SOURCE: "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth" by Lord Dunsany (The Sword of Welleran & Other Stories, 1908)

DESCRIPTION: "...Presently he perceived the dragon Thok lying upon the way, pretending to sleep, and his tail hung down into one of the abysses. And Leothric went towards him, and when he was quite close Thok rushed at Leothric. And he smote deep with Sacnoth, and Thok tumbled into the abyss, screaming, and his limbs made a whirring in the darkness as he fell, and he fell till his scream sounded no louder than a whistle and then could be heard no more. Once or twice Leothric saw a star blink for an instant and reappear again, and this momentary eclipse of a few stars was all that remained in the world of the body of Thok. And Lunk, the brother of Thok, who had lain a little behind him, saw that this must be Sacnoth and fled lumbering away..." ("The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save For Sacnoth" by Lord Dunsany)

NOTES: The two dragons are one of Gaznak's guardians in the Fortress Unvanquishable. Theodric takes them out pretty quick and moves on.

HISTORY: Dunsany was a pioneer in Fantasy. "The Fortress Unvanquishable" was obviously an influential tale on Howard and Tolkien and others, but the guardian after guardian structure of the story is a little tedious for modern readers.

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