The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) Read Online Free PDF

Opheilla laughed lightly.
    As the dwarves watched him
closely, the wizard pushed himself slowly to his feet. His legs felt
a bit rubbery but his head was clear and he stood still for a few
seconds to get used to his own weight.
    His body looked even more
shocking now that he was standing in the light. His network of scars
was intricate, almost an artist's rendering of a web that covered his
skin. Simon touched his face and looked at the cleric.
    “ Will
the scars ever fade?”
    She narrowed her eyes and
tilted her head slightly as she looked up at him. Then she nodded
slowly.
    “ I
would say yes. Time is the great modifier, young man. All scars fade
in time, some more than others. The marks on your body are quite fine
and will probably remain unchanged, for the most part. But the
thicker scars on your face will smooth out in the months to come.”
    When Simon smiled a bit,
she held up a hand quickly.
    “ Do
not expect too much though. Hope for the best but try to accept that
the way you look now may well be permanent. I'm sorry, but I simply
cannot predict how much they will fade.”
    “ I
understand. Thank you, Opheilla. I much prefer it when people don't
sugarcoat bad news.”
    He carefully turned and
picked up the robe. After pulling it on over his head, Simon smoothed
it out, slipped on the shoes and sighed in relief.
    “ Well,
so far so good,” he told the dwarves. “Now what?”
    “ Now,
lad, I think we'll take you for a short walk,” Stanis said
jovially. “Not too far or our revered cleric will have my head.
But let's give you a quick tour of the area, shall we?”
    “ Yes
please,” Simon replied eagerly. “I'm really curious about
this place.”
    “ Since
we dwarves love to show off our accomplishments,” Opheilla told
him with a laugh, “then we will happily show you as much as we
can. But at the first sign of weakness, we'll bring you back here.
Walking before running, young wizard.”
    Simon nodded meekly and
then followed her slowly out of the room. Stanis walked behind him
and the wizard had a feeling that the dwarf was just waiting for him
to collapse so that he could catch him.
    No damned way, he thought
a bit stiffly. I'm not a child, even if I look like one to these
people.
    The hallway outside of the
bedroom was very dark and narrow. The walls were brown stone and
towered up over Simon's head, but the hall was only about six feet
wide. Torches flickered and spluttered in brackets every twenty feet
or so, making it hard to see the floor.
    The cleric turned to the
right and began to lead the way, walking steadily but not too quickly
so that her patient could keep up.
    “ This
part of the city is mostly residential,” Opheilla told Simon
over her shoulder. “However, this corridor is reserved for
those who are recuperating from battle wounds or accidents, as well
as warriors and others who simply need some quiet, contemplative
time.”
    Simon nodded as they
passed several closed doors. It certainly was quiet, he thought.
Something else occurred to him.
    “ Battle
wounds? Are you people at war?”
    She only snorted in
response and Stanis spoke up from behind him.
    “ Our
dear cleric is unimpressed with battle, my friend,” he said
jovially. The iron soles of his boots ran against the stone floor and
echoed down the hallway.
    “ She
feels that wounds caused by fighting are totally avoidable if only we
hard-headed warriors would simply not engage in battle. An odd
perspective for a dwarf, I must say.”
    “ Stanis,”
the cleric growled as she walked ahead. “I exist to heal and to
give comfort. It is insulting to the gods I serve to be wounded for
no better reason than to prove how strong and aggressive you are.”
    “ What
did I tell you?” the dwarf said to Simon and winked as the
wizard glanced back at him.
    “ But
even if you don't approve of fighting, Opheilla, you must admit that
our recent battles have been necessary.”
    She snorted again and kept
walking.
    “ Who
are you