Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 073 - Aerial Scouting (Patreon)

Hess stood there, scratching Pammon’s head while Kaen undid the ropes they had used to fasten his legs.

“I owe you for that, Pammon. I cannot tell you in words how amazing that was, but I will treasure that moment for a lifetime.”

Pammon trilled as Hess scratched his scales, content to receive a few extra scratches.

Tell him I can try to do that again if he loses weight.

A coughing fit came over Kaen as he heard Pammon, requiring him to take a moment to compose himself.

“I’m guessing he made a joke?”

Kaen nodded as he moved out from under Pammon, pulling the rope with him.

“He said if you lose some weight, the two of you could fly longer.”

Hess roared in laughter and patted Pammon’s neck gently.

"I could probably stand to lose a few pounds, but I am sure you will be strong enough to carry me with how you have been eating."

The thrum of Pammon's laughter began to reverberate, and Kaen joined in.

"I'm just glad he hunted this morning, so I don't have to listen to him complaining about needing to eat all day.  We are seriously going to have to figure something out with how much he is eating."

"I have a few ideas," Hess stated as he turned to face Kaen.  "Now tell me about the plan you have in your head.  It's written all over your face you are thinking about something."

"Am I that obvious?"

"I've raised you and learned your tells.  I know this flying trip was part of the plan, I'm just not sure what exactly."

Kaen grinned and then gave a shrug as he dropped the rope he had been coiling up on the ground.

"You saw all of the forest and could see me while up in the sky, right?"

Hess nodded, narrowing his eyes at Kaen.  He felt he knew where this was going to go.

"So if Pammon and I took off after he has rested from carrying you, then he and I could go and scout the part of the quest.  Just like a real dragon rider would."

Hess nodded slowly and crossed his arms over his chest while he mulled over Kaen's plan.

"You think you two could just fly over there, scout it out from the sky, and then come back?  Would you bring a weapon or just be scouting?"

Kaen bent down and started drawing in the dirt with his knife.

"This is the mountain line, and over here is the forest.  We cut out a good day or two of riding if we fly. We were never supposed to engage in anything unless we needed to.  We are just checking on the goblin, hobgoblin, and orc movements.  Once that is done, we would have two days possibly just to spend hanging out and practicing."

"Practicing what?" Hess asked as he realized the real reason for all of this was about to be given.

Flashing the grin he always gave when he wanted something, Kaen motioned to Pammon.

"I want to practice shooting from his back.  If we strap my legs like we did yours, I should be able to stay seated and take a few shots on some targets or even deer if we can find some.  I need to get some practice in while I can.  After this quest ends, you know it will be harder for me to get time with Pammon, especially for things like this."

Hess saw Pammon and Kaen both looking at him.  This stupid dragon almost looked like he was trying to make his eyes seem gentle, and they even appeared a little bigger, if that was possible.  He knew this day would come, which was why he had the harness made.  They would need to figure out how to make a saddle.  Hiding the reason for creating a saddle for a dragon would be difficult.

"If we do this," Hess began to inform the two of them, holding up three fingers.  "First, you will not try to engage anything you find while scouting.  This is a scouting mission, not a fighting one."

Kaen started to talk, and Hess cut him off.

"Second! If Pammon feels he is tired at all, he will not risk you two. He will land somewhere safe and then only fly once he is certain he has fully recovered."

Pammon started nodding his head up and down, causing Hess to lose the serious look he had for a moment and chuckle.

"Lastly, I want the two of you to remember you have a lifetime together.  Do not do something stupid or rush into something.  I want to watch the two of you grow old together."

Kaen smiled and darted forward, giving Hess a big hug.  Returning the hug, Hess laughed when Pammon moved close and encircled the two of them in his neck and body.

He is a soft one, even though he pretends to be mean.

That he is Pammon, that he is.

The wind swept Kaen's laughter away as Pammon flew higher than he had the day before.  It was a lot colder up here, but for some reason, the wind did not affect him as it should have.  His eyes and his body felt sharper, more in tune if he had to describe it.  Since he shared a bit of his strength with Pammon, it was as if something had changed inside of him.  Pammon had already commented on how it felt more comfortable as they flew through the sky with him on his back.

It is like you weigh less, even though I know you do not.

One day, we will talk to a real dragon rider and learn about the things we don’t know.  There has to be so much more that we are not aware of.

Well, the day you start breathing fire is the day I want a bow of my own.

Kaen scratched the scales his hands were near and smiled.  At that moment, everything was perfect.

For three hours, they had flown, the landscape below them moving like a current in a river.  The trees, small towns, streams, and small lakes all disappeared as if they were constantly moving.  The size of the mountain bowl had been estimated to be well over a hundred miles wide, but flying on Pammon, it seemed like he could cover this in a day if he wanted.  All those days spent walking or on horseback were so slow compared to this.  He wondered how far they could travel before running out of land.

How much of this have you flown over before?

Not much of this part.  The cave we were in is off to the northeast.  I am a lot faster now than I was then, and we could quickly get there if we wanted to try.

Can you hover for a moment again? I want to check the map, and I don't want to have it fly off like the first time.

Pammon slowed down and soon began to beat his wings faster, keeping them from moving much.  The first time Kaen had tried pulling the map out had been a disaster.  The wind had snatched it from his hand, and it took him a few attempts to retrieve it mid-air.  It had gotten him two points in his dragon riding skill as Pammon had to maneuver, and he had to reach out to get it.

Kaen glanced at the map and down at the shape of the forest and the mountain.  To the south was their target, and they were only about ten minutes away from where they were supposed to scout.

Just a little farther ahead, where I am looking at. Kaen informed Pammon as he put his map back into his pouch.

He tapped Pammon's neck, and Pammon dropped from the sky a little, picking up speed and focusing on the area Kaen was looking at.

Kaen glanced at the mountains off to the west and saw that they were a good three-fourths of the way up them now.  He saw where even the shrubs disappeared on the side of them, becoming nothing but rocky, dry areas.  Seeing it all left him in awe at the sheer amount of rock surrounding this valley.

This isn’t good. There are goblins, orcs, and hobgoblins down there.  I can see around forty or more, cutting down trees and going in and out of a cave.  Do you want me to take you lower?

No, I don't want to give them a chance to see us.

Kaen could barely see them when Pammon had lowered their altitude a little bit, seeing the mass of creatures working and a huge tree falling near the edge of the mountains.  What they were doing was a mystery, and why were there so many of them here?  Hess had told him that there had not been any real presence of these creatures inside the bowl for a long time.

Can you tell me how many of each you see or think there are?

Pammon grunted and kept flying circles overhead, slowly gaining more altitude since Kaen did not want them to be spotted.

I can tell there are at least twenty goblins and four orcs, and I am not sure if the rest are hobgoblins or just goblins.  There are some bigger ones, or maybe I should say more muscular ones, that are what you described as a hobgoblin.  They don't look like the ones we killed in the cave.  Three of the orcs are small, but one is bigger, just not as massive as the one I had to help kill.

Kaen grunted in frustration.  If that was the number that Pammon could see, and there was a cave with this much activity outside, he wondered how many more might be out there.

Pammon suddenly turned the other way and drifted over the forest section a little more.

Wait, I see a few more.  There are some in the trees deeper in the forest.  It appears they are hunting for food.

Goblins?

No, those would have to be hobgoblins.  Traveling in packs of two.  I see two packs right now, but there might be more.  The forest is decently thick down there.

Hearing that news left a pit in Kaen's stomach.  Fifty-plus of those creatures was a problem the adventurers guild would have to deal with quickly.  Allowing them to continue growing out here would only spell trouble for everyone.

I'm glad you and I are scouting this out instead of Hess and I being on the ground.  Things might have gotten bad had we stumbled upon that group.

Do you think I would let the two of you stumble upon a group that size?  I am not blind.

No, you are not.  I am just saying I wouldn't want to be that close to a group like that.  Imagine if they found our scent and tracked us during the night.  I would not want to wake up to a group like that coming at us, and yes, before you complain, I know you would detect them, even in your sleep.

Pammon vibrated from his laughter, and Kaen knew he had dodged a comeback from him.

Are we ready to return?

Yes.  Let's get back to Hess so we can fill him in on what we found and then let you hunt.  I want to spend all day tomorrow practicing and getting better at this.

Hess poked the fire with his stick while mulling over the report.

"If what you said is true, there has to be at least a hundred or more in total," Hess finally said as he watched the fire burn.  "Somewhere in that cave is a leader, possibly like the orc you and Pammon took down, directing them to do whatever it is they have planned.  He would not send out more than a third of his minions unless he had a reason to."

"Why would they be cutting down trees?  Are they building fires?  I thought they hated light."

Hess shook his head and looked up at Kaen.

"There are lots of reasons, and none of them are good.  They could be building weapons, making fortifications, or worse, if they are smelting ore and forging metal weapons."

Kaen stared back at Hess in shock.

"They do that?!"

Nodding, Hess went back to poking the fire with his stick.

"They have, and days like those were bad ones in the history of battles and wars.  An army of them, outfitted with armor and weapons like ours, is a terrible sign.  I had hoped that when you mentioned what the orcs were carrying and wearing on your quest, I might be wrong, but it looks like I was not."

Tossing the stick into the fire, Hess sat up straight and folded his arms across his chest.

"One day.  All I can give you is one day," he said with a frustrated look on his face.  "I know you two want more to practice, but we need to report this news ASAP.  I will deal with the fact that we return sooner than we should, but I already know how I will manage that.  This news just can't come at a worse time."

Hess spat on the ground and grumbled something to himself.

"What are you not telling me?" Kaen asked, knowing how to read Hess by how he was acting.

Hess took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Think Kaen.  What are the odds that someone from the kingdom of Luthaelia just happens to send someone into our guild house to start killing off adventures, all while what appears to be an army of orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins build up in our kingdom?  The group that was outside of the pass that you two took out could have done major damage if there were others they were supposed to join."

Hess stood up and kicked a rock into the forest, cursing to himself.

"An army on both sides, adventurers dead, another kingdom making moves.  All this spells for something bad to happen, and soon.