Dragon Report to the Freelancer Council, 225 Ast-Astrix - Summer Session
As a seasoned Rank 1 Freelancer I was tasked with preparing this report on the Dragon Threats that have emerged and considerations the guild should take, both with accepting and pricing new contracts, and any preparations we should make.
With the loss of the territories in the west kingdoms of Vortania, Thrus and Fresall new threats have emerged to the Six Kingdoms and newly formed Unita Dras Civitibavs where we also have guild halls. The Kingdoms in particular have not been able to properly secure the unallied territories around the great mountains, but neither has the newer Unita Dras Civitibavs nor the old remnants of the Locran Lon Dras in the north. This has created a risky region that the Freelancers are not able to operate in. It’s worth noting that efforts by the Hunters to operate here have also failed.
This has created a significant problem in the region with larger predators, bandits and other dark elements. Regions that were once free of Fire Dragons, have become nesting grounds again in a very short period of time. Even more worrying, Ice Dragons have expanded their territories in the north.
There are three dragon types that pose some threat to towns and settlements, and for which contracts are likely to arise. The simplest threat come from nesting Wyverns. In general Wyverns avoid humans. Unless a human is out in the wilds by themselves, they are unlikely to be hunted by Wyverns. Wyverns avoid any significant human settlement, with exceptions during their mating and nesting seasons, which stretch from Cantlos to Sootember in most regions. More norther regions like Yoth, see a generally shorter season from early Jenos to late Revvlas. During this time, Wyverns tend to expand their territories and may intersect with smaller human settlements. They also become particularly aggressive and may attack small groups of humans and even the smaller settlements that they would otherwise avoid. Though, attacking settlements is rare.
The overall risk of Wyvern attacks is low, but the risk to civilians attacking them is high. Seasoned Freelancers are more than capable of handling the threat. Wyvern’s don’t use fire or ice magics, and no evidence has been shown of any mana usage. Their size is comparable with a large horse, and individually they pose a minor threat. The real risk comes when they operate in packs.
Having faced multiple Wyvern requests, I feel confident in my ability to solo Wyvers even when they attack in packs. However, most Freelancers, even seasoned ones will not be able to handle it alone. As such, it is my recommendation that Wyvern contracts be considered at least Rank 5 contracts, and no lower.
Fire Dragons are very dangerous and given their swelling numbers it is likely we will see the greatest impact from them. Their fire breath is capable of melting most metals, and even some stone. They generally travel alone, but during mating season may form pairs. There are reports of one male dragon guarding up too two females, and only very rarely three. To date I've never seen a confirmed case of multiple males working together. As such, groups of more than 3 Fire Dragons should not be expected.
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Facing a single Fire Dragon is challenging. I’ve successfully dispatched over 30 contracts regarding Fire Dragons, occasionally, even as a solo Freelancer. First, I want to stress Fire Dragons are very smart. Not human or elf smart, but Dragon smart. I’ve had them lure me into traps, setup ambushes and even fain death and injury to get close to me. Their power, speed and magic use are exceptionally dangerous, but it’s their intelligence that will get you killed if you’re not careful.
For the most part, they avoid human territory. However, in some cases they will expand into it. Fire Dragons tend to put on shows before they attack. They’ll often fly overhead, and roar for a few days, each time growing closer to the settlement before attacking after 3-4 days. Of course, this only an average, there are reports of them just attacking outright, even though that is rare.
Fire Dragons are quite large. The size of a small house is not uncommon, and there are behemoths out there that dwarf most other animals. They are moderately quick flyers, but very ungraceful. They don’t seem able to turn well in flight, making them good targets for strong range weapons.
Soloing these creatures should never be encouraged, even amongst Rank 1 Freelancers. I recommend contacts start at Rank 3, and possibly push up to Rank 2 if there are multiple dragons.
Lastly, Ice Dragons. I’ve worked on 4 contracts with Ice Dragons. Up front, I will say I do not recommend we take these contacts. These creatures are deadly. In each case, I worked with groups of other Freelancers all were experts and bellow Rank 5. Each time, there were deaths.
Ice Dragons are larger than Fire Dragons, nearly twice the size. They exist in solitary groups, but again during mating season that may change. Despite the name, Ice Dragons can use both Light Fire and Dark Fire Magics. There are reports of them using other magics too, but I cannot confirm it. It would not surprise me. Ice Dragons are terrifyingly intelligent, even more so than Fire Dragons. There are rare rumors of Ice Dragons speaking human and elvish. Again, I cannot confirm that, but it would not surprise me. The last Ice Dragon I fought studied our group before attacking my team mates who were very well hidden. The dragon left one of us barely alive and in a position tempting us to rescue them.
When we did not attempt to rescue them immediately, it proceeded to torcher them until one of us took the bait and tried to attack. I have never seen an animal bait a human like that before. I’ve also never seen one laugh at our suffering. I don’t want to ever see it again.
One last thing on Ice Dragons. Unlike Fire Dragons they don’t give warnings before they attack, they just do. If an Ice Dragon is in the area, it must be dealt with immediately.
My recommendation for dealing with them is to let the army handle these, and focus on evacuating any small settlements at risk. Barring that, if we insist on accepting these contracts then cannot be less than Rank 1 with S also being an option with an additional warning. I would also strongly recommend doubling or even tripling the costs and payments so the families of the Freelancers can bury their dead and have some coins left afterwards.
-Alavon AKA, “Dragon Slayer”