Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 077 - Leadership is Cruel (Patreon)

Sitting on the couch, Kaen shifted a few times as he glanced at Hess, who never seemed to move at all.

Fiola was leaning into the corner of her couch, rubbing her eyes with her fingers just as she had been for the last minute after hearing the full details of their report.

“How did the meeting with the guild council members go?” Kaen asked, trying to end the silence.

Lowering her fingers a little, Fiola glared at Kaen with daggers before shaking her head at him.

“Really?  You went from bad news to asking about that?  Do you have no idea what those people mean to someone in my position?”

“Uh… I guess not,” Kaen answered, glancing at Hess, who was slightly smiling but not responding to Fiola’s comment.  “I thought they might be excited you were able to locate the person responsible for everything.”

She shifted forward on the couch, fixing her dress and leaning toward Kaen.

“Oh, I did all that?  I found the person responsible.  I wish I had known that because all I thought I had was the dead body of someone who was used by a kingdom that the entire world is afraid of,” she replied, ice coming from her voice.  “I had nothing to give them but that horrible news.  I had to admit that I used a technique completely against the rules and had to use the aid of my newest adventurer and his mentor.  I also had to stand before the King and do my best to show that there were no other weak points within our hall.  I’ll ignore the fact that I am on a cliff’s edge, and the slightest breeze might push me over it, ending the career I have worked for centuries on.”

Kaen tried not to react when she mentioned how long she had been doing this.  It let him know he had been right, that she was much older than he had assumed she was.

“So where are they now?”

Reaching up, she rubbed both of her eyes with her fingers and shook her head.

“For now, let’s forget about the council members and focus on what you can play a role in,” replied Fiola as she regained her composure.  “Hess has informed me that you will seek a position with a silver party you have already engaged with.  How soon can your party leave to join two other groups and try to rid ourselves of this threat?”

“Three or four days.  I have an audience with the King in two days.  After that, I would expect I could depart the next day.”

Laughter filled the room as Fiola suddenly let out a throaty laugh.

“You say that like the King, and you are best friends,” she replied, trying to stop her laughter.  “You have no idea what you are walking into.  I have already had my hand forced to help you with the lifestones for this academy of yours that you are trying to build.  Imagine my shock when I was questioned about it by the King and council members, and I had very little knowledge of how much you had already procured.”

“That’s not his fault,” Hess interrupted.  “Right before we left on our quest, Lord Hurem came and brought a document we had not expected.  While we were doing the quest with the bandits, Sulenda had been working on all of this, so Kaen had no knowledge to share.  When he came to the guild hall, you were busy, and thus, no information again could be given.”

Fiola huffed and nodded.

“Correct, but it put me in a bad position, and I do not like getting caught unaware like that,” she stated.  “As such, I am now on the hook for the lifestones.  Depending on how successful your academy is, the guild will provide as many as we can at a reduced cost, and I believe some of your benefactors are willing to help cover the other part.  Just know a limited amount is being produced right now.  Certain ingredients required are not being brought in due to the recent events.  Once we solve these problems, we can hopefully increase their production.”

Kaen nodded and smiled.  He hated that Fiola got trapped in service, but it was her fault for not wanting to help the first time they had asked.

“Is there anything you would like me to tell the King on your behalf?” Kaen asked as he grinned at her.

A groan escaped as Fiola closed her eyes and shook her head.

“I am afraid I have let myself become too friendly with you and am going to have to work diligently to remedy that,” she answered with a scowl.  “I have work to do, and you, Kaen, need to get with your new party and set things in motion for a quick departure once the King is finished with you.  I will expect the same results you have achieved with Hess, or I will be forced to rethink how much of a role you played in each of them.”

“I understand, Guild Master Fiola.  If you will allow me, I will leave you to the duties you have.”

A slight flick of her fingers sent Kaen scurrying toward the door.  As Hess started to rise, she held out a hand to stop him.

“A moment of your time, Adventurer Hess, if you please.”

Kaen paused at the door, looked back at Hess, and saw him motion for him to leave.

“He is a bit troublesome, is he not?”

Hess nodded, smiling at her.  He had no idea why she would want to talk with him alone, but he did not care either way.  Soon, he would be done with all of this.

“I would ask the next few things we speak about be kept between the two of us.  That means not sharing them with Kaen or Sulenda or anyone else.”

Hess saw how she looked at him and still had no idea what she might say, so he simply nodded.

“Good,” she replied with a small head bow.  “I will most likely be losing my position here unless something changes drastically.  The blame still falls upon me as the head of this guild, and I would not expect it to be different had this happened to any of the other guild halls.  I have already mentioned to the council that if I do lose my position, Herb should be my replacement until they either vote for him to have the permanent position or he is replaced by one they elect.”

It made sense, and Hess knew it.  Herb was loyal and always defended Fiola, even when they both knew she was wrong.  He was loyal to the adventurer hall.

“So why tell me this?  What is my role in all this?”

Fiola smiled a real smile, not one of the ones she often hid behind.

“I have realized many of my past mistakes; one of them was fighting against you and Hoste on a few things I should not have.  It was my mistake for allowing Hoste to pursue the quest that…”

She gulped as the words were too hard to say.

“The quest that took his life?” Hess finished for her.

Nodding, she sighed.

“I have carried that weight for years, and seeing Kaen here, growing into what may be an adventurer just as great as his father, has brought it all back.”

“Trust me when I say that Kaen will surpass Hoste in many things,” Hess proclaimed as he cut off Fiola.  “He will be the greatest adventurer this hall has seen in its life.”

Fiola watched Hess as he spoke.  She saw the passion but also the belief behind those words and his eyes.

“I pray that is true,” she whispered.  “I need to tell you some things that cannot be shared yet but will come to pass in the coming weeks.  Things that will change the landscape of this bowl we live in and possibly for some great time.”

Hess leaned forward, wondering what she was going to say.

“Remember, no one, I repeat, no one can hear of this for now.  Do I have your word?”

“I cannot swear on my lifestone,” Hess informed her, “but I will swear on my token.  I will not bind myself again like I did eight years ago.”

Watching him, she tapped her lip with her finger as she considered what he said.

“That will work for now.”

Getting up, she moved to her desk and pulled out a wooden box that was about three feet long and about six inches wide.  Bringing it back to the table they were sitting at, she pulled out a small knife from nowhere, cut her finger, and ran the bloody edge the entire length of one side.  The lid popped open, and Hess chuckled.

“Women and their secrets,” he muttered.

Nodding, Fiola pressed her two fingers together, and a small glow surrounded the tip, leaving it clean and injury-free when she pulled her other finger from it.

She bent over, pulled out the rolled piece of paper, and let it unfurl on the table before him.

It was a map of the southern part of the bowl with multiple X’s along the southern mountain area.

She picked up her pen off the table and put an X where they had just scouted.

“Is that what I think it is,” Hess gasped as he saw six different marks spread across the entire base of the mountains.

“It is,” she nodded as she tapped the spot she just marked.  “Each of these spots is reported to have the same amount of creatures you two reported.  That means there are most likely a thousand orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins out there, preparing for an attack of some sort.  Something major is going to happen in the coming days, and we are not prepared for it.”

“Have you told anyone yet?” Hess asked as he approached the map and started measuring the distances between the marks.  “Can we get an army?”

Laughing for a second, she leaned back, closed her eyes, and shook her head no.

“I have only just confirmed it these last two days.  No army can help.  The King has not raised one in years.  The kingdom is weak, and he and I know it.  Every other kingdom knows it.  He could easily defend Ebonmount for years with what he has now, but outside of the walls…. “

“Everyone would die,” Hess whispered.

“Yes.”

Suddenly, Hess realized what was happening.

“You’re sending adventurers to their death!” he shouted.

Shaking her head no, she quickly leaned forward and tapped the mark she had just made.

“No! I am asking adventurers to do what they committed to, just like I am about to ask you to do the same!”

Hess glared at her.  He was pissed and wanted to grab her throat in his hands and strangle her, knowing he would most likely die in the process, but he didn’t care.

“You are sending Kaen to die!  Those three groups won’t be able to handle this many!”

“I have faith, and I need you to have it also,” she replied, her shoulders hunched over.  “There are no other options.  The longer we wait, the more they can prepare, and countless people will die once they invade.  I need you to lead a group of adventures, skilled to match..”
“No!  Send me with Kaen!”

Fiola watched Hess as he jumped to his feet and glared at her, his nostrils flaring in anger.

“And do what? Tell him? Make him worry? What about the promise he made that this would be his first quest with that dwarven woman and her party?  You would take away all of this?”

“Damnit, all!” Hess shouted as he slammed his fist on her small table, cracking it and almost sending his hand through it.

He glanced at it, realizing what he had done, not caring that his hand was bleeding.

“You cannot do this!  You don’t understand how special that boy is!  He needs to live!”

Hess dropped to a knee and held out both hands, blood falling on the table and map.

“Please rethink this. Please let me go with him!”

Fiola’s heart broke as she gazed down at Hess.  The mountain of a man she had resented and tried to break so many times was here, defeated and ready to surrender, and she had not meant for this to happen.  She felt shame for trying to make a man like him act like he was now.

“I wish I could, but I cannot.  Hear me out if you would, and listen to my plan.”

Fiola sat down and spent the next two hours laying out the last thing she expected to do as guild master.

Sitting on the stairs, Hess leaned his head against the wooden rail.

He was done crying, and he knew Fiola was right.  As he rubbed his hands together, he saw where she had healed the cuts he had gotten from the table.  She had not acted how he had expected at all.

Her plan was the best one he had ever heard for something as significant as this.  There were too many moving pieces, and things could quickly go wrong, but she was right.  Each of the six teams had to strike at the same time, and all six of them needed to win.

Hoste, if you’re listening to me, please keep Kaen safe.  I cannot help him with what is coming.

After a few more minutes of sitting there on the stairs, he got up and went down the stairs.

Three days… he had three days to plan and do everything he could to ensure victory.