The wizard grinned.
“Yeah, something like that. Your walls are warded and, as long as the gates remain closed, you should be fine. But as I just saw a little while ago, one mistake can make all of our protections worthless.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
The cleric looked across the room at the blustery weather through her window and shivered.
“I hate the cold,” she said. “Strange. I used to love winter. Skiing, Christmas, Jack Frost nipping at your nose and all that stuff. Now though, I just find it all so depressing.”
“I'm with you there,” Simon said.
“But I'll get wrapped up and hunt down our two friends. They'll organize the guards and we'll be extra vigilant while this blizzard lasts.”
Her lips twitched in an almost-smile.
“They're going to freeze their asses off though, and then all I'll hear is whining.”
The wizard chuckled sympathetically and Clara shrugged.
“It's all in good fun, though. Malcolm and Aiden love their drama, but their dedication to the town and our safety is immense.”
“I know it is.”
One of the earthen wandered into the study and stood by the door, obviously waiting to speak.
Simon glanced at him and nodded.
“Clara, I have to go. Stay safe and use the lodestone if you need me, all right? I can be there in no time if necessary.”
“I appreciate that, my friend, but I'm sure we'll be fine. Good luck with your repairs.”
“Thanks.”
He canceled the spell and nodded at the earthen again.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Sir wizard, we have finished our assessment up here,” he said. “The floors are basically undamaged. We will have to grind off a layer of singed wood on the ceiling over your main room below, but that is all. Kronk and the others are in the basement now, wrapping up their own survey of the damage.”
“Thanks. Go ahead and join them. I'll be down in a minute.”
The little figure bowed and left the room.
“So far, not so bad,” Aeris commented as he moved to hover in the middle of the desk.
“Yeah, true. It could have been so much worse. Listen, do me a favor, would you? While the earthen are in here checking things out, could you patrol the outer wall? I'll admit I'm a bit spooked by all of this.”
For a change, the air elemental didn't make a sarcastic comment. He simply nodded seriously.
“Of course. I should have thought of that myself. The wards are holding, but better safe than sorry.”
“Thanks, Aeris,” Simon told him and the elemental disappeared with a muted pop of air.
The wizard stared at the shuttered window for a long moment and sighed.
And just think, Simon, he said to himself. Only four more months of winter.
Chapter 4
The storm would last for a week, just as Aeris had predicted. If it hadn't been for the need to bring in wood from the forest to repair the damage in his tower, Simon would have left the gates closed and sealed until the blizzard had blown over.
Unfortunately, Kronk needed that wood to replace sections of the floor on the main level, as well as to construct new furniture, so the wizard reluctantly agreed.
He went down to the basement and into storage to get a new winter coat, gloves and boots and then stood just inside the gates, staff in hand, while the earthen hurried out into the storm to retrieve the wood.
Fortunately there were no signs of any wights and the group of elementals returned in an hour with piles of freshly-cut wooden planks.
Simon closed and locked the gates and asked Aeris to keep patrolling the wall until the others had finished their repairs. Then he went back inside and was told politely but firmly by Kronk to stay upstairs while they worked on the new floor.
After a show of grumbling, the wizard headed up to his study and sat down at his desk to read, trying to pass the time.
Unfortunately, while Kronk and his brethren were efficient, they weren't particularly quiet, and the banging, the sound of boards being ripped out and the occasional loud argument in the deep language of the earthen kept Simon from concentrating and finally, in exasperation, he tossed his book aside and picked up his hand mirror instead.
It had been about two days since he'd last spoken to Daniel, more or less, and he decided that now was as good a time as any to see if his friend had any news.
The Magic Mirror spell connected quickly and Simon felt a rush of relief to see that his oldest friend was okay and even seemed more rested than he had been in their last conversation.
“Ah, Simon. There you are.”
“Here I am. How are you doing?”
Daniel was sitting in a room with dark wooden walls and candles glowing on the table in front of him. There was a tall glass with amber liquid in it in his hand and he took a sip before answering.
“I'm doing well, all things considered. You?”
“Well, except for fighting off a wave of wights, I'm good, thanks.”
Daniel sat up with a jerk, some liquid sloshing over his hand.
“What? You were attacked?”
“Well, not me personally,” Simon told him with a small shrug. “The tower was, actually. I just got in the way.”
His friend frowned at his light tone, moved his glass over a bit and stared into its reflective surface. His face filled the mirror and the wizard was suddenly staring at Daniel directly.
“Tell me what happened,” he said tersely.
Simon proceeded to tell his friend what had happened earlier. Occasionally he had to raise his voice as loud hammering and the squeal of nails being pulled out of the floor echoed through the tower.
Apparently his face reflected his irritation and Daniel's dark look was replaced by one of amusement every time this took place.
When he finished, Simon relaxed and leaned back in his chair, watching his friend quizzically.
“So what do you think?”
Daniel took his time before answering, gazing pensively away from the surface of the liquid.
“What I think is that the Earth is becoming more of a copy of the old world of magic by the day. In doing my research, I found that these sorts of events were, if not common, then certainly not unknown. Cities and towns were warded and locked up tight during winter storms. Wizards were actually highly prized and sought after to help protect these habitations.”
He smiled through the mirror.
“I've read that cities would compete with each other to attract the services of magic-users. Wizards, being a rare breed, were treated like royalty and offered extravagant quarters and many perks to move to this city or that.”
Simon had to shake his head in wonder.
“What a strange world we've inherited.”
There was a loud bang just under his feet and the floor shook violently. Simon looked toward the doorway.
“What's going on down there?” he shouted irritably.
“Nothing, master,” Kronk's voice called up.
He rolled his eyes and Daniel laughed.
“Repairs?” he asked.
“Yeah. I made a real mess of the main floor during the attack, but nothing that can't be fixed. My little friends are efficient, but I suppose ripping out old boards and building new furniture can be quite a loud process.”
“You're lucky to have them,” Daniel chided him gently.
“Oh I know, believe me. I wouldn't have survived this long if it hadn't been for Kronk and Aeris and the others.”
Simon made a small movement with the mirror and his view of Daniel's location pulled back so that he could see more of the room around him.
“You're in a nicer spot than the last time we spoke,” he commented as he looked at the cozy room Daniel was sitting in.
“You're right. The elders were transported to a distant settlement, as far from the main group of attacking dragons as possible and they were nice enough to bring me along
. They may not cast spells, but they have ways of moving across vast distances very quickly when necessary.”
He looked around the room with obvious pleasure.
“Believe it or not, I'm actually sitting inside a tree.”
“You're kidding!” Simon replied and leaned forward to get a better view.
“Nope. Look at the walls. They're grown, not constructed. In fact, if you could see the outside of this place, it would look like just a section of forest. There are absolutely no signs of habitation at all. With the elves' power to cast a glamor over themselves, it could be quite some time before the dragons track us down.”
“Good. So, any word on whether I can enter the elven realm safely or not?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not yet. Remember, it's only been a few hours, my time, since we last spoke. We just arrived here a short while ago. I have put the question to several of the wisest of the elders and they have agreed to give it some thought. That's actually quite an accomplishment in so short a time. Try and be patient, my friend. You know that my group is safe, at least for now. And the elves aren't just passively sitting back and letting the brown dragons run rampant across their world. They are fighting back. Yes, we're had losses, but so have the dragons. So get your home back in order, make sure you warn all of your allies about those blasted wights and cultivate patience.”
Simon pushed back the hair that had fallen into his face with an irritated gesture.
“Since you obviously aren't going to cut that mane of yours, have you thought about tying it back?”
The wizard looked at Daniel in surprise.
“Tie it back?” He paused and then laughed. “Oh my God, can you believe that never occurred to me?”
“I can, actually. I mean, you were almost as bald as a cue ball back in your old body. I doubt if the issue ever came up then.”
Simon shook his head at his own stupidity.
“Thanks for the suggestion. That's exactly what I'm going to do. The damned stuff gets in my eyes constantly, but I just can't bring myself to cut it.”
Daniel chuckled.
“Tie it back and you won't have to. Now, give me a few more days, your time, and call back again. Hopefully I'll have some news for you.”
“Will do. It will make the wait a lot easier now that I know you're safe, for the moment.”
“Good. Talk to you then.”
Simon canceled the spell and put down the mirror. There was an incessant tapping going on below that wasn't loud, but was continuous and it was setting his teeth on edge.
He got up abruptly, left the study and went into his bedroom, looking for something to use to tie his hair back out of his face. He rummaged through his drawers for a bit and finally found a small paper bag with a bunch of shoelaces that he'd left there. He pulled out a black one, stood in front of his clothes cupboard with its full length mirror and tried for the first time in his life to tie his hair into a ponytail.
“Okay, this is harder than it looks,” he muttered irritably after it unraveled for the fourth time. “Women with long hair make it look so easy. Gees.”
He finally managed to pull all of the hair back at once and hurriedly tied the shoelace around it, making a bow and feeling slightly ridiculous.
Simon stared at his reflection with his hands on his hips. The streaks of white in his hair were more prominent now that it was pulled back tight, but at least it was out of his face.
“Well son,” he said to the young man in the mirror with the blue and brown, mismatched eyes, “you ain't no rock star, but you'll do.”
Then he stuck out his tongue, giggled at himself and went back to the study.
The loud noises from the first floor began to taper off soon afterward, for which Simon was very grateful, but then a sharp chemical smell, so strong that it made his eyes water, wafted through the room.
The wizard got up and went out to stand at the top of the stairs.
“Kronk? What the heck is that horrible smell?”
“Smell, master?” Kronk called out. He tapped over and looked up from the bottom of the staircase. He had a puzzled expression on his face. “What smell?”
“I don't know. It smells like a mixture of turpentine, cat pee and vomit.”
The little guy looked around with a frown and then his eyes widened.
“Oh, I think I know! It's a sealant, master. We are sealing the floor, walls and ceiling to prevent dampness from getting into the wood.”
“A sealant? Okay, that makes sense. But what's it made of?”
Kronk shrugged, a quick movement of his sloped shoulders.
“I cannot explain it, master. We combine elements from the earth, certain minerals and natural oils buried deep below the surface. It dries quickly though, so the smell won't last long,” he added brightly.
“Great,” Simon grumbled. “Okay, thanks. Call me when you're done, please. I'm going a bit stir-crazy up here.”
“I will, master. It won't be much longer.”
The wizard smiled weakly at Kronk and went back into his study, grabbing a book from the bookshelf at random and sitting down with a sigh.
It didn't take long for the smell to fade away, but by that time, Simon could actually taste it and was constantly swallowing to clear his mouth. He looked at the doorway and wished for the first time that he had actually had doors installed on the second floor rooms back when the tower was built.
He glanced at the shuttered windows. The storm was still whipping around the tower and even if he'd wanted to open a window, he couldn't. Kronk had managed to keep a fire going in the fireplace downstairs, so at least the tower was warm, but opening one of the windows for some fresh air would quickly drop the inside temperature to sub-zero levels.
I need a cup of tea, or three, he thought mournfully. Actually, what he really wanted was coffee. God, how he missed coffee.
Once again he wished that the original dragon attacks on humanity's cities and towns hadn't annihilated stores and malls along with people's homes and everything else.
There must be an overlooked warehouse someplace where there are crates of instant coffee just waiting to be scavenged. I mean, I know that the drakes cleaned up whatever the dragons missed, but surely somewhere out there is a stash of frigging coffee.
Simon sat back and frowned in concentration.
Maybe if I got the coordinates for Columbia from the atlas and Gated down there, I could harvest some coffee beans? Surely they're still growing wild in the fields or whatever?
That idea lasted less than a minute and then his practical side kicked in.
Okay, first of all, I'd need to get some volunteers from Nottinghill to even make the attempt worthwhile. Then I'd have to transport us all down there at the proper time of year, spend a day or two harvesting, then figure out what the hell to do with the beans once we had them. Should they be treated with something? Dried out in the sun for however long? And how do you know when a coffee bean is exactly ready to be picked?
Simon stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at himself. Stupid idea. No, when the crisis with Daniel and the elves was resolved, he thought and crossed his fingers, he'd summon the team of air elemental scouts he'd had working for him once before and send them out to search for supplies. Canned and bottled food couldn't be trusted after so many years, but instant coffee and other things like it should be okay.
He nodded to himself, grabbed a piece of paper from the pile on the desk and made a note for later. Then he slipped it into a desk drawer and looked up just in time to see Kronk tip-tapping into the room, a broad smile on his rough little face.
“We are finished, master,” he said happily. “I hope you weren't too bored up here while you were waiting.”
“You're done?”
Simon leaped to his feet and walked toward the earthen.
“No, I was fine,” he told the little guy, who turned and led the way out of the room. “Ignore my whining from earlier, Kronk. You guys do in a day
what might have taken a week or more for a team of workers back in the old days.”
“Thank you, master,” the earthen replied as he began to hop down the stairs. “But we just do what we do because it comes naturally to us.”
Simon reached the bottom of the staircase and turned, holding his breath and hoping for the best. What he saw exceeded his expectations.
The floor and walls were totally repaired. They glowed with a healthy sheen, the rich dark wood showing beautiful veins beneath the clear coating the earthen had sealed it with.
The ceiling beams had been scraped down and resealed as well and if he hadn't known that there had been a fire earlier, Simon would never had guessed the place had been damaged.
The sofa was still missing and he felt a pang of loss. He'd had the comfortable old thing for at least five years; it had been moved from his living room in his last apartment a year before the end of the world. But of course Kronk and his helpers couldn't replace it. They could build in wood, stone and minerals, but a stuffed cushion would be beyond them.
The little guy was watching his expression and jumped in to reassure him.
“There is a woman in Nottinghill who repairs their furniture, master. I have spoken to her once before. In the spring, I can arrange for her to make cushions for a new sofa for you and I will build the frame for it. I am so sorry that we do not have the knowledge to do it for you.”
“No, no, my friend,” Simon hastened to tell him. “It's fine. Better than fine; it's fantastic!”
He turned to look at the rest of the room and smiled with delight.
The earthen had built a new kitchen table and chairs in a lighter wood. Like the rest of the wood in the room, it had a healthy gleam to it and looked homey and comfortable. The counter and cupboards had been repaired and resurfaced as well and all signs of soot and fire damage on the stone surrounding the fireplace had been scrubbed away.
They had even built a new clothes cupboard near the door for his outerwear and Simon took a moment to open it and look inside.
He looked at Kronk and the other five earthen who were waiting anxiously for his reaction.
He smiled warmly at all of them.
The Dragons of Decay Page 5