The Dragons of Decay (50 page)

“
Our elders were being moved to
a safer location, further away from the battle front and deeper into
the forest,” the woman said, her voice thick with grief.
“Somehow the dragons learned of our plans and ambushed them.”
She gestured toward the base of the hill. “There.”

“
You mean your leaders are all
dead?” Simon asked. He couldn't believe it but Daniel nodded
heavily.

“
They are. But they did not go
down easily. The elders were powerful. Not magic-users, no, because
no elves are. But they were strong warriors, armed with enchanted
weapons. And the forest rose up to defend them, as it will for any
elf.”

His friend turned and pointed and
Simon quickly adjusted the view of the mirror to follow his gesture.

At the base of the hill, a huge mound
had blocked the rot that was creeping along the ground from climbing
the hill and consuming the few trees and sparse grass that grew
there. As the wizard tried to peer through the haze, his mouth
dropped open as he finally realized what he was seeing.

Dragons. Dozens of dragon corpses.
Each one fifty feet long or more from nose to tail. Their
brown-scaled bodies were rent with deep slashes and gaping wounds.
Some had had their wings torn off. And one, horribly, was missing its
lower jaw. Masses of broken and decayed trees were wrapped around and
intertwined with the corpses. It looked horrific.

“
Holy crap,” Simon
finally said. “The elders did that?”

“
Aye,” Ethmira spoke up,
her voice ringing with pride, while her expression revealed only
sorrow. “Aye, the elders and the forest together. We do not
know exactly how many dragons perished here, but it might have been
as many as thirty, possibly more.”

“
That's, well, incredible
doesn't even do it justice. But it looks like they were more than
holding their own. What happened?”

“
Neither of us was here,
obviously,” Daniel said wearily. “So we can only
speculate. But you're right. The elders could have won this fight,
even though they would have sustained heavy casualties. But we
believe that when they began to lose the battle, the lesser dragons
called for help. And that help sealed the fate of the elders...and
this part of the forest.”

“
The primal brown,” Simon
said, feeling his throat tighten in rage. “It was the primal
brown dragon, wasn't it?”

“
Yes, my friend,” Ethmira
answered. “Nothing less could have beaten my elders. They
struck that fiend a heavy blow though. Its minions have been greatly
reduced, its power lessened. But now we are scrambling, trying to
think of what to do next.”

“
Are you two safe for now?”
Simon asked anxiously. He stood up, pushed back the tent flap and
stepped outside, the surprised elementals following him quickly. The
tent had suddenly felt claustrophobic and he wanted some fresh air.

“
Safe? Yes, we're safe.”

Daniel looked up at the sky and
smiled slightly for the first time.

“
In fact, our ride has just
returned. We were dropped off to scout out the area and now we're
heading for what we hope is a safe haven. Of course, the elders
thought they would be safe too, so who knows.”

Their ride? Simon tilted the mirror
upward, curious, wondering what his friend was talking about and then
smiled in delighted surprise.

A winged shape, that at first he
feared was a dragon, was spiraling down toward the hill top. As it
approached, the wizard began to make out details.

It looked like a swan, but its
feathers were as black as coal. It blotted out the sky as it closed
in on the hill. And it was immense; as large as a dragon, at least.
As it neared the top of the hill, it slowed and began to flap its
huge wings, back-winging prior to landing, and Daniel and Ethmira
turned away and covered their faces as dirt and ash were whipped
around in the sudden wind.

When the dust had settled, the black
swan stood there, towering over the pair and watching them with
placid, amber-colored eyes. It was, thought Simon, truly one of the
most beautiful creatures that he had ever seen.

“
That's your ride?” he
asked when he finally got over his shock.

Daniel chuckled at his obvious
surprise and nodded.

“
Yes. This is Pharra. She is
the queen of all of her kind on this world. When Ethmira sent out a
call for aid, she graciously offered her services to transport us
quickly from place to place.”

He looked up at the swan in
admiration.

“
I believe she could out-fly
even a dragon.”

The huge bird lifted her head and let
out a piercing cry that echoed through the air. Then she lowered
herself to the ground and waited patiently.

“
Where will you go?”
Simon asked them.

“
I know of a place that is
quite defensible,” Ethmira told him. “Even if we face a
dragon attack, and now it seems inevitable that we will, the refuge I
am thinking of should enable us to hold them back for a long time. My
people will join us once I send our friend here,” and she
patted the swan's side gently, “back with news of where we've
gone.”

Simon watched as the elven maiden
nodded once, then turned and climbed up and on to the back of Pharra.
The swan made a soft noise deep in her throat.

“
I don't know how you managed
to pick this exact moment to call, Simon,” Daniel told him.
“Considering that I assured you the last time we spoke that we
might be safe from the dragons for months, but your timing was
miraculous.”

“
Blind luck, I guess,”
Simon replied and then grinned impishly. “Or the gods' favor.
Who knows?” He became serious again. “Listen Daniel, I'm
about to have a meeting with the four Changlings I told you about
before, Virginia and her friends. If they agree to help, or even if
they don't, I want to cross over and do what I can.”

Although his friend couldn't see him,
Daniel glared out of the mirror directly at Simon and shook his head
emphatically.

“
Absolutely not. I was glad you
called so that, well I hate to sound maudlin but I wanted to have a
chance to say goodbye. The remaining elves have chosen new
representatives and they have decided to stop the primal brown dragon
and its servants once and for all. Unfortunately it means that you
won't be able to contact me again.”

Simon stood in the bright morning
sunlight with a warm breeze blowing across his body, but felt a chill
course down his spine.

“
What? What are you talking
about?”

Daniel looked up at Ethmira and she
made a little gesture, as if giving him permission to speak.

“
Ethmira is one of the new
elders, Simon. Together they are going to exercise their power over
this world and seal it off completely. The brown dragons will be
trapped in the elven realm for all of eternity. Even the dark gods
won't be able to crack open a portal into this world and the Earth
will be safe, at least from the primal brown. You will be left to
deal with the red dragons and their queen, but I have no doubt that
you'll find a way to beat them.” He smiled fondly and Simon
wished that his friend could actually see him. “You're a very
resourceful man.”

“
No, Daniel. You can't! There's
another way; there has to be.”

His friend sighed and shook his head,
his mane of white hair floating around his face like an aura.

“
I wish there was, old friend.
But we've spent days going over and over alternatives and there
simply aren't any. Even before the elders were attacked, this plan
had been discussed. Now, it seems, it is the only option.”

“
It is not,” Simon said
firmly, his voice so heavy with conviction that Daniel was caught by
surprise and stared around in confusion.

“
What do you mean?” he
asked. “You have another way to stop them? I know how clever
you are, Simon, but I think we've gone through every possible
scenario.”

“
I hate to argue with you, my
friend,” Simon began and then had to laugh at Daniel's wry
grin. “Okay, actually I enjoy arguing with you. But that's not
the case now. I've thought of a possible way to stop the primal
brown, but I'm going to have to cross over to put the plan into
action. And I'm probably going to need Virginia and the others as
well, although I'm willing to attempt it without them.”

“
Really? So what's the plan?”

Ethmira leaned forward on the back of
the swan, listening intently and Simon hesitated.

“
Um, I rather tell you in
person, if you don't mind. I have a few details to work out and I
don't want to present the plan until it's fully fleshed out.”

“
Well, that's fair enough, I
suppose,” Daniel agreed and then asked, “By the way, how
are you feeling? How strong are you now?”

The wizard looked at the elementals,
who were listening to every word, and put a finger to his lips. Aeris
scowled and Kronk simply blinked, but both remained silent.

“
I'm feeling great, actually.
Never better. My strength's come back more quickly than I ever
imagined.”

“
Really?” Daniel looked
pleased. “That's excellent. Okay, listen Simon, we have to
move. Staying in one spot these days is not a good idea. I'll try to
convince the leaders to hold off until we hear from you again. I
think they will agree; after all, once their plan is put into effect,
there's no going back.”

He looked up at Ethmira.

“
Do you think they'll wait?”

She nodded thoughtfully.

“
I'd say so. I will vote in
favor of waiting, at least for a short time. But Simon,” she
said, looking around, “please be sure of this plan of yours.
There is no reason for you to sacrifice yourself if you aren't
positive that your idea will work. Better for us to seal ourselves
away and allow you to help in the final fight against the red dragons
than for you to die needlessly.”

“
Thanks, Ethmira. I'll keep
that in mind. How long do you think I have, my time, Daniel?”

“
No more than a week, I'd say.
Only a day or two will pass here, but if we wait too long, the
elders' resolve may waver. Or the dragons may make another bold move.
We can't take the chance that either will occur.”

“
Got it. Okay, I'll call back
soon. Please be careful, both of you.”

He watched as Daniel awkwardly
climbed on to the back of the swan, Ethmira pulling him up behind
her. Both of them smiled and nodded and then, with a great leap, the
massive bird launched itself into the sky, flapped its wings twice
and was gone.

Simon lowered the mirror and gave it
a shake to break the spell. Then he turned and ducked into his tent
and put it on the bureau.

He walked out again to find both
Kronk and Aeris staring at him.

“
What?”

“
You lied,” Aeris said
accusingly. “You just lied to your best friend.”

“
Why did you do that, master?”
Kronk asked, sounding confused. “You are far from being at full
strength. It will take months before your powers are back to where
they once were.”

“
Yes, I know that. Come on, I
want to go and sit in the shade.”

He walked across the bustling central
area of the town and around the new town hall. He took a moment to
peek into the building and saw piles of wood, already cut into
planks, just waiting to be used.

“
Good job,” he said to
Kronk, who thanked him with a perfunctory smile.

Guess I'm not going to divert him
that way, Simon thought and kept walking.

When he arrived back where the chairs
and tables were set up under the tarp, he found that Virginia, Anna,
Eric and Gerard were already there, sipping lemonade and speaking
intensely with Clara and Malcolm. Liliana walked over at the same
time and joined them. Everyone looked up as he approached and there
were waves and smiles all around.

“
Hey guys,” the wizard
said as he took a seat. Clara offered him a glass of lemonade and he
accepted gratefully.

“
You're all looking rather
serious on a beautiful day.”

“
We were discussing your
proposal,” Virginia told him. “According to our beloved
cleric, we are to make up our own minds on this, without her
interference.”

She smiled warmly at Clara, who
returned it.

“
As far as I'm concerned, you
are all adults and can make your own decisions. I just wanted Simon
to lay out the risks before you rushed off to war, that's all.”

She looked at the wizard and then
gestured at Liliana, who had pulled up a chair and sat down.

“
Our lady paladin here was good
enough to relate her experiences with dragons to all of us earlier
this morning, so I think that we've heard the worst. If you have
anything to add, Simon, now is the time.”

The wizard looked down at Kronk and
then over at Aeris, who was watching him closely as he swayed in the
breeze.

“
I do have something, actually.
Something that may well change your minds, that is if you've decided
to join me in the fight.”