The Rules of Combat 1/10

William the blacksmith from the village of Hetherside, whistled happily as he walked into the Boneswood. Rumour had it that a new dragon had come to live in Karg's old cave and he thought he'd go and pay his respects.

He got on well with the dragons now that they all ate coal instead of people. The local dragons would often drop into his smithy for a chat and a snack, as he was the only person in the village who had coal as a matter of course.

More and more of the forest had been thinned out now that the dragons were friendly and the woodcutters were no longer afraid to go into the wood. As a result he rounded the last bend in the path and could see Karg's old cave while it was still about three hundred yards away.

"Hello the dragon," he shouted, to make sure that he didn't arrive unannounced. Sometimes dragons got cross if they were woken up suddenly and even these days it didn't do to upset a beast larger than a carthorse who could breathe fire for nearly a furlong. The dragon came to the front of his cave and yawned. Then he looked at William.

"Oh good, roast peasant for lunch," he said and took a deep breath.

The last thing William ever saw was a huge fireball hurtling towards him from far too far away to seem possible.