The isolated monastery known as the Dragon’s Ward houses a modestly-sized library, but it is also supposedly guarded by a great dragon. It lies on an isolated bit of land, mountains to its back and a wide river forming the other border. The only means of passage to the Dragon’s Ward is a stone bridge in the shape of a dragon with its tail facing the monastery and its head facing to greet visitors.

The bridge is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a very real dragon named Oernaelius, the protector of the Dragon’s Ward. For the most part, Oernaelius keeps to himself. The monastery has few unexpected visitors, and Oernalius is quite content to maintain his stony facade while secretly gauging the potential threat any given visitors might pose to it. Many never even realize that he is anything beyond an expertly-crafted bridge.

Oernalius has protected the monastery for hundreds of years, taking over his father’s charge who took over his father’s charge. Needless to say, it is one of the oldest buildings still standing. The library, though not especially large, contains some books which are thousands of years old. It is a veritable treasure trove of lost knowledge to those who would seek it, though many of the languages used in the oldest tomes are lost to history.

Oernaelius is stalwart in his duties, even though he does not know the original reason his line took to guarding the Dragon’s Ward. He is also quite personable and curious, though, and loves talking with people who look like they’ve got some interesting stories.

The monks are dedicated to the pursuit of enlightenment. Every thirty years, a group is sent out to collect contemporary books for the library and seek new members for the monastery. They travel across the world seeking out everything from storybooks to textbooks and bring them back. Most of the harvest will end up thrown over the cliffs into the river below; typically only one or two books are deemed fit to be added to the collection, and some years they are all discarded.

Encounters with the Dragon’s Ward

Characters might encounter the monks of the Dragon’s Ward on one of their book-seeking expeditions. The monks could seek help in retrieving a well-guarded book, or might even ask the PCs for their opinions on any important works of recent times. They also may wish to recruit one or more of the PCs to the monastery.

Alternatively, it could be that the monks have acquired the last known copy of a tome the PCs desperately need, and they have to get the book back from them. There could even be a book which is too dangerous for the monks to keep, and the PCs need to convince them to destroy it.

Of course, there are a variety of reasons the characters might want to travel to the Dragon’s Ward. Inclement weather could force them to the nearest shelter or they might seek out an arcane secret and be directed there. Once there, the PCs will have to convince Oernaelius that they are no threat and may even befriend the kind dragon.