Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 040 - Arrived (Patreon)

Luca had prepared salted pork he had fried in a pan and covered with some herbs he had been carrying.  The smell of it hit Kaen while he was still almost a quarter of a mile away.  It made him smile as he realized how hungry he was, and gave him something to think about besides the pain in his chest from leaving Pammon.

“This is amazing!” Kaen declared as he finished his third helping of pork and vegetables.  “You could open up a restaurant, and I would gladly visit and pay for a meal like this!”

Luca flashed the only real smile he had given Kaen this entire trip.

“I enjoy cooking.  It was something my grandmother and I used to do when I was a kid.  She taught me to find ways to express myself when I cooked.  It was not easy being different from the others in our town.”

Kaen nodded as he used a piece of bread to collect the pork's salt and crust from the bowl's bottom.

“I used to cook all the time also.  After my dad died, I…”

Kaen paused and realized he had started sharing more information than he had planned on as he was lost in his meal.

Glancing up from his bowl, he saw Aubri had a sympathetic look on her face, and even Luca seemed to be listening to what he was saying.

“I mean… I cooked for the man who raised me.  You all know Hess.  He might be a gifted adventurer, but his cooking was horrible, to say the least,” joked Kaen.

Both of them chuckled and nodded, and no one else felt the need to add anything to that conversation.

Kaen and Aubri cleaned the dishes while Luca cleaned up the food and other ingredients he had used.

“Sun will be down in a few hours, yet I think we should get into the cart and get a good night's rest,” Aubri stated as she added a few logs to her fire contraption.

“Does that actually work?” Kaen asked as he pointed at her log-adding set up for the fire.

Nodding, Aubri pointed to the metal stakes she had driven into the ground at the edge of the fire and the logs she had stacked up on top of each other against the stakes.

“The log at the bottom will slowly burn, and when it has burnt enough, it will fall apart and into the fire.  The logs will roll down and catch on this top piece, preventing them from falling into the fire.  Sometimes they don’t roll off, and the fire will rise up the stakes and light all of the logs, but usually, it doesn’t,” she informed Kaen with a smile.  “I have been practicing this for years, and I think I finally got it working how I want.”

Kaen inspected it a little more and made sure to remember what he could of the design.  It would be an asset for sure at some point in his adventuring career.

“We need to take turns tonight on who stays up?” Kaen asked.

Luca chuckled and shook his head no.

“The cart has a warning system built in.  It is a rare guild cart and not one we would usually get to travel in, but Fiola thought we should.  An anti-animal ward keeps most of them away from us, and if anyone approaches within a hundred yards, we will hear a noise and wake up.”

His eyes went wide as Kaen looked at the cart with a new appreciation of what was possible to make with magic.  There was so much he could not wait to explore and learn.

Luca had woken them up and started a quick breakfast of dried meat, fruit, and some bread while pulling out a container of milk that was still cold.  One of the barrels had a rune on it that would last for a few days but would keep everything at a certain temperature.  Kaen wished he had been able to enjoy one of those back at Hess’s old house.

They had loaded up their supplies, put out the fire that had lasted all night, and still had two logs waiting to roll into the fire as they set off down the road. The sun was just beginning to send its rays over the tops of the trees.

Luca and Aubri were not chatting at all.  Both believed at a time like this, Kaen should be preparing his mind for the task ahead.

Sitting by himself in the back of the wagon, Kaen had put on his gear and was going over each of the arrows he had brought along.  He had picked out twenty-five arrows from the ones Hess had bought him.  While all of them were high-quality arrows, he found a few that had details that made them slightly imperfect.  He could feel his lifestone guiding his hand as he thought about picking just the best ones.  Each of the feathers was perfectly straight and aligned as they should be.  Two arrows were removed as potential ones because the weight of the tips was just enough to alter the flight of the arrow.  Small things he doubted he would have noticed back in Minoosh.

Pammon had been flying the area the camp was believed to be in and had located it already.  It was a good hour into the woods from where they would stop.  The trees were dense around the spot the orcs were staying, and Pammon pointed out that they were a good half day from a few small villages that appeared to the east and north of the orcs.

Do you see all five of them?

No.  Only three are visible to me.  They have some tent-like structures, but the camp is a mess.  The clearing that they appear to have widened is as big as the one we were in yesterday.  Just know that the side you will come upon and the north side of their clearing has massive and very thick trees.

Kaen grunted to himself as he closed his eyes and imagined what Pammon was looking at.  He couldn’t see it, but it felt like he might be able to one day.  For now, he could sense how the camp was laid out.  The thick trees would offer him cover but also limit his ability to shoot once they got into the woods.

I have a few hours till you get here, so I am going to scout and see if I can find the other two.  Be safe!

Thank you, Pammon.

Kaen paused a moment and smiled to himself.

Thank you for yesterday also.  I think I needed to see you as much as you needed me to scratch those spots.

Pammon's laughter as he flew across the sky washed over Kaen like a fresh shower of rain.  He knew that Pammon enjoyed that comment even if he did not reply.

“We’re here,” Aubri shouted out as they moved the cart over to the side of the road.

Kaen moved toward the back of the cart and looked down the road out the back.  They had passed a few small carts this morning, and he wondered if they had traveled all night or stopped somewhere to rest as they had.  Judging by the way the animals were barely moving, Kaen believed it was the former.

Once Aubri managed to get the cart off the main road, they all piled out of the cart, and Luca went around it, tying the covering to the wooden part of the cart and sealing it up.

“Before you ask, the cart is warded.  Most of the people traveling on this road won’t be able to overcome the ward that prevents someone from opening the sides, and if someone attempted to cut their way through, they would not like the traps they would encounter.”
Kaen nodded and appreciated all the knowledge Luca was sharing with him.

“Any idea which way we need to go?” Aubri asked Luca.

“I have an idea,” Kaen replied before Luca could.  “I studied the maps of this area and the one on the quest.  Combined with that knowledge and my skill in tracking, I would like to try and see if I can find them on my own.”

“It’s your quest,” Luca answered.  “We are here to support you.  Any last questions before we let you lead us into the woods?”
Kaen paused for a moment as he looked at Aubri, who had taken up a position behind Luca.

“How close do you need to be?  Stealth is important for what I want to do, and not that I think you two aren’t stealthy, but…”

Luca nodded and motioned to Aubri with his head.

“We will stay behind you.  One hundred yards would be enough?”

Kaen grinned and nodded.

“That would be perfect.  Now I don’t plan on calling for help, but is there anything specific you want me to yell if I do need it?”

Aubri started laughing, and when she saw Luca turn and look at her, she stopped.

“Just yell ‘help,’ or do you have some safeword you prefer to use instead?”

Scratching his chin for a moment with his finger, he pondered what word might be better than help.  If orcs were smart, they should know that word and realize it was him calling for allies.

“Let’s do the word bacon instead.  I might use help if I believe the orcs would know that word to throw them off if need be.”

Luca shook his head and rolled his eyes at the choice of bacon, but Kaen could see that he appreciated the logic behind that decision.

“Ok.  From this moment on, you are on your own.  Lead on testee Kaen Marshell.”

Grinning, Kaen nodded and gave his gear one last check.  His bow was ready across his back, his armor was tight and in place.  The arrows and quiver hung on his back, and the pouch of potions was easily accessible to either hand.

Everything was as it needed to be for this.

I’m heading in.

I’ll head that way soon.  Scouting to the east still.  No sign of the other two yet.

Walking through the woods can be a fun thing.  With his bow in his left hand, Kaen made his way through the overgrown area of the forest, leaving small marks on trees to help Luca and Aubri follow him.  He was not attempting to hide his path, and he doubted he needed to leave marks for the two silver token adventurers behind him, but it was always better to have something just in case.

He weaved and moved a little to make it look like he did not have a straight line to where he was going.  Pammon had that clearing in his vision, and Kaen could find it blindfolded.  The trees were thick here, and the light from the sun was not very much, even with it being up for a few hours now.

Birds were singing and chirping, and the small animals of the forest were looking for food.  A non-poisonous snake he recognized crossed his path earlier, and he had let it slither away before continuing.  Its presence reminded Kaen that these woods were different from his own, and he had no idea what might be out here.

“Be smart about this,” Kaen muttered to himself as he moved around bushes that might have a snake or some other creature hiding in them.

I’m about two hundred yards from where you say they are.  Any update on the missing orcs?

No.  One orc in camp came out of its sleeping area and is eating something from a pile in the center of the camp.  It looks like a pile of animals and possibly a human or something.  It is by itself right now.

His heart started to beat faster as Kaen could feel the anticipation of all this starting to begin.  So much was riding on this moment, and he needed to succeed.  Pammon needed him to succeed.  Suddenly he felt his heart rate spike as he thought about how much money was riding on his success in this.  Hess and Sulenda would be well cared for if he pulled this off.

Focus your thoughts! Pammon shouted through their connection.  Your heart is racing like a rabbit who I am hunting!  You need to calm down.

Kaen stopped moving and took a few breaths.  Pammon was right.  He took four long breaths and let them out.  His heart slowed down, and he began making his way through the trees again.  As he wove around the tight-packed trees, Kaen paused for a moment.

Can you see me at all?

No.  I told you the trees are too thick.  I know where you are, but the forest where you are and running along the north side of the clearing is impossible to see through.

Kaen wondered how long he could hide in the treeline if it were this thick.  If one of them from the camp made it to the tree line, he would be in trouble then.  He would have to leave it and stand in the middle of the camp, giving up the trees' protection.

Well, let me know if anything changes. As you know, I’m getting closer.