Rise of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 017 - Investing in the dark (Patreon)

While exploring for about two miles, Kaen learned a few things about the cave.  Part of it was natural, and the goblins, orcs, or something else had mined the other part.  Drag marks of rocks and wheels were on the rocky floor.  It wasn’t smooth, but it had been smoothed out from the amount of traffic it had seen.  There were actual grooves in some spots.

Wooden beams had started deteriorating but they held up any possible cavein that had maybe been once considered.

The eerie part in all this was there were no tools, no leftover carts, or anything else that showed that a presence had once been here.  He imagined he would find trash, at least.  Instead, it had been picked clean.

A thin layer of dirt and dust carpeted the cave floor, yet no creature footprints were really noticeable.  Surely, an animal of some kind would live in here.  Why would they not use the safety of the cave?

So many things felt off.

The orb was bright enough to see thirty yards in every direction, and as he walked, the sounds of his footsteps echoed in the silence of the caverns.  The wind made noise but nothing loud that would hide any other movements.  The echoes of his traveling were the only sound he heard.

I can sense your concern.  You still have found nothing?

I have found nothing at all. I should have found something!  Bones, tools, old torches, trash.  Something!  It is beyond not normal.

Should we leave?  Would it be better to brave the storm?

Kaen stood still in the cave, closing his eyes and listening.

No. They need to sleep and rest.  I could see they were blue, almost from the cold and rain.  A good night's sleep next to you is what they need.

Why is it I sense you are going to do something stupid?

You noticed I put on my armor, right?

Yes.  You are wearing everything you own.  I almost said something, but I was hoping the feeling I felt was not you being an eggling.

Holding back the smile he felt forming, Kaen took out the second lightstone he had and activated it but had it set on a very low light.

Turning the other one off, he activated his sneaking ability and quietly crept along the cave floor, making no noise as his eyes adjusted to the lower light.  Once they were, he turned the other orb off and stood still for a moment.  His eyes allowed him to see, not far but a good twenty yards, as he activated the skill he had learned from the elves.

[ Nightvision Activated ]

The mana drain was nothing, thanks to his regen rate that came from being bound to Pammon.  It only gave him a little bit of room to work with, but he needed to make sure he was right.

Sitting against the wall of the cave tunnel, he listened as he sat in the dark.  Waiting for what might come.

An hour had passed, and no sounds had come from the cave.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I would have expected something if it was there to have come by now.

I know that you do not smell.  The water has washed away that, and I doubt you were heard.  How long are you going to stay?

Resisting the urge to grunt in frustration, Kaen slowly stretched, flexing his muscles and shifting his weight.  Practice had taught him how to do this without making noise, but the effort was almost as much as sitting still.  Slow, controlled movements were required, which was more of a physical demand than not moving.

When another hour had passed, and Kaen had determined it was time to go, he kept the lightstone off and slowly snuck back toward Pammon.

Four minutes into his slow and steady trip back, he froze.

What was that?  Your heart just spiked.

Kaen had heard a clatter deep into the cave.  It had only happened for a moment, but it was the sound of something falling.

Something fell in the cave.  It could be anything, but what would the odds of that be?

You don’t believe that for a moment.  I can feel that coming from you.

Pammon was right.  The sound was something he expected to hear as if someone dropped a broom handle or some other wooden object.   Could he have stopped just deep enough into the cave that he missed finding something for the first time in miles?

I’m going to be stupid again.

Should I wake the others?

Weighing that option, Kaen knew if it were nothing, he would have disturbed them when they both needed rest.  He was fine.  Pammon and him were stronger and could last far longer than the others.  If they pushed it, they didn’t need sleep for days.

Let them rest.  You will know if I need help.

Frustration floated through their bond as he snuck back into the cavern.

It had been almost another half mile, and Kaen realized that there was something in the cave, deeper but there.  Occasionally, a small sound would echo quietly, but he knew something was there.  It could be an animal, or it could be something else.

He studied the floor again, no tracks present even with his vision and muttered in his head.

There is something here, but I still see no tracks.  Whatever it is has to be deeper.  I’m going to keep searching.  We both know I can’t let this go.

We both know you are a fool, but just be safe.  What could live in a deep cave without needing to come out and hunt or find water?

I have no clue.  That is why I cannot let it go.  Which cave are we in relation to the original seven?

He knew what Pammon was thinking and waited as he sat still, listening to the small sounds coming through the cave now.  Ticking… no tapping… something softly tapping the stone floor.

This is the second farthest one from the east.  The one after Fiola’s cave.

The second oldest cave…

Yes.

Resisting the urge to shudder, Kaen slowly began moving again.  Avoiding the small rocks he saw on the cave floor.  Creeping along in the dark, trying to stay near the wall to prevent being open to the whole cave, he stopped and realized what he was moving through.

It’s a rock trap!  These rocks are small and set in tiny piles, just enough to grind under someone's feet if they are walking along them!

How old are they?

Concern hit Kaen through their bond, and it almost bowled him over.  He knew Pammon was not happy with him being that far into a cave, away from him, and realizing there was a trap.

Studying the floor, he saw the dirt again and the fine layer on top of the small rock piles.

They are using magic to hide their footprints!  Just like in the woods!

Pammon had moved, and Kaen felt him growing anxious through their bond.

You need to return.  I have woken up the women.  They are looking around and are anxious because you are not here.

We both know that’s not going to happen.  Get them to get on you and get the stuff stowed, and let me focus on where I am.  I’m fine.

Pammon growled at him through their bond.  He could only imagine what it sounded like where Ava and Selmah were.

How am I going to tell them to get on me and pack the stuff up if I can’t talk?

You're a dragon… You’re smart.  Use your claws or something and point to what you want.  For now, let me focus.  I need you to trust me.  We might not get another chance to find out if something is here.

I swear, when this goes wrong, I am not going to stop talking about it for a decade.

Kaen didn’t care that he knew Pammon was probably right.  It had been hours, and he finally felt like he was close to figuring out something and wasn’t going to turn back.

There were more of the stone piles now, only a few feet in between each of them as he wove around them.  It was apparent that someone or something was smart enough to create these.  That was the part that made him hesitate just a little bit.

The tapping sound stopped, and the cave became quiet again.  A few more minutes passed as Kaen froze in place.  There was an opening up ahead, and with the cave being a good twenty to thirty yards wide in some sections, he couldn’t make out anything on the other side as the spell did not grant him vision across that distance.

Another ten minutes or so passed, and the tapping started again.  It was random, and as it grew just a little louder, he realized what it was.

Whoever was on guard duty was bored!  He sat there nodding his head in the same rhythm.  It wasn’t loud, just a fidget one would have after standing or sitting on something for long hours on end.

There is something or someone deeper in the cave.  I think I have figured out the sound.  I’m not sure how much farther it is, but it can’t be more than a few hundred yards at best.

Kaen could almost imagine Pammon closing his eyes and snorting right now.  The wave of frustration coming from him was stronger than it had been in a long time.

You realize that I cannot get to you near as fast with both of these two sitting on me.

Nice work!  I knew you could get them to understand you.

Stop patronizing me, Pammon snapped.  This is foolish, and you know it.

Ignoring Pammon and his complaining, Kaen kept sneaking through the cave.  Another hundred yards later, the tapping stopped again.  It felt like a bend in the cave was coming up, and he noticed there were no more small stone piles in about ten yards.  The dust that had covered the floor basically ended, and footprints were noticeable.

Goblin and orc footprints.

Controlling his breathing, he focused on listening even more.  The sound of caves was weird things.  Normally, there would be wind, noise echoes, and the sound of something.  It was eerie just how quiet it was.

There was so much about magic he knew was still unknown to him, yet something made his skin itch.  Something had to be stopping noise from coming down the cave tunnel.  Why have a lookout if there was no one else to warn?

I can see goblin and orc footprints, and I know there must be something really close.  Do you know of any magic that can stop sound?

A tinge of fear hit him as Pammon considered what Kaen was saying and asking.

I’m not one to ask about that kind of stuff.  I would assume there is magic for everything.  Sound would be close to controlling the wind; since we know the elves do that, it would make sense to expect someone else to control sound.

A moment passed, and Kaen waited for the tapping to resume.

You’re still going to go in, aren’t you?

Yes!

I promise you I will–

Quiet! I hear something!

Kaen cut Pammon off as he heard a grunt and a shuffling sound not far off.

Ignoring the concern Pammon was radiating, Kaen began again his path along the cave wall.  He drew closer to the sound and saw a spot where the tunnel pinched together, barely fifteen yards apart.  As it came into view, he noticed hundreds of orcs, goblins, cart tracks, and other things in the floor and dirt.

Just around the edge of the opening, he saw something move as the tapping started again.

A soft leather boot was gently tapping the wall.  Something was sitting right on the other side of the opening!

Kaen took a slow breath, making sure it was as quiet as possible.  Even though his heart wanted to race, he forced it to calm down.  Slowly, he unhooked a knife from his belt and pulled it out of its sheath.

With no idea what was around this corner he was coming up on, his first concern was what must be a goblin or a hobgoblin.  The boot was too small for an orc.

Each step he took timed with tapping the creature's heel against the cave wall.  This close, it was too risky to try moving and not using the sound of his own creation to hide Kaen.  An orc or goblin could see farther in a cave than he could.  His spell only allowed for so much distance in this dark cave.  Outside at night, he would be fine, but in here, they could easily see twice as far as he could.

Seven steps from the edge of the opening, the tapping stopped, and Kaen waited.  No movement came, no noise.  A light breathing, almost like a person sleeping, sounded.  The gentle breathing of a creature not concerned with anyone close by.

He wanted to rush around the corner and kill this creature, but doing so was dumber than what Pammon had accused him of.  There was no telling what was over there, and he saw nothing that warned him of others.

Minutes trickled by, and soon it was ten.  Then, the tapping began again.

The last few steps before the edge was right next to him felt like they took forever when it was, in fact, just a few seconds.  Timing the taps as the next one came to hit the wall, Kaen swung around the opening, dagger flying, and saw the head of a goblin resting on his hands as he sat in a small alcove in the wall.  He moved so fast that the goblin had no time to react or even make a sound before Kaen’s dagger plunged into its eye socket, causing the creature to shake.

It dropped a wooden horn it had been holding as it spasmed in death.

Not hesitating, Kaen bent down and snatched it inches before it hit the cave floor.  He felt the goblin fall on his shoulder, and he absorbed the impact, glancing around the dead body to see what was nearby.

Squinting, he saw a few other shapes lying on cots at the edge of his distance.  Four of them and just a few feet beyond them was some type of shimmering wall.  It was black but almost glowed as it shimmered in the air.

Taking the goblin he had just killed and the horn, he slowly moved back around the edge and laid it against the cave wall.

I found some goblins.  I killed one, and a few more are here.  There is a black barrier of some kind.  It almost looks like water or a mirror.

What are you going to do?  Do we need to come?

Considering his options, Kaen was torn.  He could try and kill the other four and investigate that wall.  There was no telling what it was blocking, but deep down inside, he had an idea.  Doing so would require him to kill the other four, and the element of surprise would be his.

Not investigating and going back with the one he killed might throw them off, wondering where their scout had run off, too.  Doing so might allow him to figure out what was going on without the orc army knowing he knew.

Then he remembered the fire they had built.  There would be no way to dispose of all that evidence.  They would know something had happened.

Wait there.  I am going to have to scout it out.  Our camping in here has ruined any chance of hiding we were here.

Retrieving his dagger from the goblin socket, he cleaned it off.

He had no idea what he was about to discover.