Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 062 - First Quest Part 4 (Patreon)

Time felt like it was barely moving as Kaen held the bow fully drawn. Doing so was not something most could hold for very long, but at this moment, his body didn’t feel tired or weak. It was powerful, and he waited like an animal ready to pounce upon its prey.

I’m coming! Hold on!

Pammon’s frantic voice didn’t phase him. Time was on his side, and death was in his hands. The moment he saw the opportunity to strike, it would fly from him, destroying what it must.

An eruption exploded closer to the tree in the ground. A few seconds later, another explosion happened on the other side, a few feet past the first.

*He’s trying to scare me.*

The mage didn’t know where Kaen was, and it was evident he was hoping to flush him out. What could that man be experiencing as he waited for Kaen to move? Was he scared?

I am looking right at where the man will be. He is focused on me, but he is a magic user. If I see him, I will shoot.

I can feel the power flowing through you right now… your lifestone?

Kaen wanted to reply, but he felt his lifestone flickering some. How many seconds had it been? Was there a limit to how long it could stay like this?

Shaking his head slightly, Kaen focused on what had started all this.

*Remember Luca and his sacrifice. He died so that I can stop men like these!*

Power surged again through him as his lifestone seemed renewed. The key to what drove him was right here, and he knew it. Kaen just needed to figure out the name for it.

I see him!

Kaen saw him or felt him somehow through Pammon’s eyes. He was a good twenty yards behind the tree, watching where he knew Kaen must be but occasionally checking to the north near the wagons. He was distracted as the sound of fighting had died off.

He was backing up! Slowly, the man was trying to move back, realizing that he might be in a bad position.

I have him! Pammon declared as Kaen felt him weaving near the branches that were thirty or forty feet in the air for the nearest ones. He could see Pammon maneuvering between the trees, coming in from behind the man who was unaware of the impending doom.

A horse whined and snorted in fear as it spotted a dragon flying over them.

Kaen could sense and see the man turn toward Pammon, raising his hand and preparing to unleash magic.

Moving like lightning, Kaen lept to the right, releasing the arrow when the tree no longer blocked his vision and sending the arrow into the man’s back. The man jerked forward. His arms shout outward as Kaen’s arrow pierced his chest, nicking the mage’s heart.

Two balls of lightning flew from his hands, striking the trees on both sides of him, having been intended for Pammon. Large branches began to plummet toward the forest floor, having been blown off the trees they were once part of.

Pammon growled as he swooped down on the man, landing on him with his back claws and his massive body, driving him into the ground, splattering the earth and Pammon’s scales with blood.

Kaen ran toward Pammon, looking around through the trees and making sure that no one else was coming at this moment.

“Are you ok?!” Kaen shouted as he watched Pammon bend over, bite off the man's head, and swallow it with a growl.

I am fine, thanks to you. I am a fool for flying over the horses. I had not thought about them noticing me and alerting him to my presence. Had you not shot him, I am afraid he would have injured me. How did you know when to attack?

Reaching Pammon and checking on him, Kaen started to speak and then realized what he was about to say.

“I saw through your eyes… I mean, I actually saw through your eyes,” Kaen explained as he shook his head in disbelief. “I could see him facing me, backing up. I saw him turn around when the horses went crazy. I… I didn’t know that was even possible.”

Snorting, Pammon licked his muzzle with his long tongue and then shook his head from side to side.

That sounds like something we should be able to do. We will figure it out later. For now, how is Hess?

“Crap!” Kaen cursed as he drew another arrow and dashed off toward the first cart. As he got close, he saw Hess sitting down on the ground, tying a cloth around his massive calf, his chain mail pulled up to his knee. Kaen could see blood seeping through the cloth.

“Are you ok?!” Kaen called out as he ran to Hess.

“One minute, let me finish tying this stupid bandage,” Hess muttered as he cinched tight the white cloth. “Stupid archer got me with a dual shot. I’ll be fine. It's merely a flesh wound.”

Kean shook his head in shock at that comment and heard the thrum of Pammon’s laughter behind him. The horses started panicking as Pammon approached where the two of them were.

Perhaps I should back off and go scout? It appears everything is okay for now, and I need to find the man who was on the horse.

You are a genius! I had forgotten about him. I owe you a lot of scratches tonight after we finish with this mess.

I will hold you to that. Pammon replied, his excitement and joy of a battle won exuding from him.

Kaen turned and watched as his dragon turned and moved away a little bit before leaping off the ground, rising quickly in the air. While it was a tight fit in these trees, Pammon had really learned how to fly proficiently in this narrow collection of trunks and branches. Kaen realized he was holding his breath as Pammon dodged past the trunks and then disappeared behind the branches, sending a few small ones crashing to the ground as he knocked them off.

Turning to face Hess, he saw his mentor moving, sliding his chainmail back over his calf.

“You going to drink a potion?”

Hess sighed and shook his head no.

“Those are not for things like this. A few herbs like I used on Pammon, and in a while, I’ll be fine. The potions are for life-and-death situations. Trust me, I’ve been injured far worse.”

Kaen glanced around the area and saw the two dead bodies. Again, the man with the shield and sword had his chest caved in, his shield was splintered beyond all recognition. The horses were still acting skittish from the rope Hess had pulled across the road that had blocked them and tangling their legs. Kaen did what he could to calm them down, and as he got to them, he noticed the archer's body and quickly turned his head from the destruction he saw.

Kaen gagged a moment and then caught himself.

“I should have warned you about that,” Hess stated as he carefully stood up and tested his injured leg. “I might have gone a little overboard on him after he injured me.”

Kaen nodded and swallowed the stuff that had begun to rise up from his stomach.

“That's…”

“Gruesome? Horrific? Awful?”

Kaen nodded.

“You will see far worse, and one day, you will cause damage worse than this,” Hess replied, his face twinged as he put more weight on his right foot. “Each of these men was a trained fighter, and something tells me all of them had a lifestone.”

Hess motioned to the man he had crushed beneath his hammer.

“He used a skill one only gets at level twenty with the sword. It surprised me, actually. Someone has gathered men and women that feel like an iron or silver party.”

Hess grunted as he took a few steps and waved off Kaen as he started toward him.

“I’ll be fine. We need to loot these bodies and see what we can find. Any update on the rider?”

Kaen chuckled and shrugged.

“He just took off as you saw. He and you both remembered that guy while he had slipped my mind.”

Tapping his head with his hand, Hess nodded.

“Pammon is smarter than you. He knows the danger of someone like that. You must learn to not let small details like that escape your thoughts, or they may be what gets you or someone else killed.”

It hurt, knowing Hess was right. He kept focusing on everything else, and the big picture seemed to escape him too often.

Found the rider yet?

Pammon huffed through their connection.

I just got airborne. It takes time to climb. I have not seen them yet, but I will let you know when I find him.

“No update on the rider. Pammon is still gaining height in the sky.”

Hess nodded as he began to rip off the armor from the sword person he had crushed.

“Go check out the other four… god damn, four…” Hess paused and glanced back at Kaen with a smile. “You are like your father more than you know. He always defeated the most people or creatures we fought.”

His heart felt those words crush him and lift him up all at the same time. He wasn’t doing these things to be praised or compared to his father, but hearing Hess say them and knowing why he did meant the world to him.

“Stop standing there like a fool and loot those bodies, and let me know when you find out something from Pammon!”

Kaen smiled and shot Hess the middle finger, moving toward the mage he and Pammon had killed. He could hear Hess chuckling as he jogged away.

Kaen’s pouch was bursting with a few gems, silver coins, and a lot of jewelry when he finished looting the two on the second cart. He understood why Hess had told him not to worry about trying to grab weapons or armor, but as each of the bodies had a black mark on their chest, surely more of their equipment could be worth something.

I finally found the rider! I had lost him as he had gone west and south toward the main camp. I cannot stop him before he gets there. He is less than a minute from reaching his friends!

Don’t try and stop him, be safe, and just let me know what you see. I’ll get Hess and see what he wants to do.

“This is a bad…” Hess declared as he trailed off, looking at the carts and horses. “We need to cut the horses free and send them off. There is still almost half a day of light, and we are in their territory. Even with Pammon, we are at a disadvantage.”

“Do you want to take a horse and ride off on it?”

Shaking his head no, Hess motioned to his calf.

“It is doing better. The herbs are helping, but I cannot run for long without it ripping open and leaving blood everywhere. Riding a horse sounds great, but they have no saddle, and I would prefer not to trust my life in the woods on a random horse unless I had to.”

“So what are you thinking?” Kaen asked the frustration he felt was evident in his voice and body language.

Hess pointed at the horses.

“I’ll tell you in a few, but for now, cut the horses loose, help me get them moving away, and then I will share my idea.”