2006... 2008!!! 
My, time flies so fast when you're slaying dragons... 
Since any account by Ryce is sure to be slightly....biased to reflect his own glory, i'll tell the tale.
While trying to find out details about the resurrecte Damhan-Allaidh (D-A), the PC's were told about his dragon mount and that he suddenly stopped using it halfway through the original war that led to the formation of House Ex Miscellania.
They figure a dragon should probably know lots about the guy that rid it and since the legend says that the dragon was imprisoned, they figure if they find the dragon, they can barter for information on D-A.
They travel to speak with a powerful Fae that worked with D-A in the bad old days. He eventually helps them to meet the dragon, turning them into kids along the way.
They free the dragon after securing the information they need. As part of the bargain they pay it a buttload of silver and promise more in a months time.
Before the month is over, Ryce realises that this would be a perfect opportunity to slay a dragon, something he has been told to do for his clan in House Bjornaer.
He takes arcane connections to the silver which is promptly delivered to the dragon as agreed. Using these connections and by following the dragon as an invisible bird, he finds its lair, a small island of the coast of western Scotland.
Using the shackles that once bound the dragon he fashions an arcane connection to it. He Has a younger mage from his covenant do some research into the old accounts of D-A and discovers that the dragon was referred to as Rextagora.
Finally, he fashioned an image of the dragon etched onto a coin. His sodalis also fashioned such likenesses, one a clay figurine and the other a bone miniature.
So armed, the magi set forth to the dragons lair with 120 animated skeletons wielding spears, 20 members of the turb (half of whom are welsh mercenary bowmen and half are saxon warriors) and 4 magi.
Using their golden ship, they travel up the coast to the dragons island and beach their vessel on the shores. They make their way rapidly inland, hoping to catch the dragon unawares.
However, dragons are canny beasts with sharp sense and this dragon hears their approach. Summoning 3 fire elementals, the dragon binds them in dragon shapes the same size as him and rushes to meet his enemy.
The magi share their parma with the turb, hoping to increase their longevity in the battle. Secure in a stone cage from the dragons blows, and protected by their own formidable magic resistance, they are terribly afraid of the great beast.
Battle is joined, the skeleton legions attack the dragon but are swiftly destroyed by the fire elementals. The dragon itself slaughters the saxon warriors and badly injures one of the senior magi (who's magic resistance wasn't quite high enough) in one fiery breath. The injured magi teleports away.
Ryce starts unleashing spells to strip the dragon of its might while his colleague Santiago throws great lances of earth at the beast, seemingly to little avail.
The dragon shatters the stone cage (already horrible weakened by the dragons breath) and claws around inside trying to catch the magi. Luckily they prove too slippery and the dragons might plummets from Ryces spells.
Finally, the dragons might is low enough and Ryce blasts it with a spell, shredding its mental defenses and making it believe it is a fish.
The dragon flaps around helplessly as the archers stand up from hiding and pour arrow fire into it. Santiago destroys the fire elementals in great gouts of freezing water and Ryce turns himself into a vast bear.
The dragon, wounded badly by the arrow fire and stone lances and unable to react except to flop around and search for water falls prey to Ryce's huge bear claws. Its throat is torn out and its lifeblood pours forth, blackening the ground.
Ryce and his comrade Bercelak whoop with joy as Santiago does a mournful flamenco (don't ask, its kind of his "thing") to honour his dead friend amongst the turb.
Then, using a spell prepared for the occasion, Ryce shrinks the dragons corpse to the size of a cat and carries it away in victory to show the rest of House Bjornaer how mighty he is.
Bercelak claims as a prize a single giant claw from the dragons paw. Santiago takes a tooth. Bercelak (a verditius) remarks that he could make some excellent armour from the dragons scales. If anyone is interested.
And then everyone heads back to the covenant of Brunnaburgh, to mock the injured mage that teleported away and so cannot call himself dragon slayer.
harsh, but true 
When Ryce tells his version, the archers will play an entirely minor role in the fight, as will the other mages. It'll be a tale of daring and bravery, of Ryce almost singlehandedly, and armed only with his sword "Wurmslayer" taking on the greatest beast of our time. There were almost no survivors to the battle, but Ryce fought against the odds and emerged victorious. The sword Wurmslayer tasted dragon flesh for the second time, and Ryce Mageslayer became Ryce Dragonslayer.
Or something like that
16 months in the real world, 15 years in gametime.. I hope my Bjornaer cult leader still remembers he set me the challenge! Now I can finally learn Dream Magic.. which still seems pretty pointless, other than that I can give Santiago regular nightmares.
So I missed the part, mentioned in the thread title, about "easy" steps. 
Pretty right
Classy 
Great account. Loved it
Funny how the big baddies are this popular. The DA dude is the main antagonist IMS as well He does not use dragons, though.... until now, maybe? 
I liked the rock paper scissors game as well. straight ripoff for a silly fae scene in our Britannica saga
Xavi
Well, DA is our big bad at the moment. He was previously a spirity essence manipulating Tytalus the founder, returned from Arcadia, the previous Big Bad.
Its funny, technically he has been in my saga for decades, but its only recently that my players found out.
DA doesn't use dragons IMS, not anymore anyway. Basically using the one Ryce killed was an experiment that he had to end as the dragon proved a little too willful to be fully trusted.
In my current saga he has so far used sluagh fae, which are hugely creepy, usually appearing as naked, grubby children with a perchance for eating human flesh. He also has undead skeletons that seem curiously sentient. And he has a group of Gruagach and renegade Hermetics that aid him too.
All in all, a formidable bunch.
.. and wanted to adopt Santiago as a new pet/plaything.
I agreed to their terms, but Santiago said no.
Bleh, what a spoiler of the fun, that Santiago!
@Gribble: I run the davnalleus stories (yeah, I use the old "hermetic" naming) and my players just started to suspect whom he is, that they are facing. They love it so far 
Wild guesses about "the big bad behind the scenes" have ranged from a diavoluist cult, to a demon to a dark faerie (AKA David Bowie) and Archangel Michael 
Cheers,
Xavi
Ryce waited until tonight's session to return to his Bjornaer clan master (Lars Egg-Thief) with the dragon. It's the feast of 12 years, so seemed like the most melodramatic time to turn up with a dead dragon to show off
Ryce set the dragon down outside the Bjornaer covenant, sent message for Egg-Thief to come to the gate, then turned into his heartbeast bear and stood by the dead dragon roaring dramatically. (always one for the theatrics of the moment!)
Egg-Thief came out, saw the dragon, and was visibly shocked
"Ryce, you.. oh my.. you kil.. oh my!.. you actually killed a dragon?"
Ryce agreed, and reminded Egg-Thief that that was the task the clan master set for him.
"Yes.. yes I did, but .. oh my.. .. Ryce.. I set you an impossible task.. the whole point was that you come back to me after a few years, tell me you aren't able to complete the task I set, and ask me for something a little easier.. the whole quest.. the whole point of the quest.. was all about you learning humility.. about learning your weaknesses, your limitations, and understanding them, but... Ryce you actually went out and killed a dragon!.."
Had Egg-Thief known Ryce a little better, he'd have known that in a choice between achieving the impossible, and learning a little humility.. Ryce would really struggle to do the humility thing 
Ryce Dragonslayer
'Are you really saying you are unable to kill a dragon??
'I cannot do it. Ryce, now you are the master and I might to learn from you.'
LMAO!!!
So, are you getting the initiation?
Besides, killing a dragon is not really "impossible" for a mature magus. Hell, unless on a divine mission the virgin Mary or archangel Michael (that jerk) is not immune to an hermetic magus well prepared for the engagement. A little idealistic, that hierophant of yours 8)
Cheers,
Xavi
loooooooooooooool
Excellent
This is great, really 
Poor master... I hope he doesn't sink into depression because of Ryce 
In Egg-Thief's defence, we only know of 3 previous dragon slayers in history, and most of those died doing the slaying.
And one of those was George, who later became Saint George, and then one day the patron Saint of England. Ryce intents to make sure his feats eclipse those of George. Who knows, one day.. in the future, people might be celebrating the feast of Ryce, Patron Saint of England.
(the 'Saint' bit might take a bit of work)..
And as for the initiation.. Ryce took advantage of his clan leaders shock, and renegotiated.
He kept it respectful, or as respectful as Ryce gets to those who he sees as temporarily higher ranking than he, but pretty much said "Dream Magic is for girls" ".. and I don't like that other virtue our clan offers either."
He did word it better than that, manipulation is his thing
After a bit of negotiation, tied in heavily to the fat that Ryce had just emulated the feat of a true Bjornaer legend, and brought the carcass for all to see, his clan leader put Ryce in touch with a Bjornaer higher up in the Bjornaer Order, who was impressed enough to agree to begin teaching him Inner Heartbeast instead yay!
Well... Egg-thief is being a little strange and distant now, Ryce suspects that as Inner Heartbeast is something Egg-Thief has never been allowed to learn, that the clan leader now realises Ryce is beginning to surpass him within Bjornaer, and doesn't know how best to react.
I did feel a little sorry for all the graduating Bjornaer apprentices tho. The meeting of 12 years is their big moment, it's when they open up their heartbeasts for the first time, it's their chance to be centre of attention and be received into the cult of Bjornaer. Instead everyone was talking about the dead dragon dumped on the lawn, and taking sneaky souvenirs when they thought Ryce wasn't looking
Ryce Dragonslayer
An other must be Sigfried. Who is the third one? Amazing story so far
Xavi
Well there is also Thor's slaying of Jormungander, the great sea dragon.
Only if Ragnarok has already occurred in your saga
Mark
Didn't you know? The burning of Asguard by Surt was seen in the sky as the Star of Bethlehem. Roy Thomas himself said so in Mighty Thor issue #299.
Why am I NOT surprised?
OUCH!!!!
Impressive nerdy skill you've got there
Just looked it up. The battle bbetween Thor and the Midguard Serpent is a past tense event in mythic folklore.
Found this little tidbit while researching the myths of the Low Lands (Flanders, Holland, etc). Authentic legend.