Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 020 - Battle in Minoosh part 4 (Patreon)

The goblins had gone north and were moving between buildings from the looks of the tracks.  There was no way he could leap to the next house across the street, and Kaen knew he would have to give up the tactical advantage and safety of the roof if he was going to find these two goblins.

Without hesitating, he dropped from the roof and landed silently on the dirt street.  Nocking an arrow on the bow, he followed the tracks in the dirt and did his best to watch for any movement of his prey.

Dark shadows covered the houses as he hugged buildings and listened for noise around him.  These goblins must be smarter ones as they had not run into the battle.  Had the orc sent them to assist elsewhere, or did they run off on their own?

They had moved two streets over and up.  They would soon be where Hess and his group had been.

Kaen glanced down and saw that at the next street, the tracks split up.

“Crap, which one to follow?” Kaen wondered.  One had gone toward the edge of the town.  There was only one more row of houses left in the village behind this one, and then the distance between the last few sections of the town was nothing more than the occasional house before it turned into farms and woods.

He could feel the rough wood siding of this house against his shoulder as he pressed against it trying to stay in the shadows while he considered his options.  Glancing at the roof above him, Kaen tried to decide if it was worth getting on the roof and hoping to see something.  It would take just a little while, but every second spent doing something meant the two goblins were most likely moving closer to their end goal.

Time was ticking, and Kaen chose to track the one that was moving toward Hess and his group.  It would be best if he could meet up with Hess; this goblin presented the best opportunity for that.

Dashing across the small gap between houses, Kaen followed the trail and then suddenly realized he was at the house of crazy Mrs. Kelsteer.  He saw the tracks go across her section of the street and groaned.  This woman had brought in pea gravel and had covered her whole yard and street section, claiming it made it prettier and helped keep the mud down in the rainy season.

What it did now was create a crunching noise every time someone walked on it.  Kaen glanced at the trail and saw that it did go across her yard.  Taking a quick breath, he double-checked the arrow on his string and slowly walked where the goblin had stepped before.  Doing so minimized the sound of his steps on those stupid little stones.  Halfway across the twenty-yard section of gravel, he saw movement up ahead at the next house.

Kaen prepared to draw his bow and focused on the spot he had seen movement.  The goblin kept popping out around the corner of the house for a second before going back behind the edge.

“What the hell is the goblin looking at?”

Something was itching in the back of his mind.

Crunch.

Kaen spun around and saw a goblin coming at him, a rusted dagger in each hand.  He realized at some point, the goblins realized they were being followed and turned the tables on him.  He was now the prey!

It would not be a full draw of the bow as the goblin was only five yards away now, quickly covering the distance between the two of them.

Releasing the string sent the arrow into the goblin’s lungs, but the goblin's momentum was too much, and it crashed into Kaen.  They tumbled, skidding along the ground in that pea gravel.  The goblin howled in pain.  It had dropped one dagger and tried to stick the one it still had into Kaen’s face.

His bow was the only thing keeping the dagger away.  Kaen used the wood to press the goblin away as it snapped at him with its teeth and attempted to stab him.  Kaen grabbed the shaft of the arrow that was embedded into the goblin's chest and started moving it around and twisting it.  The goblin screeched in pain and thrashed around.  The moment it sat up to get a better position to drive its dagger down at Kaen, it had made a mistake it was unaware of.

With his hand still on the arrow shaft, Kaen yanked it out from the goblin’s chest and then plunged it up through its throat and into its jaw.  His strength was far greater than the goblin, and giving him room to use it had been its downfall.  The goblin went slack on the arrow, and Kaen flicked it to the side, starting to sit up when it heard the familiar sound of the pea gravel crunching behind him.

The other goblin was running at him from behind, and there was no way he would be untangled from the goblin and prepared for that charge in time.

His lifestone and his archery skill called out to him.  He had one arrow left.  His body seemed to shake, knowing life and death would be decided here.

Giving into the lifestone and the power of it, Kaen let the skill and the power of it take over.  He remembered trying to shoot from different positions as Hess had trained him all these past months.  Standing, kneeling, running, jumping, and lying down.

His body leaned back, and his right hand drew the arrow from his quiver as his back touched the ground.  The bloody shaft of the arrow fell perfectly into his fingers, and the arrow's nock seemed to find somehow itself placed against the string.  His right arm drew back on the string with a power that came from every part of his body as his left arm pressed the bow over his head, and he looked at the goblin who was just four steps from him.

Kaen could see the shock in the goblin's eyes as it came at him with a sword raised above his head.  A smile flashed across Kaen’s face as he let the string go, and he watched the arrow impact the goblin's eye as its body jerked back and off the ground.  It was flung off its feet, thudded into the gravel a few feet from his head, and rolled into his outstretched bow.

Kaen lay there, gasping for air.  His body hurt, but he felt his lifestone pulsing in his chest.  He had never felt it act like that before today.  Hess had mentioned years ago that a lifestone had power most would never unlock until they were on the very edge of death.  Had this been what he was talking about?

With no time to waste, Kaen freed himself from the two goblins next to him and checked both arrows.  Neither one of them was salvageable.  With a sigh, Kaen put his bow on his back and picked up the sword of the goblin.  He was not proficient with it, but he had trained with a wooden one a few times against Hess.  It was better than nothing.

I cannot wait for the day I can ride on your back as you fly.  City battles on the street with no one defending an archer are not good.

I cannot wait either.  Then we will not have to hide my presence.  Soon I will be strong enough for small flights together.

A smile broke across Kaens face as he ran toward the part of town Hess should be in.  He stuck to the shadows while moving quickly.  Being out here alone when the sun was down was not the best plan for an archer with no arrows at all.

The townspeople were cheering even with the loss of four of the men who had defended the town.  Thanks to Hess and his healing herbs, four more who had gotten hurt were on the mend.  One would have a limp for a long time, and the other three would recover with some rest.

Hess had checked out Cale and broken the bad news.  His shoulder would never work right again.  The potion had done enough to close the wound and remove any infection, but his bones had fused together.  The joint was gone, and there would be no way to fix it.

“I’m sorry, son,” Hess consoled Cale as he watched the young boy struggle with the news.  “The truth is, had Kaen not given you the little he did, you would not be alive.  That might not seem like much now but hold on to what you mean to him and the others.  Find joy in life.”

Hess motioned to the families who were morning the loss of their husbands and fathers.

“There are far worse things than losing one's arm.”

Cale gazed at the family of the man he had fought with.  He had a farm on the north side of town.  For whatever reason, he could not remember the man's name right now, but the man had saved him twice in that first skirmish that broke out on the street.

“I’ll try to remember that,” Cale replied and then sighed as he glanced up at Kaen.  “Thank you for doing what you did.”

Kaen nodded and smiled at Cale.  It broke his heart knowing his friend would be crippled like that.  He would ask Hess when they were alone if there was any way to help fix that.  If he could find the money to pay for it, he would.

The town celebration that had been planned struggled to find the joy they had initially expected.  Thirty goblins had been killed and three orcs, a number that would bring the town fame and prosperity.  The fact that only four people had died was a major cause for celebration.  They had spread out all the men and teen boys around the town, with the majority of experienced men with Hess and Kaen.  The town had been amazed at how Hess’s plan had guessed the method the orcs would enter in, and everyone could not believe how well he appeared to know their habits.

The truth that Kaen and Hess had a dragon in the sky relaying the information on how they were traveling was not something the town was privy to.  Kaen struggled to accept all the honor and praise people gave him.  He had defeated two orcs on his own and had over sixteen solo goblin kills.

No one would let him give credit to Patrick and the two men who had attacked the armor-covered orc.  Patrick had commented to multiple people that it was Kaen who held the orc’s attention and allowed them to attack it from behind, and had Kaen not been there, they would have all been butchered.

Hess tried to cheer Kaen up as the people came by and gave their thanks.

“Smile and be gracious.  Being an adventurer means we sometimes put aside how we feel and celebrate the victory because these people need us to.  They would be dead if it were not for you and me, and they know it.  Yes, the loss of the men of this town hurt, but they will not be forgotten.  Storvan has already told me he is going to build a small monument in this town for them and us.  Every time a townsperson passes by it, they will be reminded of the sacrifice.  He will also receive some aid from the adventurers guild to help the families who lost someone.  It will help them for years to come.”

Kaen listened to Hess, and smiled as people came by and shook his hand or bowed slightly to him.  He saw behind a few of them Mrs. Kelsteer as she made her way toward him.

“Mrs. Kelsteer!” Kaen cried out even though she was about four people back.

The woman’s face brightened in the light of all the torches surrounding their area.

“I am so grateful for the pea gravel you have in front of your house!  Had it not been for those tiny rocks, I would surely have died!  Thank you for saving me!” Kaen proclaimed loudly as he gave a small bow toward her.

Mrs. Kelsteer grinned from ear to ear, and some of the people around her patted her on the back and thanked her for helping keep Kaen alive.

Hess chuckled and leaned toward Kaen.

“You learn quick,” Hess whispered.  “She will become a hero for what you just said.”

Nodding, Kaen smiled while he fought back the tears that, for some reason, wanted to flow.  He did not feel like a hero at this moment, but he was glad that someone else could enjoy that title for a while.