Outside it was bright but bitterly cold and his first visit to the outhouse was a quick one. Afterward, Simon and Kronk chatted while he ate toast and jam and drank several cups of tea. They had decided that the earth elementals would begin work on the arches over the gates as soon as Aeris and the others returned from their scouting mission. Kronk was especially concerned that if the next winter storm was accompanied by a wave of wights, that the tower should be as secure as he and his people could make it.
“I do hope we don't have to wait for Aeris all day,” Kronk said to Simon.
He was standing on the kitchen table and his hard, stony foot was tapping impatiently against the table top. The sound was reminiscent of a hyper woodpecker attacking a tree and Simon was doing his best not to laugh. The earthen was normally the most patient person that he'd ever known and his eagerness was very amusing.
“He tends to get sidetracked on occasion, you know,” Kronk continued, his foot tapping away. Obviously he wasn't even aware that he was doing it and Simon was having a hard time drinking his tea because his barely-suppressed giggles were threatening to choke him.
“Why must you always complain about me behind my back?” a voice asked from across the room.
Simon and Kronk looked over at the stairs and saw Aeris and four other air elementals descend from the second floor and float in formation toward them.
“Well, hello there, everyone!” Simon exclaimed with a broad smile.
The elementals joined Kronk on the table and bowed as one, except for Aeris who simply nodded.
“Good morning, my dear wizard. As you can see, we are back. And we didn't even get sidetracked,” he added with a roll of his eyes at the earthen.
Kronk stopped tapping his foot and gave an irritable twitch of his shoulders.
“You are known to be a little flighty is all I meant,” he said gruffly and turned to look at Simon. “Master, now that Aeris has returned, we will begin work right away.”
“Go ahead,” the wizard told him. “Let me know when you're done and I'll create some new wards.”
“I will, master. Thank you.”
The little guy leaped off of the table and tip-tapped over to the door. Before he jumped up and opened it, he turned to look at Aeris and the others.
“I am glad you are home and safe,” he said simply. Then he opened the door, hurried out and slammed it behind him.
Aeris bobbed above the table, staring silently at the closed door for a moment and then cleared his throat.
“Yes, well, um...” he said, sounding a bit confused as he looked at Simon.
The wizard winked at him and Aeris smiled tentatively.
“I'm happy you're all back as well,” the wizard told him and the others. He looked at Aeris. “Did you tell your friends about what happened in Mexico?”
“I did,” he replied. The other elementals nodded, their expressions becoming very grave. “Fortunately, that new wide strip of ocean that separates Florida from the mainland has kept the cursed goblins from invading the area and, I think, will continue to do so.”
“Yeah, we got lucky there. But I am so sorry for your loss,” Simon told them all. “As I told Brethia and Sessa, if I'd known how dangerous their mission was going to be, I would never have sent them. So I want to apologize to all of you. I grieve with you for your fallen people.”
Aeris nodded sadly but the other four elementals stared at the wizard as if stunned.
Simon looked at them curiously.
“Is anything wrong?” he asked after an uncomfortable silence.
“My lord,” one of the elemental spoke up hesitantly, glancing nervously at his companions. “We are...so honored at your concern for our welfare and our loss. None of us has ever been shown any compassion by a wizard before. We now understand why Aeris is so loyal to you and so happy to be in your service.”
“He is?” Simon looked at Aeris. “You are? Why haven't I heard this before?”
“Oh great!” Aeris replied and scowled at the elemental who had spoken. “You just had to tell him, didn't you? What is wrong with you all? We of the air realm should be more subtle.” He rolled his eyes. “Honestly, you can't take these people anywhere!”
Simon burst out laughing; he just couldn't help himself. And the air elemental's angry look only made it worse, as did the confused stares of the others.
As he wiped tears from his eyes, the wizard tried to catch his breath. He had needed that release.
“Forgive me for laughing, folks. It's just that Aeris is always so contained when it comes to his feelings that I assumed all of his people were as well.”
“We are not all like him, my lord,” the spokesperson for the elementals said with a wry glance at Aeris. “We are, like your people, very diverse. We can be loud, quiet, shy, bold, and every other combination of personalities.”
“Yes, I can see that. Anyway, let's move on before we get our friend here any more upset.”
“Bah, I am far from upset.” Aeris responded shortly. “But you are correct, my dear wizard. We should submit our reports. Trass? Would you like to begin?”
The air elemental who had spoken up nodded. He had been given the southern end of Florida to explore and quickly took some paper and a pencil and drew a map of his territory.
“This section near the ocean is quite fertile,” he said, tapping the map with the pencil. “On the northern edge of my section, there was a very large group of buildings. It was not a town, I do not think. In fact, I do not know what they were used for, but all of them were leveled and turned to slag; dragon attack obviously.”
“Yes, that was an amusement park once upon a time,” Simon said with regret, wondering why every memory from his childhood had been systematically destroyed by the dragons.
Why do they hate us so much, he wondered, not for the first time.
“Ah, is that what it was, my lord?” Trass replied. “I see. In any case, I would not recommend this area to set up a new habitation. It would, I believe, be quite depressing for your people, Perhaps in a generation or two, when memories of the past have faded somewhat, it might be a more pleasant place to live.”
“Thank you for your report, Trass,” Simon told him and accepted the map that the elemental handed to him.
“Okay then, who's next?”
The other air elementals reported on their missions in turn and each drew a detailed map of the section that they had scouted. Simon was impressed yet again on how efficient these scouts were. The maps showed the topography of the former state, areas that were now ruins, a rough estimate of the type and number of wild animals and the edible plants and crops that were growing wild. It was quite remarkable.
“Thank you all for your hard work,” Simon told them after all of the reports had been made. He put the four detailed maps in a pile and rested his clasped hands on top of it.
“Your scouting has been invaluable and I will pass on all of your observations and recommendations to the people of Nottinghill. I am quite sure that they will be as impressed as I've been.”
“It was our pleasure to serve you, my lord,” Trass said with a bow. The others copied him. All of them looked quite pleased.
“If you have need of us again, please do not hesitate to call. We would be honored to be of use to you in the future.”
Simon smiled at his earnestness.
“Thanks, Trass. I'll definitely remember that. You can head home now. You all deserve your rest.”
The four of them bowed one last time, muttered a few words in their language to Aeris, who nodded and spoke in return, and then all vanished at once.
The wizard glanced at Aeris and then got up to boil more water.
“Your friends are really quite good at their jobs,” Simon said as he pumped water into the kettle.
“I certainly hope so,” the elemental replied. He had begun drawing his own map of his assigned area, stopping occasionally to stare at the picture before adding more details.
“They ri
ghtfully take pride in their scouting; perhaps even more so now because of the tragic loss of three of our people.”
Simon hung the kettle in the fireplace, turned around and leaned back on the counter. He folded his arms and watched Aeris work.
“How do you think the ruler of the air realm will react to that loss?” he asked.
“React?”
Aeris stopped drawing and looked at the wizard.
“I would not presume to speak for the great Astrandamus,” he said slowly, his expression wary. “But if I were in his place, I would be enraged. We, the elementals I mean, are not friends to the dark gods. But neither do we take sides in their divine conflict with the lords of Light. But now? With our people captured, abused and killed by creatures created by the gods of Chaos, the great one might decide to take action. But what kind? Ah, that is the real question.”
Simon was fascinated by the answer.
“But what could he do, really? I mean, your kind isn't from this world. Someone has to summon elementals to Earth for them to even get here, so while I understand that he might be angry, I don't see that it would worry the gods of Chaos very much.”
Aeris looked at him with something like pity; or was it disbelief?
“Ah, my dear wizard,” he said softly. “You truly still have much to learn about my kind. There are air elementals existing in my realm who could almost shake the foundations of the heavens themselves. And my lord Astrandamus?” Aeris actually shivered. “His powers are nearly boundless.”
“Really? But, I've never heard any of this. In all of our conversations over the past few years, you never mentioned that any of your people were that powerful. Why not?”
“Why not? Because of the temptation, of course.”
“What temptation?”
“By the Four Winds, don't tell me that you can't see the allure? There were wizards back in ancient times who wanted power. They were not content with the powerful magics they wielded. No, they wanted more, and more”
Aeris paused and looked thoughtful.
“Perhaps it is like a drug? The more power you have, the more you want? Hmm, yes, I think that could be it.”
“That's possible,” Simon agreed. “Back before humanity fell, there were some very powerful people, often leaders of countries, who would go to war to gain more riches, more territory. A few of them wanted to rule the entire world.”
“Yes, exactly,” Aeris said with a vigorous nod. “That is exactly what these wizards were like. But you see, they did not acknowledge that all power has limits, even magic. A few chose to summon some of the most powerful of the air elementals. That was beyond foolish.”
“What happened?” the wizard asked, wide-eyed.
“What you might expect. They were obliterated. I told you quite a while ago, my dear wizard, that if you summon a being of great power, they must agree to serve you; they cannot be coerced into doing so. Those old-time wizards wouldn't accept that. And they paid the price.”
While Aeris finished his map, Simon made the tea and sat down again.
“Well, I don't feel too sorry for people like that,” he said, continuing the conversation. “They obviously had inflated opinions of their own powers. That is something that I will never have.”
“Never say never,” Aeris told him pertly. “Your skills and powers will grow with each passing year, my dear wizard. I hope that as they do, you will remember this discussion. Consider what I just told you to be a cautionary tale. It does not do anyone any good to overestimate their abilities.”
“I agree, and trust me, I won't.”
“Good. Now, let me show you what I found during my mission.”
Simon leaned forward and Aeris began to tap on different features on the map with his pencil. As usual, the wizard was impressed by the thoroughness of the air elemental. His map was precise and very detailed.
They were still deep in conversation when Kronk came back in, followed by a gust of bitterly cold air. He slammed the door behind him, jumped up to slide the bolts shut and then hurried across the room to join Aeris on the tabletop.
“Hello master,” he said brightly. “What did I miss?”
“Aeris was just finishing up his report,” Simon told him and leaned back to stretch. He heard his joints crackling.
“And what have you been up to?” Aeris asked the earthen. “You raced out of here when I got back and I never had the chance to ask.”
Kronk smiled, looking satisfied.
“My brethren and I just finished building arches over the front and back gates. Once master creates a ward in the middle of each one, the entire wall will be firmly enchanted to repel evil. No wight will be able to cross that barrier. They will be repulsed no matter how many times they assault it.”
Aeris whistled shrilly in amazement and Simon almost flipped back off of his chair.
“Gees, Aeris! Don't do that! You scared the crap out of me.”
“What are you talking about?” the elemental asked with a confused look.
Simon settled himself in his chair and shook back his hair, laughing in embarrassment.
“That whistle. I've never heard you do that before. It just startled me, that's all. Sorry. Go ahead, Kronk.”
“I am finished, master. Except to say that I recommend you create the wards today, before nightfall.”
“I intend to. Thanks so much for your efforts. I'm going to be sleeping a lot easier from now on.”
The little guy smiled widely and Aeris nodded at him.
“Kronk, that is really quite clever. Creating a permanent arch over the gates stabilizes the magic. Very well done indeed.”
The little guy couldn't blush, but Simon had a feeling that if he could, he would be glowing red. He rarely received a compliment from Aeris and, even if he would never admit it, Kronk valued the other elemental's opinion.
“It was nothing,” the earthen said with a quick shrug. “I only want to keep master as safe as possible.”
“Yes, well, we all want that.” Aeris handed his map to Simon. “So when are you going to report to Clara and the others?”
“Tomorrow should be soon enough. They're still getting packed and organized at the moment.” He added the map to the others he had and put them aside. “Meanwhile, I'll cast those ward spells and get that out of the way.”
He got up, glanced at the winter sunlight streaming in the windows and shivered a bit. Going out in the cold was not something that he enjoyed but better to just get it over with.
Simon crossed to the clothes cupboard near the door, slipped on his heavy boots and winter jacket and spent a minute trying to find his gloves.
As he was putting them on, he looked back at the elementals.
“Care to join me, guys?” he asked as he settled the coat around his shoulders.
“Certainly, master,” Kronk said brightly and jumped off of the table.
“I wouldn't miss it,” Aeris replied. He floated over to wait by the door. “I'd like to see these arches that our earthen friends came up with.”
“They are nothing special,” Kronk told him hastily.
Simon smiled at his modesty.
“Don't be so hard on yourself,” Aeris said to the little guy. “I'm sure they're remarkable.”
Kronk stared at him doubtfully, obviously wondering whether the air elemental was being sarcastic.
Simon chuckled to himself, took a deep breath and pulled open the door.
A blast of subzero air slammed into him as he stepped outside. The early afternoon sky was a chilly, clear blue; beautiful but not pleasant. Simon puffed out a frosty breath as he shivered again and then resolutely walked down the steps.
Kronk had cleared the snow from the front steps and had stomped down a path to the front gate and around the tower to the stable.
The wizard headed for the main gate first, simply because it was closer. He stopped about ten feet away and stared up at the top of the gate. Kronk crunched up to him and stood to his right while Aer
is hovered by Simon's left shoulder.
“Wow. That looks amazing!”
The earthen looked up at the arch above the closed doors of the gate and smiled with satisfaction.
“Thank you, master. We did the best we could to make it flow seamlessly from one side of the wall to the other.”
The arch rose smoothly over the gate. The stone that the earthen had used was the same color and texture as the wall itself and there was no evidence of where the arch had been connected to the main structure of the wall.
It almost looks organic, Simon thought as his eyes followed the flow of the stone. Almost as if it was grown instead of built. Awesome.
“I moved the ladder closer to the gate for you, master,” Kronk told him and pointed to the left side of the entrance.
Simon nodded in appreciation and walked carefully over the frozen ground to the base of the ladder. He climbed up cautiously, the rungs slippery under his gloved fingers. At the top, he stepped on to the parapet that ran along the inside of the wall and checked his footing.
Whether it had been Kronk or one of his fellow earthen, the walkway had been cleared of ice and snow and Simon walked to the side of the gate with confidence. From the top of the wall, he could appreciate the construction of the arch even more.
It was about three feet wide and flowed up and over the gate. The arch was also clear of ice, for which the wizard was very grateful. He was going to have to walk across it to the center to create a ward in the most effective spot.
Aeris flew up and joined him while Kronk watched from below. The little guy was expressionless, but Simon noticed that he was wringing his hands nervously.
Not helping, my friend, he thought, watching the earthen's worried gestures.
“Are you all right?” Aeris asked him as he hovered a few feet away.
“Oh yeah, I'm great. I was just wondering how many bones I would break if I fell fifteen feet to the frozen ground down there. No biggie.”
“Courage, my dear wizard. I won't let you fall.”
“You won't?” Simon asked doubtfully.
The Dragons of Decay Page 17