Sid looked especially afraid, “D, d, dragon!”
“Yes, it’s a Chinese dinosaur that spits a kind of acid, like a bombardier beetle. It’s only a baby at the moment, about twenty foot (5 ½ metres) long. Oh, and contrary to popular opinion it can’t fly, the ones that do are called Pteranadons or Pterodactyls, but they don’t breathe acid,” Lee elucidated.
They all looked at each other and then Arthur led the way to the hall, “I wish these rucksacks weren’t so heavy.” He groaned as he put his on.
When they were ready, Brother Lee locked the door and stroked the dragon goodbye then they set off again to the castle.
CHAPTER FOUR
It took a good half hour to find their way back to the bridge and Fawh. The sun was high in the sky and they were getting quite hot. Arthur shouted across to Fawh, “All right boy, we’ll be over soon.”
They had bought some boards with them and Arthur went over first putting the planks in between the rope holdings of the bridge. He stroked Fawh and gave him some sugar, “Righto then you lot, assemble on the near bank, pronto.”
Biggs sulked, “Oh yes Great Arthur of the Britons.”
“Are you sulking again Biggs, if you keep on sulking I’m not going to keep you second in charge.” shouted Arthur.
“Do you have to shout Arthur, I have a headache from this hot sun,” moaned Biggs.
“Sulking and moaning now is it, well then, With, have you got anything in that medicine bag to cure a headache?” questioned Arthur in a sort of quizzical way.
The rest of the band all walked across the safer rickety bridge, which was now christened the safer bridge, and With opened his medical bag and drew out a stethoscope, a pressure gauge and a box of Aspirin. After listening to Biggs’s heart and taking his blood pressure he said, “Take two of these and lie down for half an hour in the shade.”
“Well that’s put a kybosh on the adventure, we’ve only been gone half an hour and now we’re having to stop,” wailed Arthur.
“You do realise that we have to go back the other way to the front of the castle,” said Biggs, “because the back door is the only way in, unless you want to try to find your way in through the dungeon?”
This jolted Arthur, “Oh yes, I forgot about that. Well then while we have some lunch and a cup of tea and you rest in the shade of this gnarled tree with this twittering bird, we’ll discuss it and then take a vote on the best way in.”
Lee put some flash powder on the floor and some dry twigs and touched it with a spark from his tinder box, the fire flashed into life.
“Whay-hay,” whay-hayed Sid, “that’s useful stuff, what is it?”
“It’s called flash powder,” Lee replied, “it’ll be really useful if we come across any monsters in the dark.”
YOU ARE READING
The Crying Pennant
FantasyKing Arthur, the conceited battle chieftain of legend, and his trusty Man-at-Arms Biggs, who resents his king and friend, encounter a dwarf through a mistake. Together they meet an effeminate elf, a Chinese children's entertainer, a monk of the shor...
