Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 013 - Adventuring is Ugly

“ORC!” Hess shouted as he started swinging at the two goblins rushing at him.

The orc was easily seven feet tall and seemed to match the size and shape of Hess.

Kaen almost tripped when he saw the creature coming at them wearing a hodgepodge of leather and metal armor scraps.  He carried two long curved swords that reflected the light of the torches in the room.

“Shoot him!” Hess shouted as he took out one of the goblins who got close to him after blocking its attack with his hammer and crushing its chest in with a solid hit.

Kaen dropped the torch and yanked an arrow from the quiver.  He kept fumbling as he tried to put the arrow on the string.  His fingers were trembling.

Pammon roared and swiped his claws at the goblins, who suddenly stopped charging.  Seeing a dragon standing on its back legs and swiping at them was not what they had expected.  Even if they had been warned, actually seeing a bronze dragon glowing in the light of the torches was enough to give them pause.  A dragon, the size of a horse, was all it took to cause one of them to run off into the cave, fleeing for its life.

The orc shouted something at it as it ran, but the goblin ignored him as it fled.  Pammon took the opportunity, pounced on the lone goblin before him, and crushed it under the weight of its attack.  He pinned its shield and sword arm under its two front feet and bit the head off its victim.

“SHOOT IT!” Hess shouted again as he blocked the other goblin’s attack while kicking it in the chest.  The goblin fell back and struggled to get up.

The orc let out a roar of his own and charged Hess swinging both blades in rapid succession at him.  Hess used his hammers and blocked the swords.  It appeared as if they might be equal in power.

Kaen took a deep breath and let it out.  He slipped the nock of the arrow over the string and focused on the orc.  He was half a head taller than Hess and was swinging wildly at Hess.  Kaen let the arrow fly when Hess moved to the left to dodge a strike.

It felt like time slowed for a moment when his lifestone suddenly pulsed.  His body felt alive as it pulsed, and Kaen somehow knew when to let his fingers release the string.  The arrow leaped from the bow.  Even in the darkness of the cave, Kaen knew where it would impact.  The arrow sped toward the orc who was facing Hess, having ignored Kaen completely.  All that ended the moment his arrow embedded itself in the orc’s left eye.

A short howl escaped the orc’s mouth as its head and body spasmed before it jerked and stood still.  Hess wasted no time and swung both hammers at the orc, pinching its neck between the two massive heads of his weapon, causing the head to pop off.

The goblin on the ground trying to stand up was cut down when Pammon swiped at it with his claw and ripped its chest open.

Kaen stood there trying to breathe, realizing everything had happened so fast, and the fight was now over.

[ Archery Skill Increased ]

Kaen tried to figure out what to do.  Hess was looking around the cavern.

“Pammon, go track down that goblin that ran away!  Tell Kaen if you see any more!”

Pammon took off running into the darkness of the tunnel.  Kaen wanted to shout at him to stay, but he knew he had to trust Hess.

“What about me?” Kaen asked as he ran up to where Hess was.

“Protect me while I check on this woman.”

Hess moved to the woman who was on the ground.  He put his hand on her neck for a moment as Kaen came to stand beside him, glancing around the room.  Kaen was trying to keep a look in every direction, but his eyes were drawn to the carnage of what lay on the stone floor under him. Blood was everywhere, still running from the wounds Hess and Pammon inflicted on the goblins and orc.

Kaen heard a sigh and turned to see Hess shaking his head.

“She is dead.  They crushed her windpipe.  We will take her back to camp after we clear the cave.  Ask Pammon what he has found.”

Kaen knew Pammon had killed the goblin he had chased after.  He had felt the excitement of the hunt and the kill.

Pammon, have you found any more goblins or anything else?

There is nothing else out here I have found.  The cave ends on this side.

“He has found no more. The cave ends where he is,” Kaen relayed as he watched Hess walk over to the goblins and start cutting their ears off their heads.

“Tell him to bring the body back here.  We need to collect a trophy if he did not eat the head.”

Did you eat the head off again?

I did.  Was I not supposed to?

Kaen chuckled and shook his head.  He had no idea they would need the heads, so he could not be upset that Pammon had killed them that way.

You are fine.  Hess says we should keep the heads as we need the ears to prove we killed goblins.  Just come back.

On my way.  How is the woman?

Kaen paused.  He did not want to say that she was dead.  The dread of that filled his heart.

She is dead, isn’t she?  I can feel the sadness in your heart from it.

A lump in Kaen’s throat formed.  He was glad that Pammon had not made him say those words.  She was dead. They had been too slow.

“What were they doing with her?” Kaen asked, even though he was certain he already knew.

“Using her to make goblin or orc children,” Hess replied with a growl.  “Orcs and goblins can breed with any humanoid race and quickly bear children.  In about a month, a child would be born.”

Kaen’s eyes went wide as he looked down on the woman’s corpse.  He knew what the goblins and orc had done to her.  He could not imagine how many times she had been subjected to such horrible things.  Had she given birth to any of the goblins they had killed?

“Once Pammon gets here, I need you to put away your bow and help collect the ears and that head.  Get some of those blankets I see over there and wrap all this stuff in it.  You will carry it outside while I carry the woman.  We need to check this cave for clues.”

Kaen felt the bile in his stomach rising as he thought about cutting off their ears and collecting them in those blankets that looked nasty.  He did not have much time to stand there and contemplate it before Pammon returned, dragging the topless corpse of the goblin he had killed behind him.

“Nice work, Pammon,” Hess said as he moved over and scratched Pammon’s head.  “Protect us while we loot these guys.”

Pammon trilled and started flicking his head side to side as he watched in the cave.

“Get a move on, Kaen, these torches won’t last forever, and I don’t want to be in here with no light at all.”

Kaen nodded and put his bow up.  He moved to a dead goblin and pulled out his knife.  As he pulled on the ear, the dirt and grime he felt on his finger was rather gross.  Slicing the ear off with his knife felt like cutting through some tough leather.  He had never cut anything like this before.

“This feels weird,” Kaen mumbled as he reached for the second ear.  “Why does their skin feel like this?”

Hess laughed, finished up on two other goblins, and then tossed the ears at Kaen’s feet.  You will find there are far worse things you will touch and taste as you adventure.  All of the quests you think are famous and amazing are not true.  Just wait till you have to harvest eyeballs from a Crudanat.  Nothing I could try and describe them to you as right now would come close.  They, however, are very powerful when it comes to alchemy.”

Kaen stared at Hess in the dying torchlight and wondered for just a moment if he was making all that up.  Surely someone would not want eyeballs!  He then remembered how many times Hess had already told him that people would kill to have the organs and bones of a dragon.

“Hopefully, that time is a long way away for me,” Kaen said with a shudder.  “You really want me to use that blanket over there?”

Hess nodded, and Kaen sighed as he walked over and grabbed a small corner of the blanket.  It smelled almost as bad as the piles of crap Pammon created.  The only difference was he was getting used to that smell.  These were pungent and foul.  As he shook the blanket a little, maggots and rotten flesh fell out of the blanket as well as some other things he could not recognize.

Kaen started to dry heave when some of it landed on his leg.

Pammon and Hess both turned and watched as Kaen stood there choking and gagging.

“It will get worse.  Much worse,” Hess informed him as he collected the weapons he felt were worth keeping.  “Just remember you wanted this life.  This is what your dad and I never talked about.  No one wants to hear stories of when nasty stuff sprays into your mouth.”

Kaen gave a few more gags at the thought of any of this in his mouth before he finally stopped.  Was this really what he would expect to experience as he quested?  Perhaps being a dragon rider would not be so bad if he could avoid some of this.

After a few more moments, he regained his lost composure and pulled the blanket to the area where the ears and weapons were collected.  He spread the blanket out as best he could and tossed the ears on the edge.  He then went over and picked up the orc's head.  Half of the arrow was still sticking out from where he had shot it in the eye.  Kaen smiled as he remembered that he had gotten another point in archery for that shot.  He could remember every detail of that one.  It felt perfect as he let that arrow go.

“Stop staring at that like you are going to kiss it!” Hess shouted.  “One torch is out, and the other three are fading fast!  We need to hurry.”

Kaen nodded and got to work getting everything on that blanket.

The only thing left for him to do soon was roll that blanket up and carry it.  His stomach churned the whole way.

When they finally made it out of the cave, the last torch had barely any life to it.  The flame was hot as it was close to Hess’s hand from burning so low.  He had the woman across his shoulder and was upset that they had nothing to really cover her up with.

Standing outside the cave, the sun was well overhead, and the heat of the middle of the day struck Kaen.  He did not realize how much cooler the cave had been.

“Drink and eat real quick,” Hess ordered, handing Kaen a water flask and some meat.  “Make sure to wipe your hands off on your pants before you touch the meat, though.”

Kaen splashed a little of the water onto his hands and then wiped them on his backside.  He sniffed his hands before finally taking the meat and eating a few bites.”

“Pammon, fly over us and just make sure we are safe.  I don’t want to be tracked by anything as we move back to town.  It is going to be a long trip home as we carry all of this.  And before you say it, I know you are probably hungry.  If you see something close on our way back, quickly kill and eat it.”

Pammon let out a small thrum and moved around happily on his feet.

“Hey, his wound is healed!” Kaen suddenly noticed.

“I’d hope so.  The herbs I used cost a fair amount, but I knew he would heal fast with them.”

“Do dragons heal faster than us?”

Hess nodded and chuckled.

“You will heal faster than anyone else would generally heal.  You will share in the healing that Pammon has.  Being bonded to a dragon has many perks that I am unaware of.”

Kaen stood there chewing his jerky and tried to think about everything he had learned already.  He did not get tired like he used to when he ran.  He could go almost twice as long before he had to rest.  His eyes were better when it came to hunting and more.  Not counting the health increase in his body and how much stronger and faster he was, he felt like he was sharing part of Pammon’s wisdom and intelligence.

“Oh my gosh!  I never thought about that yet!”

Hess glanced up at him and waited for Kaen to finish whatever he was thinking.

Kaen smiled and turned to Hess.

“I never asked Pammon what his stats are yet!”