Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 008 - Unexpected Surprises

“Again!” Hess shouted as he started to throw rocks at Kaen.

Kaen ran and started letting arrows fly at the targets on their farm with his bow, trying to dodge the rocks while hitting each of the targets.

Six of the eight targets set up at different paces had an arrow in them.  He had missed two of them, yet it was a huge improvement after three months of training.

“You took your eyes off those two targets because you were more focused on the rocks coming at you!”

Kaen nodded and moved to retrieve the arrows from the targets.  The two arrows he shot that missed their target were in the woods somewhere.  He did not want to waste the time required to find them right now.

“I would rather stay alive than die if those were real attacks,” Kaen answered as he started pulling the arrows from the hay targets.  Some were shaped as people, others were just simple round targets.  None of them were wider than a foot now.

“That might be true,” Hess answered,  “but not killing the two you missed could also spell death for you.  Sometimes you have to choose if a small injury is worth winning the battle.”

Hess watched Kaen continue to retrieve his arrows.  The boy had worked exceptionally hard each weekend, which made the first day back at work harder because he was so tired. This schedule had accomplished what Hess had intended for it to do, Kaen had gotten stronger.  Part of it was due to Pammon and how much that damn dragon had already grown.  It was now the size of a horse and was forced to sleep out in the woods in a shack he and Kaen had built.  Pammon had not been happy about it, but there was no way they could hide the dragon at their place anymore.

“You want to go again?”

Hess shook his head no.

“Where is he?”

Kaen momentarily closed his eyes, turned, and pointed into the woods.  His finger pointed straight like an arrow to the direction he knew Pammon would be.

“He is flying right now.  Staying low to the trees like we talked about and tracking some game.”

Kaen laughed and turned to point at the deer carcass Pammon had left them an hour ago on the edge of their property.

“He says he is hungry still and wants another deer of his own.”

A groan escaped Hess as he glanced at the carcass.

“People in town have already complained about how hard it is to find any game out here.  Some believe there must be a beast eating everything.  How many miles does he have to go to find something now?”

Kaen pulled the quiver off his hip and held it and the bow in one hand.

“I honestly have no idea, but he has been better about hunting closer to the mountainside an hour to the southeast of us.”

Hess grunted and motioned to the dead deer.

“Let’s get this thing cleaned so the meat doesn’t go bad while we can talk about next week.”

“You are sure I am ready?  I mean, I’m barely  seventeen.”

Hess nodded as he continued to dress out the deer.

“It is time.  You are good enough to pass the test and need to start working on your adventure rank.  It will take us almost a week to get to Ebonmount, and you will need two days to do the test.  After that, you will get your token, and once you have that, I will help you with your first few quests.”

Hess stopped talking as he cut off the haunches and started working on the backstrap.  For a man with such large hands, he handled a knife with the most delicate skill.

“Besides, I am not going to send you out into the world alone. Your father would never forgive me.”

Kaen groaned.  That comment always felt like a cheap shot when Hess did not want him arguing about why he was doing something.

“You really think I will pass then?”

Hess set the perfectly cut backstraps on the table and stretched his own back.  He pointed the knife he was holding at Kaen and smiled.

“You are far more skilled than most who attempt those tests.  I know you are stronger than most, and your speed and quickness make it difficult to hit you even when I try with a rock.  Your dragon has given you a gift that would take most men years to achieve.  It will only grow stronger as he grows.   Besides, you cannot keep him hidden forever.”

Hess drove the knife into the cutting board, moved to a pot of water, and washed his hands for a moment.  Kaen could see from his expression that Hess was frustrated about something.

“Six months.  Maybe a year,” Hess said before he sighed.  “That is all you will have before someone finds out about Pammon.  Once they do everything for you will change.  You will be put into a position that you cannot escape.  Do you remember the rumors that started up a few weeks ago?  Everyone else in town seems to.”

Pulling out a chair from the table, Kaen turned it around and sat down on it, leaning his chest against it.

“Do you really think the last dragon rider in our kingdom is that hurt?”

Hess finished shaking his hands dry and shrugged.

“Dragon’s fighting is bad business.  That black dragon and his rider, Stioks, are rumored to have gotten injured also, but Elies was said to have been injured pretty badly.  His dragon was rumored to barely have made it back to their keep.”

Hess visibly shuddered and tried to play it off with a smile.

“Depending on how both of them recover will determine your path.  Your life will become complicated when word reaches them that you and Pammon are bonded.”

Hess grunted and turned to face the fire.  He started pounding his hands together, which was a sign that he was frustrated.

“I know you are trying to help.  Tell me what I need to do.”

Hess suddenly laughed and then let out another sigh.  He turned around and looked back at Kaen and gave a weak smile.

“I cannot tell you what to do anymore.  All I can do is help you as you pick the path before you.  Everything from this point on will be your choice. You and Pammon will have to figure out what you two want.”

“I don’t know what I want,” Kaen interrupted.  “I know I want to be an adventurer, but why must I choose to be a dragon rider?”

Hess roared in laughter for what must have been a good twenty seconds.  When he finally stopped, he wiped a tear from his eyes and shook his finger at Kaen.

“Choose to be a dragon rider?  Why must you choose to be one?  Because you have a dragon!  How do you expect to survive if you are not on your dragon?  Do you not yet realize that there will be a host of people who will want you dead? A bonded dragon that loses its human is far weaker to kill.  The easiest way for those seeking to harvest Pammon’s scales and organs is to kill you,” Hess repeated as he had already done.  “The safest place path for both of you is with you on his back.  In another month, you will need to be riding him like a horse if he cannot fly with you yet.”

Kaen started to open his mouth to protest but found himself unable to reply.  His chest felt tight.  He did not want Pammon to die, and he knew Pammon felt the same way about him.

“I just don’t want to be forced down that path.  I want to be like my dad.  Able to choose the path he wanted.”

Hess walked over and pulled his chair out from under the table.  He moved it next to where Kaen was sitting and leaned back in his chair.

“Your dad never went down the path he wanted.  He took the path he felt was right.  He did what was needed to help others and to protect and provide for you.”

Kaen looked at Hess’s eyes and saw the rare soft look that he gave with them.  He knew Hess was telling the truth.

“I guess that means I must become a dragon rider,” Kaen said with a slight sigh.  “That is what my dad would have done, right?”

Hess nodded and smiled.

“Your dad would have given up everything but you for a dragon to call his own.  He had been enthralled when he met the first dragon we ever encountered.  He was like a kid getting their first frozen treat during a snowfall.”

“How many dragons have you two met?”

“Only two.  One was by chance, and the other was on a quest, but now is not the time to talk about that.  We need to take care of this deer and prepare for next week.  So get the salt and help me get this curing.”

Kaen chuckled and nodded.  He knew Hess was done talking about old times and went to fetch the salt from the storage closet.  It was going to be a long night getting this deer processed.

“I can’t believe you are leaving next week and heading to Ebonmount,” Patrick stated as he chunked the broken rocks he was holding into the cart next to him.  “It’s not fair, I tell you.  We were supposed to go as a team.”

Cale saw the look of pain on Kaen’s face and stepped in to help.

“Patrick, you and I both know we were never going to leave this place.  You and I don’t have a lifestone.  We cannot become an adventurer like Kaen.”

As the last rock fell from Patrick’s arms into the cart, he turned and frowned at Cale.

“I know.  It’s just not fair.”

Patrick sighed and looked at Kaen and gave a weak smile.

“Just remember us when you are some famous adventurer.  Perhaps when you reach a high rank, you can come back and visit us.  Maybe when you are iron rank or higher.”

Kaen set his pick-axe down and walked over to where Patrick was, and held out his hand.

“I promise you I will return here as soon as I can.”

Patrick smiled and grabbed Kaen’s hand, and shook it.

Before Patrick could let go, Kaen gripped it tighter and made another promise.

“I’ll bring both of you lifestones.  Even if it takes years, I’ll bring you both one.  You can use them or give them to your children.”

Patrick stood there, shocked at the words Kaen had just spoken.  Cale also was silent as he knew Kaen never broke a promise.

“You would do that? For us?”

Kaen put his free hand on Patrick’s shoulder and smiled.

“For my only two friends, I would do anything I can to help you achieve your dreams.”

Patrick nodded and then started to do one of the silly dances he did when they were young.

“You hear that, Cale?” Patrick asked as a smile flashed across his face.  “We are going to have our own lifestone!”

Cale nodded and smiled as Kaen turned and looked at him.

“You know you don’t have to do that, right?”

Kaen let go of Patrick’s hand, moved over to Cale, and grabbed him in a headlock, easily overpowering him with the strength he now possessed.

“I know I don’t have to do anything, but I will make you take it when I bring it.”

Cale laughed and tried to fight Kaen, but it was no use.  He knew he could not break out of the hold Kaen had him in.

“Well, don’t break my neck, or it won’t matter if you bring me a lifestone.”

Kaen released him and started laughing.

“None of this will matter if we don’t get this work done.  With Hess and I gone, I know whoever they put in charge of here will require a lot more work from the two of you.  So you better start actually working for once before everyone finds out neither of you knows how to swing a pick-axe.”

Both boys laughed and returned to work.  They both wore smiles as they attacked the rocks with fervor.  Only Kaen had to pretend to smile.  He hoped he could make that promise happen sooner than later.  He would do whatever was required to make it happen.

They continued working, enjoying laughter and the retelling of old stories from their forest adventures as young teens.

Suddenly Pammon called out:

I found a cave!  A cave with a funny smell!

Kaen was shocked at the sudden message.  Pammon usually only called out to him when he knew he was done at the quarry.  It still shocked him that Pammon had managed to teach him how to speak in his mind to Him.

What kind of cave and where?

It is far south.  A good hour by foot or more along the mountain.  It smelled foul, and I could hear creatures inside the cave when I landed nearby.

The rules, Pammon!  You know the rules! Hess told you to stay away from buildings and people.  Did they see you?

These are not people.  They are something else.

Kaen froze.  Something other than people?

Come home fast.  Come to the farm, I will find Hess and talk to him.