“That is amazing,” he muttered and Simon smiled at his reaction. He was feeling a little better as he realized that the children had never been in any danger from the slow growth of the hall. Kronk's doing, no doubt.
“I suppose he's using stone because of the lack of available wood close by,” he said. “The rest of the buildings in your plan with be wooden, I guess. Unless you folks want all stone structures? Not a bad idea actually.”
Mark glanced at him and shook his head.
“For security, yes. But without any means of cooling them, stone buildings in this type of climate can be literal furnaces. Wooden walls breathe better and allow for more air flow. Plus, repairs will be easier for us mere mortals who don't have elementals on call when we need something fixed.”
Simon chuckled.
“Good point,” he said and they stood together and watched until the walls had finished rising.
How Kronk and the others did it was something that Simon knew he'd never understand, but when the rumbling had stopped and the dust settled, he was looking at walls at least a dozen feet high, smooth and pale gray. Every few feet a square window had been cut about chest-high and two large doors opened to the north and the south.
The villagers cheered and the children shrieked in delight like little birds as Kronk and his two friends emerged from inside the building.
The three earthen stood and stared at everyone applauding them and then smiled hesitantly.
“What's wrong with them?” Mark asked Simon under his breath.
“Back in the old days, they were basically slaves,” he replied as he watched them affectionately. “They aren't used to being appreciated or thanked for their labors.”
“Really? That's just sad.”
Simon smiled at him.
“Well, this will certainly help to begin erasing those memories.”
Kronk turned, spotted the wizard and hurried over, his two helpers following closely behind him.
“Master! How do you like it?”
“It's wonderful, Kronk. You guys always do a fantastic job.”
The three glowed with delight at the compliments and smiled even wider as Mark added his own.
“Thank you, master, and you as well, sir engineer. We wanted to ask about the roof.”
“You guys go ahead and discuss things,” Simon told Mark and the elementals. “I'm out of my depth when it comes to building stuff. If you need me, I think I'll take a stroll down to the seashore, clear my head.”
He waved and turned away toward the main gate, leaving the little group discussing what shape the new roof should be.
At the gate, he passed a guard whose name he didn't know. She was wearing a light chain mail coat and leaning on a spear and waved him through elaborately as he left. Simon gave her a grin in return and crossed the drawbridge. Kronk and the others hadn't dug a trench around the town yet and the drawbridge was simply a ramp leading down the slope of the hill that the new town was built on.
The wizard turned to his left and saw the distant shore of the sea. The hill gently led down toward it and he began to walk slowly, taking his time and sucking in deep breaths of tangy, salty air that the breeze blew toward him from the ocean.
How long since he'd been to the seaside, he wondered. Decades at least. His last visit had been a few years before his mother had passed away. They had traveled to Prince Edward Island, his mother's birthplace. She'd been ill even then and had wanted to reconnect with old friends and relatives before the end. Simon's memories were a mixture of happiness and bitterness, all rolled together.
Now though, as he approached the endless rolling waves, he felt only elation, a sense of rebirth. He had been given a second chance and did not want to dwell too long in old memories.
It's time to make some new ones, he thought with a little smile. Hopefully, better ones.
As he approached the shore, Simon had to jump over small tidal pools and detour around scattered rocks before reaching the smooth part of the sandy beach. He walked carefully, his bare feel feeling every little piece of sharp-edged gravel and gritty dirt. But even those sensations were wonderful to him, because the ground itself was deliciously warm.
“I'm going to hate going back home tomorrow,” he said out loud. The crashing of the waves muted his voice and it was lost in the chorus of wind and seagulls.
A dozen yards from the booming surf, Simon lowered himself to the sand carefully, lay back with a sigh and watched as wispy clouds sailed across the deep blue sky. He could get used to this was his last thought before he fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up a few hours later, Simon sat up abruptly with a snort and looked around wildly. For a moment he had no idea where he was and felt a surge of panic.
“You slept well,” a familiar voice said.
He turned toward the speaker and saw Aeris floating up and down a few feet away. Simon immediately relaxed and rubbed the back of his head, feeling sand and grit falling off.
“Hi. I did, didn't I? That's a surprise. I hadn't realized that I was so tired.”
“Best thing you could have done,” the elemental assured him. “When I saw you leave town, I thought it would be best to keep an eye on you.”
He turned in a slow circle, scanning their surroundings.
“We can never be sure if a place is completely safe these days, as you well know, and a sleeping wizard would be a tempting target for allies of the dark gods.”
Simon nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed. Aeris was right; lying unconscious out in the open in a strange place was incredibly stupid, especially right now.
“Thanks. So, any sign of danger?”
“Not unless you count the bird poop on your robe as dangerous,” the elemental replied dryly.
Simon looked down, made a sound of disgust deep in his throat and stood up quickly. He swayed for a moment and then walked over to the nearest pool of water and splashed some on his robe to get rid of the seagull's little gift. He wasn't very successful.
“Well, that's gross,” he said as he gave up. “Wish I'd brought a change of clothes with me.”
“I'm sure that you can find something in town,” Aeris told him with an amused grin.
Simon rolled his eyes and turned to look up the long slope toward the walls of the town above them. From this distance, it looked quite formidable and he approved of that. The stone walls gleamed palely in the afternoon sun and appeared very strong.
“Looks good, doesn't it?” he asked Aeris as he began walking back.
“It does. You'll be happy to know that Kronk popped by a short time ago with a status report. He didn't want to wake you so he asked that I pass it along when you got up.”
“And?”
“Well, the hall is done. He and the other two earthen constructed shutters for the windows for now. They have assured Clara that when time allows, they will add glass panels. The roof is done as well as the doors. Hmm, what else? Oh yes, they dug the trench around the town. A second drawbridge for the smaller rear gate will have to be built another day. Today they want to finish several houses. The townspeople have collected enough wood for that many, Oh and they threw up another stone structure, a smithy I believe. The blacksmith, Gregory, is beside himself with joy. A rather amusing sight considering his size. That's about it.”
Simon stopped to gape at him.
“Good grief, how long was I out?”
“About four hours. As I said, you needed it. And now, I assume you must be hungry?”
The wizard started walking again and his stomach decided to announce itself to the world at that moment with a loud growl. Aeris laughed.
“I'll take that as a yes.”
When they got back, Clara spotted Simon quickly and took his arm to lead him back to where the chairs were set up. On the tables, plates were stacked with sandwiches of fresh bread and smoked meat. There was some sort of baked fish covered with an orange sauce that was amazing. Simon had thirds, even though he'd never cared much for fi
sh. There were fresh orange slices and someone had made lemonade with honey as a sweetener. It was delicious.
The entire community seemed to have been waiting for the wizard to return before eating and now the group attacked the food with a vengeance. Simon made sure to compliment the cooks, including Malcolm, who seemed to have a special knack for the art.
“He could boil stone and make it taste good,” Aiden said of his partner, while the big man smiled shyly. “But will he make a bed? God forbid!”
Clara and Simon chuckled as Malcolm scowled and made a threatening gesture at a laughing Aiden.
“On a more serious note,” the cleric said. “We all want to thank you, Simon, and your elemental friends for all the help you've given us. You've helped us build a town months faster than we could have on our own and we all owe you a debt of gratitude.”
“We were happy to do it,” Simon assured her and the others close enough to hear him. “But I'll pass on your thanks to Kronk and the others.”
The rest of the day passed quickly. The earthen finished what they could before nightfall and then they volunteered to man the walls overnight and allow the sentries to get some much-needed rest. The offer was gratefully accepted.
Simon went to his assigned tent as darkness fell and dropped into a deep sleep, feeling satisfied that the day had gone better than he could have hoped. He could only wish that the following day went as well.
Chapter 24
The first thing that Simon did the following morning was to ask Clara if he could borrow her hand mirror.
“My mirror?” she asked and then grinned. “The pink one?”
“Sure, I'm manly enough to use that one,” he responded, flexing his skinny arms in a muscleman pose. “Welcome to the gun show!”
The cleric burst out laughing.
“Stick to magic, young wizard,” she told him. “Since I'm assuming you don't need a mirror to style your non-existent hair, I'm guessing that you want to make a call. Not that I'm being nosy!” she hastened to add.
“Of course not,” Simon said with a grin of his own. Then he sobered. “Actually I want to call the mages in London, fill them in on what's been happening. Neither Tamara nor her brother Sebastian can cast Magic Mirror for some reason, but they can Gate, so I'll let them know where you are in case they need a place to retreat to, or if they'd just like to visit.”
“Oh, that's a wonderful idea! I wonder how they're doing?”
Simon and Clara were standing just outside of his tent. She had been waiting for him to wake up and they began walking toward the tables and chairs they had used yesterday. The wizard was wearing a new robe, light gray in color, kindly given to him by the cleric to replace the dirty one from the day before and felt much better after his rest.
“No idea. They have a lodestone, just like you and Liliana, but they haven't used it, up until yesterday at least. I left it at home. I also want to tell them about my possibly heading into the elven realm to help in the fight against the brown dragons.”
“You may not have to do that,” Clara said quickly.
They arrived at the chairs and found that someone had put out bowls of sliced oranges, toasted bread and honey, and a large steaming pot of hot chocolate.
“I know. But I'd like to give them a heads-up anyway, just in case.”
The two of them served themselves and sat down to eat, watching the comings and goings of the community while they talked.
“Where are your little friends?”
“Kronk and the earthen headed off to get more wood for construction. Malcolm told them which direction to take and I sent Aeris with them as a scout, just in case.”
Clara looked at him sharply.
“You're expecting trouble?”
“No, but haven't we had enough surprises? I'm not taking any more chances. I lost Kronk once and that was enough.”
“I understand.”
They finished their breakfast, chatting amiably and then the cleric went off to fetch her mirror. When she returned and handed it to Simon, she was laughing softly to herself. When he looked at her curiously, she shook her head.
“A helpful person, who asked not to be named, left you a basin of hot water, soap and a towel in your tent so that you can get washed up. They are, um, rather smitten with you apparently.”
Simon felt his ears getting warm.
“A secret admirer? Isn't that a bit...high school?”
She shook a finger at him.
“I think it's cute, so be nice. I told this person that you are much too busy to get involved right now, quoting you by the way, and they understand, so accept the kindness and don't worry about the rest.”
The wizard got up and took the mirror.
“Good advice. Thanks. I'll get cleaned up and call the mages. And after that,” he fixed her with a keen look, “I want to have our meeting with Virginia and the others. If you and Malcolm want to sit in, feel free.”
Clara's smiled disappeared and she nodded once.
“Okay. I'll talk to them while you're taking care of your other business.”
They parted and Simon hurried back to his tent. It was large enough for him to stand up in and to hold a cot and a small bureau. When he walked in, a large porcelain basin filled with steaming water was on top of the bureau, a towel and a bar of soap resting next to it.
Vaguely wondering who he should thank for the kindness, Simon closed the tent flap, took off his robe and got washed up. When he was finished, he got dressed again, sat on the edge of his cot and cast the Magic Mirror spell.
As he was waiting for the fogged surface of the mirror to clear, the tent flap rippled and Aeris popped in and moved to hover beside his left shoulder.
“Hey, welcome back. That was quick. How did it go?”
“It went well,” Aeris said, sounding pleased. “Kronk and the others are on their way back right now. I have a feeling that the townspeople are going to be surprised when several dozen logs pop up in the center of town. And before you ask, I made sure that the new town hall was cleared of people. Kronk thought it safest to leave the wood in there, out of the way.”
“Ah, good idea.”
“So who are you calling?” the elemental asked as he peered at the mirror. “Pretty color.”
“Thanks. Tamara and her brother. I want to tell them what's been happening.”
“And about your 'rebirth'?” Aeris asked slyly.
“Uh no. Let's not muddy the waters here. Maybe one day we can discuss it, but right now I think it would just lead to more questions and I really don't have the time for them.”
The fog faded from the mirror and they both watched as an image appeared. Simon gasped and lurched backwards, almost dropping the mirror in the process as a huge fireball momentarily dazzled him.
“What the hell?” he spluttered as he steadied the mirror and stared at the picture in shock.
“It's a battle,” Aeris said tersely.
“Yeah, I can see that. But who's fighting whom?”
Simon adjusted the view and the picture pulled back to reveal the frosted, snow-covered streets of London. Twisted metal, heaps of ruined buildings and rusted cars made the old city look like a war zone, and another explosion of fire reinforced that image.
“Look, isn't that Tamara and Sebastian?” Aeris asked and pointed at two small figures racing across from one side of a street filled with rusting cars to another.
“It is. Oh thank God, look; they're both shielded.”
Simon could see the air around each mage rippling and sparkling as they ran, their dark robes flapping as they moved. As they ducked into the remains of a storefront, another blast of orange fire seared his eyes and he blinked rapidly to clear the after-images.
“What is going on, damn it!” Simon asked helplessly.
“Ask them!” Aeris told him and nodded at the two mages who were now huddled together, their shields overlapping and strengthening each other.
The wizard took a moment to admire how m
uch each sibling's magic enhanced the other's. He was sure that his own Shield spell would only be repulsed by someone else's. Then he zoomed in on Tamara's scowling face, streaks of dirt and sweat making her look much older than she was.
“Tamara? It's Simon. Can you hear me?”
She looked around, startled and nodded.
“I can. Sebastian?”
Simon moved the view to include her brother, who looked equally dirty and grim.
“Yes, I can hear him. How are you doing?”
“Bastian, we don't exactly have time for the niceties here. What do you want, sir wizard? We're a little busy at the moment.”
Another explosion caused them both to duck and Tamara rattled off a string of obscenities that would have done justice to a dock worker.
“I can see that,” Simon said loudly, trying to be heard over the sounds of battle. “What the hell is going on?”
“Dragons,” the mage said shortly. “Red dragons to be precise. Two of the bastards. They appeared just before dawn and caught one of our people out in the open.”
She hesitated and Sebastian cut in.
“She was immolated, Simon. It was horrific. We got everyone else under cover and we're been fighting them ever since.”
“Just the two of you?” the wizard asked in awe. “Against a pair of dragons?”
“You don't see anyone else here, do you?” Tamara barked angrily.
“No. Sorry, stupid question. What can I do to help?”
“One's coming in for a strafing run,” she said to her brother, ignoring Simon's question. Sebastian nodded as he peered upward. “You ready?” she asked.
“Of course,” he answered calmly.
Simon watched apprehensively, thinking that the siblings couldn't be more different personality-wise. Tamara was volatile and quick-tempered while Sebastian was reserved and seemed to exude an aura of cool confidence.
Hard to believe they're related, he thought briefly and then forgot about that as Sebastian stepped out on to the street, his shield throwing up sparks as it pushed snow and debris from his path.
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