Chapter 27
“Run, damn it! Run for the forest! I'll hold it off!”
Virginia and Anna didn't wait; they bolted for the trees while Eric and Gerard stood behind Simon, looking up at the immense silhouette of a brown dragon as it arrowed down toward them out of the sun.
Liliana stood next to the wizard, her sword in one hand and a plain wooden shield on her other arm.
Simon looked at her and then back at the two young men.
“For God's sake, will the three of you move! I can't concentrate if I have to worry about you too. Now run!”
The paladin hesitated, looked at his face and then turned, pushing Eric and Gerard ahead of her.
“You heard the wizard; move your asses!” she barked and almost carried them out of the clearing.
With a sharp stab of relief, Simon cast his Shield spell, raised his staff and waited.
The brown dragon roared as it dropped like a stone out of the sky, its jaws wide.
“Eat this, you bastard,” he muttered and cast the Magic Missile spell.
Eye-searing globes of silver light burst from the end of his staff and hit the target he'd been aiming for; the gaping maw of the descending monster.
Five, ten, a dozen bolts of pure magical energy slammed into the dragon, shooting down its throat to explode deep inside of it. The creature literally exploded in mid-air, torn apart from the missiles.
Simon flinched away as large pieces of dragon rained down on him, along with huge droplets of liquid that immediately began to dissolve the grasses and small plants around him.
Fortunately his shield held up under the gruesome rain and he turned back to scan the skies for more dragons.
There was no sign of any other enemies though, and he turned away and followed after the others, canceling his shield once he was under the sheltering branches of the trees.
“Holy crap,” Eric exclaimed as Simon caught up to them. “Where the hell did that thing come from?”
“It's like it was waiting for us.” Virginia said with a frown. “But that's not possible, is it? I mean, it must have been a random patrol or something, right?”
“So it would seem,” Liliana said tersely but she was staring at Simon as she said it, a probing look on her face.
“I'm guessing this area is under the dragons' control now,” he said as he caught his breath. His hand was shaking as he rested on his staff, not from fear but from the energy drain and excess adrenaline. “It probably was just a case of bad timing.”
“But to lose an elf like that?” Anna said with tears in her eyes. “All he was doing was bringing us across. I mean, we didn't even see that dragon until it had scooped him up and...and tore him apart.”
She covered her eyes and Virginia quickly put an arm around the small woman and hugged her tightly.
Eric and Gerard were white-faced but calm. Liliana looked around them at the surrounding forest, her expression grim.
“So now what do we do?” she asked Simon. “Without a guide, we're basically on our own.”
The sunlight that was trickling through the branches above them was cut off for a moment by a passing shadow and they all ducked instinctively.
“Oh damn!” Virginia exclaimed as she looked up through the trees. “Another one?”
Simon heard a high-pitched cry, like the note from an enormous flute, reverberate down through the forest and he smiled in relief.
“No, I don't think so. I think our ride is here.”
He hurried back toward the clearing and the others followed him hesitantly.
“Our ride?” Eric asked dubiously. “What ride?”
They stood at the edge of the opening in the forest, looking at the remains of the dragon and the smoking wreckage that used to be living plants. The rot that had sprayed the ground when the dragon had been killed was spreading slowly, consuming the grass as they watched, appalled.
Simon looked up and saw an enormous shadow winging downward, spiraling toward the ground.
“That ride,” he replied and nodded upward. “It's a creature called Pharra. She's an ally of the elves. I guess that she was supposed to meet us here with our guide.” He shook his head sadly at the thought of the lost elf. He hadn't even known his name.
“Well, at least she made it here.”
Pharra floated gracefully to the ground and landed with a neat flip of her massive wings. They choked a bit from the smoke that was blown around the clearing and then Simon led the others forward.
He approached the enormous swan and bowed. Then he looked up and, wondering if she could understand, began speaking.
“Hello Pharra,” he said carefully. “My name is Simon. I'm a friend of Ethmira and Daniel. As you can see,” he gestured at the gruesome horrible remains, “we were attacked by a dragon. Our guide was killed. Are you here to take us to our friends?”
The swan watched him, her deep amber-colored eyes seeming to assess both the wizard, his friends and the glade around him. After a moment, she reared back and hissed, a sound that cut the ears like the cry of a steam engine.
She stood a moment as if deciding what to do and then settled down on to the ground, carefully avoiding any puddles of rot.
“I assume that's a yes,” Liliana stated.
“Let's hope so. Come on, folks. Let's get out of here before any more dragons show up.”
Simon stepped forward and Pharra watched him placidly, lowering her wing so that he could catch hold and pull himself on to her back. Her black feathers were warm and a tangy scent, like wild mint, rose from her body.
The wizard settled himself on to her broad back as firmly as he could, looked down at the others who were watching him nervously and waved them forward.
“Let's go. We can't waste any more time in this place.”
One by one they climbed up and took a seat behind Simon. Gerard helped Anna climb up and sat with her, holding her tight as she trembled in fear.
“I really hate flying,” she blurted out.
“Better than the alternative,” Liliana said darkly as she indicated the remains of the dragon.
“Okay, are we all ready?” Simon asked as he looked over his shoulder.
Some of them nodded while Anna and Gerard just swallowed noisily and grabbed handfuls of feathers.
“We are all set, Pharra,” he called out, holding on tightly. He hoped that they weren't hurting the swan, but she seemed oblivious to their collective grip on her feathers.
She stood up abruptly, raised her wings and leaped skyward. One enormous flap later and they were racing up through the trees to the open air beyond.
Simon was amazed. The giant bird's flight was smooth and effortless and his grip loosened on her feathers as he got used to the undulating feeling of Pharra's muscles under his legs. The warm air flowed by him and he looked down to watch the huge trees as they slid by below them.
“This is amazing!” Virginia cried out.
The wizard looked behind him and saw her grinning like a little kid at an amusement park. Eric and Liliana were smiling broadly as well, but Anna and Gerard were sitting tensely, eyes tightly closed and their knuckles white where they held on to the swan's feathers.
“I wonder how long it will take to get to wherever we're going?” Liliana called out over the sound of the wind and the flapping wings.
“No idea. My God, look at this place. This entire world seems to be one immense forest, doesn't it?”
Simon was overwhelmed by the view around him. Green. Green forest everywhere he looked. No buildings, no pollution, no sign of habitation. It was not surprising that the elves loved trees and plants; their entire world was covered with them.
“Look over there,” Virginia said loudly and everyone, even Anna and Gerard, turned to look in the direction that she was pointing.
“Oh my God. Is that the work of the dragons?” Gerard asked, his voice thick with disgust.
Far off to their right, the forest ended abruptly. Beyond it the green turned to bl
ack and gray and the trees were gone. From one side of the horizon to the other, all that could be seen was barren wasteland. A pall of thin smoke hung over the bleak landscape and Simon was reminded of old pictures he's seen from the moon landing decades before.
Death, he thought. Nothing but death and decay. That is what is in store for this beautiful world, unless we can stop it.
The expressions of the others had turned from wonder to anger as they obviously shared his emotion.
“Those monsters can't be allowed to destroy this place,” Anna's high-pitched voice said with surprising steel in it.
Simon only nodded silently and then looked ahead, eager now to reach their destination.
The group settled down and remained silent for the remainder of the flight. Miles of dense forest passed by beneath them and Simon was relieved to see no more evidence of damage from the draconic invaders.
He kept an eye on the skies around them as well, praying that they didn't cross paths with any dragons. He didn't think that Pharra would last long in a aerial battle.
How much time passed was impossible to say; the endless expanse of trees below them was almost hypnotic and it was with a bit of a start when Simon felt the swan banking to the left as she began to spiral downward toward the ground.
He craned his neck to try to see their landing spot and noticed a huge rocky hill, like a small mountain, peeking out of the forest. There was a small clearing near its foot and the swan was carefully fluttering down to land in this cramped spot. Simon watched the surrounding trees tensely, afraid that the huge bird's wings would get caught up in the branches and send them all tumbling off her back to their deaths.
But Pharra made it look easy. One moment they were descending into the clearing and the next they had landed gently and the swan had settled down and tucked her legs beneath her.
“Well, I guess we've arrived,” he said over his shoulder. His legs were trembling as he carefully slid to the ground.
Anna and Gerard were looking a little green while the others seemed as shaky as he was. The flight had been awesome but his body had apparently been more tense than he'd realized and the reaction was setting in.
He helped Anna off of the swan, gave her a quick smile and looked up at the magnificent creature.
“Thank you, Pharra,” he said to her. “You saved our lives, you really did. Good luck out there and please, stay safe.”
The swan stood up, lowered her head until Simon was staring into her immense amber eyes, and gave him a gentle nudge with a head as long as he was tall. Then she pulled back, leaped skyward and was gone in a flash of black feathers.
The wizard covered his eyes to shield them from the wind that Pharra had stirred up and then looked at the others.
Liliana had a hand on her sword and was slowly turning in a circle, scanning the perimeter of the clearing for any threats.
Virginia and Anna were speaking quietly to each other; Virginia seemed to be reassuring her smaller friend.
And Eric and Gerard were simply standing side by side and watching Simon, waiting for directions on what to do next.
The glade was very quiet once the swan had left. Strange trilling birdsong could be heard from far away, but it was muted and hard to hear clearly. The trees, immense sentinels that reached hundreds of feet above their heads, were still and brooding. There was no wind and here on the floor of the forest, the air was cool and the sunlight meager and weak.
“So what now?” Gerard asked, glancing at both Simon and Virginia.
“Good question. I assumed that we'd be met by someone,” Simon told him.
He examined the trees and tried to get his bearings.
“I think that Daniel and Ethmira headed off in that direction,” he said, pointing vaguely. “Toward that big hill we saw as we were landing. May as well give that a shot, don't you think?”
Virginia shrugged.
“Better than just standing here. To be honest, I'm feeling a little exposed, especially after what happened to that poor elf.”
She looked up at the distant sky apprehensively and Anna moved closer to her. Virginia put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“Okay then. Let's go. I'll take point. Liliana? Could you bring up the rear please, just in case we have any surprises?”
The paladin nodded grimly and waited until the others filed off after the wizard before following along behind.
Simon walked slowly into the forest, holding his staff in his left hand and using it as a walking stick. There seemed to be a faint trail beaten into the dark soil beneath the trees and he followed it carefully, scanning the shadows as he did so.
The day had begun so hopefully, he thought. Daniel had arranged for an elvish scout to meet them in the new town at dawn and the handsome elf, wearing mottled leather and carrying a bow, had led them to the seashore. There he had somehow found the proper spot and had simply had everyone link hands.
The group had exchanged nervous smiles and then the scout had walked toward the crashing waves. There was a faint disturbance in the air over the sand, but it was hard to focus on. Three steps, no more, Simon thought and then they were standing in the middle of a forest, blinking in the dim light and looking at each other in disbelief.
A few minutes later the elf had been killed in a dragon attack and Simon had been forced to use his limited energy to bring it down.
I'm going to pay for that, was his grim thought. He could already feel fatigue setting in and it was the worst possible time. If he had to confront Ethmira, he needed all of his strength and he needed to be alert. He hoped they found the cave sooner rather that later.
As if his wishful thinking had given fate a nudge, they spotted a flash of gray through the trees a few minutes later and found themselves staring at a wall of rock that loomed out of the forest and rose above them to the height of the trees.
“Is this where your friend and Ethmira went?” Eric asked and Simon nodded slowly.
“I think so,” he say and reached out to touch the jagged surface. “I mean, how many small mountains are there around here? It must be the place.”
“Okay guys,” Virginia said. “Everyone spread out and look for a cave entrance. Anna, come with me. We'll go right. Eric, Gerard? You go left. Don't hurry and everybody stay within earshot. Give a yell if you find anything.”
The group moved off and Simon found himself alone with Liliana. The paladin was standing with her hands on her hips, staring up at the looming mound of stone.
Simon decided to hedge his bets a little, just in case his fatigue slowed him down later. He waited until the others were far enough away so that he could speak quietly without being heard and began whispering to Liliana.
“While we have second,” he murmured. “I wonder if you could do me a favor?”
She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Then she glanced to the right and left and moved a step closer.
“Certainly,” she replied under her breath. “Is there a problem?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I know that you're always alert, and I appreciate that, especially now when I'm a bit drained from that dragon attack. But please, don't relax too much once we find the cave and join Daniel and Ethmira. I don't have time to explain right now but things may not be what they seem and if something unexpected happens, I need you to be ready to react.”
She frowned and searched his face intently.
“That's a rather vague warning, my friend,” she replied but held up her hand before Simon could answer. “But I will take it to heart. Have no fear, I shall be vigilant.”
The wizard let out a little sigh and smiled weakly.
“Thanks, that's all I could ask for.”
“Simon!”
He turned to the left and saw Eric waving in the distance, maybe fifty yards away.
“We found the entrance!” he yelled.
“Okay. We'll be right there.”
Simon looked at the paladin.
“Go ahead
and join them. I'll get Virginia and Anna and be there in a minute.”
“Right.”
Liliana hurried off and Simon went to find the two young women, the wall of rock on his left.
It only took a minute to catch up to them. He could hear Virginia speaking, talking about some sort of rock-climbing trip she'd taken back in the old days. Anna was laughing; apparently there'd been a funny mishap.
“Hey guys?” he called out. “Eric and Gerard found the entrance. You can come back now.”
The voices stopped and a moment later, the two women appeared from some brush that clung to the wall.
“That didn't take long,” Virginia said with a smile.
“Yep. Let's go. I'll feel better when we're safely under cover.”
He turned and led the way back.
When they reached the others, Simon found the three of them watching the opening in the rock as if expecting a bear to come barreling out of it in full attack mode.
“Something wrong?” he asked them.
Gerard shook his head.
“Nope. Just waiting for you guys. But caves aren't necessarily friendly places, you know? Pays to be cautious.”
“Good point.”
Simon muttered a spell and a globe of silver light appeared above his head and floated there placidly.
“”Hey!” Anna exclaimed with a big smile. “I like that spell!”
Several of them laughed at her girlish enthusiasm and Simon smiled at her gently.
“So do I, Anna. It's handy, especially when exploring spooky caves with who knows what waiting behind some corner, just ready to spring at us.”
He had lowered his voice and the small woman's eyes got huge as he spoke. Then Simon winked at her and she laughed nervously.
“Don't do that!” she said and slapped his arm.
“Sorry. Couldn't resist. Okay, same as before. Single file. I'll take the lead, Liliana at the rear, please. Are we all ready?”
“Let's do this,” Virginia said resolutely and the others murmured in agreement.
“Here we go.”
Simon stepped into the narrow crack in the stone wall, his magic light following above him and lighting the path ahead. The floor was covered with thin, gritty sand and crunched underfoot.
Tales from the New Earth: Volume One Page 155
