Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 058 - Honest Feelings (Patreon)

Did you tell him yet?

No, let me set the mood.  I don’t want just drop something like that on him.

Fine but I think he will be really excited when you do.

Later.  I promise.  For now, just let me know if you see anything.  I really wish I could fly with you and help, but we both know I wouldn’t see anything.

And the fact you would need heavier clothes up here.  Hess told you that, remember?

Kaen grumbled to himself and focused on where he and Hess were going on the road.  It had split to the east yesterday, leaving the path north he had gone on his first quest.  The woods here were just as overgrown, making it easy to see the occasional trail something or someone had cut into them.  Hess mentioned that people entered these woods for different reasons.  Sometimes quests for gathering alchemy supplies and other times for ones like what they were doing now.

After two hours of little conversation and just constant updates from Pammon, Kaen slowed his horse and fell into position next to Hess.

“So there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

Hess cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.

“That sounds ominous.”

Chuckling, Kaen shrugged.

“I know last night I had you pretty worried, and I understand why,” Kaen stated as he stared down the road.  “I want you to know I know why you acted how you did.”

Holding his reigns loosely, Kaen turned his head and smiled at Hess.

“Pammon and I talked for a bit last night; he is smarter than me.  He wanted me to tell you something and I figure now is the best time.”

“Your dancing around this like you did with the girl on the floor the other night. Just spit it out already,” Hess declared with a frustrated tone.

“I need you to build or help me build a harness or some sort of reign system for Pammon.  I don’t want any accidents while I fly, and I don’t want you to be worried about something bad happening to me.  Pammon also told me that once we have something like that working, he would be honored if you would let him take you flying one day.”

Hess jerked in his saddle in surprise. The frustrated look on his face was gone, replaced by complete shock.

“Pammon says he wants to fly with me?” Hess asked in disbelief.

Kaen nodded and smiled.

“He says your family,” Kaen answered with a wink, “Distant family but still family.  This is his way of saying thank you for letting me bond with him, taking care of both of us and loving me.”

“I mean, it’s my job to take care of both of you and to…”

Hess froze for a moment as he saw the smile on Kaen’s face.

“I know you love me,” Kaen admitted.  “I love you too.  We have occasionally spoken about it, but I realized I have never told you the one thing I should have.  I was wrong for those times I yelled at you and reminded you that I’m not your son and you are not my dad.  I was wrong.  You have been the greatest father I could imagine these past years.  You loved, disciplined, forgave, and taught me to be the man I am trying to be.  Pammon was right when he said my dad didn’t just pick you because you were his friend.  He picked you because he knew your heart. He chose you out of everyone else because he knew you would love me like a father.”

Kaen wiped a tear that had formed in his eye and blinked a little wider to hold off the other ones that were trying to form.  He smiled as he saw Hess struggling with the same thing.

“I would be honored for you to tell people I am your son.  I look forward to telling others that I love you as my father.”

Hess’s horse just kept plodding along as Hess gazed at Kaen, no longer able to hold back the tears.  He smiled and moved his horse over enough that he could reach over and pat Kaen on the shoulder.

“I cannot tell you how much that means to me.  Would you do me a favor?”

Nodding his head yes, Kaen smiled.

“Anything.”

Hess sniffed the mucus that was in his nose back up and smiled.

“Tell Pammon I have been waiting for him to let me fly with him.”

A brief moment of pause went by as what Hess had just said registered in Kaen’s brain.

He scowled and grunted at Hess, seeing the grin on Hess’s face.

“You’re a bastard, you know that!” he declared with a huff.

Roaring with laughter, Hess nodded and shrugged.

“What does that make you then, son?  A son of a bastard?”

Kaen let out a giant breath he had taken and gave Hess the middle finger on his hand before chuckling.

“This is why I can’t be serious with you,” complained Kaen.

“I know, but we both know if I didn’t joke with you about this right now, I would be blubbering like a baby.”

Sighing, Kaen nodded.  He would have been too.

I think I found something, but there are maybe two camps.  I have been scouting this area for a while, and there is a camp closer to the road and a camp deeper in the forest.  The one near the road has tents, and the other has an actual house, a building of some sort, and a lot of carts and animals.  It appears they have cut down trees and even built some walls around part of it.

After Kaen relayed that information to Hess, they looked at the map and where Kaen pointed to.  “It’s close enough we could be near it by nightfall, but I would rather find a place to sleep and approach in the morning,” Hess informed Kaen.  “Ask Pammon to see if there are any clearings near the camps he found.”

Hess wants to know if there are any other clearings near the camps you found.

There are plenty.  Some are within a mile of the one it appears most of the people you are looking for are at.  The others are a few miles away.  From up here, I would guess perhaps they move around those clearings.

“Pammon believes they are rotating between the clearings he has found but have a camp way back in the forest with structures they built.”

Hess grunted and readjusted himself on his saddle.  Kaen could tell he was not excited about that news.

“Ask him how many people he thinks there are but don’t spend a ton of time on that right now.  Something feels real off about what he is describing, and I believe we may be in over our heads.”

“What do you mean?”

“Consider what the guild quest said. There might be around ten bandits out here.  How long would it take to build what you said Pammon described?  How many people would it take to clear out a section, build a wall, and construct those buildings?  This feels like how your orc quest went.  Not enough information or incorrect information.”

Both of them rode for a few more minutes in silence.  Kaen was struggling to weigh what Hess was hinting at, but he had wondered if the information about his test was wrong.

“If what you say is true, are you implying that someone within the guild is handing out wrong information or incomplete information?  Or are you implying someone might be intentionally doing either of those?”

“I cannot answer those questions yet,” explained Hess.  “Until we actually figure out what we are dealing with and how bad this is, I am left wondering how many adventurers before us died trying to complete this quest.  That scares me because that also means the bandits are skilled.”

I can feel something is wrong.  What is it that has you so worried?

Kaen focused on his heart and took a few breaths, working on calming himself down.

Hess wants to know how many people there are in those two camps, if possible.  He said not to spend too much time finding out, though.  Once you get a quick glance, come back to us and stay above us.

This request makes me worry, but I will do what Hess wants.

Pammon was worried, and Kaen could sense that it was more than his usual amount.

The good news is we get another night together, and after we finish this quest, we will spend an extra day or two just getting to spend time together.  If things feel right, Hess, as agreed, won't freak out about us flying again.  So let's just focus on our quest and look forward to enjoying our time together.

Pammon’s worry was replaced quickly with the thoughts of them flying together, and Kaen smiled at knowing Pammon was feeling better.

Don’t think I am unaware of what you just did.  I completely expect you to spend more than five minutes in the air next time.

I cannot wait for that either!

Hess was poking the fire he had started, still having not spoken for a few minutes as he considered the information Pammon had told Kaen earlier.

I am having trouble understanding why Hess is so upset. I know it is not directed at us.

The guild told us maybe ten bandits, and you told us there appears to be closer to twenty.  That number is a lot higher and based on the facts Hess knows about this quest, it means they must have a solid group that isn’t stupid.  I think he is trying to decide if we should return to town and get more people.  The problem is if we report that many people, they will want to know how we found that out and why we did nothing.  We still need to wait a few days as it would take days for someone to scout that out safely.

And you cannot just say because my dragon told me.

Kaen chuckled as he shook his head no.  Pammon thrummed as he laughed at his own joke.

“I guess I should ask what is so funny, as I could use a change in my temperament,” Hess declared without looking at the two of them.

Kaen glanced at Hess again, watching him sit on the rock he had moved for a seat near the fire.  He had resisted the invitation to sit against Pammon, feeling instead he would think better alone for a few.

“Pammon said we could just tell the guild that we got all of our information from him.”

Hess started chuckling for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and tossing the stick he had been holding into the fire.

“I wish we could do that, Pammon, it would make things a lot easier for just a moment, but I also know it would make life impossible for Kaen and you as well.”

Hess turned around as he spoke and moved to join them both, scratching Pammon’s scales as he walked into the small area Pammon called his scratching circle.

Trills rose up as Hess stood there scratching him for a few, a smile appearing quickly as Hess let the worry he had slip away and enjoyed the moment.

“Pammon, I have said it many times.  Kaen needs to get more experience under his belt and understand how all this adventurer stuff works before you two have to deal with the dragon-riding side of things.  Once you two are announced, everything will change.”

Sliding down against Pammon, Hess dropped his butt to the ground in the clearing.

“If you want to start that school we talked about, you will need to have things in place before Pammon, as that would change everything.  This means meeting with the King and other nobles as well.”

“Are you saying if I waited to attempt that until after I announced Pammon and I, people wouldn’t help?”

Sucking air in through his teeth, Hess shook his head no.

“Oh, I have no doubts many would be even more interested in helping out, which is the cause for my concern.  You want to have people who are willing to help before that news because then you know they are helping for better reasons than simply earning the favor of you and Pammon.  Remember, there hasn’t been a new dragon rider in two or three generations.  Most dragons have disappeared or been hunted down.”

Pammon shifted some at that news.  He never understood why people would hunt him.

“As always, my focus is on getting you two as prepared as possible so that both of you are stronger.  The stronger you two are, the more people will think before they consider doing something stupid.”

Kaen gently rubbed the scales at the top of Pammon’s snout.  He could feel his breath against his legs since Pammon had his head on the ground next to him.

“I know. You had asked though what we were laughing about, so I told you.  Now tell me the plan for tomorrow.”