The Dragons of Ice and Snow (12 page)

“
Yes master, I'm
sure. But you can learn spells from others who have the knowledge,
can you not?”

“
Um, yeah, I guess.
Why, do you know someone that can cast cold spells that I don't?”

He said it as a joke, but
Kronk's smiled widened.

“
No master, but you
do.”

Simon leaned forward, put
an elbow on the desk and rested his chin on his palm.

“
Okay, enlighten me.
Who?”

“
The elemental who
now inhabits the river to the north,” Kronk said smugly.

Simon's mouth dropped open
and he stared at the little guy, wide-eyed.

“
Aquamastis? Holy
crap, you're right! He actually froze the river when I was fighting
the primal black!”

“
Exactly, master.
Water elementals can freeze water. A lot of water. That being might
be able to teach you how to do the same. Or at least give you a place
to start researching new spells based on cold.”

“
Have I told you
lately that you're a genius? Because you are.”

Kronk shrugged a little
uncomfortably.

“
Not really, master.
I just know more about elementals than some others do.”

“
I still think
you're brilliant,” Simon said, shaking a finger at him. “So
take the compliment. Now the question is, how do I approach that
water sprite with a request to teach me to use cold-based spells?”

Neither of them spoke for
a moment and Simon got up and moved to look out of the window. He was
thinking of a way to talk to an elemental who he was quite sure could
squash him like a bug if he angered him.

“
Master?”

“
Yes?” Simon
replied, still looking across the bright, sunlit field.

“
Perhaps we should
wait until Aeris returns. He has spoken to that being several times.
Aquamastis would at least listen to him, don't you think?”

The wizard turned to look
at the little guy.

“
You knew he was
talking to the water sprite all along?”

“
Of course, master.”

“
Huh. Okay, that's a
good idea. We do know that they at least speak to each other.”

Simon walked across to his
bookshelf, found the heavy book that his friend Daniel had given him
and sat down again.

“
I have no idea how
long Aeris is going to be, so I might as well try to come up with a
new spell while we're waiting.”

“
Good idea, master.
The more spells you can access, the more weapons that are in your
arsenal.”

“
Exactly.”
Simon looked up from the book. “Oh, before I forget, can you
take the time to dig me up another lodestone? I'd like Liliana to
have one, just in case she or her people need help in the future.”

“
Of course, master!”
Kronk answered brightly. “I should have thought of that. I will
go now, while the horses are enjoying their time by the lake.”

The wizard began flipping
through the book again.

“
Have fun,” he
said absently, losing himself in the mix of runes and symbols that
filled the pages in front of him.

“
I will, master. I
will be back soon.”

“
See you then.”

Kronk returned several
hours later with a glowing lodestone. He broke it in half and gave
both pieces to Simon, who set them aside.

“
Thanks. I'll Gate
to Moscow in a few days, once Aeris returns and we speak with
Aquamastis.”

“
Of course, master.”

And then they waited.

Simon knew that he wasn't
a very patient person, but the two days it took for Aeris to return
from the plane of air felt more like two weeks. He tried to decipher
some of the more complicated runes that Daniel had written in his
notebook, but ended up with only a headache and a sense of
frustration. He knew, just knew, that there were high-level spells
buried inside the complex squiggles but finally gave up the research
for the moment as a lost cause.

He assumed that he wasn't
a powerful enough wizard to use whatever was hidden in the book and
put it back on his shelf for future reference.

Compared to Simon, Kronk
was the most patient person that the wizard had ever met. He happily
scurried around the tower doing chores, humming occasionally and
filling the time as they waited for Aeris. Simon found it irritating
and then laughed at himself for feeling that way. It was his own
eagerness to increase his knowledge and powers that made him cranky,
and he was honest enough with himself to admit it.

So he spent part of his
time in conversation; first with Clara and then with Liliana. Nothing
was new with either woman, but the paladin was pleased to hear about
the lodestone. Simon told her that he'd call before Gating to her
camp, to make sure that she and her people were there.

“
You are welcome at
any time, sir wizard,” Liliana said with a warm smile. “And
just to keep you up to speed, we are still searching for your lost
spell-book. Spring is finally starting to creep in and the snow is
receding. I'm hopeful that when it does, it will reveal your book.”

“
Thanks so much,”
the wizard replied. “But please, be careful. I know I keep
saying that, and I know that you're aware of the danger, but I
wouldn't want to think that anyone got hurt on my account.”

The paladin laughed
lightly.

“
Life is risk, my
friend. You above all others should know that. We'll be fine.”

After that conversation,
Simon filled his time with practice. He'd found that the more he used
a spell, the easier and faster he could cast it. So he spent hours
out in the field in front of his tower casting magic missiles at tree
stumps. The spell was becoming truly powerful and dozens of the
brilliant blue projectiles would appear from his fingertips to slam
into his targets now. And he felt little fatigue from each cast. It
was a very promising development.

He also helped Kronk tend
to the horses. Both of the mares, Tammy and Sunshine, and the
stallion Chief, were feeling frisky, which Simon attributed to the
early spring weather. He rubbed the three of them down after they
spent the afternoon outside and then fed and watered them, over the
earthen's objections. Kronk really enjoyed caring for the trio and
they had an obvious bond with the little guy, following him docilely
wherever he led them and moving out of the way when he cleaned their
stalls.

In the evening, Simon and
Kronk sat in front of the fire, chatting companionably about the
state of the world, how his casting was improving and many other
things. As the wizard had noticed long ago, the little earthen was
very deep and had countless years of knowledge behind him, and
letting him speak his mind, especially when Aeris wasn't around to
criticize him, was always a fascinating experience.

The second day was much
like the first, except that the wizard left large swatches of burnt
grass across the wide field. He was fine tuning his Fireball spell
and managed to scare the hell out of every bird within hearing
distance as the balls of fire slammed into the earth with shuddering
bangs.

Kronk watched anxiously
from the safety of the wall, along with his five earthen companions.
Simon was amused when he squinted across the field to see the little
guy with both hands over his mouth, wide-eyed.

“
Don't worry. I'm
not going to fry myself,” he shouted at them at one point.

“
That's very
reassuring, master. Thank you,” Kronk called back. He didn't
sound very certain of that though and Simon chuckled to himself.

Just after dinner, while
the wizard was washing the dishes and Kronk was outside getting some
more logs for the fire, a loud bang from over his head told Simon
that Aeris had returned.

He hurried to finish
cleaning up and was drying the last dish when the air elemental flew
down the stairs.

“
I'm back,” he
said cheerfully as he floated over to the kitchen table.

“
So I heard,”
Simon replied. “Did you have a good time?” he added with
a mischievous grin.

“
Very funny, my dear
wizard,” Aeris said dryly. “It was as calm, normal and
predictable as it's always been. Horrible.”

He shuddered theatrically.

Simon walked to the table
and sat down just as the front door banged open and Kronk skittered
in, carrying a half-dozen logs in his arms. Since he couldn't even be
seen under the load, it looked like the pile of logs was floating by
itself.

“
Let me give you a
hand, Kronk,” the wizard said quickly, starting to rise.

“
I have it, master.
Not to worry.”

Since Simon knew how
incredibly strong the little guy was, he wasn't too concerned. Once
Kronk reached the far side of the fireplace, he dumped the logs with
a crash and then quickly piled them neatly.

He turned back to the
table and spotted Aeris hovering just above it.

“
Oh, you're back,”
he said as he hopped up to stand near the air elemental.

“
You've always been
quick, Kronk,” Aeris replied with his usual sarcasm.

“
Stop that,”
Simon told him. “Now, any luck getting us some information
about staves and how wizards used them?”

By the smug look on the
cloudy little face, the wizard was sure that he knew the answer.

“
As a matter of
fact, yes. Aethos was much more approachable than I had thought he
would be. You were right, by the way. When he heard that you had
disposed of Heather after her attack on me, he was very pleased.”

“
Excellent. I was
hoping he would be, although she really left me no choice. Given a
chance, I would have spared her life.”

“
If you ever speak
to Aethos again, I'd suggest you don't mention that. So, the staff.
Where is it?”

He looked around as he
asked, but the staff was nowhere to be seen.

Simon also glanced around
and frowned.

“
That's weird. I
thought I had left it beside the door, where I used to leave
Bene-Dunn-Gal.”

“
You did, master,”
Kronk said brightly. He hopped down to the floor and hurried across
the room to the large wooden cabinet where the wizard kept his
outerwear and shoes.

“
I was cleaning
yesterday and moved it in here out of the way,”

He opened the cabinet,
pulled out the staff and returned it to Simon.

“
Thanks Kronk.”

The wizard lay the staff
across the table and looked at Aeris inquiringly.

“
So, now what?”

“
Err, well,
according to Aethos, there's a small ritual that the old wizards used
to bind their staves to them, allowing them to channel their spells
through the weapons.” Aeris looked at the staff speculatively.
“He said that even he doesn't know why a staff or wand can do
that, by the way. Whether it is because they are made of a certain
kind of wood, or their shape.”

“
I believe it may be
both,” Kronk told him. “I used ash because I remember it
was popular back in the days of magic. Many wizards used it for their
staves.”

Simon rubbed the staff,
enjoying the smoothness of the wood.

“
Well, I suppose we
don't really need to know why it works, as long as it does. So, you
mentioned a ritual?” he said to Aeris.

“
Yes. Right. So, it
sounds a little primitive, to be quite honest, but Aethos claims that
it works.” He hesitated. “You have to inscribe the staff
with your true name.” He paused again and added, “In
blood.”

“
What?” Kronk
said weakly.

“
Are you kidding?”
the wizard asked, almost laughing. He sobered as he saw that the air
elemental was serious. “You're not kidding.”

“
I'm afraid not.
Like I said, it sounds primitive to me. But that is what he told me.
You will know that it worked if the name fades as the blood is
absorbed into the body of the staff. If it does not, the weapon is
not properly made and cannot be used as a wizard's focus.”

“
That is so weird,”
Simon muttered, touching the staff again. He ran his fingers along
its length. “It sounds like voodoo or something.”

“
What is voodoo,
master?” Kronk asked curiously.

“
Hmm? Oh, nothing. A
kind of religion, I think. Rumor had it that they used blood in their
rites.”

He picked up the staff and
walked to the stairs.

“
Come on. I want to
use my study for this 'ritual'.”

They went upstairs and
into the study. Simon crossed to his work table. Among the assorted
pencils, pieces of chalk and charcoal and scraps of paper, were
several sewing needles. He liked to patch tears in his clothing next
to the window at the table and left needles and thread on it.

He picked up a needle and
went to sit at his desk.