The Brownlen Saga

Chapter 6

"The dragon lives." Matthew spoke quietly. Looking closely at the downed dragon, he could see the fall and rise of its huge chest. He could also hear the labored breathing of the animal and he knew this was not a ruse. The dragon was sick or injured and did not have much longer to live.

Fighting dragons was nothing new in Brownlen Woods. Matthew hesitated to kill an injured animal, even a dragon. It might be more merciful to end this beast's life now and end its misery. But who except God knew when the end should be for this dragon.

"Men!" Matthew shouted and the guards all began to run back to his side. "We will not kill this dragon." The men said nothing but their eyes told of their skepticism. "We will tie it with nets and ropes and carry it back to the dragon field."

Everyone knew of the field that was situated four days journey from Brownlen Woods. Dragon Field was an old burial ground where hundreds of dragon corpses had been found. The family had stumbled upon the place many years ago when they were surveying their land. Sir Billy and Ami had spoken of the place many times and warned the children to leave the place undisturbed.

"This is a place for dragons." Sir Billy had told them solemnly. "And we will leave this place in peace."

Matthew trotted back to the castle leaving the guards to secure the rope nets over the dragon. Climbing to the castle wall to stand beside his family, Matthew told them of his plan.
"It is a good plan." Noah agreed.
"Thank you, brother." Rainy placed a hand on his arm. "That was a merciful decision."
Joshua nodded. "Yes. A very good decision."

The seven siblings stood together on the rampart and watched the guards throw the net over the top of the dying dragon. Men stood on four corners to catch the net as it was thrown from one side to the other. Once the net was over the dragon, the men would need to tie the ends of the net around the dragon's head and tail. When that was done, they would be able to maneuver the heavy animal onto a large woven mat. The mat would be anchored to a team of horses to be pulled behind them for the journey. The task was immense and the dragon was still alive, so each man was on his guard.

Suddenly, without warning, the huge dragon raised its massive head and began to bellow. The guards grabbed up their shields and swords and prepared to attack. The great animal roared and swung its head, throwing short streams of fire from its nose and mouth. The guards on the field and the siblings on the wall watched in disbelief as the dragon began to beat its mighty winds and rise from the earth.

"To me!" Joshua yelled at the top of his lungs to the guards on the field. At his command, all the guards began running toward the castle wall.

"Brownlens!!" Matthew yelled and the seven siblings threw off their shields and lifted their bows and spears.

As the dragon's tail cleared the earth, Joshua shouted, "Now!" A volley of seven spears and arrows raced across the field toward the dragon. The rope net hung loosely over the dragon's body, the ends unsecured. Joshua's second spear shot through the bottom of the net, catching the loose end with the fletching. One by one, the flying arrows and spears wove through the bottom of the net, knitting the loose ends together. The final arrow, shot by Rainy, tightened the net shut and constricted the dragon's wings to its side. The dragon, its strength finally done, sank slowly back to earth.

Solomon and Gabriel waved out their right arms to the guards, signaling them back out to the field to complete their task. The siblings looked at each other, smiling.

"We do work well together, don't we?" Solomon looked over at his two sisters.
"Yes, we do." Snowbird agreed with a laugh.

"Well done!" Sir Billy and Ami called from the courtyard below. The Brownlen siblings turned to see their father and mother waving up at them from below.

"Well done!"