Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 033 - Magical Jewelry Confirmed (Patreon)

Hess handed the necklace to Kaen and smiled as he watched Kaen rub his thumb along the ridges of the eagle.  It had been made by someone with a decent talent in jewelry and had a lot of detail not often found on a magical item.  It had taken a few favors to get one of the merchants he knew from years past to let him borrow this for this test.  He did not want to tell Sulenda that he might have also had to tell the merchant not to bet on anything until tomorrow.

“That pendant will give you a bonus of two dexterity and one point in your archery skill,” Hess informed Kaen as he watched him put it around his neck.  “Do not lose it! It is borrowed, and we would lose a large amount of gold if something happened to it.  Do you understand?”

Kaen nodded as he grinned.  He could feel the magic of it as the pendant touched his skin as it rested under his shirt.

“What’s next,” Kaen asked with a laugh.

Hess shook his head and picked up the silver ring with the green engraving all over it.  In his massive fingers, it looked so small.

“This will be yours to keep.  I will take it out of your cut from all the betting, but it was not as expensive as it could have been.  It will only add one point of dexterity to you, but I think we would both agree that every point counts.”

Hess flicked the ring off his finger with his thumb, sending it flipping through the air toward Kaen, who easily snatched it with one hand.

“How many new adventurers start with magical gear,” Kaen asked as he slipped the ring on his finger and felt it shrink so that it was snug on his finger.

“Unless they are from a rich family, acquired something from a benefactor, or stole it, very few.  You are being gifted far beyond what most new adventurers would.  Adding to the fact that you have a partner who gives you an even bigger increase, you are well beyond the stats most silver token adventurers have.”

Hess paused for a moment and looked outside the window at the night sky.

“How is Pammon doing anyways?”

Kaen smiled and pointed his finger to the southeast.

“He is sleeping right now that way.  He has been traveling most of the time, gaining strength so that I can ride with him when we finally get together.”

Hess sighed, and Kaen could not imagine why.

“You ok?”

Hess nodded.

“It still boggles my mind that you have a friend like Pammon, Kaen.  Thinking about what we talked about earlier and your lifestone and what is happening, I can only imagine how strong you might become.  That scares me because it also means that you will pose a threat to many different people.”

Not waiting for a response from Kaen, Hess picked up the glass ring and held it out to Kaen.

“This ring is a gift from Sulenda.  She used to wear it long ago,” he said, pausing.  “It was a gift to her, and I am surprised she still had it after all this time.”

Taking it from Hess’s hand, Kaen held it toward the light globe and could see right through it.  It looked like glass but felt as strong as steel between his fingers.

“Did  you give this to her?”

Hess nodded.

“A long time ago,” Hess mumbled. The look on his face showed the pain he felt seeing that ring.  “There were some promises with that ring, and I was not able to keep them back then.”

Kaen sat there holding the ring, wondering if he should wear it or not.

“Put it on.  She wants you to have it.  I’m unsure why she showed it to me, but I know Sulenda expects me to remember it and its promise.  The ring will give you two dexterity points.  For a ring, that is actually a lot.  Most people only have rings that give one stat point.”

The glass felt cool as Kaen started to slide it over his finger.  It expanded past his knuckle and then tightened down on his finger.  Gazing at his right hand now, his pointer finger and his ring finger both looked weird to him with jewelry on them.

“I feel so weird with these on,” Kaen said as he chuckled.  “I never imagined wearing rings.”

Hess shrugged.

“I have seen adventurers with five on each finger.  They spent a lot of money trying to help fill in  those gaps and weak points.  Depending on what you are fighting, one quickly realizes the need to be careful not to let a stat fall too far behind, or it might hurt you later.”

Pointing at the red ring, Hess shuddered and bit his lip.

“Pick up that ring and put it on.”

Kaen cocked an eye at Hess but reached out and picked up the ring as it seemed to almost glow for a moment when his fingers got near it.  Sitting back with the ring, Kaen noticed Hess staring intently at him.

“What is it?”

“Put it on but let me see it as you do,” Hess instructed Kaen.

Kaen was unsure why, but Hess watched the ring as he slid it on his ringer finger on his left hand.  A small glow took place as it slid over his finger, and the ring suddenly bit down on his finger, and a little bit of blood ran from where the ring had attached itself to him.

“Mother clucker!” Kaen shouted as he flapped his hand in the air.  “Why did it do that?”

“I’m sorry, I was not sure if it would do that or not.”

“Do what?” Kaen asked as he gasped for a moment.  He felt a warm sensation running from his finger all through his body.  “What is up with this ring?”

“It was one of your fathers, Kaen.  I fetched it this morning from the guild vault.  I have access to it; it was the only item I felt safe taking.”

Kaen jumped off the bed and forgot about the ring and the blood that ran down his finger and onto the floor.

“My dad has a vault?!”

Hess nodded and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“This permits me to enter the vault and to remove items occasionally.  “Once you become an adventurer, you will have access to the vault, but only after the gold rank.  None of the items in there are for anyone below that rank.  That ring was a gamble.”

Kaen stood there glancing at the paper and watching Hess, who was watching the ring on his finger.

“What could have happened with this ring?” Kaen demanded.  “Could it have killed me?”

“No, and sit down and relax.  I’ll tell you more but stop acting like that.  You want to do the impossible, and I am willing to help you, but you must learn to trust my judgment.”

“You just said you weren’t sure it would work!” Kaen yelled as he held up his hand.  Blood had stopped flowing, but blood was still all over his finger and near the ring.  “What could have happened?”

“It might have bit your finger off, and I would have had to reattach it with a high-level potion I have on me,” Hess stated as if something like that was an everyday occurrence.

“Lost my finger?  Like it would have eaten my finger or just cut it off?”

Kaen was going crazy, waving his hands around in the air, and occasionally a drop of blood would fly somewhere across the room.

Hess stood up and grabbed Kaen’s shoulders with both hands.  He was shocked at how much more effort it took to hold him in place for a moment.

“Look at me and snap out of it!” Hess barked as he looked down at Kaen.  “You are fine, and this was your decision to take on this blasted path, so shut up, sit down, and act like an adventurer and not some kid who is playing at it!”

Kaen stood there, held in place by Hess, and glared at him.  He was angry that Hess had taken this risk, but he was more upset that he was still learning about all these things about his father.  It was not fair that Hess knew so much more about his dad and would not share those details.

“Fine, but do not keep secrets about my dad again!” Kaen yelled as he jerked himself free from Hess’s grip and flopped onto the bed.  “I have spent all these years not knowing these things about my dad, and you just casually mention he has a vault of his old adventuring gear and that you can access it whenever you want!”

Hess sighed and nodded.

“Be angry with me, I don’t care,” Hess informed Kaen as he pointed a fat finger at him. “The way you are acting right now is why I do not share everything with you.  You are growing stronger and will quickly pass me, but you are still immature and act like a fool when it comes to your dad!  Stop being stupid and use your head!”

Kaen’s mouth opened, and then he closed it.  He wanted to shout and scream, but he knew Hess was right.  Every year when something happened and his dad was mentioned, he got angry.  He was pissed right now, but he knew he needed to calm down.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out and repeated it again.

“Tell me what the ring gives me,” Kaen said with a humph as he took another deep breath.

“It will add four to your constitution.  It is a ring that is selective.  To take it off will not be easy, but after a while, it will let go on its own.  You will know when it happens because it will start to loosen up.  When it does, you must decide if you will keep it on or take it off.”

“How long does it usually take for it to loosen up?”

Shrugging, Hess shook his head from shoulder to shoulder.

“I have no clue.  I just remembered what Hoste told me.”

Kaen bent over and picked up the last ring on the small table.  He held the gold ring out toward Hess between his fingers.

“This going to do anything bad to me?”

Scoffing, Hess shook his head no.

“It will add two to your dexterity and one to your constitution,” Hess told him as he tried to smile.  “It was to be your gift from me once you passed your adventurers' test, but I decided you needed it now.”

Kaen felt his heart drop into his stomach.  He suddenly felt like a heel as he held the ring between his fingers.

“I’m…” Kaen started to stutter.  “I’m sorry I acted like a fool.  Thank you for the gift.”

Hess waved off Kaen’s attempt at an apology.

“I don’t fault you, Kaen.  This isn’t easy, and I know it.  It will only get harder, and I fear the next few days will be like nothing we have had to endure before.  Please try to remember that I am here to help you and have no ulterior motives like so many others will.”

Kaen saw the smirk on Hess’s face and knew he was right.  He slid the gold ring onto his pointing finger and smiled as he felt the magic rushing into his body.

“Thank you, Hess.  It means a lot to know you have had this for me.”

Hess stood up and held out his hand to Kaen.

“No worries.  Now shake my hand like a man and stop pouting like a child,” he declared as he winked at Kaen.

Kaen moved over, grasped Hess’s hand, and smiled as they stood there.

“Want to know my stats now?” Kaen teased.

Pulling his hand free, Hess smiled, moved back to his bed, and sat down.

“Only if you want to share and only if you want to make me jealous.”