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

by J. J. Thompson

  “Have you? I'm intrigued.”

  Simon walked over to his comfy chair and sat down in front of the fireplace. Aeris followed him and settled on to the arm of the chair.

  “Okay, here's what we know so far...”

  It only took a few minutes to tell Aeris what was going on and, when he had finished, Simon relaxed and waited for the elemental to process the information.

  “So you think that the Chaos lords' new plan is to taint the Earth on a massive scale?” Aeris asked, obviously appalled.

  “Possibly. But I'm not going to jump to conclusions until we have more info. What I'd like you to do is to head out and check out the area around the city. The water is being contaminated. The earth may be as well; we'll know for sure when Kronk gets back. So what I'd like to know is, what about the air?”

  “You think that the atmosphere is at risk as well?”

  “Not a clue. But if I was an evil deity and I wanted to corrupt an entire planet, I certainly wouldn't forget to taint the air. I remember back in the old days how badly we managed to pollute the water, the earth and the air. It's as if we were intentionally trying to destroy our world. The dark gods may be heading down the same path.”

  “Oh, I hope not.”

  “Me too, Aeris. So, will you go and check? Don't get too close to the city; just do a circuit around it and report back on whatever you find, if anything.”

  “I'll go at once. It won't take very long.”

  Aeris sketched a salute and disappeared.

  Simon drank more tea and watched the logs burning. His thoughts were roiling. Had he caused this by destroying the primal dragons? The lords of Chaos had to eliminate all of humanity before they could return to rule over the Earth. Perhaps this was their plan B?

  He stood up after a time, went to the sink to rinse out his cup and then left the tower. He suddenly felt the need for some fresh air.

  Simon crossed the yard and climbed a ladder next to the front gate until he stood on the parapet that ran along the inside of the outer wall. He turned left and began to stroll around the perimeter, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.

  The birds didn't know that the world might be about to end and sang their usual hearty songs, making him smile despite his concerns.

  He ran into several of the earthen who patrolled the wall and each had almost the same comical look of surprise on their craggy little faces. They bowed as he passed and Simon smiled and nodded in response.

  When he reached the back gate, he walked across the arch over it and climbed another ladder back down to the ground. The gate was open, as was usual during the day. Above it, an earthen kept watch.

  Simon leaned on the wall next to the gate and surveyed the back pasture.

  The four horses were grazing near each other. Sunbeam was past the nursing stage now and ate grass next to her mother. The sheep stuck together in a bunch and looked like a very large, puffy bush.

  The cows were scattered haphazardly around the pasture. They still looked absurdly large compared to the horses, even the big stallion, Chief.

  Simon frowned as he realized that it was almost time to take one of the cows to Nottinghill Castle. They had a butcher there and he'd made a deal to swap part of the meat from each cow he brought over there for his services. Certainly it would be nice to have some fresh beef, but the thought of actually having one of the big, goofy animals killed still bothered him so much that he'd been putting it off.

  Something to think about another day, he told himself firmly. I still have a lot of dried and salted meat from trading vegetables with Nottinghill. Sure, it's mostly venison, but it's fine for now. And it tasted quite nice when he fried up some eggs to go along with it.

  As the sky darkened, he went back through the gate and closed and locked it behind him. He waved up at the watching earthen, who bowed in return, and then walked back around the tower.

  “My lord.”

  Simon jumped. He had almost stepped on Ana, who was standing near the front steps of the tower. She was hard to see in the growing gloom

  “Oh, hey Ana,” he said. He climbed the steps and sat down at the top. “You're back. That was fast.”

  “It was, yes. Aquamastis was nearby. He has already begun watching the flow of foulness seeping from the foundations of the city.”

  “And? Does he have any ideas on how to stop or at least slow down the dumping of poison into the river?”

  The elemental flowed up the steps and settled down next to Simon. She looked up at him with a rather pleased smile on her face.

  “He has already begun, my lord. Aquamastis has changed the flow of the river near the city. It is now swirling back upon itself to push the foulness back to the base of the cliffs at the edge of Ottawa. He says that he believes he can actually keep the poison contained indefinitely.”

  “Do you think he can?”

  She seemed surprised by the question.

  “Undoubtedly, sir wizard. A great elemental like Aquamastis does not make frivolous claims. We can be sure that the river will stay clean for the foreseeable future.”

  Simon sighed in relief and smiled at her.

  “That's great to hear. Thanks Ana. Let's hope that Kronk and Aeris have good news as well.”

  “Aeris is scouting around the city?”

  “Yep. It occurred to me that if the river and land is being poisoned then maybe the air is as well. I really hope I'm wrong though.”

  “Agreed. Well, if you don't mind, sir, I am going to spend the evening in the lake. I find it relaxing. Please summon me if you need anything.”

  “Of course. And thanks again, Ana. I appreciate your efforts today.”

  She bowed and flowed back down the steps. She lost her shape, became a small pool of water and sank into the ground.

  So weird, Simon thought. I don't know that I'll ever get used to it.

  He rested his chin on his hand and sat quietly, watching the stars come out.

  The moon, just a sliver of light, rose in the east and it had cooled down enough for Simon to consider going indoors when Kronk emerged from the ground not too far from where Ana had disappeared.

  “Master? Are you all right?” the little guy asked. He seemed surprised to see Simon sitting alone in the dark.

  “I'm good, thanks. Just thinking.”

  “Well, you should get inside before you catch a chill. You were ill this morning, master, don't forget.”

  Yes Mom, Simon thought wryly but kept it to himself. Kronk only nagged because he cared.

  “Fine. Come on. Let's go in and you can tell me what you've found.”

  Back inside, Kronk stoked the fire and added a few logs while Simon lit all of the candles with a flick of his power. He sat down in front of the fireplace and waited until the earthen was done and joined him.

  “So, any news?”

  Kronk hopped up on to the arm of the chair, scratched his blocky head loudly and nodded.

  “Yes master, both good and bad. The good news is that the earth around the city is clean, so far, of any hint of infection. There is some residual pollution from the age of technology, but it is minor and is being cleansed by nature.”

  “Is it? Well, every cloud has a silver lining.”

  Simon stared at the flames dancing in the fireplace.

  “Civilization only had to be destroyed to stop us from polluting the crap out of the planet,” he said bitterly. “Lovely.”

  “If you so say, master,” Kronk said, sounding a little puzzled. “But there is some bad news as well.”

  The wizard dragged his acidic thoughts back to the present. The past is past, he told himself. Concentrate on the now.

  “Which is?” he asked.

  “You remember that hole that we saw near the tower, master? The one that was surrounded by undead?”

  “How could I forget it? It was a horrible sight.”

  “Yes master. Well, I went deep to explore the condition of the earth and I discovered tunnels leading off in all dir
ections, centering on that hole.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “Meaning that the necromancer is drawing his undead troops from many miles away. I would estimate that he has emptied out all of the cemeteries within a twenty mile radius of the city.”

  “But how is that even possible? The amount of power that it would take to extend his spells that far would be staggering. Impossible for a human magic-user, even one that is working for the dark gods.”

  Kronk was nodding.

  “Exactly, master. Which means that the necromancer has to be traveling to the sources in person. We saw him on that tower, but he must leave the city, travel to a cemetery and unleash his magic. Then he could return quickly, perhaps using the Gate spell, and the newly created monsters would follow at their own pace.”

  Simon looked at the little guy skeptically.

  “He can do that? What, like planting a seed, watering it and just letting it grow after he leaves?”

  Kronk smiled up at him.

  “A fair analogy, master. I am not the expert in magic that Aeris is, but I understand that reanimating flesh is a slow process. One does not just,” he snapped his small fingers together, an odd crackling sound, “and expect corpses to leap to their feet. It is like an infection; slow and insidious.”

  “Huh. I didn't know that.”

  The wizard watched the flames, thinking furiously. How could he use this knowledge to his advantage?

  “I wonder if we could track this guy and jump him when he's far from his power base?” he muttered. “Without his troops, a necromancer must be significantly weakened, don't you think?”

  “Perhaps, master,” Kronk answered hesitantly. “You should speak to Aeris about it. He would know more about such things.”

  “Yeah, I will. Maybe we can stop this whole situation before it gets out of hand.”

  “It is already out of hand, my dear wizard.”

  Simon sat up and looked around to see Aeris floating down the stairs carrying the wizard's hand mirror. Two air elementals trailed along behind him. Simon recognized Stennos and Osteros.

  “Ah, you are back,” Kronk said with what sounded like relief.

  Instead of his usual sarcastic response, the air elemental simply smiled wanly and settled on to the arm of the chair opposite to the earthen while his companions moved to float in front of the fire.

  Aeris offered up the mirror and Simon took it and looked at him in confusion.

  “What do you mean, it's out of hand?” he asked and looked at the other air elementals. “And why do I need this?”

  Aeris had a strange, wide-eyed expression on his face and the wizard thought that he seemed frightened. It was a rare look for the elemental.

  “I meant exactly what I said. The undead masses that were gathered around that tower are gone. All of them. My friends here intercepted me before I could get to the city. They were just about to return here with their report. I thought you might want to use the mirror to confirm their observations.”

  “How can you be sure they are gone?” Kronk asked as Simon cast the Magic Mirror spell.

  “I'm not, but Stennos and Osteros are. According to them, the land around the tower is churned up from many undead feet, but the horrible things are gone.” He glanced at the air elementals. “Strangely enough though, the necromancer is still there, on that tower. I guess that he's no general; certainly he isn't leading his troops.”

  “Okay, this is just getting weirder,” Simon said as the mirror fogged over. “Where did they go? Are they all heading in the same direction or did they split up into groups?”

  “We don't know, sir wizard,” Stennos spoke up. “It happened so fast. One moment they were there and the next, poof, they were gone. Osteros and I were circling the perimeter of the city in opposite directions and I swear that we were out of sight of that tower for no more than a few minutes, but they disappeared within that window. It's as if they knew we were keeping an eye on them.”

  “That necromancer might have,” Simon said as he watched the mirror.

  “Master, a suggestion?”

  “Yes Kronk?”

  “You could send myself and some of my fellows who are guarding the outer wall to follow the tunnels and find your answers for you. It may be the only way to discover that necromancer's plans.”

  Simon looked at the earthen with some concern.

  “Could you do that safely? I don't want to risk any of you just for that.”

  “Of course we could, master. We can use our senses to follow the tunnels at a distance. It would be very safe.”

  “And who would guard the tower while those earthen are gone, hmm?” Aeris asked pointedly.

  Kronk nodded at Stennos and Osteros.

  “Them. You are constantly regaling us with tales of how good your people are as scouts. Well, let them prove it.”

  Simon heard the challenging tone in Kronk's voice and hid a smile. The little guy was basically calling out Aeris. It was a rare event.

  “Ah, um, yes. Of course,” Aeris blustered while the other air elementals watched him with wide eyes. “These two are worth a dozen earthen when it comes to standing watch. You should let Kronk go ahead, my dear wizard. We will keep the tower guarded while they are gone.”

  The wizard looked at Kronk, who nodded vigorously, and sighed loudly.

  “Fine. Kronk, how many will you need?”

  “All of them, master, if you will permit it. It will speed up our mission considerably.”

  “All right. Take the five of them with you. Stennos, Osteros? Would you mind patrolling the wall around the tower while the earth elementals are gone? It's your choice, of course.”

  “It would be our pleasure, sir wizard,” Osteros spoke for the first time. “I am sure that Aeris will join us as well.”

  Simon looked at Aeris and raised an eyebrow.

  “Aeris?”

  “Yes, of course. You two go ahead. I'll be along in a few minutes.”

  “Be careful, Kronk,” Simon told him as the earthen hopped off of the chair.

  “Always, master. We will be back soon, I am sure.”

  He raced for the door and Stennos and Osteros flew off after him. All three left at once and Kronk slammed the door shut behind them.

  “He got you,” Simon told Aeris with a grin.

  The elemental chuckled and moved up the arm of the chair so that he could see into the mirror.

  “That he did. He wasn't wrong though. He and the others will be able to follow those tunnels discretely while my people and I keep an eye on things here. Now the question is, what is that damnable necromancer up to?”

  The mirror began to clear and Simon nodded at it.

  “Let's find out,” he said.

  The mirror 's point of view started well above the wreckage of the former Parliament Buildings and the Peace Tower. The area was dark but there were still several torches burning at points around the gaping hole.

  “No movement,” Simon said quietly.

  “None. Stennos was correct. The undead are gone.”

  “What about our 'friend' in the tower?”

  Simon tilted the mirror and the view changed to focus on the ruined tower. It was dark and deserted. There was no magical globe and no evil spell-caster.

  “Crap! He's gone.”

  Aeris rose up and flew across to the counter. He lifted the kettle, shook it and flew back to the fireplace. At Simon's inquiring look, he shrugged.

  “You seem to think better when you are drinking tea.”

  “Do I? Okay, sure. Thanks. Now why would that guy suddenly gather his troops and move out? Do you think he knew that he was being watched?”

  “I very much doubt it,” Aeris replied as he waited for the water to boil. “Bad timing on our part is more like it. I think that you were lucky to have spotted him when you did. If you'd waited a few days longer, all that you would have found would have been a big hole and a mystery.” He hesitated. “One might almost think that you were the
target of divine inspiration.”

  Simon had to laugh.

  “Do you really think the lords of Light are helping me? Now? Where the hell have they been over the past five years?”

  Aeris frowned at him.

  “Helping you. Or have you forgotten that they brought you back from the dead? Twice, I might add. Maybe now that the primal dragons have been destroyed and their eternal enemies have changed tactics, they managed to 'nudge' you in the right direction? It's possible, you know.”

  Simon stood up and walked over to the sink. He rinsed out the cup sitting there and prepared his tea.

  “Look, I've seen and done enough now to know that anything is possible. But in this case, I think we can chalk it up to simple coincidence. Besides, either way we still have to deal with that guy and the threat he poses.”

  Aeris carried the steaming kettle over and poured hot water into Simon's cup.

  “I agree,” the elemental said as he set down the kettle. “Which is why we basically have to sit here, be patient and wait for Kronk to report back.”

  “No, that's why I have to do that,” Simon corrected him as he sat down in front of the fire again. “You have a perimeter to patrol, remember?”

  With a grimace, Aeris reluctantly flew to the front door.

  “Fine, I'll do that. But please call me when Kronk returns if I don't see him first.”

  “I will. Have fun.”

  “Always the comedian,” Aeris answered sourly and left the tower.

  Simon laughed to himself and settled into his chair to wait. He suspected that it was going to be a long night.

  Chapter 20

  After an hour of silently staring into the fire, Simon got up and went upstairs to his study. He scanned through his bookshelf and pulled out one of the reference manuals that he'd saved from the old days. He tucked the large tome under his arm and returned to his comfy chair.

  He summoned a mage light and set it to hover just behind him so that he could read comfortably. The book on his lap had a black leather cover and was quite heavy. Across its spine was the title in gold lettering: 'Malevolence: A Study in Black Magic'.

  This was one of Daniel's choices for Simon's library.