The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) (42 page)

Kronk nodded, also
watching Simon.

“
Good idea,”
he said and Aeris zipped out the door as the wizard finished his
spell.

He stared intently into
the mirror and Kronk moved closer and peered into it as well.

“
Clara, are you
there?” Simon asked as he watched the mist form on the mirror's
surface.

“
Simon? Good
afternoon.”

The cleric appeared in the
mirror. She was standing on the wall surrounding the town, her short
brown hair blowing in the wind.

“
It's nice to hear
from you so soon. Aeris told me about your proposed exploration of a
dwarven tunnel. Are you back so soon?”

Without her own mirror,
Clara couldn't see where the wizard was calling from.

“
I'm back, yes. I
called to warn you.”

Simon told her what had
just happened far below ground and she frowned in concentration as
she listened.

“
Dragons?
Underground? By the gods, I never expected to hear something like
that! And Aeris believes they might be about to attack the dwarves?”

Simon nodded, forgetting
that she couldn't see him.

“
He does,” he
added quickly. “And, barring another explanation, I tend to
agree. There is no other reason for something that big and awkward to
be crawling through tunnels underground. I mean, the damned thing got
stuck as it tried to attack me.”

The cleric smiled a bit
and then turned to look out over the wall. She seemed to be
contemplating the distant horizon.

“
Could this involve
my people?” she asked, tapping the parapet nervously in front
of her. “Or you, for that matter.”

Simon stood up with the
mirror, brushed off some remaining dust from his robe and crossed the
room to stare out the door.

“
No idea, but I
assume that it doesn't involve us at all. My presence down below must
have made a tempting target when whoever sent that dragon after me
realized I was down there. But I think it was a side-mission, not the
reason that monster was down there in the first place. My question
is, do you have a way to reach the dwarves to warn them? Just in case
we're correct in our speculations?”

His heart sank as he
watched Clara shake her head sadly.

“
None. They show up
when they show up. It could be today, next week, next month. There's
no way to know.”

“
Damn it,”
Simon muttered. “I can't believe that they will expect a dragon
attack on their stronghold so deep underground. I know they're tough,
and they have amazing weapons and machines, but down there in close
quarters? It could be a slaughter.”

Kronk jumped down from the
table and joined him in the doorway. Both of them watched as Aeris
flew from right to left along the top of the wall, staring at the
surrounding forest.

“
But Simon, why
can't
you
get in touch
with the dwarves?” Clara asked suddenly.

Simon stared into the
mirror.

“
What?”

“
Well, you've met
Shandon Ironhand before; at the fight against the primal black
dragon, remember? You know what he looks like. So, use your magic and
call him.”

Simon was stunned at his
own stupidity.

“
Unbelievable,”
he said as he felt himself blushing. “Just when I thought that
I couldn't get any thicker, a moment like this happens.”

“
You aren't thick,
master,” Kronk hissed from knee level. Simon spared him a quick
smile and looked back into the mirror.

“
I actually didn't
think I'd be able to reach him using Magic Mouth or Magic Mirror,”
he said to the cleric. “Something I read once, in a fantasy
book, mind you, said that dwarven cities were warded against magic.”

“
Fantasy is reality
these days, my friend,” Clara said with a tired smile. “I
would guess that they are warded, against
hostile
magic. Yours isn't, so perhaps you can reach them. Certainly it's
worth a try.”

Simon
leaned on the door frame and tried to recall Shandon's features as
best he could.

“
You're
right. I'll try to contact him right away. And I'll let you know what
happens later.”

“
Good
luck,” she said, still watching the fields beyond her wall. “My
prayers are with you.”

“
Thanks,
Clara. Talk to you soon.”

He
lowered the mirror and canceled the spell. Aeris flew around the
corner of the tower and up the front steps.

“
All
clear, my dear wizard.” He looked at Kronk. “Will your
compatriots be along to patrol the wall tonight?”

“
Of
course,” the earthen responded. “We all decided that they
were only needed after dark, didn't we?”

The
air elemental agreed.

“
We
did. The area is clear at the moment, anyway. So what did the cleric
have to say?”

Simon
went back inside and sat down again.

“
She
reminded me that as I've actually met the dwarven leader, I should be
able to contact him directly.”

He
rolled his eyes and laughed at himself.

Aeris
floated to the tabletop and Kronk joined them.

“
Aren't
the dwarven strongholds protected against that sort of thing?”
he asked.

“
That's
what I thought, but Clara says that friendly magic might let me get
in touch regardless. No way to know unless I try, is there?”

Simon
picked up the mirror and cast the Magic Mirror spell. He focused all
of his mind on what he remembered of Shandon Ironhand as he chanted
the incantation.

Long
black beard, plaited with braids, heavy brows and a rather prominent
nose. Yes, he thought. I do remember him.

He
uttered the word of command and watched as the mirror fogged over.

“
Any
luck, master?” Kronk asked curiously as he moved over to see
the surface of the mirror.

“
No
idea. It's obviously trying to reach, well, someone. But whether it's
the dwarf or not, we'll have to wait and see.”

The
three of them stared anxiously at the mirror and waited. And waited
some more.

“
Who
in the bloody hell is trying to attack me with magic?” a
gravelly voice suddenly barked from the mirror. Simon almost dropped
it in surprise.

“
Um,
hello?” he said tentatively. “Is this Shandon Ironhand?”
The mirror was still cloudy and all he could see was a vague, shadowy
figure.

“
That
depends. Who wants to know?”

Simon
sagged with relief. He recognized the voice of the dwarven leader.

“
It's
me, Simon O'Toole. Do you remember? I'm the wizard who...”

“
Who
fought and killed that damned dragon. Of course I remember you!”

The
mirror abruptly cleared and Simon found himself staring at the face
of Ironhand. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“
Well,
this is a surprise. Imagine me getting a call from a wizard! The
first dwarf to receive such a thing in millennia.”

The
dwarf was looking around vaguely and Simon realized that he couldn't
see him.

“
If
you'd like to speak face to face, just find a mirror and you'll be
able to see me,” he told Ironhand.

“
Ah,
a Magic Mirror spell, is it? Excellent. You've caught me in my
quarters so I do have a lovely mirror close at hand. Made from a
buffed sheet of platinum. Just the thing.”

The
heavy-set figure stomped across the room and Simon had a chance to
see that his quarters were quite opulent.

The
stone walls were mostly covered with rich tapestries and fine
paintings. Torches hung in brackets along the walls where the stone
was bare. A fire roared in a massive fireplace with a mantle holding
rich ornaments of gold and other precious metals.

Dwarves
sure love their baubles, Simon thought with amusement.

The
scene faded away to be replaced by Shandon's face again.

“
Ah,
there you are,” he said as he settled into a chair. The mirror
must have been quite large; Simon could see all of the dwarf, not
just his face.

“
Now,
to what do I owe this pleasure? As you saw, we have ways of blocking
magic and I would normally have just dismissed this intrusion as a
possible attack.”

The
dwarf grinned and stretched out his short legs, lacing his fingers
together behind his head.

“
But
you caught me on a good day, so I thought I'd see who was attempting
to contact me. Now, what is it?”

Simon
took a deep breath.

“
Thanks
for the welcome, sir, but this isn't a social call, I'm afraid.”

“
Well,
it won't be if you call me sir again,” the dwarf warned him,
still smiling. “I'm no knight. Ironhand will do just fine as a
title. Go on.”

“
Right.
Okay, Ironhand it is. Anyway, let me explain what happened earlier
today.”

The
wizard told his story as quickly and as concisely as possible. He was
worried that they might be running out of time. After the first few
sentences, Ironhand sat up and leaned forward, his smile replaced by
a frown as he listened intently. When Simon was done, he stood up
abruptly and clapped a hand to his waist. He was armed with an axe
that shone in the firelight like silver.

“
Dragons!
Underground? I've never heard of such a thing.”

He
paced back and forth, leaving Simon's field of view and then
returning again. The dwarf was muttering to himself.

Finally
he stopped and stared at Simon.

“
Thank
you for the warning, sir wizard. You have more than proven your
friendship to my people with this. As your air elemental said, I too
cannot think of any other reason for dragons to be crawling through
our tunnels unless it is to attack us.” He scowled fiercely.
“They'll get a surprise when they arrive, I assure you. Now
that we are warned, we'll be ready for them.”

“
If
you need any help, Ironhand, I'd be happy to lend a hand.”

The
dwarf looked at Simon speculatively.

“
Would
you now? Well, that is quite generous. But I'm afraid that my people
are a little...insular. They don't take kindly to strangers and even
less kindly to other races. Comes with living in isolation for
thousands of years, I suppose. So I thank you, but we'll be fine.
Call me back in a few days and we'll talk again. I'll tell you how we
kicked those dragons' asses all the way back to the surface!”

Simon
laughed.

“
All
right then. I wish you the best of luck, Ironhand. Take care.”

“
You
don't need luck in a battle, wizard. All you need is a trusty axe and
a strong arm to wield it. Now, good bye.”

With
a wave of his hand, Simon canceled the spell and then put down the
mirror and sat back with a relieved sigh.

“
At
least we managed to warn them,” he said to the elementals.

“
That
is all you could do, master,” Kronk told him. “We earthen
know how isolated the dwarves are. We have an affinity with them, you
could say, but even we are not made welcome in their cities.”

Simon
stood up and went over to the sink to fill his kettle.

“
Yeah,
I guess I've done my best. I hope that Ironhand isn't overestimating
his people's chances against God knows how many dragons.”

Aeris
chuckled and Simon looked at him curiously.

“
I
think that the dragons are in for a surprise, my dear wizard,”
he said, sounding a bit smug. “It's one thing to rain fire down
on dwarves from the skies, but fighting them in their natural
habitat? Oh, that is something else entirely. One thing the tales
always speak of is draconian arrogance. They believe that they are
superior to all other living things. That arrogance will, I think, be
their undoing.”

Simon
hung the kettle over the fire and nodded, feeling a little more
reassured.

“
Let's
hope so. In the meantime,” he paused and yawned, feeling
drained, “I'm going to get cleaned up, then have some tea. It's
been a busy, not to mention very weird, kind of day.”

Simon called Clara the
following day and told her about his conversation with Ironhand. She
was pleased and thankful that the dwarves had been warned.

“
This is all
presupposing that the dragons are actually down there to take on the
dwarves,” Simon had told her. “We could be totally wrong
about that.”