Simon found himself nodding in agreement with Aeris. One of the first times ever, he thought wryly.
“That's why I choose it, Kronk,” he told his little friend. “Remember, when I was first starting out, I was casting that spell soon after I summoned you by accident.”
Kronk looked from one of them to the other, his expression one of disapproval. Then he threw up his little arms and looked so fiercely at Aeris that the air elemental flew back a foot.
“Fine. If our master injures himself, I am holding you responsible.”
Simon tried to reassure Kronk, but the little guy was having none of it.
“Go ahead, master. Do what you want to. I know you will anyway. I will just stand here and try to catch you if you collapse.”
“Oh, for...Kronk, you and my late mother could have exchanged notes on guilt trips, do you know that?”
The little guy tapped across to the far side of the table and stood there with his arms crossed, staring sadly at Simon.
“I do not know what you mean, master,” he said stiffly.
“Yeah, right.”
Simon read through the Magic Missile spell slowly, memorizing the incantation carefully. He wanted to make no mistakes on his first cast. He knew he'd never hear the end of it from Kronk if he did.
When he was certain that he had the spell locked into his mind, he got up and walked to the front door. It was a clear, cold day but the air was calm and it wasn't quite as frigid as it had been over the past few weeks.
When he slipped the bolts aside and opened the door, he heard a gasp from behind him.
“Master, you should put on your coat! You'll catch a chill.”
Simon just shook his head silently and stood in the doorway staring across the yard.
The wall was half-covered with snow, banked up six feet high by the winds that usually blew around the tower. The wizard was looking for a target for the Magic Missile spell. He focused on a section of the wall just above the snow-line where there was a random patch of frost that stood out because of its irregular shape.
“Okay,” he muttered. “Here we go.”
He spared a regretful glance at Bene-Dunn-Gal, leaning against the wall next to the door.
Not yet, he thought. I'm not powerful enough to use it yet.
Then Simon raised his arms, stared across the snow-covered yard at the wall and chanted the spell.
“Invectis!” he intoned firmly and braced his arms against his body.
The results were unexpected and more spectacular than he had imagined they would be.
Bolts of light blasted from his fingertips, screamed across the yard and slammed into the wall. His arms were pushed back by the force of the spell and Simon stiffened them even more as he concentrated on his target.
There were two differences with this modified spell compared to his old Magic Missile spell. The magic missiles were bright blue, not white the way they used to be. And missiles had streamed from both hands. The old spell was cast using only one hand.
After a dozen dazzling bolts had crashed into the wall, leaving black smudges on the thick barrier, Simon's hands dropped to his sides and he had to take several deep breaths to slow down his racing heart.
“Are you all right, master?” Kronk asked him. The little guy had jumped down from the table and was standing just behind the wizard.
“I'm okay, Kronk.”
Simon stared at the distant marks on the wall and then looked down at Kronk.
“I may have chipped your wall a bit,” he told him with a smile.
The little guy moved into the doorway and looked across the yard at the damage.
“It is fine, master. If there is any harm done, I will repair it when the weather becomes warmer.”
He looked up at Simon.
“And now you should sit by the fire and warm up, master,” he said firmly and gave Simon's legs a gentle push to move him away from the open door.
Simon obeyed with a grin, happy that the little guy was in a better mood. As he walked back to the fireplace, he heard Kronk close the door and lock it. Aeris was watching him, still hovering above the kitchen table. He gave Simon a subtle wink as he caught his eye.
The wizard sat down with a satisfied grunt and leaned forward, stirring the fire a bit with the poker.
“That was amazing, guys,” he told them. “Maybe it was the modifications I've done to the spell, but I feel no fatigue. At all. That's unusual.”
“You are panting, master,” Kronk said to him as he moved up to the fire.
“Yes, but it's from excitement, not from fatigue,” Simon told him with a little embarrassment. “It was fun to actually cast a spell again.”
He sat back and watched the fire flicker with strange shapes and patterns. He replayed the image of the magic missiles shooting across the snow to slam into the wall.
What had been the difference from the old spell, besides the color of the missiles and using both hands? He thought about it for some time, the elementals a quiet presence next to him.
Finally he turned to look at Aeris to his right. The elemental had floated quietly from the table to hover next to his chair.
“The magic didn't come from me,” he told him with wonder.
Aeris looked at him quizzically.
“I beg your pardon?” he asked.
“The power for the Magic Missile spell. It didn't come from inside me.”
“Then where did it come from, master?” Kronk asked, sounding as puzzled as Aeris seemed to be.
Simon waved his hand in a vague circle.
“From the air around me, I guess. I felt it, being pulled into me and channeled into the spell. It was as if my skin was absorbing the power from the world itself.”
Aeris' mouth dropped open and the wizard almost laughed at his surprised expression.
“What?” he asked.
“What you just described, Simon. I remember hearing about that once, a long, long time ago.”
“You do?”
Simon shifted himself around in the chair to watch the air elemental more easily.
“What do you remember?”
Aeris was frowning in concentration.
“It was a discussion I heard from a group of wizards. I had just reported back to my mistress from a scouting assignment. She was having a rather heated argument with an enchanter and...”
“Whoa, whoa,” Simon said quickly, interrupting the elemental's memories. “An enchanter? What's an enchanter?”
With a look of surprise, Aeris took a moment before answering.
“You haven't heard of enchanters before?” he asked.
Simon shook his head.
“Hmm, well, there are many types of magic-users, not just wizards, as I'm sure you know.”
At Simon's blank look, Aeris looked even more surprised.
“Really? You didn't know that? Well then, allow me to increase your knowledge, my dear wizard.”
He sounded a bit smug and Simon tried not to smile. Aeris always liked to show his superiority, at least in his own mind.
“Wizards are merely the most powerful of all casters. That is because they can use all aspects of magic to some degree. But there were others who specialized in various areas of magical use. Enchanters used their power to infuse objects with magic. Weapons, armor, clothing, and many other things could be enchanted.”
“What kind of enchantments?” Simon asked.
“Protective spells, mostly. Either as shields against magical attack or physical damage. There were other specializations as well.”
Aeris paused and thought deeply.
“Let me think now. There were mages, of course. Sorcerers, witches, like your neighbor the herb witch, conjurers, and many others.”
“Wow, that's actually amazing,” Simon said as he tucked his blanket more firmly around his body. He'd felt a momentary chill.
“It is, isn't it?”
Simon stared thoughtfully at the fire.
“I wonder if
any of those types of people exist among the Changlings?” he mused as he looked through the flames at the dancing shadows beyond.
“Which Changlings?”
“Clara's people. Others whom we haven't even met yet. You know, the new humans.”
“No idea, but at a guess I'd say yes.”
Aeris floated over to the kitchen counter, picked up the kettle sitting there and carried it back to the fireplace. He hung it over the fire and the wizard nodded gratefully.
“After all, as special as you may be, my dear wizard, you probably aren't unique.”
“I never thought I was,” Simon murmured and he settled deeper into his chair and waited for the kettle to boil.
“So, getting back to that conversation you overheard?”
Aeris looked at the wizard blankly for a moment.
“Oh, right. Yes, the one between my mistress and that enchanter. As I recall, they were having a heated debate on the limitations of magical energy. My mistress was stating categorically that once a wizard had used up their magical reserves, they would have to wait and rest before they could cast any spells again.”
“And the enchanter disagreed?”
“He certainly did. I believe he actually laughed and called her naïve. He said that she hadn't yet learned to tap into the deep magic and, until she did, she would never achieve master wizard status.”
Aeris picked up the now bubbling kettle and took it back to the counter.
“I remember being quite curious about this 'deep magic' the enchanter spoke of,” he said as he proceeded to make Simon a cup of tea. “I'd thought until that time that magic was magic, but that comment got my attention.”
The air elemental carried the cup of tea to Simon, who accepted it gratefully.
“You're welcome. At any rate, that is the last I ever heard of this deep magic. But now I wonder if the gods haven't found a way to allow you to tap into this source of power instead of using your own magic.”
“You never asked the wizard you were bound to what this magic was?” Simon asked as he sipped the hot brew.
Aeris looked a bit shocked.
“Of course not. She would have been offended to learn that I had been listening to a conversation between my betters.”
“Your betters? What does that mean?”
Aeris remained silent, apparently irritated by that long ago memory.
“We've told you before, master, how we elementals were treated by the old wizards,” Kronk spoke up.
Simon looked down at him.
“But Aeris makes it sound like you were no better than slaves.”
“Worse than slaves, master. We were...”
The earth elemental shrugged, obviously at a loss to explain.
“We were nonentities, my dear wizard,” Aeris said bitterly. “Furniture was treated better than those summoned by wizards. We came, we obeyed, we were dismissed. And that was all there was to it.”
He seemed to be trying to force a smile.
“Do you wonder that we're so concerned for your continued good health? You are the only wizard I've ever known to treat me, and I suspect Kronk as well, as people.”
“You are people!” Simon averred forcefully. He set down his cup on the floor beside him and stared from one small figure to the other.
“You know, I'm just as glad that I never knew any of those old-timer wizards. They sound like horrible people.”
“Different times, master,” Kronk said simply. “They were taught that we were useful and so we were used. It sounds like you are still bitter,” he said looking up at Aeris. “For my part, those people are long dead and brooding about the past does no one any good.”
Aeris frowned but Simon had to smile at the little earthen.
“You know something, Kronk? You've got a very level head on your shoulders.”
“I am simply practical, master. We live in the here and now, do we not?”
Simon picked up his tea again and sat back with a sigh.
“We do indeed, my friend. And I for one am grateful for it.”
Weeks passed and the worst of the winter weather began to wane. Simon slowly and very carefully exercised his magical muscles and soon was able to memorize two spells at once.
After that, things began to improve rapidly. The altered spells did not tire him out at all and his practice sessions were only limited by his having to memorize both spells before he cast them. It was a bit tedious, but he'd learned his lesson and didn't push it.
Simon guessed that it was around early March or so when he achieved his next breakthrough. After clearing it with the elementals, who were both very encouraged by his progress, he cast the Magic Mouth spell for the first time in months.
Like almost all of his other spells, he'd altered the communication spell and easily memorized and cast it. There was no effort at all.
He focused on his memory of Clara's face as he invoked the spell and then hesitated a moment, afraid that it hadn't worked.
“Clara?” he said tentatively. Both Kronk and Aeris were watching him as he sat in his study, staring through the window at the blue sky beyond.
“Simon? My goodness, is that you?”
It was definitely the cleric's voice. She sounded both surprised and thrilled to hear from him.
“Yep, it's me all right. I've finally reached the stage where we can talk at a distance again. So how are you?”
“Oh, I'm just fine, my friend. Better, now that I can hear how well you sound.”
“Do I?” Simon asked. “Well, thanks. I wanted to try out the spell and I really wanted to see how you and the villagers are doing. Aeris gives me reports, but it's not the same as hearing it directly.”
“I understand.”
There was a moment's pause.
“We're doing well, all things considered. It's been a hard winter, but our supplies have held out and except for a rather severe strain of the flu that had half the village down for two weeks or so, everything is proceeding as it should. We are encouraged by the warmer weather. Maybe we'll have an early spring. That would be a blessing.”
“I'm with you there. This winter's been a hard one.”
Simon glanced idly at the elementals and smiled at their expressions. Obviously they were trying to interpret the one-sided conversation.
“I do have some rather excellent news, my friend,” Clara said. She sounded a bit excited.
“Good news? Great. I could use some.”
“All right then, here it is. About a week ago, we were visited by some old friends.”
Simon sat up and listened attentively.
“Old friends?”
“What old friends?” Aeris asked in surprise.
The wizard motioned for him to shush and Aeris folded his arms, glowering at him.
“The dwarves. They're back. You remember when they had to retreat during the fight with the dragon?”
Simon winced. He'd been afraid that all of the dwarves who had come to volunteer to battle the primal black with him had been killed.
“I remember it very well, I'm sorry to say.”
“Don't be sorry, Simon,” Clara said sternly. “They chose to help. And the good news is that although several were severely burned, there were no fatalities. Shandon Ironhand, the son of the dwarven king, journeyed here with a few of his people. They brought us some much-needed iron and other metals and we traded some of our grain for it.”
The wizard let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
“So they're okay. That's a relief.”
Clara chuckled.
“They are more than okay. Shandon wanted me to pass along his apologies for leaving the battle. And he also made what I consider to be a rather generous offer.”
“Offer?”
He looked at Aeris who seemed ready to burst with curiosity.
“What kind of offer?” he asked as he looked away from the air elemental. Aeris' expression was so comical, Simon was having trouble holding in his la
ughter.
“Well, they know that we have to deal with all five prime dragons. Four now, actually. He's impressed that you killed the black, by the way.”
“Just luck, really.”
“Hmm, I doubt that. At any rate, he's offered to transport you and a small party anywhere you need to go in the world, via one of their tunneling machines. Just tell me whenever you want to travel and I'll relay it to him when I see him.”
Simon sat back with a thump. He was amazed at the offer. He'd had no idea of how he was going to travel to confront the other dragons, if and when he was ready to do so. The dwarf's offer was priceless.
“Thank him for me when you see him next, won't you?”
“Of course I will. In fact, I already have. Dwarves are a secretive bunch and he must really admire you to let you into one of their machines.”
“Then he's easily impressed,” Simon replied, his face getting hot.
“Again, I doubt that. You really don't take enough credit for your achievements, Simon. Do you know that?”
The cleric sounded a little irritated.
“It was a group effort, Clara. So how often are you going to be seeing the dwarves?”
“They say roughly every four to six weeks. Any time you need a ride, let me know. You may have to wait a few weeks but that's the best they can do.”
“It's more than generous of them. So, besides that momentous news, how are our four young Changlings doing? Virginia and the others?”
The rest of the conversation concentrated on the village and what news there was. When Simon broke the connection, it was after promising to travel to Nottinghill as soon as the snow had melted enough to make the journey at least a bit comfortable.
When he was done, he looked at Kronk and Aeris again. Simon forestalled the impending outburst by the air elemental by telling them all the news immediately. By the time he was done, Aeris' mood had turned to one of wonder.
“Dwarves offering to do you favors?” he said to Simon. “Extraordinary. By all accounts, they are almost xenophobic in how they relate to other races.”
“Yeah, I got that impression the first time Clara told me they were trading, cautiously, last year. Nice that they've come around.”
“Well, you certainly won't need their services for quite some time,” Kronk said sternly as he stood watching Simon with his hands planted firmly on his hips.
Tales from the New Earth: Volume One Page 51