othric moved forward slowly with the blade of Sacnoth in
front of him feeling for a foe, and the eye in the hilt of it looking
out behind.

Nothing stirred.

If anything lurked behind the pillars of the colonnade that held
aloft the roof, it neither breathed nor moved.

The music of the magical musicians sounded from very near.

Suddenly the great doors on the far side of the chamber opened to
left and right. For some moments Leothric saw nothing move, and
waited clutching Sacnoth. Then Wong Bongerok came towards him,
breathing.

This was the last and faithfullest guard of Gaznak, and came from
slobbering just now his master's hand.

More as a child than a dragon was Gaznak wont to treat him, giving
him often in his fingers tender pieces of man all smoking from his
table.

Long and low was Wong Bongerok, and subtle about the eyes, and he
came breathing malice against Leothric out of his faithful breast,
and behind him roared the armoury of his tail, as when sailors drag
the cable of the anchor all rattling down the deck.

And well Wong Bongerok knew that he now faced Sacnoth, for it had
been his wont to prophesy quietly to himself for many years as he
lay curled at the feet of Gaznak.

And Leothric stepped forward into the blast of his breath, and
lifted Sacnoth to strike.

But when Sacnoth was lifted up, the eye of Tharagavverug in the butt
of the hilt beheld the dragon and perceived his subtlety.

For he opened his mouth wide, and revealed to Leothric the ranks of
his sabre teeth, and his leather gums flapped upwards. But while
Leothric made to smite at his head, he shot forward scorpion-wise
over his head the length of his armoured tail. All this the eye
perceived in the hilt of Sacnoth, who smote suddenly sideways. Not
with the edge smote Sacnoth, for, had he done so, the severed end of
the tail had still come hurtling on, as some pine tree that the
avalanche has hurled point foremost from the cliff right through the
broad breast of some mountaineer. So had Leothric been transfixed;
but Sacnoth smote sideways with the flat of his blade, and sent the
tail whizzing over Leothric's left shoulder; and it rasped upon his
armour as it went, and left a groove upon it. Sideways then at
Leothric smote the foiled tail of Wong Bongerok, and Sacnoth parried,
and the tail went shrieking up the blade and over Leothric's head.
Then Leothric and Wong Bongerok fought sword to tooth, and the
sword smote as only