Well, actually...no. I rather like the fantasy of imagining the stories to be true. That daydream would not be sullied by being ratified. If they did find 'stocky, bearded cave-dwelling corpses' or elven skeletons, I would be tremendously excited, and no story containing a fantastical interpretation of such a physiognomy would be spoilt for me.
And as for dragons, of
course they existed, silly.
