A pep talk from Aeris, Simon said to himself. Who would have believed it?
“Thanks for reminding me of our strengths,” the wizard said as he pushed himself to his feel with a groan. “I'm going to grab a towel and take a swim. The lake will be warm but it's still refreshing. Want to come along?”
Aeris flew upward and floated at the height of Simon's head.
“As fascinating as that sounds, I'll pass. I want to do a quick patrol to the north. In fact, I think I'll cross the river and scout out the area on the other side. It's been far too long since I poked around up there and I want to see what's changed.”
“Have fun and be careful.”
“Yes granny,” Aeris said acerbically. “I'll be back in a few hours. Don't drown.”
And with that the elemental shot off into the bright sky, quickly disappearing from sight.
“Yeah, I'll do my best,” Simon muttered and headed for the tower. “I can't believe he just called me granny.”
That night, Simon and Kronk were sitting on the front steps outside under the stars. The windows in the tower were all wide open to cool it off from the heat of the day and the wizard wanted to enjoy the fresh evening chill as it descended.
He was sipping some apple juice that had been cooling in the basement and watched the distant stars silently.
Kronk sat next to him, looking like a large lump of coal in the darkness. There was a new moon that night and the only light was that of the stars.
“How's the garden doing?” Simon asked him quietly.
The earthen turned his glowing red eyes upward to look at the wizard and smiled.
“Well, master, thank you. I am pleased that the first batch of apples came in just in time for this heat wave. You seem to be enjoying the juice I made for you.”
“Love it. I'll tell you though; I don't know exactly what month it is, but back in the old days there is no way any apples would have been ripe at this time of year.”
“I suppose I do have a way with plants, master,” the little guy agreed modestly. “By the way, have you seen Aeris lately?”
“No, but he decided to do some scouting earlier. Frankly, I think he was bored. He said he wanted to cross the river and poke around on the northern side of it.”
“But master, what about Aquamastis? Won't that anger him? He has claimed the entire river, after all.”
Simon watched a streak of light appear and disappear in a flash across the sky, the death of a meteorite, and took a deep breath. The air was finally cooling down and, for the moment, he was feeling a deep contentment.
“No, I don't think so. The water elemental doesn't want anyone crossing the river, but he meant anyone actually in the water, not above it. Aeris will be fine.”
“Ah I see. Well, that is good to know. And no word yet from the people of Kingstone?”
“Nothing. I'm pretty sure that it will be soon though. It's high summer but time passes quickly and Tamara wants to move on the dark tower before the autumn, so it should be any day now.”
“Are you ready, master?” Kronk asked in a small voice.
Simon looked down at his wide, burning eyes and nodded slowly.
“I think so. Well, as ready as I will ever be. I'm actually relieved to be going into this with a group this time. Fighting alone against some of the primal dragons was...”
He tried to think of a word big enough to describe battling an enormous dragon.
“Challenging, I guess,” he finished lamely. “I don't know. I'm just glad to have some backup this time.”
“As am I, master. And what about us?”
“What about you what?”
Kronk stood up and folded his arms decisively.
“Master, I believe you have avoided mentioning this subject, but I respectfully ask that we clear this up tonight. Both Aeris and myself intend to go with you when you challenge the tower. You do know that, do you not?”
Simon tried not to smile at the little guy's attempt at assertiveness. At best, telling Kronk that he looked cute would hurt his feelings. At worst, he would be insulted, and the wizard would never do that.
“Look Kronk, I know you want to help but it's just too danger...”
The earthen leaped off of the steps, landed on the ground and slammed a small fist into the dirt. An explosion of soil and rocks flew in all directions and Simon covered his eyes to protect them from the debris.
“What the hell?” he spluttered as he shook his hair to get rid of the dirt in it.
He looked up and waved a hand in front of his face to clear away some floating dust. And then he gaped at what he saw in the front yard.
Somehow, a spike of rock six feet high with a wickedly sharp point had thrust itself up out of the earth. Kronk stood next to it, hands on his hips and stared at Simon.
“Imagine, master, the same thing happening to your enemies. Despite my size, I am neither young nor a child. I have been in battles before, many of them, and I will not allow you to take on the tower without me. If you fall in there, I will be returned to my own realm whether I am sitting here babysitting your home or fighting by your side. I would prefer the latter.”
The earthen spoke with dignity and Simon was actually a little embarrassed. He knew that he often fell into the trap of thinking of the elemental as childlike because of how he looked or the simple way he spoke, but the little guy was right; he was an ancient being and obviously powerful.
“Kronk, I...”
An incredibly loud sound, like a giant ripping an enormous strip of paper came from above. Simon looked up just in time to be blinded by a blue flash of lightning followed by a deafening crash of thunder.
This just isn't my night, the wizard thought inanely as he held his throbbing ears and squinted his eyes. What the hell was that?
He coughed at the thick smell of ozone in the air and more dust floated by on the light evening breeze. He peered through the dusty fog and saw to his amazement that the spike of stone that Kronk had created had been reduced to rubble. Bobbing above it was the glowing figure of Aeris.
“Since we seem to be showing off our powers tonight to prove our worth,” he said calmly as he watched the wizard, “I thought that I'd crash the party.”
Kronk was looking up at him but seemed more amused than angry.
“For once, your timing is impeccable,” he said to the air elemental.
“Thanks. It was worth it just for that compliment alone.”
Both of them shared a laugh as Simon tried to refocus and clear his head.
“Are you all right, master? Forgive me but sometimes a demonstration gets a person's point across more than just words.”
“I agree,” Aeris said as he floated over and hovered next to the wizard. “How's your head,” he asked.
“Sore, thanks. You know, the two of you are a bit of a menace sometimes.”
Kronk looked a bit crestfallen but Aeris lifted his chin proudly.
“Good. You needed reminding that we aren't simply servants or toys. We have both served wizards who have entered combat. Just because we don't share all of our war stories doesn't mean that we haven't experienced war.”
Simon shook his head again and ran his fingers through his hairs, feeling bits of grit and dirt in it.
“Well, after that little demonstration, I'm going to have to have a midnight swim to clean my hair. Okay, look guys, I didn't bring up the subject of you joining me when I go up against the tower for one simply reason.”
“You wanted to keep us safe,” Aeris stated with a roll of his eyes.
“No. I didn't talk about it because I was hesitant to ask you to come along.”
Aeris stared at him, speechless; a rarity for him.
“Master, you want us to join you?” Kronk asked, equally shocked.
“Of course I do. Kronk, you made a good point, one that I've made to myself. If I die in that tower, both of you will be sent back to your respective homes. You won't be staying here to take care of this tower. S
o what does it matter one way or the other? What I didn't want to do was to ask you to come along and risk your lives too. If one of you falls, your death will be on me.”
“No, my dear wizard, it won't,” Aeris corrected him. “Because we are both stepping up and volunteering, our lives, and deaths, are in our own hands. Your conscience is clear. You haven't drafted us, we've made our own choice.”
“Exactly,” Kronk added. “Master, we want this. Do not worry about us; we will be fine.”
Simon let out a long, slow breath and nodded.
“Okay then, the three of us with stand to battle together. I just hope we all get through this in one piece.”
“We'll be fine, oh great and powerful one,” Aeris assured him.
He looked around the yard at the hundreds of bits of broken rock and mounds of dirt.
“Speaking of pieces though, any way you can clear this up, Kronk? It's a mess.”
“Certainly. Master, go ahead and get your bathing things. I will have the yard back to normal in a few minutes.”
“Thanks a lot.”
Simon stood up and brushed himself off. He walked up the steps and paused at the front door to look back at the elementals.
“Guys?” he said.
Both Kronk and Aeris looked at him curiously.
“Thank you. I have to admit, knowing that you'll be there to back me up makes me a lot more confident about the upcoming battle.”
He smiled at them both and entered the tower.
“Told you so,” he heard Aeris say.
Simon chuckled and went looking for soap and a towel. The two of them had it planned all along. He should have known.
Chapter 24
“Okay, I think I'm wasting my time.”
Simon was standing in the bright sunlight in the field in front of his tower, trying to hit a target he'd pinned to a tree ten yards away; he wasn't having much success.
“Finally giving up?” Aeris asked pertly.
It had been several days since he and Kronk had convinced Simon to take them along when he joined the assault on the dark tower. Since then, the wizard had tried to hone his skill with the bow. It had not gone well.
“I'm not giving up,” Simon snapped at him. “It's just that...”
“It's a waste of time” Aeris said, finishing his sentence.
He was observing from a few feet away and now he gestured at the homemade bow dismissively.
“I agree. Look, my dear wizard, even if you were using a perfectly made bow, what good would it do you?”
Simon stuck the end of the bow into the ground and leaned on it.
“What do you mean?”
“You will be fighting inside!” the elemental exclaimed. “Probably in close quarters. The bow was your alternative if you exhausted your well of magical energy, correct? But do you honestly think that your enemies are going to stand there, let you pull out an arrow, aim at them and let fly and do nothing? Sometimes I worry about you, I truly do.”
Simon tossed the bow aside and scowled at the elemental.
“Could you try not to sound so condescending, please? Not only is it irritating, but it's worthless. I welcome input but when you start getting snarky, I tune you out.”
He walked over and grabbed the bow and then marched past Aeris.
“I'm going for a swim. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't come along, thanks.”
The elemental muttered something but Simon ignored him. He wasn't in the mood for an argument.
Back inside, he left the bow and quiver next to the front door, picked up a towel and left the tower. It was too damned hot for target practice anyway.
As he walked through the back gate, Simon met Kronk trotting toward him. The little guy waved.
“Master! Going for a swim?”
“I think I need to cool off,” the wizard replied as Kronk turned to hurry along beside him. “I just had a bit of a run-in with Aeris. My fault really, but sometimes he just pushes my buttons, you know?”
“I know that very well, master. What was it this time?”
Simon appreciated the earthen's sympathetic tone and explained about the bow problem.
“Well, while I hate to agree with him on anything, master, in this instance I believe that Aeris was right.”
Simon slipped off his shorts, dropped his towel on top of them and waded into the lake. The water was cool enough to be refreshing and he sighed with pleasure as he moved out far enough to sit down on the sandy bottom with just his head above the calm surface.
“I know that,” he said to Kronk.
The entire area was still and quiet except for the siren songs of the cicadas.
“I guess I'll just fall back on my staff combat training if it comes to that. Ethmira insisted that learning to shoot a bow wasn't enough and that I should practice with at least one handheld weapon. And since I've always got my staff with me when I go into battle, we agreed to focus on that. It wasn't very extensive, but I can at least swing the thing without smacking myself on the head.”
“A very wise elf, master.”
“That she is.”
He pushed off of the bottom and let himself float on the surface of the water.
“Enjoy yourself, master. I have weeding to attend to.”
“Thanks Kronk,” Simon called out as he looked straight up at the pale blue sky.
At least the skin on his fingers would have a chance to heal now that he'd stopped using a bow, he thought as he closed his eyes.
“Simon!”
The wizard jerked backwards at the sound of someone calling his name and sucked water up his nose. He frantically found his feet and stood up, thankful that he hadn't floated out to a deeper part of the lake.
As he cough and spat, Simon realized that he'd fallen asleep, he didn't know for how long, and he was too busy trying to catch his breath to care.
Once he'd calmed down and was breathing almost normally again, he pushed his mass of soaked hair off of his face and looked around.
The lake was still calm and the area was still quiet. Neither Kronk nor Aeris were anywhere to be seen and Simon wondered if he had just heard someone's voice in a dream.
“Simon, hello.”
The wizard relaxed and smiled as he recognized Tamara's voice.
“Hey there,” he said as he waded to the shore and picked up his towel.
“How are you, Tamara?”
“Good, thanks. Sorry for startling you. I was afraid that you might drown there for a second.”
Simon laughed as he vigorously toweled off his hair.
“Well, you certainly woke me up. So what can I do for you?”
“It's on,” the mage told him simply.
The wizard stopped drying off and stared across the lake, in the direction of the disembodied voice.
“You mean..?”
“Yes, the attack is a go. Two days from now, just after dark. We'll meet you at that bay to the north of Nottinghill Castle, the one that Bastian mentioned. Do you remember it?”
“I do.”
Simon suddenly realized that he was casually toweling down naked while Tamara and who knows how many others were watching him. He dropped his towel and hurriedly slipped in his shorts.
“Relax, my friend,” the mage said with a surprisingly girlish giggle. “There is no one here with me right now and, no offense, but you're not my type. Have a good day and I'll see you tomorrow.”
“I'll be there. Thanks for calling.”
He felt the connection fade and picked up his towel.
Finally, he thought. Some action!
With his heart racing, Simon trotted up the slope toward the tower. So much to do and suddenly so little time.
He slipped through the back gate and hurried over to the garden. The earth elementals had extended the outer wall around the tower to make room for the expanded garden and now there was almost a acre of land to the west of the tower dedicated to growing crops.
Simon took a moment to appreciate
Kronk's hard work as he looked at rows of corn, whole sections of peas and beans and lines of tomato plants supported by perfectly straight wooden stakes.
In the north-west corner were a dozen robust apple trees that were the little guy's favorite. They looked pristine and healthy.
The wizard couldn't see Kronk anywhere but he heard a rustling out among the stalks of corn.
“Hey Kronk! Are you there?”
“Coming, master,” the little guy piped up. “Just one...more...weed. Aha, got it.”
The earthen appeared out of the corn rows carrying a mass of weeds bigger than he was.
“They just never stop, master. If I didn't know better, I would swear that Aeris is sneaking in here at night and planting them.”
Simon chuckled at that mental image.
“He hates gardening way too much to make the effort,” he told the little guy.
“Quite true, master.”
Kronk dropped the weeds on to a pile of other debris and looked up at Simon curiously.
“What can I do for you, master? Is there a problem?”
“Not really. I just spoke with Tamara. The attack on the dark tower is on. We go in two days.”
The earthen's eyes widened and his expression became grim.
“Understood, master. I will speak to my brethren on the walls and arrange for them to care for the tower and garden while we are gone. Did you need me to do anything for you?”
“Not at all, my friend. I just wanted to let you know.”
Simon looked around and then up at the top of the tower.
“Any idea where Aeris is?” he asked.
“Possibly up there, master,” Kronk said, pointing at the roof. “I believe Brethia is on duty at the moment and they enjoy speaking with each other.”
“Okay then, I'll go and look. I don't feel like summoning him and dealing with the headache his entrance will give me.”
Kronk's deep chuckle rumbled across the garden.
“I understand, master. Rest assured that everything to do with the tower's maintenance and care will be arranged before we leave. You can concentrate solely on the upcoming battle.”
The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) Page 28
