The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (6 page)

He scanned the crowd again
but there were only adults mingling, laughing, slipping in and out of
shops. The square felt vibrant and alive, but there wasn't a child to
be seen. He looked at the cleric and caught a momentary flash of
sadness on her face before she concealed it.

“
I'm
sorry, Opheilla. I didn't mean to upset you.”

“
I'm
not upset, my friend,” she told him with a poignant smile.
“Just a mother's loneliness, I suppose. My daughter is long
grown and living her life on the other side of the capital. We don't
see each other very often, that's all.”

She nodded at the crowd.

“
As
for the children, it is the middle of the day.” She glanced up
at the distant, dark ceiling and back at Simon. “Well, the
middle of our day underground, that is. All of the youngsters are in
school.”

“
Aye,
but when the horn sounds, the little ones make their presence well
known as they escape their daily bondage,” Stanis said with a
grin. “If you think it's loud in this area now, wait until you
hear it when the children are out and about.”

“
It's
lovely,” the cleric said with a wistful sigh.

“
It's
chaos,” Stanis said and Opheilla glared at him.

“
Well,
it is. I'm not fond of the little urchins, truth be told. Children
should be seen and not heard, my father used to say. I couldn't agree
more.”

The cleric began walking
along the edge of the square and Simon followed, trying to look
everywhere at once.

“
Your
problem is that you never took a wife and started a family,”
Opheilla told Stanis over her shoulder. “If you had, you would
have had a much different opinion of our youngsters.”

“
Bah.
Who has time for a family? I allowed my elder brother to perform that
duty and reap the rewards, such as they were. And he never even
managed to have children. Me? I think a warrior needs as few
attachments as possible. Less to worry about.”

“
The
brother you never spoke of?” the cleric asked archly. “The
one you pretended didn't exist?”

“
We
didn't get along,” Stanis told her with a scowl. “Let's
leave it at that, shall we?”

It sounded like an old
argument and Simon listened with one ear as he kept staring at the
dwarves who were passing by.

A few caught his eye as
they walked past, but there was no look of surprise or enmity from
any of them. It was as if they were used to seeing humans in their
city; something that Simon was quite sure wasn't true.

“
Your
people don't seem very curious about me,” he ventured to say as
they made their way past what was surely a tavern. A deep-voiced
chorus was drunkenly singing some martial song in dwarvish and, as
they finished, loud laughter and shouting followed.

“
We
are a very private people, young wizard,” Stanis said from
behind him. “I assure you, they are burning with curiosity, but
are much too polite to stare.”

“
News
passed through the city about your arrival months ago,” the
cleric added.

They reached the other end
of the square and she entered another corridor, much wider and
brighter than the last one.

“
People
are aware that the only living human wizard is staying with us to
recover from wounds inflicted by a dragon.”

She stopped and turned to
look up at Simon.

“
They
are quite impressed, my friend. You've become something of a hero
among our younger citizens, and my weekly briefing of the ruling
counsel is always well attended by spectators.”

Simon felt a blush creep
up his neck.

“
I'm
no hero, Opheilla,” he protested. “Just a guy who's had
some good luck, that's all.”

“
If
that's the case, then we could all do with more of that sort of luck,
lad,” Stanis told him with a grin.

They moved to the side of
the hallway to give the stream of people coming and going from the
square room to pass.

The cleric met Simon's
eyes soberly and lowered her voice.

“
Luck
or not, you're a bit of a celebrity now. I wanted to tell you that
because, now that you are on your feet again, you will be expected to
appear at the next council meeting in a few days time. It should
cause quite a stir.”

“
Me?
Why would they want to talk to me?” he asked nervously.

“
Because
Stanis has a point. Your 'luck' as you call it has not only saved
your life many times, it has led to the deaths of four primal
dragons. The king and his council would like a first-hand accounting
of those battles. Not to sit in judgment over you,” she
hastened to add as she saw Simon's face become pale. “Nothing
like that. But your tactics have been innovative and your results,
frankly, have been spectacular. They are impressed and I believe they
hope that they can learn from you.”

Simon felt scared and
flattered at the same time. Put like that, it didn't sound so bad.

“
I'll
tell them anything they wish to know, of course, even though I doubt
that they will find any of what I have to say useful.”

“
Don't
underestimate yourself, laddie,” Stanis said and clapped a hand
in the wizard's skinny shoulder. “You helped to save our
people. For that alone, I can guarantee you a warm reception at the
council meeting.”

Simon just nodded silently
as he watched the busy dwarves coming and going.

“
At
any rate,” Opheilla said, “that worry can wait. We are
going to circle around and head back to your room, Simon. This has
been a good beginning but you mustn't overdo it on your first day
back on your feet. Follow me please.”

Back in his room, Simon
collapsed on to the bed, distressed to find himself as weak as a
kitten after what had been a very short walk. When he mentioned that
to the cleric, she patted his hand.

“
You
have been in a coma for six months, my friend,” she said
reassuringly. “Goodness, even walking that small distance is
amazing. We kept your muscles from atrophying by constantly moving
your limbs and by begging the gods' favor, but I must admit that you
are in much better condition than even I could have hoped.”

Simon pulled off his robe
and Opheilla hung it up for him. Then he slipped into bed again with
relief. His legs had begun trembling.

“
Really?”
he asked. “I was really that badly injured?”

Opheilla sat down next to
the bed and nodded soberly.

“
You
really were, young wizard. There were a few times that I despaired
that you would ever heal and, even if you did, that you would be
whole and able-bodied again.” She smiled at him. “But
look at you now. The gods favor you, Simon. I have never, in all my
years as a cleric, seen anyone so close to the brink of death brought
back and restored as you have been. I dislike using the word
miraculous, but there simply is no other way to describe your
condition.”

Simon propped himself up
on his pillows again and considered the cleric's comments. Apparently
the old gods of Light still had work for him to do. He was glad.
Having been to the edge of the abyss once before, he no longer feared
death. The journey that lay beyond life wasn't something to be afraid
of. But he had to admit that he wasn't quite ready to give up on the
New Earth just yet.

“
Opheilla,
I was wondering if I could summon my elemental friends while I'm
here. I'd really like to know how they are and what's been happening
up on the surface.”

The cleric frowned and
then shook her head once.

“
Even
if I wanted to allow you to use magic so soon after you've recovered,
that simply isn't possible. You know how my people feel about the
elementals now. All of our cities are warded against them. Your
summoning would not succeed, I'm afraid, and you would be wasting
your strength for nothing.”

The wizard sighed.
Obviously the dwarves held a grudge for a very long time. It would
almost be funny if it wasn't so sad.

“
You
do know that the earthen admire your people greatly, don't you?”
he asked her. “My friend Kronk, in particular, is very fond of
you all. It's really...unfortunate that you feel that way.”

Opheilla smooth out his
quilt and adjusted his pillows before answering.

“
I
personally don't feel that way. I've never known any elementals, but
I know of your talent for using elemental magic. I agree that it's
unfortunate but what can I do? Rules are rules and I certainly am not
one to break them.”

“
That's
the truth,” Stanis said with a twisted grin as he appeared in
the doorway. “Our lovely cleric toes the line in all respects,
young wizard. She would never do anything to go against the rules.”

Opheilla turned and glared
at him.

“
Now
that is unfair, Stanis. I have pushed boundaries when warranted. But
in this case, it is not. And where did you slip off to?”

The dwarf hesitated and
then smiled at Simon.

“
I
thought that your patient might need something to help cheer him up,
seeing that none of his friends are here to keep him company while he
recovers.”

“
That's
not quite true, Stanis,” Simon told him. “You're here.
And my new friend, Opheilla.”

Both dwarves appeared
startled by his statement and the cleric actually blushed.

“
Why,
thank you,” she said a little awkwardly. “It is a great
compliment to be named the friend of a human spell-caster. And for a
wizard to declare such a thing, well, it is an honor.”

“
Aye,
I agree,” Stanis said and he actually bowed.

Simon knew that he was
turning red as well but held his smile and nodded at both of them.

“
And
now that we've had that lovely moment,” the dwarf said from the
doorway, “I have something for you, young man.”

He reached out into the
hallway, grabbed something and then entered the room and approached
the bed.

“
I
had the time while you were deep in your healing sleep to craft this
for you. We have some old drawings of such things from eons ago,
specifically made for wizards, and I thought I'd try my hand at it. I
hope it is to your liking.”

He held the object out
with both hands and waited for Simon's reaction.

The wizard stared in
wonder. Stanis was offering him a staff.

The weapon was longer than
the dwarf was tall and very slim. It wasn't made of wood; instead
some sort of shiny metal had been used in its crafting. Inlaid into
the metal were dwarven runes that Simon couldn't read, runes made of
precious metals like silver and gold. The bottom of the staff boasted
a wicked spike of some black mineral and, at the top, a large clear
crystal pulled in the light from the torches and reflected it back in
a rainbow of colors. Simon had never seen anything so beautiful.

“
Stanis,
it's...it's magnificent!”

He accepted the staff,
expecting it to be as heavy as a length of metal should be. It
wasn't. The staff was lighter than his old wooden one and Simon
bounced it a few times in his palms, delighted by its minimal weight.

“
My
God, it's so light. What's it made of?”

“
It
is a secret of my people. Dwarven silver. A combination of several
minerals and metals smelted over many weeks to just the right
balance. It is very exacting work but the results are well worth it.”

The dwarf tapped the staff
lightly.

“
It
is, as you have learned, as light as a feather. But it is harder than
steel. Nothing on Earth can harm that metal except a weapon made of
the same material.” Stanis' eyes glowed with pride. “It
is an ideal conductor of magical energy and, so the old records say,
will enhance a wizard's powers when used to cast spells. And I have
taken the liberty of adding something of my own.”

“
Which
is?” Simon asked as he slowly rolled the staff along his palms,
fascinated by its beauty.

“
The
runes that you see. My people may not like spell-casters, at least
amongst ourselves, but we are not adverse to using the power in our
crafts. I have imbued the staff with two specific spells. The runes
inlaid with silver represent the enchantment for loyalty. Once sealed
to you, young wizard, this weapon can never be lost. If it is
misplaced or stolen, all you need do is call for it and it will
return to you, no matter where it may be.”

“
Wow.
That's amazing.”