He leaped forward and shot out of the tunnel and into the light of day.
“Master! You're awake!”
Simon opened his sticky eyelids and stared up at the ceiling above him, trying to get his bearings.
“Finally, my dear wizard. I'm sure a nice long rest is good for you, but you've outdone yourself this time.”
“What?” Simon croaked, his throat as parched as a dried out mud puddle.
He stared at the ceiling a moment longer, the familiar wooden beams of his bedroom giving him an increased sense of normalcy. Then he turned his head to the left and saw Kronk and Aeris standing on the bed-side table watching him, twin expressions of relief on their little faces.
He tried to speak, cleared his throat, swallowed and began again.
“Hey guys. What's up?”
“Hooray!” Kronk cheered, his arms raised in triumph. “Master is better! Master is healed.”
Aeris looked at him with an exaggerated eye-roll.
“Must you?” he asked sarcastically. “The man is obviously fine. Honestly.”
Kronk glared at him and actually poked him so hard that Aeris was knocked off of the table and left floating in mid-air.
“Well now, that was rude!” the air elemental exclaimed.
“Not as rude as you are being,” the earthen shot back. “Are you not the least bit relieved that our master is alive and well and finally conscious?”
“Of course I am! But I don't need to do handsprings and back-flips to prove it. We aren't children, you know.”
Simon watched this all with a vague amusement, but latched on to one word.
“Finally? What do you mean, finally? What happened? How long have I been out?”
They turned and looked at him, Aeris giving Kronk a subtle shove as he moved back to stand on the table.
“Over a week, master,” Kronk said and nodded at Simon's look of shock. “Yes, the lady cleric was very concerned. Her healing took more time than is usual. In fact, she only left with those two warriors, Malcolm and Aiden, this morning. But she assured us that you were out of danger and that you would probably wake up today.” He smiled widely. “And you have!”
“A week!” Simon sat up very slowly, bracing himself with his elbows. “I've been lying in this bed for over a week?”
“Well, actually you've been lying all over the place,” Aeris said with a wry smile. “We've been organizing and reorganizing over twenty people in this tower, including three small children. It's been a bit chaotic.”
“Oh right. Sorry, I forgot.”
He threw back the covers and sat up on the edge of the bed. There was a quick moment of dizziness and then it passed and Simon suddenly felt like himself again.
“I hope everyone had enough to eat and were able to find places to sleep?”
“Oh yes, master. We have plenty of blankets and our stores were sufficient. And Aeris was able to restock most of our supplies two days ago, once the townspeople had returned to Nottinghill.”
“They went back? But, was it safe for them?”
Aeris nodded at the window and Simon turned to see sunlight streaming into the room, bringing in heat and a sense of comfort.
“The storm passed two days after you rescued the townspeople,” he said. “The wights cannot abide the sun. Any survivors retreated to wherever it is that they go and the bodies of the fallen monsters rotted and disappeared. After a day, I went south with the group and let down the drawbridge and opened the gate to let them back into Nottinghill. The wights had torn things apart and made a mess, but it was entirely random. Without the living to attack, they are just a mindless horde of undead.”
He shook his head and shrugged.
“They will have to rebuild the town hall though. It was completely leveled during the attack. I suppose the wights took out their fury at losing their prey on the building itself. The cleric will have to share quarters with someone until the spring, but she says that is a small price to pay considering how much worse it could have been.”
“No thanks to me,” Simon said bitterly as he stood up. His legs were a bit wobbly but it passed quickly. He stared down at his body and grimaced.
“Looks like I lost some weight,” he muttered as he ran a hand over his ribs.
“Lost some weight? Master, you are skin and bones!” Kronk exclaimed. “You must eat more, now that you are well again. The cleric told us to make sure that you do not skip any meals.”
He gave Simon a fierce look and the wizard had to work hard not to grin at the earthen's firm tone.
“If you say so,” he answered mildly. “I have to admit, I'm starving.”
He was only wearing underwear and wondered briefly who had been keeping him clean and taking care of...the other necessities. He shrugged and decided not to dwell on it. Modesty doesn't matter much when you're unconscious, he supposed.
He opened his clothes cupboard, took out a clean robe, socks and underwear and got dressed.
“I'll put the kettle on, master!” Kronk said brightly and jumped down to scurry out of the room.
Aeris watched him go and then turned to look at Simon.
“You came very close to death this time,” he said seriously, his voice low.
Simon nodded.
“Yeah, I figured. But I'm better off than those poor people who died in Nottinghill.” He hesitated. “Kronk thinks that the wights attacked simply to draw me out and ambush me. Which means that those people's deaths are on my hands.”
Aeris snorted and shook his head, scowling.
“Our earthen friend is incorrect,” he said flatly. “Wights and other undead do not plan. They are not strategists. They are simply mindless monsters that hunger for human flesh. They did not 'draw you out', my dear wizard. That was just you being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Are you sure?” Simon asked, desperately grasping at this faint hope.
“Of course I am. By the Four Winds, my dear wizard! You carry enough guilt around with you. Don't add to it when it isn't necessary. Instead, be grateful like your friend, the cleric, that any survived at all and move on. The winter is far from over and if we have another storm, we must all be ready in case there is a second attack.”
He shook his finger at Simon.
“Planning. That's what should occupy your mind now, not guilt and recrimination. Now, I'll go down and heat up the stew that Clara made before she left this morning. Be careful walking down the stairs; your balance will be a bit off for a while, according to the cleric.”
And with a decisive nod, Aeris turned and flew out of the room, leaving Simon standing there, thinking deeply.
It wasn't my fault, he thought and felt such a sense of relief that his legs almost collapsed under him. He grabbed the cupboard and caught his balance.
What Aeris had said made perfect sense. The wights were simply horrendous killing machines. They traveled in packs, but certainly they weren't organized. And with that comforting thought, he did his best to let go of his guilt. The air elemental was right; they had to make sure that such a disaster didn't happen again, somehow.
Once he'd made his way downstairs, Simon immediately went to the cabinet near the door and pulled out his heavy coat and boots.
“You are going outside, master?” Kronk asked. He was adding more wood to the fire and sounded concerned.
“Nature calls,” Simon told him with a rueful smile. “I'll be right back.”
Aeris was stirring the contents of a large cast-iron pot that was hanging in the fireplace.
“See that you are,” he said. “The stew will be hot in a few minutes.”
The wizard grinned. The smell from the food was already beginning to waft through the room and his stomach growled loudly in response.
Outside, the sun was bright but it was very cold. The snow squeaked under his feet as Simon made his way to the outhouse, dreading the cold seat ahead.
By the time he'd finished and got back indoors he was shivering, and the
blast of heat that hit him as he entered the tower felt wonderful.
The air was thick with the smell of stew and Aeris was at the counter, slicing thick slabs off of a fresh loaf of bread.
“Clara baked too?” Simon asked with surprise as he took off his coat and boots.
“No. This loaf, and two others, are a gift from Malcolm, with his compliments.”
Aeris laughed as he saw the wizard's jaw drop.
“Yes, that was my reaction as well, but it turns out that the warrior is a tremendous cook, according to the other man, Aiden. The bread is light and fluffy; a good trick using whole-wheat flour.”
Simon walked over and sat down at the table. There was a steaming cup of tea waiting for him and he sipped it, closing his eyes for a moment, savoring the flavor and the comfort that came with it.
Aeris served him a bowl of stew, brought the bread over and then moved to the center of the table. Kronk jumped up and joined him there.
“Wow, this is amazing,” Simon told them as he ate. The stew was full of vegetables, venison and thick gravy and was just what his starved body was craving.
“”I'm glad you like it, master,” Kronk said, looking delighted. “The lady made a lot so you will have food for several days. But please eat slowly. Your body has not had solid food for some time.”
“Clara managed to feed you some broth while you were unconscious,” Aeris said as he watched Simon eat. “But I don't think a person can survive too long on a diet like that.”
“Yeah, that's true,” the wizard said as he dipped some bread into the stew. The air elemental had been right; the bread was very light and delicious.
After he had eaten as much as his stomach could hold, Simon sat back with a contented sigh and smiled at the elementals.
“Thanks, guys. That was amazing.”
He finished his tea, got up and made a second cup and sat down again.
“How are the people in Nottinghill coping with what happened?” he asked seriously. “They've lost almost half of their population. Friends, loved ones. It has to have had an effect on them.”
Aeris seemed to ponder the question for a moment, tapping his chin reflectively.
“I'm no expert on human emotions, my dear wizard,” he finally answered slowly. “But while they are grateful to be alive, they seem dispirited, lackluster. They are cleaning up, getting back to normal, but it is almost as if they are going through the motions.”
Simon listened with growing alarm. He'd found before that Aeris' observations, sarcasm aside, were very often spot on.
“In fact,” the air elemental continued, “there are rumblings about abandoning the town altogether.”
“What?” Simon exclaimed, choking on a mouthful of tea. “Abandoning Nottinghill? And going where? It's the middle of the bloody winter!”
“South,” Aeris told him and shrugged. “None of us like the winter, of course. But remember, until the next generation gets old enough, the adults alive now were raised in your old technological world. In cold weather, they had amusements to take their minds off of being stuck indoors. People are reminiscing about things like 'television' and 'the internet', whatever they may be. In this weather, except for reading books or making conversation, basically people go to sleep at nightfall, wake up the next morning and go through the day the same as they had the day before.”
He shrugged again.
“Boredom, my dear wizard, plus depression, can be a killer if it lasts long enough.”
Simon nodded thoughtfully, while Kronk simply listened without comment.
“Yes, I can see that. But where would they go? How far south?”
“Far enough to escape the winter entirely. A few have pointed out that there is a whole world out there for the taking. They want to move somewhere that they can grow crops all year long. They want to be able to spend their days outside and not worry about the harsh weather. And,” Aeris gave the wizard a twisted smile, “where they don't have to worry that the next winter storm will bring a horde of wights down upon them.”
Simon sipped his tea and frowned down at the table.
Move south. Interesting idea, he thought. After all, why should they stay this far north? He understood why Liliana and her people stayed in Moscow; they were connected to their home city. But Ottawa was leveled almost completely. There was no real tie there. And a lot of the folks in Nottinghill were from towns and villages a long way from the capital. Yeah, why would they even want to stay?
“They don't feel any fondness toward Nottinghill itself?” he asked with some confusion. After all, he was quite fond of his own home. “I mean, they built the town from almost nothing, grew the first crops, had three children there. Surely they feel some connection to the place?”
“Perhaps they did, once,” Aeris replied. He glanced at Kronk and back at the wizard. “But it isn't the same anymore, is it? After the attack by the wights and the people they lost, not to mention those who fell back when Madam assaulted the town, Nottinghill is not the same place at all. Instead of a refuge, I believe that some now see it more as a prison, especially in the winter.”
“Huh. Now that is a good point,” Simon said. He was saddened to think that the little town that he'd been so involved with could be abandoned. But of course it wasn't his decision to make.
“I'll have to let that sink in for a bit,” he told them. “Meanwhile, I want to catch up. I've been out of touch for a whole week, so I'd say that's given Daniel enough time to talk to the elders about my chances of traveling to the elven realm to lend a hand.”
“Master, you are much too weak to even think of such a thing!” Kronk exclaimed.
“Yes, Kronk. I know that,” the wizard replied. “But considering the time differential, if I can go there, I could probably take a few weeks to regain my strength and only a day or two would pass on Daniel's side.”
“Ah yes, of course you are right, master,” the earthen said with relief.
Simon smiled at him and began to get up.
“I'd better go up and get my mirror,” he said, but Aeris stopped him with a firm gesture.
“Sit. Rest. I'll get the mirror,” he said shortly and shot off toward the stairs.
“Um, okay then.”
Simon sat down with a smile. Kronk watched as the air elemental flew up the stairs and then winked at him.
“He worries too, master,” the little guy whispered.
“I know, my friend. Listen, do me a favor, would you?”
“Anything, master. You know that.”
“Okay. Would you head down to Nottinghill and take a look at their walls and gates? It's so cold out there that people might be a little lax in making sure that everything is secure.”
“Ah. Certainly, master. I should have thought of that. May I take a few of my friends with me? I will leave three to patrol the wall, just in case.”
Simon nodded as he sipped more tea.
“Good idea. If any repairs have to be made, do what you need to do. And check in with Clara, would you? Thank her for me and ask if she needs anything. I'll call her later, but I'm more anxious to speak with Daniel right now.”
“Consider it done, master,” Kronk told him. He jumped off of the table, tip-tapped to the door and waved. Then he slipped out and slammed the door closed behind him.
Aeris floated back down the stairs and looked at the door as he crossed the room.
“Kronk left?” he asked as he passed the hand mirror to Simon.
“Yeah. I sent him down to check on Nottinghill's defenses. Just a precaution. Thanks, by the way,” he added as he took the mirror.
“No problem. I'll clean the dishes while you speak with your friend.”
At Simon's look, Aeris frowned at him.
“Not a word about me being domestic, if you please. I'm just pulling my weight.”
“Wouldn't dream of it,” the wizard said but he couldn't hold back a snicker as Aeris began pumping water into the sink.
He held up the mirro
r and chanted the Magic Mirror spell.
Now, he thought. Let's find out what else has gone wrong.
Chapter 8
The mirror fogged up as Simon cast the communication spell, keeping Daniel's prematurely aged face in his mind as he did so.
It took a long, tense moment for the surface to clear but suddenly his friend appeared, sitting and reading by candlelight.
The wizard watched him quietly for a few minutes, smiling. Aged or not, that look of intense concentration and wisdom hadn't been erased from Daniel's face and probably never would be. There was something comforting about that.
“I see you're enjoying your favorite pastime,” he said with a grin.
His friend looked up and stared around the room.
“You should know,” he replied with faint amusement. “How many books did we share over the years? Hundreds, I'd guess.”
“At least. So how are you doing?”
“Fine. Fine. You're calling back a lot later than I'd expected. Learned some patience, have we?”
Simon snorted.
“Yeah, right. We're talking about me here, you know.”
They shared a laugh.
“Okay, so why the delay?”
“We've had a bit of a disturbance since you and I last spoke,” Simon said, becoming serious, and then he proceeded to tell his friend about the wights attacking his tower and Nottinghill.
Daniel listened, his face expressionless until the wizard mentioned the townspeople who had been lost. Then his eyes became dull and sad and he shook his head with regret.
“So few of you left and now more are gone,” he whispered and stared off blankly. “Will the human race even survive this transition from technology to magic? I wonder.”
Simon turned his head sharply at a snapping noise and saw Aeris break another piece of wood before adding it to the fire. He noticed the wizard watching.
“Sorry,” he mouthed silently and Simon just smiled and looked back into the mirror.
“And now you say that some of the survivors are thinking of pulling up stakes and moving south?” Daniel asked.
Tales from the New Earth: Volume One Page 128