The Dragons of Decay (4 page)

“
I do want to help. In fact, I
feel like I have to.”

Simon watched as the woman walked
around the large room where she'd taken up residence. The cement
walls were cracked and stained. There were several brackets bolted to
them with torches spluttering and flickering, throwing off random
shadows. He saw her stop and talk quietly to a few people who were
sitting on bunks, chatting and laughing in a casual way.

The wizard was pleased that Liliana
finally had some people around her. The small group of Changlings
that she had been with when he'd first met her had been slaughtered,
used in unholy rites by the primal white dragon. After that, she had
become single-minded in her quest for revenge.

Now though, he saw a softer side of
her as she smiled and spoke with her new people. It gave him a
certain sense of relief to see the paladin more at ease.

Finally, Liliana walked up a steep
flight of stairs and emerged on to the ground floor of a wrecked
office building. She made her way to the broken front doors and
leaned on the twisted frame, staring into the snow-covered streets
beyond. She held up the small mirror in her hand and caught his eye
again.

“
Simon,” she said
quietly, “you really should think this through. If you do enter
the elven realm, you mustn't go alone. Surely there are some of us
who would survive for the same reason that you would? Perhaps Tamara
and her brother share this slow-aging effect of magic?”

“
They may. I have no idea. But
I really hate putting others in harm's way. You know that.”

“
I do,” she answered with
a crooked smile. “But just living on this New Earth puts us all
in harm's way, don't you think? You should at least tell them about
what's been happening and see what they say.”

“
I intend to. You were just the
first one I called; well, after Clara that is. I knew at least that
she wouldn't volunteer to join me, because she feels the need to stay
with her people and their town, to watch over them.”

“
Yes, I know that feeling.”

The paladin squinted into the
distance with a concerned expression on her face.

“
I feel the same way about my
handful of survivors, my friend. Normally I would be the first to
insist that I join you in your battle against the brown dragons, if
such a thing transpires. But now, with these people to protect, I
find myself conflicted.”

Simon smiled at her.

“
There is no conflict, Liliana.
Your duty now, like Clara's, is to protect your people. Taking you
away from them is something that I simply would not do.”

He chuckled and the paladin looked at
him with a puzzled, but amused, expression.

“
What's so funny?”

“
Oh nothing. It's just that I
was afraid I'd have to argue and convince you to sit this one out.
I'm glad I don't have to, that's all.”

“
Oh, you would, believe me. But
just because the white dragons are all dead doesn't mean that we're
safe yet. I'm still watching the skies, waiting for a flash of red.”

Simon instantly became tense.

“
Red dragons? Any signs yet?”

“
None. Trust me, I'd signal you
with the lodestone if there was. But now that the browns are all in
the elven realm and the other three primals are destroyed, the red
dragons have free run of the entire world.”

She frowned and looked thoughtful.

“
I wonder just how many there
are? You said that there were a limited number of eggs available to
the primals. It would be good to know what that exact number is.”

“
Maybe ask your patron goddess
the next time she visits you in your dreams,” Simon suggested,
only half joking.

“
That's an idea. Unfortunately
it's a rare occurrence; a divine visitation. And when it does happen,
I pretty much just listen. The goddess' visits are short, to keep
from attracting the attention of the Chaos lords.”

“
Good point. Anyway, I'd better
get on and talk to Tamara and Sebastian. It was good to see you
again, my friend.”

“
You as well, Simon. Listen, if
it does turn out that you do enter the elven realm, let me know,
would you?”

She hesitated and then gave him a
rather poignant smile.

“
You are one of the few friends
I have now and I worry.”

The wizard blinked rapidly, surprised
to hear this admission from the tough as nails paladin.

“
Thank you,” he answered
with a reassuring grin. “Don't worry. I won't head off into
adventure without teasing you about it first.”

She scowled and shook her finger at
him in a mock display of anger.

“
That was mean,” she said
and then laughed. “All right, get on with your other calls. And
take care.”

“
You too,” Simon said and
broke the connection.

He sighed and put down the mirror,
rubbing his hands over his face.

“
Are you okay, master?”

“
I'm fine,” he told the
little elemental. Kronk was standing on his desk, listening quietly
as Simon called each of his allies. Aeris had decided to take a few
turns outside along the wall. Just in case, he'd said.

“
I'm actually relieved that
Liliana didn't fight me about sitting this one out. She has a handful
of people to watch over now and I think it's given her life purpose
again, beyond striking back at the dragons.”

“
That's good, is it not,
master?”

“
Very good, Kronk. Very good
indeed. One less thing for me to worry about, I suppose.”

“
Master, perhaps you should
take a break? Come downstairs and have some hot chocolate. It always
seems to soothe you.”

Simon had to smile at the earthen's
concern.

Just before winter began in earnest,
Clara had told him that one of her teams of scouts had come across a
small country store that hadn't been completely burned out in the
original dragon attack. Most of the food and supplies were spoiled
after four years of exposure to the elements, but they had found a
palette buried under some rubble and inside were dozens of sealed
cans of cocoa powder.

The cleric had generously gifted him
with three of the precious cans and he had tasted chocolate again for
the first time in years.

Simon had actually teared up and the
two elementals had watched him with a mixture of worry and confusion.

“
Master, what is wrong?”
Kronk had asked, deeply concerned.

“
Yes, my dear wizard. What is
the problem? You are given a taste of your old world and you're
unhappy?” Aeris had said. “I don't understand.”

“
Neither do I,” Simon had
said, wiping his eyes with some embarrassment. “It's just that,
I guess it all suddenly came back. My old life, all the people we
lost, the taste of home. I don't know.”

He had closed his eyes and sipped the
thick liquid slowly, the honey he'd mixed in making it sweet and
delicious.

“
Don't worry, guys,” he'd
said softly, remembering distant
Christmases
from
long ago. “The memories are dear to me. It's just that I
thought I'd put them aside forever. Funny how a little thing like a
smell or a taste can bring them all rushing back.”

Now when he had hot chocolate, and
Simon drank it rarely to save his precious supply for as long as
possible, it had a calming and, as Kronk had said, soothing effect on
him.

“
That's a really good idea,”
he told the little guy. “Let's go.”

Simon picked up the mirror and
followed Kronk downstairs. As he put on the kettle, Aeris popped into
the room and joined the earthen on the kitchen table.

“
So what's going on out there?”
Simon asked him.

“
Nothing. All's quiet. The
earthen are patrolling the wall as usual.”

Aeris watched as the wizard made his
hot chocolate.

“
What happened?” he asked
Kronk and nodded at Simon. “Why's he making that?”

“
It's fine,” the earthen
replied. “He is a little unsettled from talking to Clara and
Liliana about this whole brown dragon thing.”

“
Ah, of course. He's really
quite emotional at times, have you noticed?”

“
He is. That's not such a bad
thing though. I've always said...”

“
Um guys?” Simon said as
he turned to look at them. “I'm standing right here. You do
know that I can hear you, right?”

“
Sorry, master. We worry about
you, that's all.”

“
I appreciate that,” the
wizard said with a smile as he sat down. “But maybe do it where
I can't actually hear you? It's like having your parents talk about
you when you're a kid and you're in the same room. A bit creepy.”

“As you wish, oh great and powerful wizard,”
Aeris said with an exaggerated bow.

“Stop that,” Simon told him as he
sipped the hot liquid. “So why the sudden urge to patrol around
the wall in the middle of the day?”

The air elemental shrugged.

“A feeling, mostly. The atmosphere
is...unsettled. Ominous. Part of it may be because of what is
happening on the home world of the elves. Often what happens on other
planes is reflected here on Earth.”

“Really? I didn't know that.”

“Oh yes, master. That is very well known,
among our kind at least,” Kronk said wisely. “In ancient
times, there were wars between the elemental planes. The chaos and
destruction was mirrored here on this world.”

Simon put down his cup and stared at the two
little figures.

“Wars? Why haven't I heard about this
before?”

The elementals exchanged an almost embarrassed
look.

“To be frank, it isn't something that's
spoken of much anymore,” Aeris said reluctantly.

“Why not?”

“Because, master, it is considered a
shameful time among our people. There was really no reason for such
conflict. We earthen have no interest in the air realm. They have no
use for the fire realm, and so on. In the end, it was simply a clash
of egos between our rulers.”

“Don't ever let them hear you say that,”
Aeris told him ominously.

“They are well aware that we all know it,”
Kronk told him with some exasperation.

“Maybe, but it's bad policy to bring up
someone's failings when that someone can obliterate you with a
thought.”

“Interesting,” Simon said and picked
up his cup again. “Any other reason you're worried?”

“I'm not worried, exactly. But let's face
it; things are becoming more unpredictable by the day, aren't they?
Dragons invading other worlds, battles between dwarves and mutated
dragons, the water elementals turning rogue and siding with the dark
gods. Let's just say that I'm becoming a little more cautious these
days.”

Aeris glanced at the bright sunlight streaming
through the window.

“Oh, by the way, Kronk, if you are letting
the horses out to get some exercise, you might want to do it now.”

“Why?” the earthen asked with a frown.

“Because there's a storm coming. And by a
storm I mean a blizzard. It could last for several days, so take
advantage of this last chance to let the horses stretch their legs.”

Kronk looked alarmed and jumped off of the table.

“Thank you, Aeris,” he said over his
shoulder as he hurriedly tip-tapped to the front door. “I'll
let them out right away.”

As the little guy jumped up, opened the front door
and then slammed it behind him, Simon looked at Aeris in surprise.

“You can tell if there's a storm coming?”

“Why the look? I'm an air elemental, my dear
wizard. I know when storms are approaching the same way that Kronk
can feel an earthquake beginning to build up. It's in our nature, you
could say.”

“Huh. The things I learn at the most
unexpected times. So how bad is this blizzard going to be?”

Aeris looked at him soberly.

“Very bad. I would advise you to contact
Clara and warn her to tell her people about it. They should get
enough supplies out of storage to last a few days; possibly a week.”

“A week! Holy crap.”

Simon grabbed the mirror and began casting the
Magic Mirror spell.

“Oh and tell her to put extra guards on the
walls during the storm, just in case.”

The wizard finished his incantation and looked at
the elemental, puzzled.

“Why? You want them to guard against a
storm?”

“No. I want them to guard against what might
be coming with the storm.”

“Which is?”

“Something horrible.”

The blizzard rolled in just as Kronk
returned the horses to the stable. Simon actually saw the white wall
of driving snow and wind approaching from his study window. It was so
dense that the world was blotted out as it came; a force of nature
that sent a shiver of fear running down his spine.

He had called Clara to warn her and
she'd assured him that she would pass the word on to her people.

“
What is it about this storm
that's got you so spooked?” he asked Aeris, who was hovering
over the window ledge next to him.