All the dragons of Camelhot were gathered in the Great Hall for their evening meal. Flicker was trying to do the rounds with a decanter of wine, but Flame kept catching his eye and beckoning to him when she thought no one was looking. Hoping to forestall a possible scene, Flicker went over to her.

'Flame, everyone knows you don't like red wine,' Flicker whispered as he filled her cup. 'Shouldn't we wait until after the meal to talk?'

'Stepmother Griddle's watching me too closely - I daren't risk trying to sneak along to your room,' said Flame. 'Besides, I find that I've suddenly developed a taste for claret. Now, take a look at my father, will you?'

Flicker looked along the table to where King Allfire was sitting. Nothing about the sight struck him as unusual or interesting.

'Right,' Flicker said, 'I'm looking at him.'

'Do you think he looks like he's thinking?'

'Well… I don't know. What does he look like when he's thinking?'

'I'm not sure,' Flame confessed.

'What do you think he should be thinking about?' asked Flicker.

'You, of course!' Flame snarled, causing Sir Blaze and Sir Loungelot to cast sidelong looks in her direction. 'He should've announced by now that he's going to knight you! He's going to renege on our bargain, I just know he his! I tell you, Flicker - I'm perilously close to reneging myself at this point!'

'Yes, I'd noticed,' said Flicker, 'but we have to give your father time.'

'He's had plenty of time,' said Flame. 'And now Stepmother Griddle's been making veiled suggestions to me that I might like to consider marrying Sir Charash!'

'Oh dear,' said Flicker, 'I hope you're not going to do that.'

'Of course I'm not!' said Flame. 'I know what I want, Flicker, and I intend to get it… one way or the other. And if it has to be the other…'

'Flame, you agreed to let your father think about this and make his decision in his own time,' said Flicker. 'Let's at least wait until he says something - anything - about it to you before we even think of doing anything… well, drastic.'

'I've told you, Flicker - waiting for too long killed my mother, and I am not about to let it kill me!' said Flame. 'I mean, it's not like Daddy's got a lot on his mind at the moment, is it? We haven't heard a peep out of Count Geoffrey since we captured Evil Knight Number Two, and everything seems to be running smoothly around the castle. So what else does he have to think about? I'm giving him until the end of next week, Flicker. If he hasn't said something to me by then - or if there isn't an extremely good reason why his mind might be on other things - I'm going to do something, as you so eloquently put it, drastic.'

'Er, Flame,' said Flicker, 'I think we might be about to discover an extremely good reason that all our minds might be on other things - look!'

A pall of smoke had appeared between the trestle tables, just in front of where King Allfire and Queen Griddle were sitting. Slowly but surely, everyone noticed the phenomenon and stopped eating. As the dragons watched, the smoke reformed itself into a transparent image of an all too familiar figure.

'Heavens above,' said King Allfire, 'it's Merle the Wizard!'

'What is the meaning of this outrage?' Queen Griddle thundered, thumping the table so hard that everything fell over. 'What do you want here, you foul old witch?'

'What do I want?' Merle cackled. 'I want to issue a challenge - a challenge to you, King Allfire!'

'You wish to challenge me?' said King Allfire. 'On what terms, witch?'

'On my terms, dragon,' said Merle. 'And doesn't your precious Code of Chivalry stipulate, "A dragon knight must accept all challenges"?'

'Well… yes, it does,' said King Allfire.

'But surely there's a clause about not having to accept a challenge that the dragon knight would have no chance of winning!' said Sir Blaze. 'If there isn't, there certainly should be!'

'In this case, the dragon knight will have a chance of winning,' said Merle. 'I intend to play by the rules this time - my rules, of course, but rules nonetheless. That way, my final victory will be nice and safe and official and aboveboard.'

'Do you expect us to accept your word on that, hag?' snarled Queen Griddle.

'Quite frankly, Queenie,' said Merle, 'I don't see that you have any choice but to do just that.'

'I'm afraid she's right, my dear,' said King Allfire. 'Very well, Merle - what are these terms of yours?'

'I'm bored of playing around with you, Allfire,' said Merle. 'I challenge you to a final confrontation - all or nothing! One of your dragon knights must complete a quest of my devising. If he fails, I get Camelhot - it's as simple as that.'

'And I suppose you're planning to pass Camelhot straight on to Count Geoffrey, are you?' said Sir Loungelot.

'What I do or don't intend to do with the place is none of your concern!' Merle snarled. 'The challenge has been issued, Allfire - you must accept it!'

'And this champion of Camelhot,' said King Allfire, 'will definitely be able to complete the quest if he does it properly, will he?'

'I've already said so, haven't I?' Merle snapped.

'And if he does, you'll renounce your claim on Camelhot?' said King Allfire.

'I shall renounce it,' said Merle, 'for now.'

'Well,' said King Allfire, 'then I suppose…'

'No,' said Sir Blaze. 'No, it's not enough.'

'What do you mean,' Merle sneered, 'it's not enough?'

'It's not enough that if Camelhot's champion wins, you'll leave us alone this time,' said Sir Blaze. 'You said it yourself, Merle - this is all or nothing! If we win, you leave us alone forever! You pack up your bag of magic tricks and you just let Camelhot be! If you win, the castle and all its occupants will be completely at your mercy - you can do with us what you will. What do you say to that, eh?'

'Now, steady on, Sir Blaze!' said Sir Loungelot.

'No - Blaze is right,' said King Allfire. 'What do you say, Merle - do you agree to the terms that Sir Blaze has just suggested?'

Merle seemed to hesitate for a moment. Sir Blaze shot her a supercilious look.

'So, the dragons want to play hardball, do they?' said Merle. 'All right - I agree to the terms. Have your champion meet me outside the gates of Camelhot at dawn tomorrow, Allfire. If he completes my quest successfully then none of you will ever see or hear from me again… but if he fails, you all belong to me!'

Merle's ear-piercing laughter filled the room as her image faded away. The dragons looked at each other with bewildered expressions on their faces, unable quite to take in the full magnitude of what had just happened.

'So,' said King Allfire, 'who is to be Camelhot's champion?'

'Loungelot!' Queen Griddle declared at once. 'There can be no other choice.'

'I wouldn't mind giving it a bash, sir,' said Sir Galahot. 'I mean, if it would please Your Majesties for me to do so.'

'Nor would I,' said Sir Hotbreath. 'I should be honoured to fight for Camelhot.'

'Aye, I too would be glad to take up the challenge,' said Sir Burnevere, 'if it is Your Majesties' wish.'

'Well,' said Flame, sounding rather petulant, 'I think there's really only one choice, if you'd all care to stop and think about it for a moment! Surely to God, the only one among us who has any chance of completing Merle's quest is -'

'Sir Blaze!' Flicker cut in quickly. 'Sir Blaze should do it!'

'Yes!' Sir Blaze declared, leaping to his feet. 'I set the terms of the challenge - it is only fair that I should carry them out. Flicker is right - this is my burden to bear, and mine alone! I beg you, Your Majesty - allow me to be the one.'

'Um, well…' King Allfire said uncertainly.

'Blaze dear, are you quite sure you know what you're saying?' said Queen Griddle. 'It could be very dangerous, you know.'

'And I am ready, Mumsey, to face that danger,' said Sir Blaze, 'and to defeat it! Oh, I know what you all think of me - a mediocre knight at best, unworthy and unable to stand up to Merle and save us all from her evil. But I am ready to prove you wrong!'

'We… we don't think that, Sir Blaze,' said King Allfire. 'Not anymore. So be it, then - if you are ready to take up this challenge, I am ready to place my trust in you.'

'As am I,' said Queen Griddle, 'if it's really what you want, dear.'

'I also, sir,' said Sir Galahot, rising to his feet.

'And me,' said Sir Hotbreath, doing the same.

'Aye, me too,' said Sir Burnevere. 'You and I have been in a few tight scrapes together, Blaze, and I know that there's nary a better knight than you to undertake this most dangerous of missions.'

'Yes, er… I believe in you too, Blaze,' said Sir Loungelot. 'I say, you wouldn't like to borrow Flicker to squire for you, I suppose? I'd be quite happy to lend him to you.'

'Thank you, Loungey, but I'm sure that would be against the rules of Merle's little game,' said Sir Blaze. 'Besides, this is a challenge I feel I must face alone.'

'Three cheers for Sir Blaze!' declared King Allfire. 'Hip-hip…'

'How do you know I wasn't going to suggest Blaze myself?' Flame whispered to Flicker, as cheers filled the Great Hall.

'Um… I'm sorry, Flame,' said Flicker. 'I just… I felt I had to step in because I was worried you might be about to… well, to ruin everything, if I may put it so bluntly. If you try to push me forward now, just when your father's promised to consider my future in his own time and his own way…'

'You're becoming arrogant, Flicker,' said Flame. 'You're so sure that I was going to say your name, aren't you? Dear me, so arrogant of you…'

But she smiled at him and squeezed his hand, so Flicker knew that she was not really annoyed with him.

Sir Blaze heard the drawbridge clatter shut behind him. Slipping an overstuffed knapsack onto his back, he stared around for any sign of Merle.

'I am here, witch!' he called.

'As am I, knight of Camelhot,' said Merle, as she popped into view just in front of Sir Blaze. 'My, my… Allfire sent you, did he? I did wonder whether he might, after you shot your mouth off like that.'

'I'm not here under duress,' said Blaze. 'I am ready to face your challenge, Merle, just as the other dragons are ready to put their trust in me.'

'I can't help thinking that their trust might have been better placed elsewhere,' said Merle. 'Do you really think you can defeat me, little one?'

'Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?' said Blaze. 'And I'm not so little! Stop taunting me, witch, and let me get on with the quest.'

'As you wish, dragon,' said Merle. 'I'll see you for the endgame… unless you're dead by then, of course. And believe me, that is more than likely!'

Merle started cackling, and raised her arms above her head. Sir Blaze saw lightning flash before his eyes, and closed them instinctively.

Blaze opened his eyes to see that he was standing on a narrow ledge of rock. He saw a yawning chasm ahead of him, with a rickety wooden bridge stretching into the distance across it. Blaze stepped forward and peered over the precipice; the force of the wind rushing up from below almost knocked him off his feet.

'The way is perilous, is it not?'

Blaze whirled around to see who had spoken. A hooded figure was now standing next to him; the only visible feature protruding from the black cloak was a long green tail with a triangular pointed tip.

'Oh!' said Sir Blaze, allowing himself a moment to recover from his surprise. 'Are you part of Merle's quest?'

'As you are part of Merle's quest, then I suppose I must be too,' said the cloaked figure. 'You must cross this chasm, Sir Blaze. Have you had any thoughts on how you're going to do it?'

'My first thought was to fly across,' said Blaze, 'but I don't really fancy battling against those updraughts - I'd more than likely be dashed to pieces against the cliffs!'

'A wise and accurate deduction, Sir Blaze,' said the figure. 'Another means of crossing, then…'

'The bridge,' said Sir Blaze. 'But surely I won't be allowed just to walk across as merry as you please - not with Merle calling the shots!'

'The bridge has a guardian,' said the mysterious stranger. 'Just place a foot upon the first slat, and he will reveal himself to you.'

'Oh, right,' said Sir Blaze, turning to look at the bridge. 'But what will I…?'

Sir Blaze turned his head back, but the cloaked figure had disappeared. At a loss for anything else to do, Blaze approached the bridge and placed his left foot onto it. There was a flash of light and another figure appeared; as Sir Blaze had expected, this one was standing on the bridge in front of him, blocking his path.

'Hold!' a familiar voice commanded. 'I am the guardian of the bridge, and -'

'Sir Agraflame!' Sir Blaze cut in. 'What in the name of Herne the Hunter's horn are you doing here?'

'I told you, I'm the guardian of the bridge,' said Sir Agraflame. 'And he -'

'Are you working for Merle now?' Sir Blaze persisted. 'We all wondered how you'd managed to escape from Camelhot's highest security cell!'

'Merle rescued me,' said Sir Agraflame. 'But quite frankly, I wish I'd stayed in the dungeon. I am bound to her now, cousin - bound to her for all time! I thought she was giving me my freedom… but what kind of freedom is this?'

'Well, perhaps that will teach you to be such a naughty turncoat,' said Sir Blaze. 'You could have had everything at Camelhot, Agraflame, but you chose to betray us instead - I'll never forgive you for that, you know.'

'Nor should you,' said Sir Agraflame. 'Yet here I am, suffering my punishment as I deserve to… I know I shall never be able to sit at the Square Table, nor upon the throne of Toasting-Forkney, as I no longer really exist in your world… nor do I quite exist in this world, I suppose. But what of it - I deserve my fate, do I not?'

'Oh, cousin,' sighed Sir Blaze, 'you are in a pickle, aren't you? If I could help you…'

'But you can't help me,' said Sir Agraflame. 'No one can help me. So we may as well get on with the business in hand, wouldn't you say?'

'What?' said Sir Blaze. 'Oh, the bridge! Yes, well, I suppose we should.'

'As I was trying to say earlier, then,' said Sir Agraflame. 'He who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.'

'Oh, I know this part!' Sir Blaze exclaimed, clapping his hands together in delight. 'My name is Sir Blaze, my quest is for… well, for Camelhot, I suppose, and my favourite colour is chartreuse. Can I cross now?'

'I'm afraid not, cousin,' said Sir Agraflame, the ghost of a smile on his lips. 'I have three other questions for you… three rather harder questions, I'm afraid. Are you ready to hear my first?'

'I don't suppose I have a lot of choice, do I?' Sir Blaze sighed. 'All right, go on.'

'While travelling a most treacherous road, I met two brothers sitting at a fork in the path,' said Sir Agraflame. 'These brothers were well known for leading travellers a merry dance, for one of them always told the truth and the other one always lied, and no one knew which was which. I was not sure which way I should go to reach my destination, so I posed a question to one of the two brothers. His reply to my question was the left-hand fork, and this told me at once which way I should go. What was the question I asked, and which fork did I take to reach my destination?'

'Does that count as two questions?' asked Sir Blaze.

'No,' said Sir Agraflame, 'it only counts as one.'

'Well, let's see now,' said Sir Blaze. 'You can't have asked him outright which way to go, because you wouldn't know whether he was lying or telling the truth. But if you asked him what his brother would say if you were to pose that question to him… yes, one would lie to you about the other telling the truth, and the other would tell the truth about the other one lying. So they'd both give you the same answer, and it would be the wrong one. So, you asked him which way his brother would tell you to go, and you took the right-hand fork.'

'Very good, cousin,' said Sir Agraflame. 'Answer me this, then. I know a word of letters three; add two and fewer there will be. What is the word?'

'Few,' said Sir Blaze. 'That was an easy one. Let's have the last question, then - I want to get on with my quest!'

'For this one, you have to pretend you're a human,' said Sir Agraflame. 'Well, you have to pretend you're a creature that can't produce its own fire, anyway. You have only one match, but you need to light a candle, a stove and a log fire. Which do you light first?'

'Hmm, well,' said Sir Blaze, 'I guess it wouldn't be the candle, because you could light that from either of the other two, but… hang on! This is a trick question, isn't it? You'd light the match first!'

'Very good, cousin,' said Sir Agraflame, as he began to fade away like a ghost. 'You have earned the right to cross the bridge. For what it's worth, I wish you luck with your quest.'

'Thank you,' said Sir Blaze. 'I… I'm sorry things have to be this way for you, Agraflame. If I there was anything I could do to change your fate…'

'Don't waste your time worrying about me, Blaze,' said Agraflame, almost lost to view now. 'I very much fear that now my fate is neither here nor there… just as I myself am neither here nor there…'

Sir Agraflame's voice died away, leaving no sign that he had ever been on the bridge. Sir Blaze set out across the chasm, placing each foot very carefully as he went. After walking for a very long time, he reached the other side. The bridge did not lead to another cliff, as Blaze had expected, but to a bright, sunlit garden.

Sir Blaze took a moment to drink in his surroundings. The garden was entirely enclosed by very tall hedges; when he looked back, he saw that the bridge and the chasm had completely disappeared. There was a small archway cut into one of the hedges on Blaze's right, while in the left-hand corner of the garden, an obviously female dragon with long blond hair was setting out a picnic on a rug.

'You must enter the maze, Sir Blaze.'

Blaze blinked at the female dragon, but he quickly realised that she was not the one who had spoken. The mysterious figure with the pointed tail had appeared by the archway, and was holding out one hand towards it.

'Must I?' said Blaze. 'What's in there?'

'The next stage of your quest,' said the mysterious figure. 'You must hurry, Sir Blaze - do not allow yourself to be waylaid!'

'At last you have arrived, brave sir knight. Do come and join me - the tea is just brewing, and I've made a jam sandwich for you.'

This time there could be no doubt that it was the female figure who had spoken. As Blaze turned to look at her, she beamed at him and fluttered her eyelashes, before tossing her golden hair over one shoulder.

'Well now,' said Sir Blaze, looking from one figure to the other, 'just whom should I trust, I wonder?'

'You can trust in me, Sir Blaze,' said the beautiful woman. 'No knight can be expected to complete a quest without a tea break from time to time.'

'But I've brought a flask of tea and some cheese sandwiches,' said Sir Blaze. 'They're in my knapsack - I always come prepared, you know.'

'Your sandwiches will be stale by now,' said the alluring stranger. 'And your tea will have gone cold, I shouldn't wonder. What I have to offer you, Sir Blaze, is tantalisingly fresh and pleasingly warm in all the right places.'

'Do you doubt my word, Sir Blaze?' said the figure by the maze. 'Did I not tell you the truth before, about the bridge and its guardian?'

'Yes, you did,' said Sir Blaze. 'But I suppose you could have been trying to lull me into a false sense of security.'

'That's right,' said the woman, 'he was. You don't want to listen to him, Sir Blaze - he's not even supposed to be here! Only I know how you can find the true path from my garden. Come over here and take some tea with me, and I'll tell you how to leave when we've finished… unless you decide you'd like to stay a little longer, of course.'

Blaze's eyes darted between the two figures; he was fairly sure he knew which one he should trust, but he was reluctant to rush into a decision that might doom Camelhot.

'I'm not going to plead with you, Sir Blaze,' said the cloaked figure. 'Make your choice; it's nothing to do with me anymore. All I can do is urge you to think about what I have said to you, and to remember that you are a Knight of the Square Table.'

With that, the mysterious figure melted away into the ether. The alluring female dragon smiled.

'Thank goodness for that,' she said. 'Now that he's gone, we can get on with our picnic, can't we?'

'Er… no,' said Sir Blaze. 'No, I don't think we can. Thanks for the offer and all that, but I'm sure you've been put here specially to waylay me… and besides, you're not really my type.'

With that, Sir Blaze strode towards the entrance to the maze. The beautiful woman began to cry. When Blaze did not turn back, she began to scream.

'You must!' she fumed. 'You must take tea with me! No man can resist my charms. Get back over here and eat your sandwich!'

Sir Blaze placed one foot into the maze. He chanced a look back; the female figure was now jumping up and down in annoyance, with steam pouring from her mouth and nostrils. She opened her mouth to scream again; she no longer looked remotely beautiful or alluring. Blaze turned away and stepped into the maze. The opening in the hedge closed up behind him immediately, completely cutting off the enraged screams of the would-be temptress.

As he did not seem to be in any immediate danger, Blaze sat down on the soft ground and leant against the wall of the maze for support. He then proceeded to unwrap his cheese sandwiches and make a start on drinking his tea.

'It's not remotely cold,' he remarked to himself. 'I knew Flicker's new Yoom-Vack Flask wouldn't let me down.'

'Having a nice sit-down, are you?'

Blaze looked up to see the mysterious cloaked figure standing over him. He hurried to finish his mouthful of cheese sandwich.

'That beautiful girl may have been an evil waylayer, but she was right about one thing,' said Sir Blaze. 'I was due a rest.'

'Well, I advise you not to rest here for too long,' said the mysterious figure. 'You must find your way to the centre of the maze, where a further test awaits you. Do you know how you're going to find it?'

'Oh, that's easy,' said Sir Blaze, draining his teacup. 'To find the centre of a maze, you just put your hand on one wall - it doesn't matter whether it's left or right - and follow it as far as you can. That works for finding the exit from a maze as well, if you do it in the other direction.'

'Hmm… I'm beginning to wonder whether you really need my help at all,' said the mysterious figure.

'Oh, I'm very grateful for your advice,' said Sir Blaze, polishing off another cheese sandwich. 'Please don't think I'm not. I don't suppose you know what sort of test is awaiting me at the centre of the maze, do you?'

'Alas,' said the figure, 'that is something I cannot tell you.'

'Right then,' said Blaze, jumping to his feet, 'I guess I'll just have to go and find out for myself, won't I?'

'Dear oh dear, I think that last part must have been a tremendous detour,' said Sir Blaze, as he emerged through a gap between two hedges. 'Still, the right path is seldom the easiest.'

'Talking to yourself, Sir Blaze? They do say it's the first sign of madness, you know.'

'It helps me to get my bearings,' Sir Blaze told the hooded figure that had just appeared in front of him. 'I must confess, I wasn't expecting to see you again until I reached the centre of the maze, seeing as that's where my next test is meant to be.'

'You are taking a most perilous path,' said the cloaked figure. 'This way is fraught with danger. Are you sure you wouldn't like to turn back, and try to find a safer way?'

'I can't stop following this wall,' said Sir Blaze. 'I'd be lost in no time! I've chosen my path, and I'll just have to stick to it now.'

'Well said, Sir Blaze,' said the figure, 'but I repeat my warning - the way is perilous, so you'd best be on your guard.'

With that, the mysterious figure melted away. Blaze stepped forward. He noticed that the ground under his feet was becoming less and less grassy; finally he found himself walking on small stones and lumps of boggy clay.

'Yuck,' he remarked. 'Well, that'll teach me not to bring along a change of shoes.'

The ground in front of Sir Blaze suddenly erupted with a boggy squelch and a stony rattle; Blaze suddenly found himself face-to-face with a figure of living clay.

'Oh dear, this is all I need,' he sighed. 'Are you some kind of Gollum?'

The creature did not reply, but swept clumsily at Sir Blaze with a massive, soggy hand. Blaze leapt out of the way.

'Not a great talker, eh?' said Sir Blaze. 'All right, then.'

He drew his sword and lopped off the creature's right arm. This did him little good, however, as a new arm immediately sprouted in its place.

'Not that way, then,' said Sir Blaze. 'All right, let's see if I can't make you feel a bit hot under the collar!'

Sir Blaze unleashed a sheet of fire at the creature of earth, eliciting an inhuman roar accompanied by the distinct sound of cracking. Blaze cut off his stream of fire and saw that the creature was looking decidedly less boggy and squelchy than it had been. Spurred on by this sight, Blaze raised his sword. The creature lumbered forward; Blaze struck out. The sword made contact with the creature's torso, which immediately began to crack and rend. The cracks spread out and widened considerably, before the creature crumbled to dust on the stony ground.

'You baked him,' said a familiar voice from further along the hedge-lined passage.

'Of course,' said Sir Blaze, squinting past the cloud of fine clay dust to catch a glimpse of the hooded figure. 'I knew that the clay would become unstable if it got hot enough, so I just gave it a blast. All it took then was one swipe of my sword to reduce that horrible creature to superheated rubble!'

'You are growing in confidence, I think,' said the mysterious figure. 'Remember, you still have a long way to go - you haven't reached the centre of the maze yet.'

'Then I'd best press on,' said Sir Blaze.

'Yes,' said the figure, as it melted away into the darkness, 'you better had.'