The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (19 page)

The next day, Simon crawled out of
bed early, bleary-eyed and rather cross. He'd been so pumped up about
the trip that sleep had been hard to come by and he'd spent a good
chunk of the night tossing and turning.

It wasn't the best way to start a
journey, he had to admit.

After a quick swim in the lake to
help him wake up and get clean, the wizard ate some early
strawberries that Kronk had picked out in the forest, had two cups of
tea and got organized.

In his old pack he took several
changes of clothing, dried rations of fruit and venison, a canteen
and other odds and ends. And he tied an old sleeping bag he kept in
storage to the bottom of the pack. It wasn't luxurious, but it would
be better than sleeping on solid rock.

He decided to wear a gray robe that
blended well with dark stone. Kronk approved.

“
You can
never be too careful, master,” the little guy said as he
watched Simon prepare. “There are more dangers in the deep now
than there have been in years; we will have to be cautious.”

“
Between
your senses, Aeris' scouting skills and some decent luck, we should
be fine,” the wizard replied as he stared at the open pack,
wondering what he'd forgotten.

“
Take your
dagger, my dear wizard,” Aeris said as he flew in through the
open front door.

“
Why? I've
got old Mortis over there,” he replied and nodded at the staff
that was leaning against the wall.

“
One can
never be too careful. Besides, you may need a knife to cut up your
food; the dagger was one of the first things you ever enchanted,
isn't it?”

“
One of the
only things, actually,” Simon told him. “Where the hell
is it anyway? I'm surprised I haven't lost it over the past five
years or so.”

“
It is in
your desk, master,” Kronk said. “I've seen it in there
several times.”

“
I'll get
it,” Aeris volunteered and zipped across the room and up the
stairs.

“
Have you
spoken to the other earthen?” Simon asked the little guy as he
closed and tied his pack.

“
Yes,
master. They will watch over the tower and seal it at night. You have
recharged your wards, so most monsters will avoid the area. It should
be fine.”

“
Should be.
Yeah, I know there are no guarantees when it comes to safety these
days. Okay, I guess that's it then. I said goodbye to Chief and the
mares when I went for a swim, so that's it.”

He grabbed his heavy boots from the
cabinet near the door and slipped them on just as Aeris came
downstairs again, carrying a sheathed dagger.

“
Here you
go. Just slip it on to your belt. The enchantment is still intact;
that much I can feel just by holding it.”

Simon slipped the old blade from its
sheath and examined it. It was covered with crude runes that he had
etched on it himself, barely understanding what they'd meant. God,
that seemed like ages ago.

He'd worn this very dagger the last
time he had visited Ottawa. How long had it been, four years? Time
flies when you're trying to survive, he thought wryly.

He held up the dagger and invoked its
power with a simple thought; something he could never have done back
then.

The blade ignited; blazing brightly
with intense red flames.

“
Ah master,
it still works! You crafted a good weapon.”

Simon shook the dagger and the flames
vanished with a gentle poof. He slipped it back into its sheath and
hung it off of his belt by its leather ties.

“
I didn't
craft the dagger, Kronk; I just added the runes. I think I'm lucky
that I never had to use it. Hopefully that luck holds.”

“
Hopefully,”
Aeris repeated quietly.

Simon walked over to Mortis de
Draconis and picked it up.

“
Ready for
an adventure?” he asked it with a smile.

The staff didn't answer, of course,
but he almost thought that it felt lighter than usual as he slung it
over his shoulder and slipped an arm through its carrying strap.

He hung his pack off of his other
shoulder and looked around the room one last time.

“
Are we
forgetting anything?” he asked the elementals. “If so,
now's the time to mention it.”

Both of them shook their heads and
then Aeris grinned.

“
One last
bathroom break?” he said to Simon.

The wizard had to laugh at the dig.
Elementals, of course, never needed to use the facilities.

“
Not a bad
idea actually. Close and lock the door, would you? I'll meet you both
outside.”

Using the coordinates from the atlas,
Simon Gated to their destination. One reason he had wanted to leave
as early as possible was the time difference. It was six hours later
at the spot they were traveling to, and he wanted to reach it with
plenty of daylight to spare.

The three of them were thrust from
the Void into a narrow valley. Thick nettles covered the ground from
one side of the depression to the other. They caught on Simon's robe
and wrapped around his boots. An acidic smell rose up from them as he
moved and it made his eyes water.

“
Oh for...
Cripes, it's like wading through mud,” he exclaimed angrily as
he tried to move. “Kronk, where are we going?”

The little guy was actually invisible
beneath the tops of the nettle plants.

“
Head to the
nearest wall, master and turn right. You should walk along it until
you come to an outcropping.”

Simon growled as he pushed his way
through the clinging plants, little tearing sounds following his
every move.

Once at the steep wall of the gorge,
he turned and walked beside it. The plants had thinned out here and
he was able to avoid most of them.

Kronk had been right, as usual. Part
of the wall seemed to have collapsed ahead, but as Simon moved out
and around it, he found a narrow crack that led into darkness.

“
It's the
entrance, all right,” he said to the elementals. “Kronk,
could you go ahead please? You know the underground better than
either Aeris or me.”

“
It would be
my pleasure, master. I will check for immediate dangers. Please wait
a moment.”

The little guy slipped by Simon and
hopped into the opening, disappearing from sight.

Aeris flew closer and hovered by the
wizard's shoulder.

“
Looks like
a tight fit,” he said as he examined the crack in the rock.

“
Yeah. For a
change, I'm happy that I'm so skinny. And that I don't get
claustrophobic.”

The elemental looked at him
speculatively.

“
You know, I
just realized something interesting about you.”

Simon raised an eyebrow.

“
Oh really?
Do tell.”

Aeris snickered at the obvious
sarcasm.

“
No, but
seriously; you have no phobias that I know of. None at all. Very
strange for the average human being, as I recall.”

“
Sure I do,”
Simon replied. “I'm afraid of the undead, dragons scare the
crap out of me, witches...”

With an exaggerated eye roll, Aeris
cut him off.

“
No, no. I
meant normal fears, not dark magic stuff. I mean, you don't fear
heights, darkness, small spaces; that sort of thing.”

Simon paused and thought about it.

“
You might
have a point. Well, I'm not a fan of spiders, if I'm being honest.
It's not a phobia, really, I just don't like the way they move
sometimes. You know, slowly, one leg at a time. It's like they're
thinking about their next step. Ugh.”

“
I suppose
so.”

“
Master?”

Simon jumped back and looked down at
Kronk, who had popped out of the crack in the stone wall.

“
Oh, forgive
me, master; I didn't mean to scare you.”

“
That's
okay; you didn't.”

Aeris was watching him with
barely-concealed amusement and Simon wiped his sleeve across his
forehead.

“
Warm, isn't
it?”

“
Boiling,”
Aeris agreed with a snort of laughter.

“
I suppose
so, master,” Kronk said, puzzled. “The cave is clear
ahead. The initial passage is narrow and you will have to crouch down
for a dozen yards or so, but it widens after that and slopes
downward.”

“
Thanks,
Kronk. Go on ahead and we'll follow you.”

The earthen nodded and re-entered the
opening.

“
Well,”
Simon said to Aeris. “Here we go again.”

The crack was barely passable. Simon
had to push, pull and force his way through. He ripped his robe
several times and tore a thin strip of skin off of his left palm. His
cursing vocabulary got a good workout.

When he'd finally made his way into
the wider section of the passageway, he sat down on the sandy floor
to catch his breath.

“
Whew. That
wasn't fun,” he wheezed as he breathed heavily.

“
I am sorry,
master,” Kronk said contritely. “I underestimated the
size of that tunnel.”

Simon summoned a magical light and
let it rise up almost to the roof.

“
Not your
fault,” the wizard replied.

He dabbed his bleeding hand on the
hem of his robe and used his staff to slowly get to his feet.

“
We have to
go this way regardless, my friend. And this section of the tunnel
looks a lot easier to get through. So no worries. Could you lead on,
please?”

“
Yes master.
The slope is gentle ahead, but there is loose sand on the stone
ground, so please watch your step.”

The little guy pattered off and Simon
followed, his light globe keeping pace above him. Aeris brought up
the rear, his body shining in the gloom.

Kronk was right. The passage was
wider but it sloped just enough to make his footing slick on the
sandy floor. He almost fell several times, but his staff helped to
keep him on his feet and he was grateful to have it with him.

After a steady, if cautious, hour of
traveling through a series of galleries and small caves, they
eventually reached an area that obviously wasn't crafted by nature.

“
Stairs,
master,” the earthen's voice echoed out of the darkness ahead.

“
Stairs?”

Simon looked back at Aeris, who
looked startled.

“
There are
stairs down here?” the elemental wondered out loud.

“
Guess so.
Let's take a look.”

The wizard sent the globe of light
ahead of them to illuminate the ground. This section of the crooked
tunnel twisted and turned so much that they had lost sight of Kronk
and could only guess how far away he was.

A last turn and they were standing in
a round chamber. The walls were about seven feet high and perfectly
smooth. There was no sand on the ground, just plain gray stone. In
the center of the room was a hole and Kronk was waiting beside it.

“
Here,
master,” he said and pointed at the dark opening. “Steps
leading down. I believe that a dwarven tunnel is below us.”

Simon nodded and sent his light to
hover above the opening. He walked over and cautiously looked down
into it.

Kronk was right. Steps had been
carved into the stone and circled downward in a clockwise direction.
They were steep but looked solid.

“
Cool. I
hope you're right. Do you want to go down first?”

“
Yes master,
that would be the safest choice. Allow me a moment to get ahead and
then you can both follow me.”

“
Go on then.
I'll count to ten and start down.”

The earthen hopped down the steps.
The sound of stone on stone echoed up as they quickly lost sight of
him.

Simon counted slowly to ten and then
began to descend, Aeris closely behind him. Between the light of the
globe and the glow that the air elemental emitted, the wizard had no
problem seeing his footing.

“
How old
could these stairs be?” he asked Aeris as they descended. “They
have a lot of cracks and they're dusty. Hundreds of years?”