Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 053 - Money Well Spent (Patreon)

Kaen was a bit apprehensive as he took the paper from Hess.  Part of him wanted to open it up, but he was also afraid they might be playing with him again.

“This is the real number?”

Hess nodded, and the way his face was, Kaen knew that Hess was not messing around this time.

Taking a deep breath, Kaen unfolded the paper and then sat there in shock as he read the number multiple times.

“This can’t be right!  Can it?”

Sulenda chuckled and motioned for Kaen to hand her the paper.

Kaen handed it to her, and Sulenda quickly glanced at it and smiled.

“Looks right to me.”
“How is that possible?  Based on percentages and what I learned from Hess, there is no way that number is at all feasible!  The amount of money that everyone would have wagered would create a massive debt that this kingdom would suffer from.”

Hess chuckled and motioned to Sulenda.

“You want to tell him, or do you want me?”

Fidgeting in her chair, Sulenda glanced at Kaen and scratched her chin with a few fingers.

“You tell him.  He knows you better, and I think it will mean more.”

Hess smiled and winked at her as he turned his attention to Kaen.

“Focus on me, son.”

When that word hit Kaen’s ears, it felt raw and painful.  He knew Hess only used that word in rare moments, and for him to use it now meant something.

“That number includes a large portion of Sulenda’s and my share.  We both decided that even with your best intentions and your desire to take care of us,” Hess stated as he held up his hands in quotes, “we will be fine with less, and you have already shown us we were right because of what I think you are planning on doing with your money.”

“But why?” gasped Kaen. “I owe you both a lifetime together.”

“You don’t owe me shite, Kaen!” Hess exclaimed louder than he had intended as he slapped his hand against his knee.  “You have earned everything you have ever gotten and worked harder than I could have ever imagined. Your tenacity will have driven you to be the man you are now.  I cannot imagine you would have turned out any different if your father himself had raised and trained you.”

Sitting in that chair, Kaen was in shock.  That was more praise from Hess than he had ever received in his life with him.  The last sentence stung and warmed his heart at the same time.

“Listen to me, Kaen.  What you just did with those two boys proves to me that Sulenda and I are right.  It proves that Luca was right.  You are going to need money, and you are going to need friends.  Powerful friends like the King and some of the nobles.  If you use the skills you have now, that stupid, fantastic smile of yours, and the kindness of your heart, you will form a group of people who will gladly help you make that dream happen!”

Kaen glanced at Hess and then at Sulenda.  The two of them were smiling, and both of them seemed content with what they had done.

“What do you think I will try and accomplish with this money?”

Crossing his arms, Hess leaned back in his chair and smiled.

“It seems to me that you might be starting a school or academy to train the next generation of adventurers.”

A school?  Kaen had not considered an official one, but he had already considered asking Master Bren if he would take on more kids in the area and train them.  Was a school even possible?  How would he manage that if he was out questing and adventuring?  Would he have time with Pammon if he was involved with it?

“I mean, I had considered something small with Master Bren,” Kaen stated as he stood up and moved to the map on the wall across the room.  “I wanted to give more kids a chance to be what I had dreamed of.”
Putting his finger on the map where Minoosh was, he turned and faced Hess.

“You sent those two lifestones to our town for Cale and Patrick.  I guess I just felt if they could have had that chance earlier in life, perhaps Cale wouldn’t be hurt like he is now.”

Hess grunted and nodded.

“Don’t worry about Cale, I got some people working on that.”

“You got…”

Hess held up his hand and stopped Kaen.

“I said don’t worry about it right now.  Keep talking about the other stuff.”

A weight was suddenly lifted from Kaen’s shoulders, and a knot that had been in his stomach since the day he found out Cale would be unable to use his arm was gone.  If Hess was working on it like he said he was, then there must be hope.  He would hold onto that right now.

“What about quests and everything else and training to be an adventurer?” Kaen asked as he moved back to his chair and sat down.  “I still need to learn how to quest properly, work with a team, and more.”

“You do,” Sulenda interrupted.  “Hess will be there to help.  I know he is free from the bond that he owed, but now he can help because he wants to.  Because we both want him to help.”

Kaen also saw how Sulenda was smiling at Hess and how he returned that affection.

“I will help you in the ways that I can.  I will be the one who gets things moving for this school, as Hess calls it.  You will need a contact in town, and I will also be able to help make solid candidates choices at first.  Trust me, news of what you did already reached my ears while you were upstairs getting cleaned up.”

“Everything you are doing is impossible to believe,” Hess said when Sulenda stopped talking.  “News has spread how you just promised to train two boys from poorer families and pay for it until they could earn a lifestone!  Fire couldn’t spread that fast in a dry field on a windy day!  You have given hope to people that had none.  Who grind out each day, doing whatever they can to survive.”

Hess stood up and started waving his hands in the air.

“Kaen, you trained for six hours after a night spent celebrating your token!  SIX HOURS!”  Hess was worked up, and though he wasn’t shouting, it felt like it as his voice echoed in the small room.  It was a good thing the walls were warded against noise.

“The townspeople, the adventurers, are in awe that you went training to learn skills you did not know!  Others have commented that they might need to work a little harder after seeing what you are doing.”

Turning on his heel, Hess moved over to Kaen and touched his shoulder.

“Son, I mean…”

“It’s ok,” Kaen replied.  “You can call me that.”

Hess nodded and choked up.  Fighting back the tears that felt like they would burst from an emotional dam he had kept up for so long.

Taking a breath and letting it slowly out, Hess regained his composure and looked Kaen in the eye.

“You are going to be great because of who you are.  Not because of who your dad was.  Because of who you are,” Hess declared as he moved his hand off Kaen’s shoulder and thumped him in the chest with his fist gently.  “You will do wondrous things and not just because of Pammon.”

Sulenda groaned loudly when she heard that name.

“I know it's a special bow, but come on, you two… really? Must we talk about the bow as if it's a living creature?”

Both Hess and Kaen burst out laughing, and Hess stood up and moved to his chair.

“I’ll try not to talk about my bow too much,” Kaen replied, wiping a few tears that had somehow appeared in his eyes.

Sulenda nodded and crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair.

“Now, about the money.  Let’s get past all this emotional stuff, or we will never get to the important stuff,” she stated with a wink.  “The money is in the bank and already under your name.  Only you, Hess, or I have access to it.”

Kaen whistled.

“You trust Hess with that kind of money?”

Sulenda chuckled and nodded.

“I trust him with my heart again.  If I can trust him with that, I can trust him with a small sum of gold.”

Hess winked and blew a kiss at Sulenda.

Kaen shook his head in disgust.  What had happened to the man he had known all his life?  Acting like a fool in love.

“One hundred and six gold coins,” Kaen had repeated that number a few more times after they had gotten back down to business.  “I’m unsure how to even comprehend a number like this.”

“Imagine going to work for almost four hundred years,” teased Sulenda. “That is how long it would take.”

“And most of it came from the king and nobles?”

Both Hess and Sulenda nodded as Kaen shifted in his chair.

“I guess I do owe them all a visit.”

Roaring with laughter, Hess nodded and grinned.

“You're going to have to buy a few outfits and possibly hire someone to escort you,” Hess informed Kaen. “Again, Sulenda will help with that side of things.  We need to finalize a few small details and get to the adventurers guild tomorrow morning.”
“What is so pressing there?”

Standing up, Hess stretched and let out a yawn.

“We need to get you a quest.  I want to see what is available, and you need to see how the system works.  You missed out on the normal training they give new recruits because of where you are starting.  This is going to be a bumpy ride.”

A yawn escaped Kaen’s mouth after he saw Hess yawn, and then he started to chuckle when he noticed Sulenda starting to yawn as well.

“I guess we all had a long night yesterday, and I think I’m still expected to be back in the inn to congratulate everyone I’m buying a drink for.”

Sulenda nodded as she stood up.

“I’m going to say something, and I want you to listen and think about what I say later.”

She paused and moved around the desk, stopping before Kaen and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I knew your dad just like Hess.  He was an amazing man; the boy I saw here the first day is not the man I see before me today.  You are going to be greater than him if you keep on the path you are on now.”

She tapped Kaen’s chest where his heart and lifestone were.

“Keep following this.  If you do, I will follow you just like I followed your father.”

Hess moved up, grabbed Kaen and Sulenda each in an arm, and drew each of them to his chest.

Sulenda hesitated for a moment and wrapped her arms around Kaen and Hess, laying her head on Hess’s shoulder.

A few seconds later, Kaen embraced both of them.  As he did, he realized he was sobbing and that tears were running down his cheeks.  This embrace reminded him of the last time his mother and father had both hugged him at the same time, well over ten years ago.

For a few minutes, they all stood there, lives intertwined and baring their souls and need for connection.  No one was in a hurry to end this moment.