The Enthusiastic Count

The man was a traveler. He was around thirty years old, with an ordinary appearance that was hard to remember and ordinary travel clothes.

The traveler gazed at the Worgan Mountain Range as if admiring the scenery, then called out to some farmers working nearby.

"Well now, working hard despite the cold, I see."

"You bet. Dragons cause terrible trouble around here. Farming goes better in winter, when the dragons are quiet."

"Is that the Worgan Mountain Range over there—the one rumored to be where the Black Dragon appeared?"

"Yeah, yeah. Back then, wyverns came pouring out in a swarm. The sky over there turned pitch-black, and it was a terrifying sight."

As the farmer spoke about what had happened, gesturing dramatically, other farmers who had been starved for conversation gradually gathered around and joined in.

"Hey there, traveler. You here to pick up scales too?"

In this land of Kerbeck, a dragon known as the Black Dragon of Worgan had been appearing since early summer.

The Black Dragon had apparently been driven off by one of the Seven Sages, the Silent Witch. Afterward, many people had visited the Worgan Mountain Range to collect the black dragon's scales left behind in the mountains...