“As usual, you bunch always exceed expectations. It's marvelous, really. And I'm not just saying that.”
He looked around and sighed contentedly.
“I've got my home back,” he said happily. “Yours too, of course,” he added quickly. “Thank you all so, so much.”
They all bowed in unison, their little blocky faces looking up at him with smiles of their own.
“Thank you, master. I speak for all of us when I say it is always our pleasure to serve you.”
Kronk looked at the others and rattled off something in his own language. They nodded and murmured a reply and then the group went out, closing the door firmly behind them. They'd even straightened out the latch that the wights had bent back when they'd burst into the tower.
“Where are they off to now?” Simon asked him as he crossed the room to examine the kitchen area.
“I've sent them back to patrol the wall, master.” the little guy said. He tapped over and jumped up on to the table. “I'm sure Aeris is curious to see our repairs and now he can allow my fellow earthen to take over the watch on the wall.”
“Ah, good thinking.”
The wizard sat down and worked his butt around on the new kitchen chair. The elementals had contoured the seat and, for a wooden chair, it was smooth and comfortable.
“Wonderful,” Simon said and sat back to simply enjoy his home.
Aeris popped into the room and flew over to join Kronk on the table. He looked around the room with narrowed eyes and the earthen watched him a bit nervously.
“Well?” the wizard asked. “Are you going to be nice and compliment Kronk and his friends on their work or are you going to say something mean?”
“Mean?”
Aeris looked at him and then at Kronk.
“Of course not. They've done a wonderful job; very efficient.”
The earthen stared at him, obviously speechless. Simon felt the same way.
“What? Why are you two looking at me like that?” Aeris asked irritably. “I give credit when credit is due. Well done, Kronk.”
“Thank you,” the earthen replied weakly.
Simon patted the little guy on the back.
“See? Even Aeris knows you've done a great job.”
Kronk nodded silently, still digesting the air elemental's compliment.
The wizard looked regretfully at the fireplace. His comfy stuffed chair had been destroyed and, like the sofa, was beyond the earth elementals' skills to replace.
Ah but I loved sitting in front of the fire during the long winter nights, he thought with a pang of sadness. Oh well, it could have been so much worse.
He pushed aside his negative thoughts and jumped up. He grabbed his kettle, shined to a dull glow, and filled it from the pump.
“My celebration of this marvelous repair job begins with a cup of tea in my new kitchen,” he told the two elementals with a grin.
He hung the kettle in the fireplace and rummaged through the kitchen cabinets.
“It's good to see how quickly things are getting back to normal,” Aeris said with approval. “And now that they are, did you get in touch with your friend in the elven lands? It's been two days, after all.”
“I did,” Simon told him. He leaned back on the counter to wait for the water to boil.
“Daniel said that they've moved further away from the main center of the dragon attacks, so that's good news. And he looks better than the last time we talked. According to him, the elvish glamor should keep the dragons off of their trail for some time.”
“That is good news, master,” Kronk piped up.
“Yep. He also said that the elves are striking back against the brown dragons.”
He picked up the boiling kettle and started to make his tea.
“You know,” he said over his shoulder. “I wonder just how many elves there actually are? I mean, it's a whole world, right? So are there thousands of them? Millions? I mean, sure, there might be a thousand brown dragons, although I hope not, but if they're fighting against the entire race of elves, maybe things aren't as one-sided as I think they are?”
He sat down with his tea and sipped it gratefully, a contented shiver moving deliciously down his back.
“I don't think there are many elves, master,” Kronk told him in his slow, careful way. “As I remember these things from the old days, there were never that many to begin with. A birth was cause for celebration because it happened so rarely.”
“I agree,” Aeris said as he watched Simon drinking his tea. “Elves are immortal. They were decimated by the dragons thousands of years ago and I'm sure it has taken them this long to rebuild their numbers. Of course,” he added thoughtfully, “their time runs differently than the time on this world, so perhaps their population is back to where it was before the dragons attacked so long ago.”
“Hmm,” Simon murmured through a mouthful of tea. He swallowed and put down his cup.
“I suppose it makes sense. If you were immortal and reproduced the way that humans do, you'd be hip-deep in people in a very short time. So, there may only be a few thousand elves?”
“Quite possibly, my dear wizard.”
Simon stood up and went to stand by the small window near the front door. The wind and snow still swirled around the tower but he looked through it, thinking hard.
A few minutes passed and Aeris flew across the room to hover near the wizard and stared out the window with him.
“So why the serious face?” he asked quietly.
“Hmm?”
Simon glanced at him from the corner of his eye, smiled a bit and watched the storm again.
“Nothing, really. Just going through the different scenarios that I might face if I get into the elven realm.”
He frowned as he tapped his lower lip.
“If the numbers of elves are sufficient, they may not even need my help, and I should just keep my distance and worry about the primal red and its followers here on Earth. On the other hand, if they are small in numbers, even with their magical weapons they won't be able to stand up to the brown dragons and a wizard could possibly tip the balance of the war in their favor.”
“Or you could go there, use your powers and fail,” Aeris said dryly. “Leaving us and your home world at the mercy of the gods of Chaos. So before you go racing off to save the day, my dear wizard, think about all of the consequences of your actions.”
Simon turned and stared at the air elemental.
“I do think of all of the consequences,” he stated firmly.
“Do you, master?” Kronk asked from the tabletop. “I mean no offense, but some of your interactions with dragons have been...spontaneous at best.”
The wizard couldn't believe that the little guy would take Aeris' side in this, but the earthen's earnest expression stopped Simon from arguing with him. Between the two elementals, he knew that Kronk always spoke the absolute truth, no matter what.
He walked back to the table and sat down, thinking deeply.
“Okay then, let's walk through this whole thing,” he said tersely. “Maybe I'm too close to it because of my feelings for Daniel.”
He watched Aeris float back and looked between him and Kronk.
“So, give me your opinions. And don't hold back.”
Both of the elementals hesitated and then Aeris shrugged.
“Very well, if you want an honest evaluation of the situation, here's mine.”
He settled down on to the tabletop and folded his arms, staring up at Simon.
“If, as you've said, the elves have the numbers to defend themselves, then your aid is moot. You will be able to stay in this world and plan your battles against the red dragons without hindrance. That is, in my opinion, the best scenario.”
Simon nodded without comment and gestured for him to continue.
“If the elves do not have enough fighters to have a hope of defeating the dragons, then this situation becomes much more complex. Assuming that you will be able to enter their realm,
that is.”
“The way I see it, master,” Kronk piped up. “Even if you can join Daniel and the elves, you on your own will not be enough.”
The wizard raised an eyebrow and the little guy rushed on.
“What I mean is that you are going to be on a whole new world, master. You will have no idea of where the primal brown dragon is, which means that you may have to fight your way through many of its minions to reach it, if you can. And not just dragons but drakes as well.”
“Yeah, I thought of that,” Simon said as he sat back and stretched a bit to loosen his spine. “I figure that I'll summon some air elementals, like Aeris, and get them to scout out the land for me. Hopefully they'll be able to at least give me an idea of where the primal is hiding.”
Both of the elementals shook their heads in unison and he stared at them, amused and confused at the same time.
“What is it?”
“You won't be able to summon aid while you are in the elven realm, my dear wizard.”
“What? Why?”
“That world is closed to elementals, master,” Kronk said simply. “We have never been granted access to it. The elves do not have the ability to summon our kind, so that pathway has never been established. You will be on your own.”
“Oh,” Simon muttered. “Oh crap. Well, that complicates things a bit.”
“Indeed it does. So, there's one problem,” Aeris said tartly. “But the real point is that you simply do not have enough firepower by yourself to make a difference in the battles that you will have to face. If you were able to take some allies with you, of course, that would be a different story. At least it would give you more of a chance of survival.”
Simon got up and put the kettle back over the fire.
“Okay. Believe it or not, I actually agree with you.” he told Aeris. “And don't look so surprised. I want to help the elves, and Daniel, but I'm not really looking for an inventive way to commit suicide. If any of the other Changlings want to join me, and are able to survive the trip, then I'll happily invite them to come along.”
He began making another cup of tea.
“We'll just have to wait until I speak to Daniel again. Hopefully he'll have some firm options for me next time.”
Chapter 5
Simon was still sipping his second cup of tea and chatting quietly with the elementals when he felt a tingling in the pocket of his robe and a warmth against his skin. Someone was using their lodestone to reach him.
He pulled out the three stones he always carried and saw that it was half of the stone that he'd given to Clara.
“Uh-oh,” he exclaimed. He slipped the stones back into his pocket, jumped up and raced for the stairs. The elementals chased after him.
Up in his study, Simon grabbed the hand mirror off of his desk, sat down and cast the Magic Mirror spell urgently. Kronk ran into the room so quickly that his little legs were just a blur. He leaped on to the desk just as Aeris shot across the room to join him there.
“Clara?” Simon called anxiously as he made the connection. “Clara, are you there?”
“Oh, thank the gods.” he heard her reply. “Simon, I know what you've just gone through, but we really need your help.”
“It's yours,” he stated firmly. The mirror cleared and he could see Clara standing in the midst of the blizzard, heavily wrapped in a fur jacket and scarf, squinting at something that he couldn't see.
“What's going on? What do you need?”
“Well, I spoke too soon earlier, I guess.” Her voice stuttered with cold. “There are dozens of wights trying to get into Nottinghill! Maybe more. The ditch around the town has slowed them down, but the damned things climb like cockroaches and are swarming up the wall.”
“My God,” Simon muttered.
“The good news, such as it is, is that your wards are keeping them from climbing directly over the wall. They are concentrating their attacks on both gates where the warding is weakest. Virginia, Anna, Eric and Gerard are manning the rear gate and using their combined power to blast them off of the wall. But the front gate is only protected by Malcolm and Aiden and the other guardsmen. They're using bows to drive them back.”
“Okay, okay. I understand,” Simon said, nodding his head unconsciously.
“The problem is that the arrows only knock the wights to the ground. The barbs aren't blessed, and there's no time for me to do that now, damn it, so the monsters just jump up and attack again.”
She paused and shivered, then tightened the scarf around her neck.
“And they're running out of arrows,” she added.
“Okay, stay right there,” Simon said loudly. “I'll Gate to your location. Hang on,”
“Thank you, my friend,” she replied with relief. “Please hurry.”
Simon broke the connection and put down the mirror. He grabbed his staff and ran out of the room.
Down in the basement, the wizard went into the supply room where he stored his extra clothing and grabbed the long, hooded winter coat, thick gloves and winter boots that he'd left there earlier. After a brief moment, he dug up a set of long underwear too.
Just in case, he thought.
He ran back up the stairs to the main level and quickly got dressed.
Kronk and Aeris were there watching him and, once he was dressed, Simon turned to look at them.
“The other earthen are patrolling the wall, right?”
“Of course, master,” Kronk assured him.
“Good, because I want you two to come with me,” he told them.
Both of them exchanged a glance and Aeris actually smiled.
“A fine decision, my dear wizard,” the air elemental assured him.
“Yeah? Well, we'll see about that.”
The wizard finished tying his boots, grabbed his staff and nodded at the others.
“Hang on to me, guys. We've got to move.”
Kronk took hold of the bottom of Simon's coat while Aeris floated over and held on to his sleeve.
Simon raised his staff, cast the Gate spell while keeping Clara's face firmly in mind and uttered the word of command.
“Invectis!”
And a moment later, they were standing in the middle of blowing snow and arctic winds.
“Crap, I hate the winter,” Simon muttered and looked around hurriedly, peering through the whipping ice pellets.
“Simon! Over here,” he heard Clara call and turned in the direction of her voice.
He saw a vague blur through the storm and shuffled toward it. The snow was at least six inches deep.
“Hey there,” he said loudly as he reached her. “Lovely day, isn't it?”
Her lips twitched but her eyes were grave.
“Good to see you,” she told him. “Follow me please.”
The cleric led the way through the wind and snow. Simon could see the shapes of small houses on either side of the snow-covered road and, as they struggled along, two shapes scurried by them, heading in the opposite direction. He couldn't even tell if they were men or women.
The main gate suddenly loomed out of the storm and the wizard saw someone crouched there digging into a large trunk and pulling out handfuls of arrows. The person stood up with a load of ammunition and slipped and slid to the right of the gate where someone else had climbed down a ladder to take the bundle and pass it up to another person standing on the parapet that ran along the inside of the wall.
“Terry!” Clara called out and the man at the bottom of the ladder turned and waved. He moved toward them and they met him at the gate.
“How's it going?” the cleric asked, raising her voice over the howling of the wind.
“Well, we're holding them for now,” Terry shouted. He was a young, blond-headed man with a heavy beard that was coated with ice. He was panting and his breath puffed out in white clouds.
“But the ammo is getting scarce, Clara,” he continued. “Another wave of those bastards and we'll be fighting them hand to hand.”
“Damn
it,” Simon muttered.
He looked at Aeris, who was hovering in the air just behind him.
“Can you scout out the situation, safely?” he asked. “I need to know how many wights we're dealing with.”
Aeris snorted, the little puff of air blowing him back a few inches.
“Of course I can. Give me a couple of minutes.”
He disappeared and Simon looked at Clara and the guardsman.
“Aeris will give us an accurate idea of the number of our enemies,” he told them. He looked at Terry. “Where are Malcolm and Aiden?
The man pointed at the wall to the left of the gate.
“Up there. Thank God their aim is phenomenal. We'd have been overrun by now but for them.”
“Good. I'm heading up. Kronk,” he said and looked down at the earthen who was standing next to his right leg. “Could you check on Virginia and the others at the back gate? See how they're holding up?”
“My pleasure, master,” the little guy said. He vanished into the ground, leaving a small mound of dirt on top of the snow.
“Handy friends you have there, sir wizard,” Terry told him with a tired grin.
“They are that. Clara, I'll see you in a bit.”
She nodded and gripped his arm tightly for a brief moment.
Simon hurried across the road to the left side of the gate, the snow crunching under his boots. He slipped his staff across his back and began to climb up the ladder carefully; the rungs were coated with ice.
Up on the parapet, the wind smacked into him full force and he squinted as he looked along the wall.
A few feet away he saw Aiden, longbow in hand, lean over the wall, aim carefully and shoot at an unseen target.
“That's got it,” the wizard heard someone yell with a laugh and then saw the massive figure of Malcolm just beyond Aiden, nodding in approval.
The big man spotted Simon and smiled broadly. His dark face and long braids were barely recognizable in the dense storm.
“Wizard!” he called gleefully. “Nice of you to join us.”
Aiden spun around and smiled down at Simon
“Good day, sir wizard. Come to join the hunt?”
“Hunt?” Malcolm said scornfully. “Shooting fish in a barrel is more like it. No sport at all in this.”
The Dragons of Decay Page 6
