“She is that.”
The floating ball of light bobbed along making it easy for Simon to find his way. After about thirty feet, the hallway took an abrupt right turn. Ahead, the two rooms opened to the right and left and the heavy iron door could be seen ajar just beyond.
“Where are the boxes?” Simon asked.
“To the left. The room on the right has some tools and clothing, mostly rotten. Nothing useful.”
“Gotcha. Okay, let's see what we can see.”
When he entered the room, the first thing that Simon noticed as his light globe lit up the place were the stacks of boxes. Each was made of rough wooden planks and they were piled three or four high. He counted at least six stacks.
“Did you check to see what was inside?” he asked Aeris eagerly, suddenly burning with curiosity.
“And spoil your fun? You wound me, my dear wizard. No, I knew you would want to be here for this.”
Simon laughed in delight. He felt like a kid on Christmas morning.
“Thanks, Aeris. You were right.”
Several of the stacks were higher than his head and he wondered how they were going to get the boxes down.
“Should we just push until we knock them over,” Simon asked, nodding at the tall stacks.
“Certainly not! There could be fragile contents inside. Allow me.”
Aeris flew up and around the tallest pile, five boxes high. He began to circle the stack faster and faster until he was barely a blur and the air was shrieking with the wind he had whipped up.
Simon covered his eyes as dust and small slivers of wood flew in all directions. He began coughing violently and stumbled out into the corridor.
“Master, are you all right?”
Kronk was hurrying down the hallway toward him looking concerned.
“I'm...” the wizard paused to cough and then cleared his throat several times. “Fine, thanks. It just got a little gritty in there. Aeris is moving some boxes and he raised a bit of a breeze.”
“Hurricane is more like it, master,” the little guy commented as he peeked into the room. “What a mess.”
“He's just trying to help, Kronk. Be nice.”
“I am always nice, master,” the earthen replied with wide eyes. “Am I not?”
Simon sighed. Sometimes these two are like children, he thought.
“Yes, you are. Let's wait for the dust to settle before heading back in. By the way, what's the report on the furniture?”
“Remarkably clean, master. There are a few mildewed spots that I can fix easily, but no rot or mold. They will do nicely, I believe.”
“Excellent! Thanks Kronk. Even if the boxes in there are empty, at least the trip hasn't been a total waste of time.”
“Very true, master. And now you will be more comfortable at home, and a happy wizard is a productive wizard.”
When Simon gave him a quizzical look, the little guy smiled.
“A common saying from the olden days, master. Well, common among elementals, at least.”
“Err, okay. If you say so.”
Simon slapped the dust off of his robe while he waited and shook his hair vigorously, sending a cloud of dirt cascading to the floor.
“Yuck. That's a lot of crap.” He said as he slapped the dirt from his hands. “Next time I go out, I think I'll bring a handkerchief.”
His eyes watered and he sneezed violently; twice.
“Maybe two,” he added with a loud sniff.
“You can come in now,” Aeris called out. “The dust has settled, mostly.”
Simon peered through the doorway. The air was a bit hazy but the boxes were all spread out and the dust was gone.
“Thanks Aeris,” the wizard said as he walked back in. “How many boxes do we have?”
“Seventeen, exactly,” the air elemental replied with a pleased expression. “Where shall we start?”
“Why don't each of us just pick one and open it? Keep going and see if we can find anything useful. I want to get on with transporting the couch and chair back home and that's going to take two trips as it is.”
“Sounds good,” Aeris told him. “Let's do this.”
Simon picked a box at random and examined it. He'd been afraid that he'd need a pry bar of some sort, but the lids were kept shut with small nails that gave way easily when he pulled up on the top of the box.
The wood squealed as he slipped his fingers under the top and yanked upward. When it came loose, he set it aside and looked inside.
“Greedy bastard,” he muttered as his light made the contents of the box glow and sparkle.
“What is in it, master?”
“Gold, Kronk,” Simon said, disappointed. “Dozens of little golden statues, gold plates, icons. Looks like the guy raided a church or two. What possible use would I have for gold?”
He turned away at this display of avarice and chose another crate.
“What is this?” Aeris asked them as Simon began to open his box.
He stopped and stepped over to look at what the elemental had discovered.
“Plastic wrapping,” he said as he picked up a square package. There were stacks of them inside.
“Can we use whatever is inside?” Aeris asked hopefully.
Simon sighed and shook his head. He dropped the package back into the box.
“Money. Whatever paper money they used to use here in Russia. Less than worthless.”
“Master? This might be something.”
The wizard was already beginning to feel dispirited. Obviously the oligarch who had owned this shelter had had his priorities set on saving his fortune when he'd packed these boxes. A fortune that meant nothing on the New Earth. Idiot.
He glanced inside of Kronk's crate and his mouth dropped open. Now this was more like it!
There were stacks of large cans inside the box. He picked one up and smiled broadly.
“What is it, master?” the little guy asked.
“The mother lode, my friend. It's the mother lode.”
He shook the can and heard a loose rasping sound coming from the contents inside. Simon was surprised to feel his eyes getting wet.
“Coffee. Ground coffee.” He couldn't read the writing on the can but the picture of a dark steaming cup of liquid was the universal symbol for coffee.
“I wish it was instant, but beggars can't be choosers. Good find,” he said to Kronk with a broad smile.
The three of them continued to open boxes with more enthusiasm and, by the time they were done, had found several more treasures.
One crate was filled with bottles of vodka. Good stuff, Simon assumed, figuring that the oligarch would only pack the best. He wasn't much of a drinker but the liquor might be valuable for trading some time in the future.
There was a crate full of cigars and cans of tobacco. It was all sealed tightly and Simon thought that it too might be useful for trade one day. He had never smoked but didn't have a hatred for the habit. He simply didn't care about it one way or the other.
A crate of jewelry yielded some beautiful pieces that caught his interest. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, all of the jewelry was incredibly detailed and exquisite.
“Trade goods?” Aeris said as he peeked over Simon's shoulder.
“Trade goods,” the wizard agreed.
The last box was the greatest surprise, and the greatest treasure. Kronk pried it open and the three of them looked inside.
“Oh my God,” Simon said. “Who the hell was this guy?”
Chapter 12
It was something out of a wizard's fable. The last box contained books written in the ancient language of magic. There was a magnificent crystal ball, tablets engraved with glyphs that made the hair stand up on Simon's neck just to look at them. Several amulets that made his fingers tingle with power when he picked them up. And...a wand.
“What the hell?” Simon whispered as he picked it up.
Only a foot and a half in length, the narrow black wand was covered in tiny writing in
an unknown language. It was cold against his skin and made his heart race just to touch it. And at the tip was a jagged piece of blue metal, shaped like a claw.
“Was the owner of this place a mage?” Aeris wondered aloud as they examined the box's contents.
“Not possible,” Simon told him. “Until the dragons returned, there were no spell-casters: well, no real ones anyway.”
He picked up the crystal ball. It was the size of his head and set in a base of silver inset with red stones, perhaps rubies.
“This would be so much nicer to use than a mirror when I'm talking to people,” he said as he stroked its smooth surface.
“I don't like it,” Aeris said flatly.
Simon looked at him.
“You don't like the crystal ball?”
The air elemental shook his head impatiently.
“I don't like any of it. Look, everything inside that crate is something that would appeal to you, a wizard, specifically. What are the odds of that happening?”
He looked darkly from one object to the next.
“I think you should leave all of this stuff right where it is. It could be cursed or imbued with dark magic.”
Simon snorted.
“Oh come on, Aeris.” He bounced the heavy crystal ball in his hand. “It's just a shiny piece of crystal, that's all. What harm could it do?”
The air elemental threw up his hands and looked down at Kronk.
“You tell him. He isn't listening to me.”
“Tell me what?”
The earthen looked at Simon intently.
“Master, Aeris could be right. There were many cases of hexes and curses cast between magic-users back in the old days. Assassinations were carried out by giving someone an innocent bauble with a dark curse on it. All casters were wary of unexpected gifts. I would err on the side of caution here.”
Simon put the ball back into the box and stood up, dusting off his robe. He looked around the room.
“But how would anyone even know that I was coming here? Or that I would open these boxes if I did? I think it's a stretch, guys.”
Aeris flew up to eye level.
“It may not be a trap set specifically for you, my dear wizard. Perhaps it was created to catch the first person with magical talent who opened the box and used these things.”
“Yeah but, who would do this?”
“Who are your greatest enemies, master?” Kronk asked.
“You mean besides the dragons? The gods of Chaos, of course.”
Aeris nodded once.
“Exactly. It wouldn't be the first time that they've tried to do away with you, or any other magic-user. Remember Heather? She was subverted by the dark gods and Changed from a witch to an evil wizard. Perhaps she came across a cache like this?”
Simon stretched. His back was aching and he was getting tired. He rubbed his face and sighed with frustration.
“Okay, if this stuff is cursed, or whatever, is there any way to know for sure?”
“Yes, master,” Kronk said brightly. “It needs to be examined by a cleric, a representative of the Light. They can sense dark magic by sight and touch, even more than a wizard can.”
“Hmm, a cleric.”
Opheilla came to mind but a trip back to the dwarven capital was not practical any time soon.
Clara's face floated up into Simon's consciousness and her loss hit him yet again.
“The only human cleric I knew was taken from us,” he said sadly. “So that's out.”
“There is a cleric at Nottinghill Castle,” Aeris told him. “The one who moved there from Australia, remember?”
“Yeah well, I don't know her. Okay guys, let's wrap this up. We'll leave the magical stuff here. I know where it is if I want it in the future, so let's just take the rest for now.”
Kronk had pushed the four boxes that held the useful items together and Simon walked over and sat down on one. He made sure that all of the boxes were touching each other.
“Would you two head back into the main room, please? I'm going to Gate directly to our storerooms with this stuff. We'll sort it out later. Then I'll come back and grab the furniture.”
“Certainly, master. We will meet you in there.”
“Cool.”
Simon pictured his storeroom where he kept his boxes of clothes and other dry goods. He smiled at the elementals.
“Gate,” he said firmly and the void claimed him.
When he appeared in the basement of the tower, Simon found that his light globe had Gated with him and he chuckled. That hadn't happened before that he remembered. He pushed the boxes over against the nearest wall, pictured the main room in the shelter and cast Gate again.
The elementals were waiting for him.
“Which one do you want to take first?” Aeris asked looking from the couch to the armchair.
“Might as well start with the couch. You guys hop on and come along. I'll come back by myself for the chair and you can move the couch over to the spot that the old one used to sit.”
“We will do that, master.”
“Good. Let's go.”
Simon waited until both of his friends were standing on the couch, put one hand on the back of it and Gated home again.
Once they were back, Kronk hopped off of the couch and Aeris rose up to hover above it.
“Over there?” he asked, pointing across the room at the rough wooden bench that the earthen had made for him.
“Yep, near the wall. Come on, you remember where the old one used to be, don't you?”
“I don't use furniture,” Aeris replied carelessly.
“I remember, master,” Kronk told him assuredly. “You can go back for the chair and we will move the couch. I can use the wood from the bench as fuel, so there will be no waste.”
“Good for you,” Simon said with a wink at the little guy. “Be back in a couple of minutes.”
Being careful to picture his target precisely, he returned to the underground room, his globe of light bobbing along over his head. The wizard was starting to feel tired and sat down on the chair for a minute, waiting for his legs to stop shaking.
He stared around the room, trying to picture the man who had had this refuge built. What had he been like? Liliana believed that the bunker had been dug out as a shelter against a possible nuclear attack.
I guess an assault by dragons never occurred to him, Simon thought with dark humor. But then, it had never occurred to anyone else either. Well, except for his best friend, Daniel.
He sat back and closed his eyes.
Daniel. I wonder how he is? His friend was trapped in the elven realm, stuck there because returning to Earth would kill him instantly by rapidly aging him. Time in that world moved at a different pace than it did on Earth.
Of course, the seven months that he'd been out of commission may have only been a week or two in the elven realm. He'd have to call Daniel in the next few days.
Simon sat up with a snort and looked around in confusion.
“Crap, I fell asleep,” he said aloud.
The room was pitch black. Apparently his light had faded while he slept and he quickly created a new one.
He stood up and was relieved to find that he felt much stronger after his quick nap.
Aeris is going to be mad, he thought.
That was all he needed, a lecture from the air elemental.
He rested a hand on the back of the chair. At least he knew that he would be comfortable with it at home.
Okay, time to get back and face the music, he thought with a loud sigh. And then he hesitated.
Simon looked around speculatively and headed for the hallway.
What the heck, I'm late anyway.
He walked down the corridor and into the room stuffed with boxes, his light globe following faithfully. He moved over to the crate filled with the magical items and looked into it.
“There's no way that this stuff is cursed,” he said to the empty room. “Obviously this guy was some eccentri
c collector of arcane paraphernalia. Daniel used to do the same thing.”
He stared at the crystal ball. He really wanted it. The books, jewelry, all the rest were secondary. It could wait. But that ball, something about it drew him to it.
Simon reached down and picked it up and the crystal settled into his palm comfortably. It warmed to his touch.
“I'm taking it,” he said without realizing that he was speaking out loud.
He hurried out of the room and down the hallway, almost feeling like a thief escaping the scene of a crime. He tossed the ball on to the chair, summoned a picture of his main floor in his mind and Gated quickly, looking around as if expecting someone to leap out of the shadows to stop him.
Back home, the candles were all lit around the room. It was pitch black outside and Simon realized with a shock that he had been gone for hours.
The elementals were nowhere to be seen and he picked up the crystal ball and slipped it guiltily into one of his kitchen cupboards, where he kept his pots and pans. Then he moved back to the chair.
“Hey guys?” he called. “Anyone home?”
“Where have you been?” Aeris shouted from upstairs. Simon winced.
The elemental shot down the stairs and across the room to hover in front of the wizard.
“Well?” he snapped, bobbing up and down with his arms folded.
“Well what? I sat down when I got there and dozed off. Sorry for worrying you but I was tired. All that Gating, I suppose.”
Aeris' expression softened and he nodded.
“Yes, understandable. Kronk's out with the horses. He was sure that you were fine. It appears he was right.”
Simon shoved the chair across the floor until it was sitting several feet in front of the fireplace. He stepped back and looked at its placement critically, tapping his lips with a finger.
“Is it centered, do you think?” he asked Aeris.
“Hmm, not quite.”
The elemental flew over and pushed the chair easily to the right about three inches.
“How about now?” he asked Simon.
“Perfect! Thanks Aeris. Now it feels like home.”
He looked at the couch, saw that it was sitting exactly where his old sofa had been, and grinned widely.
Tales from the New Earth: Volume Two Page 15