Chapter XVII
The Hunted
Achil stretched back the bow string as Andreas and Nicholas drew their swords. The Dragon got ever nearer they could hear the thunderous beat of its wings. It gave out a shuddering roar that echoed throughout the mountain, and sent tremors through their bodies; though they grappled with their fear they stood their ground, as it filled the sky with its mighty frame. Its eye sight was sharper than any eagles and seeing an archer ready to let loose an arrow, it swiftly arched to gain height. Achil, realising the Dragon would soon be beyond his reach struck, straight and true went the arrow, faster and surer than any before it, but astonishingly for a creature of such a size it swerved, the arrow flew past its wing. Achil seized another arrow, but he was too late the Serpent had disappeared from view.
“Well that was close,” said Achil, his heart racing. “Did either of you see where it went?”
Andreas leant forward to see beyond the overhanging rock face, but to no avail.
“I’m afraid it moved too fast,” cried Andreas. “What do we do now?”
Achil peered up nervously, in the hope of seeing the Dragon, but there was nothing there; just an empty deepening red, night was about to give them new unforeseen challenges. They needed to take the initiative rather than wait for their doom.
With a quiet determined look on his face he strode to the back of the cavern, his bow in hand.
“And now for the next part of our plan.”
"There's a plan," replied Nicholas dubiously.
The small wooden pyres at the cavern entrance were built up in front of the barrier of heavy boulders for a purpose. Once they were lit, the makeshift wall they had created, it was hoped, would protect them from the worst of the fire. All of them retreated to the back of the cave. Achil fired some burning arrows at the small wooden stacks. Flames erupted upwards, from a distance it appeared as though the mountain were aflame. A blanket of smoke covered the opening to the cave.
“Now,” Achil said resolute and steadfast as before, “We wait.”
As they expected the smoke filtered into the cavern, so they all withdrew to the top of the stairs at the rear and waited in the pulley room for the fire to subside.