A bridge of stones from the previous collapse now filled the hole which had almost cost Lancelot his life. With a sense of dread Gawain noted that the rest of the cavern seemed surprisingly clear of debris, as if a large beast had crushed and pushed the fallen stones, perhaps in a frenzy to chase the knights that were escaping from its lair months before. That the entrance was still sealed suggested the dragon had another exit, one which may allow the beast to ambush the small group of knights. Absently, Gawain wished for the company of Lancelot and Lamorak, whilst the three may not always get along outside of their duties, when it came to combat the three were capable of predicting and responding to each other's moves perfectly. It was rare that they ever met an opponent they could not handle, at least when they weren't worry about others in the battle. The echidna could not shake the tension from his mind as he slowly trekked back through the dark passage, listening for the slightest sign that a dragon may be moving towards the group. The cave was silent apart the ringing sounds of the knights echoing loudly through the hollow space. It was eerie. Noticing that the King was already halfway over the stone bridge, the Blacksmith following closely behind, Gawain groaned.
Drawing his twin swords, the echidna stepped on the new walkway, "I have a bad feeling about this."
The cave was not safe. At least Gawain believed so. With every step he took, the echidna was sure he could hear the clatter of rocks falling from beneath the stone walkway. All the knight's senses were focused on the two figures before him, particularly the young blacksmith turned knight. In a way Gawain felt somewhat guilty for neglecting his duty to guard the king but the blue hedgehog was fast and had been here before. The young fox was inexperienced, not even fully trained and he stared at the king as if Sonic held the answers for everything in the world… it was that aspect of the young knight which alarmed Gawain, clearly the fox was unaware of just how dangerous adventuring with the Knight of the Wind could be. Fortunately, thanks to Sonic's desire to 'relive the fun of the Biohazzard', something Gawain had no idea about what the King could possibly mean, the dragon in question had already been injured by Camelot's elite. It may have had a few months to recover but the echidna doubted the beast was at full strength. Still he noticed the way the blacksmith flinched when his blue eyes rested on the deep furrows that had been carved in the cave walls now that they had cleared the open space at the cave's entrance, dimly the older knight wondered if those had been caused by the spiked tail or the sharp wings that the monster possessed. At the edge of his senses Gawain briefly caught the sound of deep, rumbling breaths, seems the dragon was home though it seemed each breath was laboured… If they were lucky the fight would be more about ending the beast's suffering than a grand battle with a novice knight and a hedgehog with an apparent death wish.
Ahead the king and the fox had slowed in their progress through the cave as the struggled to scramble over a wall of fallen boulders with their swords. Gawain was grateful his visor hid his smirk as he easily scaled the wall with his twin blades. Reaching the top, the echidna peered down briefly to assess how long he had before the other's reached the top of the rocks before moving to examine the depths of the cave in which the knights had previously encountered the dragon. The walls were torn from were a large tail had lashed out furiously and following on of the deep furrows down to the floor, Gawain's violet eyes alighted on their foe. The dragon's scales shone every shade of emerald, illuminating the cave with an internal light. In the back of his mind Gawain noted that the glow would serve useful in combating the beast. It seemed, in an act of incredible fortune, the King's antics had not disturbed the dragon which was clearly slumbering. Unfortunately, Gawain doubted it would remain this way for long.
Scrambling sounds reached Gawain's ears and the echidna turned just in time to catch sight of Sonic pulling himself over the lip of the rock face before reaching down to try and pull the young Blacksmith the rest of the way. Rolling his eyes Gawain walked back across to assist the pair. Listening to the young fox panting and trembling, Gawain once again wondered how long it would be before Sonic got them all killed. The hedgehog in question had jetted to the other side of the rock to peer down at their prey. There was a gleam in those emerald eyes that Gawain had already come to associate with trouble. Though he couldn't guarantee anything else about the coming battle one thing was certain, Sonic was eager to have fun with this battle. That was never a good thing. With a flash of a wave, the blue hedgehog charged.
Well this is a short chapter, it wasn't intended to be this way but the fight scene has grown so large that it had to be separated out.