Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 083 - The Road to Death (Patreon)

“Get your sorry arses moving,” Gertrude shouted as they set out on the second day of their trip.  “We must ensure we keep to the schedule Fiola gave us.  I believe her exact words were something about shaving my beard off and using it as a whip on me.”

“Bah, she wouldn’t do that,” Bruzac shouted from the back of the group.  “She wouldn’t want to scare every child who sees your ugly face!”

Without turning around, Gertrude held up her middle finger and the group laughed as they urged their horses on.

Kaen knew they had a solid day of riding before they would be close to where they were supposed to be.

You have been quiet lately.  Are you sure everything is alright?

I will be fine, Pammon lied.  For now, focus as I have scouted the group where you are headed, and it has grown.  They have cleared more trees and set up a camp outside of the mountain now.

Glancing at the caravan of adventurers behind him and Gertrude, Kaen wondered if it would be enough.  Three sets of well-trained silver groups seemed like a lot until one considered the forces they were about to engage.

Any sight of a higher orc yet?

Not yet, but there are two now of the bigger ones.  There are also more hunting squads in the forests, going deeper as they look for game.  In a few days, they would most likely reach the place you are planning on camping at.

Grunting, Kaen got Gertrude's attention and moved his horse up next to hers.

“How much information do you have on the number of orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins we are facing?” Kaen asked quietly.

Furling her eyebrows, Gertrude gave him an awful look.

“Apparently not as much as you,” she replied as she saw he was anxious, something she knew Kaen was usually not.  “What is it you know that I don’t.”

Glancing around, Kaen made sure no one was listening he told her what he knew and how many he expected.

“You cannot be serious,” she exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down.  “That many?”

Nodding, Kaen motioned to his saddle bags and the slew of arrows bound to his horse.

“I am not sure how much the mages will be able to do, and I know they will have casters.  If we take it to them, we will face a fortified group.  If we don’t, they will be able to attack us from a distance.”

Rifling through a pack on the side of her horse, she almost fell but caught her balance.

“Stupid horse,” she muttered as the horse jerked from her movement.  “Take a look at this.”

Kaen took the rolled-up document and read the report she had been given.  Three or four days ago it would have been right, now it was utterly wrong.

“It seems you either knew something ahead of time or like to prepare,” Gertrude informed him as she watched him read the report.  “I wondered why you were so adamant about bringing that many arrows, but now it makes sense.”

“What is this?” Kaen asked as he pointed at the map with an X further southwest along the mountain range.

“Another group facing what I assume is just like ours,” she stated as she shrugged her shoulders.  “We were supposed to go and assist them once we took care of our group, but I wonder now if we can even do that.”

“Hair dwarf balls!” Kaen suddenly cursed loudly, and he realized he had shouted that when he saw how Gertrude was looking at him.

“What am I missing?” she asked, her voice sounding weaker than usual.

“That goat humping Hess!” he complained as he handed back the paper to Gertrude.  “He knew!  He knew how many there were going to be and I think there are several spots like this!”

Pammon! Did Hess make you scout out the rest of this bowl and check for other spots like ours?!  Don’t lie to me and tell me the truth!

Relief and frustration immediately came through their bond, and Kaen immediately knew he was right.

Yes, and he made me promise not to tell you.  If you figure it out, I can tell you what I know.

Why?! Why would you two do that? Demanded Kaen as he ignored the look he was getting from Gertrude as he took his frustration out on Pammon.

Because you are the most important thing to both of us, if things go badly, I told him I would carry you off in my talons and fly you to safety.  Do not think for a moment we did this because we wanted to keep you in the dark.  He said if you knew, you would not have gone with the group you must go with.  They will die without you.

“Are you ok, Kaen?” Gertrude asked as she saw his face turning red from the frustration he felt.

Snorting as he nodded, Kaen grabbed his horse's reins a little tighter.

“I need a minute to think.  Sorry if I took any of this out on you.”

Moving a little bit away, he rode up ahead a few links and turned his attention back to Pammon.

What have the two of you done?  What is going to happen?

I don’t know all the details, but I believe he expects you at some point to find me and fly with me.  I am carrying six hundred arrows that he tied to me when we met in the woods.  I believe he knows you must show ourselves to everyone if we are going to win this fight.

Closing his eyes, Kaen fought the torrent of emotions that wanted to overcome him.  Frustration, anger, joy, excitement, and more demanded a turn to be felt and expressed.  He had no time for all of this.  They were riding into a death trap, and they had no other option but to hit it hard and fast.

I have a plan to help them all, but we need to finish ours quickly.  Will you help me even if it means we can no longer hide who we are?

A joy that Kaen had never felt before almost took him out of his saddle.  Honor, pride, and contentment all flowed from Pammon before he said a word.

I have waited my whole life to announce that we are one.  I will hide no longer if you will allow it.

Kaen felt precisely the same way.  He was done hiding, and he had a job to do.

“Listen, you fools,” Hess shouted as they stopped for a quick break to water the horses at the stream they had finally reached.  “It is a long and hard journey till we get where we must.  The trees are thick, and we do not have time to waste!  Tomorrow, we must be in position, and if we don’t have horses to ride when this is done, it is better to lose them along the way and make it.”

The men and women, dwarves and elves, nodded as Hess continued to give orders.

Fourteen… fourteen adventurers to fight a horde.

Hess reached down and felt the pouch at his hip.  There were no extra potions to be saved for another day.  He had one job, and he would make sure it went well.  He couldn’t risk not returning home and forcing his child to grow up as Kaen had.

“Selmah, tell me again, why don’t we have mana potions?” Ava asked as they rode side by side.  “The health potions are not easy to make, but I saw a record of a time when our family had made mana potions.”

“Lots of reasons,” Selmah replied as she smiled at Ava.  She remembered being young and having lots of questions about why things were the way they were.  “Your family does not have the recipe anymore, according to your father, and some of the ingredients we no longer possess.  Rumor has it that dragons were required to sacrifice part of themselves to make those potions.”

“Sacrifice?” gasped Ava.  “Like they killed themselves?”

Shaking her head as she laughed, Selmah looked at the group of adventures ahead of them.

“No, but how many do you think want to line up to be cut and bled?”

“I would assume not many.”

“Correct,” she replied as she bobbed her head.  “Just like you and I, no one wants to bleed, and gold can only convince someone to endure so much before they choose to say no.  Would you bleed for Kaen?”

Ava felt her cheeks turn red at that question, wondering what she meant by it.

“Not like that, silly girl,” Selmah stated, rolling her eyes.  “Would you bleed so that he could have a potion that might help him a little?”

“I guess it would depend on how much was required, but yes, I believe I would.”

“I figured, but what about the man up front, the one they call Fretzenk?  Would you bleed for a random dwarf, knowing it wouldn’t save his life?”

Tsking her tongue against her teeth, Ava considered it.

“I would probably not unless convinced it was worth it.”

“Exactly,” answered Selmah.  “How do you convince a dragon to bleed for someone they don’t care about, especially if it doesn’t mean they will live?  The days when we were allies and they cared about us are no more.  I hear somewhere in the world is filled with them, but most never leave, tired of how men have treated them.”

“I heard that story once,” admitted Ava.  “I guess we will never know.”

Ava pulled out a letter from between her robe and her tunic a moment later.  She had written it for Kaen but could not get it to him this morning.  She hoped he would never get to read it.

“How bad is this?” Ava asked as she slipped the letter back from where she got it.  “I mean, what are our chances?”

Selmah winked and shook her head as she smiled.

“I would not worry, my dear.  I will make sure you return to that young man I know you are fond of.  I have no doubt the intel we received is wrong, but we will do what we must to rid this kingdom of this filth.”

“Guild Master Fiola,” the man shouted as he rode up behind her.  “You do not need to lead the group!  We have plenty of men and women who would be honored to be in front, reducing the risk of something happening to you!”

“Cory, how old am I?” Fiola asked without turning around.

The man gasped and opened his mouth but quickly closed it.

“I’m sorry, Guild Master Fiola, but why does that matter?” he replied, wondering what was worse, guessing her age correctly or being way off.

“It matters because I’m old enough to know there is no risk today with me riding up front.  I have things on my mind, and sitting in the middle of you all distracts me,” she snapped.

Realizing what she had done, Fiola took a breath and let it out.  She slowed up her horse a little and smiled at the man whose face went white, wondering what she would do to him.

“I’m sorry that was not fair of me.  I should not have acted that way.  I understand that you and the others are simply trying to protect me.  I will ride in the middle, and you can take turns letting whoever wants to be upfront do so.”

Fiola narrowed her eyes a little as the man smiled, and her voice returned to her typical icy tone.

“Just make sure they set the pace I have.  We cannot be late!”

“Yes, ma’am!” the man shouted, and he turned around and waved his hands, summoning two warriors to move to the front.

Nodding to both of them as they passed her, Fiola wondered at the odd pair.  An elven warrior riding next to a dwarven one.  Part of her wished she had the two twin sisters as her warriors here as her tanks.  She let it go, knowing wishes were a foolish thing.

Instead, she prayed that the spirits would hear her prayers and the fewest number of adventurers possible would die.  Praying that none would she knew was a waste.