Merlin's Dragon Slayers

Merlin’s Dragon Slayers

Prologue

By Cleve Taylor

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.”

“Well, we can be sure that there is at least one here now. Take a look at this scat,” George said as he dragged a stick through an obviously fresh splat of scat that was the size of a stainless-steel garbage can lid. There is no cow nor anything else around here big enough to do this.”

“What’s with the stick?” Noah asked from his seat behind the handlebars in his four-wheeler.

“Just trying to get a clue as to what he’s been feeding on… or her. Don’t want to be sexist. Uh oh, got something,” George said as he scraped something shiny to the edge of the scat. “That’s a gold cross on a couple of links of chain. I guess this clears up the mystery of what happened to the preacher who went missing a couple of days ago, although no one will believe us if we tell them that a dragon ate him. Maybe we should just say it was probably an ursa. They would believe that."

“Ursa?"

“Bear.”

“Maybe so. George, tell me again where you come from and why you showed up outside my door looking like a Roman soldier with a real sword in your hand. You’re lucky I had some clothes that fit you. Else the sheriff would probably have locked you up if he had seen you in that outfit.”

“I am, purely by chance, a dragon slayer by profession. Though I have slain only one dragon, that is enough to guarantee my reputation. The wizard Merlin sent me through time to find and slay this dragon. The dragon was sent here by another wizard called Malmysto who summoned him from a parallel universe where there exist not only dragons, but also unicorns, winged horses, and mermaids, but only a few people. There dragons find plentiful food. In your world, prey is scant, and a dragon does not differentiate between a human and a bison. You may thank Merlin for my presence.”

“Uh huh,” Noah grunted skeptically. “Now what.”

“Now I seek out the dragon and slay him.”

“Make that ‘we’. I don’t have a sword, but I have a double barreled 12-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot.”

“My sword has been tempered to penetrate the armored hide of the dragon to reach its heart, and Merlin has incanted a shield around me to protect me from the dragon’s fire breath. I fear that your weapon would do little more than irritate the beast,” countered George.

“Even so, this is my valley, and it is my cows and sheep that have been disappearing. Not to mention that the reverend was a poker buddy of mine. I not only have a right; I have a duty to help rid the valley of this monster.”

George stared sternly at Noah. His tight lips slowly spread into a grin. “A true knight you be.” He stated matter of factly. “Let us retrieve our weapons from your abode and begin the hunt. Two such brothers in arms cannot but successful be.”

Back at Noah’s place, George strapped his Damascus bladed sword across his back for right-handed over the shoulder retrieval. Its length and heft precluded it being worn at the hip. Noah took his shotgun down from above the fireplace and rummaged through the top drawer of his chest of drawers until he found a nearly full box of 12-gauge shotgun shells. He broke the shotgun and loaded both barrels. He snapped the barrels back up with a practiced upward flick of his wrist.

“We need to look at caves. Are there any near where we found the scat? Ones with large entrances. Our dragon is large, so think big,” advised George.

Noah pulled a topographical map from a pile of papers, “Let’s see,” he said. He pointed at a spot on the map. “That’s McCullough’s Cave. If I were a dragon that’s where I would nest. Big, high up on Grayson Mountain, good view of the valley, almost unapproachable, and only about a mile from the scat. Of course, a hundred feet of that mile is about three hundred feet up the side of the mountain.”

“Then best we be on our way. The dragon hunts by night, so best we catch him while he sleeps,” offered George.

The four-wheeler took them only partway up Grayson Mountain. The rest of the tortuous climb was on foot. As they neared the mouth of McCullough’s Cave, they hid behind a large pine for Noah to catch his breath, though it was clear to Noah that George showed no signs of tiring.

Finally, Noah nodded to George that he was ready. George said softly “Well let’s go, Dragon Slayer,” and he drew his sword as Noah held his shotgun at port arms.

They moved cautiously and fluidly to the mouth of the cave, hesitated only slightly, and then walked abreast into what they assumed was the dragon's lair. They assumed right. Directly in front of them the dragon slumbered, its head resting on its right forearm. Were the dragon’s eyes open it would be staring straight at them. It was huge.

George tiptoed around the dragon to get into a favorable position to attack. Noah stayed in front of the dragon and aimed his 12 gauge at the dragon’s head, its two barrels already being cocked and ready to shoot. George either made the slightest rustle or the dragon sensed his presence because suddenly the dragon’s eyes flipped open, and he jerked his head toward George.

BLAM! Noah fired both barrels. The kickback was unexpected and knocked Noah backwards to a seating position on the cave floor. It did not kill the dragon though one eye was apparently out of commission. But it did anger the dragon who now gave Noah his full attention. Noah fumbled in his pocket for shells to reload as the dragon began to raise itself toward Noah.

As the dragon rose from the cave floor, he exposed his underbelly and George thrust his sword through his hide and upward into his heart while twisting the blade to ensure that the strike was fatal.

It was.

George and Noah left the dragon in the cave for other carnivorous beasts and birds. They said nothing about the dragon to anyone, though Noah did report finding the preacher’s cross and suggested that he was probably the victim of a bear attack.

When George and Noah got back to Noah’s place, as they climbed the steps to the porch, George stopped suddenly. “I think I am being called home. Noah, we make a good team. Will you join me on future quests?”

“YES”, Noah shouted as George faded away in front of his eyes.

Later Noah was browsing on the internet and ran across a painting of Saint George slaying the dragon. He zoomed in for a closer look. Dang, he said to himself shaking his head in disbelief. That sure looks like George.

(See follow-on Chapter 1 - Noah)