The Council is Convened

Anselm left to give George his instructions. He then rejoined Thomas and Fred, and only a few minutes afterwards Simon and the princess arrived.

Astra was wearing man's attire: breeches, a shirt, boots and a broad-brimmed hat. The breeches and shirt did not seem to fit her very well. Fred supposed that she had had to manage with whatever the group could pilfer for her to wear. He hoped that the boots fit better, as he knew how uncomfortable poorly fitting footwear could be. He was puzzled by the hat for a moment, before realising that it was probably intended as a protection against sunburn. She had spent a considerable period underground, which would make her vulnerable, and as a redhead she might well be especially susceptible. Of course the sun had set by now, but she evidently hadn't bothered to remove the hat.

"Simon has told me what this is about," Astra told Thomas. She turned to Fred. "And Simon has also told me about you, Lord Fred. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"The pleasure is all mine, Princess. But please just call me 'Fred'."

"Gladly, if you will call me 'Astra'. My royal lineage is of no relevance here."

"Except that it was why the dragon took you hostage and will want you back," Thomas pointed out. "Now let's get down to business. This is a hastily convened war council. The dragon has decided to take a bathe in the lake, and we need to decide whether to mount an attack to take advantage of this. We need to decide quickly, as we don't know how long it will be before the dragon leaves. We have two of the three catapults ready and, though the dragon's location is less than ideal, there are a number of potential advantages to attacking now, which Fred will put forward."

Fred did so, and then they debated the matter for ten minutes or so, before Thomas said: "I think we have discussed this as fully as we have time for. I will now ask you each to vote for or against attacking now. If the majority vote against, we will stick to our original plan."

1. Fred was the only one for.
2. Thomas was the only one against.
3. Fred and Astra were for (she was the type who liked to take the bull by the horns rather than delay, Fred gathered). Thomas and Anselm were against. It was all down to Simon, the last to announce his vote.

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