Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 038 - Leaving Ebonmount (Patreon)

Kaen had been surprised to see almost a dozen adventurers at the guild hall waiting to see him off.  Fiola was waiting, as was Herb, and both of them had been talking quietly together about something when he and Hess had arrived.

The cart that they would be taking was a new thing for him. It looked like a standard cart with a brown tarp over the top in a horseshoe fashion, yet there were no horses required.  This one had some magical crystal inside it that would allow it to travel for up to eight hours straight before it would need a full eight hours of rest before it would be able to go again.  Hess had started sharing more details about it, but Kaen had stopped him, interested in meeting the people who were going to be traveling with him.

“I knew you would arrive early as usual,” Herb called out as Hess and Kaen approached the fountain.  “I know you are never one for being late to anything!”

Hess chuckled and went to talk with Herb while Kaen walked over to the cart and saw the two people he assumed would be traveling with him.

“You two are my guides?” Kaen asked as he stared at the man in a green robe holding a staff with a yellow gem at the top and a woman dressed in chainmail with a shield on her back and a sword on her hip.

“I am Aubri,” the female warrior chuckled and then pointed at the male in the robes.  “That guy with the dirty red hair is Luca.  He is our mage.”

“Nice to meet you, Luca!” Kaen exclaimed as he walked over and extended his hand toward him.

Luca glazed at Kaen with a look one might give a younger sibling they were annoyed with.  He appeared to be in his thirties, but it was hard to tell since the lifestone slowed down the aging process for many people.

Letting out a sigh, Luca finally nodded his head in acknowledgment and motioned to the cart with his hand.

“Put your gear in there.  We leave just as soon as Fiola says we can.  I want to be upfront, I am not excited about a babysitting mission or knowing you are being given a chance to gain the same rank I hold with just one quest.  It's not right, but I will abide by the contract.”

Kaen gave a smirk and nodded.

“Sorry if I’m putting you out.  It was her idea, so I’m just taking the chance she has given me.  I mean, wouldn’t you have attempted a quest like this if given a chance?”

Aubri started laughing, moved up to Kaen, put her arm around him, and led him to the cart.

“Ignore Luca,” she stated, “most of us do. He comes from a well-off family and felt it wasn’t fair that he was never offered a chance like you are getting.”

Kaen glanced back at Luca, who had turned and already started ignoring him.

This is going to be a fun trip…

“I can see you are already flustered,” Aubri said with a giggle.  “I’ll do my best to cheer you up and make the trip enjoyable.  Some of us were not given a silver spoon or a leg up on everyone else.  I, for one, as are all those gathered here this morning, am excited to hear of what you have done and what you might accomplish!”

Kaen smiled, and as they arrived at the cart, Aubri pulled back the back flap and showed him the inside.  There were benches with cushions in there, as well as multiple barrels of supplies.

“Just throw your pack in there, and we will get everything situated once we leave.  For now, we need to get with Fiola and endure the send-off.”

Aubri flashed a wink and a grin at Kaen after she said that, and he found himself already looking forward to this trip because of her.  He turned, watched as she walked away, and realized he had no clue how old she was.  Her hair was brown like his and cut short, probably done that way for practical reasons when wearing a helmet or fighting.  Her brown eyes were soft, and she had a great smile.

“Stop admiring her backside,” Hess whispered as he snuck up on Kaen.  “You need to focus!”

Kaen groaned and put his pack into the back of the wagon.

“I was just trying to get to know who I would be spending the next few days with,” Kaen answered with mock innocence.  “She was the one who put her arm around me first.”

Hess chuckled, leaned in close, and handed Kaen a small hip pack while they were behind the wagon.

“There are three in there.  Please try not to break or need them if you can help it.  I only have a few of those left.”

Kaen opened the pouch just a little and saw that they were the same potions he had been given back in Minoosh.

“Thank you,” Kaen whispered back as he strapped the pouch around his waist. “I’ll try not to break any this time.”

“Or need,” Hess repeated.  “Try not to need any either.”

Kaen chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

“I can’t promise that, but I’ll try.  Now let's go see what Fiola wants!”

“To talk and make herself feel better about all this,” Hess declared as they walked to where the small group of adventurers were gathered.

Thirty minutes later, Kaen was finally leaving.  Hess had been right.  That woman had talked for over twenty minutes.  Most of what she had said was about herself, what she saw for the future, and other stuff he had basically ignored after the first few minutes.

“Is she always that long-winded,” Kaen asked when he turned to Aubri, who was driving the cart with a magical set of reigns that attached to a wooden piece near the front seats.

“Oh my gosh,” Aubri replied as she burst out laughing. “She loves to hear her own voice, I believe.”

“Stop that, you two!” Luca exclaimed from inside the wagon.  “She is our guild master, and we should not talk about her like that.  It is only because of her kindness and actions that you are even belong allowed on this quest.”

Kaen and Aubri both groaned at the same time to each other.  When they realized they had done that, they burst into laughing and spent the next few hours talking and listening to Aubri share stories of the adventures she had gone on.

We should be near this spot Kaen thought as he pointed at the map he had on his lap.

Fiola had permitted him to take a copy of the quest map so that he could learn the lay of the land for future quests.  It was more so that Pammon could know where he was planning on being.

I do not know why you are telling me this.  You know I am above you in the clouds.  I can see you just fine.

I just wanted to make sure you know more of an exact location so you can fly ahead and scout out a spot where we might be able to meet up tonight.

I will see if I can find the location you are focused on.  I still need to find myself something to eat.

Kaen let out a laugh, and Aubri looked at him with a questionable look.

“Care to share what is so funny?”

“All this,” Kaen lied as he motioned with his hands toward the road and the trees around them.  “My whole life, I have been waiting to become an adventurer, and here I am, on the road, a beautiful woman by my side and a cranky mage in the back of the cart.”

Aubri started laughing, and suddenly she started snorting as she laughed.  Her face looked scared when she realized she was snorting before Kaen.

“Why are you upset?” Kaen asked as he smiled at her. “I think that's a cute laugh.”

Her cheeks went crimson red, and she yanked a little hard on the reigns, causing the cart to weave hard to the right for a moment as she regained her composure.

“What the heck are you two doing up there?!” Luca yelled out from the back of the wagon. “Do I need to come take over up front so we don’t get killed?

“You are going to get yourself and me in trouble,” she whispered when she got the cart back on the road.  “Your mentor, Hess, told me if anything happened between us while on this trip, he would make my life one I would regret.”

Rolling his eyes, Kaen shook his head in disbelief.

Gosh, damnit Hess!

“I’m sure he didn’t mean that,” Kaen pleaded as he glanced back into the cart. There staring at him was Luca with that same annoyed look he had the first time.

“Is he going to snitch on us?”

Aubri’s snorting started up again as she laughed and nodded that, yes, Luca would most definitely rat them out.

Sighing, Kaen shifted himself a little bit away from Aubri and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Don’t pout too much,” she teased Kaen.  “He didn’t say anything about after the quest.

A coughing fit came over Kaen, and he laughed once he caught his breath and saw the way Aubri kept raising her eyebrows playfully at him.

“I swear you two are acting like kids up there!” Luca shouted. “Keep your eyes on the road and stop worrying about getting into each other’s pants!”

Kaen and Aubri laughed as Luca continued grumbling from the back of the wagon.

They had passed more travelers than Kaen had expected, both in the pass and along the road through the woods.  One band of guards had even ridden past them, patrolling the area closest to the pass to ensure safety for those who traveled them.  Kaen had been impressed with the smoothness of the road and learned that there were actual crews that came out and managed the roads from time to time.

Safe and fast roads are important for the safety and well-being of the kingdom! Luca had repeated multiple times.

There had been small caravans of goods and other merchants that had passed by.  Most of them had at least two or three guards or adventurers with them.  It reminded Kaen of what Hess had said about him and his dad doing quests that involved guarding people.

“We have about thirty minutes left on the crystal,” Luca called out from where he was sitting in the back of the cart.  “Need to make sure we are close to the spot Fiola picked out.”

“Fiola picked a spot for us?” Kaen asked as he glanced over his shoulder at Luca.  “Why would she do that?”

Luca shrugged and motioned to the map.

“She knew how far our cart could go and wanted to make sure that our special adventurer would be safe.  From the spot she picked, it is only about four hours to where we will need to set out on foot to find that orc camp. This gives us plenty of room not to have to worry about being close enough to them.”

That seemed to make sense to Kaen, and he felt he should appreciate that Fiola was doing her best to keep him alive.  Even if he knew it was because she had some hidden desire and secret for wanting to know his stats.

We are close to where we are going to stop for the night.  I know you are near us, does that mean you found a spot for us to meet?

I have, but it may be a little bit of a walk from your camp.  I’ll be off to the east, where a small clearing is.  I can catch an animal if you want to take it back to camp.

Kaen thought about that for a moment.  It seemed like a good idea except for having to explain why it died by claws or teeth.

Maybe next time.  I will tell them I am going to go out scouting and hunting to practice for tomorrow, though.

Ok! Just hurry and get here! I cannot wait for a good scratching session!

Kaen chuckled and played off the reason for laughing to Aubri.

“Who knew the guild master could be so kind?  I would have almost imagined she would make me hunt for my own food.”

“Food is all taken care of!” Aubri quipped as she motioned with her head toward Luca.  “Luca isn’t a bad cook and will manage everything once we arrive.  You just need to relax and enjoy yourself.”

“Actually… I want to get off into the woods for just a little bit and work on my tracking and sneaking skills and maybe see if I can find something small to shoot. I want to prepare a little bit for tomorrow since I have been sitting all day today.”

Aubri nodded in understanding and gave him a shrug.

“It is up to you.  I can have Luca wait about an hour after we get settled for dinner to be ready.  Think that would be enough time?”

“That would be perfect!”