Leland the Dragon Slayer

When Leland is awakened in the middle of the night by a message begging for his help, he has but one choice: answer the call to arms. With no time to waste, he sets out on a quest to do what he does best, slay dragons! Nothing he hasn't done hundreds of times before, yet this time is different.
From the very beginning Leland must overcome challenges that never make it into a bards tale. Challenges like stubbing your toe, getting burned by your own camp fire… getting kicked by your own horse. All the things you never hear about happening in heroic adventures seem to happen to Leland.
As Leland overcomes obstacle after obstacle, the constant injuries and indignities take their tole. Riding his loyal horse, Buddy, back to Dragon's Landing and going back to bed has an unusually strong appeal. Only the threatened lives of the innocent men, women and children keep him moving forward. But even if he survives the journey, will his injuries prevent him from slaying the dragon? If so, he'll carry the guilt of failing the besieged villagers into the afterlife.
This is a short story set in the world of the Drunken Dragon's Tavern.