Free The Dragons 3 by Colin Thompson Page B

planning, she would be able to get away.
    â€˜We need to gather up as many weapons as we can,’ said Rampart once they had secured the Sargasso raft with ropes to stop it floating away.
    â€˜And make sails so we can travel where we want to,’ said one of the twenty-seven pirate captains.
    The pirate captains were more excited about setting sail than anyone else. It had been a very long time since any of them had sailed the stormy seas, under the skull and crossbones flag, in search of a bit of pillaging or buried treasure.
    Fifty-four trees were cut down and made into masts and every single bedsheet on the island was sewn together to make fifty-four sails. Each captain had two masts and two sails so there would be no bickering over who would be in charge. Someone did point out that because no one was in charge, it was very unlikely they would agree to sail in the same direction. But in all the excitement of getting ready, no one took anynotice, except Princess Floridian, and by then everyone was ignoring every single word she said. Of course she went through the warnings again:
It will end in tears.
There will be tears before bedtime.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
    But she knew no one was listening.
    So she made her own quiet little plans to make sure that when they did finally set sail, she at least would survive.

    FAMOUS DRAGONS OF THE WORLD
LAPLAND
SANTA CLAWS

Back in Camelot, Merlin was trying to keep an eye on everything. On the one hand there were the dragons, who his spies told him were planning an uprising. On the other hand there was King Arthur’s revolting cousin Mordred, who his other spies told him was planning an uprising. On the other, other hand there was the deposed fake King Arthur/Brat/Ruthra, who his other, other spies told him was planning an uprising.
    It’s a good thing I’ve got more than two hands, Merlin said to himself.
    He did not tell anyone about the three uprisings and he certainly didn’t tell them about his extra hands, most of which he kept in a box under his bed.
    The old wizard had always known that it was unwise to trust anyone, so he hardly ever talked to Arthur or Morgan le Fey or anyone about important things unless it was absolutely necessary. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them personally, but he knew that walls had ears, indeed many of the ears the walls of Camelot had were Merlin’s and some of the walls had noses too. He knew, for example, that the young King and hissister might be discussing the threat of invasion while there was a spy sitting outside on the windowsill, so it was best to say nothing.
    There was also nothing much they could do to help, otherwise he definitely would have told them. Obviously when it came to it, Sir Lancelot and the other Knights of Camelot would charge about, hacking their enemies to bits with their swords, but they would only need a few minutes’ notice to get ready for that.
    In fact, Merlin was so worried about people listening in that he was even cautious about talking to himself. For quite a few years he’d had the nagging feeling that there was a presence inside his own head eavesdropping on his every thought. This, of course, was a ridiculous idea, which only showed how paranoid the old wizard had become.
    It was also completely true.
    So he decided it would be best if no one knew anything, at least not until the last minute. He also made sure that his spies never spoke to each other. Everything was under control. The fact that all three uprisings were planned for the same night – the longest and darkest night of the year – would make things easier.
    After all, he thought, we will then, as they say, have all our eggs in one basket. And the easiest way to crack eggs is to bang them against each other.
    Note to self, he added, make sure the sky is covered with thick, black, heavy clouds that night. We do not want any moonlight to guide the invaders.
    And let’s make the