The Dragons of Decay (47 page)

“
Amazing.
Too bad the town itself couldn't be protected like that.”

Simon
smiled at him.

“
Even
magic can only be stretched so far. My tower is just about the
biggest structure that can be shielded in such a way. Any larger and
the power just collapses back in on itself.”

Mark was
nodding, but his expression was a little vague, as he took Simon's
word for it.

“
Okay
then. Thanks for this, by the way. You are the only one who can cast
these ward thingies, you know. If it wasn't for your powers, I'd say
it's safe to assume we'd be screwed.”

Simon
laughed uncomfortably.

“
Just
doing my part, same as you are,” he told the engineer. “I
mean, look at you. You were actually an engineer back in the day?”

“
Oh
yeah,” Mark nodded. “Had a very successful company back
then as well. Then everything mechanical stopped working overnight.
Do you know how disconcerting that is to an engineer?”

“
I
can imagine, considering how the rest of us reacted. But like I was
saying, you're doing your part as well. Just looking at you, I'd say
you were no more than, what, seventeen? But here you are, doing your
best instead of reveling in your new-found youth.”

“
Ha!
You're one to talk, sir wizard,” Mark grinned. “You look
even younger than I do. Here's a tip, by the way. If you cut your
hair short, you look younger. Learned that from my barber back in the
old days.”

Simon
laughed in return.

“
I
had very little hair left back then, to be honest. My rebirth means
that I have to regrow my hair again.” He rubbed his head
ruefully. “I miss it already. Ah well. Patience is my new
mantra and it'll get there eventually.”

The two
spent the next little while reminiscing and exchanging stories about
their old lives and Simon found Mark to be one of the sharpest and
funniest people he'd known for a long time. In fact, he was
practically howling at one of the engineer's jokes when the ground
began to shake and he staggered, almost falling over.

Mark
caught him by the elbow and steadied him, then looked around with a
scowl.

“
This
area isn't geologically unstable. What the hell's going on?”

Simon
didn't have time to explain. Two of the children were scampering
after each other in the middle of the town, watched over fondly by
their mothers. As the ground shook, they all stopped and looked
around in confusion. The wizard began to run.

“
Get
the kids out of the area,” he shouted. “Right now!”

The women
gaped at him for a second and then raced toward the two kids,
scooping them up and running back toward the tent area.

Simon
skidded to a halt and breathed a sigh of relief. He backed away,
berating himself at the same time.

I should
have warned them that Kronk would be raising bedrock to build the
town hall, he thought in disgust. Less socializing and more thinking,
oh great wizard.

Slowly the
ground split open to reveal thick stone walls growing up in a
circular pattern. Mark moved next to Simon and watched in awe.

“
That
is amazing,” he muttered and Simon smiled at his reaction. He
was feeling a little better as he realized that the children had
never been in any danger from the slow growth of the hall. Kronk's
doing, no doubt.

“
I
suppose he's using stone because of the lack of available wood close
by,” he said. “The rest of the buildings in your plan
with be wooden, I guess. Unless you folks want all stone structures?
Not a bad idea actually.”

Mark
glanced at him and shook his head.

“
For
security, yes. But without any means of cooling them, stone buildings
in this type of climate can be literal furnaces. Wooden walls breathe
better and allow for more air flow. Plus, repairs will be easier for
us mere mortals who don't have elementals on call when we need
something fixed.”

Simon
chuckled.

“
Good
point,” he said and they stood together and watched until the
walls had finished rising.

How Kronk
and the others did it was something that Simon knew he'd never
understand, but when the rumbling had stopped and the dust settled,
he was looking at walls at least a dozen feet high, smooth and pale
gray. Every few feet a square window had been cut about chest-high
and two large doors opened to the north and the south.

The
villagers cheered and the children shrieked in delight like little
birds as Kronk and his two friends emerged from inside the building.

The three
earthen stood and stared at everyone applauding them and then smiled
hesitantly.

“
What's
wrong with them?” Mark asked Simon under his breath.

“
Back
in the old days, they were basically slaves,” he replied as he
watched them affectionately. “They aren't used to being
appreciated or thanked for their labors.”

“
Really?
That's just sad.”

Simon
smiled at him.

“
Well,
this will certainly help to begin erasing those memories.”

Kronk
turned, spotted the wizard and hurried over, his two helpers
following closely behind him.

“
Master!
How do you like it?”

“
It's
wonderful, Kronk. You guys always do a fantastic job.”

The three
glowed with delight at the compliments and smiled even wider as Mark
added his own.

“
Thank
you, master, and you as well, sir engineer. We wanted to ask about
the roof.”

“
You
guys go ahead and discuss things,” Simon told Mark and the
elementals. “I'm out of my depth when it comes to building
stuff. If you need me, I think I'll take a stroll down to the
seashore, clear my head.”

He waved
and turned away toward the main gate, leaving the little group
discussing what shape the new roof should be.

At the
gate, he passed a guard whose name he didn't know. She was wearing a
light chain mail coat and leaning on a spear and waved him through
elaborately as he left. Simon gave her a grin in return and crossed
the drawbridge. Kronk and the others hadn't dug a trench around the
town yet and the drawbridge was simply a ramp leading down the slope
of the hill that the new town was built on.

The wizard
turned to his left and saw the distant shore of the sea. The hill
gently led down toward it and he began to walk slowly, taking his
time and sucking in deep breaths of tangy, salty air that the breeze
blew toward him from the ocean.

How long
since he'd been to the seaside, he wondered. Decades at least. His
last visit had been a few years before his mother had passed away.
They had traveled to Prince Edward Island, his mother's birthplace.
She'd been ill even then and had wanted to reconnect with old friends
and relatives before the end. Simon's memories were a mixture of
happiness and bitterness, all rolled together.

Now
though, as he approached the endless rolling waves, he felt only
elation, a sense of rebirth. He had been given a second chance and
did not want to dwell too long in old memories.

It's time
to make some new ones, he thought with a little smile. Hopefully,
better ones.

As he
approached the shore, Simon had to jump over small tidal pools and
detour around scattered rocks before reaching the smooth part of the
sandy beach. He walked carefully, his bare feel feeling every little
piece of sharp-edged gravel and gritty dirt. But even those
sensations were wonderful to him, because the ground itself was
deliciously warm.

“
I'm
going to hate going back home tomorrow,” he said out loud. The
crashing of the waves muted his voice and it was lost in the chorus
of wind and seagulls.

A dozen
yards from the booming surf, Simon lowered himself to the sand
carefully, lay back with a sigh and watched as wispy clouds sailed
across the deep blue sky. He could get used to this was his last
thought before he fell into a deep sleep.

When he
woke up a few hours later, Simon sat up abruptly with a snort and
looked around wildly. For a moment he had no idea where he was and
felt a surge of panic.

“
You
slept well,” a familiar voice said.

He turned
toward the speaker and saw Aeris floating up and down a few feet
away. Simon immediately relaxed and rubbed the back of his head,
feeling sand and grit falling off.

“
Hi.
I did, didn't I? That's a surprise. I hadn't realized that I was so
tired.”

“
Best
thing you could have done,” the elemental assured him. “When
I saw you leave town, I thought it would be best to keep an eye on
you.”

He turned
in a slow circle, scanning their surroundings.

“
We
can never be sure if a place is completely safe these days, as you
well know, and a sleeping wizard would be a tempting target for
allies of the dark gods.”

Simon
nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed. Aeris was right; lying unconscious
out in the open in a strange place was incredibly stupid, especially
right now.

“
Thanks.
So, any sign of danger?”

“
Not
unless you count the bird poop on your robe as dangerous,” the
elemental replied dryly.

Simon
looked down, made a sound of disgust deep in his throat and stood up
quickly. He swayed for a moment and then walked over to the nearest
pool of water and splashed some on his robe to get rid of the
seagull's little gift. He wasn't very successful.

“
Well,
that's gross,” he said as he gave up. “Wish I'd brought a
change of clothes with me.”

“
I'm
sure that you can find something in town,” Aeris told him with
an amused grin.

Simon
rolled his eyes and turned to look up the long slope toward the walls
of the town above them. From this distance, it looked quite
formidable and he approved of that. The stone walls gleamed palely in
the afternoon sun and appeared very strong.

“
Looks
good, doesn't it?” he asked Aeris as he began walking back.

“
It
does. You'll be happy to know that Kronk popped by a short time ago
with a status report. He didn't want to wake you so he asked that I
pass it along when you got up.”

“
And?”

“
Well,
the hall is done. He and the other two earthen constructed shutters
for the windows for now. They have assured Clara that when time
allows, they will add glass panels. The roof is done as well as the
doors. Hmm, what else? Oh yes, they dug the trench around the town. A
second drawbridge for the smaller rear gate will have to be built
another day. Today they want to finish several houses. The
townspeople have collected enough wood for that many, Oh and they
threw up another stone structure, a smithy I believe. The blacksmith,
Gregory, is beside himself with joy. A rather amusing sight
considering his size. That's about it.”

Simon
stopped to gape at him.

“
Good
grief, how long was I out?”

“
About
four hours. As I said, you needed it. And now, I assume you must be
hungry?”

The wizard
started walking again and his stomach decided to announce itself to
the world at that moment with a loud growl. Aeris laughed.

“
I'll
take that as a yes.”

When they
got back, Clara spotted Simon quickly and took his arm to lead him
back to where the chairs were set up. On the tables, plates were
stacked with sandwiches of fresh bread and smoked meat. There was
some sort of baked fish covered with an orange sauce that was
amazing. Simon had thirds, even though he'd never cared much for
fish. There were fresh orange slices and someone had made lemonade
with honey as a sweetener. It was delicious.

The entire
community seemed to have been waiting for the wizard to return before
eating and now the group attacked the food with a vengeance. Simon
made sure to compliment the cooks, including Malcolm, who seemed to
have a special knack for the art.

“
He
could boil stone and make it taste good,” Aiden said of his
partner, while the big man smiled shyly. “But will he make a
bed? God forbid!”

Clara and
Simon chuckled as Malcolm scowled and made a threatening gesture at a
laughing Aiden.

“
On
a more serious note,” the cleric said. “We all want to
thank you, Simon, and your elemental friends for all the help you've
given us. You've helped us build a town months faster than we could
have on our own and we all owe you a debt of gratitude.”