The Dragons of Decay (52 page)

“
That
is true, master. I remember that.”

“
Good.
I accepted that explanation at the time because I didn't know any
better. It was only later on that it struck me as bizarre that the
primal black dragon himself would fly all the way from his lair north
of the Ottawa River just to take on one lone elf. He might have
dispatched one of his lesser dragons, but to do it himself? Odd, to
say the least.”

“
Perhaps
the dragon's hatred for elves was so great that he could not restrain
himself,” Aeris said, but he looked puzzled.

“
Yeah,
maybe. But then, if you both remember, when we attacked the primal
white dragon on that mesa, with fifty elves along for the fight, the
dragon didn't sense them at all. It didn't know any of us were there
until the attack began.”

“
Easily
explained,” Aeris said loftily. “The elves were covered
by a glamor. Ethmira told you that herself. The dragon couldn't sense
them because they were obscured by elven magic.”

Simon
smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“
Really?
Then why, when she first visited me, wasn't Ethmira covered by a
glamor? She was well aware of the dragon's presence and warned us
that she couldn't stay long because of it.”

“
I...”

Aeris
frowned down at Kronk, who was scratching his head, making a sound
like sandpaper on rock.

“
I
have no idea,” he finally muttered.

“
Well
I do,” the wizard stated harshly. “And the facts were in
front of me the whole time, brought to my attention by Daniel of all
people. I just couldn't see them. But when I talked to him a while
ago, he stated it again and things snapped together in my head.”

“
Stated
what again, master?” Kronk asked. “What did he say?”

“
You
both heard him,” Simon told them.

Both
elementals looked mystified.

“
Elves
can't use magic,” the wizard said. “At all. They have no
spell-casters, no wizards, no mages. They can't cast spells. They
are
magic, as we've heard so many times. They create enchanted weapons
because their touch infuses the metal. But using spells? Impossible.”

He looked
at Kronk and Aeris and was met with blank stares.

“
Don't
you see? The elves never had a glamor cast on them. Ethmira lied to
me.”

Both of
the elementals gasped at once.

“
But,
but master,” Kronk objected. “The elven maiden has been
your ally for years now! She would not lie to you.”

“
Wouldn't
she?”

He held up
a hand and counted off his points on his fingers.

“
The
primal dragon never caught her when she first visited me. Damned
lucky girl. When she brought Daniel across from the elven realm,
there was no sign of the dragon at all. How convenient. During our
showdown with the black, elves were slaughtered but Ethmira was
untouched. My, she is one lucky elf, isn't she? She showed up moments
after I lost my magic to those two red dragons and helped me regain
it. Great timing as usual. When Heather ambushed me at her home, the
note that we found on our front gate was written on the exact same
type of parchment and sealed with the same wax that Ethmira used in a
previous note. How did Heather know about that or that I would
respond to such a message?”

He took a
drink of water and continued, the elementals staring at him in rising
horror.

“
She
was also remarkably unscathed after our battle with the primal white
dragon. But the thing that finally convinced me that something was
really wrong was what we heard today.”

“
Which
was what?” Aeris asked tensely.

“
Which
was that the entire elder council had been attacked and destroyed by
the brown dragons and by their primal. Now, if elves could cover
themselves with a glamor, how did the dragons find the elders? They
were being moved secretly to a new, more secure location away from
the war front. So either a glamor doesn't actually exist, in which
case Ethmira's been lying to me this entire time, and the dragons
could sense the elders, or a glamor does exist, in which case the
elders were betrayed by one of their own.”

“
There
is a third scenario, master,” Kronk said and Simon nodded at
him.

“
I
know. Go ahead and say it, my friend.”

“
It
is that dragons cannot sense elves after all and each time they were
attacked, it was because Ethmira informed them about the target.”

Simon
sighed and slumped wearily on the cot, wiping his forehead on his
sleeve. The heat in the tent was giving him a headache.

“
Exactly
right,” he told the little guy. “Pick your version of the
truth, I suppose.”

“
But
why?” Aeris asked, baffled. “Why would an elf side with
dragons? Each loathes the other, that much we do know.”

“
I
can't answer that. I do know that now that the elder council is
destroyed, Ethmira has been appointed to the new council. Perhaps she
is simply seeking power.”

“
At
the price of her entire world? No, I doubt that. I think there is a
simpler explanation,” Aeris said with a scowl.

“
And
that is?”

“
That
she is simply evil. Elves aren't saints, my dear wizard. There are
many tales of rogue elves who turned bad. If Ethmira is involved with
the dragons, then she is involved with the gods of Chaos themselves.
Remember Heather? She was lured into evil by promises of power. Who's
to say that Ethmira's case is any different?”

Simon
stood up and put down his empty glass.

“
Whatever
the reasons are, I don't trust her. And that is why I lied to Daniel
earlier when I said I was at full strength. I wanted Ethmira to think
that I'm more formidable than I am at the moment. And that's why I
wouldn't tell Daniel my plans for defeating the primal brown. She was
listening.”

“
Then
you do have a plan? Aeris asked.

“
Of
course I do. It's mad, sad and probably impossible, but hey, you know
me. That's my favorite kind.”

“
No
argument here,” Aeris muttered and Simon chuckled.

“
Okay,
let's get back. I'm melting in here.”

He turned
before he left the tent and shook at finger at both elementals.

“
Not
a word of this to anyone. Clear?”

“
You
shouldn't even have to ask,” Aeris said stiffly while Kronk
nodded, looking sad at this lack of trust.

Simon
glared at them both and then grinned widely.

“
Ha!
Just kidding!” he said and laughed at Aeris' offended look.

It passed
quickly and the air elemental smiled tentatively.

Kronk, on
the other hand, laughed out loud.

“
You
got us that time, master,” he chortled with a sideways glance
at Aeris.

“
Sorry
guys, I couldn't resist. Things are dark and gloomy, I know, but we
can't let ourselves wallow in depression, right?”

“
Yes,
agreed,” Aeris said firmly as they followed Simon from the
tent. “We must be optimistic, I suppose.”

“
Good.
Kronk, if you want to get your friends from where they're walking the
perimeter, why don't you start your construction now?”

“
Ah,
good idea, master. There is so much to do!”

He saluted
and disappeared underground.

“
Come
on,” the wizard said to Aeris. “Let's see if the others
have made a decision yet.”

“
Right.”

The group
of four, as Simon thought of them, had returned while he was talking
to the elementals and were waiting for him, drinking juice and eating
sandwiches while they waited.

Simon
smiled at them all, grabbed something to eat and drink and sat down,
Aeris hovering over his left shoulder.

He didn't
speak, just ate hungrily and waited for someone else to open the
conversation. Truthfully, even after what he'd said to Aeris and
Kronk, he was depressed at the thought of Ethmira's treachery. He had
believed they were friends, comrades in arms and now...now he feared
that they might meet in battle, on opposite sides. It was a bleak
thought.

Virginia cleared her throat and Simon
focused her as she sat up, glanced at her friends and began to speak.

“
We've talked it out,”
she told him gravely. “There are some general concerns about
leaving our friends here without our support, but if we take the long
view, eliminating the brown dragons will ensure their safety in the
future.”

She hesitated and Simon nodded
encouragingly.

“
The red dragons remain, but
apparently you are going to ward the town hall before heading to the
elvish realm, so at least the townspeople will have a refuge in case
of an attack.”

“
I'll be doing that, yes. So I
take it you've decided to come along?”

“
Was there ever any doubt?”
Gerard said with a grin. “How can we sit on the sidelines and
let you have all of the fun and glory?”

“
You have a weird definition of
fun,” Liliana said as she joined the group, but she was smiling
as she said it. She sat down and swung her sword out of the way.

“
So what comes next, sir
wizard?” she asked calmly.

“
Next? Next I call my friend
Daniel and arrange for an elf to take us through to their world. As I
understand it, there are places around the Earth where the two worlds
coexist or overlap or something and the elves can step from one plane
to the other. I don't know how they do it, but I do know that without
their help, we can't cross over.”

He finished his juice, set the glass
down on a table and leaned forward.

“
But as to when we leave, I'll
leave that up to you all. Today? Tomorrow? Considering the time
differential, it doesn't really make much of a difference.”

“
Speaking for myself, I am
ready whenever you are,” the paladin said and then looked at
the others curiously.

“
The same,” Virginia
said. Anna nodded while Eric and Gerard simply sat quietly. “We
have no real preparations to make. Just tell us when we leave and
we'll be ready.”

“
Excellent,” Simon said
and stood up. “I'll call Daniel and make the arrangements.
Personally, I'd prefer to get another night's sleep and start off
fresh tomorrow, considering the energy I'll be expending on warding
the town hall. But I'll let you know what my friend wants to do
shortly.”

He left again with Aeris trailing
along behind him, went back to his tent and grabbed the mirror. Then
Simon walked outside and made his way to the main gate. He greeted
the guard on duty and heading out of the town to the grassy fields
beyond.

“
Why are we all the way out
here?” Aeris asked when Simon had found a comfortable spot and
sat down in the long, waving grass.

The breeze was warm and comforting
and he leaned back on his elbows for a moment, gazing down the slope
at the distant ocean waves.

“
No reason, really. I just want
to enjoy the weather while I can. Beside, that tent has turned into a
sauna and I'd rather not sit in there for any length of time.”

“
Ah, I see.”

Aeris hovered just above the top of
the grass and looked around, seeming to find the view as restful as
Simon did.

“
You like it here?” the
wizard asked him.

“
Like it? Yes, I suppose I do.
I'm as tired of winter as you are, my dear wizard. It would be nice
to spend the season down here with the others. And yet, it isn't
home, is it? Something about that tower of yours makes me miss it
when I'm away too long.”

Simon had to smile at the elemental's
wistful tone.

“
I know what you mean. This
place,” he waved at the area around them, “is lovely and
certainly I won't mind visiting often, if things go our way. But it
isn't home and never will be. I think I've put down roots up north.
They're deep and strong and will always draw me back. I suppose
that's as good a definition of home as any.”

He held up the mirror, chanted the
communication spell and waited. The reflective surface fogged up and
cleared again almost immediately and Simon watched as the image of
Daniel swam into view.

He wasn't certain how much time had
passed since they'd last spoken, but it couldn't have been long in
the elven realm, as he saw his friend and Ethmira standing in a
forest clearing and waving upward. He guessed that they'd just
dismounted from the back of the giant swan, Pharra.