Old Ranger Boder

"Most of the monsters in the forest are forest wolves. We get the occasional Snow Faerie, too."

"Lately, the forest wolves mutated, and the Snow Faerie population has skyrocketed. Suddenly, their cute giggles are sounding more like throaty battle cries; they're getting violent."

"I can't say for sure what danger lurks in the forest."

"...and then I wrestled a wild boar with my bare hands. It was a monstrous boar, I tell ya... and I've wrestled werewolves, too! You must have spotted a few on your way here.

For someone like me, of course, it's like herding piglets... at least when I was younger, heh heh. But they're dangerous for everyone else. Their tusks are sharp as spears and their skin tough as iron. Not to mention, they're huge. Gigantic. Enormous. GINORMOUS... Picture that, eh!

Ahehehe, hehe... *cough* what was I saying? Oh, right: werewolves. I've seen many of them in my time... That was when I was still roaming the land like a benevolent bandit, stealing from the wicked and giving to the good. Ah, those were the days. Well, anyway, as I was telling you..."

You don't remember what happens next, but you must have passed out for a time. Maybe you just closed your eyes for a bit and fell asleep standing. Either way, you're grateful to your body for sparing you the rest of Bodor's diatribe.

"Huh? So you don't want to hear the rest of the story about my thrilling adventures?"

Bodor looks truly shaken. What a character. You feel somewhat sorry for him, but someone had to put a plug in it.

"Deary me... youngsters these days... they just don't understand the importance of hard work and wisdom. I've had my fair share of disciples in my time. Listening to my advice has allowed them to survive many close encounters!

"What was the one I used to tell them... about a snowman, I believe? Or was the it the one about the ram and the bandit? Oh my, hmm... let me think."

As Bodor is absorbed in memories of a bygone era, you spot your chance to quietly slip away.

You flip open to a page of The Atara Dragonsbane.

"...it was then that the valley dragon threatened us with its bloodied teeth the size of swords, inching closer to us with precise snaps of its neck, lashing at us like a barbed whip. It was no small feat, but I deftly avoided its fatal strikes. Then another dragon, white-eyed, appeared! I was left no choice, I had to unleash my special technique, Mirror Force, to deal with two dragons..."

"As I held them off by reflecting their attacks, a volley of arrows rained down on us. I was pierced by a single arrow, through the shoulder, and many more perforated the dragons. We fought on, and as I began to grow cold from blood loss, I sensed something dangerous behind me."

"By a hair's breadth, I managed to avoid a fiery burst. I turned to see where it had come from... It was yet another dragon! A horned devil of a beast.

The situation was dire, I almost panicked, but I then emptied my mind of worry, and singularly refocused my attention on the task at hand: to slay these dragons and return home safely.

Bodor clasps his hands over his mouth but it does no good: he vomits, sways, and passes out.