The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6)

by J. J. Thompson

Aeris glowered at him as he hovered next to the bed and shook his head. He sounded a little calmer when he answered.

  “Not angry, no. Perhaps a little frustrated. You know how delicate you are,” and he held up a hand as Simon began to protest.

  “Please don't argue. You asked a question and I'm answering it. You are a wizard, not a warrior, and you know how it works. The stronger the spell-caster, the weaker their constitution. You cannot have one without the other.”

  He became thoughtful and Simon stayed quiet and listened, fascinated as always when Aeris reminisced about the past.

  “I knew wizards eons ago who could barely cast a handful of spells without having to take to their beds for days. One extremely powerful man, the head of the Wizard's Council at the time, could literally destroy a building with one spell, and then would collapse almost into a coma and had to be taken care of by his servants.”

  “Not very practical then, was it? His power, I mean.”

  Aeris smiled reluctantly at that comment.

  “Not very, no. My point, my dear wizard, is that you have been laid up by your frailties several times now and yet you keep pushing yourself beyond your limits when it isn't necessary.”

  The air elemental floated across the room and opened a window, letting in a warm breeze and brightening up the bedroom.

  “We know that there is a new threat which is very close to us here,” he continued. “And we need you ready to deal with it at a moment's notice.”

  He returned to the bed and stared at Simon, hands on his hips.

  “So please, for everyone's sake including your own, pace yourself, hmm? You should be feeling better with a few hours extra rest but the next time, you could be prostrate for days, and that could have dire consequences.”

  “Fine, Aeris. Fine. I get it.”

  Simon adjusted his blanket guiltily and looked at the open window. The day was fine and bright and he promised himself he'd go out just as soon as he was feeling up to it.

  “I'll rest and try to pace myself, okay? But the memories of the old Simon run deep and, once upon a time, I was a bull, not this delicate flower. And old habits, you know.”

  “I understand that. But it has been years and you must accept your new reality.”

  “I'm trying. Now let's move on. How did Galder take your news last night?”

  Aeris descended to stand on the bed next to Simon's legs and his expression became quite serious.

  “He was grateful for the update, of course, and sends his thanks. He also let me know that among his people they have a shaman who is connected with the lords of Light. I didn't know that.”

  “Neither did I. A shaman? Huh. That's probably good news. If they are attacked by the walking dead, having divine aid could only help.”

  “I agree. I didn't meet her; Galder said that she is very reclusive, but he was going to pass on our information to her, and to the rest of his people. So that's taken care of. And since we are exchanging news, what's this I hear about some strange light in the sky over the city? Apparently standing on the roof without a jacket and watching this unidentified thing for hours is what brought on your ill health today.”

  “Orriss has been telling tales, has he?”

  Simon finished his tea, set the cup down on the bedside table and sat back with a tired sigh.

  “Well, since he told you, I doubt that I have much to add. Whatever it was, it was too far to make out any details. All I do know is that it was an awful, purplish color, and that it must have been big; really big. Ottawa is over fifty miles away as the crow flies and yet this thing was quite easy to see.”

  “Big and purple and it could fly,” Aeris muttered to himself. He tapped his chin and frowned as he became lost in thought. He shook his head after a few minutes.

  “Nope. I don't have a clue what that could be. But the purple color sounds ominous, doesn't it?”

  “Anything flying freely over the city sounds damned ominous right now,” Simon replied. “But all we can do is keep watch. I'm going to try to get some more sleep. I finished writing that instruction manual for Veronique and I'm going to have to Gate to the Defiant soon to give it to her, so I'd better...”

  “Recharge your batteries?” Aeris interjected.

  “Yeah, something like that,” the wizard said with a weak laugh. “Thanks for the tea.”

  “A pleasure. Sleep well.”

  The trip to the Defiant was a quick one. Simon felt strong enough that afternoon to take the manual to the ship. Captain Martelli promised to pass it on to Veronique and Sylvie and asked him to stay for dinner, but just a few moments on board set off Simon's queasy stomach and he decided to pass.

  Deborah snickered at his obvious discomfort but stopped as she noticed his pale complexion.

  “You're ill, sir wizard?” she asked as the crew went about their duties around them.

  The deck of the ship was a busy place, as usual.

  “A bit under the weather is all. Please tell the mages that if they have any questions, to get in touch with me.”

  “I will do that. Thank you for this. We can never have too much protection.”

  Simon took a moment to look around and then moved closer to the captain and spoke quietly.

  “Where's Vepolas?” he asked.

  The captain gave him a sharp look and lowered her voice as well.

  “Believe it or not, she's patrolling the waters around the ship. She's apparently taken a liking to us and has offered her services as guardian. We accepted, of course.”

  “Of course. Interesting.”

  Simon thought that Deborah looked a little uncomfortable talking about the situation, but if she wanted the elemental around, that was her business.

  “Well, I did tell Vepolas that she was free to stay on this world or head back to her own, so if you like having her around, that's between the two of you.”

  “I do, Simon,” Deborah said. She looked at the sailors working around them. “I have few friends among the crew; it's better that way if a captain wants to maintain her authority. But Vepolas and I have hit it off for some reason. She seems to like me and I find her and her stories fascinating. Is that weird?”

  Simon had to laugh.

  “You're asking a man whose two best friends are elementals?”

  The captain chuckled in response.

  “Good point. Anyway, we get along for now and Vepolas is free to leave if she wants to. So far, it's working out just fine.”

  “Glad to hear it. Okay, I'm off. Say hello to the others for me. Oh and I added a note at the end of the manual about a situation that's come up. It shouldn't affect you out here on the ocean, but you should be aware of it. So feel free to read it before you pass on the information to Veronique and the rest.”

  “What sort of situation?” Deborah asked as she shuffled through the pile of papers.

  “Undead,” Simon said grimly and when the woman looked at him incredulously, he nodded.

  “Yes, I'm serious. It's all in there though, so read it first. As I said, any questions and Veronique can call me.”

  When Simon got home, he was greeted by both Kronk and Ana. The water elemental rarely came inside; she preferred to spend most of her time in the lake behind the tower; she said she found it soothing.

  “Hey there,” Simon said as he walked in. He always liked to Gate back to the front yard; less chance of materializing inside of a wall or a piece of furniture.

  “Welcome back, master,” Kronk said.

  He'd just carried in a load of firewood and was arranging the pile next to the fireplace.

  Ana was standing on the kitchen table, watching him. She turned to look at Simon and bowed gracefully.

  “Good afternoon, sir wizard,” she said in her usual gentle way. “How are you this fine day?”

  “Better than I was this morning,” Simon said as he leaned his staff next to the door and walked over to the counter.

  He pumped up some fresh water and drank down two glasses of
the cold, refreshing liquid. It always helped to settle his stomach when he was feeling a bit nauseous.

  “Sea sickness, master?” Kronk asked as he finished with the wood.

  “As usual. My God, how anyone could live on a boat is beyond me.”

  “It is a ship,” Ana corrected him with a smile. “Not a boat.”

  Simon snorted and began filling the kettle.

  “Call it what you will, but I simply can't find my sea legs, or whatever they call it. Give me a sturdy building with deep roots any day of the week.”

  “I absolutely agree, master,” Kronk said heartily.

  “Of course you do,” Ana told him acerbically. “You are an earthen. But life on this world was born of water, not of earth. I am sure that you could become used to living on board a ship if you had to, sir wizard.”

  Simon hung the kettle over the fire, sat down at the table and gave the water elemental a dubious look.

  “Maybe. But you'll forgive me if I hope to never put that to the test, hmm? So what's up? You know that you're welcome inside at any time but it's rare to see you in here. Problems?”

  “Possibly.”

  Kronk hopped up on to the table and stood next to Ana. Simon was amazed as always by the contrast between the two.

  Kronk was solid and craggy, almost black, with glowing red eyes. His skin was pebbly and had tiny bits of quartz that caught the light in surprising ways.

  Ana pulsed and flowed like animated, clear jelly. Her body was smooth and feminine and her features were quite lovely.

  Both were about a foot tall and humanoid in shape, but that was where the similarities ended.

  “I was up north visiting the river last night,” Ana said. “I do that occasionally. It is good to experience the freedom of joining with a large body of water. And once in a while, Aquamastis will sense my presence and speak with me.”

  She smiled wistfully.

  “It is rare, of course. He is mighty and I am less than nothing to one of his power, but he is gracious to me. Anyway, in the darkness of the night, he came to me as I flowed with the pulse of the river and he showed me something. Something, sir wizard, that he wanted me to make known to you.”

  “To me?” Simon sat up, suddenly alert. “What was it?”

  “It is hard to describe exactly. Aquamastis had me follow him to the east, to the area of the river where it flows past that old city. You know it?”

  Simon and Kronk exchanged a look.

  “Yes, of course. It was my home long ago, before the world changed.”

  “Was it? I see. It is a wonder that I did not know that. Or perhaps I forgot. At any rate, there is something happening in that place now. Something...foul.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “A flow of poison, a horrible detritus of sludge and blackness is seeping into the river. It is a miasma that is spreading. The river flows to the east, so the section closest to this tower is safe for now, but Aquamastis was concerned that this foulness might also be spreading through the earth and wanted me to pass on his warning.”

  “Poisoning the river?”

  “Yes. Fish die instantly on contact with this foulness. The creatures that have begun inhabiting the river, monsters some would call them, are also dying. It seems the poison does not discriminate. Plants, animals, fish; all are being destroyed.”

  “What the hell is happening?” Simon whispered.

  He looked at Kronk.

  “Do you think this is related to that necromancer and his foul servants?”

  “I would say yes, master. It would be too much of a coincidence to think otherwise.”

  “Excuse me, sir wizard, but what are you talking about?” Ana asked, frowning.

  Simon stood up, lifted the boiling kettle off the fire and began making his tea.

  “We discovered a short time ago that there is a new inhabitant in my old city. A necromancer. Or maybe he isn't new. Perhaps he's been there awhile. At any rate, he's been busy. He's raising an army of undead soldiers. What he's up to, why he's doing it, we don't know yet. That poison that is draining into the river could be connected to this new development.”

  “Necromancer, necromancer,” Ana muttered to herself vaguely, lost in thought.

  “An evil wizard who reanimates the dead,” Kronk told her helpfully.

  “Yes, thank you. I know what they are,” she replied, still staring at the tabletop. “But creating undead does not have such a side-effect. It is horrible magic, yes, but clean; relatively speaking.”

  Ana looked up and saw Simon's surprised expression. She smiled a bit self-consciously.

  “I'm sorry. Many many years ago, I learned quite a bit about evil wizards and magicians. I worked for the council of a small town, keeping their spring free of dirt and debris. One of their circle of magic-users was a young witch who took a liking to me. We spoke often.”

  “About necromancers?” Kronk asked dubiously.

  Ana laughed lightly.

  “About any number of things. Witches are...different than most spell-casters. They are neither black nor white. Instead they accept power from wherever they can find it and mold it to suit their purposes. This witch was lawful and sided with the lords of Light, but she knew quite a bit about the darkness too.”

  “And she told you what? That necromancy was a clean form of magic?” Simon wondered.

  “Oh, not clean, my lord. Hardly that. But efficient. The dark forces that animate dead flesh leave no residue. So if that flow of poison that is fouling the river is coming from that necromancer in the city, it is because he is creating it on purpose.”

  Chapter 19

  Simon sipped his tea and thought hard about what Ana had just told them. If that necromancer in Ottawa was deliberately poisoning the river, what was his purpose? Why was he doing it? There certainly weren't enough people downriver in ruined Montreal or further who would be affected by the poisoned waters. Was it simply malevolence or something else?

  Kronk and Ana spoke softly together, letting Simon gather his thoughts. He spared them a glance and smiled absently. They were certainly an odd couple. One with power over water, able to sense a poisonous flow on the river and the other with power over earth, able to sense...

  He set down his cup with a loud thump and the elementals looked at him.

  “Master? What is it?”

  “Kronk, I need you to do something for me, right now.”

  “Yes, of course, master. Anything.”

  “I want you to travel underground, east toward Ottawa. Don't go into the city itself; we know how dangerous it is there now. But test the earth as you travel, see if you can sense any changes, anything unhealthy.”

  The little guy seemed puzzled by the request and then he gasped.

  “You think that the necromancer could be poisoning the earth as well as the water, master?” he asked, appalled.

  “I think it's possible that the bastard's mission could be to destroy everything. Maybe that's the end game here. If enough black magic is applied to the environment in enough centers around the world, eventually the entire planet could be killed. Destroy the plants, the animals, the water, the earth, and you will eventually destroy the people.”

  “That is a terrible thought, sir wizard,” Ana said, obviously horrified.

  “I know. And I hope I'm wrong. Kronk?”

  “I am on my way, master,” the earthen said tersely.

  He jumped off of the table, tip-tapped across the room and left the tower. And for the first time that Simon could remember, the little guy was so obviously worried that he didn't even say goodbye.

  “Is there anything that I can do, my lord?” Ana asked.

  Simon began shaking his head and stopped as something occurred to him.

  “There is, actually. Could you return to the river and try to get in touch with Aquamastis? Tell him what we think might be happening? Even if Kronk finds nothing, I think it's a safe assumption that the river is being poisoned on purpose. I'd
like to know his thoughts on the matter.”

  “Yes, of course. He is a very wise being after all, and may have some ideas on how to counter that foulness.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I'll go at once. Take care, my lord.”

  She bowed and flowed off of the table and across the room to disappear under the front door.

  “I love how she does that,” Simon said to himself.

  Now, he thought, one last check.

  He winced, hunched over a bit and closed his eyes.

  “Aeris, I need you.”

  The room lit up with the dazzle of a flash bulb and a crack of thunder made Simon's ears ring.

  “You called, oh wonderful one?”

  Simon blinked several times to clear away the after-images and squinted at Aeris, who was floating above the center of the table.

  “You know something? The next time you go back to the air realm, could you put in a request to tone down the entrance display? It's way overdone.”

  Aeris sighed and nodded, actually looking a little embarrassed.

  “I know, I know. But as I've told you several times, our lord likes it.”

  “Yeah but every time? Even when it's to return to the wizard you're working for when he calls you? Come on, Aeris, that's just too much.”

  “Fine, I'll file a request through the proper channels. I'll warn you now though; our bureaucracy is just as convoluted as humanity's was back in the old days.”

  Simon rubbed his eyes and got up to make more tea.

  “Figures. Anyway, I wanted to bring you up to speed about something that Ana just reported to me.”

  “Ana's here?” Aeris looked around eagerly. “Where is she?”

  “Gone again. Sorry. I know how fond you are of her.”

  Aeris shook a finger at him.

  “Now, now. Let's not start any unsubstantiated rumors. I tolerate her as a colleague, that's all.”

  The wizard snorted and turned to check the kettle. It was still hot, so he went ahead and made more tea.

  “Whatever you say. I need you to check on something related to her information though. I've just sent Kronk off to do some checking as well.”