Aeris just stared at him, obviously holding back some biting comment.
“Anyway, do me a favor and tell the scouts that I'll be there in a few minutes, would you? I'll get washed up and be in shortly.”
“Will do. And I'll leave a clean robe at the front door: if some of my people see a wizard wearing those,” Aeris looked disdainfully at Simon's over-sized brown shorts, “they'll implode.”
The wizard laughed as he reached the lake.
“Might be worth keeping them on just to see that.”
He removed the offending shorts and waded out into the water.
“Ten minutes,” he called back to Aeris.
“Got it.”
“Did you tell them that there are other humans still alive?” Simon asked.
He was sitting in his study an hour after his swim, sipping some chamomile tea and listening to the reports of the eight air elementals that he had sent out to scout the world several months earlier. Corriss was still missing.
“Yes, my lord,” one of them, a female named Wistia, said. “After they had stopped trying to shoot me full of arrows. Naturally they had never seen an elemental before.”
“Naturally,” the wizard said with an understanding smile. “And they're brothers?”
“So they said. Since their Change, they look nothing alike though.”
Simon was taking notes as he always did during these sessions and wrote down 'Chao and Lei' and then added 'Beijing'.
“How so?”
“Well, my lord, Chao is small, no taller than perhaps five feet, while his brother Lei towers over him. The smaller brother is a magic-user while his sibling is definitely a fighting man.”
“A magic-user?”
Simon leaned forward, intrigued.
“Any idea what kinds of powers he has?”
Wistia smiled. She was floating an inch above the top of the desk while her fellows waited to the side in a group, listening quietly.
“Oh yes. They told me, actually. Chao is a summoner.”
“No!” Aeris said in disbelief. “Really? That's amazing. They were always so rare back in the old days.”
He was hovering next to Simon's right shoulder and the wizard turned to look at him.
“Why is it amazing? And what is a summoner anyway?”
“A summoner, my dear wizard, is exactly what the name implies. They have also been referred to as conjurers, I believe. They can summon mystical beings and creatures to aid them in battle. You have developed into a rather decent elementalist, so you should be able to relate.”
“What kinds of mystical creatures?”
“Oh, the list is practically endless; pixies, wyverns, phoenixes, um...”
“Fire snakes,” one of the other elementals added helpfully.
“Sprites and faeries,” another said.
“Basilisks, chimeras...”
Simon held up his hands to stem the tide.”
“Thanks, folks. I get it. Wow, that is an amazing gift.”
Aeris sniffed a bit disdainfully.
“Well, yes and no. While a summoner can call for help from the ether, he cannot use traditional spells. No fireballs or magic missiles, or anything else for that matter. He is totally dependent upon whatever sorts of creatures he conjures. It's rather limiting, in my opinion.”
“Huh. That's a good point.”
Simon looked at the patiently waiting Wistia.
“And his brother?”
She smiled with pleasure.
“I do believe that we have discovered another paladin, my lord. They are so rare that I could scarcely believe it when I met him.”
“Whoa. Seriously? Liliana will be intrigued to hear that. What makes you think so?”
“The young man wears enchanted armor; armor that gleams like silver but is harder than steel. He told me that he had a dream one night and spoke to a faceless being who directed him to where this suit of armor was hidden. And when he woke the next day and followed those instructions, he did indeed find the armor. And an amazing looking sword too. Quite impressive.”
“Another paladin,” Simon muttered. “Interesting.”
He glanced at Aeris.
“Do you think it's a sign that the gods of Justice are winning against the Chaos lords?”
Aeris tapped his chin thoughtfully.
“It's certainly possible. However, I'd say it's more likely that they were able to extend their powers into this realm during their endless conflict with the Darkness, when they might have had a momentary upper hand, and gave this Lei fellow their blessing.”
The wizard drained his cup, thinking about that.
The gods of Light and Darkness were battling out in the Void; one side was trying to force their way back into the mortal realm while the other was trying to stop them. It had remained a stalemate since the lords of Chaos had unleashed the dragons on to the Earth, and begun imbuing the atmosphere with magical energy. But Simon supposed that there were times when the gods of Justice gained the advantage over their evil cousins and were able to send aid to humanity.
Damned few times though, he thought bitterly. There are only a handful of us left to accept their help.
“Well, whatever their abilities, it is good to know that two more of my race have survived. So what are they going to do? Stay in Beijing or...?”
“No, my lord,” Wistia told him. “I informed them of the humans who are rebuilding the castle at Nottinghill and they volunteered to join them, if that is allowed. I told them that I would pass the request on to you.”
Simon sat back and grinned.
“Excellent! I'm sure that Tamara and the other leaders would welcome the brothers with open arms. When we're done here, I'll give her a call and set something up.”
Wistia bowed gracefully.
“Thank you. That is all that I have to report.”
“And thank you. That was well done, Wistia. Really well done.”
She joined the others, a wide smile on her diminutive face. Several of her fellows muttered to her in their own language, sounds that Simon guessed were compliments. By the look on her face, he thought that if Wistia were able to blush, she would.
“So, who's next?” he asked.
The reports continued. Besides looking for any human survivors, the elementals had standing orders to report on any new or unusual animals and creatures they discovered. More and more mythical monsters were appearing in the world and Simon was doing his best to keep track of them all.
He'd even gone so far as to create a new map of the world and list the locations of the beasts by type and density. It was a good way to follow the progression of the spread of new monsters. It was also getting a bit out of hand.
“I have a list of new creatures in western Europe, my lord,” Brethia said as she moved forward to hover in the center of the desk. “As well as sightings from the entire group from their own designated areas. We've combined our findings to make it easier for you to collate the information.”
She offered him a stack of papers and the wizard flipped through them.
“So many?” he asked in surprise as he read each page.
“I am afraid so. We have sketched each creature with as much detail as we could and tagged them with the names we knew them by in ancient times. I hope that it is acceptable?”
Simon looked at her and the others and smiled appreciatively.
“You know, just when I thought you people couldn't get any more efficient, you prove me wrong. Amazing. I like what you've done with the data. The next time I call you all together, this is the system that we'll use; if that's alright with you?”
“You honor us, my lord,” she said with a bow.
The others quickly followed her example.
“Okay then, if that's it, you are all free to leave. Thanks again for your hard work.”
One by one, the air elementals disappeared with tiny pops of sound, returning to their home realm, until only Brethia and Orriss were left.
“Did either one of you want to head back as well? Take some time off?” the wizard asked.
The two exchanged looks and shook their heads.
“No, my lord,” Brethia replied. “We'd like to return to our duties on the roof. With the world becoming ever more dangerous, you need reliable lookouts watching over the tower at all times. If you'll forgive me for saying so.”
“There's nothing to forgive; I completely agree. The earthen guard my walls very well, but the eyes of the air elementals see farther.”
When the two small figures grinned, Simon lowered his voice and looked around dramatically.
“But don't tell them I said that,” he added in a hushed voice.
“Your secret is safe with us, sir wizard,” Brethia chortled.
“Good. Now, if there's nothing else?”
“Actually, my lord, if I could say something?” Orriss piped up.
Simon leaned back in his chair and watched the elemental closely. Orriss was usually the most animated of all of his people but he had been oddly quiet during the reporting session and Simon guessed that he was about to learn why.
“Certainly. What's up?” he asked.
“It's about my brother, Corriss.”
Chapter 2
“Your brother? I was told by Aeris that you and Corriss are related in some way, but you're actually brothers?”
Orriss nodded solemnly.
“But...I don't mean to sound rude or insensitive, but how is that possible?” Simon asked. “I mean, you aren't mortal beings like myself; you're elementals. Immortals. You don't physically, um, you know, reproduce.”
“Yes sir, that is true. We do not have sex like biological species do. But we can have children, in a way.”
He glanced at Brethia, who smiled back encouragingly.
“You see, when an elemental dies, by accident or violence, our ruler, the mighty Astrandamus, will choose one of us to replace the one who was lost. And that chosen one will use their essence to create a new elemental.”
“Like a cell, you mean? By division?”
“Something like that, my lord. But while there is no need for copulation between two elementals, the ones that you seem to see as females, like Brethia here, are the only ones who can produce a new elemental. Why that is so, no one knows but Astrandamus himself. We only know that males cannot. The resulting offspring can be either male or female. My mother has been chosen twice to produce children over thousands of mortal years. I was one and Corriss was the other.”
“Ah, okay. Now I understand.”
Simon leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk.
“And you're concerned about his absence? Of course you are. Sorry, stupid thing for me to say.”
He rubbed his eyes, feeling a little drained.
“So what would you like to do, Orriss?”
“Well, my lord, with your permission, I would like to go out and search for him,” the elemental said earnestly. “I know the area that you assigned him to scout and I shouldn't be gone too long. But I also know that you need me here to share lookout duties with Brethia, so I would completely understand if you said no. He's probably just gotten lost or distracted anyway. Knowing Corriss, he may be out there chasing butterflies. He does love little flying creatures.”
Simon smiled at the fondness in Orriss' voice. Elemental or not, he sounded very much like a human worried about his sibling at that moment.
“You don't think that I should just summon him back directly? It would be faster.”
“If you think it best, then of course you could do that, my lord, but...”
“For one of my people to be recalled from a mission for anything less than an emergency would be humiliating,” Aeris interjected. “It would mean that the one who had summoned them, you, did not have enough confidence in their skill to allow them to finish their job. It would be shameful for the elemental involved and it would be a black mark against them in the eyes of others.”
“Seriously?” Simon asked, surprised. “Isn't that a little extreme?”
“It is, my lord,” Orriss told him candidly. “But that is our way. And knowing my brother, he would be crushed that you did not have enough faith in him to allow him to complete his task. But it is your choice, naturally.”
“In that case, then of course you can go and look for him. Don't worry, the tower will be fine. If Brethia needs help keeping watch, I'll ask Aeris to take your shift. No problem.”
Aeris nodded his agreement.
“I concur, Orriss,” Brethia said as she patted him on the shoulder. “Go, find your brother. We will be fine here.”
“I cannot thank you enough, sir wizard, for this,” Orriss said, bowing deeply. “You are truly the most compassionate human being that I have ever served.”
Simon shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“If that's true, then you must have served some real winners,” he said dryly. “Now go on, get out of here and find your brother. And be careful; it's getting more dangerous out there in the world with every passing day.”
He grinned and shook a finger at Orriss.
“But no chasing butterflies, okay?”
The elemental laughed and bowed once more. And then with a wave, he disappeared.
“How is the rebuild going?” Simon said into his mirror, a few days after Orriss had left on his search.
He was talking to Tamara, the leader of the inhabitants of Nottinghill Castle. She and her brother, Sebastian, both of whom were mages, were sitting next to each other at a conference table, going over construction plans.
“Surprisingly quickly, thanks to you and your friends,” she replied with a grateful smile. “That little earth elemental Kronk is quite good at organizing his people and as for Kassus, well, I've never seen a stronger creature; and that includes Malcolm. Amazing.”
“If it wasn't for the elementals' aid,” Sebastian chimed in, “this project would simply not be feasible and we'd probably be living underground with the dwarves for many years to come.”
“No thanks needed,” Simon told them with a grin. “The elementals love to help and the earthen are masters at working with stone. It is good that they're strong though; with the six aiding in construction, including Kassus, and the four that I've summoned to guard my walls, I've reached my limit on earth elementals. Those are the rules, apparently.”
He looked at the background over the siblings' shoulders. All he could see was white linen cloth rippling in the breeze.
“By the way, where are you exactly?” he asked curiously.
“A tent,” Tamara told him as she looked around. “A really large tent. All of the leaders are living in them until the castle is finished. This one is the designated conference room. We can all fit comfortably around this table, even Malcolm and Aiden.”
She gave her brother a tired glance.
“But Bastian and I do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in here, constantly going over the plans, revising and altering things as per the new recommendations that the elementals bring us.”
“I'd imagine it's a lot of work.”
“It is, but it will be worth it in the end. Thanks for sending Kronk back, by the way. He reported in earlier and said the outside wall should be finished by day's end and that all of the living quarters will be completed by the end of the week. I've passed that information along to Shandon Ironhand and he's promised to tell our people down there in Kingstone. I'm sure that they will all be very excited.”
Aeris floated into the study and joined Simon at his desk. He looked at the mirror in the wizard's hand quizzically.
“Nottinghill?” he whispered.
Simon nodded and looked back into the mirror.
“I'm glad to hear that everything is progressing so quickly. So where is everyone else? Liliana? Sylvie and Veronique?”
“Sylvie remained down in the dwarven capital along with her sister. Veronique felt that some of the leaders should stay with our people, for reassurance. As for Lil
iana, who knows?”
Tamara shuffled the stack of papers in front of her, finally pulling out a crude map of the area around the construction site.
“She and Malcolm and Aiden are constantly on patrol around the perimeter of the castle grounds; far enough out to catch wind of trouble before it surprises us. It's a dangerous world now, Simon, and we have to be on our toes at all times. Barnaby is on call right now if they need any magical assistance. All of the mages take turns with that, including Bastian and me.”
“You can never be too careful,” Simon agreed. “Are the earthen using the wreckage of the dark tower for building materials?”
“They are. Handy, that idea. It cleans up all of the debris and uses it constructively at the same time. Very efficient.”
Simon darted a quick glance out the window across the room, watching the shadow play of clouds racing across the sky.
“So, optimistically, when will the castle be ready for the former inhabitants to reclaim it?” he asked as he looked back at Tamara. “I'm guessing that they're eager to see the sun and sky again after months of living underground?”
“Are they ever. Unfortunately, the timeline keeps changing. Kronk warned us that might happen; rebuilding as large and complicated a structure as the castle isn't as predictable an operation as we might have wished.”
She rifled through her notes again.
“But according to his latest estimates, two weeks, more or less. I just hope he's right; Shandon told me yesterday that there have been a few, in his words, scraps between some of our people. Nerves are frayed and I suppose the anticipation is getting to some of them.”
“Tell him that Veronique should threaten to recall Malcolm to keep order for the next little while. I'd say that might cool down some of the rowdier elements.”
Tamara laughed and Sebastian grinned widely.
“I might just do that. We can't have a full-blown riot on our hands just before we leave Kingstone; it wouldn't exactly make us look too good in the eyes of our hosts, now would it?”
The Queen of Dragons (Tales from the New Earth Book 8) Page 2
