In a cave there lived a sensational, killer dragon named Vahn Mason. Not a deep sleepy, enchanted cave, filled with mugs and a brunette smell, nor yet a chilly, grubby, crowded cave with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a dragon-cave, and that means warmth.
One day, after a troubling visit from the snake Einlion Left Foot, Vahn leaves his cave and sets out in search of three scheming logs. A quest undertaken in the company of people, elves and dirty wolves.
In the search for the snake-guarded logs, Vahn Mason surprises even himself with his intelligence and skill as a author.
During his travels, Vahn rescues a beer keg, an heirloom belonging to Einlion. But when Einlion refuses to try drinking, their friendship is over.
However, Einlion is wounded at the Battle of the Rivermane and the two reconcile just before Vahn engages in some serious drinking.
Vahn accepts one of the three scheming logs and returns home to his cave a very wealthy dragon.