Simon shrugged.
“I don't.” He nodded at the staff that rested in its normal spot against the wall next to the door.
“My gift from my friend Daniel helped me there.”
A grumble came from Aeris' direction. Simon ignored it.
“I summoned the strongest water elemental I could and asked it what it would take to help me against the dragon. The river was its price.”
There were several skeptical glances between his guests but Ethmira spoke up.
“A small price to pay to rid us of that monster,” she said firmly. There was general agreement.
Anna raised her hand, as if she was back in school. Simon smiled at her and made an encouraging gesture.
“I was wondering what happened to the rest of the drakes.”
The crowd quieted down and stared at her. Anna squirmed uncomfortably.
“I mean, Simon killed a half dozen of them and a bunch fell into the river and drowned, but that wasn't all of them, was it?”
“No, I'm afraid it wasn't,” Ethmira answered her.
Simon listened intently. He had ideas about those creatures as well but he wanted to hear the elven maiden's thoughts.
“The dragons spawn those creatures as needed. I'd imagine that across the country there are hordes of drakes that have destroyed cities and towns. That would allow the dragons to level the largest population centers. I think we have to face the fact that we haven't seen the last of those monsters.”
“Fortunately, however many are left in this part of the country, they are north of the river,” Simon added. “They can't swim and if they could, Aquamastis would not allow them to pass. Granted, they can still use the bridges to the south, but I'd guess that the destruction of their master will give them pause about advancing in this direction.”
“Vigilance,” came a deep voice from near the door. Everyone looked over to the armored figure standing there.
Richard had journeyed to the tower with Clara and the others. He'd become even more taciturn and grim looking since the death of Michael, his best friend, and rarely spoke.
“We must remain vigilant,” he said shortly. “We are seeing mysterious figures roaming the night. The drakes have survived. And there are four more prime dragons left in the world, along with their spawn. The fight is far from over.”
That statement was followed by a moment of silent reflection, finally broken by Kronk, who tap-tapped over to Clara and held up a tray.
“Cheese?” he asked her.
For some reason, that simple act broke up the entire group. Simon found himself laughing harder than he had for months. Several people laughed so long that they had tears in their eyes.
Ethmira had only smiled but Simon was pleased to see that she had put her grief behind her.
When everyone had settled down, people began to circulate, chatting amiably amongst themselves.
Simon found himself sitting next to Ethmira at the table. She was staring vaguely into her cup of tea.
“How's Daniel?” he asked her.
“Hmm? Oh, he's well, my friend. He wanted me to pass along his congratulations on winning the battle.”
“Thank him from me, would you? And I wonder if you could give him this?”
Simon slipped a letter out of his robe pocket and handed it to her.
“Of course I will,” she said with a smile and tucked it away. “He'll be happy to hear from you.”
“Thanks. So what happens now?”
“Now?” She stared at Simon speculatively. “Now we continue to prepare. You keep working on your magic. We elves will begin to scout out the rest of the area and expand our sphere of knowledge. Richard was right. We must be vigilant and be ready. The world in this area may be a little safer, but it will not stay that way.”
Simon sat back in his chair and sighed loudly.
“Yes, that's true. Well, I hope that we'll at least have a quiet winter before things get bad again.”
“Perhaps we will, Simon. Perhaps we will.”
She reached out and patted his hand gently.
Simon smiled at her and got up to serve more tea and sandwiches.
The guests all left at dusk. Before they had gone, Simon asked Clara a question that had been gnawing at him.
“Has there been any word from the dwarves since the battle?”
Everyone stopped talking and looked at them. Ethmira and the elf with her listened intently.
Clara shook her head.
“None. We don't know if they survived, and if they did, how many actually made it.”
“Typical dwarven cowardice,” said the elf standing with Ethmira.
He was tall and lean with black hair to his waist and heavy brows. Now he was scowling.
“It is well known that when a fight begins to go badly, dwarves will turn tail and run. There are many records in our history of when this happened. It is one of the reasons that the elves don't trust them.”
“That is enough, Tanlin,” Ethmira said sharply and he subsided, frowning.
“At any rate,” Clara continued as she watched the elf curiously. “They haven't contacted us. If they do, Simon, I'll let you know.”
And then the company began to leave. Clara, Virginia and Anna all hugged Simon while the men shook his hand firmly.
“If you need me, just get in touch,” Simon told them earnestly.
“You do the same, my friend,” Clara told him. “Winter will be long and lonely. Don't be a stranger.”
“I won't be,” Simon told her with a smile. “Have a good trip back.”
The villagers left and Simon escorted Ethmira and Tanlin to the gate.
“Take care, Simon. We will stay vigilant and contact you if anything dire occurs.”
“Thanks for coming, both of you.”
Ethmira shook his hand warmly and Tanlin gave Simon a stiff bow. Then he watched as the pair moved gracefully across the brown grass beyond the gate and disappeared into the forest.
He walked back through the gate and locked it firmly.
Back inside, he built up the fire and sat next to it. The day was becoming colder as the sun went down.
“Aeris, are you over your mood yet?” Simon asked as the air elemental moved to hover near the fireplace.
Aeris gave him a hard look and then seemed to wilt a bit.
“Yes, of course. I understand why you did it, Simon. I only wish that you had trusted us enough and hadn't felt the need to trick us when you summoned your 'river sprite'.”
Simon felt a stab of guilt. Aeris had a good point and the wizard nodded and told him so.
“I promise you both,” and he watched as Kronk tripped over to stand next to Aeris. “From now on, no more secrets. I trust you both. And now that you know that that thing,” he nodded at Bene-Dunn-Gal, “follows my orders, not the other way around, you know that you don't have to watch me so closely when I use it.”
Aeris glanced at the staff and back at Simon.
“Just don't assume it's always going to be safe, my dear wizard. Don't let down your guard.”
Simon chuckled and prodded the fire with an iron poker.
“Believe me, I won't.”
He held up his right hand, palm outward and the two elementals stared at the many small scars that shone whitely on his skin.
“Every time I use it, I'm reminded that it isn't just a piece of wood.”
The three of them sat in companionable silence for a time, listening to the fire crackle and hiss and whisper to itself.
Finally Kronk looked up at Simon.
“What now. Master?”
“Now?” Simon stretched and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He'd almost nodded off in the warmth of the fire.
“Now we prepare. I think we'll have a quiet winter, but I could be wrong. I'll practice more and see if I can't line up more allies. I'll need your help with that, both of you. And in the spring, well, in the spring we'll see.”
“What allies, Simon?” Aeris asked.
“Elementals, for one. And don't scowl at me, Aeris. I'll keep you in the loop this time.”
He leaned forward and looked at Kronk.
“But from you, my friend, I need something else. I need you to run an errand for me.”
“An errand, master? Of course!” Kronk jumped up excitedly. “Whatever you want.”
“Feel free to say no,” Aeris commented dryly.
Simon shot him a look and then smiled at the little earthen.
“I want you to go deep and find the dwarves.”
Aeris gasped and Kronk's eyes widened.
“The dwarves? But master, they are buried deeply in the earth. I do not know where.”
“I know that, my friend. There's no rush. Do some exploring. If you can't find them immediately, recruit some of your friends to help. Take your time. But I need to know where the dwarves stand. I need to know if they are willing to help us again, because we'll be asking for their help in the spring.”
“Of course, master. It will be fun, I think,” Kronk told him, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“Good. You don't have to leave right this moment. Pick your day in the next week or so.”
Kronk nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Aeris who rose up from the side of the fire and hovered at eye level in front of Simon.
“You'll need their help in the spring?” he asked, sounding a little suspicious. “For what?”
“For the hunt, my dear air elemental. In the spring, I intend to go hunting...for a green dragon.”
The End
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The Return of the Titans
The Battle for Sanctuary
The Hunt for Hyperion
Here are Links to the first two books in my series: The Angelic Wars
Confronting the Fallen
The Rise of the Fallen
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The Dragons Return Page 42