The Dragons of Decay (46 page)

The wizard
set down his glass and returned Clara's grasp.

“
I'm
not someone who's used to people caring about him, to be honest,”
he told her slowly, glancing at the others as he did so. “Back
in the old days, Simon the middle-aged computer guy had only one very
good friend and that was Daniel. Now look at me. I consider all of
you friends and, frankly, it's a bit overwhelming to hear that you
cared enough to mourn for me. But I want you to know how much I
appreciate your friendship and that I will do anything in my power to
help you, Clara, and your people.”

She gave
his hands a final squeeze and sat back again.

“
Thank
you for that. Now then, Liliana, there's a tent set up for you and,
when you're ready, Virginia could probably take you over and you can
settle in.”

“
I'd
be happy to,” Virginia told the paladin with a smile.

“
That
is very much appreciated. Perhaps we can do that now? I find that it
may take a while for me to acclimate to this warm weather and,
perhaps, I will change into something a little less constricting than
my armor.”

Liliana
finished her juice and stood up.

“
Guys?
Before you go?” Simon said quickly and both women turned to
look at him.

“
With
Clara's permission, I'll be staying over until tomorrow, to rest up
and call in my earthen friends to help with construction. But before
I go, Virginia, I'd like to talk to you, Anna, Eric and Gerard. And
you as well, Liliana. No rush. In fact, I'd rather wait overnight so
that I can be rested and a little more clear-headed before we meet.”

“
What
is this about?” the paladin asked, obviously intrigued.

Simon
could feel everyone's interest sharpening and he suddenly felt
nervous.

“
Well,
I don't want to spoil the mood or anything but,” he hesitated,
“it's about the war against the dragons in the elven lands. I
intend to be ready if and when my friend Daniel requests my help, and
I'd like to discuss the possibility of the five of you joining me, if
you're willing.”

Dead
silence.

“
Well
now, that was unexpected,” Clara finally said as she stared at
the wizard. “Our newest member of the community hasn't even
settled in yet and...”

“
I
know. I know. Believe me, I was hesitant to even bring it up but our
future, the human race's future, may hinge on the elves defeating the
brown dragons. If the dragons win, they will swarm back into this
world stronger and more blood-thirsty than ever.”

Simon
thought for a moment.

“
I
suppose, in a perverse way, that it's kind of lucky that we have them
separated from the red dragons here on Earth. We can focus on one
problem at a time. Bad luck for the elves, of course.”

“
Bad
luck is an understatement,” Malcolm rumbled. “But why
choose those five? I mean,” he looked at Liliana, “the
paladin I can understand; she's a born fighter, that's plain. But
Virginia and the others? Why them?”

“
Are
you implying that we aren't up to fighting back against the dragons?”
Virginia bristled at him.

The big
man held up his hands placatingly.

“
Of
course not. But you guys aren't natural fighters; surely you'd agree
on that much, wouldn't you?”

Virginia's
glare softened and she gave a sort of accepting shrug of her
shoulders.

“
Yes,
that's true. But it doesn't mean we won't fight if necessary. Surely
our defense of Nottinghill against the wights proved that much.”

“
No
one is doubting your courage, or the courage of your friends,”
Clara told her. “But defending your home is one thing.
Deliberately going up against dragons? That's something else
entirely. Simon,” she turned to the wizard, “I have to
echo Malcolm's question; why those four?”

“
Because
my friend Daniel, who you know is trapped in the elven realm, told me
specifically that their four-way bond will prevent them from
prematurely aging if they travel between worlds. The time-line
between Earth and the elven lands is too volatile for most people to
survive crossing over and then returning safely. Sometimes it's very
fast, sometimes a lot slower, but it is never the same as the time
passing on this world. It aged my friend to the point that his
returning home would kill him instantly. Apparently a wizard ages
much more slowly than most, so I should be fine for a short stay.
Virginia and the others also share this because of their magical
bond. And Liliana,” he looked at the paladin, who was listening
intently, “heals almost instantly. The time difference will not
harm her either.”

He took a
drink of juice to moisten his suddenly dry mouth.

“
Look,
I really didn't want to have to talk about this until tomorrow. We
can all meet, Clara and Malcolm too if they want, and hash it out
then.” He looked up at the sky. “The day's moving on and
I'd like to bring Kronk and his friends down so that they can start
working on building you some more permanent structures than tents.”

Clara
nodded once.

“
Very
well, Simon. We'll table this discussion until tomorrow. Virginia,
would you show Liliana to her tent? And Malcolm, could you find Mark
please? He's our resident engineer, after all, and I want him to
discuss the placing of buildings with the earthen before they begin
construction.”

Virginia
led the paladin away while Malcolm went hunting for the engineer.
Meanwhile, Clara poured Simon more orange juice and then stared at
him curiously.

“
Do
you really think you're up to a confrontation with the dragons?”
she asked. “Forgive me, but you're as pale as milk and look
like a strong breeze could carry you away.”

“
Thanks.
You look great too,” he responded, drawing a chuckle from the
concerned cleric.

“
I
have time,” he continued. “Time to grow stronger, to
regain what I lost in my 'rebirth'. Time flows faster here than it
does in the elven lands. A month here might be only a few days there,
so even if things begin going badly for the elves, I still have a
rather large window of opportunity that I can use to, in a way,
recharge my magical batteries.”

“
And
you really believe that our four young friends could be of use?”
she asked, lowering her voice.

“
I
do,” Simon replied quietly. “Their communal strength is
quite formidable. I think their Shield spell is actually stronger
than my own. Virginia's ability to heal is extraordinary and their
Force spell kept a horde of wights at bay for several hours. Even
Anna's Invisibility spell could come in handy. Yes, I think they
could be very useful.”

He patted
her hand reassuringly.

“
But
I also know what they mean to you and to this community. That's why I
want you at our meeting tomorrow. I won't guilt-trip them or try to
railroad them into coming with me. It will be their choice. And if
you want to raise any objections, please feel free to do so. To be
honest, I've always been a lone wolf. If I had my druthers, I'd
simply go it alone. But the brown dragons are stronger than any other
dragon I've faced so far and their primal? God, I can't even begin to
imagine what his powers are like. This war had reached a whole other
level and I'm going to need help on this one.”

Clara
watched him silently for a moment and then smiled.

“
Thank
you, Simon,” she said simply.

“
For
what?”

“
Your
honesty. Some people would try to sugar-coat this, but you're being
upfront about it.”

“
You're
my friends, as I said earlier.” he replied. “Friends
don't sucker friends into rushing off to face danger. They lay it out
in front of them and let them make their decisions based on fact. No
need to thank me for that.”

“
There
is, but I don't think you'll ever see it that way. But enough of
that.”

She stood
up and waited for the wizard to join her.

“
Did
you want to summon your elemental friends now? I can see that Malcolm
has found Mark for us.”

“
Absolutely.
Let's head to the center of town. That way your engineer can show
Kronk and the others exactly where he thinks the various buildings
should go.”

Malcolm
and Mark, a small man with large eyes and a thatch of sandy blond
hair who Simon always thought looked more like a schoolboy than an
engineer, followed Clara and the wizard to the center of town, where
he had arrived earlier.

The wizard
wasted no time in calling out the names of the three earthen,
beginning with Kronk. When they had arrived and he introduced them
all around, he summoned Aeris.

The air
elemental appeared, still holding the sack full of beets and
immediately began berating him.

“
Finally!”
he exclaimed as he popped into view, hovering at eye level. “Do
you realize how long I've been holding on to this bag of vegetables?”

“
Two
hours?” Simon guessed.

“
Two
hours, exactly! Two hours that I've been dragging around this
blasted, smelly sack...”

“
Hello
Aeris,” Clara said, cutting him off. “It's good to see
you again.”

Simon gave
her a look of gratitude as she diverted the elemental's wrath and she
winked subtly.

“
Ah,
lady cleric.” Aeris bowed slightly and offered her the sack. “A
gift, from myself and the addle-brained wizard for whom I work. With
our compliments.”

“
Addle-brained?
Now, hang on a second...”

“
Aeris!”
Kronk barked up at him. “How dare you address our master in
such a tone!”

“
Well,
if the name fits...”

“
Enough!”
Malcolm roared and an immediate silence followed as everyone jumped
and then stared at the big man.

“
We
don't have time for all this bickering,” he told them,
glowering. Simon couldn't remember ever seeing him looking so
serious.

“
Malcolm's
right,” the wizard agreed. “Thanks for bringing the bag,
Aeris, but we have to press on. Daylight is burning here.”

Aeris
nodded stiffly and bobbed in the breeze, remaining silent.

“
Kronk,
if you and your friends would be so kind as to confer with Mark here?
As I understand it, you've already laid out a plan for permanent
buildings?”

The
engineer nodded and pulled out a roll of paper from his back pocket.
The earthen gathered around and Mark sat down on the grass and the
four of them started speaking quietly.

Clara
opened the sack that Aeris had given her and gasped in delight.

“
Simon!
I love beets! Thank you so much. And you too, Aeris,” she added
hastily. “I'll give you a bag of oranges and lemons to take
back with you tomorrow. You'll need all of the vitamin C you can get
if you intend to spend the winter up north.”

The rest
of the day passed in a bit of a blur for Simon. Kronk and the two
earthen with him began raising buildings according to the plans drawn
up by Mark and agreed to by the rest of the community.

One
addition that both Simon and Kronk convinced Clara and the others of
was a central hall. They told them about the usefulness of a warded
building during an aerial attack, which sobered up the group
considerably. Liliana, as the veteran of more than one encounter with
dragons, added her voice of support for the idea and a hastily called
town meeting approved it.

“
How
are you going to build it?” Simon asked Kronk quietly after the
meeting. “You'll have to travel a long way to find enough wood,
won't you?”

“
Yes
master,” the little guy agreed. “If we were using wood.
But we are not. We are using rock. Excuse me please but we should
start immediately.”

And then
he and the other earthen slipped into the ground, leaving small
mounds of dirt behind them.

“
You
know, that is really freaky to watch,” Mark said as he walked
over and stood next to the wizard.

“
Yeah.
I've gotten used to it somewhat, but when they just casually
disappear underground like that, it can still surprise me.”

Mark had
some sheets of paper with him and he proceeded to show Simon some
hastily drawn sketches of the new hall.

“
You
are going to be casting wards along the wall?” he asked.

“
Along
the walls and then,” Simon tapped the roof on the drawing, “on
top, right in the middle. The wards will mesh together and create a
shield around the entire structure.”