A great forest over the Misty Mountains. It is thick and dark and full of evil creatures. Mirkwood represents the darkest part of the traveler's journey. They almost starve and die in it. It is so unpleasant, that Bilbo refuses to pass through it on his return journey.
Dragons are great serpentine beasts with wings.
They shoot fire from their mouths. They are capable of speech and are known to be fairly intelligent. A dragon's goal is to accumulate a large amount of treasure and sleep on it. The town in the shadow of Lonely Mountain. It was a prosperous trading community until Smaug came and destroyed it.