The Dragons of Ice and Snow (28 page)

“
And there you are,”
the man said with a broad smile. “I was beginning to get a
little worried.”

“
But you said a
week,” Simon protested.

“
I know, I know.
Relax. The time flow is imprecise. I spoke to the elders several
hours ago, my time. Well, at least it gave me a chance to dig up a
mirror. It's amazing how little ego the elves have. Mirrors are rare
here. Probably because they're all so naturally attractive.”

“
They are that.”

“
Anyway, let me see
here.”

Daniel dug into a pocket
and it gave Simon a chance to see a part of the room that his friend
was sitting in.

Books. Shelf after shelf
of books was all that he could see.

“
Are you in a
library?” he asked curiously.

“
What?”

Daniel stopped searching
his pockets, looked over his shoulder and then chuckled.

“
No, these are my
rooms. Here, take a look.”

He turned the mirror
around so that Simon and the elementals got a slow panning view of
his quarters.

The walls were indeed
covered with shelves. There were hundreds of books, scrolls and
tablets. Odd objects like crystal balls, small silver and gold
statues, pieces of strangely shaped stones and other things were
scattered about on small tables.

At one end of the room was
a large canopied bed covered with a bright comforter. Many pictures,
all of which depicted scenes of nature, hung on the small sections of
the walls that weren't covered with shelving.

All in all, Simon thought,
a comfortable and homey place.

“
I like it,”
he told his friend when Daniel's face came back into view. “I
hope you do too.”

“
Oh absolutely,”
the man said, glancing around fondly. “The elves have been very
kind to me. And very indulgent. They rounded up these reference books
and scrolls from far and wide, when I expressed an interest in doing
some research.”

“
Research? On what?”

Daniel grinned.

“
On magic, of
course. What else? Our world is a magical place again. I may not be
able to return, but that doesn't mean that I am totally useless. To
be honest, I was hoping that anything I found could be sent to you
one day. Now, of course, we can speak directly. So if you ever need
anything investigated, let me know and I'll help as best as I can.”

Simon stared at him
thoughtfully for a moment and Daniel raised an eyebrow.

“
Something on your
mind?”

“
Yeah, maybe. But
before I mention it, what did the elders tell you able the amulet I
found?”

“
Oh! Right.”

Daniel pulled a creased
piece of paper from his pocket and peered down at it.

“
Okay, this is their
interpretation of the runes. They claim that they are written in some
odd derivation of dwarvish, but I find that very strange. The dwarves
despise dragons. Why would they fashion an amulet of a dragon in the
first place?”

Simon glanced down at
Aeris, who shook his head, mystified.

“
No idea. So what do
they think is says?”

“
According to them,
it's an incantation.”

“
A spell?”
Simon asked, startled.

“
Maybe. If it is,
they say that they don't recognize it or what it does. They think...”
Daniel paused, looking unsure, “that it could be a tracking
spell. If that's true then it would explain why the dwarves would
create it, to hunt dragons. And it is 'on' permanently. No need to
cast the spell itself.”

“
Wow. That could be
incredibly useful.”

“
It could, yes. More
useful than they actually might have realized.”

“
Meaning?”

“
Well, when I got
back after my meeting with the elders, I did some research of my
own.”

Daniel made a gesture at
his mass of books.

“
I have examples of
the dwarvish language here as well. Once the elders had pointed me in
the right direction, I searched and compared what they told me to
what I had in some of my books.”

He stared intently at
Simon.

“
They were right, as
far as it goes. The amulet will, I believe, help a person track
dragons. But it doesn't track the average, fighting dragon. It tracks
primals.”

Simon sucked in a breath.

“
Primals? Whoa. Now
that
is
useful.”

“
It is? Why? You
haven't had any trouble finding primal dragons so far.”

Daniel winked as he said
this and the wizard smiled weakly.

“
To be honest, it
wasn't hard. They basically came to me. The other primals may not be
so easy to find, especially the primal white.”

“
Hmm, yes. That
one.”

“
What about it?”

“
Again, this is
based on my research since one of the elders told me that you'd
traveled to Europe and had a run-in with some white dragons. Why did
you do that, by the way?”

Simon explained his search
for Changlings using his atlas and the Magic Mirror spell. Daniel
rewarded him with a look of admiration.

“
Clever, old friend.
Very clever. Well, about that primal white. You may indeed need your
amulet to find it. My books, based on conjecture and legend, speak of
the white as a very sly opponent. And of its love of ice and snow. I
don't take any pleasure in telling you this, but you may have to
travel to the far north to find it.”

“
The far north?”
Simon shivered. He hated the cold. “How far?”

“
Possibly all the
way to the Pole.”

The wizard groaned and
Daniel smiled in commiseration.

“
Sorry. But that's
in the future. Try not to think about it too much. And now that I've
told you about that amulet, maybe you can tell me what's on your mind
and why you look so worried?”

“
You know me too
well,” Simon told him.

“
Yes, I do. Now
talk, mister.”

Simon chuckled and then
sobered and told his friend about the events in Moscow. While he
spoke, Aeris made him another cup of tea while Kronk waved and left
the tower, going to check on the horses.

When he was finished the
story, he sipped his tea and watched Daniel digest the information
he'd passed on.

“
So you think this
paladin lied to you, and you think that it has something to do with a
dragon? That doesn't make sense, Simon.”

“
I'm aware of that.
And I don't
think
she lied, I know she did. It was confirmed by my friend Clara.”

“
Ah,
yes. The cleric. Well, I can't help you with that, at least not yet.
I will do some digging though, on paladins. See what I can turn up.”

“
Thanks,
Daniel. That would be helpful.”

“
If
I might make a suggestion?”

“
Of
course.”

“
I
know that your earth elemental friend can make lodestones. Perhaps he
could create one for me and leave it near one of the entrances to the
elvish realm? I can ask Ethmira or some other elf to retrieve it for
me. That way, I can call you when I have any information.”

Simon's
eyes lit up.

“
Now
that's a great idea! I'll mention it to him later. When he finds one,
I'll give you a call and you can give him directions to where you
want it delivered.”

“
Perfect.”

Daniel rubbed a hand
tiredly over his face.

“
And now I'll have
to let you go. This old body of mine doesn't have the reserves that
it used to, I'm afraid. I need to rest up.”

“
Are you okay?”
Simon asked in sudden concern.

His friend waved away his
question.

“
Of course I am.
Seeing you again, talking to you. I'm re-energized, believe me.”
His smiled was tired but warm. “It is so good to have you back
in my life, you know. I wanted to tell you that.”

Simon's eyes misted over
while Daniel cleared his throat, his voice thick with emotion.

“
Anyway, before I
get too maudlin, let's wrap this up.”

“
Okay. Thank you for
all your help,” Simon told him. “I'll talk to you soon.”

“
I look forward to
it.”

The wizard smiled one last
time at his oldest friend and broke the spell.

And then he sat back and
stretched, his spine cracking like a bundle of old twigs.

“
You've learned
quite a lot, sir wizard,” Ana told him as she moved back to the
center of the table, Aeris floating along beside her.

“
That's for sure,”
he replied and stared thoughtfully at the back of the mirror lying in
front of him. He looked at the two elementals and smiled, feeling
drained.

“
I can't tell you
how happy talking to Daniel has made me. Not that I don't enjoy
speaking with you guys,” he added hastily.

Ana simply smiled while
Aeris laughed lightly.

“
He is your friend,
my dear wizard. Plus, he is directly responsible for saving your
life, is he not?”

Simon nodded.

“
Well then, why
wouldn't you enjoy seeing him again? I also found his insights quite
valuable.”

“
As did I,”
the water elemental said.

“
Did you?”

Simon got up, rinsed out
his cup and put the kettle over the fire.

“
What did you hear
that you found so interesting?” he asked them.

“
You mean, besides
the fact that the amulet you found can track primal dragons?”
Aeris asked archly with a sly grin.

The wizard laughed
quietly.

“
Yes, besides that.”

“
The fact that he
was as mystified as we are about the paladin, Liliana, and her
actions.”

Aeris became somber and
glanced at Ana.

“
We have spoken of
it, you know. And Kronk, of course. I don't trust her, which you
already know, but I, we, also have come to the conclusion that she
isn't evil.”

Simon poured hot water
into his cup and made his tea. He nodded reflectively.

“
Yeah, me too. Her
hatred for the dragons is too real. I think I'm focusing too much on
the fact that she lied to me, when the important thing is that she is
an ally against the darkness.”

He sat down and sipped his
tea.

“
It
is
possible that her powers are more like those of that amulet you
found,” Ana said slowly as she watched him.

He stared at her with some
surprise.

“
Explain.”

“
She claimed to be a
paladin when you met her, but what if her ability to heal and her
fighting prowess are gifts that were bestowed by the magic to be used
as she sees fit? Rather like your powers, sir wizard. You are good,
this we know, but you could just as easily have turned your magic to
evil purposes if you'd chosen to do that. Liliana may be like that.”

“
Really? I never
thought of that,” Simon said with interest. “But wouldn't
the gods of Light cut off my powers if I turned to evil?”

“
Not possible,”
she stated flatly. “The magic flows from them, as it does from
the dark gods. They cannot just stop it. You have always been free to
use it as you've seen fit.”

“
Huh. I didn't know
that. So if Liliana's powers are not clerical, but magical, then she
could mimic a paladin and we'd never even know it.”

“
It's just a
theory,” Aeris told him. “But yes, that is possible.”

“
I'll have to think
that one over,” Simon said.

He finished his tea and
stood up.

“
I'm going out to
the stables and talk to Kronk. I want him to find a lodestone as soon
as he can. Now that I have a direct line of communication to Daniel,
I want him to be able to contact me whenever he needs to.”

Kronk was happy to search
out a lodestone for Simon and left when he was done cleaning the
stable. It took him an entire day to discover one and return and then
Simon called his friend and made arrangements for the earthen to drop
off half of the stone at a spot where the elven realm approached the
Earth.

And then there was nothing
to do but wait. Things became quiet for Simon and his allies. He
contacted the groups of Changlings around the world and found that
they were doing well. There were no dragon attacks, no problems that
required his help.

Clara and her people were
busy in their daily chores and living their lives and had nothing to
report.

Simon was left to practice
his spells, work in his garden and try to be patient. It made him
twitchy and a little short-tempered.