Braving the Dragon

Fred took a deep breath and then told the captain his plan. Without thinking twice Roberts ran through his ship grabbing as many men as he could, as many men as were left. They had only moments left to act; the dragon was swooping down for another strike on the ship. Fred needed all the bowmen the Hawk had at his disposal, the rest of the men would arm themselves with spears. Although panic had gripped the crew of the Peacock's Eye, Roberts was able to collar enough men to give Fred's desperate plan half a chance. Indeed, many of the pirates were drawn back to their captain, for in the midst of chaos and fear a commanding voice and an unflinching arm can restore calm to even the most terrified of men.

The dragon flapped its leathery wings and came streaking down upon the burning ship. Its jaws opened wide and a scream of pure evil assaulted the pirates' ears. But a large group of them were waiting for the mighty beast and bit down on their fear. They had rushed to the forecastle, and the terrible dragon now flew directly at them.

"NOW!" Fred shouted over the dragon's venomous scream. The noble knight then drew back his bow and let his arrow fly. The other bowmen followed suit and in the blink of an eye thirteen steel tipped shafts of death streaked up at the winged monster. But the evil beast lifted its wings and swerved out of the arrows' path. Fred howled and the dragon seemed to smile. The men on the castle quailed in fear. All now seemed lost and their only choice left was to either die by fire or drown in the deeps of the heartless sea.

The main mast was now fully ablaze and fiery ash from the burning sail fell down like rain onto the decks of the ship. Men flailed about on all sides of the boat, the churning of the waves making any hope of escape by way of swimming utterly futile. Those men that remained on the ship hid where they could or cowered in the hold below. Perhaps some of them prayed, certainly many of them cursed, but most of them cried out like children and screamed like women. For they all knew that their end was but a dragon's breath away.

The dragon saw all this at a glance and it was pleased. The taste of fear was sweet to the wicked wyrm and it wanted to savor it before it sent them all to hell. It hovered above the forecastle, its beating wings blowing a hot wind across Fred's defiant face. The dragon's crimson eyes focused on the helpless knight. And then the beast spoke. "Did you think you could really kill me, Dragon-Slayer?" it said with contempt. "How many of your kind have dared challenge me? Most of them turned tail and scurried back to their homes at the first rumor of my coming. And yet they called it victory; passing the test they said, braving the dangers of the dragon's caves." The dragon snickered and Fred's face grew pale; but was it anger or fear?

"Your father came to my caves, and your grandfather before him," the dragon continued. "Seven generations of D'Honaires have 'braved' my humble home, and seven generations have trembled in the warm, dark passages beneath my mountain peak. Seven generations have fled from my shadow and dared call themselves heroes. Cowardice and vanity run deep in your family, Dragon-Slayer." Fred's hands clenched into fists but he made not a sound, moved not a muscle. The dragon moved in closer, stretching out its long neck until its face was only inches from Fred's. "Well you will be the last generation, Lord Fred. Did you really think that I'd just let you go? You are mine. And through you I will teach your family humility. Through you I will teach your kind what a nightmare a dragon's wrath can truly be. And when I am done, you will beg me to kill you." Smoke curled from out of the dragon's nostrils and a hissing could be heard as the monster took in a fresh breath of air to fan the fires burning in its belly.

Fred stared into the reptilian slits of the dragon's eyes and he knew that the men who had taken him from the Dragon Isle were about to die. The dragon hovered before the ship like a savage bird of war; dark and hateful, utterly invincible and loathsomely arrogant. The pirates were powerless to defend themselves against the dragon's fury. And the dragon knew it. But then, that was part of Fred's plan.

Like giant jack-in-the-boxes, a slew of bowmen suddenly jumped up from where they hid. Before the dragon could react fifteen arrows shot forward, all of them focused on a single leathery section of one of the dragon's flapping wings. Exactly as Fred had instructed them. At the same time, the men cowering near Fred's feet grabbed at the spears that lay inconspicuously on the deck and stabbed them at the dragon's scaly face.

1. But does Fred's gambit succeed? Is the dragon driven off, or is it just annoyed?

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree