Touble in the Land of Dwarves
Chapter 8
Snagglefang
Nathan twisted his neck to see who had
just spoken and was surprised to see a
dragon standing in the cave entrance on the
other side of the room. This was not a
large, beautiful dragon like Chrysolis, but
rather a short, crooked dragon with a mean
scowl on his face. He looked older than
Chrysolis but was not even half her size.
His scales were green like swamp water and
his underbelly and clawed feet were the
color of tarnished brass like dirty
pennies.
Gart immediately
spun to face the dragon, swinging Nathan
by one arm like a little rag doll, barely
missing the jester�s head. The giant
plopped his captive down in front of his
master. �Hey, Boss! Look what I got this
time!�
The dragon looked a bit
surprised by the giant�s gift and looked
down at the Prince with yellow eyes. �Well
well, what have we here? A knight in
shining armor? Gart, you�ve outdone
yourself this time.�
�I done
good, huh boss?�
�We shall see.�
The dragon began to walk around Nathan,
looking at him from all sides as if trying to
see inside him. It made the prince
uncomfortable to be stared at like he was
tasty food or something.
Finally the dragon stopped in front of
Nathan and spoke to him. �What is your
name, Knight?�
Nathan had
always wanted to be a knight and stood up
straight, not wanting the dragon to notice he
was just a boy. Then he cleared his throat
and tried to speak in a deep voice like a
man.
�Um, I am Sir Vanderfluff
of the Ivory Palace.� he said with a small
bow of courtesy.
�Amiera?� the
dragon seemed shocked. �You are lying.
The Ivory Palace is not a real place. It is
only a story that mother�s tell their children
so that they will not be frightened of the
dark. But I suppose it doesn�t matter where
you�re from, so long as you are brave and
willing to work hard for a good
cause.�
This caught Nathan�s
attention. A knight was always brave and
ready to go on any noble mission. If he was
going to be a good knight, he had to show
he wasn�t scared. �I�m not
afraid!�
The dragon looked
pleased. �Of course you aren�t. I can see
that you are a true soldier with a warriors
heart. Excellent! You will need it for the
quest.�
�What quest?� Nathan
asked.
The dragon ignored his
question and walked over to the pile of
shells which were obviously it�s bed.
Making himself comfortable, he motioned
for the prince to come closer. When he
didn�t move right away, the giant gave him
a hard nudge forward. The jester giggled
and bounced over to sit cross-legged on the
floor in front of the dragon.
�Do
you know who I am, Knight?� the dragon
inquired.
Nathan simply shook
his head, not wanting to talk too much and
give himself away. He was afraid that if the
dragon found out that he was just a human
boy, he might not let him go or he might
have the giant squash him.
�My
name is Snagglefang.�
At that
moment, the jester piped in. �Yep, that�s
right! Snagglefang the Crooked! The
naggin� dragon! Serpent of the Seven Seas!
Lord of the Lizards! Big Boss
BASALISK!!�
The dragon
cleared his throat and glared as the foolish
little fellow spun to face him with a big
grin. He obviously thought his introduction
was worthy of praise, but one look at his
�boss� and the grin vanished as he plopped
back to the floor in silence. Snagglefang
continued.
�Ah, it is true that
some have called me such cruel names as
�crooked� and �nasty� and even �Mr.
Meany�, and I admit I can be a bit cross at
times. But you would be grouchy too if you
had been born the smallest in the family and
grew up to be no bigger than the common
horse. Beside that, look at these wings!�
Snagglefang turned his head to
point with his nose and Nathan noticed two
stubby, little, purple, wings sticking out of
his back above his shoulders. They were no
bigger than his feet and looked more like
they should belong to a large bat rather than
a dragon.
�You see what I am
talking about? Pathetic aren�t they; and
embarrasing I assure you.�
This
time Gart spoke from behind Nathan. �I
think they�re kinda pretty, Boss, even if
they are teeny.�
Snagglefang
jumped to his feet sending clam shells
scattering across the cave floor as he
released his temper. �What do YOU know,
simpleton! The only small thing on your
body is your head, because it has no brain in
it!�
At Snagglefang�s outburst,
the jester came unglued! He slapped his
hands on his knees and started rolling on
the floor laughing until he could hardly
breathe. �Oh, that�s a good one, Boss!
That�s rich!� he sputtered as he pointed at
the giant�s bald little cone of a head. Gart�s
huge nose turned red and he stuck out his
blocky chin even further than usual in
humiliation.
�Silence, FOOL!!�
Snagglefang shouted! �If YOU had half a
brain, you wouldn�t still be here as a
voluntary prisoner! You would have gone
back to your silly little king by now and left
me in peace!�
The jester
stopped laughing and his face drooped
again as he sat up with his back to them and
started mumbling to his puppet.
The dragon looked back at Nathan and
gave a great sigh, shaking his head. �You
see what I have to deal with? No
respect.�
He settled himself
back upon his bed of shells, gathering them
under him again. �Forgive me. I should not
be so sensitive about my handicap. I�m sure
none of this concerns a great knight such as
yourself. You are probably most
concerned with why Gart brought you here.
Am I right?�
Actually,
Nathan was most concerned with finding
his sister, but ever since the Dragon had
mentioned going on a quest he found
himself very curious about it. So he shook
his head up and down and hoped it would
not take long to explain.
�Maybe if I cooperate with the
dragon, he will let me go quickly.� he
thought.
Snagglefangs eyes
seemed to grow hungrier as he smiled at the
prince and continued. �Good, good. Then
let me tell you a story that will help you to
understand the importance of your coming.�
At that, the Jester perked up yet
again and spun back to face them. �Ooooh!
I love stories! Have I heard this one before,
Boss?�
Before the dragon
could answer, there was a loud thud that
shook the cave as Gart plopped on the floor
behind Nathan. Both the giant and the
jester leaned forward with their chins
resting on their hands in eager anticipation
of the tale that was coming.
Nathan wasn�t quite sure what he
should do. It seemed that Snagglefang was
treating him nicely, but he still felt like a
prisoner. After all, the giant and his hawk
had attacked him without warning and taken
him prisoner by force. Was he supposed to
act like everything was okay now and just
sit down like they were all good
friends?
�Please sit down, Sir
Vanderfluff.� The dragon pointed to a stool
by the jester�s box and Gart grabbed it for
him. �My tale may not take long to tell, but
surely your armor is too heavy to stand in
all day. You will need all your strength
when you begin your journey.�
When Nathan had finally sat down on
the stool between the dragon and the giant,
Snagglefang began.
Chapter 9
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