“I thought that you should not have to make your meal for yourself, that's all.”
“Well, thanks to both of you. I'll just, um,” he nodded at the front door.
“Don't take too long out there; your food will get cold,” Aeris said primly.
When Simon had returned from the outhouse and washed his hands, he sat down and began to eat. The food was delicious.
“This is awesome, Kronk,” he mumbled through a mouthful of potatoes.
“It was nothing, master,” the little guy replied although his chest puffed out a little bit at the compliment.
“You can say that again,” Aeris muttered.
“Anyway, after I eat, I'm going to summon some replacements for the three earthen we lost.”
The wizard hesitated and looked closely at Kronk.
“If you think I should. Would any of your people even want the job after what happened last night?”
Kronk seemed surprised at the question.
“Want the job, master? They will be clamoring to be chosen. Perhaps you do not realized the status that those who serve you receive.”
“Status?” Simon said blankly. “What amount of status could anyone get by walking walls day and night or repairing a building?”
“Much, master. I have told you before that you are the only wizard that I have ever known who treats his servants as individuals. You give us the freedom to choose. We can leave if it suits us. We can say no if you wish us to take on a task that does not please us. It is...”
He seemed to be groping for the proper word.
“Revolutionary?” Aeris offered.
“Exactly! It is revolutionary, master. And even though we love our home plane, the earthen realm does become a little dull after several thousand years.”
“He's right, you know,” the air elemental said.
He picked up Simon's empty plate and flew it over to the sink.
“Even my people want to help you whenever you need their aid. It's all a bit overwhelming actually. I'm quite the celebrity back in the realm of air.”
Simon grinned at him
“Are you now? Well, well. Aeris is a star. Who'd have believed it?”
“I wonder that you can actually fly around as well as you do carrying an ego that heavy,” Kronk said snidely.
“What? Now listen here, you...”
“Uh-uh! Guys? Please, no fighting. My head hurts.”
“Of course, master. I would not dream of it.”
Aeris made an obnoxious sound and glowered at the little guy but remained silent.
“Good. Shall we go up to the study? I'd prefer summoning your kinsmen from there.”
Kronk gave Simon the names of three of his people that he believed would be pleased to work for the wizard. And when they appeared in the study, he was quite correct. The trio of earth elementals were thrilled to be asked to join the staff of the tower and happily went off to begin patrolling the outer wall with the other two earthen.
“That went well,” Simon said to Kronk after the elementals had left.
“As I said, master. They are happy to help.”
The little guy was standing in a shaft of sunlight that was beaming across the desk in the study. Tiny crystals embedded in his dark, rocky skin sparkled as he moved and made him appear to be a living statue.
Aeris seemed to have gotten over his grumpy mood and had flown over to stare out of the window.
“Have you considered checking on our neighbors?” he asked as he looked out over the southern section of the forest.
“Galder and his people?”
Simon sat up abruptly and picked up the hand mirror off of the desk.
“Damn it, I forgot about them. Hang on and let me take a look.”
He cast the Magic Mirror spell and the elementals both joined him and waited for the mirror to lock on to its target.
When it cleared, Simon groaned and pushed his hair out of his eyes.
“Oh no. Oh damn.”
“I was afraid of that,” Aeris said softly.
Kronk made a sound deep in his throat like a wordless growl.
The gates of the old town of Nottinghill had been smashed and torn down. Smoke was rising behind them and covered the scene with a thin, gray haze. Simon counted more than a dozen lumps of fur that were lying in front of the opening; the bodies of defenders.
“They must have been attacked at the same time that we were,” Aeris stated angrily. “Don't blame yourself, my dear wizard. The necromancer was trying to destroy two enemies at once. Even if Galder had called for help, you couldn't have responded.”
“Yes, I know. But, I mean, look at them. They look like,” Simon made a helpless gesture, “dead puppies. Just flung aside.”
He canceled the spell, put down the mirror and stood up.
“I'm going down to see if there are survivors.”
Simon quickly left the study and headed for the stairs.
Kronk and Aeris looked at each other.
“Are we going to let him go alone?” the earthen asked.
“Are you nuts? He can barely function without us at home. Let's move.”
Downstairs Simon put on his outdoor shoes and grabbed Mortis de Draconis. The elementals hurried down after him and the wizard stared at them.
“Coming along?” he asked with a strained smile.
“Of course, master. We wish to help.”
“Fine. Grab hold and let's go.”
Kronk held on to the hem of his robe and Aeris touched his shoulder.
Simon raised his staff, pictured the devastated scene he'd just seen in the mirror and cast the Gate spell.
A freezing blackness engulfed them and Simon began counting. Most trips took about ten seconds, although when he traveled to England it was almost twice that long. Why it took any time at all, considering the timelessness of the void, was a mystery.
He had only counted to five when the three of them appeared on a little hill to the north of the town. A whiff of smoke made Simon wrinkle his nose and he looked around quickly for any enemies.
“Sunlight equals no undead,” Aeris reminded him as he flew forward several feet to stare down at the town.
“There are more dangerous things out in the wild than animated skeletons,” Simon said flatly.
The blowing grass between the hill top and the town was clear of threats though and he began walking toward the scene of the battle.
“Do you think anyone survived, master?” Kronk asked as he followed behind the wizard.
He was invisible in the tall grass and, under other circumstances, Simon might have laughed at the sight. Now it didn't even touch him.
“No idea. Aeris, could you scout out the town from above please? And Kronk, I'd like you to do the same from underground.”
“Happy to,” Aeris said and shot up into the late afternoon sky.
“Of course, master,” the little guy replied.
He sank into the ground and disappeared.
“Good,” Simon said to himself. “And I'll go in the front.”
He raised his staff as he kept walking.
“Shield,” he said quietly and an opaque ball of energy appeared around him.
The ground close to the wall was trampled and torn up and Simon was careful to watch his footing as he approached the front gates.
He passed the first corpse and avoided looking at it too closely once he saw that it wasn't Galder. The dead bear man had been hideously wounded in multiple places and Simon turned his eyes away from it hurriedly.
Several more corpses were clumped together at the broken gates, all horribly mangled. All of the bear people had been armed with swords or spears and several were damaged or broken, but there was no sign of their fallen foes.
Undead, Simon thought. Just like the bones around the tower that had rotted away when the sun came up. How many had they destroyed before they fell? Considering the size of the Haladanin, he assumed that it had been dozens at least.
�
�Where the hell are you getting your bodies, you bastard,” he said aloud to the mysterious necromancer. “And when are you going to come out of hiding? Coward.”
His head began to pound as he was filled with rage. What had these innocent people done to offend the dark gods, except survive? Cripes, what had any of them done to earn that enmity?
If I live through all of this, I'm coming for you next, he swore to himself; ignoring the obvious absurdity of swearing vengeance against gods.
“I found some!”
He looked up and saw Aeris zooming down toward him.
“I think we have some survivors,” the elemental exclaimed excitedly.
“Where?”
“This way.”
Simon followed the elemental, making his way over the wreckage of the gates and using his staff to steady himself.
Kronk popped out of the ground just inside the walls and the wizard jumped back in surprise.
“Are you alright, master?” the earthen asked curiously.
Simon could feel his face getting red.
“Um yeah, I'm fine. This place is making me tense, that's all.”
“Understandable, master. I have sensed someone moving. Over there.”
He pointed in the same direction that Aeris was leading Simon.
“I found them as well,” the air elemental said in a low voice. “How many did you sense?”
“At least half a dozen,” Kronk replied, also speaking quietly. “Maybe more. Why are we whispering?”
“Because until we know that they are our friends, we must assume the worst.”
“Ah, of course. Undead attacks during the day. Why did I not think of that?”
Aeris frowned and seemed prepared to make a cutting retort, but Simon quickly interrupted him.
“Keep going, Aeris,” he said sharply. “Whoever it is may need our help.”
The elemental nodded and flew off, the wizard and the earthen following him closely.
The area inside the gates was littered with corpses. It had been a hell of a fight. Several of the small houses were smoking where fires had been set and, when Simon reluctantly peeked into one, what he saw confirmed what he already knew about the attackers.
There were piles of smashed bones and a half dozen skulls staring at him from out of the gloom of the house. Obviously the sun couldn't reach them there.
Simon turned away, filled with loathing, and continued to follow Aeris.
“In there,” the air elemental told him a minute later.
He was pointing at a building that the wizard recognized as the old jail. Malcolm and Aiden had built it back when they had first been bitten by a werewolf, to keep them contained on nights when the moon was full.
The heavy door, reinforced with iron strapping, was gouged and pitted where the monsters had tried to force their way through. But it was still intact and closed tightly and Simon felt a surge of hope.
He glanced at the elementals and Kronk made an encouraging gesture toward the door.
Simon nodded. He stepped forward and knocked with the end of his staff.
The sound echoed inside the large structure but there was no answer.
“Hello? Anyone there?” the wizard called out. “It's Simon. Simon O'Toole. I live to the north. Don't be afraid; I'm not your enemy.”
There was a long pause and then they heard bolts being drawn back from behind the door. It opened slowly and standing in the doorway was the massive figure of a bear man.
“Galder?” Simon asked cautiously.
He thought that it was the leader of the town but blood matted his silvery fur and his yellow eyes were wide. His black lips were drawn back and his teeth were bared. He held a notched sword in his hand and it was raised menacingly.
“Easy, Galder. Easy. You're safe.”
It took a moment for the creature to recognize him and then the glint of fear faded from his eyes and he slumped slightly with a low sigh.
“It is you, my friend,” Galder said weakly. “I thought that it might be a new trick by those demons.”
“Yes, it's me. Are you okay? How many of your people survived? What can I do?”
Galder motioned for Simon to follow him and turned away, leading them inside the building.
All of the small windows were barred and intact. Thankfully the undead hadn't been able to force their way in.
Huddled in the center of the room on the packed dirt floor were a small group of Haladanin. Simon counted nine of them and felt a small surge of relief when he recognized Galder's two daughters. They were sitting on the ground and holding each other, rocking gently. It was the saddest thing that the wizard had ever seen and his heart went out to them.
The chief stared at the survivors and turned to look mournfully at Simon.
“My people. All that are left. Six females including my daughters and three males. And myself.”
He shook his heavy head.
“All of the others are dead. They insisted that we retreat here where I could protect these others. I did not want to. I wanted to die with my people. But they gave me no choice. Do you understand? They gave me no choice!”
Galder seemed to be ashamed that he had survived while the majority of his kind had died protecting him and Simon hastened to reassure the proud creature.
“I understand totally,” he said. “Galder, you are the strongest and the fiercest. And if your people are to continue to live on after this horror, they will need a leader. I think it takes more courage to make the hard decisions, like the one you made to survive, than to do what we might want to do. Don't beat yourself up about it.”
The bear man frowned and nodded slowly.
“Perhaps. Perhaps you are right. But if they come back this night, we will surely perish.”
“That isn't going to happen. I'm getting you and the others out of here. You can spend the night at my tower and that will give you time to decide what you want to do next.”
Galder agreed with obvious relief, but insisted that his dead must be taken care of first.
While the chief reassured the survivors that they would be safe, Simon left the building with Aeris and Kronk.
“So, we have to gather up the...remains before it gets dark,” he told the elementals. “That gives us a few hours.”
“You're assuming that there are more undead out there just waiting for the cover of night to attack,” Aeris said. “Between the annihilation caused by Incendus and his fellows and however many that Galder's people destroyed, there may not be any left. Or not enough to be much of a threat.”
“Yes, that's true. But we can't leave Galder and the others here regardless.”
Simon looked around at the smoking and wrecked buildings.
“How could the ten of them live here after what happened? I can bring them back tomorrow and they can gather up whatever they want to salvage.”
“And then what, master?”
“I have no idea, Kronk,” Simon replied as he slipped his staff over his shoulder. He pushed back his hair with both hands and looked glumly at the scattered bodies.
“Right now we should show our respects and honor the chief's wishes.”
“They must be burned,” a deep voice said from behind him.
Galder walked up and looked toward the gates.
“I will not allow them to be raised as monsters. We must burn the bodies before the night comes.”
Simon nodded, accepting the common sense suggestion.
“If we gather them together, I can use my magic to make sure their remains aren't defiled.”
“Ah, that is good. Let us begin.”
It was sad, slow work, but they managed to pile all of the bodies in front of the smashed front gates just as the sun was touching the horizon. Several of the survivors had joined them to help with the gruesome task. Out of respect, each body had been wrapped in rough cloth and laid out close to each other.
Simon looked around and wondered if there really was an imminent threat. The fiel
ds were quiet and nothing but the wind made any sound. Even the birds had stopped singing. However, he wasn't willing to take any chances.
“Stand back, everyone,” he said when the last corpse was gently added to the pile.
Galder and his people moved back several paces. All of them watched now as the sky darkened. The chief's daughters huddled up next to him and he held them tightly.
Before he used his magic, Simon looked over at Galder.
“Did you want to say something?” he asked respectfully.
The chief shook his head.
“We will remember them. That is enough,” he said simply.
Simon nodded and raised his staff. He reached for his power and focused it on the pile.
“Fire,” he said under his breath, willing the corpses to burn.
There was a loud whoosh of sound and the bundles burst into flame as if soaked with gasoline. The wave of intense heat forced them all backward as the dead were consumed. It took only a few minutes.
When it was done and all that remained were embers and some wisps of smoke, Galder gently pulled away from his daughters and approached Simon.
“Thank you, wizard. You have been a true friend. We need only a few minutes to gather some things and then we can leave, if your offer of shelter still stands.”
“Of course it does.” Simon looked up at the darkening sky. “But please hurry, Galder. Time is running out.”
The chief didn't hesitate. He turned toward his people and grunted at them in their own language, clearly giving them orders.
All of them scattered, hurrying to grab what they thought they needed and obviously aware of the impending danger.
Simon and the elementals followed them back inside the wall and waited.
“Master, that was a very nice thing you did,” Kronk said.
“It was just common decency,” the wizard answered with a shrug. “Anyone would have done the same.”
“Not anyone,” Aeris told him as he hovered close by. “I have known wizards who would have left the Haladanin to their fate, believe me.”
“Your old wizards sound worse every time you mention them, do you know that?” Simon asked.
“Do they? Good, because they were. Wizards were not heroes back in ancient times, I assure you. They were a, what is the phrase, a necessary evil? Often they were tolerated because they were both feared and occasionally useful.”
Tales from the New Earth: Volume Two Page 69