Doctor Who_ Cats Cradle_ Witch Mark - Andrew Hunt [89]
Awaiting instructions.
Correct imbalance in #76/2.
Correct imbalance in #76/2.
Relocate multiple signal source.
Awaiting instructions.
Scan multiple signal source at 4:26:3:370.
Correct imbalance in #76/2.
Imminent loss of functioning in #79/2, #73/2, #74/2.
A waiting instructions.
There was a call from outside the farmhouse.
'My lord!' Daffyr went to the doorway and looked out.
'What is it, Allan?'
'My lord, the dragon has circled the camp a third time. The huntsmen believe they will be able to take it on its next pass.’
Stuart came over to the door. 'Daffyr, when you talk about a dragon, are we talking about a huge, fire-breathing lizard type thing?'
'That's right! You have them on Earth?’
'No,' the Doctor said, 'not as such. I did encounter one on the planet Svartos. Admittedly, the fire was laser beams and it wasn't so much a lizard, more a bio-mechanoid. But the locals called it a dragon.'
'Don't let them touch the beast until I'm out there, Daffyr shouted. 'Would you care to join me in watching the sport, my friends?'
'Hardly sport,' the Doctor murmured. 'Yes I'll come.’
'Yes,' Stuart agreed. 'Bathsheba?'
'I'd rather not.' Bathsheba was slightly afraid at the thought of a dragon so close to the camp. She'd heard stories of the animals and had even seen the effect they could have on crops.
'You just wait here, Bats,' the Doctor told her smiling. 'We won't be long.'
Stuart squinted up into the sky, scanning the air for the dragon. It crossed his mind to wonder if it would be red like the traditional Welsh dragon, but when it finally came into view such trivial thoughts were wiped from his mind.
It was as though an elephant had taken to the air such was its mass, as if it had sprouted wings and flown. Detail was hard to make out, for it was just a silhouette against the dark sky, but the creature had wings and a thin, tapering head at the end of a long neck that swung from side to side surveying what lay below it; around the neck was a bony ruff, splayed outwards to accentuate the size of the head. Its wings were thin and membraneous - Stuart could see some red light filtering through - and they rippled slowly as the moving air passed over them. The dragon flew with a list to one side that seemed to be dragging it gradually down towards the ground.
As it flew overhead, a phalanx of archers unleashed their arrows at it. The speeding missiles tore holes in the wings, but otherwise seemed to have little effect. A second hail of arrows was sent into the air, bouncing uselessly off the tough skin of the dragon.
'Bah! You're worse than useless, the lot of you,' shouted Daffyr. 'Allan, fetch me my crossbow. I'll show you how to bring down the beast.' Allan hurried away and while he was gone Daffyr berated his archers. 'You can't just point your bows up into the air and hope for the best, you damned fools. Dagda take you, you have to aim for its vulnerable spot, don't you know that? Not a one of you came close.
And where is this weak spot? Watch and I'll show you.' Allan returned and handed over the weapon.
'Now then, watch carefully.' He slipped the bolt into its groove and then cranked up the bow. Hefting the weapon, he rested it against his shoulder and stood, steady as a rock, waiting for the dragon to pass over again.
As its shadow covered his face, he fired the bolt. It flew straight as a die and thudded into the dragon, but the creature flew on, seemingly unscathed.
'Damn and blast the animal, it isn't playing fair!' Daffyr flung the crossbow on to the ground and brought a hoof down on it.
But even as they watched, the dragon faltered in its flight, its wings crumpled and it plunged down to earth. Daffyr's enthusiasm returned immediately. He laughed triumphantly and snatched a sword from one of his attendants. 'What did I tell you?' he cried. 'Hit it through the head and it's yours.'
‘Aim for the eyepiece?' the Doctor suggested.
'Quite right!' Daffyr guffawed. 'You hear that? The eye is the gap in a dragon's armour - even this human knows that. Come, let us finish