What would happen if Bowen's niece came along for the ride?
The first and last
(Chap 1: Rune?) (Rune's P.O.V)
I was following brother Gilbert to the kingdom of King Inane. Gilbert was a good friend of my mothers and needed to pass the kingdom to find Avalon. I was looking for my uncle Bowen, since my mother had died and no one else wanted me.
I felt like bursting as I listened to him make up a poem of Avalon. Suddenly his mule bolted and a dragon flew over head. A man on a horse ran toward it and killed the poor animal in a matter of seconds. The man came over to us to catch his horse that had ran from the fight, "Bloody horse." I heard him mutter.
The monk was about to speak when the man caught my eye. I was completely dumbfounded.
"Rune?"
"Uncle Bowen?"
"What the hell are you doing here?"
I just stayed quiet. Just then some man came over on a horse. He had long black hair, a beard, a moustache and blue eyes. He looked like he was wearing pyjamas, luckily I knew better. He congratulated Bowen on a job well done. I never listened to the conversation until brother Gilbert spoke up.
"The honour has a price, sir knight?"
"It has expenses. Honour won't feed my belly nor show my horse."
"He has a point." I spoke
"But he's right, it's your job to protect king Inane's peasants as a protector of the realm."
"Not of this realm. I've been of no need to Inane"
The man made a face.
"Foreign riffraff. Well be gone vagabond, before I arrest you." and he rode off to control his slaves.
Bowen turned to leave and we followed.
"So you no longer work for the king?"
"I never did since he became king."
"Sorry."
"Not your fault."
"That's a first."
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I was sitting beside Gilbert, who was rambling away again.
"Brother Gilbert?" Bowen called.
"Yes?"
"Shhhh!" he said
"What?" Gilbert couldn't hear over the falls.
"Shut up, yea?"
Bowen was about to enter the cave when the rock we were sitting on threw me and Gilbert into the River. A dead body was thrown at me and brother Gilbert picked up a skull and screamed, making me fall over. Although I had the attitude of a teenager I was really only 9 at the time.
"That's all that's left of the last dragon slayer that tangled with me. If I were you I'd quit while I was ahead." came a deep, Scottish voice.
I stopped sliding, just as I came to the mouth of the cave! I could see something huge and scaly, moving. Bowen threw his spear in the cave. What ever it hit, it hit hard. Then there came the crackling if broken wood and the broken spear was thrown back at Bowen.
"Is that the best you can do? Catch!" Bowen deflected the splinters with his shield, covered in dragon teeth.
As Bowen went into the cave Gilbert started to mutter random things to himself, which didn't even make sense to him. To stop myself from going mad I followed Bowen into the cave, nearly getting my head singed off by a blast of fire.
"A little damp for fire isn't it?"
"Cant you just leave him alone?"
"I need the money" Bowen snapped back at me.
"Yuk, your one who kills dragons for money?"
"It's honest enough work. One must earn a living."
"Honest?"
"Oh yes. One must live. But since you seek a profit… might as well begin."
"It's not the profit… It's the pleasure."
"Perhaps less pleasurable and more costly than you think."
And with that the dragon spread his wings and took me in his claws, flying into the distance. I looked up to him.
"Were are you taking me?"
"Be quiet please." the dragon whispered.
I looked behind us to see Bowen hanging on to a rope attached to the dragon's tail. Eventually he gently put me down behind a hill. I did as instructed and threw myself to the ground and pretended to hurt my arm, but I threw myself too hard and managed to twist my wrist. The dragon was too busy giving me an apologetic look to notice he was flying too low and crashed.
I watched in horror as Bowen kept trying to kill the dragon, but missed. The poor dragon didn't disserve this, he spared my life were it was his to take, he didn't throw me hard enough to hurt me, that was my fault, he even tried to a apologise for something that wasn't his fault.
Just then, I heard mumbling. "Who's fate will soon be sealed? Who's fate will soon be sealed! Who's fate will soon be sealed?" Brother Gilbert sat beside me to watch the battle.
"Oh, your good. Haven't had this challenge for some time."
"Not likely to again." the dragon replied, struggling to free his tail-axe from a log.
Finally his tail was free. He snapped it open, making it look like a layered hedge trimmer or something. The dragon attacked Bowen again.
"A little over confidant aren't we?"
"Hardly. But if you win, your out of a job."
"I won't rest until I rid the world of every last one of you."
"I am the last one." the dragon growled angrily and shot fire at him.
After an explosion, Bowen came out of the smoke, his shoulder pad singed. "Your just trying' to save your scaly hide with tricks."
The dragon cracked hit tail-axe open and shut again. "haven't you noticed the pickings are rather slim these days?"
When Bowen opened his mouth I knew he would say the wrong things. "Uncle Bowen? Were are you?… oh my god! DRAGON!" I screamed.
The dragon roared and moved forward, just then, Bowen jumped into his mouth and shoved the end of his sword up the dragon's mouth.
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I hid again and watched the two argue for hours. It was now midnight and I had fallen asleep. I was woken by the two having a rather funny conversation.
"Oh good lord. Sir Eglemore." I looked up to see Bowen throw something away.
"Thank you so much, it's been stuck down there months. Can you get your buttocks of my tongue." The dragon tried to speak, his mouth full of, well… Bowen. I giggled at his funny comment.
"Why should you be comfortable? My armour is rusting in your drool and your breath… is absolutely foul." Bowen choked.
"Whas can yo expecc? Wish ol' niht's roching bekeen my yours?" the dragon found it harder to speak with Bowen wriggling in his gob. "Oh, my mouth is so dry."
"No, No! nononononononononononono…. (spits out… well, dragon spit) ew!"
"Sorry about that.
I fell back to sleep after using my little saved energy in a fit of giggles.
I was awoken again my a loud thud…the dragon had pinned Bowen down!
"I should have known. Go ahead, kill me!"
The dragon screeched with rage. "I don't want to kill you. I never did. And I don't want you to kill me. How do we gain? I win, I wait for the next dragon slayer. You win, you loose a trade."
"I sagest a truce and an alternative." I whispered to the dragon.
"I'm ganna' let you op now, and we can keep arguing, or… you can listen to my alterintive.
Bowen groaned to his feet. "What' the alternative?"
