The Dragons of Decay (30 page)

“
Fine by me,” he said
with a smile at the man. Mark was fairly short, with a thin beard and
large brown eyes.

He looks more like a choirboy than an
engineer, Simon thought for a moment. But then none of us looks like
what we used to be anymore.

“
Okay then. If you're all
ready, let's go down and take a look. Clara, would you take hold of
my arm please? Everyone else, make a chain, each touching the next.”

Clara and the others got themselves
in position while Aeris held on to Simon's shoulder and Kronk moved
to touch the hem of his robe.

Simon chanted the incantation of the
Gate spell, looked around to make sure that everyone was set and then
focused on the written coordinates. When he felt that he had them
firmly set in his mind, he invoked the spell.

“
Invectis!
”
he said and felt the familiar pull of the void as they were sucked
out of reality and into nothingness.

A blast of
warm air hit the group as they reappeared again. Simon had chosen a
flat, slightly elevated spot, according to his map, and it turned out
to be the perfect choice.

They were
standing in knee-high grass looking down a gentle slope at the ocean,
which was pounding on the beach about a mile away. The air was sweet
and gentle and the distant cries of gulls seemed like something out
of a fairy tale.

“
Oh
my,” Clara exclaimed, a look of sheer joy on her face. “It's
like being pulled out of a bad dream and into paradise.”

Mark, the
practical type obviously, gave the beach a quick glance and then
began to walk around the area slowly, reaching down to pull at the
grass and look at the soil beneath it as he went.

Simon
watched him for a moment and then looked at Kronk.

“
Why
don't you join our friend?” he suggested with a wave at the
engineer. “Tell him about the ground, available water, whatever
else he needs to know.”

“
Ah,
good thinking, master,” Kronk said with a knowing look. “I
will do that.”

And he
scurried off through the long grass toward Mark.

Simon took
a moment to just breathe deeply, trying to work the remnants of the
wintry air out of his body. He checked out the country around them
and tried to imagine a town being built here.

The low
hill extended for at least a half a mile in all directions from where
they were standing. It was high enough that any approaching danger
could be seen a long way off. In the distance was a stand of trees.
Simon squinted as he tried to make them out and thought, although he
was no expert, that it could be an orange grove.

He took a
moment to imagine the taste of a fresh orange and then pushed that
idea away. There was no time for self-indulgence. Later though...

“
Simon,
this is wonderful,” Aiden said as he looked around with wide
eyes. “Just being here is so, I don't know, uplifting. It's
hard to believe that a few minutes ago we were in the middle of
winter. I don't suppose you could teach me to cast that Gate spell,
could you?” he added wistfully.

The wizard
chuckled and shook his head as he pulled off his jacket. He was
beginning to sweat. The others had been dressed for indoors and
looked quite comfortable. He smiled as he watched Malcolm and Aiden
begin to walk the perimeter of the hill, talking excitedly and
pointing out different features of the landscape to each other.

Clara
simply stood still and Simon was shocked to see a tear roll down her
cheek.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked as he stepped closer and looked at her
worriedly. Aeris hovered just behind him.

She looked
up at him, her twisted expression a mixture of grief and hope,
something the wizard had never seen before.

“
I'm
fine, I suppose. It's just that, this is like a dream, isn't it? Some
sort of wish fulfillment. After the attack by the wights, I have to
admit that I gave in to despair. I was sure that our little group was
doomed.”

She
shrugged and irritably wiped her tears away.

“
But
now here we are. You, Simon, are giving us a second chance. A second
chance to survive and, the gods willing, thrive. How many people get
that?”

He looked
away in embarrassment and focused on the distant waves.

“
I'm
not giving you anything, Clara,” he said softly. “What
powers I have came from the same gods that you now serve. Maybe, I
don't know. Maybe they foresaw this somehow and made sure that I was
in the right place at the right time. Who knows?”

He looked
back at her and tried to smile.

“
Besides,
I'm doing this for my own selfish reasons. I don't want to be left
alone in this crazy new world of ours. I may like living alone, but I
need to know that there are friends out there. Friends who will
welcome me when I need company, the sounds of laughter and
conversation. So you can thank my self-interest more than anything
else, I suppose.”

She
laughed and poked him lightly on the chest.

“
Play
the selfish card all you want, but I know better. We need you more
than you need us, my friend. And that is the plain truth.”

“
Perhaps
we can argue each other's merits another time,” Aeris said
abruptly and they both turned to look at him in surprise.

“
Time
is ticking, lady and gentleman,” he said solemnly. “The
storm may be a distant memory down here, but it is racing toward
Nottinghill as we speak. So why not decide if this is where you want
to set up the new community and start moving it along?”

“
He's
right,” Clara said. “The main point now is to confirm
that this is a viable location.”

She turned
and looked around for Mark. He was far across the hill now, looking
around and talking to Kronk, who couldn't be seen in the tall grass.

“
Come
on, Simon. Let's see what our resident engineer thinks.”

They
hurried toward the odd couple, lifting their legs high to avoid being
tripped up by the grass. As they approached, the man spotted them and
waved.

“
So
what's the verdict?” Clara asked a little breathlessly as they
reached him.

Mark
crouched down and patted the ground under the grass. Kronk appeared
near his hand and smiled up at Simon.

“
Well,
my new friend here tells me that the soil extends down a long way and
is quite rich in nutrients. Also,” he stood up again and
pointed toward the trees that Simon had spotted earlier.

“
If
the soil can support a mature growth like that, it should be able to
sustain other crops as well.”

Mark
looked down at Kronk.

“
How
deep do we have to go to hit drinking water?”

“
There
is an artesian flow no more than fifty feet below us,” the
earthen told them. “We can have a well dug out in short order
and my brethren and I will shore up the walls to ensure that it does
not cave in.” He looked at Simon. “That will be our first
order of business, master, if this is the location chosen for the
move.”

“
Good.
So Clara, what do you think?” Simon asked.

She
glanced at Mark, who nodded once in confirmation. Then she turned and
a broad smile lit up her face. Simon followed her gaze and laughed
out loud. Malcolm and Aiden were running through the grass like a
couple of school boys, pushing and shoving each other and giggling
loudly. It was even funnier to watch considering that both were
wearing full armor and had a sword banging off of their legs.

“
I
think that this is exactly where we need to be,” Clara said
firmly. “Let's head back and tell the others, shall we?”

Simon
waved at Malcolm and gestured for him and Aiden to return to the
group. Once they had, panting and grinning like loons, he cast the
Gate spell and took them all back to Nottinghill.

Things
began to move rapidly once they returned and Clara told her people
what they'd found.

The entire
population of Nottinghill, all twenty souls, began buzzing with
excitement and the packing increased to a fever pitch. Simon and
Kronk popped back to the tower to gather up the five earthen who were
patrolling the wall and Gated directly back to the site of the new
town so that they could begin digging the well.

The little
guy ordered his people to get started and then took Simon aside.

“
Master,”
he said quietly. “This will not take too long. Should we begin
the construction of the perimeter wall when we are done?”

Simon
looked at him thoughtfully and then spun in a slow circle, checking
out the size of the flat hill.

“
Can
you build the wall just inside the edge of the hill?” he asked.
“That way, when you're done, the view from on top of it will
enable the guards to see anyone or anything coming from miles away.”

“
Easily,
master. I was going to suggest that very thing.”

Kronk
jumped up for a moment to see over the top of the tall grass and then
nodded to himself.

“
I
would also suggest that when the wall is complete, we can dig a
trench similar to the one that is around Nottinghill now. The
drop-off will be significant and an assault against the town will be
very difficult indeed.”

“
With
a drawbridge to span the trench?” Simon asked.

“
Of
course, master. And a smaller gate opposite, just in case of
emergencies.”

“
Okay,
do it. I'll tell Clara when I get back and see if she agrees, but I
can't imagine her not wanting to make the place as secure as
possible.”

“
Very
well, master. I will join my fellow earthen now.”

He turned
away, hesitated and looked back at the wizard.

“
Do
not overexert yourself, master,” he said firmly, shaking his
finger at Simon. “You know what happens if you use too much
power; you will collapse. It would not do to leave the people of
Nottinghill exposed to the oncoming storm because you overdid it.”

“
I
know, Kronk. I know. Go on now. I'll see you soon.”

“
Yes
master. Good luck.”

He walked
off, disappearing into the grass and Simon smiled to himself.

Kronk
wouldn't be Kronk if he didn't worry, he thought as he began to cast
the Gate spell again.

Clara was
more than happy at the news that the earthen would begin work on the
perimeter wall as soon as they were done digging the well, as were
the rest of the townspeople. While everyone gathered up their
essentials, the wizard decided that it was time to talk to the cleric
about Liliana and her small group.

He took
her aside and explained the situation as quickly and concisely as he
could and then waited for her reaction.

The cleric had listened calmly and,
when Simon was finished, patted his hand gently.

“
Of course they can join us if
they want to,” she said with a glance at the people excitedly
coming in and out of the barracks.

“
We are so few now. So few. New
members would be welcome, and Liliana is a formidable fighter, a fine
addition to the town. Malcolm and Aiden both speak very highly of
her, as of course do you.”

“
Thank you, Clara,” Simon
said gratefully. “I don't know that an additional handful of
people are going to make that much of an impact, but I'm sure they
will work hard to help build the new town. As to whether they will
stay with you long-term, well, I suppose it depends on how well they
fit in.”

“
I'll do what I can to make
them feel welcome, my friend. And the paladin's healing powers will
help to lift the burden off of me a bit, hopefully.”

“
Speaking of powers,”
Simon said and looked back at the people arranging the pile of
supplies, “I haven't seen Virginia or the other members of her
group lately. Where are they?”

“
In and out. They've
volunteered to be the clean-up crew, meaning that they are combing
the village to make sure that we haven't missed any essentials.”

“
Now that's a good idea. Are
they well?”

Clara frowned at him.

“
They're fine. Why do you ask?”

“
No reason. I may want to speak
to them down the road about something though, but we'll cross that
bridge when we come to it.”

Simon decided that now was not the
right time to tell the cleric that he might be asking four of her
people to join him in the elven realm to fight dragons.

“
Hmm, okay then,” she
said with a shrug. “Anyway, the day is passing as we sit here
chatting. Shouldn't we get started?”