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

from the pump.
    “ My celebration of this
marvelous repair job begins with a cup of tea in my new kitchen,”
he told the two elementals with a grin.
    He hung the kettle in the fireplace
and rummaged through the kitchen cabinets.
    “ It's good to see how quickly
things are getting back to normal,” Aeris said with approval.
“And now that they are, did you get in touch with your friend
in the elven lands? It's been two days, after all.”
    “ I did,” Simon told him.
He leaned back on the counter to wait for the water to boil.
    “ Daniel said that they've moved
further away from the main center of the dragon attacks, so that's
good news. And he looks better than the last time we talked.
According to him, the elvish glamor should keep the dragons off of
their trail for some time.”
    “ That is good news, master,”
Kronk piped up.
    “ Yep. He also said that the
elves are striking back against the brown dragons.”
    He picked up the boiling kettle and
started to make his tea.
    “ You know,” he said over
his shoulder. “I wonder just how many elves there actually are?
I mean, it's a whole world, right? So are there thousands of them?
Millions? I mean, sure, there might be a thousand brown dragons,
although I hope not, but if they're fighting against the entire race
of elves, maybe things aren't as one-sided as I think they are?”
    He sat down with his tea and sipped
it gratefully, a contented shiver moving deliciously down his back.
    “ I don't think there are many
elves, master,” Kronk told him in his slow, careful way. “As
I remember these things from the old days, there were never that many
to begin with. A birth was cause for celebration because it happened
so rarely.”
    “ I agree,” Aeris said as
he watched Simon drinking his tea. “Elves are immortal. They
were decimated by the dragons thousands of years ago and I'm sure it
has taken them this long to rebuild their numbers. Of course,”
he added thoughtfully, “their time runs differently than the
time on this world, so perhaps their population is back to where it
was before the dragons attacked so long ago.”
    “ Hmm,” Simon murmured
through a mouthful of tea. He swallowed and put down his cup.
    “ I suppose it makes sense. If
you were immortal and reproduced the way that humans do, you'd be
hip-deep in people in a very short time. So, there may only be a few
thousand elves?”
    “ Quite possibly, my dear
wizard.”
    Simon stood up and went to stand by
the small window near the front door. The wind and snow still swirled
around the tower but he looked through it, thinking hard.
    A few minutes passed and Aeris flew
across the room to hover near the wizard and stared out the window
with him.
    “ So why the serious face?”
he asked quietly.
    “ Hmm?”
    Simon glanced at him from the corner
of his eye, smiled a bit and watched the storm again.
    “ Nothing, really. Just going
through the different scenarios that I might face if I get into the
elven realm.”
    He frowned as he tapped his lower
lip.
    “ If the numbers of elves are
sufficient, they may not even need my help, and I should just keep my
distance and worry about the primal red and its followers here on
Earth. On the other hand, if they are small in numbers, even with
their magical weapons they won't be able to stand up to the brown
dragons and a wizard could possibly tip the balance of the war in
their favor.”
    “ Or you could go there, use
your powers and fail,” Aeris said dryly. “Leaving us and
your home world at the mercy of the gods of Chaos. So before you go
racing off to save the day, my dear wizard, think about all of the consequences of your actions.”
    Simon
turned and stared at the air elemental.
    “ I
do think of all of the consequences,” he stated firmly.
    “ Do
you, master?” Kronk asked from the tabletop. “I mean no
offense, but some of your interactions with dragons have
been...spontaneous at best.”
    The wizard
couldn't believe that the little guy