“But if the argent dragon succeeds in hatching those abominations, we will soon be inundated with evil dragons again and that cannot be borne. Therefore, the dwarves have formally declared war upon Argentium. We have no wish to attack a follower of the lords of Light, but he is both misguided and foolish. If we can destroy the five eggs without harming the argent dragon, we shall do so. But if he interferes, then he will be destroyed as well.”
Ragar hooked his thumbs into his broad belt and stood silently, apparently finished passing along his message.
The table dissolved into a babble of confusion. Barnaby, who was sitting next to Lei and Chao, listened wide-eyed as the conjurer spoke into his ear, apparently explaining what had happened with the argent dragon.
Simon glanced at Kronk and then turned to Tamara.
The mage appeared confused by Ragar's announcement.
“How did they find out?” she whispered to Simon.
He could barely hear her over the loud conversations around him and the mage quickly moved over to stand next to his chair beside Liliana and repeated her question.
“You forget, Shandon has mages of his own,” Simon told her, aware that the paladin was listening as well. “And unlike his ancestors, he isn't reluctant to use them as needed. I'm guessing that they were 'tuned in' when Aeris and the other air elementals found the dragon eggs.”
He frowned at a sudden thought.
“I don't like the idea of them spying on us, allies or not. But whatever. The point is that they know now and, as much as I respect Argentium, I can't fault the dwarves for not wanting a new generation of evil dragons to be born.”
“But to kill the argent dragon?” Liliana said, her calm demeanor shaken at the idea. “That's...monstrous.”
“Is it?” Simon asked. “Wouldn't you do the same if it meant saving the lives of the inhabitants of this castle? Because I am sure that's how Shandon sees it. His father and hundreds of his people were slaughtered by the primal white dragon and his abominations. The king does not want something like that happening again and quite frankly, I can't blame him.”
Tamara looked over at Ragar, who was still standing immobile in front of the fireplace.
“Sir seneschal,” she said, her voice carrying over the conversations around her.
The room became quiet as everyone stopped to listen.
“Yes, lady mage?”
“Does the king know where Argentium is at this moment?”
Ragar appeared to be considering his answer carefully.
“He may,” the dwarf finally replied.
“So where is he then?” Malcolm asked.
The seneschal looked down his bulbous nose at the warrior.
“That is not information that I am permitted to divulge. My people will deal with this situation now; you and yours have done enough. Concentrate on rebuilding your lives and allow your allies to settle this.”
He bowed perfunctorily to the room.
“Thank you all for your attention. My message has been delivered and I have seen Simon O'Toole for myself to confirm that he is well. Dullin, come along. It's time we headed home.”
The other dwarf jumped to his feet and Simon guessed that he was Ragar's own personal pilot for his drilling machine.
“You're leaving? Just like that?” Sebastian asked in confusion.
“Yes. I have said all that there is to say. I am not authorized to get into a discussion about this.”
He turned toward the doorway and walked several steps, followed by the second dwarf. Then he stopped and stared at the ground, seemingly deep in thought.
“Oh, there is one last thing,” he said as he looked back at Simon and the others.
“You might want to check on the dragon queen's whereabouts. I was informed that she is...perturbed about losing her eggs and has somehow managed to subsume her madness somewhat.”
“Um, what does that mean in English?” Malcolm asked with a puzzled frown.
Ragar grimaced.
“It means that she has found a spark of sanity within herself and is tracking down the author of her loss.”
He pointed at Simon.
“You,” he said shortly. “The one person on Earth who can summon the elementals that she believes stole away her children. She blames you for her loss and seems to think, wrongly as we all know, that you have her eggs. So do be careful.”
And with that, Ragar spun around again and marched out of the room along with his pilot.
Behind him the room became silent and Simon could feel a dozen pairs of eyes on him.
“Oh great,” he said with an exhausted sigh. “Here we go again.”
Chapter 24
“You really should spend a few more days here recuperating,” Elaine said to Simon later that day.
They were sitting together in the infirmary. The cleric had insisted that he have a rest after the meeting with Ragar and the others and the wizard had managed to sleep the afternoon away.
Now he was sitting on the edge of the bed, Kronk next to him. He smiled warmly at the woman's concern.
“I'm fine, Elaine,” he reassured her. “Honest. Your care has been exemplary and it's no exaggeration to say that I might not be alive now if it hadn't been for your prayers and treatment.”
“Liliana played a much bigger role than I did,” she disagreed. “I just patched up the holes.”
He laughed and stood up slowly.
“Have it your way. But I'll sleep better in my own bed tonight and, frankly, I need some time alone with my thoughts. The seneschal gave me a lot to chew on and I'd better get started doing that straight away.”
“Fine then. Have it your way,” the cleric said.
She reached out and gave him a brief hug.
“But remember that at the first sign of a relapse, or fever, or whatever, you're to come straight back here for treatment. Clear?”
“Yes ma'am,” the wizard said meekly.
“I'm being serious,” Elaine said sternly and shook a finger at him. “And if he doesn't, you are to make him, understood?”
She looked at Kronk as she said this and he nodded vigorously.
“Yes, lady cleric, ” he said solemnly. “Master will return if he becomes ill, I promise you, even if I have pick him up and carry him back myself.”
All three of them laughed at that mental picture and Elaine stepped back to look Simon up and down.
“Well, you certainly look much better, especially now that you're vertical. Keep that robe, by the way. Blue is definitely your color. And the sandals as well.”
“Thanks again. I'm sure that we'll see each other soon.”
She nodded and watched as Simon lowered his arm to the elemental, who grabbed on to his sleeve. The wizard winked at her and then his eyes became unfocused as he concentrated on his destination.
“Gate!” he said firmly.
A darkness engulfed Simon and Kronk and they disappeared into the Void.
“I really hate that,” Elaine said to the empty room.
She began stripping the sheets from the bed and stopped for a brief moment to stare off into space.
“Be careful, Simon,” she whispered.
The wizard made sure to target the front yard of his tower for his first Gate home since his imprisonment. The last thing he wanted to experience was a rough landing somewhere inside the building or, even worse, materializing inside of a solid wall of stone.
He and Kronk appeared in front of the tower in bright sunlight. It was mid-afternoon and a delightfully warm breeze rich with the scent of grass and flowers wafted across them.
Simon looked around happily, breathing deeply and letting his eyes examine every inch of his home.
“I see that you've kept the grass trimmed,” he said to Kronk as he checked out the yard.
“Of course, master. A tidy home is an efficient home,” the little guy answered with a smile.
He was obviously as pleased as the wizard was to be home.
“And you
repainted the outhouse!”
The small shack was just visible around the corner to the left of the front door of the tower. It was painted a bright red and glowed in the sunlight.
“I did, master.”
“Excellent. Come on, I want to check the gates and walk around the perimeter once, just to make sure that everything is okay.”
“I would like to return to my chores right away, master, if that it all right with you? I must check on the horses, let them out to graze in the pasture and clean out the stable.”
Simon grinned down at the earthen's serious little face.
“If that's what you want to do, then by all means, go ahead. Come in when you're done though, would you? I'm going to want to talk to you and Aeris later.”
Kronk said that he would do that, waved and trotted off toward the rear of the tower.
“He'll never change.”
Simon looked up and saw Aeris descending from the roof.
“I hope that he doesn't,” he told him. “You were listening?”
“Waiting for your arrival, actually. Orriss and Brethia are back now, and thankfully did not have run-in with the dragon queen, so I was chatting with them and keeping an eye out.”
Aeris slowed his descent and floated next to the wizard. He cocked his head to the side and looked Simon up and down.
“For a man who was abused by goblins for a week or so, you look remarkably well, all things considered.”
“I feel well. And just being home...”
Simon looked up at the tower and his grin was as wide as it could be.
“That is a cure for almost anything. I'm going to tour the perimeter. Want to come along?”
“You go ahead. I'm going to stoke the fire and put the kettle on. I think that you deserve a cup of tea.”
“Ah, this day just keeps getting better. Thanks Aeris, I'll be in shortly.”
The air elemental nodded and flew off toward the front door.
Simon walked over to the main gate and checked the locks. It was bolted securely but he rattled each of them to be sure.
“Who goes there?” a deep voice rumbled from the arch above his head.
The wizard stepped out of the gate's shadow and looked up at the top of the wall. An astonished earthen was looking back at him.
“My lord, it is you!” he exclaimed. “You have returned.”
The elemental, whose name Simon couldn't recall, smiled in delight. Like all of the earthen, his body was uniquely constructed and looked like lava rock encrusted with yellow crystals.
“You are well, my lord?” he asked eagerly.
“I'm great, thanks. How's everything going around here?”
Simon walked toward the left side of the gate, where a wooden ladder led up to the ledge that ran along the inside of the wall.
“Nothing to report, my lord,” the earthen told him as the wizard climbed up slowly, his legs still a little wobbly.
“There have been no threats to the tower and nothing has approached the perimeter except for birds and small animals.”
“Good to hear.”
Simon stood on the ledge that followed along inside the wall and looked out over the field that ran off toward the forest in the distance.
“It's strange, you know,” he mused. “But even though I've only been away for a short time, it feels like it's been a year or more.”
“It feels like that to us as well, my lord,” the earthen said stoutly.
The wizard smiled at that assertion.
“Thanks. I'm going to walk the perimeter. You can go back to your regular patrol. Sorry that I disturbed you.”
“You could never do that, my lord.”
The elemental bowed and walked away, stumping along at a steady march.
I'm glad that they never get bored, Simon thought. Constantly walking around and around on top of this wall would drive me nuts eventually.
He strolled along beside the parapet and was greeted by the handful of earthen who kept his home under constant guard. Each of them seemed genuinely happy to see him and, by the time that Simon returned to the front gate, he felt both tired and happy in equal measure.
The wizard climbed back down the ladder and slowly walked toward the tower. He was now desperate to sit down and admitted to himself that perhaps he'd pushed his body a little too far too soon after his healing. Not that he'd ever let Aeris know that; he would never hear the end of it if he did.
Simon opened the front door and stood in the entrance, enjoying the moment. He remembered that in his darkest hours of suffering, chained in that dismal cell inside of the goblin mound, how he had despaired of ever making it home again. Home, this tower, had become a beacon of sorts to him; a single ray of hope in an otherwise bottomless pit of blackness and pain. And now, here he was.
“Wipe your feet before you track dirt across my clean floor,” Aeris yelled from the other side of the room.
The wizard grinned and stepped inside. Home at last.
After a meal of fried eggs, dried beef and freshly harvested honeycomb still dripping with fresh honey, Simon had collapsed into bed and slept contentedly until it got dark. When he woke up again, he lit his bedside candle with a thought, looked around and then lay staring dreamily up at the ceiling.
I know I have to get up and deal with stuff, he thought. But can't I just lie here for a while and enjoy the peace and quiet?
“You're up, I see.”
The wizard sighed.
“Apparently not,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
Simon looked toward the doorway and saw Aeris floating there, watching him curiously.
“Nothing, just talking to myself. Could you put the kettle on, please? I'm dying for some tea.”
“Already done. But how about some coffee instead? We still have a fair amount of instant in storage.”
The wizard threw back the blanket and sat up.
“That sounds amazing, Aeris. Thanks. I'll be right down.”
The elemental zipped off and Simon got up and went over to his wardrobe to find a fresh robe.
Once he was dressed in a simply brown garment and had put on his old, comfy slippers, he made his way downstairs.
Every candle was lit and the living room and kitchen area glowed with warmth. A fire burned merrily in the hearth and his battered kettle was already boiling over it.
“I've missed this and yet I've been gone such a short time,” he said as he walked over to the kitchen table and sat down.
“Not that short when you're trapped in the situation that you were in,” Aeris replied.
He was scooping instant coffee from a silver tin into a cup.
“Time tends to drag in captivity, or so I'm told.”
Simon rested his chin on his hand and watched the elemental work.
“It does, it really does. But it also gives you perspective and time to think.”
He grimaced at the black memories.
“Of course, that perspective wasn't worth the agony that induced it, but there it is.”
Aeris flew over to the fireplace, picked up the kettle and carried it back to the counter.
“And what sorts of thoughts came your way in that horrible little cell?” he asked as he filled Simon's cup.
The wizard frowned down at the table.
“Many things. My complacency in the face of the violent world that we now live in, for one. Just sitting here at home and letting evil stalk the planet isn't good enough. I was given the power to affect change and have often refused to use it. I've chosen isolation instead and that may have been a mistake.”
“You don't think defeating five primal dragons had an affect on the world?” Aeris asked as he added honey to the coffee.
He stirred the cup and carried it over to Simon, who smiled his thanks and sipped the hot brew.
“Oh, I know it did,” the wizard admitted. “But was it enough? The dragon queen must still be dealt with, you know. While she is out there in the world somewhere,
we are under constant threat of attack. If we can't stop the queen, humanity is finished.”
Aeris landed on the table in front of Simon and stared up at him.
“I think that at the moment, the queen is the least of your concerns, my dear wizard,” he said ominously. “Things have happened while you've been...away, that are much more worrying.”
Before Simon could respond, the front door banged open and Kronk skittered into the room.
“The horses are fine, master,” he said as he slammed the door shut behind him. “How are you? Did you sleep well?”
The wizard drank more coffee and watched the little guy hurry over and jump up on to the table.
“I did, thanks. And I'm good; much better than I would have expected. Thanks to Elaine and Liliana and their gods. And to you two, of course.”
“I did very little, master,” Kronk demurred. “But Aeris was amazing; he really was.”
Both Simon and Aeris stared at the earthen and then at each other.
“Are you feeling all right?” the air elemental asked him.
“Of course I am. I give credit where credit is due,” Kronk told him amiably. “And you found master, no one else. Without your aid, I shudder to think what might have happened.”
“I would be dead by now, that's what would have happened,” Simon stated. “It's as simple as that. The goblin wizard who held me captive wasn't getting the information he wanted out of me and was losing patience. I think that he was preparing to kill me. Aeris, your timing could not have been better.”
He finished his coffee, got up and walked to the counter to make another cup.
“And I'll have to summon Kassus, Aethos and Incendus one day soon to thank them for their efforts as well,” he said as he poured hot water into his cup. “Their aid was invaluable.”
“That I agree with,” Aeris said. “But me? I just got lucky.”
“Or were nudged in the right direction by the lords of Light, perhaps?” Kronk suggested as Simon sat down again.
The air elemental nodded thoughtfully.
“Perhaps so. I would never have believed that at one time, but we know that you, my dear wizard, are important to the gods. Well, the good ones anyway. They might have given me the idea to travel to the Grand Canyon and search downriver for you.”
The Queen of Dragons (Tales from the New Earth Book 8) Page 31