The Dragons of Decay by J.J. Thompson Read Free Book Online Page B

almost-smile.
    “ They're going to freeze their
asses off though, and then all I'll hear is whining.”
    The wizard chuckled sympathetically
and Clara shrugged.
    “ It's all in good fun, though.
Malcolm and Aiden love their drama, but their dedication to the town
and our safety is immense.”
    “ I know it is.”
    One of the earthen wandered into the
study and stood by the door, obviously waiting to speak.
    Simon glanced at him and nodded.
    “ Clara, I have to go. Stay safe
and use the lodestone if you need me, all right? I can be there in no
time if necessary.”
    “ I appreciate that, my friend,
but I'm sure we'll be fine. Good luck with your repairs.”
    “ Thanks.”
    He canceled the spell and nodded at
the earthen again.
    “ What is it?” he asked.
    “ Sir wizard, we have finished
our assessment up here,” he said. “The floors are
basically undamaged. We will have to grind off a layer of singed wood
on the ceiling over your main room below, but that is all. Kronk and
the others are in the basement now, wrapping up their own survey of
the damage.”
    “ Thanks. Go ahead and join
them. I'll be down in a minute.”
    The little figure bowed and left the
room.
    “ So far, not so bad,”
Aeris commented as he moved to hover in the middle of the desk.
    “ Yeah, true. It could have been
so much worse. Listen, do me a favor, would you? While the earthen
are in here checking things out, could you patrol the outer wall?
I'll admit I'm a bit spooked by all of this.”
    For a change, the air elemental
didn't make a sarcastic comment. He simply nodded seriously.
    “ Of course. I should have
thought of that myself. The wards are holding, but better safe than
sorry.”
    “ Thanks, Aeris,” Simon
told him and the elemental disappeared with a muted pop of air.
    The wizard stared at the shuttered
window for a long moment and sighed.
    And just think, Simon, he said to
himself. Only four more months of winter.

Chapter
4

    The storm would last for a week, just
as Aeris had predicted. If it hadn't been for the need to bring in
wood from the forest to repair the damage in his tower, Simon would
have left the gates closed and sealed until the blizzard had blown
over.
    Unfortunately, Kronk needed that wood
to replace sections of the floor on the main level, as well as to
construct new furniture, so the wizard reluctantly agreed.
    He went down to the basement and into
storage to get a new winter coat, gloves and boots and then stood
just inside the gates, staff in hand, while the earthen hurried out
into the storm to retrieve the wood.
    Fortunately there were no signs of
any wights and the group of elementals returned in an hour with piles
of freshly-cut wooden planks.
    Simon closed and locked the gates and
asked Aeris to keep patrolling the wall until the others had finished
their repairs. Then he went back inside and was told politely but
firmly by Kronk to stay upstairs while they worked on the new floor.
    After a show of grumbling, the wizard
headed up to his study and sat down at his desk to read, trying to
pass the time.
    Unfortunately, while Kronk and his
brethren were efficient, they weren't particularly quiet, and the
banging, the sound of boards being ripped out and the occasional loud
argument in the deep language of the earthen kept Simon from
concentrating and finally, in exasperation, he tossed his book aside
and picked up his hand mirror instead.
    It had been about two days since he'd
last spoken to Daniel, more or less, and he decided that now was as
good a time as any to see if his friend had any news.
    The Magic Mirror spell connected
quickly and Simon felt a rush of relief to see that his oldest friend
was okay and even seemed more rested than he had been in their last
conversation.
    “ Ah, Simon. There you are.”
    “ Here I am. How are you doing?”
    Daniel was sitting in a room with
dark wooden walls and candles glowing on the table in front of him.
There was a tall glass with amber liquid in it in his