Tales from the New Earth: Volume One

by Thompson, J. J.

  He took a drink of juice to moisten his suddenly dry mouth.

  “Look, I really didn't want to have to talk about this until tomorrow. We can all meet, Clara and Malcolm too if they want, and hash it out then.” He looked up at the sky. “The day's moving on and I'd like to bring Kronk and his friends down so that they can start working on building you some more permanent structures than tents.”

  Clara nodded once.

  “Very well, Simon. We'll table this discussion until tomorrow. Virginia, would you show Liliana to her tent? And Malcolm, could you find Mark please? He's our resident engineer, after all, and I want him to discuss the placing of buildings with the earthen before they begin construction.”

  Virginia led the paladin away while Malcolm went hunting for the engineer. Meanwhile, Clara poured Simon more orange juice and then stared at him curiously.

  “Do you really think you're up to a confrontation with the dragons?” she asked. “Forgive me, but you're as pale as milk and look like a strong breeze could carry you away.”

  “Thanks. You look great too,” he responded, drawing a chuckle from the concerned cleric.

  “I have time,” he continued. “Time to grow stronger, to regain what I lost in my 'rebirth'. Time flows faster here than it does in the elven lands. A month here might be only a few days there, so even if things begin going badly for the elves, I still have a rather large window of opportunity that I can use to, in a way, recharge my magical batteries.”

  “And you really believe that our four young friends could be of use?” she asked, lowering her voice.

  “I do,” Simon replied quietly. “Their communal strength is quite formidable. I think their Shield spell is actually stronger than my own. Virginia's ability to heal is extraordinary and their Force spell kept a horde of wights at bay for several hours. Even Anna's Invisibility spell could come in handy. Yes, I think they could be very useful.”

  He patted her hand reassuringly.

  “But I also know what they mean to you and to this community. That's why I want you at our meeting tomorrow. I won't guilt-trip them or try to railroad them into coming with me. It will be their choice. And if you want to raise any objections, please feel free to do so. To be honest, I've always been a lone wolf. If I had my druthers, I'd simply go it alone. But the brown dragons are stronger than any other dragon I've faced so far and their primal? God, I can't even begin to imagine what his powers are like. This war had reached a whole other level and I'm going to need help on this one.”

  Clara watched him silently for a moment and then smiled.

  “Thank you, Simon,” she said simply.

  “For what?”

  “Your honesty. Some people would try to sugar-coat this, but you're being upfront about it.”

  “You're my friends, as I said earlier.” he replied. “Friends don't sucker friends into rushing off to face danger. They lay it out in front of them and let them make their decisions based on fact. No need to thank me for that.”

  “There is, but I don't think you'll ever see it that way. But enough of that.”

  She stood up and waited for the wizard to join her.

  “Did you want to summon your elemental friends now? I can see that Malcolm has found Mark for us.”

  “Absolutely. Let's head to the center of town. That way your engineer can show Kronk and the others exactly where he thinks the various buildings should go.”

  Malcolm and Mark, a small man with large eyes and a thatch of sandy blond hair who Simon always thought looked more like a schoolboy than an engineer, followed Clara and the wizard to the center of town, where he had arrived earlier.

  The wizard wasted no time in calling out the names of the three earthen, beginning with Kronk. When they had arrived and he introduced them all around, he summoned Aeris.

  The air elemental appeared, still holding the sack full of beets and immediately began berating him.

  “Finally!” he exclaimed as he popped into view, hovering at eye level. “Do you realize how long I've been holding on to this bag of vegetables?”

  “Two hours?” Simon guessed.

  “Two hours, exactly! Two hours that I've been dragging around this blasted, smelly sack...”

  “Hello Aeris,” Clara said, cutting him off. “It's good to see you again.”

  Simon gave her a look of gratitude as she diverted the elemental's wrath and she winked subtly.

  “Ah, lady cleric.” Aeris bowed slightly and offered her the sack. “A gift, from myself and the addle-brained wizard for whom I work. With our compliments.”

  “Addle-brained? Now, hang on a second...”

  “Aeris!” Kronk barked up at him. “How dare you address our master in such a tone!”

  “Well, if the name fits...”

  “Enough!” Malcolm roared and an immediate silence followed as everyone jumped and then stared at the big man.

  “We don't have time for all this bickering,” he told them, glowering. Simon couldn't remember ever seeing him looking so serious.

  “Malcolm's right,” the wizard agreed. “Thanks for bringing the bag, Aeris, but we have to press on. Daylight is burning here.”

  Aeris nodded stiffly and bobbed in the breeze, remaining silent.

  “Kronk, if you and your friends would be so kind as to confer with Mark here? As I understand it, you've already laid out a plan for permanent buildings?”

  The engineer nodded and pulled out a roll of paper from his back pocket. The earthen gathered around and Mark sat down on the grass and the four of them started speaking quietly.

  Clara opened the sack that Aeris had given her and gasped in delight.

  “Simon! I love beets! Thank you so much. And you too, Aeris,” she added hastily. “I'll give you a bag of oranges and lemons to take back with you tomorrow. You'll need all of the vitamin C you can get if you intend to spend the winter up north.”

  The rest of the day passed in a bit of a blur for Simon. Kronk and the two earthen with him began raising buildings according to the plans drawn up by Mark and agreed to by the rest of the community.

  One addition that both Simon and Kronk convinced Clara and the others of was a central hall. They told them about the usefulness of a warded building during an aerial attack, which sobered up the group considerably. Liliana, as the veteran of more than one encounter with dragons, added her voice of support for the idea and a hastily called town meeting approved it.

  “How are you going to build it?” Simon asked Kronk quietly after the meeting. “You'll have to travel a long way to find enough wood, won't you?”

  “Yes master,” the little guy agreed. “If we were using wood. But we are not. We are using rock. Excuse me please but we should start immediately.”

  And then he and the other earthen slipped into the ground, leaving small mounds of dirt behind them.

  “You know, that is really freaky to watch,” Mark said as he walked over and stood next to the wizard.

  “Yeah. I've gotten used to it somewhat, but when they just casually disappear underground like that, it can still surprise me.”

  Mark had some sheets of paper with him and he proceeded to show Simon some hastily drawn sketches of the new hall.

  “You are going to be casting wards along the wall?” he asked.

  “Along the walls and then,” Simon tapped the roof on the drawing, “on top, right in the middle. The wards will mesh together and create a shield around the entire structure.”

  “Amazing. Too bad the town itself couldn't be protected like that.”

  Simon smiled at him.

  “Even magic can only be stretched so far. My tower is just about the biggest structure that can be shielded in such a way. Any larger and the power just collapses back in on itself.”

  Mark was nodding, but his expression was a little vague, as he took Simon's word for it.

  “Okay then. Thanks for this, by the way. You are the only one who can cast these ward thingies, you know. If it wasn't for your p
owers, I'd say it's safe to assume we'd be screwed.”

  Simon laughed uncomfortably.

  “Just doing my part, same as you are,” he told the engineer. “I mean, look at you. You were actually an engineer back in the day?”

  “Oh yeah,” Mark nodded. “Had a very successful company back then as well. Then everything mechanical stopped working overnight. Do you know how disconcerting that is to an engineer?”

  “I can imagine, considering how the rest of us reacted. But like I was saying, you're doing your part as well. Just looking at you, I'd say you were no more than, what, seventeen? But here you are, doing your best instead of reveling in your new-found youth.”

  “Ha! You're one to talk, sir wizard,” Mark grinned. “You look even younger than I do. Here's a tip, by the way. If you cut your hair short, you look younger. Learned that from my barber back in the old days.”

  Simon laughed in return.

  “I had very little hair left back then, to be honest. My rebirth means that I have to regrow my hair again.” He rubbed his head ruefully. “I miss it already. Ah well. Patience is my new mantra and it'll get there eventually.”

  The two spent the next little while reminiscing and exchanging stories about their old lives and Simon found Mark to be one of the sharpest and funniest people he'd known for a long time. In fact, he was practically howling at one of the engineer's jokes when the ground began to shake and he staggered, almost falling over.

  Mark caught him by the elbow and steadied him, then looked around with a scowl.

  “This area isn't geologically unstable. What the hell's going on?”

  Simon didn't have time to explain. Two of the children were scampering after each other in the middle of the town, watched over fondly by their mothers. As the ground shook, they all stopped and looked around in confusion. The wizard began to run.

  “Get the kids out of the area,” he shouted. “Right now!”

  The women gaped at him for a second and then raced toward the two kids, scooping them up and running back toward the tent area.

  Simon skidded to a halt and breathed a sigh of relief. He backed away, berating himself at the same time.

  I should have warned them that Kronk would be raising bedrock to build the town hall, he thought in disgust. Less socializing and more thinking, oh great wizard.

  Slowly the ground split open to reveal thick stone walls growing up in a circular pattern. Mark moved next to Simon and watched in awe.

  “That is amazing,” he muttered and Simon smiled at his reaction. He was feeling a little better as he realized that the children had never been in any danger from the slow growth of the hall. Kronk's doing, no doubt.

  “I suppose he's using stone because of the lack of available wood close by,” he said. “The rest of the buildings in your plan with be wooden, I guess. Unless you folks want all stone structures? Not a bad idea actually.”

  Mark glanced at him and shook his head.

  “For security, yes. But without any means of cooling them, stone buildings in this type of climate can be literal furnaces. Wooden walls breathe better and allow for more air flow. Plus, repairs will be easier for us mere mortals who don't have elementals on call when we need something fixed.”

  Simon chuckled.

  “Good point,” he said and they stood together and watched until the walls had finished rising.

  How Kronk and the others did it was something that Simon knew he'd never understand, but when the rumbling had stopped and the dust settled, he was looking at walls at least a dozen feet high, smooth and pale gray. Every few feet a square window had been cut about chest-high and two large doors opened to the north and the south.

  The villagers cheered and the children shrieked in delight like little birds as Kronk and his two friends emerged from inside the building.

  The three earthen stood and stared at everyone applauding them and then smiled hesitantly.

  “What's wrong with them?” Mark asked Simon under his breath.

  “Back in the old days, they were basically slaves,” he replied as he watched them affectionately. “They aren't used to being appreciated or thanked for their labors.”

  “Really? That's just sad.”

  Simon smiled at him.

  “Well, this will certainly help to begin erasing those memories.”

  Kronk turned, spotted the wizard and hurried over, his two helpers following closely behind him.

  “Master! How do you like it?”

  “It's wonderful, Kronk. You guys always do a fantastic job.”

  The three glowed with delight at the compliments and smiled even wider as Mark added his own.

  “Thank you, master, and you as well, sir engineer. We wanted to ask about the roof.”

  “You guys go ahead and discuss things,” Simon told Mark and the elementals. “I'm out of my depth when it comes to building stuff. If you need me, I think I'll take a stroll down to the seashore, clear my head.”

  He waved and turned away toward the main gate, leaving the little group discussing what shape the new roof should be.

  At the gate, he passed a guard whose name he didn't know. She was wearing a light chain mail coat and leaning on a spear and waved him through elaborately as he left. Simon gave her a grin in return and crossed the drawbridge. Kronk and the others hadn't dug a trench around the town yet and the drawbridge was simply a ramp leading down the slope of the hill that the new town was built on.

  The wizard turned to his left and saw the distant shore of the sea. The hill gently led down toward it and he began to walk slowly, taking his time and sucking in deep breaths of tangy, salty air that the breeze blew toward him from the ocean.

  How long since he'd been to the seaside, he wondered. Decades at least. His last visit had been a few years before his mother had passed away. They had traveled to Prince Edward Island, his mother's birthplace. She'd been ill even then and had wanted to reconnect with old friends and relatives before the end. Simon's memories were a mixture of happiness and bitterness, all rolled together.

  Now though, as he approached the endless rolling waves, he felt only elation, a sense of rebirth. He had been given a second chance and did not want to dwell too long in old memories.

  It's time to make some new ones, he thought with a little smile. Hopefully, better ones.

  As he approached the shore, Simon had to jump over small tidal pools and detour around scattered rocks before reaching the smooth part of the sandy beach. He walked carefully, his bare feet feeling every little piece of sharp-edged gravel and gritty dirt. But even those sensations were wonderful to him, because the ground itself was deliciously warm.

  “I'm going to hate going back home tomorrow,” he said out loud. The crashing of the waves muted his voice and it was lost in the chorus of wind and seagulls.

  A dozen yards from the booming surf, Simon lowered himself to the sand carefully, lay back with a sigh and watched as wispy clouds sailed across the deep blue sky. He could get used to this was his last thought before he fell into a deep sleep.

  When he woke up a few hours later, Simon sat up abruptly with a snort and looked around wildly. For a moment he had no idea where he was and felt a surge of panic.

  “You slept well,” a familiar voice said.

  He turned toward the speaker and saw Aeris floating up and down a few feet away. Simon immediately relaxed and rubbed the back of his head, feeling sand and grit falling off.

  “Hi. I did, didn't I? That's a surprise. I hadn't realized that I was so tired.”

  “Best thing you could have done,” the elemental assured him. “When I saw you leave town, I thought it would be best to keep an eye on you.”

  He turned in a slow circle, scanning their surroundings.

  “We can never be sure if a place is completely safe these days, as you well know, and a sleeping wizard would be a tempting target for allies of the dark gods.”

  Simon nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed. Aeris was right; lying unconscio
us out in the open in a strange place was incredibly stupid, especially right now.

  “Thanks. So, any sign of danger?”

  “Not unless you count the bird poop on your robe as dangerous,” the elemental replied dryly.

  Simon looked down, made a sound of disgust deep in his throat and stood up quickly. He swayed for a moment and then walked over to the nearest pool of water and splashed some on his robe to get rid of the seagull's little gift. He wasn't very successful.

  “Well, that's gross,” he said as he gave up. “Wish I'd brought a change of clothes with me.”

  “I'm sure that you can find something in town,” Aeris told him with an amused grin.

  Simon rolled his eyes and turned to look up the long slope toward the walls of the town above them. From this distance, it looked quite formidable and he approved of that. The stone walls gleamed palely in the afternoon sun and appeared very strong.

  “Looks good, doesn't it?” he asked Aeris as he began walking back.

  “It does. You'll be happy to know that Kronk popped by a short time ago with a status report. He didn't want to wake you so he asked that I pass it along when you got up.”

  “And?”

  “Well, the hall is done. He and the other two earthen constructed shutters for the windows for now. They have assured Clara that when time allows, they will add glass panels. The roof is done as well as the doors. Hmm, what else? Oh yes, they dug the trench around the town. A second drawbridge for the smaller rear gate will have to be built another day. Today they want to finish several houses. The townspeople have collected enough wood for that many, Oh and they threw up another stone structure, a smithy I believe. The blacksmith, Gregory, is beside himself with joy. A rather amusing sight considering his size. That's about it.”

  Simon stopped to gape at him.