”
He recast the Magic Mirror spell and invoked it, focusing his mind on his friend's aged face. As predicted, Kronk walked into the tent a few minutes later, waved and hopped up on to the cot to stand beside Simon's right hip.
“Glad you're back safe,” the wizard said fondly as he waited for the spell to make a connection.
“Thank you, master. I was wondering, if you are going back home today, if my friends and I could stay on another day. You can check on the horses just as well as I can, and I'd like to finish our construction.”
Simon looked at him curiously.
“You won't have enough time today?”
“No, master. Not if we want to also build a small drawbridge for the rear gate. And Mark, the engineer, told me that several of the people have asked to move their houses a little from where he has them drawn on the original plan.”
He let out a massive sigh and looked up at Simon forlornly.
“Apparently they want a 'southern view' or something. So we'll have to rearrange things and that will take time.”
“You'd think they'd be grateful to have any home at all,” Aeris stated irritably.
Simon stayed quiet but inside, he had to agree. They had their lives and a beautiful place to begin again. And now they were being fussy? He actually found it a bit sad after giving it a few seconds of thought.
“They want the place to feel like home, Aeris,” he said compassionately. “They've lost so much, is that too much to ask, really?”
The air elemental frowned as if that hadn't occurred to him and then slowly nodded.
“That is...understandable,” he conceded and then floated over to hover at Simon's left shoulder.
The mirror began to clear at last and Simon watched as the familiar figure of Daniel appeared. He gaped at the area around his old friend and actually groaned out loud.
He was looking at a view of devastation.
Chapter 25
Daniel was standing on a low hill leaning on a gnarled staff and staring off into the distance. Next to him, Simon recognized the figure of Ethmira, the first elf that he had ever met when, a few years earlier, she had knocked on the door of his tower.
She looked almost the same as she had then, still wearing the type of mottled green leather clothing that blended in so well with the trees and plants of her home. A bow rested across her back and a quiver of arrows hung from her hip.
As he looked beyond the pair, Simon saw that the hill they stood on was jutting out of a sea of rot and decay. Where there had once been a forest, now all that he saw were stunted tree stumps, black, scummy undergrowth and wisps of acrid smoke rising from the putrid, rotting remains. It was like they were standing in the middle of a cesspool and, as he watched, Simon saw Daniel raise a cloth to his face and cover his nose and mouth.
“By the Four Winds, what has happened?” Aeris gasped.
Kronk simply looked at the sight in shock, his red eyes wide.
“Brown dragons,” Simon whispered. “My God. Daniel told me that they might not confront the dragons for months.”
“Something's changed, obviously,” Aeris observed.
“Daniel? Ethmira? Can you hear me?” the wizard called out.
Both people spun around in surprise and Simon was shocked again. His friend looked even older and more haggard than he had the last time they'd spoken. He truly looked like an old man now. His thin hand trembled on his staff and there were dark circles under his eyes.
Ethmira, ever young, simply looked grave and sad. Her bright eyes searched the area for a quick moment and then she visibly relaxed and her expression softened.
“Simon? Hello! What a pleasure to hear from you again.”
“Well, what do you know?” Daniel said faintly, pulling the cloth from his mouth. “Maybe prayer actually does work occasionally.”
“Hi guys. What the hell happened?”
“Can't you guess?” his friend said acerbically, waving a hand at the nightmare landscape below them. “Brown dragons happened. This is the result of a surprise attack.”
“A devastating attack, actually,” Ethmira said as she looked down at the surrounding countryside. Simon noticed that a haze, a miasma of choking dark smoke, cloaked the distant forest in a dense fog. He had no doubt though that the entire area had been decimated.
“Our elders were being moved to a safer location, further away from the battle front and deeper into the forest,” the woman said, her voice thick with grief. “Somehow the dragons learned of our plans and ambushed them.” She gestured toward the base of the hill. “There.”
“You mean your leaders are all dead?” Simon asked. He couldn't believe it but Daniel nodded heavily.
“They are. But they did not go down easily. The elders were
powerful. Not magic-users, no, because no elves are. But they were strong warriors, armed with enchanted weapons. And the forest rose up to defend them, as it will for any elf.”
His friend turned and pointed and Simon quickly adjusted the view of the mirror to follow his gesture.
At the base of the hill, a huge mound had blocked the rot that was creeping along the ground from climbing the hill and consuming the few trees and sparse grass that grew there. As the wizard tried to peer through the haze, his mouth dropped open as he finally realized what he was seeing.
Dragons. Dozens of dragon corpses. Each one fifty feet long or more from nose to tail. Their brown-scaled bodies were rent with deep slashes and gaping wounds. Some had had their wings torn off. And one, horribly, was missing its lower jaw. Masses of broken and decayed trees were wrapped around and intertwined with the corpses. It looked horrific.
“Holy crap,” Simon finally said. “The elders did that?”
“Aye,” Ethmira spoke up, her voice ringing with pride, while her expression revealed only sorrow. “Aye, the elders and the forest together. We do not know exactly how many dragons perished here, but it might have been as many as thirty, possibly more.”
“That's, well, incredible doesn't even do it justice. But it looks like they were more than holding their own. What happened?”
“Neither of us was here, obviously,” Daniel said wearily. “So we can only speculate. But you're right. The elders could have won this fight, even though they would have sustained heavy casualties. But we believe that when they began to lose the battle, the lesser dragons called for help. And that help sealed the fate of the elders...and this part of the forest.”
“The primal brown,” Simon said, feeling his throat tighten in rage. “It was the primal brown dragon, wasn't it?”
“Yes, my friend,” Ethmira answered. “Nothing less could have beaten my elders. They struck that fiend a heavy blow though. Its minions have been greatly reduced, its power lessened. But now we are scrambling, trying to think of what to do next.”
“Are you two safe for now?” Simon asked anxiously. He stood up, pushed back the tent flap and stepped outside, the surprised elementals following him quickly. The tent had suddenly felt claustrophobic and he wanted some fresh air.
“Safe? Yes, we're safe.”
Daniel looked up at the sky and smiled slightly for the first time.
“In fact, our ride has just returned. We were dropped off to scout out the area and now we're heading for what we hope is a safe haven. Of course, the elders thought they would be safe too, so who knows.”
Their ride? Simon tilted the mirror upward, curious, wondering what his friend was talking about and then smiled in delighted surprise.
A winged shape, that at first he feared was a dragon, was spiraling down toward the hill top. As it approached, the wizard began to make out details.
It looked like a swan, but its feathers were as black as coal. It blotted out the sky as it closed in on the hill. And it was immense; as large as a dragon, at least. As it neared the top of the hill, it slowed and began to flap its huge wings, back-winging prior to landing, and Daniel and Ethmira turned away and covered their faces as dirt and ash were whipped around in the sudden wind.
When the dust had settled, the black swan stood there, towering over the pair and watching them with placid, amber-colored eyes. It was, thought Simon, truly one of the most beautiful creatures that he had ever seen.
“That's your ride?” he asked when he finally got over his shock.
Daniel chuckled at his obvious surprise and nodded.
“Yes. This is Pharra. She is the queen of all of her kind on this world. When Ethmira sent out a call for aid, she graciously offered her services to transport us quickly from place to place.”
He looked up at the swan in admiration.
“I believe she could out-fly even a dragon.”
The huge bird lifted her head and let out a piercing cry that echoed through the air. Then she lowered herself to the ground and waited patiently.
“Where will you go?” Simon asked them.
“I know of a place that is quite defensible,” Ethmira told him. “Even if we face a dragon attack, and now it seems inevitable that we will, the refuge I am thinking of should enable us to hold them back for a long time. My people will join us once I send our friend here,” and she patted the swan's side gently, “back with news of where we've gone.”
Simon watched as the elven maiden nodded once, then turned and climbed up and on to the back of Pharra. The swan made a soft noise deep in her throat.
“I don't know how you managed to pick this exact moment to call, Simon,” Daniel told him. “Considering that I assured you the last time we spoke that we might be safe from the dragons for months, but your timing was miraculous.”
“Blind luck, I guess,” Simon replied and then grinned impishly. “Or the gods' favor. Who knows?” He became serious again. “Listen Daniel, I'm about to have a meeting with the four Changlings I told you about before, Virginia and her friends. If they agree to help, or even if they don't, I want to cross over and do what I can.”
Although his friend couldn't see him, Daniel glared out of the mirror directly at Simon and shook his head emphatically.
“Absolutely not. I was glad you called so that, well I hate to sound maudlin but I wanted to have a chance to say goodbye. The remaining elves have chosen new representatives and they have decided to stop the primal brown dragon and its servants once and for all. Unfortunately it means that you won't be able to contact me again.”
Simon stood in the bright morning sunlight with a warm breeze blowing across his body, but felt a chill course down his spine.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Daniel looked up at Ethmira and she made a little gesture, as if giving him permission to speak.
“Ethmira is one of the new elders, Simon. Together they are going to exercise their power over this world and seal it off completely. The brown dragons will be trapped in the elven realm for all of eternity. Even the dark gods won't be able to crack open a portal into this world and the Earth will be safe, at least from the primal brown. You will be left to deal with the red dragons and their queen, but I have no doubt that you'll find a way to beat them.” He smiled fondly and Simon wished that his friend could actually see him. “You're a very resourceful man.”
“No, Daniel. You can't! There's another way; there has to be.”
His friend sighed and shook his head, his mane of white hair floating around his face like an aura.
“I wish there was, old friend. But we've spent days going over and over alternatives and there simply aren't any. Even before the elders were attacked, this plan had been discussed. Now, it seems, it is the only option.”
“It is not,” Simon said firmly, his voice so heavy with conviction that Daniel was caught by surprise and stared around in confusion.
“What do you mean?” he asked. “You have another way to stop them? I know how clever you are, Simon, but I think we've gone through every possible scenario.”
“I hate to argue with you, my friend,” Simon began and then had to laugh at Daniel's wry grin. “Okay, actually I enjoy arguing with you. But that's not the case now. I've thought of a possible way to stop the primal brown, but I'm going to have to cross over to put the plan into action. And I'm probably going to need Virginia and the others as well, although I'm willing to attempt it without them.”
“Really? So what's the plan?”
Ethmira leaned forward on the back of the swan, listening intently and Simon hesitated.
“Um, I rather tell you in person, if you don't mind. I have a few details to work out and I don't want to present the plan until it's fully fleshed out.”
“Well, that's fair enough, I suppose,” Daniel agreed and then asked, “By the way, how are you feeling? How strong are you now?”
The wizard looked at the elementals, who were listening to every word, and pu
t a finger to his lips. Aeris scowled and Kronk simply blinked, but both remained silent.
“I'm feeling great, actually. Never better. My strength's come back more quickly than I ever imagined.”
“Really?” Daniel looked pleased. “That's excellent. Okay, listen Simon, we have to move. Staying in one spot these days is not a good idea. I'll try to convince the leaders to hold off until we hear from you again. I think they will agree; after all, once their plan is put into effect, there's no going back.”
He looked up at Ethmira.
“Do you think they'll wait?”
She nodded thoughtfully.
“I'd say so. I will vote in favor of waiting, at least for a short time. But Simon,” she said, looking around, “please be sure of this plan of yours. There is no reason for you to sacrifice yourself if you aren't positive that your idea will work. Better for us to seal ourselves away and allow you to help in the final fight against the red dragons than for you to die needlessly.”
“Thanks, Ethmira. I'll keep that in mind. How long do you think I have, my time, Daniel?”
“No more than a week, I'd say. Only a day or two will pass here, but if we wait too long, the elders' resolve may waver. Or the dragons may make another bold move. We can't take the chance that either will occur.”
“Got it. Okay, I'll call back soon. Please be careful, both of you.”
He watched as Daniel awkwardly climbed on to the back of the swan, Ethmira pulling him up behind her. Both of them smiled and nodded and then, with a great leap, the massive bird launched itself into the sky, flapped its wings twice and was gone.
Simon lowered the mirror and gave it a shake to break the spell. Then he turned and ducked into his tent and put it on the bureau.
He walked out again to find both Kronk and Aeris staring at him.
“What?”
“You lied,” Aeris said accusingly. “You just lied to your best friend.”
“Why did you do that, master?” Kronk asked, sounding confused. “You are far from being at full strength. It will take months before your powers are back to where they once were.”
Tales from the New Earth: Volume One Page 152
