The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2)

by J. J. Thompson

“Let's hope so. In the meantime,” he paused and yawned, feeling drained, “I'm going to get cleaned up, then have some tea. It's been a busy, not to mention very weird, kind of day.”

  Simon called Clara the following day and told her about his conversation with Ironhand. She was pleased and thankful that the dwarves had been warned.

  “This is all presupposing that the dragons are actually down there to take on the dwarves,” Simon had told her. “We could be totally wrong about that.”

  “But that else could draw them below ground?” the cleric had asked reasonably. “They are creatures of the air. To crawl beneath the earth must be so confining and unnatural for them, only an assault on the stronghold of the dwarves could be behind it.”

  Simon had to agree. But whatever the dragons were up to, and by extension their masters, the dark gods, he could only wait to see what happened next.

  With nothing else to do except wait, the wizard decided to make use of his Magic Mirror spell in other ways. That afternoon, Kronk tip-tapped into the study to find Simon sitting hunched over his desk.

  The sun was beaming down from the window behind him and the wizard was holding his hand mirror in one hand and running his finger across the pages of a large book. Aeris was floating next to him and nodding.

  “I would think that would be a main target,” he said to Simon as Kronk entered.

  “What are you working on, master?” the little guy asked as he jumped up on the desk to join them.

  Simon smiled at him and rapped a knuckle on the book. It was his atlas.

  “I've decided that we need to know more about what's been happening in the world around us, my friend,” he said. “So I'm using the coordinates of the maps in here to take a look at the major capitals of the old countries around the Earth.”

  “Really? That's an interesting idea, master.”

  Kronk moved around and looked into the mirror. It was misted over, obviously about to show a scene of some sort.

  Simon looked dejected.

  “Interesting? I suppose. Depressing is the word I'd use for it.”

  He looked down at the map of North America he was using.

  “I'd always assumed that other cities had been attacked by the dragons, just like Ottawa was, but I've never really had confirmation of that. I think,” he hesitated, “I think some small part of me was hoping that at least a couple of the larger cities had survived, somehow.”

  “And they haven't,” Aeris stated flatly.

  “He's right,” the wizard said as he waited for the mirror to reveal his latest target. “I've checked out Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and New York.”

  He stopped speaking and shook his head helplessly.

  “Bad, master?” Kronk asked sympathetically.

  “Devastated, just like Ottawa. Leveled. Smashed flat like a child's model of a city. Just...gone.”

  “So where are you looking now, master?” Kronk asked him as the mirror began to clear.

  “Miami. If it's the same as the others, I'll try some European cities, although I don't hold out much hope.”

  The three of them watched the mirror intently and Simon wilted a bit as the picture revealed a twisted mass of melted metal and smashed stone.

  “The same. Damn it.”

  He muttered under his breath and the view moved steadily across the once-great city, as if they were seeing through the eyes of a great bird. Or a dragon.

  There was no movement on the ground. It was raining there and the water added a sheen to the devastation.

  “All those people,” Kronk said quietly. “All those lives just...gone.”

  “There may be pockets of life left, my dear wizard,” Aeris said reflectively. “Changlings like the ones you found in your old home city may have survived.”

  “Perhaps. Yeah, perhaps they have. One day, if we win this war, we'll have to seek them out. Or someone will, anyway. They may be as insular as the little group back in Ottawa was.”

  Simon shook the mirror to cancel the spell and set it down as he flipped through the atlas.

  “Are you sure you want to continue, master?” Kronk asked softly. “You are obviously upset over what you are seeing.”

  The wizard found the map of Europe and then sat back with a sigh and looked at the earthen.

  “No, I don't want to. But I will. It sounds weird, I guess, but I feel like I somehow owe it to the memories of my people to check on them, you know? Maybe like a memorial or something. After all, I survived where so many didn't. I should at least honor them in my memory if nothing else.”

  “I see, master,” Kronk replied.

  Simon had to smile as he realized that the little guy didn't understand. That was okay. He didn't really understand either.

  “I'll be right back,” Aeris told them and zipped from the room.

  Simon watched him go and then looked down at the map.

  “Okay. Let's try...London. You know, I always wanted to go to London. My ancestors were Irish. It would have been nice to tour some of the old castles, see Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London. Maybe even get to Ireland itself.”

  He blinked back sudden tears, surprised at himself and the overwhelming sense of loss that had come crashing down on him.

  “Well, so much for that dream,” he said sadly.

  He traced the coordinates for the center of London and cast the Magic Mirror spell again. As he held the mirror and waited for it to clear, he turned to see Kronk staring at him.

  “What is it?” he asked the earthen.

  “Nothing, master. It's just that I do not like to see you upset for no reason. I understand that you feel you have to do this...tour of humanity's old cities. You want to remember your people and I respect that. But to what end, really? You know what you will find and the more you view the devastation, the more sad and depressed you become. Are you not simply punishing yourself for surviving where they did not?”

  Simon stared at him blankly. He sometimes made the mistake of thinking the little guy was child-like or not too bright because of his size and his simple way of speaking. But he reminded himself that Kronk was thousands of years old. He was intelligent and obviously capable of insights that the wizard didn't give him credit for.

  He looked back at the frosted mirror and nodded slowly.

  “You might have a point, my friend. I do feel guilt, even if none of what happened was my fault. But that's not the reason I'm doing this, I think. It's also tactical. The prime black dragon is dead. Its lesser dragons died with it. But that still leaves others. The red, green, brown, white and yellow dragons are out there, somewhere, and I have to find them. I'm hoping to get some idea of which dragons are controlling which parts of the planet.”

  “Ah, I see, master. Now I understand.”

  The mirror began to clear and the two of them watched intently.

  Simon felt his heart ache again at the sight that met his eye. It was the tower with the clock known as Big Ben. Like the Peace Tower in Ottawa, all that remained of the once-great structure was its lower four walls. All the rest was rubble and blasted stone.

  “Whoa!” Simon said abruptly and pulled back from the mirror. He almost dropped it.

  The image of the city had been momentarily blocked by a massive shape that had flown across his field of view. Simon hunched forward again and instructed the spell to scan the area.

  It took a moment but he finally zeroed in on what had startled him. It was a dragon.

  “A red! It's a red dragon, Kronk!” he said excitedly.

  “Yes, master, I can see that.” The little guy stepped closer to the mirror. “It appears to be searching for something, doesn't it? Why would it be doing that? The city is destroyed.”

  They had their answer a moment later.

  From the ruins below the high-flying creature, a flash of light was followed by an explosion that smashed into the dragon and knocked it sideways in the air, sending it rolling end-over-end across the sky.

  “Someone's attackin
g it!” the wizard shouted, almost cheering as he watched the winged monster scream in obvious pain and abruptly change course, fleeing the area.

  Simon hurriedly changed the view of the mirror and it zoomed toward the spot where he thought the attack had originated.

  “Look, master. Humans.”

  They watched a small group of people, maybe a dozen or so, standing in a street cleared of debris and staring up at the retreating dragon. To Simon's astonishment, two of the group, a man and a woman, were wearing robes very similar to his own. The others were clad in armor that looked very old, maybe authentic armor from the middle ages.

  “My God, they're Changlings. They must be.”

  “Who must be what?” Aeris asked as he reentered the room. He was carrying a cup of tea, which he handed to Simon.

  “Thanks,” the wizard said absently. He nodded at the mirror and Aeris flew closer to his shoulder and peered at the view.

  “Changlings?” the air elemental asked with surprise.

  “Must be. In London. We just saw them attack a red dragon with some sort of spell.” Simon frowned thoughtfully. “I think it was Magic Missile. Hmm, haven't used that one in a while. I'll have to add a few of them to Bene-Dunn-Gal. Could come in handy.”

  “It certainly knocked that dragon for a loop, master,” Kronk said with a smile as he continued to study the group in the mirror.

  The armored figures, all very tall, were laughing and slapping each other on the back, while the two robed figures stood to one side, speaking to each other with somber faces. Simon studied them intently, fascinated to see other magic-users.

  “I wonder if they are wizards?” he said. There was no sound coming from the mirror. Simon had learned that he could only hear someone talking if he used the spell to call another person directly, like Clara.

  “Mages are more likely,” Aeris said with some assurance.

  Simon glanced at him.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Well, for one thing, neither is using a staff. Wizards, good ones at least, usually channel their power through a wand or staff, like yours. Also, wizards are rare creatures. I know that the dark wizard we've encountered may make it seem like casters with your level of power are common, Simon, but I assure you that they are not. They weren't back in the old days of magic and I doubt that they are today either.”

  “Huh. Interesting.” He continued to watch the group as the female magic-user called to the guardsmen and the entire bunch hurried off, fading into the ruins of the city.

  “I wish I could speak with them,” he said with a little frustration. “They're fighting back against the dragons. Maybe we could coordinate our efforts, pool our resources.”

  “Well, unless you know their names, there is no way to speak with them using the communication spells you know,” Aeris told him practically. “But someday, when you are ready to challenge the primal red dragon, perhaps you can Gate there and initiate a dialog with them.”

  “Definitely. That red dragon means that Europe is probably the territory of the primal red. Good. At least I know that much.”

  He directed the spell to pull back to a higher level and continued to watch as it flew slowly across London. There were no other Changlings in sight, but that didn't surprise him. Simon was sure that wherever they had their home, it was well hidden.

  He finally canceled the spell and put down the mirror. He sipped his tea and sat back to think about what he'd seen.

  His first thought was one of simple relief. He wasn't alone in his battle against the dragons. That gave him an actual shiver of excitement down his spine. The gods of Justice had given power to others and created more magic-using Changlings. That was thrilling.

  “I wonder how many of us there are in the world?” he said aloud. Kronk and Aeris looked at him curiously. “Casters, I mean. I wonder how many exist? And where they are? Are there dozens of us? Hundreds? It would be invaluable information to have, especially when I move against the dragons.”

  There was a moment of silence and then Aeris, who had been frowning to himself, looked quizzically at the wizard.

  “There is a way to attempt to get more information,” he said slowly. “I am a little surprised that you hadn't considered it before, my dear wizard.”

  Simon put down his cup and raised an eyebrow at Aeris.

  “Which is?”

  “Summon more of my people. Not great ones like Aethos, but others like myself. Send them off to scout. That is, after all, what we do best.”

  “Could they do that?” Simon asked. “I mean, the world is a big place and I'd be sending them a long way.”

  “Distance doesn't mean anything to us, my dear wizard. It will take time, of course, but what does that matter? You can send them off and have them report back when they find something. They can, carefully, make contact with any good magic-user and get names and descriptions so that you can speak with them directly.”

  The wizard finished his tea and sat thinking, resting his chin on his hand.

  “That's not a bad idea, just as long as they are careful to only approach the right magic-users.”

  “That shouldn't be hard, Simon,” Aeris told him with some humor. “Since an evil spell-caster would be surrounded by slaves, not free Changlings, they would be easy enough to avoid.”

  “Good point. Okay then. Let me check out a few more cities and rest a bit and I'll start summoning this afternoon. Good call, Aeris.”

  “Ah, a compliment. I am truly blessed,” the air elemental said with heavy sarcasm.

  “Stop that,” Simon told him with a grin. “Now, let's check out Rome.”

  Chapter 21

  Simon found no more signs of survivors in the other cities he searched. Rome, Madrid, Paris, a dozen others; none revealed anything more than ruins and lifeless vistas.

  But he did spot more dragon sign. Above Moscow, he caught a brief glimpse of a stunning dragon. It was as white as newly fallen snow and flew over the old Russian capital so quickly that he could do no more than register its existence before it was out of sight.

  Beijing revealed another dragon, this one very large and dirt brown in color. It was circling the city but Simon saw no targets on the ground and the dragon wasn't attacking.

  “Something just occurred to me,” he said to the elementals during the search. “There are supposed to be five dragon types in the world, right?”

  “That is correct, master,” Kronk told him.

  “Then why have we been told that there are actually six? Black, white, red, green, brown and yellow, or gold, I suppose.”

  Aeris and Kronk exchanged looks and the air elemental indicated that the earthen should answer.

  “There are only five, master. The gold dragon is the queen. She rules all.”

  “Wait, what? They have a queen?”

  “Of course, master.” Kronk seemed puzzled. “Where did you think they all came from in the first place?”

  “I don't know. The dark gods? The Void? Munchkin Land? I just assumed that they've always been out there, somewhere.”

  “They've been around since the beginning, my dear wizard,” Aeris cut in. “But the gods of Chaos created the queen and she in turn gave birth to the five primals. Each of them can produce lesser dragons of the same color and powers.”

  Simon was a little confused.

  “But, if she gave birth to the primals, and hasn't done anything since, why is she still around? What good is she?”

  Aeris gave one of his exasperated sighs and Kronk frowned at him.

  “She is the conduit,” the air elemental said pedantically. “The prime dragons do not take orders from the dark gods. They may call them master, but they respond only to the matriarch. She passes along all commands from the gods to her brood.”

  “Wow. Why didn't I know that? That's incredibly useful information.”

  “I don't see why,” Aeris responded. “What use is it?”

  Simon gaped at him.

  “Are y
ou kidding me? If we destroy the queen, we destroy the link between the gods of Chaos and the prime dragons! They'd be left confused and leaderless. Prime targets for an attack, I'd say.”

  “Master, I mean no offense, but that is a terrible idea.”

  Simon's elation evaporated.

  “Why? Cut the head off of the snake and the body will die, eventually.”

  “These are not snakes, master. These are dragons, the most powerful creatures that have ever lived. If you destroy their queen, and she is more powerful than the five primal dragons combined, you unleash these monsters entirely. Right now they are confined to certain parts of the world, trying to wipe out the remnants of humanity, mundane and Changling alike, correct?”

  The wizard nodded, listening closely.

  “But take away that compulsion and the dragons will spread across the New Earth at their own whim. They will attack what they want, when they want. In short, master, they will become a plague like nothing this world has ever seen.”

  “I agree,” Aeris said. “You have a chance, slim as it is, to track down and destroy the primals one by one, as soon as you find their lairs. But the only reason they even have lairs at the moment is because they have been ordered to stay in their own territories. Release them from that and they will never stay in one place long enough for you to mount an attack.”

  Both elementals became quiet and waited for Simon to answer.

  As difficult as it was to let go of the idea to attack the queen and stop the dragons in their tracks, the wizard reluctantly had to agree that the little guys were right. Their arguments made sense.

  “Oh well, you both make good points. I would like to know where this gold dragon is though. If and when we destroy her children, she will have to be dealt with.”

  Aeris burst out laughing.

  “One impossible task at a time, my dear wizard. Kill the primals first, then worry about their matriarch.”

  After scouting a few more cities, Simon caught an hour of sleep and then ate lunch. Afterwards, he sat at the kitchen table and prepared to summon some air elementals.

  Before he began though, he asked Aeris for his recommendations.