Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 096 - Elies and Thurnok (Patreon)

Sweat poured down his back as Kaen took a breath.  He glanced at the field behind him and the rows he had plowed.  Sure, an ox would have been a smart choice, but he was taking Hoste's advice.  He had already gained one point of strength and constitution over the last day as he started this task.

Seems there should be an easier way to get stronger, but do what you must.

You’re one to talk.  I think I have seen you eat four cows in the last two days.  You should be flying more.

The King told us to do what we want, and right now, I want to rest.  My body finally doesn’t hurt anymore, and I feel full.  I am growing, and I need more food to keep it up.  You, on the other hand, could use a little more food.

Kaen laughed as he took a drink from the waterskin he had on his hip.  He had been eating like Pammon, consuming food like crazy.  All this work and exercise was making him eat like never before.  Thankfully, the King had given him a few servants to help around the house and the chores there.

Finished with his break, he grabbed the ropes and looped them over his shoulders, armpit, and arms.  He still had ten more acres to break up.

It seems we are about to have a visitor.

Letting the rope go slack, Kaen glanced in the direction he knew Pammon was looking.  There was a horse approaching in a gallop across the fields and headed straight toward them.

What kind of visitor?  One of the servants?

No.  This one is not one that I recognize.  He is wearing the King’s crest, though.  A young boy, perhaps a few years older than you.

Kaen stretched his arms and shoulders as the ropes fell to the ground, noticing the red marks from where the thick ropes had bitten into his skin.  They healed quickly enough, and it was good training Bren had said to learn to endure constant pain.

Moving closer to Pammon, he knew the rider was still minutes away, even at that pace.

I’m going to call this done for the day.  I might be up for a trip into town if you are interested in it.

Can I scare the locals again?

Would it matter if I said no?

Kaen could hear the thrumming even as far away as he was.  Pammon enjoyed that part of visiting the city way too much.

“Sir Kaen!” the man shouted as he leaped from his horse and covered the last fifty yards on foot.

This wasn’t the first time Aldric had sent a messenger, and the first few learned the hard way that horses do not like riding up near a dragon.

“A letter!”

Kaen nodded, and the young man stopped, bent over, and held out the tube of paper for him.

Breaking the wax seal, Kaen’s gut clenched when he read the words on the page.

Kaen,

News has reached me.  Elies and Tharnok will arrive here in two days.

Aldric

Sighing, Kaen glanced at the messenger who was watching him.

“Tell King Aldric I appreciate this.  Inform him that I plan on staying here for a few days.”

When the man realized Kaen was done, he bowed and took off running toward his horse again.

It appears Elies is on his way.  They will be here in two days.

What do you want to do?

Kaen laughed as he looked at Pammon and saw the way he was watching him.

We both knew someday this would happen.  There is nowhere to run, and I am not a coward.

Well, we have two days to do whatever we want.  Any ideas?

This was not at all what I had in mind.

Pammon’s displeasure felt like sandpaper across one's skin.  Kaen ignored it, instead focusing on the two boys tied to his waist laughing and holding their arms out as they flew above the city.

How can you be so upset about this idea?  They are having the time of their life.  Sulenda has informed me that since our first visit, the number of people wanting to be part of the academy has grown.  In the first year, she will be full and expects to have well over two hundred potential students by the second year.

And yet, it will take many years to replace all the adventurers lost in the last month.

Kaen smiled and ignored the moody dragon, laughing with the boys as the wind rushed across their faces.

Pammon trilled with delight as both boys attacked the underside of his neck as he lay on his back in Bren’s courtyard.

Chuckling, Kaen knew Pammon had a soft heart for these two as much as he pretended to hate giving into their demands.  They constantly told Pammon that he was the greatest dragon ever, thus inflating his ego even more.

“I would never have imagined this,” Bren stated as he watched the two boys playing with Pammon.  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about how you improved so fast.  It makes sense now.”

“I would not have kept it a secret except for the fact we both know I was not ready.”

“You still aren’t ready, but you are getting closer.  Done slacking off and ready to keep training?”

“Always!” Kaen declared as he moved to get a sword and a shield from the rack.  With Pammon here and knowing what he could do, he had already brought his sword up to an eighteen and his shield to a twenty-four.  It seemed Hoste had been right after all.  He had a lot more potential than he realized.

“You smell like the backside of someone's arse,” Ava informed him as she wrinkled her nose.  “Did you bathe at all while you have been gone?”

Kaen laughed and rushed forward, pretending to hug her before stopping at the last minute and just kissing her on the cheek.

“I’m sorry, but some of us have training to complete.  Perhaps you might need to practice a little more yourself.”

Rolling her eyes, Ava strode over to Pammon.

“Is he always this much trouble,” she asked.

Pammon nodded his head before resting it on the ground again.

“Kaen told me you managed to eat four cows already.  I will have to make sure I get a few more for you.  I can’t let you starve.”

A little drool dripped from the corner of Pammon’s mouth, and Kaen groaned.

She isn’t too bad.  Perhaps this is her dowry for you.  A lifetime of cows.

Who knew the way to your heart was through food?

I remember someone making me wait to eat when I was young.

Chuckling, Kaen joined her as she watched Pammon.

“He says you might have found the way to his heart.  Only one thousand more cows, and he says you can earn my hand.”

Ava’s face blushed for a moment, and she looked at Kaen before turning to Pammon.

“I was willing to go as high as nine hundred but I’m not sure you're worth one thousand,” she sighed.

Pammon’s thrumming reverberated off the ground as Kaen groaned.  It was almost unbearable as he laughed so hard and so long it seemed to shake their bodies.

“It appears he thinks you are funny after all.”

“Oh, I had no doubt.  Funny and smart.  My two best qualities.”

“Yes,” Kaen mocked her, “your two best qualities.”

I can see them… I don’t know how to say this other than Tharnok is massive.

Glancing up into the sky, Kaen could see the two of them coming toward them.  Pammon was right.  For them to be that far away and be able to see them meant Tharnok was massive compared to Pammon.

You appear nervous.  Should I be concerned?

No.  It is just… If we tried to run, I realize now that we would not get far at all.

Kaen felt the same way.  No matter what he wanted, the next few moments of his life were out of his control.

Elies stood on the ground, watching the two of them.  Kaen had been impressed with many things about the two of them, but the saddle and harness the man had on his dragon had his attention right now.  He could see how one of those would provide much more assistance than his current rope and leather system.

He could feel the dragon staring at him and Pammon.  Tharnok was at least five times larger than Pammon.  His head was almost the size of Pammon’s body.

“I will say I am impressed,” Elies finally spoke as he closed the final ten yards that stood between him and Kaen.  “You do not tremble like most when we stand before them, and both Tharnok and I can feel the link between the two of you.  You have achieved something not done in over a hundred years.”

“I’m glad we could impress you, but I’m not sure what you are talking about,” Kaen admitted.  He knew the only reason he was not trembling in fear was because he had no other option.  “What have we achieved?”

“You two are bonded completely.  That does not happen for a long time, and yet here you two are, bonded, and your dragon is not even a year old.”

“Pammon.  His name is Pammon.”

Elies smiled.

Kaen could see the scars on his face.  A patch of burnt skin ran up his neck on one side before hiding under his chest piece.

“We like that you will not allow one to treat Pammon as anything other than an equal.  Another fine quality.”

He paused talking as Tharnok moved his head forward. A growl came from him.

Enough with the banter.  You two will follow us back to our home.  There is no time for discussion.

Kaen and Pammon both flinched as the voice of Tharnok wracked their minds.  It was so powerful it almost made Kaen want to fall to his knees.  Power and pressure assaulted them both and Kaen felt himself barely able to resist it.  Pammon felt as if he was about to give in to the command.

I… can’t… fight him.

Kaen sent his strength to Pammon, helping him to stay put while using everything he had just to stay standing.

“Why should we do that?” he finally asked as he gritted his teeth.

Impossible!  How can you resist my command?!

Tharnok’s head bobbed as he leaned forward even more, extending his neck toward them as his massive eyes gazed at them.

Elies started laughing. Kaen saw that he was thoroughly amused at whatever had just transpired.

“The rumors we heard do not do you two justice,” Elies informed them as he kept smiling.  “Neither one of you should have been able to resist that.  The force he just used would send kings to their knees.  I cannot remember the last time someone has resisted him.”

Kaen started to speak but Elies held up his hand, glancing at Tharnok.

They are talking to each other.

I know! How did you resist that? I would have given in, but your strength carried me.  It felt like a mountain was crushing me for a moment.

I don’t know.  I’m just grateful it worked.

A cough broke them from their time together.

“It appears we both are out of practice dealing with others with dragons.  If you would permit me, I will ask you to join us instead of ordering you to.”

Kaen could see that Elies was serious and he felt like Tharnok was still upset that whatever he had attempted had not worked.

“Can I ask why we need to come?”

Elies nodded and slowly peeled up his shirt, revealing his stomach and chest, which looked to be rotting from his flesh.

Kaen could not hold back the look of horror, and Elies said nothing as he lowered his shirt back down.

“I am dying, Kaen.  Stioks and his dragon did this to me, and I probably only have a few years left.  What would have taken over ten years to teach you and Pammon I must try to accomplish in just a few.”

“Dying? What about potions? I have some that seem to heal anything.” Kaen asked as he began to move toward their estate.

“It won’t work,” Elies called out. “Nothing will.  I have tried it all.  Only my bond with Tharnok has held it off.  After a while, even he will not be able to keep me alive.  When news that I have fallen reaches Stioks’s ears, there will need to be a trained dragon rider to make him think twice about pursuing his path.”

Kaen saw the battle-worn face, which had seen more than he could imagine change.  The light in his eyes dimmed some, and a concerned expression replaced the calm demeanor he had worn this entire time.

“I’m afraid if you also do not follow me, he may come here to remove the threat he will realize you are,” he admitted as he frowned.  “He will most likely offer you women, wealth, and lands, but in the end, I would expect he would kill you the moment he was close.”

Kaen knew it was true.  Pammon had told him already this would be an outcome.  Before seeing Tharnok with his own eyes, he believed they could fight or escape Stioks and Juthom.  That belief and hope were now shattered.

“When will we need to leave?” Kaen asked as he glanced back at Pammon, who was moving toward him.

We need to go.

What? Why?

You and I need to go for lots of reasons, but you need to go because it's time.  It’s time for you to learn what you need to know.  It’s time to accept what you are still struggling with; your father, Hoste.  You’re upset about his commitment to his belief, and you are not as committed to yours as you believe you are.

What? I am committed! Look at what I have been doing the last few days! Training and working.

Yes.  Your body has been, but your heart has not.  You could have used your lifestone while you plowed that field, but you didn’t.  You wanted to do it on your own.  I had hoped you might work through this, but now we are fighting for your life and mine.  You have lost your way.  If you do not find it, Elies and Tharnok might die.  I might die.

Kaen winced, and he knew Pammon was right.  He needed to let it go.

How will going fix this? What about Hess and Sulenda and their baby?

You are asking questions you already know the answer to.

Kaen felt no anger or frustration through their bond with Pammon.  He was upset, and his emotions were twisted, but Pammon wasn’t.  He was thinking clearly.

How can you protect them if we stay here?  You have spent more time playing than training.  I understand you need some release and want to be around those you love, but will that protect them against what is coming?

Kaen sighed and shook his head no.

I guess… I guess I hoped I would have more time here, with you and with them.

Kaen felt Pammon’s snout pushing against him.  A gentle bit of pressure as Pammon waited for him to put his hand on his head.

Look at the two of them.  See how old they are and the time they have had together.  If we want that, we must go.  We must learn what we have talked about for a while.  There is no other way if you genuinely mean to protect this kingdom.

Kaen nodded.  Pammon was right, and he knew it.

“We will follow you,” Kaen stated, though it almost sounded like a whisper.  “I will go collect my stuff.”

Kaen had not realized how little he owned regarding worldly goods.  A beat-up leather tunic, a few new pairs of clothes to replace the ones he had worn the threads out of, a bow, and some jewelry.  Beyond that, nothing in this house he stayed in was his.  Seeing everything fit inside a single backpack almost made leaving easier.

Four letters had been written and turned in to the servants.

One letter was for Hess, telling him what he was doing and why.

The second letter was for Sulenda, giving her complete control over the school until he could return and help down the road.

Herb had a letter, short but sweet, telling him thank you and explaining his plan.

The last letter was for Ava and had been written three times.

He promised her more letters in the coming months and would try to visit if he could.  For now, he had to do this if he was going to protect this kingdom.

It really is a fantastic sight.

Kaen agreed with Pammon as they flew high over Ebonmount and prepared to fly higher to clear the mountain that surrounded it.

From up here, it was almost impossible to make out much of anything.   Below was his home for the last few months.  Looking ahead, he saw Tharnok and Elies leading them in the direction of where they would train.  In the kingdom of Roccnari.