A boy is born in kingdom that is superstitious...

a boy is born in kingdom that is superstitious. Boy later becomes cursed by a witch for an incredibly petty reason that the boy had no control over. The local inhabitants from common folk to nobles treat him like an anathema or outright being abusive or discriminatory due to this curse.

Boy becomes estranged from this kingdom and seeks life of adventure. Actually becomes successful at it. Collects many powerful artifacts.

Later, the king from his old kingdom seeks one of the artifacts in his possession to trade to a dragon who stole his daughter. There is no guarantee that the dragon will honor the ransom.

What should the adventurer do?

for bonus points, if you were the king, and the adventurer refused, what do you do?

anyone have some thoughts?

I was able to overcome my position through sheer force of will and determination, and have now established myself as a wealthy and very respectable man of proven ability.

The suffering I had endured in the past is just that, in the past. I will not stand by and let people suffer just because of past grudges. I'm over that, *above* that.

Go kill the dragon, then take the princess for myself.

Be sure the king knows it.

It depends entirely on the adventure. If it were me I'd kill the dragon for them, but I'm not going to fault someone for justified hatred. He's got no obligation to these people who essentially threw him away.

That's also why, should he refuse, I'd have no problem attempting to have him killed. He is, after all, anathema.

If I were the king, I would first offer a title of nobility as well as the ability for this adventurer to do what he pleases short of murder to any remaining commoners that had wronged him in return for his aid, regardless on whether he's successful as a knight with ownership of a load of artifacts is too much of an opportunity to squander. If he refuses, I tell the boy that I didn't expect such an anathematic being to help anyway, and it was foolish to second-guess and think he was anything but an ungrateful ex-serf.

I then hire a party of adventurers to try and wrest the artifact from him, through means either diplomatic or forceful.

Offer my services to the dragon.

Suggest that the dragon overthrow the king and marry the princess to cement a claim on the throne. Why settle for a ransom when you can have it all?

Rally nearby mercenaries, lizardfolk, dissatisfied nobles, whatever, and help lead them to overthrow the king.

Succeed and retire to my newly earned earldom, courtesy of my grateful dragon monarch.

If I'm a king I'd make a deal with him. Of course if he refuses, life of one butthurt adventure does not amount for securing stability of whole kingdom. So even if his death would be tragical, making him disappear is only choice he left me and pay another group of adventurers to secure agreement with dragon.....Or try to kill him if he won't honor it

Oh, now you want my help? Gather my adventuring buddies, kill the dragon, loot his shit, approach the princess in the most dashing way, gift her roses and the shiniest trinkets from dragon's hoard, then offer her to adventure with us.
Write an insulting letter to the king.

If I'm king - try to ransom my daughter, fail, try to take the dragon's head with my army, fail again, get forced to abdicate in favour of my chancellor by my "loyal" vassals who sensed my weakness after this whole dragon fiasco. Go incognito out of shame, become an adventurer, slay the dragon eight levels later and reclaim my throne.

>try to take the dragon's head with my army, fail again
You're some shitty king