For a night spent in a cursed forest, it was surprisingly restful. Nothing bigger than gremlins tried to disturb Dover’s sleep, and they were dumb enough that simple traps and snares kept them away. Eventually they stopped coming at all, though it was unclear whether they were scared away by their trapped comrades or if their master had given up.

The latter would certainly be preferable, since the alternative was that something bigger would be coming. As the chief had said, most found their way back to the village, but some never returned. While they could have simply given up and proceeded to their next adventure, it was entirely possible they were slain. These woods were large enough that a few bodies might never be found.

As he followed the trail, which had started to ascend more steeply, the forest canopy eventually began to thin. By midday he could travel without a torch. Surprisingly nothing interfered as he followed the trail, and he almost relaxed his guard. Dragons are highly intelligent, and it definitely knew Dover was coming, so either it was extremely confident in its abilities or planning something.

This Dragon was often brazen in its abductions, it's why Dover initially ended up on its trail. When you visit multiple villages, and they all share similar stories, the truth is obvious. That said, this close to the edge of the Church's domain, few people actually left the safety of their own village. Without hearing the reports first hand most would simply dismiss them as a bard spinning tales.

Time passed, the ground began to turn rocky and the trees became fewer and further apart. Eventually the trail turned into a well defined path. At some points there were even steps carved into the stone. It was much too easy, so Dover stopped to prepare. Dragons are among the most dangerous of beasts, not only are they intelligent, but they are nearly invincible. Most encounters with them ended with the adventurer’s death, the dragon temporarily withdrawing, or the adventurer fleeing after realizing how badly they were outclassed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Dover carefully considered what was known about these beasts as he performed one final check of his gear. Dragon scales are among the strongest materials in the world, their innate magic and toughness able to deflect most attacks. All but the strongest physical or magical attacks would simply bounce off. This defense is further enhanced by the dragon's overflowing magic granting them the ability to quickly regenerate any injuries they do receive. Combined with their lethally sharp claws and teeth they are nearly unstoppable juggernauts in close combat. To make matters worse they can launch magical attacks from afar as well. Their only weakness is that their large size makes them slow, so if an individual moves fast enough the dragon would have difficulty hitting them. Unfortunately a human tires much quicker than a dragon, so that benefit is short lived. Without an escape plan an adventurer's only hope is for the dragon to grow bored of pursuing them.

With this in mind, Dover had a plan. Nature supplied plenty of tools for those who were knowledgeable. He carefully prepared three bolts, soaking them in a murky green liquid he had gathered just for this occasion. It was a potent poison that he dared not even touch, it wouldn’t kill the dragon, but it should suppress its healing. The bolts themselves had razor sharp tips which would hopefully be able to pierce between the scales. The crossbow was specially customized to fire three shots in rapid succession, perhaps even fast enough to hit the same spot.

He had a simple forester’s bow as well, since the crossbow was much too slow to reload. The arrows for this had a special coating of the firestarting powder he used the previous night. On striking their target they would spark and ignite. It was like casting a fireball without using any magic.

If that wasn’t enough to force the Dragon to withdraw, he’d have no choice but to flee. As even successfully driving it off would barely buy him enough time to verify the safety of the women abducted.

He had one final tactic if he couldn’t escape, though he really hoped it wouldn’t come to it. He had a pair of clawed gloves and a spelled dagger. If he could get on the dragon’s back, between its wings, he could simply hold on and keep stabbing. It was truly a last resort.

Fully prepared, he steeled his nerves, and left the treeline. The entrance to the Dragon’s lair was surely near.