"Kushner,.Donn.-.A.Book.DragonUC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

Brother Ambrose stopped to watch the two heroes break
open the wine cask and begin to toast each other and the girl
with their silver flagons. Then he continued on to the castle.
Once inside he saw that the spoils were safely stowed away.
He mildly but firmly discouraged any of the others from joining
the captain and the lieutenant, who, he said, had quite enough
company as it was. The fat cook wailed and lamented. The
clerk, bowing in mockery, handed her a great kitchen ladle.
She looked at the ladle, then grasped it firmly. She used it to
clear away a robber who was sleeping in the cold fireplace.
She chased two robbers out to get more wood, made another
sweep the floor, and soon had cooked them their first decent
meal in months. Brother Ambrose fetched some more wine,
almost as good as that which he had given to the heads of the
band. He insisted that they take time to savor it properly. So
that, when he finally led the men outside with pinewood torches
to join their leaders, he found what he had expected: a large,
mud-colored dragon with huge shining eyes that dropped giant
tears as he listened to the melodious lamentations of the innocent
kitchen girl, who was tethered by one foot to a tree. Of the
captain and the lieutenant nothing was to be seen, except the
hand of the former, too laden with rings to be digestible, and
Lopped Cedric's wooden leg.

The dragon was quite drunk. His sighs resembled an old
drinking song; their sound convinced the superstitious rob-
bers that their two leaders were still singing in the dragon's
belly. Some fled, others fell on their knees and crossed them-
selves. Only the clerk kept his presence of mind. He ran back

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to the ruined castle for two small barrels of gunpowder, which
he placed beneath the dragon's wings. In doing this, he gained
great respect from the rest of the band, who didn't know, as he
did, that the dragon, when intoxicated, remained motionless
for hours. The clerk unpegged the kitchen wench, called the
band back to a safe distance, laid a train of gunpowder to the
barrels, and dropped an ember at the far end of the train. As
the explosion blasted the dragon into three pieces, the amazed
robbers saw his eyes light up, just for an instant, with fierce
joy at this new experience.

This episode was the true beginning of Brother Ambrose's
career. After his chief rival for the post was found floating in a
pond one dark night, Ambrose was unanimously elected leader
of The Undergrowthe. He directed it with great success. The
band became more respectable and hired out as mercenaries.
Eventually Ambrose joined the winning side in the civil war.
As a reward, he was later given the castle for his own, money