This story has been told over and over and while Hargus Hurryhouse does not tell it himself, he enjoys hearing it and laughs heartily every time he does.

As it is usually recounted, a young Hargus was building his wealth by adventuring. He had been hired to clear a particularly treacherous orc tribe from the Kinntor Region east of Orsholon City and south of the Rinzeremel Mountains. The orcs had been raiding nearby villages and roads, taking all they could carry and in some cases, taking lives as well.

Hargus took the assignment without hesitation. And in short order, he began to stem the damage being done by the orcs. But the orcs had no plans to take this lying down. They gathered their forces, and planned an ambush. The plan was simple: They would use a wagon they had stolen and dress as traders. Hargus had been monitoring the roads and if he suspected an attack, he would approach the wagons and offer to act as an escort.

The orcs expected that he would do the same with their wagon, only to find that he was quickly surrounded and attacked from within the wagon as well. They would kill him, and parade his head on a spike to show what happens to those who dare attack the orcs.

And so, for a week, the orcs traveled the roads near their camp, looking for Hargus. Finally on the eighth day, Hargus appeared and made his usual offer of acting as an escort. The wagon driver, cloaked in a hooded garment, nodded and Hargus climbed aboard. No sooner had he done this, a large orc sprung from the back of the wagon.

Hargus was surprised but not overtaken. He wheeled around, striking the orc with his staff, and leapt from the wagon. As he did the ten orcs that had been waiting in hiding jumped out and rushed toward him. Seemingly by waving his hand, Hargus summoned a hailstorm that pummels the attacking orcs, giving him a chance to escape through the trees and brush towards the hills nearby.

With the orcs slipping on the hailstones, Hargus looks for a place to make a stand. But he quickly finds he has run directly into a cliff face, with the only way out being back past the orcs.

The orcs start to make their way through the brush and at first, Hargus is able to beat them back with his staff. But there are too many. They surround him, wary of another hail attack. What appears to be the orc leader taunts Hargus.

“You kill many orcs. It will be pleasure kill you.”

To the orcs surprise, Hargus stands with his back to the cliff, crosses his arms, and grins. A big grin.

“You are happy to die?” asks the lead orc.

Hargus’ reply exudes confidence, even humor. “Not today”.

A shadow passes over the scene. As if from nowhere, an immense silver dragon swoops down, beating its wings to land, catching the orcs in their draft. The blast of air knocks them all down and Hargus let out a hearty laugh.

As the orcs try to stand, the dragon lets out a mighty breath, and the orcs are blasted with a freezing cold. Half fall to the ground again, never to rise.

Hargus prepares to attack the remaining orcs, including the leader, but they have had enough. They begin to run, but not before the dragon takes a vicious swipe at the leader with its tail, knocking him off his feet as if he were no more than a piece of lint. The leader flies against a tree from the blow, and there is no doubt the orcs will need a new leader.

As the others run in fear, the dragon takes flight. And Hargus yells after them, “Tell your friends – this is just a start!”

The orcs no longer attacked the trade roads, and the villages saw no more of the orcs.