Rise of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 029 - When we are the ones hunted (Patreon)

He knew the ground was coming fast, but there was no other option.

Flight burst now!

Pammon grunted, and Kaen knew he was not excited but felt it when it engaged.

[ Flight Burst Activated ]

Kaen felt Pammon’s body surge forward; the speed at which they were dropping, the angle of the approach, the griffons behind them, everything spelled doom if Pammon couldn’t pull off what he needed to.

Both his wings adjusted for the sudden shift in the direction he was going to attempt.  The force he felt was horrible, far worse than he had ever felt before.  His brain struggled to keep him awake, and he squeezed his legs tight and his core.  He pleaded with his lifestone that this was life and death and felt it get hotter, a white flame burning in his chest.  He sent his power to Pammon, knowing he was asking him for more than he had ever asked for before.

Mere feet from the ground, Pammon surged in line with the ground before beginning to angle toward the sky.

Kaen unleashed his attack as the griffons began to shift in speed and angle.

Charging the arrow, let one off with mana infused, clipping the wing of one of them, exploding and causing it to crash and tumble into the ground.

The other three shrieked in defiance, and amazingly, their speed did not seem to let up at all.

A pop sounded from Pammon, and Kaen felt the pain as he roared.

[ Flight Burst Expired ]

Pammon immediately slowed down, and his left wing seemed to flop wildly compared to the right one.

I tore something, Pammon cried as Kaen felt the pain surging through his friend's body.

I can't stay in the air much longer.

Each beat of the wing sent tremors through Pammon, and Kaen had to block out the pain, or he couldn't focus.

Spinning around in his harness and saddle, he saw the other three closing in fast, with Pammon now floundering in the air.  The ground was quickly approaching them, and Kaen knew Pammon was doing everything he could to prevent them from crashing headfirst into the rocky ground.

[ Multi Shot Activated ]

Kaen sent five arrows after one of the griffons closest to him, amazed that it was somehow dodging shots. He was grateful when the last two pierced its chest and wing, sending one more tumbling toward the ground below.

The last two griffons approached from both sides. They opened their mouths, and Kaen heard a shriek from them both.  Pain surged through his head from the noise, and he felt dizzy momentarily.  It was like someone stood beside him with their hands cupped around his ear and yelled in it.  Pammon seemed to shrug it off as he approached the ground.  As he slowed, the one on the left came for Kaen, swooping down with his claws at him.

He held the shield and saw the one on the right approaching Pammon's injured wing.

Dodge down!

Pammon flared both wings wide. The pain he felt from his sudden speed decrease caused his wing to flap like a ribbon in the wind.

The sudden action caused the one going after his wing to miss it mostly as its claws ripped out a chunk from the top part of Pammon's web, sending them spiraling to the left.

That led to the griffon, who was attacking Kaen to scrape his claws against the shield, doing nothing and was bounced back as Kaen was able to resist the attack.

I'm going to crash!

Kaen felt the panic in Pammon's voice as he saw the ground approaching them.  There was no time for anything.  The griffons were circling, and he knew this next part was going to be dangerous.

I'll jump! Protect yourself!

There was no time for discussion, and Pammon tucked his wings, putting his feet out and preparing for the coming impact.

Kaen undid the straps that kept him on his saddle and prepared for the last few feet as the ground blazed toward them.  When Kaen was about twenty feet from the ground, he stood on his saddle and jumped, feeling an eerie reaction as he seemed to hover where he was instead of leaping up or out.

Pammon fell below and to the side, sliding into the rocks and dirt, tumbling repeatedly.

The ground came at him. Kaen bent his knees, absorbing the blow and rolling once before standing up and seeing the griffon who was coming at him.

Drawing his sword, he crouched low, scanning the air for the other.

Pammon was up, but he was hurt, and Kaen knew if it came to a battle on the ground, Pammon would be limited in what he could do with that injured wing.

Left!

Kaen rolled to the left as claws raked from where he was seconds ago from behind.  The second one came at him, its claws spread wide, ready to rip his body in half.

A small smile appeared as Kaen waited, knowing how often Master Bren had complained about this next choice.

[ Shield Charge Activated ]

Kaen lept through the air at the griffon and saw its eyes widen as it tried to adjust its wings.  He came forward, shield out and his sword on its side, dashing between its massive claws and planting the blade right in its breast.

He plowed through its chest, crushing it completely and lodging himself inside the cavity.

The creature screamed in pain as it fell toward the ground, rolling and coming to a stop with Kaen deep inside it.

Bursting from the carcass, Kaen sent bloody gore everywhere as he heard Pammon roar and saw him sending flame toward the griffon, who had decided it would attack head-on at the injured dragon.

The smell of burnt wings and flesh filled the air as it crashed into Pammon, sending flashes of pain coursing through his body.

Not wasting another second, Kaen ran toward his friend, who was trying to push the burning corpse off him.

Pammon! Let me help!

I’m… I’m sorry, Pammon cried as the left side of his body struggled to respond.

Kaen ignored his apology. When he got near Pammon, he surveyed the mess before him.

Hold still a moment, and let me handle this!

[ Shield Slam Activated ]

Kaen used the shield and slammed against the flaming bird, ignoring the heat coming off its engulfed body, sending it flying yards away from his friend.

Pammon limped toward him, making a sound Kaen had never heard before.

The liquid was streaming from Pammon’s eyes

as he dragged his injured wing out from under him.

Let me help!  Slow down!

Kaen moved to the other side, gently touching Pammon’s side and making sure there was nothing broken that he could feel.

It’s just my wing.  It’s torn and broken.  It’s my fault for not paying attention to what might have…

Stop it! Please!  Do not blame yourself, Kaen implored as he began pressing with all his strength.  He wished he had brought a set of strength rings to help move the weight of Pammon as the sheer mass was challenging to begin to roll.

Focus on turning to the other side.  We will get you settled and then try to fix everything.

Pammon winced as Kaen pushed.  He took a large breath and stood up, almost buckling on an injured hind leg for a moment.

Between the two of them, Pammon finally freed his pinned wing, and Kaen’s eyes saw the extent of the damage.

The middle outside joint on the wing was bent backward, causing the wing to almost fold over on itself, and he knew Pammon was trying to move it back into position but couldn’t.  Large chunks were ripped out from the edge of his wing and the flap where the griffon had sent its razor-like claws through the membrane.

Gently running his hands along Pammon’s scales, Kaen felt a lump in his throat.  As much as Pammon felt guilty and that this was his fault, it had been his idea.  He had made the decision they should hunt these things.

Stop that.  Do not blame yourself.

Coughing, Kaen saw Pammon looking at him.  His head was lying on the ground, tilted sideways as he tried to take weight off his left side and leg.

We chose to do this.  I should have known the griffons might attack like that.  I am the one who flies, not you.

Neither one of us knew that would happen. Now stop blaming yourself, and let me check the contents of the containers.

Pammon winced and closed his eyes.  Kaen saw Pammon squirm as he climbed to the smashed containers.  The dark liquid was already leaking out of the one on the left, and he prayed that the potions he was looking for were not broken.

Cutting the straps and releasing the bent and twisted fasteners took a few minutes.

“These aren’t going to make the trip back,” he muttered as his knife sawed through the thick custom leather straps he had built to resist the rubbing against Pammon’s scales.

When the basket finally came free, he lowered it to the ground and got off the other side of Pammon to help minimize contact on his injured side.

No matter what you find, you realize you must bend my wing back over.

Kaen nodded and began pulling out the different pouches and containers.  He had not considered them ever crashing, and Elies had never mentioned it before.  Water flasks had burst from the pressure of the impact, and everything was a wet mess.

Halfway through this digging, he found one of the two potions he was searching for, smashed and empty.

How is the other one?

Kaen could feel the despair in Pammon’s question.  He had tried to hide what he found as he lifted out the broken glass pieces.  The thick black liquid was still stuck to the inside of the container.

“You could try and swallow this,” Kaen stated as he held it out.  “Lord Hurem said it wouldn’t hurt you, but I’m not sure there would be any gain from this.”

Pammon grunted, and he noticed it sounded like there was a wheeze along with it.

We don’t even know if it will work, Pammon reminded him as he steadied himself on the ground.  Hurry up, look for what you are trying to find, and then help me with my wing.  I need to get it turned right.

Ignoring Pammon’s pessimistic attitude, Kaen began digging through the basket again.  Pouches of meat and more were tossed in a separate stack, ruined by the water and broken vial.

Reaching the bottom, he found the pouch he sought and felt the leather wet and slick.

His heart broke as he carefully pulled it out, watching black liquid drip from the pouch.

“Eat this!” Kaen implored as he held out the leather pouch, leaking a black liquid that ran down his fingers and arms as he held it up toward Pammon.  “Quickly!”

Pammon turned his head, saw the pouch, and knew it was broken inside.  He moved his head closer and opened up his mouth.

Toss it in.

Kaen’s steps were rapid as he moved to get next to Pammon’s open mouth, ensuring he got the pouch inside.

As he watched his friend close his jaw, Kaen jogged to the other side of his body and looked at the wing folded back on itself.

I can do this fast, or I can do this slow.  Which way would you prefer?

Locking his jaw tight, Pammon put his head down on the ground.  He was waiting to swallow the pouch until after Kaen did what he must.

Do it fast.  It will hurt, and I will survive.

The taste of bile was noticeable in Kaen’s mouth as he stared at the wing again and began planning the best way to do this.  He knew this was going to hurt regardless.  Moving around the side, he carefully put his hand on the outer bone that was bent over and took a deep breath.

On three.

When he saw Pammon nod and gulp down the pouch, he never got past one before he felt a wave of pain wash over him as he lifted the wing up enough to get a good grip on it.

One!

His strength was more than enough to flip the wing back into position.  He felt the socket next to him pop and make a noise.  It was like trying to turn a cart over or some giant sail if he had to envision something else.  The long span of the wing was moving air across it as he folded it back into position.

It only took a second, but every fraction felt like an eternity.

Pammon roared as he did what he had to, causing his whole body to shake and birds to fly from nearby trees.

What felt like it took forever was done, and the wing was how it was supposed to be.

His chest heaving and snot flaring from his nostrils, Pammon groaned as he let his wing rest against his body and the ground.

You said on three, Pammon complained weakly before he closed his eyes and laid his head on the ground.