“As much as people pretend it’s all sorts of other things that do it, fact of the matter is that it’s logistics that made the world go ‘round.” - Skadi Egansdottir, Dwarven merchant and caravan-runner.

“Fact of the matter is, logistics played a main issue in this tendency. You yourself had witnessed more beast and monster tamers present in Alfheim before, right?” said the old duck as he puffed on a pipe stuffed with some dried, fragrant herbs. “There’s one similarity between there and here you should have noticed.”

“Both are breadbasket regions, where food is plentiful and cheap,” replied Cal after a moment.

“Precisely! Keeping a larger beast, much less ones like these two beauties your grand-nieces have, costs quite a bit, especially in their food expenses. If I may inquire, young madam, how much does these two need a year just to eat properly?” he said as he turned to Krystal with the question.

“Quite a bit indeed. Our family was fortunately well-off and could afford feeding Ida without much issue. Leila took many jobs on her own to fund Lumi’s needs though,” replied Krystal with a smile. “I’m honestly proud of that girl for tackling such a big responsibility on her own. I know how much they can cost, even my late companion cost a good couple dozen gold a year back then, and she was just a Shadow Wolf.”

“Indeed so, the economics of the matter made it so that it was difficult to keep a large beast or monster as a pet in many places, simply because of the exorbitant amount their foods would have cost them,” said Mallard with a smile. “You mentioned that your daughter mostly stayed in Paradise and kept her drake there, which certainly helped. The foodstuff grown and raised in Paradise had a far higher mana content due to the location which made them ideal food for more magical beasts like them, and given the abundance, you can procure them far cheaper at the source, too.”

“Having an animal companion is both a boon and a bane in many ways, the boons you can likely consider on your own easily, as for the bane, well, take that adventurer there for example,” said the old duck as he pointed with his pipe at the lizard-riding mercenary who was eating with his group on another table. “He was clearly the leader of his band, and normally they would be outfitted far better than the rest of the group, as they receive a larger share of the pay. Yet he mostly used gear on par with the others at best. A significant chunk of his paychecks likely went to food and groom his companion, instead of to himself.”

“So in essence, one needed economic means and stability to keep a companion around, much less larger ones like these,” said Cal to conclude the explanation. “It does explain why they’re more common in these regions where food is abundant then.”

“Exactly so. It is also why most tamers only worked with smaller beasts, like birds or rodents which they used to scout. A few more insidious ones might train venomous creatures like snakes and certain insects, but few had the means to work with larger beasts,” explained the old duck with a nod. “Oftentimes having a large beast companion also meant you were restricted in the region you could work in, as it was more difficult to transport them. Not every beast is as mobile as those two, who I assume could likely race a carriage all day long without trouble.”

“A fair point,” replied Cal. Indeed, a lumbering beast like one the adventurer rode on would have difficulties with long-distance travel, since they would either need a way to transport it as well, or else slow their pace greatly. Lumi and Ida were absurdly mobile by most standards, capable of keeping up with express carriages for an entire day.

“Then you also have to consider how much of the land is private property these days. There’s fewer free hunting grounds out there compared to the past,” added Mallard as he refilled his pipe with some herbs and quickly lit it with a match. “ In the Western Isles for example the tribes kept animal companions a lot, since they had large hunting grounds to let them roam in, and thus had none of the logistical issues we just talked about.”

“It’s quite true, ma’am. My father keeps a pet Sun Ocelot at home, but he usually just lets her hunt in our private grounds most of the time,” added Igor from his seat, his demeanor far more demure than when they first met him.

The beast he mentioned was a light-affinity monster known for using an extremely bright flash to temporarily daze and blind its prey before it pounced on them. The same ability they used to hunt, they also used to escape from larger predators, as they were quite small, at most a meter in length.

Ida was around double its size, and easily four to five times the weight, given her densely muscled nature as an endurance hunter, with far greater strength and stamina in comparison. Much less Lumi who was even larger by nearly an order of magnitude.

“Tal here was learning monster biology under me in the university here,” Mallard said as he looked at the young human man who was enamored by the beasts the party brought with them. Even Elaina and Sidonie’s dogs sniffed at him curiously while he was all too bewitched with brushing Lumi’s scales or Ida’s fur with his hands. “Since you said you’re headed to the Western Isles, would you mind taking him along? In exchange, he can guide you through the western territory and smooth your passage. I believe he would cherish an opportunity to see the more exotic beasts in the forests there with his own eyes.”

“I don’t mind, the more the merrier anyway,” replied Cal with a shrug. Her party that year was already a good bit larger than usual with Vark and his whole family along, so she meant what she said. Considering their roster, neither was keeping a non-combatant safe that much of an issue for them. “We won’t be departing until like next week though.”

“That’s fine, these two can show you around town in the meantime,” said Mallard as he nonchalantly volunteered his two pupils to the group. “There’s quite a few interesting things here in town that they can bring you over to see.”