After the battle with the dragon, the story flashed back to a scene five weeks earlier, where the Mayor of Farmdale is pleading with King Henry XI for help in dealing with the dragon. Henry is a young man, perhaps 21-years old, who has recently ascended to the throne after the tragic death of both his parents in a carriage accident.
King Henry, like almost everyone else in the Kingdom of Franconia, believes that dragons are mythical. The Court Wizard, Victor, reenforces this belief and scoffs at the Mayor’s incredible claims. Wizard Victor assures the King and the Mayor that dragons do not exist, and that the farms and ranches around Farmdale are probably the work of a group of bandits.
Court Wizard Victor
The King is only too eager to accept this explanation, and offers to send additional “Enforcers” (what passes for law officers in Franconia) to assist the Mayor in dealing with the cattle rustlers who are causing so much distress. Undeterred, the Mayor says that he has heard that some magicians can cast a “Seeing” spell to detect such events at a distance, and asks the King to order such a magical search. The King reluctantly agrees.
Unfortunately, the Court Wizard is not one of the few magicians in the realm that can cast this obscure “Seeing” spell, so Mage Edward, the Battle Mage for the First Franconian Regiment, is summoned. Mage Edward arrives shortly and, using a map of Franconia and his truncheon (a short club, similar to a policeman’s nightstick), Edward determines that there are about 30 burned farms and ranches around Farmdale, and almost 100 casualties. To everyone’s astonishment, the map also displays a golden dragon symbol in the mountains north of Farmdale.
Wizard Victor is engaged by what he considers a trick by Edward, and again insists that dragons are mythical. Mage Edward assures the King that he was not looking for a dragon, since he didn’t even know what one might look like. Captain Gerald, the Commander of the Royal Expeditionary Force, intervenes by asking the Mayor how this destruction will affect the harvest this year, and the resulting loss of tax revenue to the crown. The Mayor says that, given the wide-spread destruction, there would likely be no harvest this year, as the people were undoubtedly fleeing the area.
With the threat to the Royal Treasury, the King reluctantly agrees to send the Royal Expeditionary Force to Farmdale to deal with the crisis, which he still believes is one or more bands of brigands. Wizard Victor surprisingly suggests that Battle Mage Edward accompany the Expeditionary Force to lend magical support. The King agrees and orders the Force to depart for Farmdale within the week.
As the meeting breaks up, Edward asks Captain Gerald if it would be alright if Donovan, Edward’s son accompanies them on the journey. Edward anticipates being gone for a month or more, and is reluctant to leave Donovan alone for that long. Edward also hopes that bringing Donovan along will convince him that he has the spark of magic, or encourage him to consider joining the Royal Guard. Sir Gerald agrees, but insists that he will not be responsible for the boy’s safety.