Rise of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 068 - A lot changes in a month (Patreon)

Ava had been right that they would have guests, but who they turned out to be had ruined the day.

You need to come and meet them.  Bring the table and the chairs.

Who is it?

Aldric, Herb and Hess.

Kaen felt a twinge of angst at that announcement.  Both of those men had been on his agenda to visit tomorrow, but for them to ride out here…

How do they look?

Their faces tell me nothing is going to be good news.

The three men arrived on their horses, each of the beasts covered in sweat from the speed at which they had been forced to move.  The men accompanying the three stayed across the fields, watching all three dragons and murmuring.

Kaen had walked across the field to greet them and knew Pammon had been right when he saw their expressions for himself.

“I would make some joke, but it appears there is nothing to laugh about.”

Herb and Aldric tried to smile, but it was forced.

“Words cannot describe how excited I was to hear that you had arrived last night,” Aldric said, moving forward to shake Kaen’s hand. “When news arrived late last night that you had brought two more dragons with you…” The king stopped, looking across the field and taking in the sight he no doubt couldn’t have begun to imagine.  “How is it possible that Pammon is that large now?”

Herb stood by Aldric, acknowledging Kaen with a nod before noticing what Aldric had pointed out.

“Hess, you failed to tell us about his size.”

“That is a lie, Herb, and you know it,” Hess stated, moving past the men who had stopped to gawk.  “I told you he had grown. A lot.”

Rolling his eyes, Herb began to follow Hess toward Kaen’s house.

Aldric moved next to Kaen and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I cannot tell you how much I feared for your safety,” he whispered as he motioned with his head toward the other two men.  “There is much to share, and I need to hear how you will respond to what I say.”

The four of them walked in silence as the dragons were the focus of the three that had yet to see them till now.

“Havannath and Huethea are dead?”

The news shocked Kaen to a degree, but simultaneously, he knew the two choices.

“Most of the people in their castle were wiped out.  They welcomed Stioks and Juthom in, and no one knows what happened, but soon the entire castle was on fire.”  Aldric paused, looking at Herb, who was rubbing his thumb along the lip of his cup and not looking up.  “You have been there.  The tree that it was built partially out of is gone.  My reports say a smoldering stump is all that remains.  When it fell, it crushed a large part of the city.”

“Who rules the land?” Kaen asked as he felt Ava squeeze his hand gently.

“No one.  It’s been four weeks, and the threat Stioks made has the nation gripped in fear.”

Tapping the table with a finger, Kaen considered the news and how this would impact so much in the coming months and years.

“Does anyone really believe he is serious?  How can he maintain both kingdoms?  It would require him to travel, which puts him at risk.”

Looking at Kaen, Aldric put his cup back on the table and crossed his arms as he leaned against his chair.  “If he leaves a dragon there as it is rumored he might, then what?  As far as the land knows, you are gone.  No one has seen you in over a month.  The last report came from a town in Golden Edge, saying a dragon rider went across the sea.  It reached us two weeks ago.  That means Stioks must surely have heard that news by now.”

Kaen looked at Pammon, who was lying near the group of men and Ava.  His eyes were barely open, but Kaen knew he saw everything.

What are you thinking?  Do we go and make our presence known?

A fight is always coming.  I know you want to help the elves, but they have yet to earn that from you.  Right now, we need to deal with the things we can here.  Too many things are in motion, and we still need to figure out how Glynnis and Amaranth can best help our plans.

Kaen turned and saw everyone waiting silently, knowing what he was doing.

“Ignoring that problem, what about the cave?”

Herb grunted and slid a piece of paper over to Kaen.  “We risked it and opened up the cave you spoke of from our side.  Days after you left, a massive group of adventurers and troops moved to the area and cleared the rubble.  Inside, one of our scouts reported the same thing you had.  No goblins or orcs were present when they got to the swirling wall, as she described it.

“We weren’t sure if they heard us clearing the debris from the cave entrance, but we couldn’t risk it.  We blew four massive cave-ins inside that tunnel.  If anything will try and come out at us, they will need to move a lot more stone to do so.”

Looking at the paper Herb had given him, Kaen scanned the report and grunted as he handed it to Herb.

“Is that spell really that powerful?”

Herb nodded, bringing a groan from Kaen as he looked at Ava.

“Can you cast the spell?”

She chuckled and shook her head.  “Most in our kingdom couldn’t.  I’m unsure if Selmah could have cast this even in her prime.  That spell requires a certain focus, and none of us here would spend our time on such an endeavor.  It would take a year, most likely, to be able to cast it if one knew how.  Someone of at least a gold rank.”

“Which means…”

“That Stioks has higher-level casters working with him and the orcs to accomplish things none of us have prepared for,” Herb interrupted as he flipped through the pages he had pulled out after sitting down.  “Based on what you told us and the data we have at hand, we need to keep working on our defenses and make sure our scouting stations to the south are ready to relay any threat as quickly as possible.”

Kaen turned and looked at Hess and then at Ava.

“Well, at least there is nothing bad in your world.”

Both of them shook their heads no and gave him a smile.

“At least that’s something,” Kaen replied as he looked at Pammon for a moment.

All is not lost.  Tell them of your agreement with the tribe that tried to rob you.

Kaen coughed and then smiled as he looked at the four watching him.

“I did manage to make a new ally, and I made an offer in your name,” Kaen informed Aldric as he pointed at him.  “I have the paperwork and more in my bag, but I must dig it out.  It’s at the bottom of some stuff I’ll need to give you and the dwarves.”

“What kind of stuff?”

Frowning, Kaen shared the news of Tharnok and what had happened on his journey to the dragon homeland and back.

“You threw them away.  Why would you do that?”

Kaen leaned across the table, putting his hands together as he held Adlric’s gaze momentarily.

“I don’t believe in enslaving anyone or anything like that.  What I saw, what I learned. Those things shouldn’t be done to a dragon or anyone.  If you allowed that, or if you used that, where does the line get drawn?  Is it okay then to use something like that on dwarves?  What about elves?  Or maybe people from another kingdom?  How many people have to be enslaved and have no soul before we decide that we have done too much?”

Aldric lost the battle of glares as Kaen’s words and aura struck a cord that finally understood why he had done that.

“Still…”
“No,” Kaen said, interrupting the king.  “There is no other choice.  Either we become worse than what we believe Stioks is or stay on the path we fight for.  I, for one, will never use that kind of power.  I will not stoop to that kind of abuse.”

A sigh came from Aldric as he hung his head for a moment.  “Forgive me.  You are right.  As I just demonstrated, the temptation is too great, and the risk of losing ourselves is too easy.”

“I know how you feel.  Trust me, I do.  Only after I threw them into the sea and knew they would be gone forever did I finally feel released from their power over my mind.”

“And this other kingdom?  Hetaal? Do we know anything about it?”

Herb and Aldric exchanged glances, and both men shook their heads no.

“We would have to inquire of the nation of Golden Edge, but I doubt they would be willing to share that news if what Kaen says about their fortifications is true.  Do we really need to worry about them right now?”

Kaen shrugged and leaned back, clasping Ava’s hand in his and gently squeezing it.  “I don’t think we need to focus on them for now.  There will come a time when they either come at us or I travel to them.  I don’t believe that time is soon, though.”

Pammon began to thrum, and everyone turned to watch him.

I doubt they want to risk losing more dragons and ships after how you defeated them.

“Pammon agrees that they will most likely wait a while before wanting to cross paths with me again.”

Aldric stood up and started to stretch.

“Forgive me, but sitting here for this long has worn me out.  Is it possible for me to meet the other two dragons and welcome them to our kingdom?”

Kaen and Pammon stood up, and a small smile appeared on Kaen’s lips.

Do not say it.  I can feel you already thinking those words.

Fine, but soon enough, it will be known, and then what?

That will come in its own time. For now, let it be.

Kaen moved to Pammon and scratched his neck, and motioned toward the yellow and female dragon sitting a ways off.

“Come meet Glynnis and Amaranth.”

Tell the king I appreciate him coming to see me and welcoming me personally to his land.  I will do what I can to avoid problems, provided no one attempts to bother me or Pammon.

A snort sounded behind everyone gathered, and each turned to see Pammon huffing a little bit.

“Amaranth wants to thank you for personally coming to see her, and she will do her best to be no trouble, provided trouble does not come to her or the other dragons.”

Aldric gave a slight bow and smiled.

“I will do everything I can to ensure that does not happen.”

Kaen motioned back toward the horses and led the men away.

“Behave, Ava,” Kaen said as he winked.

“Please, I’m just going to answer some questions Pammon says he has for me.”

Kaen began to laugh and then stopped when he felt Pammon getting upset through their bond.  He knew what the dragon would ask and could only imagine what kind of advice Ava could give a male dragon about two female dragons.

Herb and Aldric walked ahead of Kaen and Hess, giving them a moment to talk privately.

“Those arrows, how many do you have left?”

“Three, why?”

Hess grumbled something under his breath and then motioned at Herb.

“I have a quest for the items we need to make more, but no one has reported finding any of that metal since I have put it in.  In fact, the mines believed to have some are picked clean.”

Kaen stopped moving and grabbed Hess’s arm, halting his movement.  “What do you mean picked clean?”

“Imagine a quarry like the one we worked.  For months, there has been plenty of rock to work.  An order comes in for a certain type of rock, and nothing remains when you go back to harvest what you know should be there.  The groups that went into the mines said every metal in there was gone.”

Kaen instinctively reached up and scratched his chin.

“But that would mean…”
Hess nodded, holding his hand up.

“Someone is paying attention in the guild house again.”

Kaen groaned and turned to look at Herb, who was still walking with Aldric, not paying either of them attention.  “Does Herb know?”

Hess nodded, beginning to walk toward the horses again.  “He does, but nothing he has done has turned up anyone to suspect.  Doing a guild-wide use of the crystal isn’t going to happen again either.”

“Goblin shite,” Kaen cursed as he bent down and picked up a rock, and threw it so far it disappeared from both their sight. “Tell me something good.  Something that isn’t going wrong.”

Hess put an arm around Kaen’s shoulder and pulled him toward the others.  “You’re home.  You and Pammon have brought allies.  Ava is back to her joyful self, and a kingdom still needs you.  There are lots of good things still.  Just look around, and you can find them.”

Filling his lungs with all the air they could hold, Kaen let it out slowly, finding himself smiling afterward and letting Hess pull him along.

“You’re right.  I guess there are some good things after all.”