The Dragons of Decay

The Dragons of Decay Read Online Free PDF Page A

Book: The Dragons of Decay Read Online Free PDF
Author: J.J. Thompson
earthen's
concern.
    Just before winter began in earnest,
Clara had told him that one of her teams of scouts had come across a
small country store that hadn't been completely burned out in the
original dragon attack. Most of the food and supplies were spoiled
after four years of exposure to the elements, but they had found a
palette buried under some rubble and inside were dozens of sealed
cans of cocoa powder.
    The cleric had generously gifted him
with three of the precious cans and he had tasted chocolate again for
the first time in years.
    Simon had actually teared up and the
two elementals had watched him with a mixture of worry and confusion.
    “ Master, what is wrong?”
Kronk had asked, deeply concerned.
    “ Yes, my dear wizard. What is
the problem? You are given a taste of your old world and you're
unhappy?” Aeris had said. “I don't understand.”
    “ Neither do I,” Simon had
said, wiping his eyes with some embarrassment. “It's just that,
I guess it all suddenly came back. My old life, all the people we
lost, the taste of home. I don't know.”
    He had closed his eyes and sipped the
thick liquid slowly, the honey he'd mixed in making it sweet and
delicious.
    “ Don't worry, guys,” he'd
said softly, remembering distant Christmases from
long ago. “The memories are dear to me. It's just that I
thought I'd put them aside forever. Funny how a little thing like a
smell or a taste can bring them all rushing back.”
    Now when he had hot chocolate, and
Simon drank it rarely to save his precious supply for as long as
possible, it had a calming and, as Kronk had said, soothing effect on
him.
    “ That's a really good idea,”
he told the little guy. “Let's go.”
    Simon picked up the mirror and
followed Kronk downstairs. As he put on the kettle, Aeris popped into
the room and joined the earthen on the kitchen table.
    “ So what's going on out there?”
Simon asked him.
    “ Nothing. All's quiet. The
earthen are patrolling the wall as usual.”
    Aeris watched as the wizard made his
hot chocolate.
    “ What happened?” he asked
Kronk and nodded at Simon. “Why's he making that?”
    “ It's fine,” the earthen
replied. “He is a little unsettled from talking to Clara and
Liliana about this whole brown dragon thing.”
    “ Ah, of course. He's really
quite emotional at times, have you noticed?”
    “ He is. That's not such a bad
thing though. I've always said...”
    “ Um guys?” Simon said as
he turned to look at them. “I'm standing right here. You do
know that I can hear you, right?”
    “ Sorry, master. We worry about
you, that's all.”
    “ I appreciate that,” the
wizard said with a smile as he sat down. “But maybe do it where
I can't actually hear you? It's like having your parents talk about
you when you're a kid and you're in the same room. A bit creepy.”
    “As you wish, oh great and powerful wizard,”
Aeris said with an exaggerated bow.
    “Stop that,” Simon told him as he
sipped the hot liquid. “So why the sudden urge to patrol around
the wall in the middle of the day?”
    The air elemental shrugged.
    “A feeling, mostly. The atmosphere
is...unsettled. Ominous. Part of it may be because of what is
happening on the home world of the elves. Often what happens on other
planes is reflected here on Earth.”
    “Really? I didn't know that.”
    “Oh yes, master. That is very well known,
among our kind at least,” Kronk said wisely. “In ancient
times, there were wars between the elemental planes. The chaos and
destruction was mirrored here on this world.”
    Simon put down his cup and stared at the two
little figures.
    “Wars? Why haven't I heard about this
before?”
    The elementals exchanged an almost embarrassed
look.
    “To be frank, it isn't something that's
spoken of much anymore,” Aeris said reluctantly.
    “Why not?”
    “Because, master, it is considered a
shameful time among our people. There was really no reason for such
conflict. We earthen have no interest in the air
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