The woman stood up carefully and Daniel jumped to his feet to assist her.
“Thank you,” Willia said with a smile. “Now cheer up. We elves are ancient. It takes time for an old civilization to learn new things. If you feel that your way is the better path, then don't give up in trying to persuade the others. They are not fools. They are simply set in their ways.”
“Yes, I know. The council members are wise, but if Ellar can't be convinced, the head council member, then I have little hope that the others will listen either.”
She patted his arm gently and her smile widened.
“Well now, you did convince an old woman like me, and I've been told I'm intractable. So there is hope.”
Daniel laughed, pressed her hand gently and watched as Willia walked slowly away. Then he sat down again, took a drink from a silver goblet and sat back with a bitter sigh.
“They're gone. You can speak now,” he said as he closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the chair.
“You knew I was watching?” Simon asked, startled.
“Of course. So did they, I'm sure, but since I raised no alarm, I'm guessing that they assumed it was you. The council knows that we've been in contact. The magic infused in an elven habitation gives a person a, well, I guess a sensitivity to power would be the best way to describe it.”
“Ah, I see. Interesting. Oh and I'm sorry about that, by the way. I wasn't spying, you know. I just didn't want to interrupt.”
“I know that. So what can I do for my oldest friend, hmm?” Daniel asked. His eyes were still closed and Simon couldn't help thinking that his friend looked more worn out every time he saw him.
Stress, that's all it is, he told himself uneasily as if seeking reassurance. It wasn't a very convincing thought.
“I'm sorry to heap more on your plate, Daniel, but I was wondering what you could tell me about...goblins.”
His friend opened his eyes in surprise and sat up.
“Goblins? What an odd question. I suppose that I know about as much as you do. After all, the two of us killed our fair share when we played role-playing games together back in the old days. Why?”
“Because, contrary to what you and I both obviously thought, goblins are actually real.”
Simon proceeded to tell his friend about what the air elementals had gone through. As he spoke, Daniel grabbed a wide, golden bowl and poured clear water into it from a tall pitcher. And then, instantly, they were staring at each other.
The wizard held his friend's gaze as he told the story and he could tell exactly when Daniel began to believe him. When he was finished, Simon picked up his cup, sipped some tea and waited for a response.
“If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were pulling my leg,” his friend said after a moment of silence. “But with everything that's been going on, I'm quite sure that you aren't. My God, goblins. Who would have believed it?”
“Not me, that's for sure,” Simon told him. “And now I've got three more deaths on my conscience. I'm really racking them up, aren't I?”
“Stop that,” Daniel snapped at him. “Self pity is the most useless of emotions and neither of us has time for it. If your scouts don't blame you, then don't you blame yourself. Right?”
Simon nodded reluctantly.
“Yeah, I guess. Anyway, Kronk suggested that maybe the elves would know more about these creatures than you or I. Do you think you could ask someone about them?”
“He's a smart one, your little helper,” Daniel told him and Simon smiled in agreement. “Yes, actually I think I can. The archivist, Theldamor, is a guardian of much elven knowledge. She has access to thousands of books and scrolls of ancient lore. I've spoken with her several times about the dragons, in fact, and she's been very helpful. I'll contact her at once and see what she knows.”
Daniel paused and then raised his eyebrows.
“Have you recalled the other scouts? The ones in Florida?”
“Nope. I spoke with Aeris this morning and he said that everything was fine. Why, do you think I should?”
“Don't you?” Daniel asked him with a frown. “You've just lost three elementals, Simon. Air elementals. They are damnably hard to kill but these goblins seemed to have no problem doing so. You should at least call Aeris and the others and warn them, don't you think?”
“Yeah, maybe you're right.”
Daniel leaned forward until his face filled the mirror. He peered out at Simon with narrowed eyes for a minute and then nodded.
“You're in shock, old friend,” he said with conviction.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“This guilt of yours has hit you harder than you think. You are frozen in the moment, afraid to act. You aren't thinking clearly.”
Simon pinched the bridge of his nose and then rubbed his eyes.
“I doubt that,” he said with an indifferent shrug.
“Damn it, Simon, get in the game!” his friend yelled and the wizard almost dropped the mirror. “Pull your head out of your ass and contact those scouts. Right now!”
The wizard blinked rapidly. The fog that was clouding his brain, that he hadn't even been aware of, lifted suddenly and he gaped at Daniel.
“Oh my God,” he whispered. “It never even occurred to me to call Aeris!”
“I can see that,” Daniel replied, his voice gentle again. He smiled sadly. “Like I said; shock. Now, let me get on that research and you call those scouts. Contact me again in, let's say, three days. That should give me enough time, my time of course, to see Theldamor and get whatever information she has on goblins. Okay?”
“Okay. And thanks, Daniel. Thanks for waking me up.”
“Hey, what are friends for if not to scream at you once in a while?” his friend said with a broad smile.
Simon laughed and shook the mirror, canceling the spell. He emptied his cup and immediately recast the Magic Mirror spell.
“Aeris, can you hear me?” he asked loudly. While he waited for a reply, Simon lit the candles on the table and on the mantel above the fireplace with a flick of his power. The night had fallen quickly and heavily, as it would all winter, and the tower had become dark.
A smell of lavender filled the room and he looked around in confusion until he noticed that one of the candles burning on the mantel was a rosy color.
Hmm, must be a new candle from storage, he thought absently. I didn't know that we had scented ones. Nice.
“Yes, my dear wizard,” Aeris' voice rose from the mirror as the fog cleared from its surface. “As usual, I can hear you. You must be getting impatient in your old age, to be calling me back so soon.”
Simon looked down at his smooth, young hands and chuckled.
“Yeah, that's me. The old man. So how goes the scout? Any problems?” he asked in what he hoped was a natural tone of voice.
“Problems?”
Aeris came into view and, as before, he was traveling along the shore next to the ocean. The sky was darkening but it was still bright enough for Simon to see the beautiful waves crashing on the beach.
“Yes, there is a problem. It's that I'll have to leave here soon and rejoin you in your wintry tower. Not something that I'm looking forward to, to be honest.”
“Heh, I don't blame you. But no sign of trouble? No unexplained structures or odd-looking creatures around?”
Aeris stopped moving and stared. Simon could have sworn that the elemental could actually see his face as he peered straight at him.
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “Your voice is strange. What are you hiding, my dear wizard?”
“Hiding? I'm not hiding anything. You do know me too well though. I've had some bad news from the other group of scouts and I wanted to tell you and your fellows about it right away.”
He didn't mention that it was because of Daniel's urging that he was calling in the first place. Some things were best left unsaid.
Simon repeated the tale of what had happened as concisely as he c
ould and Aeris, who was already palely translucent, seemed to fade to gray. He listened quietly, bobbing up and down in the ocean breeze.
When the wizard had finished, the elemental looked off into the distance, obviously thinking hard.
“So that's why I wondered about strange mounds or creatures,” Simon told him.
“Yes, I can see that. Well, I think I might have an answer as to why these goblins,” and his voice thickened with emotion as he said the word, “haven't expanded into this territory.”
“Which is what?”
“I ran into one of my fellow scouts yesterday. Whereas my piece of this state extends along the shore from north to south, his chunk of territory runs east to west. He informed me that there was apparently some sort of catastrophic earthquake that hit this part of the country several years ago, possibly at the same time as the dragons began their attacks. Caused perhaps by the sudden influx of magic back into the world. At any rate, an entire section of land dropped away along the northwest edge of the state and the ocean rushed in, creating a barrier that would be very difficult to cross.”
“Wait,” Simon cut in. “What are you saying? That there's a strip of water separating Florida from the rest of the continent?”
“I'm saying, my dear wizard, that this former state is now, for all intents and purposes, an island, totally cut off from the mainland.”
“Well I'll be a son of a... Hang on. How do goblins feel about water?”
Aeris smiled crookedly.
“They detest it. Rain they can deal with, but in the old tales that I remember, they not only dislike open water, they simply cannot swim. Their bodies aren't, what is the word, buoyant? Yes, that's it. They aren't built to swim and only sink if dropped into deep water.”
“A weakness,” Simon said with a thrill of excitement. The shock of losing his scouts seemed to burn away from his mind as he realized that there might be a way to strike back at these monsters. Or at least a way to protect themselves.
“They have a weakness. Fantastic! Thanks, Aeris, you just made my day.”
“My pleasure, I suppose,” the elemental answered dryly. “No need to call the other scouts, by the way; not with that natural barrier in place. I'm almost done my sweep. If you'd like to recall me now, that's fine, but I will be finished in a few hours anyway and I'd rather be sure that I've scouted the full extent of my territory.”
“It's your call, Aeris. As long as it's safe, go ahead. I'll see you and the others when you get back.”
“Good. Oh and,” the elemental said, his voice becoming strangely gentle, “how did Brethia take the news of the loss of the scouts?”
“Just about the way you'd think,” Simon told him, feeling the pain well up inside him again. “She was upset, as was Sessa. But she hid it well enough. She wanted to get back to the realm of air to report to your leaders.”
“Ah yes. Good. She's always been strong, that one.”
Simon looked at Aeris speculatively. Was it possible that the elemental had feelings for Brethia? He had no idea. He knew that elementals had the same basic emotions as humans did, so it could be true. Simon also knew that it was none of his business and kept his thoughts to himself.
“Okay then. Come back when you're ready and you and the others can give me a full report so that I can pass it along to Clara and her people. And I am giving your fellow air elementals permission, this once, to return directly to the tower. So let them know.”
Aeris looked surprised but only nodded.
“Are you going to tell the cleric about the goblins?” he asked a bit slyly.
“Of course I am,” Simon stared at him. “God, what a question. Why would I keep something like that from them?”
“I am not saying you would, my dear wizard, but remember the old saying? Ignorance is bliss.”
“Yeah? Well, here's a new saying for you; ignorance can get you killed. Now, finish your scouting and we'll talk soon.”
“Understood.”
Simon shook the mirror and set it down, shaking his head.
Why on Earth would Aeris think that he wouldn't tell the people of Nottinghill about such a potential threat? Sometimes he wondered whether he really understood elementals as well as he thought he did.
Chapter 12
Kronk came back into the tower just as Simon was frying up some dried venison. He'd fired up the cast-iron stove and the heat from it wafted over him deliciously.
“You are using the stove, master?” the earthen asked with some surprise.
“Yep. It warms the place up nicely and it's a lot easier to cook on. Boiling water over the fire in the fireplace is fine, but using it to cook anything other than toast is a pain. I know I usually only use the stove for baking, but it's a nice change. Are we going to be okay for wood? The stove uses quite a bit.”
“Certainly, master. I can always get more. There are dead trees in abundance in the forest.”
“Glad to hear it. Thanks.”
He flipped the meat over and watched while Kronk jumped on to the table, some steam rising from the little guy's body in the warm air.
“How's everything outside?”
“Fine, master. My fellow earthen are patrolling as usual and the gates are sealed.”
“Good. That's good, Kronk. Thanks for checking. I'll admit, this crazy day has made me a little more nervous than usual.”
“I feel the same, master.”
Kronk watched the wizard cook for a few minutes.
“I also discussed my idea about making the gates more secure with the others, master,” he finally said as Simon carried the pan to the counter and slid the meat on to a plate. He set the pan aside and began slicing bread that he had baked the day before.
“And? What's the plan?”
“Well, I know it has been a hard day for you, master, but I actually got the idea from Brethia's drawings.”
Simon sat at the table with his plate and stared at the little guy.
“You're kidding. Really?” Kronk nodded. “Huh. Maybe we can get some sort of benefit from what happened then. So, tell me.”
He began slicing the hot meat and putting it on the bread.
The little guy slid the drawing of the goblin mound across the table so that the wizard could see it.
“Do you remember this arch, master?” he asked, tapping it with his foot.
Simon nodded silently, his mouth full of food.
“Well, it occurred to me that we could use something like it to make our gates more magically secure. If we build an arch over each gate,” Kronk said as he made a semi-circular gesture with both hands, “and you install a ward in the middle of these arches, the magic would seal the gate below it. The gates themselves would still work as they always do, but the ward would be permanent and would be connected with the entire wall.”
He looked at Simon hopefully, waiting for his opinion and the wizard hastened to swallow a huge mouthful of food. Tears sprang from his eyes as the meat scrapped painfully down his throat and he jumped up and pumped some water into a glass to wash it down.
“That's...” the wizard paused to catch his breath, “Brilliant, Kronk. Really brilliant! And it makes perfect sense. Permanent wards are the only way to protect the tower from whatever is roaming around out there in the world. Well done.”
“Thank you, master,” Kronk said, glowing with pride. “Are you all right though? It looked like you almost choked.”
Simon finished his water, filled the kettle and put it on the stove. The cast iron was still more than hot enough to heat the water.
“I'm fine. That'll teach me to eat too fast with no tea nearby,” he said ruefully. “Not to worry. Now, about these arches. Can they be built in cold weather like this or do we have to wait until spring?”
“That is not a problem, master. Earth elementals can shape rock and stone no matter the weather. It obeys our commands irregardless of the temperature. If you approve, my fellows and I will build the arches tomorrow and you can cast the
wards on them before nightfall.”
“Excellent! Ah, my friend, you don't know how much you've cheered me up. When I spoke with Daniel a while ago, he, um, pointed out that I was overburdened with guilt, which I suppose is true. But at least you've let a little sunlight into my gloomy world.”
“Anything I can do to serve, master. You know that. Did you speak to Aeris as well?”
Simon poured hot water into a cup, added his dried tea and honey and sat down again.
“I did. It sounds like he'll be back by morning. I told him about the goblins and he explained that some sort of cataclysmic event had separated Florida from the rest of the continent and isolated it from the goblins. What do you think?”
Kronk smiled with delight.
“That is perfect, master! Goblins cannot swim! The people of Nottinghill could not have found a more secure spot to move to.”
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly. We'll wait until Aeris and the others get back before telling Clara and the others, though. There may be some other unpleasant surprises down there that haven't been reported yet.”
“That is true, master.”
Simon finished his tea, cleaned the dishes and set them out on the rack to dry.
“Keep an eye on the stove, would you?” he asked the earthen. “Just let the wood burn off inside. I won't be baking for another few days.”
“Of course, master.” the little guy responded and watched as Simon blew out all of the candles except for one that he always left burning on the mantel.
“I'm going to bed, my friend. It's been a draining, exhausting day and tomorrow may be even crazier. I might as well make it an early night.”
“That is a good idea, master,” Kronk said as Simon walked to the stairs. “Get your rest. My brethren and I will watch over you and our home.”
The wizard smiled affectionately at the elemental.
“I know you will, Kronk. See you in the morning.”
Simon was up bright and early the next day, which was unusual for him. He wasn't a morning person as a rule, but he woke up anticipating an interesting day and almost leaped out of bed.
The Dragons of Decay Page 16