Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 035 - A Quest For Kaen (Patreon)

“You are trying to take advantage of our initial agreement,” Fiola stated as she held her teacup away from her lips.  “You have clearly outfitted yourself to help have a better chance at succeeding tomorrow.”

Kaen shrugged as he set his cup of tea down on the small plate it had been brought on.  The tea was incredibly smooth, far nicer than any he had ever experienced before.  It left a clean and refreshing feeling in his mouth while also making his mind feel energetic.

“I would assume you still want me to succeed tomorrow, right?” Kaen asked as he leaned back after setting down his cup.  “I am simply trying my best to make sure that we both get what we want.”

Fiola darted her eyes over her cup at Hess and saw him holding his tiny cup between his massive fingers.  She wasn’t sure if Hess was making a mockery of her by holding his pinky up like she was as she drank hers.  Hess continued not to make eye contact as he stared off at the rows of books to her left on the shelves behind her.

“You are not the same boy who walked into this hall a day ago,” Fiola stated as she ran her pointer finger on the rim of her cup.  “Something has changed inside you, and you are right that we both want you to succeed.”

Fiola set her cup down on her saucer and stood up, smoothing out her long green dress as she moved toward her desk.

“Since I will allow you to wear the other items you have appeared to acquire, the only thing left to do is discuss what your test will involve.”

Digging around on her desk, Fiola pulled out a folder from a small stack she had in the middle of it.  She glanced inside as she opened the folder, glad that her back was turned as neither of them could see the smirk on her face.  Regaining her composure as she turned around, she moved back to the green couches and set the folder down before Kaen on the small table.

“Open it,” she commanded him.

Leaning over, Kaen picked up the folder and slowly opened it.  His eyes went wide and his mouth started to open up when he saw the only piece of paper inside it.

“You cannot be serious!” Hess exclaimed as he turned to see what was inside the folder.  “An iron group quest?!  That one calls easily for a party of four people!”

Kaen was ignoring Hess as he looked at the paper and felt it between his fingers.  The writing was impeccable, and he could almost feel it raised against the paper.  An iron group quest just for him, tasked with clearing a camp that was last rumored to be the home of five orcs two days north of town through the pass in the mountains.

“Do you want him to die?!  Who else will be going with him?” Hess continued to berate Fiola with questions as she ignored him, watching only Kaen’s face.

“I accept,” Kaen announced as he set the open folder on the table, leaving the quest sheet inside it.  “We leave tomorrow morning, I assume?”

Hess started to shout again when Fiola’s glare turned on him and shut him off.

“He will be sent with two observers. Both will be silver ranked and tasked with only observing unless Kaen calls out for assistance or is struck down and they deem help is needed,” Fiola informed them both.  “Only those three will be going on this quest.  They will take an enchanted cart and hurry to the place the camp was found.  Once he completes the quests or fails it, they will return.”

Fiola bent over and flipped the quest sheet over.  Kaen had not realized there was a map on the back of it.  It was the first time he had ever seen one.

“This shows the distance and route of the trip. The cart will take a little less than two days to arrive there.  Proof of completion will be the orc's heads and the observers' word that no aid was rendered.”

A pen magically appeared in Fiola’s hand, and she extended it to Kaen.

“All it requires now is your signature.  Once signed, you must be here tomorrow morning, equipped and ready for the trip.  The guild will provide all food and water as this is an official test.”

“How? How did you get this approved?” Hess asked as he grabbed Kaen’s wrist and kept him from taking the pen.  “You know how dangerous an orc can be.  Five orcs in the woods where they live and hunt?!  That is foolish!”

Kaen recoiled a little when he heard the tone Fiola spoke in.

“Adventurer Brumlin, I have been gracious in allowing you to speak freely, but if you question my ability to make a decision like this again, I will make sure you are not permitted to sign for or accompany anyone on a quest for half a year,” Fiola growled as she glared at Hess.  “Do I make myself clear?”

Hess’s face was red.  A vein that Kaen had only seen a few times in his life throbbed in his forehead as he glared back at Fiola.  He knew she had to power to make that happen, and breaking it would cost him his token at the least.  If that happened, he would not be able to help Kaen at all in the future.

With a grunt, Hess let go of Kaen’s wrist and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back on the couch.

“Forgive me, Guild Master Fiola, for taking too much liberty with my words.”

Fiola simply nodded and turned back to Kaen, ignoring the pouting oversized man.  She wiggled the pen in her hand left hand as she flipped the paper over and motioned to the line on the bottom.

“Sign it, and I can get everything that will be required taken care of.”

Glancing at Hess, Kaen saw the fear in the man’s eyes but knew that this was possible.  Fiola did not know about Pammon, and he was going to use his dragon to help with this mission.  It was not breaking the rules of the contract in his mind.

Leaning forward a little more, Kaen stood slightly off the couch, took the pen from Fiola’s outstretched hand, and sat back down on the edge of it.  Pulling the folder toward himself, he leaned over and signed his name.  As he began to sign, he felt his lifestone throbbing in his chest.  He paused halfway through his name, but nothing happened, so he finished his signature.

Looking down, he saw Kaen Marshell etched across the bottom, and the ink seemed to glow for a second.

“The contract is signed.  You are free to go and share the news with everyone you wish,” Fiola announced in a cheerful voice as she quickly grabbed the folder and pulled the paper from under Kaen’s left hand.  “I am sure that Sulenda and the others will be excited to hear about this news and how it will provide another opportunity for people to bet on your success.”

Kaen looked up, stunned, and as much as he tried to hide his shock, he saw the slight smile on the edge of Fiola’s lips when she saw his face.

She knew!

As if she could read his mind, Fiola leaned her head back, and a throaty, feminine laugh escaped her lips and echoed in the room.  After she stopped laughing, she winked at Kaen.

“I will admit I was confused on why you were very specific about the details of how this would all go down.  I had a few people follow you, and when they heard of your antics at the Fluffy Ignot, I knew what you were up to.  I almost thought Hess would have put you up to all of it, but I know him well enough to realize he is not this smart or willing to risk you like that.”

Fiola paused and tapped the closed folder she held in one hand against the palm of her other.

“That tells me you are smarter than most might realize, smarter than I realized.  Somehow you have gamed the system in such a short time.  If you can pull this off, you may be just as great as your father before you know it.”

She turned, walked to her desk, and set the folder on top.  Looking back over her shoulder, she smiled.

“I hope you do succeed for all of our sakes.  Now go and get a good night's rest.  You are going to need it.”

Standing at the top of the stairs that led down from the second floor and Fiola’s office, Kaen and Hess were surprised to see over twenty adventurers standing at the base of the stairs.

“What did Fiola say?” Herb called out from the front of the crowd.  “We are dying to know what is going to happen!”

Murmurs and others agreeing with Herb echoed out over the crowd, and Hess elbowed Kaen.

“It is your show. You might as well break the news,” he whispered to Kaen.

Kaen took a deep breath and smiled as he started down the stairs.  As he walked down them, he saw everyone’s eyes following him.  He just kept smiling till he was about eight steps above everyone and able to see them all.

“I have a special test!” Kaen shouted out with a grin plastered over his face.

“What?”

“Impossible!”

“What does that mean? Special test?”

Kaen glanced and saw the last question he had heard was from Chubbs.

Holding his hands out with his palms toward the group of adventurers, trying to understand what it means, he got them to quiet down.

“Tomorrow morning, I will leave on a two-day journey with two observers.  Both of them will be silver-ranked ones.”

Kaen paused and watched as a few of them glanced at each other.  Three silver token adventurers were in the crowd, but none of them knew if they would be part of this test based on their expressions.

“I will be taking on an iron group quest alone!” Kean announced loudly.  “I will have to slay five orcs in a camp two days from here without any assistance from my observers!  If I succeed, I will be a silver rank.  If I fail, I am not sure what rank I will be!”

Kaen tried to feign a little bit of sadness as he said that last part.  He knew exactly what rank he would be.

The adventurers clamored together, some complaining about the danger of the test.  Others could not believe that Kaen might have the ability to earn a silver rank from the start.  That was unheard of.  It took a moment before Herb left the group, moved up the stairs, and shook Kaen’s hand.

“I am sure you will be fine,” Herb stated loudly.  “I cannot imagine you failing this quest at all!”

The noise behind Herb quieted down.  Everyone knew he was gifted in reading people's strengths.  If he had this much faith in Kaen, maybe they should as well.

Hess descended the stairs and stood next to Kaen.

“We need to get back to the Fluffy Ignot for a little bit of planning and some rest, but if you all want, feel free to stop by tonight, and I’ll buy each of you a round!”

A cheer rose from the adventurers.  Most of them did not need to worry about purchasing their own drinks but having Hess offer it to them meant something special.  Over the last day, rumors and stories of Hess had started springing up all over town.  Knowing a gold token had trained Kaen only affirmed why this young man might be so amazing.

After a while, they managed to work their way out of the crowd at the guild hall and were able to get back on the road to the inn.  Neither one of them said a word the entire time they were inside the gates.

“We need to talk,” Hess whispered once they finally reached outside the gates. “I already know what you are planning.”

Kaen smiled and nodded.  He couldn’t wait to tell Pammon about their quest.