Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 032 - Items Are An Adventurer's Best Friend (Patreon)

Kaen smiled as he watched Sulenda and Hess both sit in their chairs in shock.

“A twenty-nine in dexterity,” Hess groaned.

“And a twenty-one naturally in archery,” Sulenda added in the same tone.

“Don’t forget the equipment adds a lot of dexterity,” Kaen reminded them as he smiled.  “I only have a twenty-one in dexterity without any equipment.”

Sulenda chuckled and blew out a sigh she had been holding in.

“Only he says… only.  How much would we have paid for a twenty-one at his age?”

“I would have gladly paid a king's ransom for that number for years,” Hess joked.  “He acts like that is normal.”

Sulenda rubbed her face and her forehead with her hand.

“I can only begin to imagine what Fiola will think if she learns of your stats.  I pray she would not do anything to keep you for herself.”

“Forget Fiola!” Kaen exclaimed.  “Focus on what I asked for.  Will you help me with items to make sure that I can pass this test?”

Sulenda sat back in her chair, and Kaen saw her running her tongue along her teeth inside her mouth.  Kaen knew he was putting her in a hard position.

“You do realize that once we choose which thing to pick, we get a whole day to promote it, right?” Kaen reminded her.  “When we leave her office and tell all the adventurers in the guild hall that I am attempting a special mission for silver rank, they will not be able to contain themselves.  I am sure some will be upset, as you were, Sulenda, but they will go back wherever they stay and talk about it.  Word will spread, and something like this will be like a wildfire.  You will have a day to get ahead of it.  We can figure out if I want to succeed or fail based on how the profit lands.”

“What?!” Hess cried out.  “You would throw your own test in order to make money?”

Sulenda groaned loudly, leaned forward, and gently banged her head against her wooden desk.

“He is just like you, Hoste,” she could be heard repeating over and over as she tapped her head against her desk.

“What does it matter?” Kaen asked. “If I succeed and we lose money, everything I have done is pointless.  It only matters if we make enough money to make this worthwhile.  If I pass, which I intend to be able to, then all that matters is if we get paid.  If it is better for me to fail, then we seem to forget that I will still be an iron adventurer.”

Hess grunted and then chuckled for a moment before scooting his chair up and mimicking Sulenda’s head banging.

“It does help a little, doesn’t it,” he joked.

“Just enough to keep doing it,” Sulenda replied.

After all the complaints and debating, they finally came up with some numbers that would work for the betting.  Sulenda put things in motion, and they prepared for tomorrow.  Extra scripts were written and sent to all the inns and betting areas in town.  Odds were adjusted slightly, not enough to gain notice that they knew Kaen would at least be iron.  Many would just feel it was the house adjusting numbers based on bets already placed to hedge their current ones.  Something that happened often enough.

The rest of the day was spent seeking out items that might help him in the coming days without anyone knowing who the items would be for.  Constitution and dexterity items were the focus, and any others that might give bonuses to archery were on their list.  Finding archery skills would be difficult, though, as often only bows had those.

Evening time led to the Fluffy Ignot being packed to the limit.  People from all over town, inside and outside the walls, had come to glimpse Kaen as he sat in a booth reserved for him by Sulenda.

Kaen had been told that there would be people coming in just to size him up before heading to the bar to place a bet, and the others would come and want to meet him or even speak to him.  Everyone was hoping for some clue on how good he might be and where their money was best spent.

Dwarves, humans, elves, and even a few taxabi came through.  Kaen had never met one of the cat people before but was enthralled by their fur and tails.

Some of the adventurers they had met before at the guild stopped by and said joined him for a bit.

“Do you really think you have a chance to make bronze?” asked the bronze adventurer everyone called Chubbs.

Chubbs was the same height as Kaen, but he weighed easily two times as much.  His studded armor, shield, and sword spoke volumes that he was a tank-class warrior designed to soak up damage.  Kaen wondered if he was saving up for metal armor as the studded armor would not protect against most attacks.

“I plan on doing my best; if I’m lucky, maybe I can make bronze for sure!” Kaen declared with a smile.

Chubbs ate it up and nodded as he tossed back his second drink since he had entered.

“I knew it!  I told Twin Dragon that you could do it!”

One of the adventurers who had come in with Chubbs groaned.  He had twin short swords on his back with a dragon head on each handle.  He was likely some sort of ranger or DPS warrior class, as he only wore leather armor.

“For the love of all, please stop calling me that.  My name for the one-hundredth time is Fredrick.”

Kaen laughed, and Chubbs joined in as well.

“Would you consider joining us if you make bronze rank?” Chubbs asked as he checked his empty glass before setting it down on the table.

“He isn’t going to join us,” Fredrick chimed in as Chubbs waved for one of the servers to come refill his drink.  “You don’t understand there is no way he will be bronze.  I’m betting on iron.”

Kaen smiled and shrugged as Fredrick watched for a reaction from Kaen.

“I’m just excited to see what tomorrow brings from the guild master,” Kaen told them as a few other people started to approach their table.  “I just hope I can get some sleep with all the people coming in tonight.  I would never have dreamed that many people would cheer for someone trying for their adventurer test.”

“It was not this exciting for me,” Fredrick said as he pushed on Chubbs to get up from the spot in the booth.  “I also did not kill goblins and orcs before I came.”

Fredrick laughed when Chubbs fell out of the booth with a thud on the wooden floor.

“No more drinking!”

Chubbs stood up and swayed a little, and smiled.

“Perhaps I should pass on the third drink,” Chubbs said with a sigh.  “Good luck tomorrow, Kaen! I’m betting on you to succeed no matter what!”

Kaen shook his head in amazement as Chubbs and Fredrick shuffled off across the room.  He would have gladly partied with them if he had not been in this situation.  They seemed like a really fun group, and if they found a healer, it would be a solid party for handling tougher quests and assignments.

The night wore on, and before Kaen knew it, Hess came over and led him away from all the patrons who had drunk more than they should have.

“You need to get some sleep, and we need to talk,” Hess informed him.

As Kaen headed towards the stairs on the other side of the inn that would lead to their room, he waved and laughed at those who cheered for him.

“Goodnight to all of you, and thank you for supporting me!” Kaen shouted as he walked.  “Tomorrow, I look forward to finding out how my adventuring life will begin!”

Cups banged against the tables, and alcohol sloshed on many people as well as the floors.  Everyone cheered and wished him a good night's rest.

“What has gotten into you?” Hess growled as they walked up the stairs.  “You have been acting totally different than you did back in town!”

Kaen laughed as he pushed against Hess’s back and forced him up the stairs faster.

“It’s because I can somehow now see how this all works suddenly.  It is like I somehow know this is exactly where I belong.  My whole life was built for this moment, and the second I stepped into the guild hall, I felt at home.”

Hess continued to grumble as they walked up the stairs, and the noise down below faded thanks to the magic runes that limited noise.

“I still think you are holding something back from me.  You used to never do that.”

Kaen frowned even though Hess could not see it.  He had not told him everything yet, and he needed to, and he knew it.

“Once we are inside, I’ll tell you everything,” Kaen promised.

Hess sat on his bed, looking at Kaen, who was shifting a little under the gaze Hess would occasionally give him while waiting for information.

“So I gained the haggling skill while I bargained with Fiola,” Kaen admitted.

“What? How?”

Kaen shrugged and tapped his heart.

“Lately, it is like my lifestone has been guiding me to do things.  To say things.  In those moments when I let it take over, I achieve skill growth, gain new skills or succeed more when I do something. It is like I can see where to shoot without actually looking myself,” Kaen said as he stared at the ceiling.  “It sometimes seems as if I can feel it coming.  Like a breeze blowing from a direction, you smell a meal being cooked and know that if you go the way the wind is coming, you will find yourself somewhere with food.”

Hess sat there rubbing his thumb against his palm as he listened to Kaen talk.  He had never had moments as often as Kaen was describing now in all his years of adventuring.  He remembered Hoste talking about the very thing Kaen was describing.  He was now beginning to wonder if there was something that impacted how fast Kaen was growing because of who his father was.

“We will come back to that later,” Hess told Kaen as he reached into his vest and pulled out a small pouch.  “I have some items we need to look at and need to talk about.”

Kaen’s eyes lit up as he saw the pouch Hess was holding.  He had known that somehow he needed more items to help with whatever Fiola was going to throw at him.

Hess got up and grabbed a small wooden table from the corner where a bowl rested.  It was big enough for what he needed, and moved it between Kaen and his bed.  He then pulled out four rings, holding them up one at a time between his fat fingers before setting them down on the table.

Kaen gazed at the four rings.  One had green leaves wrapped around a silver band.  Another one sparkled as if it was almost glass and had a yellow shine to it.  The blood-red one seemed almost to radiate as it sat there on the rough wooden table.  The last one was just a golden ring, simple and plain, with nothing special looking about it.

Hess pulled the necklace out and let it hang from his fingers.  It had a silver pendant with a gold eagle affixed to one side of it.  The chain looked dull and rough compared to the bright and shiny pendant.

A laugh escaped Hess’s lips as he watched Kaen’s eyes as they moved from piece to piece.

“I guess you are wondering what each of these do?”

Kaen giggled.  An actual giggle escaped from his lips.

“You are torturing me on purpose,” Kaen accused Hess.

Hess leaned back and roared loudly as the necklace in his hand swung.

“Yes, yes I am!”