Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 010 - What Lives in a Cave

Full Status Check

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Kaen Marshell - Adolescent

Age  - 17

HP  - 231/231 (10%)

MP - 0/0 (10%)

STR - 18 + 3(10%)

CON - 18 + 3(10%)

DEX - 19 + 8(10%)

INT - 12 + 1(10%)

WIS - 11 + 1 (10%)

Blessings:

Dragonbound - 10% current bonus to all stats

Hunters Tunic - + 3 to Str / Con / Dex

Blessed Vambrace - + 1 to Dex / Int

Blessed Vambrace - + 1 to Dex / Wis

Bonded Bow of Archer - + 5 to dex + 3 to archery *Locked*

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Kaen’s mouth hung open as he stood there staring at the small status screen displaying his stats.  He had looked at them often during the past three months.  Each week he wanted to see how much he was improving from all the training Hess had put him through.  It all seemed worthless when compared to what these pieces of equipment his father had left him offered.

“I take it you were not expecting such a boost?” Hess asked with a chuckle.  “Your father spent a lot of his money over the years and traded heavily to acquire those things.  The tunic alone could buy a large estate inside Ebonmount.”

Kaen slowly nodded and closed his mouth for a second.

“This bow.  I had no idea items could be this powerful.”

Hess roared and nodded.

“Can you do me a favor and tell me what exactly the bow gives?  It will only bestow its enchantment on you.  It is bonded to you alone.”

Kaen glanced at Hess; his eyes were as wide as an apple.

“Are you serious?  Like the bow won’t work for anyone but me?”

Hess shook his head no and chuckled.

“The bow is just a bow to anyone else.  A well-crafted and balanced one.  The magical effects only work for you, though.”

Kaen gulped and nodded.  Only he would ever get the real benefit of the bow…

“It gives me five for dexterity and three for my archery skill.  It also says Locked on it.”

A low whistle came from Hess.  His eyes went wide, and he shook his head before he started to laugh.

“That bastard.  He lied to me about where that rune had gone.”

“What rune?” Kaen asked.  “And is my dad the bastard you are talking about?”

Hess nodded.  He pulled a ring off his finger and held it out to Kaen.

Kaen stared at it.  He had seen the silver ring on Hess’s finger for years and thought nothing about it.

Hess’s eyes narrowed, and his voice changed.  It was deep, and the tone he used when he was serious.

“If I ever die and you are near me, take this ring.  Do not let anyone else take it.  You need to promise me this!”

“Why would you die? You are like the strongest person I know.”

Hess shook his head and moved the ring closer to Kaen’s face.

“Promise me!” he demanded.  “This ring is more powerful than most will ever come to own in a lifetime of adventuring.  Your father let me use three runes and more money than I should have ever spent on it.  I will not tell you how powerful it is but know it surpasses everything you own and then some.”

Kaen swallowed the saliva that had suddenly appeared in his mouth.  If that ring was that powerful, how had Hess acquired it?  What had he and his father done during their adventures?

“I promise.  But you better not die on me!” Kaen proclaimed louder than he had expected.

“I will do everything I can to avoid it,” Hess joked.  “I would prefer to stay in the land of the living as long as I can.”

Hess deftly slipped the ring back on his finger and handed the quiver of arrows that were leaning behind the chair.

“Now we need to go.  Pammon is outside.”

Kaen recoiled a little in shock.

Are you outside the house, Pammon?

Yes! I have been here for a minute!  We need to go so I can hunt.  I am hungry!

Kaen chuckled and looked at Hess, who was walking toward the back door.  How had that man known Pammon had been outside?

Pammon led them in the direction of the cave he had found.  They had been walking for an hour, and the sun came over the mountains to the east, casting a warm, gentle light through the forest.  Shadows were everywhere, and the mist from the ground hovered a few feet from the forest floor.  Birds were singing and squawking, and squirrels were chittering at them for invading their territory.

This way!

Kaen kept them following the direction Pammon was flying.  He could sense him and where he was.  Pammon had taken a slight detour when he spotted a deer that was lying on the forest floor, sleeping from a night of foraging.  After receiving permission to kill it, Pammon was in a better mood after eating the deer.

How much further till we are there?

With how slow you walk, it will be at least another two or three hours, Pammon replied with a slight chuckle.

Pammon was frustrated that he could not yet carry Kaen on his back and fly.  They had tried riding together on the ground like a horse, but Kaen weighed too much, and Pammon had to waddle as he tried to move across the ground.  Neither one wanted to think about having to wait another three or six months before they could fly together for the first time.

As they walked, Kaen had been occasionally asking questions.

“So, if these are goblins, how will we fight them?”

Hess darted between the overgrown shrubs and foliage of the forest.  This back part of the woods was untouched for the most part, leading to an overgrown mess of greenery.

“If it is goblins, we will see if they are awake.  If they are sleeping, we will enter the cave and try to kill them in their sleep.  We will try to flush them out if they are still awake.”

Hess scowled as he stepped in some dung from a random animal as he stepped over a bush.

“Neither option is a good option.  We do not know how deep that cave is or how many there are inside.  While they are not strong individually, if there is a large group of them, they can overwhelm a person quickly.  They are smarter than some give them credit.  A pack of goblins with a leader is a very dangerous thing.”

Kaen nodded as he listened to Hess talk about battle tactics and more.  In the last hour, Hess had shared tips on how to support a melee partner as a ranged person.  He had not realized the number of factors one had to deal with when fighting.

“So if you block their line of sight of me, I cannot shoot them?”

Hess nodded and raised a finger as he made a point.

“It works both ways.  Since I am so large, I will block your vision of them just as easily as I block theirs of you.  If they are small enough, like a goblin would be, then their ranged or caster can attack me while you still cannot attack them.  Learning to work with your ally is important.  Knowing what they will do in a situation is paramount to the success of your fight.”

Hess continued sharing his wisdom on the need to come up with short commands so that a party or group could know who to attack or how to shift in a fight.  Kaen’s head was reeling from all the information he was trying to absorb as they hurried through the woods to get to where Pammon was leading them.

After about an hour of traveling, they stopped for a quick break.  Hess handed out some dried jerky and pulled a water skin from his carrying pack.  Pammon took the opportunity to hunt for another deer, as the first one was too small to be considered a real meal.

“How far did Dad and you travel during your adventuring days?” Kaen asked as he gnawed on a bite of the venison Hess had dried out.

Hess sat there trying to finish chewing the jerky he had taken a bite of and was working on swallowing it.  After a quick drink of water, he stared at the sky momentarily before speaking.

“Your father and I saw three of the four major kingdoms.  You know there are more than four, but they are across waters, and most people never get to visit them unless they use a boat for trade.  Even then, sailing across the water would be a long and sometimes dangerous trip.”

Kaen sat there wiping his fingers along his pants, waiting for Hess to continue.

After a few moments, Hess let out a sigh and shrugged.

“Most of the travels to the other kingdoms came from us signing on to protect a caravan or someone who felt they needed it.  While sometimes those quests given out from the adventurers guild seemed beneath us, they prepared us for some of our harder quests.  Finding yourself surrounded and outnumbered three to one by bandits will help you not lose your cool in the heat of battle.  You learn to trust your partners.”

“How many other people did you and Dad quest with?” Kaen asked as he interrupted.

Hess snorted and shook his head.

“So many questions,” he said with a sigh.  “I probably should have told you more about all these years ago, but I knew if I did, you would be chomping at the bit to leave sooner for Ebonmount.”

Kaen laughed and nodded as he took another bite.

“So how muny did yoo travel with?” he asked with a full mouth.

“Dozens over the years.  Some for a few months,” Hess replied as he paused for a moment.  “Only one other person stayed with us longer than that.”

Hess stopped talking and was again staring off at the sky.  Kaen looked up at the sky to see if there was something Hess was looking for but realized then that Hess was lost in thought after a moment.

“Who was it?”

Hess groaned and shook his almost finished piece of jerky at Kaen.

“Maybe I’ll answer that question when we are in Ebonmount.  For now, we need to get back to moving.  I want to try and be home before dark if we can help it at all.  We do not want to stay in the woods tonight.”

Kaen started to ask another question but saw Hess was putting everything back in his pack.  Hess was done talking for now about that topic.

After another hour, they finally arrived near where Pammon had been directing them too.  The mountains had sprung up around them, forming an impassible barrier at the edge of the woods.  Large rocks, solid granite, and more were keeping the trees from growing on the side of the mountain.

Kaen was trying to figure out why there were no quarries out here. With granite being in such a large quantity, surely someone would have invested the time and money to build a road and start harvesting it.

Hess had set his pack down, fished out a few small items, and put them in his pouch around his waist.  He started crouching and slowly walking along the tree line and the mountainside.  He was slow and deliberate as he walked, making sure not to make much noise as he moved.

Kain followed in Hess’s footsteps and tried to mimic the large man who seemed to be able to move so silently.  His size seemed not to matter as he bypassed twigs that would snap and echo off the rocky wall.  He avoided the rocks that would shift and possibly rattle against another rock, causing a clacking noise.

They crept along the edge of these two wilderness areas for a good ten minutes.  Staying hidden in the trees but making good time along the barren ground of the mountainside.

[ Sneak Skill Increased ]

Kaen smiled as he saw that sudden burst of text in front of his vision.  He was hoping that he might see his skill improve.  It had been ages since it had gone up.

Hess suddenly stopped and held up a hand for Kaen to stop.

Kaen controlled his breathing even though he felt like his heart suddenly wanted to explode out of his chest.

Hess motioned for Kaen to sneak up next to him.

Kaen carefully placed his steps as he moved directly behind Hess until he moved off the side just a little bit.

Hess pulled down the bush that was in front of Kaen a few inches and pointed toward the mountainside.

Looking through the small opening, Kaen saw the cave about fifty yards away.  As he looked ahead, he saw some movement near the opening of the cave.  Bones and something else were tossed from the mouth of the cave.  Another minute passed, and then another set of bones flew through the air, landing with a clacking of bones against stones.

Not a few breaths later, a small green creature stepped out from the cave to pick up a bone that had not gone very far.

A goblin!