First off, this story was not written by me. I am posting it for a friend of mine, with permission of course.
This took place in a Dungeons & Dragons game over 30 years ago. It is a about how one of the player characters got his start; Crentar Bronn...
Having seen the dragon, Crentar knew it was his responsibility to learn where it lived. The very thought of tracking a dragon was almost enough to make him betray his own code of honor. Gathering his courage, he decided that he would find this beasts lair and somehow, live to tell others of its location. He set off in the direction that the dragon had come from.
Three more times the dragon flew overhead, with townspeople or livestock in its grasp. Each time, the unreasoning fear raised its ugly head. Each time, Crentar learned better how to fight it, and followed the beast closer to its lair. He doubted he would ever be free of the fear, but it would never again paralyze him. The dragon was leading Crentar almost straight north. He was coming to the edge of the forest now and approaching the lower reaches of the Razorback Mountains.
"Now, that does not look fun at all," Crentar moaned when he first caught sight of the mountain. Its side was almost a sheer surface and it was directly in line with where the dragon had flown. He would probably have to climb it.
The day was getting old as Crentar arrived at the foot of the steep escarpment on the mountainside and a chill wind was blowing from the peak far above. Crentar decided that he should spend the night at the foot of the mountain and essay the climb in the morning when the light was better. He began looking for a likely place to stay where he would be sheltered from the wind, as well as hidden from a flying dragon.
A short while later, he discovered a cave mouth from which a foul odor was emanating. It was far too small for the dragon, but the dragon was not the only danger in the wilderness. Quickly searching the ground, Crentar discovered the distinctive four toed prints of Orc.
"So. The dragon hasn't been here long," Crentar mumbled to himself. "Such creatures as orcs would flee a dragon. They can however, cause enough trouble to last me for quite a while. I'd best get some distance between me and this cave."
Crentar began covering his own tracks with careful strokes of a small branch from a nearby tree. When he finished, he looked over his handiwork and decided that it would do. Orcs were not very good trackers; they specialized in raids against caravans and towns. Crentar marked the location of this cave on his mental map. He would clean out this nest of filth after the dragon was destroyed. For now, he would be better off if they never knew he had been here.
Crentar hid the branches and turned to carefully consider the mountain before him. To the left, the escarpment became a true cliff. To the right, it continued much as it was here, very steep, but climbable. He would have to go right and hope he would be able to see the dragon the next time it flew by.
He began to work his way along the bottom of the escarpment through the thinning fringes of the forest. After several miles, Crentar once again decided to keep an eye out for a likely camp. The orcs would not be coming toward the barren mountainside without cause and so were not a likely threat, he thought.
Searching in the ever growing shadows for a place to stay the night, Crentar broke through the last of the trees into a region blasted and charred. He stopped as a chill raced up his spine. He realized that he was surely very near the lair of the dragon. The dragon had marked its territory like many other large predators.
---To be Continued in Part III ....-
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