Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 015 - Life Changing Plans

Kaen, wake up!

Groaning, Kaen felt his head and moaned.

“I’m up, I’m up!” Kaen groaned as he tried to sit up but failed.

I know you are awake! Answer me!

“Hess, I told you I am awake. Stop shouting!”

Lying in his bed, he realized his head was pounding.  What had he drunk last night?

Don’t make me come to the house and tear down your door!

Another groan escaped his mouth as Kaen realized it was not Hess calling out to him.

I’m awake! Please stop shouting, Pammon, you are killing me!

What happened to you? I have been trying to call out to you for hours!

Opening his eyes as little as possible, Kaen saw that the light from outside was streaming in through the windows.  It was late in the morning.  Putting a hand on his chest, his fingers felt his bare skin.  Had Hess undressed him?

I drank something last night.  It was alcohol, and I think it made me pass out.

Why would you drink that, then?  That is not smart!

Kaen squinted his eyes and winced.  When Pammon had shouted like that, it was not pleasant.

Please stop shouting.  I know you are upset, and I am sorry.  I am ok.  How are you, Pammon?

A moment paused, and Kaen felt relief flowing through his bond with Pammon.

I am fine.  I have been scouting the area near the cave just to make sure nothing came out again.  I have seen nothing all morning.  I will return to near you after I get me something to eat.

Kaen almost chastised Pammon for scouting the cave but realized he was not in the position to get onto anyone for making a poor choice.

It took him a few minutes to feel like he could sit on his bed without the world spinning.  Glancing around the room, he saw his clothes on the floor at the end of the bed folded up.  He still could not find his armor or bow from yesterday.

Slowly and painfully, Kaen managed to get dressed. Putting on his shirt and pants had not been too terrible, but his boots took much longer than he expected.  His mind was cloudy, and when he looked somewhere, it seemed like his eyes took a moment to catch up with where he was looking.

As he tsked his mouth and ran his tongue over his teeth, the taste of whatever was in his mouth was awful.  At this moment, Kaen knew he was done drinking for a long time.  He realized how weak he was to alcohol and how anyone could have easily robbed or killed him last night had Hess not been there.

Kaen opened his door and wondered if it was always that loud when it swung open.  Outside of it was Hess sitting in his chair, smiling at Kaen.

“I was beginning to wonder if I would need to drag you out back and toss you in the well.  How is your head?”

Kaen grimaced and nodded slowly.

“I’m not sure who makes it hurt more.  You talking now or when Pammon was shouting at me.”

Hess chuckled and tried to do it behind his hand to muffle the noise some.

“Come sit.  I have a drink for you that will help some.  You need to eat also.  Tonight is going to be a long evening, filled with lots of noise, food, and drink.”

Kaen staggered over to his chair and sat down.

“I do not think I will be drinking tonight,” Kaen muttered as he reached for the cup on the table Hess had for him.  “I really want to know what Storven gave me last night so I can avoid it for the rest of my life.”

Hess erupted in laughter and tried to stop but could not, even when he saw Kaen’s reaction to the noise.

“There are many names that drink goes by,” Hess spoke softly after he stopped laughing.  “Dragon’s breath is probably one of its most well-known names, but others have called it Dwarf Piss or Elf’s Milk.  In the end, all that matters is that you know when drinking it, you best have a high tolerance to alcohol, or it will take you down very quickly.”

Kaen nodded and lifted the cup on the table to his mouth.  As he prepared to drink it, he got a whiff of the contents of the cup and felt his face turned green.

“What is this?!” he gasped, louder than he had expected, causing him to hold his head with his free hand.  “It smells worse than that goblin cave.”

Hess nodded and shrugged.

“That is a rare combination of plants and herbs your father introduced me to a long time ago.  It tastes worse than anything I have ever known but will absorb the alcohol in your body faster than you can imagine.  You will dance around in less than an hour and act like your normal self.”

Kaen stared at Hess and realized he was not giving the usual tell he had when he lied.  With a groan, he opened his mouth and sucked down the drink as fast as possible while tipping his head back.

Gagging but swallowing the thick liquid, Kaen thought he would never finish the cup.  As soon as he put the glass down, Hess produced another cup and motioned for him to drink it.

“More?” Kaen asked with a raspy voice.  His tongue almost felt numb momentarily, and his throat tingled.

“It is water, you need to drink a lot of water now.  Every few minutes, you should drink a cup.”

Kaen nodded and took the cup, and guzzled down the water.  It reactivated the taste of that horrible first cup again, causing him to gag a few more times as he finished his cup of water.

Hess had sat there snickering at him until he finished that cup of water.  Once drunk, Hess jumped up, grabbed Kaen by the arm, and pulled him to his feet.

“Good.  Now comes the worst part, we need to hurry up outside.”

Kaen was about to object until the moment his stomach suddenly clenched.  He then realized it was his stomach clenching and his intestines.  As he stood there in a state of shock for a moment from the clenching of his entire core, Hess was driving him toward the back door and quickly opened it and pushed him outside.

Kaen staggered a few steps till he stood at the edge of the porch.

At that moment, Kaen wondered what he had done to deserve the next ten minutes of his life.  All he could remember was eating a few pieces of jerky yesterday.  Yet somehow, he managed to throw up almost a whole bucket's worth of vile green gunk.  Over and over, his stomach clenched.  Each time another mouthful of this never-ending stream of vomit appeared.  His whole body ached, his hair matted to his head from the sweat pouring out of every pore in his body.  The entire time Hess was leaning against the back of the house, watching as Kaen thought he would surely die from bringing up his innards.

When the vomiting finally stopped as suddenly as it had started, Kaen felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Hess hand him an uncorked waterskin.

“Drink it and tell me how you feel.”

“What the hell do you mean how I feel?!” Kaen shouted as he snatched the waterskin from Hess.  “I feel like I just threw up everything I ate since last week!  Why would you do that?  My clothes are soaked, my stomach is sore, and my head is…”

Kaen momentarily paused the tirade he was launching at Hess when he realized his head did not hurt.  In fact, other than the sweat and the sore stomach from throwing up, he felt perfectly fine.  He could see Hess grinning like a fool as Kaen figured out what had happened.

“Holy crap!  My head feels fine, and so do I!  How did that happen?”

Hess laughed and pointed to the waterskin.

“Drink that water, and do not worry. You are done throwing up.  You will need plenty of water and want to bathe and change.  Before you do that, I would recommend a trip to the outhouse just in case you feel the need to purge from the other end.  After you do all that, we will talk and prepare for tonight and tomorrow.”

Kaen started to ask something, but Hess was already turning to go back inside.

Lifting the waterskin to his mouth, Kaen took a drink and felt the cool water running down his throat.  The awful taste was almost gone, but it still lingered a little bit.  Had that been magic of some sort?

Standing there, Kaen drank heavily from the waterskin till he suddenly felt the pang of his bowels calling to him.  As he shouted in surprise and took off, running toward the outhouse, Kaen heard laughter from inside the house.  Hess obviously knew what was about to come next and thought it was humorous.

A while later, both Kaen and Hess sat at the table as Kaen devoured a large plate of food Hess had set out for him.

“You will be fine, but remember, if you decide to drink tonight, to sip it slowly and to be careful.  Two times now, you have experienced the dangers of alcohol, and I hope you have learned your lesson tonight.”

Kaen simply nodded as he chewed on some venison and tried to wash it down with water.  He was famished after the vomiting and bathroom episodes.

“I have your gear in my room with mine.  Under my bed, you will find a false floor that you can easily move once I show you two spots to pull from at the same time.  We will leave our equipment there where it is safe.”

The news of a secret hiding place excited Kaen.  He could only imagine what other things Hess must have hidden down there.

“Tonight, you will need to say goodbye to your friends,” Hess informed Kaen as he held up one finger.  “After you do that, you must tell those two girls you have been flirting with that no matter what they offer you tonight, you are leaving tomorrow.”

“What would they offer?” Kaen asked with a boyish grin.  “I mean, according to the mayor, we are the only thing that stood between this town and its sure destruction.”

Hess rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“I know you have spent many hours with both of them over the last year, but I would caution you to do anything stupid.  You are about to embark on a long journey, and as the son of an adventurer, you know firsthand how difficult of a life it can be for a young child.”

Kaen almost choked on the piece of bread he was chewing as Hess said those words.  Not many words would have caused him to reject the offers either of them might give him tonight, but Hess's words did.  A twinge of guilt and hurt lodged in his throat as that dry piece of bread made its way down to his stomach.  He would not do that to a child.  He had lived that life and would not force someone else to endure that kind of loss if he could help it.

“Second,” Hess said as he held up another finger and saw his first point had struck home, “we will be leaving first light tomorrow.  We will dress for travel, and you will need to make sure Pammon is ready to go.  I will instruct you on the path that he takes so we can avoid any eyes from seeing him.  Any question on that one?”

Kaen shook his head no before he took a drink of water.

“Finally,” Hess said with a grimace and a third finger.  “As of tomorrow, this place will no longer be our home. I know you have made promises to your friends, and I will do what I can to help you keep them, but you cannot call this place home any longer.  Once word of you having a dragon reaches far and wide, you would endanger these people we call friends by calling this place home.  Do you understand?”

Kaen nodded and set the cup down on the table with a gentle touch.  He knew why Hess had said that, but the truth of it hit harder than he had expected.

“Thank you,” Kaen said as he reached a hand across the table toward Hess.

Hess looked at Kaen with a quizzical look and shook his hand.

“For what?”

“For keeping your promise to my dad and me.”

Kaen looked in shock as he saw Hess nod and a few tears roll down his cheek.

At this moment, Kaen was ready for tomorrow and the first few steps that would lead him from this town and toward the one place he had dreamed of for years.