The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (21 page)

When he asked Kronk why the road took
some many turns and dips, the earthen tried to explain that various
densities in the rock had forced the ancient tunnelers to detour
around certain spots rather than force their way through them. Aeris
commented that it was the most boring conversation that he'd ever had
the misfortune to overhear.

The air elemental was constantly on
the move; racing ahead to scout the road, ducking into side tunnels,
of which there were many, and then returning to report his findings.
So far, what it had basically boiled down to was 'all clear'.

When Simon got up on the fourth day
of the trip, or after his fourth sleep, he washed up and ate quickly.
Aeris had found another way station and the wizard had slept well.
The small shelters were located at fairly even points along the road
and had made the journey a bit more comfortable.

But even with a sleeping bag, lying
on the solid stone ground had given Simon muscle aches that took a
few hours to work out every day. He couldn't even imagine himself
back before the Change making this trip; his middle-aged body would
not have been able to handle it.

The way station was located just at
the top of a very steep, twisting section of the highway and Simon
summoned two light globes to travel to the front and rear as he
moved. The footing was treacherous due to pebbles and dust that had
been dislodged over the centuries from the ceiling above the road and
he wanted to be able to see exactly where he was walking.

Kronk led the way, surefooted as
always, and the little guy helpfully pointed out the deeper cracks
that Simon had to step over carefully.

“
Is it just
my imagination, or is this part of the tunnel more ragged and damaged
than the rest we've been through?” he asked the earthen as they
slowly descended along the road.

“
No, you are
correct, master. I would guess that a major earthquake hit this area
some time in the past and that even the reinforcing arches that the
dwarves built into the tunnel weren't enough to keep it from being
damaged.”

He hopped over a wide crack and
pointed at it.

“
This is
also proof that the dwarves do not used this path any longer, master.
They would have repaired broken sections like this long ago it they
still used it.”

“
Good point.
Hmm, I wonder why they stopped trading with other cities. Monsters?
Civil war?”

He took a long, careful step over the
same crack the Kronk had jumped across and then leaned on his staff
while the two magic lights bobbed along over his head.

“
Perhaps
neither, master,” the earthen said as he looked down the slope
at the road ahead. “Monsters have only recently returned to the
world, thanks to the dark gods. And I have never heard of the dwarves
warring with each other. However...”

His voice trailed away as he stroked
his chin.

“
Yes?
However what?” Simon asked.

“
The
dwarves, as we know, are very insular. They isolate themselves from
the rest of the world and call it protection.”

He shook his head, looking a little
sad.

“
But what if
this isolation extended to their own people over time? Perhaps as the
years passed, they simply stopped communicating with each other?
These days they are united again, under the banner of Shandon
Ironhand, but before that? Who knows, master.”

They began walking again, slipping a
little on the steep road.

“
You may
have hit on the answer, Kronk,” the wizard mused. “Although
I doubt that we'll ever know. The dwarves that I have met are very
private people. Even Shandon wouldn't talk about something that puts
his peoples' past in a bad light, I'm guessing.”

Kronk kicked a jagged rock down the
slope and it skittered and bounced out of sight.

“
I agree,
master. It makes for interesting speculation as we walk though, does
it not?”

Simon just laughed in agreement.

The steep section of the road seemed
endless. Simon and Kronk had been descending for what felt like hours
when they finally saw the road level out ahead of them.

A small pile of dirt and debris had
rolled and trickled down the slope over the years and they had to
climb over it to continue their hike.

“
More
evidence that this section of the deep road hasn't been used in
years,” Simon said to the little guy, who nodded thoughtfully.

They walked perhaps a dozen yards and
then Kronk pointed down the road to the right.

“
Look,
master, another way station! It would be a good spot for you to rest
a bit after that last section of the road.”

Simon's legs were sore and so he
agreed happily. He silently blessed the ancient builders of the
tunnels for their foresight; the way stations had been the high point
of the trip so far.

The small room off of the main tunnel
was identical to all of the others they'd seen. A well in the center
surrounded by a low wall, some shelving and several benches all
carved out of the rock. Simon visited the latrine while Kronk tested
the well water to make sure that it was safe to drink.

How both elementals could tell if the
water was clear of poisons or toxins was a mystery to the wizard, but
he accepted it as fact. They had proved their worth too many times
for him to begin questioning them now.

Simon drank deeply after Kronk had
announced the water safe. The well water was cold and sweet and the
wizard was refreshed by it as always. Then he ate some dried fruit
and sat on a bench, resting for a few minutes.

It was always a relief to take off
his pack and put down his staff. He had finally decided that he
wasn't cut out to be an athlete any more. His old self would have
been scandalized by that idea, but facts were facts. He was a skinny,
weak wizard with no stamina.

Simon looked up at the pair of mage
lights swirling gently as they floated near the ceiling.

But being a wizard does have its
compensations, he thought with a smile.

He was just drifting off, his eyes
getting so heavy that he could barely keep them open, when another
light burst into the room.

Simon jerked upright on the bench and
looked around wildly. Then he sagged back in relief.

“
Oh, it's
just you,” he said to Aeris, who was glowing brightly with his
own light. “You had me worried...”

“
Get up! Get
up!” the air elemental bellowed at him. “We've got
trouble.”

The wizard jumped up blearily and
grabbed his staff. Kronk raced in from the tunnel where he'd been
standing watch.

“
What? What
is going on, Aeris?” he asked loudly.

“
Undead.
Lots of them. I ran into them as I was checking on the tunnel behind
us. They are boiling down the tunnel from above.”

“
They
followed us down here? How?”

Aeris flew to the doorway and peered
out.

“
I have no
idea where they came from or if they were sent after you, my dear
wizard, but that doesn't matter. They are heading this way, right
now.”

Simon strode to the exit and brushed
by Aeris. He moved out into the tunnel and stood in the center of it.
His twin light globes spun together into one beacon that was a bright
as midday.

“
How fast
are they moving?” he growled as he stared back up the deep road
to where it disappeared into the gloom.

“
They're
undead,” Aeris said with a disdainful snort. “No faster
than a fast walking pace. So tell me something, oh great one; what
exactly are you doing?”

Simon tapped the butt end of his
staff on the ground and looked at the air elemental.

“
What do you
think I'm doing? Making a stand. If there are that many of the
creatures, they will bunched up as they approach to attack. A decent
blast of fire should take care of most of them; old bone burns fairly
well as I recall.”

“
Master?”

“
Yes Kronk?”
Simon said, looking down at the little figure.

“
Are you
certain that this is the best course of action?”

The wizard looked from one elemental
to the other; each one had almost identical expressions of doubt on
their faces.

“
Meaning
what? Neither of you looks very confident. They're just animated
bones, for God's sake.”

“
You are
forgetting what we said about the nature of magic, my dear wizard.
Unlike that time you fought those burrowing dragons, you have been
down here for days. Your magic has been leeching into the surrounding
rock. Frankly, I'm surprised that you can still summon those.”

Aeris pointed up at the globe of
light.

Simon frowned at them and tried to
reach deeply inside of himself, feeling for his magical center.

“
I feel
exactly the same as I always have. Well, my feet are sore and my back
is aching a bit, but that's about it.”

Kronk looked skeptical and Aeris let
out a long sigh.

“
Why do you
never listen?” he asked plaintively.

Before Simon could answer, he heard a
distant shuffling sound. A rustling echo, like bundles of dried twigs
being crushed together, mixed in with the other noise and the three
of them stared out at the darkness.

“
Ah, you're
in luck,” Aeris said with his usual sarcasm. “Some of the
fresher corpses have outrun the other undead. See how well your magic
fares against them, hmm?”

“
Now is not
the time to be a smart-ass,” Simon growled at him.

“
I am not
being a 'smart-ass',” the elemental replied pertly. “I'm
offering a little proof for you. Look, there are three of the
monsters in the lead. Before you left for the elven realm, you could
have incinerated them with a thought. So off you go.”

The challenge was clear and the
wizard threw back his shoulders and lifted his staff in response.

“
Fine then.
Watch this.”

He pointed Mortis de Draconis at the
trio of shambling corpses; animated bones that still had bits of
putrid flesh hanging from their ribs and joints; and focused his
will.

He took a deep breath and thrust the
staff toward the monsters.

“
Fireball!”
he bellowed.

The staff flared and became warm and
Simon braced himself for the recoil of the spell.

He waited but nothing happened. The
light around the staff faded and it quickly cooled down. And the
undead kept coming.

“
Well?”
Aeris said as he raised an eyebrow.

“
Oh shit,”
Simon exclaimed.

He looked at the wall of skeletons
that had appeared a dozen yards behind the three leading corpses.
There were hundreds of them.

“
Run!”

“
Why did
they have to chase me down a hill?” Simon gasped as he ran down
the steep road, holding his robe up with his left hand so he wouldn't
trip on it.

He was carrying his staff on his
right shoulder to avoid tripping on it as well and he could only
imagine how ridiculous he looked as he ran.

“
Bad timing,
my dear wizard,” Aeris told him as he flew alongside.

Kronk was running to their right, his
little legs just a blur of movement. He was running so quickly that
his footsteps sounded like someone doing a constant drum roll. If the
situation hadn't been so dangerous, Simon would have been laughing.

Instead, he was thinking at lightning
speed, trying to come up with a plan to deal with the undead horde
chasing them.

The road showed no signs of leveling
out and Simon was doing his best not to trip and roll down the steep
slope; he'd probably break a leg if that happened.

Or my stupid neck, he thought
bitterly as he ran.

It had never occurred to him to test
his powers as they traveled deeper along the road. He'd just assumed
that when the time came, he would be ready.

Arrogant, my dear wizard, Simon could
almost hear Aeris say. And he would be right too.

What do you call a powerless wizard,
his inner voice asked sardonically.

Useless, he answered it. Now shut up.

“
Slow down,
master,” Kronk said a minute later. “We have put some
distance between us. You should take a moment to catch your breath.”

Simon tried to put on the brakes but
his momentum almost slammed him face-first into the ground. Aeris
caught his robe between the shoulder blades and helped him keep his
feet until he staggered to a stop.