side of the Blue River one day’s ride southwest of the village, or to Greentree at the foot of the Green Mountain, one days ride southeast. Both routes were long and went through untamed wilderness on roads that were at times barely recognizable as such. They went to trade with what they had for what they needed. Visitors to the village were few and mainly comprised of family that had moved away coming back for a visit, or travelers that were completely lost, or daring (some would say foolish) individuals seeking adventure in the surrounding, untamed wilderness. Therefore, when three strangers arrived one fine spring morning, it was with mixed curiosity and suspicion that they were greeted. The strangers were of course the esteemed Wizard Machvell, the brave Knight Sir Abscon and noble Prince Timor, or so they introduced themselves. They claimed to be on official business sent by the King who wished to build a new highway through Woodedge that would connect the larger towns of Bluewater and Greentree. There was of course a very serviceable highway already far to the south of Woodedge that connected the two cities but according to them, the King wanted a new faster route. Claiming to be envoys for a new highway was an ingenious cover story for this was welcome news to the villagers and something they could easily be persuaded to believe. More travellers coming through their small village could mean salvation for the community and perhaps more wealth for all and explained why the visitors were so inquisitive towards the local area. So the villager’s initial suspicion was for the most part was replaced with excitement. Not everyone however was completely convinced of the authenticity of these travellers which in the end proved to be a very good thing.
The real reason they were there of course was the dragon, or to be more specific, the dragon’s gold. It was Machvell that got them started on this adventure and he that did most of the planning of this great quest.
Machvell was well traveled which, given to his nature, was less by choice and more by necessity as it was not prudent for one such as he to stay in any area for too long. He learned a great deal in his travels and always paid attention to different tales told in different places especially ones that others thought nonsense for he knew that all tales tended to have an element of truth hidden among the braggadocio. And during his travels he heard on several different occasions, in several different locations, by several different individuals, about a dragon that lived in the wilderness between the Green Mountain and the Blue River. The stories themselves varied, mostly around the alleged heroics of some story tellers, or the utter terror from the rest; but the dragon and location always remained the same and those two common elements convinced the wizard there really was a dragon and where there was a dragon, there was dragon gold. As most of the listeners to these tales usually laughed and called the story tellers delusional, Machvell realized that since no one else believed them, there would be no competition for it. This suited him well as he liked schemes that were relatively easy to pull off and didn’t require elaborate steps to complete.
How to actually acquire the dragon hoard and get away with it would take some careful planning but having a devious mind it really didn’t take Machvell long to formulate a workable plan. Step one was already taken care of; find unwitting companions that would follow him into dragon territory. That he had with the knight and the prince. Second, find where the Blue River and Green Mountain actually were and what towns, cities, and villages were close by. A few inquiries and a bit of research quickly located the town of Bluewater on the Blue River which originated at the Green Mountain in the northern part of the kingdom. The wizard, not wanting to draw attention to them, went by himself to Bluewater to do some investigating. While there he was absolutely delighted to find out about the little known and very secluded village of Woodedge from a former inhabitant who had left to try his luck in a larger town. While engaging this particular individual in casual conversation he did not learn any information about the dragon but he did learn that the village was very isolated and unless there was a way to entice more people to come there either as visitors or settlers to further develop the existing resources, it would eventually dwindle to nothing. Thus, with this bit of information Machvell easily concocted the cover story of being scouts for the Kings highway.
After extracting all the useful information he could from Bluewater, he returned to his companions in the much larger and far more civilized North City to formulate a plan on how to get the dragon hoard away from the current possessor which would require a bit of strategy. He had always dreamed of finding a dragon hoard and had learned all he could about the great beasts and what was the best way to be rid of them. To kill a dragon you needed a large group of brave, highly skilled hunters and/or warriors that possessed superb marksmanship. He of course didn’t have such an entourage and wasn’t willing to get one (assuming he could that is) because it would in the end mean less treasure for him! He did however believe there was another way and that was poison. Now don’t think that other dragon hunters hadn’t thought of and indeed attempted it before. But remember dragons are smart and they are also very careful of what they eat. For example, poisoning bait such as a wild animal or fair maiden with the amounts needed to at least incapacitate a dragon would inevitably kill the bait itself thus rending it useless as dragons only eat what they kill, not that which is already dead. But, he thought, what if the poison was simply attached to the bait and while consuming the inducement, it consumed the poison? The wizard was well versed in such compounds and used them on a regular basis as should be no surprise based on what you already know of him. Getting a potion potent enough to kill a dragon was virtually impossible but he did know of one that had the reputation of being so powerful it could put a dragon to sleep and to a knowledgably individual such as he, was relatively easy to make. It was just very, very time consuming as it had to undergo a fermentation process of six months. But he believed it worth the wait. So the three companions settled down for the winter waiting for the potion to be completed and plotted the rest of their quest.
And that was how they came to be in Woodedge in late spring and once their visit was legitimized to the satisfaction of most, the next step was to find out where exactly the dragon was. This they endeavoured to do by speaking to all the locals about the village and surrounding lands. They had no difficulty in finding willing participants. The first few days were spent either at the inn or wandering about the immediate area partaking in long dreary talks with all the locals which included details of the forests, marshes and everything in between, and everyone and anyone’s family history. But despite this they still gleaned no useful information about the dragon. Finally the wizard took a seemingly bold move for they had agreed that no one would mention dragons lest the wrong attention should be drawn to them. But after thinking it over he was afraid that perhaps their little ruse might have inadvertently worked against them. The people were so eager and open to the idea of a King’s new highway coming through the village that Machvell began to wonder if they would try to cover up anything that might jeopardize it and it’s a fair bet that a dragon could do just that. On the third day of their visit the wizard found himself alone with the innkeeper and said, trying to sound unrehearsed, “I heard it rumoured once – mind I took little stock in it myself – that there was a dragon living here abouts.” At this the innkeeper laughed loudly. “I heard that tale when I was a lad, passed down from my father, who was told it by his father. I have never seen a dragon and neither did my father, nor his either!” So honest was the innkeeper’s response that the wizard did not think there was a conspiracy to keep the information quiet. The others, upon hearing this news became quite dejected thinking they were following a false lead but the wizard was not yet discouraged. Just because they never saw one, doesn’t mean there wasn’t one. He knew dragons were solitary creatures by nature and were never known to live too close to places inhabited by people. It was usually people that moved into a dragon’s territory not the other way around. Besides, between everyone in and around the village, they knew all the land and could describe it in
great detail including all the dangers that lurked about. All the places except one - the rocky hills north of the village. The locals said no one ever went there as there was no reason to go. The land was littered with rocks, there was no grazing for livestock, no place that would yield crops and the trees that grew there were no good for building or burning. That land was empty of all other living things as far as the villagers were concerned. “And that my friends” he told his companions “is the perfect place for a dragon to live.”
So the next day the three companions set out north maintaining that it was time they did some first-hand exploring of the surrounding terrain. They were gone before dawn which was far too early for the prince who certainly was not quiet in his expression of displeasure. He was not a morning person but Machvell wanted to ensure they had adequate time to explore the land and did not wish to spend the night outdoors in potential dragon territory. As luck would have it, they had only to travel the morning