The Witcher Iceborne: Of Dragons and Elders

Prologue: Silver for Monsters. Steel for Wyverns

"I tell ye Witcher.. it was unlike anything I've ever seen.. a genuine Dragon.. came down from the sky and snatched up ma wee cow sir.. it be our on'y mikin' cow and now it's gone.. probaby halfway to Nilfgaard I reckon with the speed that thing flew to it's takin'..."

The farmer.. his face sallow and starved.. his skin hanging from his bones.. warts on his nose as his wife and child quietly sat by the fire, continued his tail, fear trailing through his eyes like the golden darts lit with flames that sometimes glinted off a godling's belly. 

The man listening, stood tall and brooding, and a single look at his face held immense intimidation to it..   

White wild hair.. yellow cat-like eyes.. a well featured face with a scar going across.. he was the very image of a professional monster hunter, which indeed was his profession. 

Have a problem with rats? Call an exterminator..

Have a problem with a Chimera eating your town's meat supply? Well that's when you call a Witcher, and in this case, both the Exterminator and the Witcher's role is the same. 

Geralt of Rivia was a famous one among Witchers in particular. Known famously as the White Wolf.. known infamously as the Butcher of Blaviken..  He had seen more than most, even compared to the others of his guild. 

"You said that the sheep died from poison..?" asked Geralt quietly, his voice all business.  "Three toed claws.. "

"Aye.. poison came out of that thin's tail it dids.." said the farmer. "Me poor wee cow.. Bessie.. oh she died horribly upon dat poison dere she dids.."

Geralt nodded. "Hmm.. sounds like a Slyzard, not a dragon.. people often mistake wyverns for dragons, but they aren't the same..  but I can't be certain till I see the tracks myself..  You say it trampled around your field after it drank from the nearby Well?"

"A.. aye?"

"I'll be back.." said Geralt, standing up.  "Stay in the house for now... it's already developed a taste for human flesh from the sound of what it did to the guards you hired.. it will be restless, searching for more human prey, keep your children indoors till I return, that is my recommendation.."

Geralt left the house, going into the back field.. 

It wasn't big.. just big enough to house one cow and perhaps a couple of pigs.. the rest of the fence was entangled in wood and vine.. this family's farm was old.. they probably stayed here for a few centuries since the first colonies came in..  that meant they wouldn't be keen on leaving.

If Geralt had to be honest, the Slyzard.. if that indeed was one, was far more volatile than the usual variations he had encountered. In his absolute expert opinion, it was far more viable for the entire family to move out for a few weeks as he prepared the necessary potions, traps and bait, while using a bit of Repellent to keep the Slyzard at bay till he was ready..  however, leaving would be a no go for these sort of people who were dependent on starting the harvest on time on the dot.  

Geralt got to one knee, observing the ground and brushing aside the dead grass, his heightened senses picking up the most minute of tracks.. 

He sniffed the air.. the smell of toxins and burning charred ash... it always accompanied a Slyzard attack.. however, this smell however was somehow far more rancid for some reason.

"Burning..." Geralt muttered. "Scorch marks here and there... and these tracks... three toed talons.. definitely a Wyvern of some sort... about the size of a Slyzard... but the sale patternson the feet are different..  and the grass was blasted back in this strange pattern... that's not from fire... a wind blast? No... wind doesn't blow like that.. hmmm.."