Oirhandir nodded at the prompt to tell his tale.
"I hail from across the great ocean, where I grew up with my own people in a great forest that we shared with some fey creatures. My father never spent much time at home, so I suppose that's where I get my love of the road. But when he did come home, he alwyas had many tales to tell. As I grew, I started wandering the forest by myself, learning of many things. I found I had some talent at magic, and at music as well. As the years went by, I came to spend less and less time in my village and more and more away from it.
When I was no longer a stripling, I decided to venture into the world to seek my fortune. I wandered east, and eventually came to the shore of the great ocean. I came upon villages and seaports, where I saw the great ships that I had heard of so many times as a youth. I wondered what was on the other side of that ocean, and the tales of sailors satisfied me not. One day, I showed a sailor some of my magic, just a little thing really, a way to mend a frayed rope, and he said I had to show his captain. Well, I did, and the captain offered to take me onboard if I would fix things during the voyage. There I learned the way of a ship and the way of the sea, and a great many other things as well. I sailed across the great ocean, along many miles of the coast, and back again. Then I sailed across again, and this time I wanted to see these lands beyond the few ports I set foot in. I found myself in Orussus.
There I heard of an inn, the Red Dragon, where a wanderer such as I could find work. A wealthy man came in and offered pay to explore the lair of an ancient dragon hidden deep in a swamp, and several of us adventurous souls accepted his offer. It wasn't far from here, maybe a week's march to the northeast, or less. But once we left these rolling hills and fields, the going became slow, indeed. We camped one night by the River Roars before turning south, and were set upon in the middle of the night by hundreds of tiny vipers -- an ill omen, indeed. One of my companions was bitten so badly that we had to return to Orussus, and few would return to the festering swamp. But we found new brave souls to replace those who had left, and returned. Deep in the swamp, we slew a great crocodile, longer than -- that wagon over there. We followed a mysterious map that our benefactor had given us, and eventually came to a great hill in the middle of the swamp where the lair was supposed to be.
Now, I don't need to tell you, there hasn't been a dragon sighted in these parts in centuries, so we were very curious as to how a dragon's den could go unexplored for so long. We found an entrance into the side of the hill, which led to a cavern with a pond. There was an underwater passage leading from the pond, and the bravest and best among us dared the swim. There was a great struggle, and the swimmers came back gasping for breath. And not far behind them came a wyrmling dragon! I swear it is true! Not much bigger than a cat or a small dog it was, but a thousand times as dangerous. The awful beast spewed acid from its mouth, chanted powerful magics, and flew about raking our band with its claws. We were soon all either half dead from its venom and claws, or else fast asleep and helpless from its magic. I drew my bow and sank an arrow deep into its side...that was its undoing. It was so startled that it tumbled too close to Rogier, our best fighter, and he swung a mighty blow, nearly chopping off its head. So ended the tale of the baby dragon...and if it was that much of a terror as a pup, we are all fortunate that it will never see full growth!
But the best part of the tale is yet to come. We swam back to its lair, and there was its treasure...gold, bejewled trinkets, the finest armor you ever saw, and bags upon bags of silver coin. But off in the corner was parchment and ink...and several copies of the very same map we had used to locate the little terror! It had been deliberately making and leaving 'treasure maps' for unsuspecting bands like us to find, so that it could lure us to its lair! So, the fiend's greed was the seed of its end.
After that, we carried all the treasure and spoils back to our master, who paid us quite handsomely for our troubles. I believe he still has what's left of the mangled corpse, displayed as a curiosity. I'm sure it's the only stuffed dragon in all of Orussus! So, I went back to the Red Dragon, and there encountered master Ingus, who needed guards for his caravan. He said he was going to this festival, and since I had never been here, I took his offer. So here I now am, and that is my tale."
The bard finished, quite satisfied with the telling.
