An Excerpt from the Wondrous Tales of the Noble Sir Gwaith, as told by his simple squire, Edwick.

‘Twas in the summer that we did come across the village of Darendoo. My lord did lead the way into the lowly town astride his gallant steed and many were the peasants that did come forth to marvel at his splendor. As we neared the center of this collection of hovels, one such commoner did throw herself before my lord and did petition him in a loud voice to slay the dragon that had so plagued them this past year.

“Dragon!” My lord’s face paled in anticipation and he swallowed, using that as some noble sign of bravery that was far above me. By now many of the villagers did begin to chime in, pleading with my lord to slay the beast. They did describe the many vicious attacks and gruesome deaths that the creature had inflicted upon them over the past few months. My lord could only gibber in glee and he did turn his mount about, charging out of town and leading the way to rid the area of the foul beast.

Not being too sure of the whereabouts of the dragon, I did ask the villagers where it laired then did ride to catch up with my lord as he did race through the fields, undoubtedly looking for the beast. Long did we ride and that night we did camp far away from the village of Darendoo. My lord did sleep fitfully and I was left to determine our location with regards to the beast’s lair.

Looking about, I did see that we were indeed close to the lair, though the trees here were not marked by flame or claw. In the morning, I did meekly prepare our mounts and did lead my lord’s mount towards the vale that did hide the loathsome creature. My lord did continue to sleep fitfully in his saddle, having been unable to adequately rest the night before due to his excitement for the upcoming battle.

Upon arriving at the smoking vale, my lord did awaken and, upon seeing the mouth of the cave that did house the dragon, he did let out a joyous call, though he did forget himself and did begin to profane in his happiness. He did reach forward and did begin to pry the reins from my hands, no doubt preparing to charge into the cave and slay the serpent.

At that moment, the dragon did roar and crawl out of its lair, standing at its full height which towered over us both. My lord did call out in response and, pulling his mount’s reins from my hands, did turn about and begin to ride away from the beast. I did stare after him, trying to divine his strategy but such was beyond me.

The dragon did roar once more and did charge after my lord. My lord did look back and cry out once more, whipping his horse for more speed while he did pull his sword from his sheath and did throw it to the ground behind him. It did stick point-down in the ground, and when the beast had reached it, the dragon did speak.

“You thought to slay me with such a twig? Such a thing is useless against my hide. I despise it and this is how I show that disgust.”

With that, it did reach out with its tongue and did pull my lord’s sword into its mouth, where it did swallow it. The dragon did turn and begin to pursue my lord once more, but then it did stop and cough. It did reach up with its scaled claws and did grasp its throat, gasping for breath. It did slowly topple to the ground and soon lay dead.

I did ride up, praising the genius of my lord, who had thought to kill the beast from within with his clever plan. Upon retrieving my lord’s blade, I did ride long and hard until I once more did catch up to my lord as he did ride forth, eager for his next adventure.