3. Drop and Roll
"Merlin!" called Arthur across the courtyard, waving madly at his manservant to get his attention. "Mer-lin!" he cried again, louder this time and still to no effect. The younger man walked as if in a trance up the stone stairway that led to Gaius's chambers, not even a flicker of recognition on his face that he had heard his name being called.
"Would you like me to run and fetch him Sire?" asked Leon, ever willing to serve the prince.
"No, leave him," Arthur replied, turning away from Merlin's retreating form in annoyance. "He's been like this for hours, it's getting extremely tiresome."
"Since you returned from your quest to find the Dragonlord?"
"Yes," the prince confirmed, walking with Leon toward the waiting group of Knights, "Anyone would think Balinor had been some sort of long lost relative the way he's acting… still no matter, I don't need him till later on to help with my armour – he can have the afternoon to pull himself together."
Leon nodded his agreement as they joined their fellow men-at-arms, their chainmail glinting brightly in the hot summer sun. Before the small band of young men stood Sir Gauter, a much decorated Knight who had long since retired from active duty. His thin and wizened face bore a few silvery battle-scars, his hooded eyes heavy and rheumatic while his hair shone a pure dazzling white.
"Sir Gauter," said Arthur by way of greeting, grasping the older mans right arm in his own, "It is an honour to have you here with us today – I hope that we can learn from your wisdom and experience."
"It has been many years since a Dragon roamed free in the provinces of Camelot," nodded the old Knight, "When I was a mere young squire in service to King Constantine II, not a day would pass without the shadow of a lizard or two crossing your path."
"Indeed… and I know that-"
"Why, just the other day I was saying to Sir Meliot de Logris, Meliot I said – do you remember when Dragon's ran free all over these hills?"
"I'm sure that you have many tales to tell…" began Arthur, trying desperately to interject.
"And he said Gauter old friend – there was none more skilled at battling those reptiles than you-"
"And that is why we have asked you here to train us this morning," interrupted Arthur, again trying to regain control of the conversation.
"…ah yes, but that was many years ago Uther," said the old Knight, jovially patting the young prince on the back.
"Arthur," corrected Arthur.
"What?" asked Gauter, cupping his right ear and leaning towards the prince quizzically.
"Arthur, my name is Arthur – Uther is my father," he repeated loudly, his patience wearing dangerously thin.
"Yes, yes of course… Uther – that's what I said," clucked older man, shaking his head in confusion, "but it has been many years since Dragons roamed the land," he repeated with a smile, as if only now remembering his original line of thought.
"Yes Sir Gauter," agreed the prince through gritted teeth, "I pray you, teach us what you can to aid us in our battles for we are soon running out of time!"
Sir Gauter took in these words and let them seep slowly into his senses, pondering on them and nodding slowly to himself as he filtered through five decades of memories and tactical plans. Eventually a small smile played on his lips and he leaned forward toward the expectant ears of the waiting knights. "Drop and roll," he said simply, tapping one gloved finger against the side of his sizeable nose conspiratorially, as if sharing a great secret.
"Drop and… roll?" repeated the prince with uncertainty, looking desperately at Sir Leon for support.
"Ah… if you could expand on that Sir Gauter?" asked Leon, his eyes flicking quickly from Arthur to the aging knight before him.
Straightening his back, Gauter clasped his hands behind him and threw out his chest as he began strutting up and down before the small gathering with self-importance. "Drop and Roll is a simple and effective technique that allows a man to quickly out manoeuvre the on-coming attack of any Dragon," he began, his eyes boring intently into the faces of each and every man in the circle around him. "Best trick in the book by far if you ask me; spears'll pierce their bellies but you have to dodge the flames first don'tcha know, armour wont help, you as soon as boil alive inside it as anything… drop and roll that's the answer!"
"Perhaps you could explain how best to perform this… technique?" asked Sir Hectimere hesitantly.
"I can do better than that my man, I can show you!" cried Gauter, donning his gauntlets with a flourish. Taking a few paces back he readied himself, testing the ground beneath him and bouncing quickly on the balls of his feet a few times. Satisfied, Gauter took a few small, running steps forward before throwing himself forward onto the ground, landing awkwardly on his side in an ungainly heap of armoured limbs.
The small band of knights looked at one another anxiously, each one not wanting to voice their concerns that their hopes rested on one fossil of a knight who was clearly one arrow short of a quiver, while darkness, and the Dragon, quickly approaching.
"Goodness I… oh dear me…" came the muffled sounds of Sir Gauter, mumbling through the restrictions of his helmet which had fallen across his face on impact with the dirt ground. "If someone would be so kind…?" he asked plaintively.
Sir Damas and Sir Reynold stepped forward and lifted the poor old knight bodily onto his feet, dusting down the aging armour as they did so.
"Yes, yes," said Gauter, shooing the two knights away in embarrassment, "Not quite so agile as I once was I'm afraid Uther," he stating sadly, not noticing the look of frustration that passed across the young princes face, nor the restraining arm of Sir Leon on his shoulder. "Trust me though, it is effective."
"How is that effective?" cried Arthur in disbelief.
"Simply a matter of mathematics Sire," replied Gauter seriously, oblivious to the scathing looks being thrown his way. "When a Dragon breaths its jet of fire, its vision is obscured," he continued, taking a spear from a nearby guard and scratching some markings in the dirt to resemble a large Dragon with fire streaming out of its mouth. "Depending on its size the fire is usually directed at a thirty to forty-five degree angle – if a man employs the drop and roll technique he will avoid the flames and mange to position himself out of its vision and in perfect position to attack!"
An awkward silence filled the air as Gauter continued to study the faces of each knight present, perhaps searching for that raptured look of awe in the presence of such amazing genius.
"Thank you Sir Gauter… that is most... insightful," Arthur forced himself to say at last, his heart sinking that their last secret weapon – the arsenal of experience at Gauter's fingertips, had proven so worthless.
Once on the battlefield the knights held themselves steady in a close-knit ring of horses, each one staring grimly at the horizon, psyching himself up for the battle.
"And that was his only advice?" asked Merlin, wide-eyed as he stared disbelievingly at the prince.
"Yes Merlin, for the umpteenth time that was all… now can we please concentrate on the mission?"
"Well… its just that um… there's a bit of a massive flaw in that plan," replied the young warlock tentatively.
"Just one?" said Sir Driant scathingly.
"Pray tell us, oh wise Merlin," added Arthur sarcastically, "What is this fatal flaw?"
"Well… we're all on horseback… how do we drop and roll from all the way up here?"
The Knights looked at one another in silence, the pale moonlight glinting dully off the visors if their helmets. As foolish as they had all felt while practicing the drop and roll earlier this thought had never occurred to them…
"Now what?" asked Sir Fergus unhappily.
"We stick to the original plan," Arthur declared firmly, "We charge around the beast and encircle him and once he's surrounded we advance. You have your long spears ready, aim for the belly and hope our horses are nimbler than the Dragon."
As if on queue the cry went up that the Dragon had been sighted and each man readied himself for the attack. Under the command of their fearless leader Prince Arthur, they rode valiantly out to circle the giant reptile.
As the blistering heat of the Dragon's flames began to reign down on them, the futility of their plan became glaringly obvious. One by one the Knights from the head of the charging line and back began to be engulfed in flames.
Sir Leon shouted out loudly into the cold night air, seeing no other option but to try old Gauter's plan, "Now men! Drop and Roll!" he cried, throwing himself bodily from his horse. As he hit the hard ground beneath him he rolled expertly to the right, disappearing into the undergrowth of the forest. With a lurch he realised that the ground had opened up beneath him and all at once he tumbled head first down a short ravine, unable to right himself in his heavy armour as he came to a stop neck deep in mud and filth in the shallows of a murky river.
Arthur and Merlin looked on in horror as the remainder of the Knights ignored Leon's example and rode on regardless – each man meeting a gory end, burnt alive where he sat upon his horse.
With a feeling of dread, the young prince turned to face the great Dragon, knowing that it was now or never. He looked up into the cold amber glow of its reptilian eyes, waiting for the right moment. Just as the beast opened its mouth and the first few sparks of flames began to tumble from his jaws, Arthur suddenly leaped forward, rolling nimbly to one side, desperately clutching at his spear.
To his surprise the young prince was able to right himself with ease and he rose to his feet, spear in hand, a few meters from the beast. Without a moments hesitation he thrust upwards with the spear, piercing deeply into the belly of the Dragon just behind his front left leg. With a roar the creature rose in fury onto its hindquarters, lashing out with its tale and striking Arthur with full force. The prince was thrown bodily up in the air, falling heavily to the Earth with an almighty thump, his still form lying inert on the grass.
At the foot of the ravine, Sir Leon heaved himself upwards with all his might, struggling to keep his head above the surface as more and more water ran into his armour. As his footing slipped repeatedly on the slimy bed of the river, his head sunk once more underwater and for a moment, panic struck the poor knight as he felt his lungs begin to burn from lack of oxygen. The river surged around his head, filling his ears, nose and mouth; the sounds of the forest and his fruitless thrashing of water distorting madly in his mind, the steady roar of the current in his ears sounding strangely like the guttural cry of some ancient tongue.
With one final push Leon managed to drag his water logged body closer to the edge of the stream and clung for a moment to the bank in exhaustion. With much effort he slowly emerged from the river, rivulets of filthy water pouring from his armour as he began the climb up the steep ravine.
Staggering from the tree line, Sir Leon took in the sight of the burning remains of his fellow knights, the happy sight of Arthur and Merlin embracing with joy on the battlefield… and the conspicuous lack of Dragon.
"Sire!" he cried hoarsely as he made is way over to the two young men.
"Sir Leon!" shouted Arthur heartily in response, "You survived? How is that possible, I saw the Dragon's flames eat up the entire charge?"
"I can hardly believe it myself sire," he replied, collapsing in a heap at the prince's feet, "I simply followed Gauter's advice…"
"You don't mean..."
"Yes, I dropped right off my horse and rolled into the forest," Leon confirmed, testing his limbs for breakages amongst his bruising, "Then fell right into a river… did you manage to defeat the beast?"
"Aye," said Merlin, gesturing quickly to his master, "Arthur dealt him a mortal blow!"
"Heavens be praised," declared Leon, sinking down onto the grass in relief, "Tell me Sire, how did you manage it?"
"Um…" began Arthur, scratching the back of his head in bewilderment, "Would you believe… drop and… roll?"
Leon opened his eyes in surprise and looked at the prince in disbelief, "And Merlin?"
"Oh Merlin was no use whatsoever, he just stood there while I leapt into the Dragon's flames," said Arthur dismissively, ignoring the indignant look of fury that passed fleetingly across his manservant's face.
"Well I'll be damned… it seems Gauter is not as foolish as we believed! Two out of three saved by his tactical advice."
"Remind me Sir Leon, to advise my Father to re-instate Gauter as advisor to the throne in the morning," said Arthur thoughtfully.
"Are you sure you want that Uther… I mean Arthur?" grinned Merlin sarcastically.
"Hmmm…" replied the prince, visions of hours on the practice field battling with Gauter and his endless anecdotes flashing vividly in front of his eyes, "on second thoughts…"