Rise of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 030 - Standing watch (Patreon)

Kaen and Pammon had waited for a while after he had swallowed that wet pack with the spilled potion in it, hoping to see some magical healing taking place.  Nothing had happened like when Kaen, Hess, or anyone else had drunk one of the potions for them.

I’m hungry.  Will you bring that closer to me so I can eat?

Sighing, Kaen pulled out his sword and moved to the burnt carcass of the griffin.  He started hacking pieces of it off and then brought the main body over to where Pammon was.

“I’m going to get one of the other for you.  I need to harvest a few trophies if I can.”

Already digging in, Pammon grunted, taking giant bites from the burnt carcass and swallowing them.

The work required to chop up the corpses wasn’t that difficult.  Kaen’s sword and strength made cutting them easy.  The one he had killed when he charged its chest was missing all of its organs, turning them into a paste when he hit it.

Taking the beak, claws, and a few feathers, he proceeded to quarter the rest of it and carry it over to Pammon, who had already managed to consume most of the first one.

I will only eat two for now.  My ribs are hurting, and I don’t want to overeat.  You will need to stand guard tonight.  I feel tired, and I’m unsure if it's the pain or the potion.

I’ll always protect you.  Eat and sleep.  I got this.

Not sure if he was trying to convince Pammon or himself, Kaen fetched the second large basked off Pammon and set it to the side.  From the looks and sound it made when he set it down, many things inside were also broken.

Pammon was asleep by the time he got the other two griffins' drug closer to them.  He had decided against butchering them at the moment.  Any more blood would only attract predators, and while Kaen doubted any would pose a problem, he searched through the second container.

Most of the arrows inside it were broken or bent.  Less than ten were worth keeping; the few in the quiver were not in much better shape.  Fifteen total arrows at best.

“Makes me wish I had some glue,” he whispered to himself as he collected all the broken arrows and wrapped them in a cloth.

His axe and bow had made it through the crash, and he was thankful neither broke nor impaled Pammon in the landing.

With Pammon out completely, he moved his sword to his left side, brought his bow and the few arrows he had, and went off searching for wood.

The forest area they were in had a lot of game trails.  He managed to shoot one deer that had gotten close to the water area and cleaned it along the edge, bringing just the meat he would eat tonight.  The rest, he dug a small hole and buried organs and all.

After washing off and testing the water, he moved further up the area and found a place where the water tasted sweeter and was clearer.  Filling up two water skins, he took the meat and drink back to the camp before returning to get the wood he had found.

With a fire going and food cooking, Kaen could tell that Pammon was out completely.  Usually, he could sense a little bit of consciousness when his friend was sleeping, but this time, nothing was coming through their bond.  The occasional wince of pain was the only thing he could pick up between them.

He walked around Pammon, checking the rest of his body in the fading light, and saw that his scales were intact, and none had been lost.

Stooping down, he took out a stick and drew an outline of a dragon spread from snout to tail and wing to wing.

Glancing at the image, he considered what had happened and where their weak points were.  Pammon was still young, according to Tharnok and Elies, and the fact that he had a skill most would not get for a few more years proved how dangerous it had been to use.  His body could not handle the force it experienced at that maneuver.  He still wondered if it had been the wrong decision to attempt it.

Shaking his head, Kaen glanced at the two griffins waiting to be consumed, knowing it was their only option.  Had they not gotten the little bit of room they had gained from that maneuver, three or four of them would have descended upon Pammon, tearing his wings apart and sending both of them to their death.

Tapping the wings on his artwork, Kaen considered what that might mean for a fight against another dragon.  If they could come in from behind and above, they might be able to attack these weak points.  Doing so would allow them to win against a foe they might not easily defeat.

“Do all dragons keep checking behind themselves?” Kaen wondered as he realized they had never considered themselves to be hunted before.

When they had dueled with Tharnok, they always knew he was around and, as such, were constantly looking for him.

They would need to consider how they viewed themselves and where they were as potential battlegrounds from now on.

Setting another log on the leaning stack, Kaen realized he was smiling as he remembered learning this trick from Aubri long ago.  Tonight, it would serve him well since Pammon was clearly out.

The night had been long, and Kaen had spent most of the night reading one of the books his father had left him.  The book Tactical Warfare: Land Use was different from what he had initially considered reading, but he felt it would be necessary with the threat of orcs and goblins in the mountains again.  He had sketched a map of the walls in Ebonmount in the dirt and considered the view Pammon, and he had seen how they helped consider some of the weaker points in the defenses.

They would need to fortify a few spots along the mountain areas as well as a few choke points along the road.  A section also mentioned the weakness of the stream and river that flowed through part of the wall.

It wasn’t the most exciting topic he had considered reading about, but it had passed the time, and the fruit of it would be beneficial when the actual fighting took place.

Stretching, Kaen checked on Pammon, who was still sleeping soundly.  He went over and checked the spots on his wings and saw that they were knitting together nicely.  The joint on his wing that had bent backward was not as swollen, and it looked like everything was healing.  He wanted to wake up Pammon, yet if he was sleeping this soundly, it was either due to him needing to or the effect of that potion bag.

Walking to the water, he cleaned himself up while watching for any possible game.  He wasn’t hungry, but eating was always essential when one could.  There was no telling when it might be before he could go hunting again.

As the afternoon passed, Kaen realized Pammon was not awake yet.  A solid night's sleep like this was unusual.  In fact, he was trying to remember any time Pammon had slept this soundly or this long.

Realizing this might last longer than he had intended, Kaen gathered more wood and prepared a bonfire.  The meat from the griffon corpses was beginning to spoil, and if Pammon was not awake by tomorrow, he would need to burn it all to prevent it from rotting and becoming a problem.

After finishing taking care of that, he went to the water and washed himself off again.  The sweat from working had made him smell, and he needed to rest before night came if he was going to stay up all night.

Back at camp, Kaen added more wood to his fire and scraped away a few coals before snuggling up against Pammon and closing his eyes.

A few hours after falling asleep, Kaen woke up when Pammon started moving around.

“You’re awake!”

Just for a moment.

Kaen could feel Pammon talking slower as if his mind was cloudy or dull.

What is wrong?

I don’t know.  I’m just tired, and my wing is still not healed.  I need to eat and sleep again.

Getting up, Kaen watched as Pammon shifted his body slowly, meandering like a cow in a field without much purpose.  He made it over to the pile of griffons that Kaen had stacked up and began consuming them without regard for chewing.  Huge bites followed by him swallowing everything in his mouth almost made Kaen wonder if he would choke on them.

Before Kaen knew it, both corpses were gone, and Pammon had turned around, moving back to where he had been earlier.

I’m sorry, but I cannot keep my eyes open.  Thank you for watching over me…

Pammon's voice trailed off in his head, and before Kaen could reply, he knew that his friend was out again.

Chuckling to himself, Kaen moved over and rubbed his friend's snout, seeing him press into his hand even though he was still asleep.

Turning back to the remains that Pammon had left on the ground, Kaen sighed. He tossed a few logs into the area and fetched a few lit coals from his fire.  Better to burn what was left than let the stink draw birds or other creatures.

The second morning, Kaen found himself bored.  He had already worked over the walls and defense adjustments for when he got back to Ebonmount and had considered other things to work on at the academy.  He was filled with days that involved watching Pammon sleep and nothing else to do.

Leaving him felt fine as long as he was within a mile or two, but anything further left Kaen feeling uncomfortable.  He had faith in his speed and stamina to return to Pammon if something happened or he woke up.

The third day had left him realizing he had no idea how long Pammon would be out.  With that in mind, he started doing what he needed to take his mind off the concern he felt for Pammon.

The days became filled with setting traps, finding food, feeding himself, checking on the wood pile, and slowly building a makeshift shack where he was.  All those years living with Hess and the practice he had building Pammon’s sleeping area back then helped as he cut down trees and began digging out a section of the ground, placing beams and fastening logs with the leather he knew would not be worth using on the trip home.

By the fourth day, he had built a solid lean-to shack and had started putting mud he fetched from the lake in the wall gaps.  It didn’t have a door, but with the way he had it facing and the natural tree line, it cut down on some of the wood and provided him a chance to start putting his things out of the sun and wind, as well as providing a place for the food he had been drying out.

The next thing he worked on was an outhouse.  The last week plus of having to go in the woods was a reminder of how spoiled he had been lately.  Sure, it was part of life, but having a sheltered place to sit was much nicer.

His mind was trying to give him things to do on the fifth day since they had crashed here and Pammon had gone to sleep.  Kaen was struggling with what was happening. Everything was going differently than he thought it should.  That potion should have healed Pammon, even if it was left spilled in that leather sack.  Surely, some of it had to have been good.  When he examined Pammon's injury, everything looked like he was okay.  There appeared to be no more damage, and the clawed sections had closed together nicely with a freshly healed scar.

Sitting on a wooden chair he had built, Kaen started modifying the broken arrows.  With only nine full-size ones that worked, he cut off the tips of the ones that were broken or bent and carefully sawed off the sections he needed from ones that would be shorter but still work.  It was long and tedious work, but it gave him something to focus on besides Pammon.

He was tired and felt lonely and concerned.  When sleep took him late in the afternoon, it was filled with dreams he had not had in a year.