Dragonheart Page #2

Your castle is built.

He can do you no more harm.

For God's sake, release him.

Father!

l've always said death is a release,

not a punishment.

Go.

Kara.

Yoo-hoo!

Yoo-hoo!

l've decided to compose

''The Ballad of Bowen''!

- How do you prefer l should write this?

- Far away!

Oh, don't concern yourself

with my safety!

l mean verse, meter.

Shall l spice it up

with a poetical flourish...

or just the cold, hard facts?

lf you do not be quiet...

you and l shall be the only things

that are cold and hard around here.

l mean, it's all very well to go

hacking and whacking at dragons.

But if a dragon falls in the

forest and nobody gets to hear

about it, does it make a thud?

- Brother Gilbert.

- What?

The quill is mightier than the s--

Ooh.

The quill is mightier than the--

That's all that's left

of the last dragonslayer...

who tangled with me!

lf l were you,

l'd quit while l was ahead.

ls that the best you can do?

Catch!

You know, l've got quite

a collection of victims in here.

l won't be added to it!

l've given you

my final warning.

lnto the mouth of death he strode.

lnto the gringy gloom.

lnto the pit of fear unknown...

perhaps to court his doom.

That was good.

What did l say?

What did l say?

A little damp for fire,

isn't it?

Why must you knight-errants

out to make a name for yourselves...

always pick on us dragons?

l don't need a name!

And l have a collection of my own!

Yeah? You're one

who kills dragons for money.

lt's honest enough work.

One must earn a living.

Oh, yes, one must live.

Well, since you seek a profit,

we might as well begin.

Oh, don't flatter yourself.

lt's not the profit.

lt's the pleasure.

Perhaps less pleasurable

and more costly than you think!

Bowen! Bowen, take care!

He went that way!

Take care, Bowen!

You can't fly forever!

- Neither can you!

- Slow down!

Come, visit the woods!

Whoa!

Look out! Well done!

- Ow!

- Pity. That must have hurt.

- Yeah!

- Again?

- Ow!

- And again?

How do you like the ride so far?

We're earning our money now,

aren't we?

Now, is there somewhere you

would like me to drop you off?

Yikes!

The sword against the fang and claw.

The flame against the shield.

Blah, blah, blah,

which one would win?

Blah, blah,

field, shield, wield.

Whose flesh from bones

be peeled. Oh, no.

Whose fate would soon be sealed.

Whose fate would soon be sealed?

Whose fate would soon be sealed!

Oh, you're good. Haven't had

this sort of challenge in some time.

Nor likely to again!

Drat!

A little overconfident, aren't we?

Hardly. But if you win,

you'll be out of work.

l will not stop until l've rid the world

of every last one of you.

l am the last one!

You're just trying to save

your scaly hide with tricks.

Haven't you noticed the pickings

are rather slim these days?

l got me one just the other day.

So it was you who killed the

Scarred One. She and l were the last.

Must've been a proud kill, warrior.

How much gold did her tattered carcass

put in your purse?

That's none of your business.

Couldn't have been very much.

And you'll kill me for sport?

And when there are

no more dragons to slay...

how will you make

a living, Knight?

Shut up!

Whoa!

lf your teeth come down, my sword

goes up, right into your brain!

lf your sword goes up,

my teeth come down!

lnto the moonlit night

the titans dueled...

in mortal combat bound.

Oh, who'd the fatal

false step make?

Whose blood

would stain the ground?

Oh, good Lord.

Sir Eglamore.

Oh, thank you very much.

lt's been stuck down there

for months.

Can you get your buttocks

off my tongue?

Why should you

be comfortable?

My armor is rusting in your drool,

and your breath is absolutely foul.

Well, what do you expect...

with old knights

rotting between my molars?

Oh, God, my mouth is so dry.

No, no, no, stop!

No, stop!

Sorry about that.

lt seems we're in a bit

of a stalemate, wouldn't you say?

Yuck! But l can go

three days without sleep.

l can go three weeks.

Ooh! l'll stab you

before l nod off.

And l'll chomp you.

Marvelous, we'll kill each other.

- What do you suggest?

- A truce.

Get out of my mouth

and let's talk face-to-face.

How do l know l can trust you?

l give you my word.

The word of a dragon.

lt's worthless.

Stubborn lout!

l should have known!

Go on. Kill me!

l don't want to kill you!

l never did!

And l don't want you to kill me!

How do we gain?

lf you win, you lose a trade.

lf l win, l wait around

for the next sword slinger...

thirsting to carve a reputation

out of my hide.

And l'm tired of lurking in holes...

and skulking in darkness.

l'm gonna let you up now.

And if you insist...

we can pursue this fracas

to its final stupidity.

Or you can listen

to my alternative.

Hmm?

What's the alternative?

Father, Father, look!

Dragon!

Out of the way!

Out of the way!

Out of the way!

Pesky critters, dragons.

You!

Like big rats.

You never seem to get rid of them.

Unless you pay me

two bags of gold, in advance.

Come on, Dragon.

Come on, Dragon.

Yes!

Ow!

Hmm.

Hello.

Twenty-eight, twenty-nine.

Most profitable, Dragon.

l should have met you a long time ago.

There is much gold in the world.

Perhaps when you've had your fill of it,

you'll no longer need me.

l am a Knight of the Old Code.

My word is my bond.

- No compunctions then?

- About what?

Well, such deception hardly befits

a Knight of the Old Code.

Fleecing Einon's lackeys.

That's a service to mankind.

ls it?

When you squeeze the nobility,

it's the peasants who feel the pinch.

That's not my concern.

Why should l stick my neck out

for people afraid to risk their own?

Don't clutter up

a clever scheme with morality.

Mmm, so be it...

Knight of the Old Code.

lf l wanted my conscience pricked,

l would have stayed with the priest!

Huh! And what does a dragon

know of the Old Code, anyway?

His blade defends the helpless.

His might upholds the weak.

His word speaks only truth.

Shut up! l remember.

That's all it is, a memory.

Nothing can bring it back.

You sound like one who tried.

And failed.

So l no longer try to change the world,

Dragon. l just try to get by in it.

Yes, it's better than death,

l suppose.

Oh, is it? l should think

you'd welcome death.

You know, the last of your kind,

all your friends dead,

hunted wherever you go.

Do you delight in reminding me?

Yes, Knight,

l do long for death.

But fear it.

Why? Aside from your misery,

what's to lose?

My soul.

Finish him, Brok!

Well, are you a man?

Should he continue, Mother?

Oh, the field belongs to the apparently

inexhaustible Sir Brok, my son.

The quarry!

First you beg mercy

for your father's fate.

Then you try to avenge it.

Now, you'll share it.

ln your kingdom, Einon,

there are worse fates than death.

l'll think one up for you.

- Take her away.

- No! No!

He killed my father!

He killed my father!

He killed my father!

l remember you now.

l remember you.

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