William Wright and the Dragon's Treasure

by Uriah Szilagyi

  Chapter 11: The Fire Ring Race

  Over the following weeks, King Arthur raised security in Camelot and the local towns began reporting an end to the vicious attacks. It seemed the spy couldn’t work with so much security around. William, meanwhile, continued to study, rapidly learning new skills from both Merlin and Eveador.

  Even though his studies were important, William still made time to practice for the Fire Ring Race. During the afternoons, he would be out in the castle’s courtyard with Sarah and Eric, training.

  “Always fire from the hip,” ordered Eric, as William would attempt to blast a straw target dangling from a tree, “and remember not to burn out your staff’s crystal.”

  Sarah gave William advice, too, but it was in the skill of horse riding.

  “Don’t try to force your horse to go where you want, just guide it,” she would say, riding next to him.

  The Twins, however, weren’t interested in what William got up to and preferred to waddle into town for daily tastings of cakes, each time dragging poor old Foddle along to guide them. As for Oden, he kept to himself and single-mindedly trained for the race.

  Soon, the day of the big race had arrived, and William was to meet Sarah and Eric in the castle stables to go over what they had learnt one last time. After a hearty breakfast, recommended by Eric the day before, William made his way down to the stables and waited for their arrival.

  “Ready for the big day?” asked Sarah excitedly, arriving in the stables with Eric.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” replied William, and he patted his horse. “I just hope Thunder here knows how important this race is to me.”

  William’s horse, Thunder, snorted in response to his doubts.

  “Did you remember to have a proper breakfast?” said Eric, frowning.

  “Of course,” replied William, and he counted on his fingers. “Two boiled eggs, a cup of fresh milk, six slices of bread, and, last but not least, one spoonful of freshly squeezed orange juice.”

  “And how do you feel?” asked Eric eagerly. “Like you’ve got tons of energy, I bet.”

  William laughed. “If I get past the indigestion, yeah, I feel pretty well --”

  The sound of trumpets echoed in the distance.

  “That’s the call for the race,” said Sarah. “We’d better head off.”

  William quickly tightened his saddle down on Thunder and led him out of the stables. With Sarah and Eric, they journeyed through the town and out into the forest. The track to the race field was lined with guards, so it was quite alright for them to enter the forest without an adult.

  After a short walk, they arrived at a large open field, bustling with horses and people. William was amazed to see huge wooden stands packed with spectators and an enormous golden ring, magically floating a table’s height above the ground. It looked brilliant. In one of the stands, William could see Merlin and the Twins. The Twins weren’t there for William’s sake, though. They only came for the celebratory feast planned after the race. King Arthur was present, too, but he was seated in a separate royal stand.

  “The race is going to get underway,” said Eric, almost shivering with anticipation. “You’d better mount up and head over to the starting line.”

  William climbed up onto Thunder and then reached down for Eric to hand up his staff.

  “Remember what I’ve taught you and watch out for Oden,” advised Eric, as he handed William his staff.

  “Yeah,” added Sarah, “he’s always got something up his sleeve.”

  “Don’t worry, I know what type of person Oden is,” replied William, and he rode off towards the starting line.

  Arriving at the starting line, William lined Thunder’s nose up along a golden cloth tied between two flagpoles, and waited.

  “I wonder where Oden is?” he pondered, looking down the line of other competitors. “He wouldn’t have chickened out, would he?”

  Just then, Oden made his appearance. He was riding a black horse and was holding a long dark staff, which had a unique gold band around the base.

  “Thought I wouldn’t show up, didn’t you?” sneered Oden, forcing his way in between William and another competitor.

  William didn’t answer and continued looking forward.

  “Ignoring me, eh? Well, just wait till I win this race,” snapped Oden angrily. “You won’t be able to ignore that!”

  With the race about to start, Eveador walked out into the field and stood next to the starting line.

  “I want a good clean race,” she said loudly. “Remember to get clear of the race track and wait for me to come if you fall off. Is everybody clear on that?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Well then … on your marks … get set … GO!” she shouted, and she yanked the golden cloth free.

  The race was on.

  “Go, Thunder, go!” yelled William, as Thunder charged from the starting line.

  Oden and William had broken away from the other competitors right from the word go. Side by side, they galloped into the narrow forest track.

  “You’ll never win!” shouted Oden at William, as they rounded a tight bend. “This race is mine.”

  “We’ll see about that,” answered back William.

  Up ahead, William could see the race track blocked by a dense wall of vines hanging from the trees overhead. This was the first obstacle.

  Oden had the lead and engaged the vines first. With a quick aim of his staff, he vaporised them, but he had fired too early. The vines magically grew back before he’d be able to make it through. Frantically, Oden blasted the vines again. By the smallest margin, he made it through in one piece.

  “I can see how you can waste your staff’s power,” thought William, seeing the vines close in once more. “I’ll have to be careful with timing my blast.”

  William lined up his staff at the centre of the vines and continued riding Thunder at full speed. It would only be a matter of seconds before he’d be flung into the sharp thorns, but William wasn’t going to fire until the perfect moment.

  “Not yet … not yet … NOW!” he yelled, and he let rip with a scorching fireball.

  The vines erupted into an enormous wall of fire and the path was cleared. After passing the first obstacle, William rode hard, determined not to let Oden get too far ahead.

  “You can’t win,” yelled Oden, as William edged up to him. “Give up and go home.”

  “Never,” replied William, and he overtook Oden around a sharp bend.

  William continued to pull away from Oden around the next few bends, rapidly heading towards the second obstacle, a river.

  “I’m almost there,” muttered William, riding Thunder down a slight slope. “It’s just around that -- WHAT THE?”

  An intense ball of yellow light zipped past William’s shoulder and slammed into a tree up ahead, completely blowing it apart. Shaken, William looked back and discovered Oden pointing his staff at him. Oden fired again. The ball of energy hit the ground just in front of Thunder. With an explosion of dirt, a large ditch was formed.

  “Whoa, Thunder, whoa!” commanded William, desperate to stop Thunder from falling into the pit.

  “Give up, loser,” laughed Oden, and he took the lead.

  Swiftly, William guided Thunder around the ditch and took chase. He was now even more determined to beat Oden.

  By the time William had made it to the river, Oden had already managed to get to the other side. Quickly, he aimed his staff at the fast flowing river and fired a series of powerful earth spells, each bolt causing a large boulder to burst from the river. In a matter of seconds, a stony dam had been built.

  With the dam in place, William rode out into the dry river bed. He thought he’d make it to the other side without any problems, but he was wrong. As soon as he was halfway across, there was a thunderous roar. William glanced back and discovered the river was bursting through the dam.

  “Yah, Thunder!” yelled William frantically.

  Thunder instantly un
derstood the danger they were in and went from a cautious trot to a full-blown gallop. It didn’t look like they were going to make it. The dam was collapsing too fast. Just when William thought the river was about to sweep them away, Thunder galloped up out of the river bed to safety.

  “That’s was too close,” said William, his heart still racing. “I know you’re tired, Thunder, but we can’t let Oden win.”

  Thunder snorted loudly and hoofed the ground like an angry bull, seeming to understand what William was saying.

  “That’s a boy. Let’s get him!” said William, and they took off.

  With Thunder galloping at full stride, William caught back up to Oden in an instant. Oden had seen William coming up and wasn’t about to just let him ride past like before. He turned in his saddle, lined up his staff with a huge tree and blasted it. The base of the tree was torn to bits and collapsed across the track. William wasn’t about to back off, and he fired an almighty spell from his staff, blowing a large chunk of the tree away. Oden glanced back and found William still on his tail. He fired again, taking down another tree, but William reacted in the same way, blowing a gap to ride through it.

  “If Oden keeps this up, I won’t have enough energy in my staff to get past the third obstacle,” realised William, noticing his staff’s blue crystal was starting to glow red.

  Even though Oden’s staff should have been running out of energy, he kept firing.

  “This is crazy,” muttered William. “What sort of staff does Oden have?”

  As he continued battling Oden through the forest, William managed to catch a glimpse of Oden’s staff. Immediately, he recognized something strange about it. It didn’t have a gold band like he remembered.

  “That no good cheat!” thought William furiously. “He swapped staffs when I fell behind. I bet that’s why he showed up so late. He was hiding it.”

  By the time they had burst free of the forest and back into the open field, Oden had gained a good lead on William. In a matter of moments, Oden was at the huge golden ring in the centre of the field. Suddenly, it burst into flames. Oden took aim and fired. Out spewed a stream of ice particles and the flames were extinguished. He jumped his horse through the ring and charged towards the finish line.

  “Now it’s my turn,” sighed William, and he glanced at his staff’s crystal. “Time to see if my staff has enough energy left.”

  As with Oden, the golden ring burst into flames. Quickly, William fired an ice spell but nothing happened. His staff was drained. At that moment, William should’ve turned away from the ring. Incredibly, he kept riding towards it.

  “We can still win this, Thunder,” he said firmly.

  Thunder snorted loudly and began galloping even faster. William felt that Thunder knew what needed to be done, and he swiftly ducked down.

  Suddenly, William realised something.

  “My scarf!” he panicked, the ring now only a few yards away. “It’ll get burnt.”

  Frantically, William tried to stuff his precious scarf inside his robe, but it was no good. There wasn’t enough time. With the crowd watching in horror, William quickly ducked back down again and hung on for dear life. In an eruption of flames, Thunder jumped through the burning ring and out the other side.

  “Go, William, go!” the crowd in the stands cheered.

  Amazed he was still alive and that his scarf hadn’t been singed, William continued riding for the finish line. In a matter of moments, he was side by side with Oden. He glanced over at Oden and saw an expression of utter shock upon his face

  “It’s impossible,” muttered Oden, shaking his head. “It’s just impossible.”

  With the crowds all cheering him, William charged through the finish line and won. Instantly, Sarah and Eric ran out from the stands to congratulate him.

  “I can’t believe what you’ve just pulled off,” said Sarah ecstatically.

  “Neither can I,” replied William, dismounting from Thunder, “and my scarf still looks as good as new. I was sure it would’ve got burnt.”

  “Who knows, maybe it’s lucky,” said Eric.

  As they walked from the field, Oden ran up from behind and grabbed William by the shoulder.

  “Your staff must be out of energy,” he said angrily. “I demand to know how you still got past the third obstacle.”

  William quickly tore himself away from Oden’s grasp and replied, “I guess I could ask you the same question, but I don’t need to. I know you swapped your staff during the race.”

  “How dare you say that,” snapped Oden. “I don’t need to cheat to beat you.”

  Eric sniggered. “Don’t you mean lose?”

  “This isn’t over,” said Oden furiously, and he stomped back to his horse.

  While William tied Thunder up with the other horses, he explained to Sarah and Eric what happened during the race. They were amazed and angry at the same time. In the end, though, there was nothing they could do. It was only William’s word against Oden’s. With Thunder secured, they headed for an outdoor banquet where the Twins were seated and the Fire Ring Race trophy was to be awarded later.

  As they made their way over, William noticed Merlin patiently waiting next to a tree, holding a small wooden box. They made a beeline to him to see what he had.

  “Well done,” said Merlin, upon meeting William. “You would have even beaten me in my younger days.”

  “Thanks, Merlin,” replied William, trying to peek inside the little box.

  “Ah, I see you’re interested in finding out what’s in this box,” remarked Merlin. “Here, have a look.”

  William looked inside the box and saw a large greenish egg resting in a nest of straw.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s a dragon’s egg!” blurted out Sarah, peeking over William’s shoulder.

  “A dragon’s egg?” questioned William.

  Merlin smiled. “It’s my reward to you for coming so far with your skills.”

  “Wow, thanks … but what am I supposed to do with it? Make an omelette?”

  Merlin looked shocked.

  “No, no,” he answered, “raise it.”

  “Raise it?”

  “Yes,” replied Merlin, “for it is well-known that dragons are dangerous enemies, but they are also fantastic allies. Once you have raised a dragon from birth, it will be a friend for life.”

  “You mean … I’m going to have a pet dragon?”

  “That’s right,” replied Merlin.

  William handed Eric his staff and took hold of the box.

  “How long will it take for the dragon to hatch?” asked Eric.

  “Well, going by my calculations, it should be within --”

  “Look!” squealed Sarah with delight. “T-the egg, it moved!”

  William peered down into the box and, sure enough, saw the egg shudder.

  “She’s right.”

  “Quick, let me see,” said Eric, putting his head back over the box.

  Slowly but surely, the egg began to crack.

  “Look, look, I see its tail,” peeped Eric.

  William watched in amazement as the dragon struggled to free itself from its egg.

  “Can I help it?” asked William.

  “Sure, why not,” replied Merlin, “there’s nothing wrong with giving nature a helping hand.”

  Still grasping the box, William gently placed his hand onto the egg and began pulling away some of the shell. Soon enough, the dragon, no bigger than a newborn kitten, fell out of its shell and began to make a sound like a cat’s purr.

  “Uhhhh, isn’t that cute,” said Sarah, as the dragon licked William’s hand.

  “Yeah, if you like dragon slobber on your hand,” replied Eric, sounding a little envious.

  After the little dragon had licked William’s hand, it stretched out its bat-like wings and suddenly flew out of the box.

  “Oh no, it’s escaped,” shouted William. “What now?”

  “Just wait a moment,” said Merlin calmly, watching
the dragon fly around overhead. “It will return, trust me.”

  Sure enough, the dragon did return, but instead of resting back in its box, it decided to perch on William’s shoulder.

  “So, have you decided on a name for it?” asked Sarah.

  “Hmmm, not yet,” replied William, as the dragon nibbled on his robe. “Any suggestions?”

  “I know!” said Eric eagerly. “How about Nibbles? You know, because he likes to nibble.”

  “Doesn’t sound very terrifying for a dragon,” replied Sarah, “but it does describe him pretty well.”

  “Well, it’s settled.” announced William. “From now on, we’ll call him Nibbles.”

  Nibbles continued gnawing on William’s robe as if nothing important had happened.

  “I think it would be best to get Nibbles something more edible to nibble on than your robe,” suggested Merlin, watching on.

  William nodded. “You’re right, and soon, too.”

  With Nibbles still perched on his shoulder, William left for the outdoor banquet with Sarah and Eric. As soon as they had arrived, the Twins stared up at Nibbles, looking disgusted.

  “What’s that ugly thing?” asked Trevor.

  “It’s a dragon,” snapped Sarah, “and a handsome one at that.”

  “A dragon?” questioned Albert. “I’ve never seen such an ug --”

  “I be sorry for missing the race,” interrupted Foddle, floating in from overhead, “but old Foddle be travelling around Camelot so much that it be hard to wake early.” He hovered beside William. “Ah, I see you be getting the pet dragon from Merlin.”

  Albert and Trevor both looked shocked.

  “The dragon’s a gift from Merlin?” they asked.

  “That’s right,” answered Sarah, “so you’d better think twice about hassling him.”

  The Twins weren’t stupid and knew insulting Merlin’s gift would be like insulting Merlin himself. They quickly decided that it would be best to tolerate the dragon.

  “Me hassle the dragon? How could you say such a wicked thing?” said Albert, sounding very offended.

  “Yes,” agreed Trevor, “we think it’s adorable --”

  Suddenly, Nibbles flew off William’s shoulder and onto the table. He had smelt the Twin’s food.

  “Isn’t that adorable,” sniggered Eric. “Nibbles wants to share your food.”

  Sieving with anger, the Twins sat and watched Nibbles ravenously eating their beloved food. Soon there was nothing left and Trevor called over a waiter to bring some more roast chicken to the table.

  “Yes, sirs, how may I be of service?” asked the waiter politely.

  William glanced up from Nibbles and saw that the waiter was none other than his old friend Grudly.

  “I wouldn’t mind another plateful of roasted chicken,” replied Trevor.

  “Make that two,” added Albert, looking sadly at his empty plate.

  Grudly noted down Albert and Trevor’s requests and then looked across the table.

  “Ah,” remarked Grudly, “I see the cake tray is empty. Shall I bring another?”

  “Why not, we deserve it,” replied Albert.

  “And shall there be anything for the young William or his friends?”

  After quickly consulting with Sarah and Eric, William jokingly replied, “Make that two on the cake trays. We deserve it.”

  “A wise choice,” smiled Grudly, and he left to gather the food.

  While waiting for Grudly to return, William talked with Foddle about the race and how he just managed to beat Oden. The Twins tried to play down the whole thing as being childish, but Foddle didn’t listen. Instead, he praised William for winning and congratulated Sarah and Eric for being such good trainers. As they talked, Nibbles finished off the remaining food on Trevor’s plate before flying back into his box for a snooze.

  “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” said Grudly, as he lifted a cake tray from a small wooden trolley and placed it down.

  “Long enough,” snapped Trevor.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” replied Grudly humbly, “but I had trouble finding any cake trays left.”

  “Don’t listen to him,” said William, sick of Trevor’s disrespect. “You didn’t take long.”

  “Thank you, young William,” replied Grudly, his spirits appearing lifted. “It was actually quite lucky I managed to find a cake tray at all. This one was destined for the King’s table.”

  “The King’s table? Are you sure it’s OK that you took it for us?” asked William.

  “Absolutely,” replied Grudly, smiling. “The waiter who was carrying it told me that more would arrive later and the King wasn’t ready to dine for a while yet.”

  “Mmmm, royal cakes,” said Albert, looking hungrily at the tray. “I’m sure they’ll taste even better.”

  As Grudly turned to place the Twin’s roast chickens down onto the table, little Nibble’s nose caught whiff of the cakes.

  “O-oh,” peeped Albert, looking under the table at Nibble’s box, “I can hear movement.”

  William looked down and saw Nibbles poking his wide nose out of the box, sniffing excitedly.

  “I think ye dragon want seconds,” remarked Foddle.

  Sarah giggled. “Me, too.”

  William thought it best that Nibbles didn’t eat all the cakes Grudly had brought over, so he quickly grabbed one of the cakes and gave it to him, hoping he would be satisfied to stay in the box. Nibbles, it seems, had different ideas, and he swiftly flew out of his box and back onto the table.

  “Not again,” panicked Trevor, as Nibbles scampered across the table to the cake tray.

  William jumped out of his chair and tried to grab Nibbles, but Nibbles was too fast.

  “Sorry,” said William, looking at Grudly, “he was too quick for me.”

  “Oh well,” replied Grudly, looking a little grey as he watched Nibbles digging into the cakes, “at least he’s enjoying them.”

  The Twins, on the other hand, weren’t so forgiving of Nibble’s behaviour.

  “That’s it!” shouted Trevor angrily, tearing a napkin from his collar and throwing it onto the table. “I’ve tolerated that thing for long enough. First it eats all my food, and now this! How dare you bring it to the table.”

  “Yes, how dare you,” snapped Albert, throwing his napkin down, too.

  William didn’t know what to say, Trevor and Albert were correct. Nibbles had caused a mess, a funny mess but still a mess.

  “You’re right,” replied William.

  “They’re right?” questioned Sarah and Eric.

  “Yes, I shouldn’t have let Nibbles onto the table from the start,” answered William modestly, and he looked over at Trevor and Albert. “Sorry for ruining your dinner, guys. I’ll put him away.”

  “I, err … I don’t know what to say,” said Trevor, as he sat back down. “You’re admitting you were wrong?”

  “That’s right,” replied William.

  With the emotion of anger passing from them, Trevor and Albert suddenly felt guilt ridden.

  “Umm, I probably shouldn’t have … you know, gone off at you like that,” said Trevor awkwardly. “I … err, I suppose it’s not Nibbles fault. He’s only a baby after all.”

  “Here, give him this,” added Albert sheepishly, tearing a drumstick from his roast chicken and handing it to William.

  As William brought the drumstick up to Nibbles, he noticed something was wrong, Nibbles was gasping for breath.

  “Oh no, I think he’s choking,” panicked William, quickly picking Nibbles up.

  “Quick! Whack him on the back,” shouted Sarah, terrified.

  Before William had a chance to wack him on the back, Nibbles had completely stopped breathing. What was to happen? Was Nibbles to die the very day he was born?