The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (39 page)

“
It was
interesting. One of the undead dragons fell, shattered by the magic
missiles and burning in a dozen spots, and the other two retreated. I
hadn't realized that they were intelligent enough to do that,
considering the fact that they are just animated skeletons.”

“
Hmm. Me
neither. And the humans? Were any of them injured?”

“
Minimal
injuries, my lord. As you may or may not know, the dracolich uses a
rather nasty breath attack that's been described as a miasma of
death. Poisonous. It can be quite devastating.”

“
No, I
didn't know. Can you describe it?”

Several of the waiting elementals
behind Brethia said something in their windy language. She listened
and then nodded.

“
A few of my
friends are more knowledgeable about this than I am,” she told
Simon. “They say that it is like a black fog or thick smoke.
Very heavy. It shoots from the maw of the dracolich and then rolls
through the air and along the ground, often for several dozen yards.
Anyone who breathes it is poisoned, usually fatally.”

She looked back at the others and
asked a question. One answered and she turned around to look at
Simon.

“
If a cleric
is nearby, the victim may live long enough for a healing, but only if
one is attempted within five minutes of exposure. Otherwise death is
inevitable.”

“
Oh my God,”
the wizard said, appalled. “I had no idea that they were that
deadly. But no one died during the attack at the cave?”

“
No, my
lord. No one died because the monsters never got close enough to use
the breath attack effectively. Its one weakness is that it dissipates
over long distances. The attacking undead dragons were held off far
enough away to make their magic useless.”

“
Ah, now
that's a useful tidbit of knowledge. Thanks, Brethia. So what about
the humans? Can you tell me anything else?”

She picked up another piece of paper
and spoke as she wrote.

“
I did not
approach them, sir wizard. After the battle, I reasoned that they
might be a bit skittish and would attack a strange being like myself.
Since you are the only one that we know of on this world who can
summon my kind, I doubt that they have seen an elemental before.”

“
Good
point.”

“
Thank you.
But I did watch them invisibly for several hours. Living in a cave,
it was hard for me to tell how many of them there were. I'm sure that
I only saw a few of the inhabitants while I was there. But two
hunting parties set out and returned and a few people came outside
and sat in the sun for a while. I counted a dozen different
individuals, mostly men, all of whom looked fairly healthy. They wore
handmade clothing and three wore decent leather armor, reinforced
with metal studs. The mage was easily spotted; a young man with long
auburn hair, very attractive for a human.”

Simon grinned at that comment and
Brethia laughed gently.

“
Forgive me,
my lord. I only meant that I cannot judge beauty in humans, but I
believe he would be considered good looking by your people.”

“
No
apologies necessary. I understand.”

She handed him the paper and he saw a
series of coordinates written there.

“
You can
safely Gate to this location or use it to direct your Magic Mirror
spell, sir wizard. It is roughly the same spot I was in when I
observed the group.”

“
Thanks
Brethia; that was great news. Anything else?”

“
I made a
list of the creatures I saw on my journey and I drew several maps of
their locations while the others gave you their reports, my lord. It
is on the pile with the rest. I would like to say that this world of
yours is now teeming with life unknown before the old gods returned.
It is remarkable, beautiful and incredibly dangerous at the same
time.”

She stared at Simon intently.

“
And if you
manage to defeat the evil servants of the lords of Chaos, you will
never lack for adventures in the future.”

Simon smiled at her.

“
I have had
enough adventures to last a lifetime already, Brethia. I really don't
need any more.”

She returned his grin.

“
Ah but your
lifetime will extend far beyond others of your kind. Who knows what
the distant future holds?”

Simon stood up stiffly and slipped
the paper with the cave coordinates into a desk drawer.

“
Thanks,
everyone. You have all done an amazing job and I am forever grateful.
Brethia, Orriss, if you both want to head home for a while, see
friends or take a break, you are free to do so.”

The two elementals exchanged a look
and both shook their heads.

“
No, my
lord,” Brethia told him. “We are eager to begin watching
over your tower once again, if you would allow us to do so.”

“
Well, if
you're sure...”

“
We are, sir
wizard,” Orriss stated firmly.

“
Very well
then; off you go. As for the rest of you, you are free to leave.”

Simon saw the looks of disappointment
on the faces of the other elementals and hastened to reassure them.

“
I do have
all of your names listed and, if it isn't too much trouble, maybe I
could call upon you in the future if I need more help? I wouldn't
want to impose or anything, of course.”

The translucent group of faces all
lit up and Simon realized that he'd used just the right tactic to
cheer them up.

“
Oh no, my
lord,” one of the elementals said quickly. “It would be
no imposition at all! Please call on us at any time; we would be
honored to be of service.”

“
Thanks,
folks. I will remember that. Take care.”

The seven elementals bowed in unison
one last time and all of them disappeared with a whoosh of air,
making the candles on the table sputter and dance.

Quiet at last, Simon thought to
himself with some relief. The air elementals were amazing people but
they could be exhausting in groups.

He gathered up the notes into a
bundle and took them and his empty plate with him as he headed
downstairs. As he started to descend, he met Aeris coming up.

“
Oh, is the
meeting over? I made tea.”

“
Thanks
Aeris, I'll drink it in front of the fire,” Simon told him as
they went back down together. “Is Kronk back yet?”

“
Yes
master,” the little guy called out.

He was standing in the fireplace
sorting out the burning logs.

Simon winced and looked away. No
matter how many times he saw that, it always made him uncomfortable.

Being burned alive by a dragon will
do that to you, his inner voice whispered.

Thanks for the reminder, he replied
to it. Jerk.

Simon decided to pass along the
information about the hidden cave to Tamara and the other leaders the
following day. It just seemed too important to sit on until they
contacted him. He was actually surprised by their reaction.

“
Interesting,”
Tamara said when he told her the news.

“
Nice,”
was Malcolm's comment.

“
Good choice
of shelter against the monsters,” Liliana told him.

All three of them were in Tamara's
home when he reached them with the Magic Mirror spell. It looked like
they were discussing the upcoming assault on the dark tower, with
maps and slips of paper scattered across the round table they were
sitting at.

For a change, Malcolm wasn't wearing
armor or a sword. He was dressed in a simple brown tunic and leather
pants with a dagger on his belt. Even without armor though, he still
looked far too large for the chair he was sitting on.

Liliana wasn't wearing her full armor
either, but did have a chain-mail jerkin on and a short sword at her
hip.

Tamara wore her standard robe and
mantle, one a bright blue and the other a muted green.

The entire group seemed surprised at
Simon's call and stared wide-eyed at his ghostly likeness standing
across the room from them.

“
Simon? What
is it? Is there a problem?”

“
Hi Tamara,
folks. Nope, no problem. Sorry if I'm interrupting.”

“
You are
never interrupting, my friend,” Liliana reassured him with a
warm smile. “We just didn't expect your call. I thought you
were going to wait for us to send word when we were ready for the
attack on the tower.”

Malcolm sat back in his chair,
crossed his heavy arms and winked at Simon silently.

“
Well, I
just thought that you'd all be thrilled to hear that there are at
least a few other humans that have survived out in the world.”
He looked at each of his friends and added hesitantly, “Apparently
I was mistaken.”

“
Oh Simon,
you weren't mistaken,” Tamara told him with a trace of
irritation. “It's just that we're in the middle of preparing
for what will likely be a life and death struggle in that tower and,
while your news is amazing, it's a bit distracting right now.”

“
Distracting?
Wait, you think that hearing about other survivors is distracting?”

“
Easy there,
my friend,” Malcolm rumbled as he motioned for calm. “Maybe
distracting isn't the right word. Speaking for myself, I'm thrilled
at the news. But Tamara is right about the battle ahead. It sounds
like the humans your scout found are doing all right on their own, at
least for the moment. If they were in any kind of danger, I'm sure
that we'd all be eager to help. But as long as they're okay, don't
you think that we should concentrate on the problem at hand?”

Simon had started to become angry,
but the big man's rational, matter-of-fact statement eased his
irritation.

“
Yeah. Yeah,
I guess that's true. Sorry, Tamara. I was just so excited at the
prospect of finding more of our people that I got a little
side-tracked.”

The mage smiled and nodded her
understanding.

“
I know
that. And I agree with Malcolm. If those people were in distress,
we'd jump at the chance to help. And we will, just as soon as we've
cleared out that tower.”

“
I too
agree,” Liliana added firmly. “When we are done with the
source of the undead abominations that roam our world, we will aid
those survivors in any way we can.”

Simon heard a sound at the doorway of
his study and looked over to see Kronk standing there holding a
steaming cup. He smiled at the little guy and waved him over.

“
Okay folks.
That's all the news I have. I'll be waiting for your call whenever
you're ready. Take care.”

“
You too,
Simon. And thanks for the update. We'll pass the news on to the rest
of our people. I have a feeling that it will cheer them up immensely.
We'll speak again soon.”

Simon broke the connection and
reached down to accept the cup from Kronk.

“
Thanks,”
he said as he sat back in his chair and sipped the hot tea. “I
needed this. Did you hear any of that conversation?”

“
I did,
master. Some of it.”

Kronk hopped up on to the desk and
moved to the center of it. He picked up the mirror, flipped it over
and put it down again, the reflective side down.

“
They
weren't excited by the news of the cave-dwelling survivors, master?”

“
It's hard
to say. I think so, but it looks like they are so caught up with the
planning of the tower attack that they don't want to be distracted.
Tamara's words, not mine.”

“
Ah I see.
Well, master, I do not wish to be argumentative, but I must agree
with them.”

Simon stared at the craggy face in
surprise.

“
You? Agree
with Tamara? My God, it's the end of the world.”

The earthen laughed, his deep voice
shaking the desk slightly.

“
It is rare,
I know. But while I find the mage rather cold and stern, I cannot
fault her logic in this, master. You must all be ready for the
attack. Anything can happen. You will be facing hostile creatures and
black magic and, in such a battle, a wizard's greatest weapon is his
intelligence.”

“
That's an
interesting perspective,” Simon said.