The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6) (22 page)

“
I see. It is true
that that species is thick-headed. At least they were, thousands of
years ago. And now that they have returned, I have no doubt that they
are again.”

She looked closely at
Deborah and seemed to approve of the captain's defiant stance. She
smiled down at her.

“
I am Vepolas. And
you?”

“
Deborah. Deborah
Martelli.”

The captain relaxed as
well and actually bowed with a natural grace.

“
Pleased to meet
you.”

“
As am I,”
Vepolas replied. “There is no need to be concerned about that
creature. It is gone. I used an old trick to confuse its senses. It
is now chasing a phantom ship and will do so for several days. By the
time the enchantment wears off, it will be a thousand miles away and
will have forgotten about this vessel. And if you wish to be less
attractive to those monsters in the future, you might want to change
the appearance of this ship.”

The captain frowned and
looked around the deck. Several levels of the ship rose above them to
what Simon assumed was the bridge and, except for patches of rust and
discolored paint, the Defiant gleamed in the bright sunlight.

“
Change her
appearance? What do you mean?”

“
Walk with me,
Deborah,” Vepolas said in a friendly tone, surprising Simon.
“We shall discuss it.”

The two of them wandered
off toward the bow of the ship, speaking almost intimately, and the
wizard looked down at the others.

“
Um, what just
happened?” he asked, bewildered.

“
She likes the human
captain,” Ana told him matter-of-factly. “I think it is
the recognition of another strong female, like to like. It bodes well
for this ship. Vepolas may have some ideas on how to keep it safer
against sea monsters.”

“
Huh. Well, that's
good. Thank you, Ana, by the way, for suggesting I summon her. She
may be a bit difficult, but she did save the Defiant.”

“
My pleasure, sir
wizard. May I stay for a while? It is good to get out of the water
realm occasionally.”

Simon grinned as both
Kronk and Aeris nodded their agreement. The boys were obviously quite
fond of her.

“
Of course. Stay on
Earth as long as you wish. And if you'd like to join us at the tower,
just let me know before I head back and I'll bring you along.”

“
Ah, that would be
lovely. Thank you again.”

Ana and the others began
chatting excitedly and Simon watched for a moment with some
amusement. Elementals or not, they reminded him of a group of
enthusiastic teenagers sometimes.

“
Your friends really
helped us out today,” someone said and the wizard looked over
his shoulder and saw Barnaby approaching. Behind him at the stern of
the ship stood a man wearing a simple brown robe. Another mage had
apparently taken his place and was powering the ship.

“
We owe them,”
the small man added.

He join Simon at the
railing and both of them turned to look out to sea.

“
Finished your
shift?” the wizard asked.

Now that the danger was
passed, his stomach was starting to feel a bit queasy again and he
wanted to take his mind off of it.

“
I have, yes.
Danny's taken over for me. And since we have the time, I thought I'd
offer my services as tour guide. Care for a look-round at the old
Defiant?”

“
Ah, that would be
great. Thanks. I don't have my sea legs yet and I could use a
distraction.”

Barnaby laughed lightly
and nodded his understanding.

“
Don't feel bad.
I've been living here for a year now and I spent a good portion of
the first few months puking over the side. Not exactly good times.
Follow me and we'll poke around the place.”

Simon caught Aeris' eye
and nodded at Barnaby. The elemental waved, showing he understood and
the wizard followed the mage toward the nearest door.

“
So how many people
live here now?” he asked as they entered the ship.

“
A hundred and ten
at last count, I believe. It does vary somewhat. People occasionally
decide to leave and we've had a few births, always exciting
occasions. And a couple of deaths.”

“
Deaths? From what?”

They were walking down a
wide hallway with narrow doors on either side. Simon was pleased to
see that the floor and walls were kept clean and all he could smell
was the salty sea air and a slight scent of rust.

“
Oh, you know, the
usual. Someone was up in the crow's nest last month and got excited
when he spotted a distant monster. He slipped, fell out and broke his
neck. Such a waste. And tragically one young woman died in childbirth
a few weeks before that. We lost both mother and child that time. The
entire ship was depressed for quite some time after that.”

“
Don't you have a
cleric on board?” Simon asked as he ducked his head and entered
a large room.

“
We do, yes, but
even the gods can only do so much, I suppose.”

Barnaby stopped and looked
around at the room they had just entered.

“
This is the main
dining room,” he said.

The area was larger than
Simon had thought it would be. The ceiling rose up at least twenty
feet above them and in the center was an amazing chandelier. The old
light bulbs it must have once held were long gone and many candles
were inserted in their stead. None were lit but light was streaming
in through a row of high windows and the room's details were easy to
see.

There were dozens of neat
round tables, each covered with a white tablecloth. Plates and
cutlery were laid out ready for the next meal and every table had a
small candelabra as its centerpiece. It was all rather more elegant
than Simon had imagined.

“
This place looks
amazing,” he told the mage. “It almost looks like I might
have pictured it back in the old days, before the dragons returned.
How is this even possible?”

“
You can credit
Captain Martelli for it all,” Barnaby replied, obviously
pleased by Simon's reaction. “She will not tolerate slackers.
Nor will she put up with a dirty living environment. She says, and
rightly so, that a lax attitude toward cleanliness invites disease.
Everyone's quarters are inspected at least once a month and offenders
are punished accordingly.”

Simon followed the mage
out of the dining hall and they continued along the corridor.

“
And people tolerate
that kind of intrusion?” he wondered.

“
Yes, of course.”

The pair stopped at the
top of a narrow staircase and moved to the side to allow some people
to pass. They received plenty of curious looks but Simon was used to
being stared at by this time and ignored them.

“
You have to
understand, my friend,” Barnaby said seriously, “that
before coming to live on the Defiant, many of these people were
living in very harsh conditions. Humanity has been Changed, yes, but
the majority of people cannot use magic like you and I can and have
only their wits and whatever skills they've developed to hunt for
food and to defend themselves. Between the dragons that are
constantly harassing us, and the monsters that have been reborn by
the dark gods, humankind is lucky to even still exist in the world.”

A group of sailors, men
and women both, climbed up the stairs and greeted Barnaby. The young
mage seemed to be popular and he smiled and waved as they passed by.

“
Here on board,”
he continued, “people's lives are completely turned around.
Magic provides clean water, warmth, and protection. In return, all
the captain requires is that everyone pitches in to perform whatever
chores are required to keep the ship afloat and livable. Other than
that, they are all free to do as they please. That's not much to ask,
is it?”

Simon nodded approvingly.

“
Not much at all.”

The mage led the way
downstairs and Simon followed.

“
So where do you get
your food?” he asked.

They entered another
corridor, this one wider. Doors were spaced out on either side every
twenty feet or so and the wizard guessed that this was the living
area. Several people stood outside of the doors, chatting amiably.
Mage lights shone from the ceiling every few feet illuminating the
corridor with a bright warm glow.

Three children chased each
other around the area, laughing and yelling. They were cheerfully
tolerated.

“
When needed we drag
nets behind the ship. You'd be amazed at the amount of seafood we can
collect in only a few hours. The ocean is teeming with fish again and
we eat well. We also have a garden on one of the lower decks, if you
can believe it. Last year, just after I arrived, a woman came aboard
who is, in her own words, an herbalist. I've never met anyone who has
such a way with plants. She can grow anything. The captain had tons
of earth brought aboard and we conjured up as many mage lights as she
asked for. And for a few months, every time a hunting party would go
ashore, this young woman, Elaine, would go with them to search for
seeds and whatnot. Well, now we have vegetables and fruits growing in
the bowels of the ship. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, but thank God
for her and her talent.”

“
I see. I knew an
herbalist once too,” Simon told him, feeling a pang of regret
for his old neighbor, Heather. Who knew she'd turn out to be evil?

“
Did you? Where is
she now?”

Simon just shrugged,
ignoring the question, and carefully made his way down the hallway,
trying to avoid the playing, laughing children.

“
As you can guess,
this level and the two below it are the main living quarters,”
Barnaby told him as the tour continued. “Just up ahead is a
small section of the ship that's reserved for the magic-users. I'll
take you through there and then we can either go back up to the main
deck or down to the garden.”

“
Thanks. Where is
the kitchen, by the way?”

“
Hungry?”

Simon chuckled.

“
No. I was just
wondering how anyone could cook for over a hundred people day in and
day out without electricity.”

Barnaby grinned at the
wizard.

“
Ah, I see. The
galley is actually next to the dining hall that I showed you earlier.
The head cook and his staff use wood stoves instead of electricity or
gas. We go ashore occasionally and cut down trees for fuel. Our
blacksmith devised an ingenious system of piping to funnel all of the
smoke from the stoves to the outside. She's a clever woman. And our
head mage, Veronique, discovered a spell to remove the salt from sea
water, so that we have an endless supply of fresh water. That is
really at the heart of our survival. Without available drinking
water, the Defiant would have been abandoned long ago.”

They reached the end of
the corridor and were faced with a heavy metal door, tightly closed.
There was no handle and Simon looked at Barnaby quizzically.

“
How do you get in?”
he asked as the mage just stood there, apparently waiting for
something.

“
The door is
enchanted. It will only open to the touch of a magic-user. Would you
mind doing the honors?”

Simon locked eyes with the
mage.

“
You saw me summon a
major elemental. Are you not convinced that I am who and what I say I
am?”

Barnaby blushed, looking
even younger than his small frame and large eyes made him appear.

“
Yes, of course I
am. But Veronique insists that any visitors to the mage's section of
the ship pass this 'test'. Of course the captain and crew may come
and go as they please; they simply have one of us open the door for
them. But if you don't want to do it, I totally understand. I meant
no disrespect, I assure you.”

The mage moved to place
his hand on the door, but Simon stepped forward and put his palm on
the smooth metal.

“
Your house, your
rules,” he said with a wink.

Barnaby relaxed and smiled
in appreciation.

“
Thank you. I'm sure
that Veronique will be pleased with your courtesy.”

There was a burst of light
from the door, like a camera flash, and then it snapped open and
swung back.

“
This way, please,”
the mage said politely and stepped through the opening.

Simon followed and the
door closed behind him with a solid thunk.

The corridor continued beyond the door
but the walls in this section were painted with amazing colors.
Swirls of blue, yellow, purple and every shade in between flowed into
and around each other. But instead of a confusing mess, the colors
evinced a harmony that was pleasing to the eye and calming to the
senses.

“Wow, it's so soothing,”
Simon said as he followed Barnaby. The colors also seemed to emit
their own light. There was no need of torches or other sources of
illumination.

“I agree. This area was renovated
by Veronique and her sister when they first arrived on the Defiant.
They were artists in their old life and it definitely shows..”