Hess slammed his hand down on the table, causing the piece he hit with his massive fist to crack.

“Dammit, boy!” Hess shouted as he glared at Kaen. “You are a fool to believe in fairy tales like that! No dragon would come here, and none would bury their treasure out in the open like that!”

Kaen opened his mouth to talk, but Hess held up his oversized hand and stopped him.

“I know… I know,” Hess said as he sighed and shook his head. “You want to be an adventurer like your dad. I know you think this will give you the money you need to go and get your token, but you are not ready yet.”

Hess grabbed his oversized chair and plopped himself down in the massive structure made from thick pieces of wood designed to support his weight. It still creaked as he sat down on it.

“Your dad would haunt me if I let you go before you are eighteen. He knew you wanted to be like him, but please listen to me when I say you are not ready yet.”

Kaen shook his head and pointed at Hess.

“I think you mean you aren’t ready for me to leave,” Kaen argued as he glared at Hess, upset. “You don’t want me to leave.”

Hess picked up his cup and took a drink. He was flustered and upset. How many times had he followed Kaen through the woods, chasing after some treasure or something else he swore he had found? That boy had worn him silly on treasure hunts in the past. He had given in to them since he was young, but Kaen was sixteen, and he needed to focus on the task he had been given.

“Tell you what,” Kaen interrupted right as Hess was about to say something. “If you come with me tomorrow and I am wrong, and there is nothing there, I won’t ask you to venture into the woods with me again on some random fairy tale or stupid hunt.”

Hess stared at Kaen and saw how he was standing. His brown hair was matted to his head from having run all the way back from the quarry. Even in the light of the cabin, he could see that Kaen at least believed there was something there. How he leaned forward reminded him of when Kaen’s dad acted when a quest he felt both of them should do was up for grabs.

Leaning forward on the table, Hess moved the piece of wood he had cracked for a second and then turned his eyes back to Kaen.

“You promise? No more calls to go looking for treasure in the forest? You will work till you are eighteen in the quarry, and I’ll give you the money you need for your token?”

Kaen laughed and coughed a few times.

“How did that last part get added to this? I was saying no more requests to join me in the woods. Why are you adding the last part?”

Hess pressed against the table, making sure to avoid the cracked piece, and stood up. A slight grunt escaped his lips. Even though he was still in phenomenal shape and could easily handle any men in town, all the years of adventure had taken its toll on him.

“Listen son…”

“I’m not your son!” Kaen quickly interjected.

Hess closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let it out, opened his eyes, and smiled.

“I know that, Kaen. I do. You feel the need to remind me of that fact even though I have taken care of you for over six years. I have tried to help you become the man I know your father would want you to be.”

Hess moved around the table and came to stand a few feet from Kaen. He glanced down at the boy and noticed that Kaen would not look away. His brown eyes were locked on his.

“It is time for you to grow up,” Hess explained. “You need to finish growing and getting stronger. Working in the quarry will help you do that. It will give you time to hone your skill with a bow, and I know you will get better tracking as you scour those woods. These skills will help you when you finally get to Ebonmount and sign up to be an adventurer. We have talked multiple times about all this, and you know they have tests you have to pass. It isn’t just about the money for the token.”

Kaen grunted as he nodded. He was well aware of the tests but planned to use his bow to pass that test. He usually had no problems when he hunted game.

“I’ll pass the test easily. I can hit most of the animals I shoot at,” Kaen declared.

Hess smiled and crossed his arms.

“Can you hit them when they are running, and you are running? What about when it is something attacking you? When your nerves freeze, and everything in you tells you to escape. Can you make those same shots when someone yells in your ear?” Hess asked.

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Opening his mouth, Kaen suddenly found no words coming out. He thought about that for a moment.

Skill Archery Status.

[ Archery 8 ]

“My archery skill is an eight. That is really good!”

Hess shook his head no.

He almost said Son but caught himself.

“Kaen, that is an ok skill for a boy who shoots animals in the woods that do not know he is there. For an adventurer, you need at least a fifteen or higher. When they give those tests, they will yell at you the entire time. Men will throw things at you. You will have to keep your composure and still be able to hit targets that stand still and move,” Hess explained. “I honestly believe that if you took the test today, you would not pass. This is why I have pushed you to stay here till you are eighteen. I could give you the money tomorrow, and I know you would return home a few weeks later, broken and disappointed. I am not sure if you would try again or give up on this dream of yours.”

Hess put his big finger in Kaen’s chest and pushed a little.

“I will not let the memory of my friend, Hoste, suffer that kind of fate. I will not let his son attempt what I know he is not ready for.”

Kaen stood there and shifted under the pressure of Hess’s finger in his chest.

Hess had never explained his reasoning for why he had pushed him to do all this a certain way. It made sense, even if Kaen did not like to admit that Hess was probably right. If he did fail, he probably would not try again.

Kaen suddenly smiled, grabbed hold of Hess’s finger with his hand, and tried to twist it behind the man. Hess laughed and quickly grabbed Kaen’s head in his other hand and put it into his armpit.

“It smells! My god, that smells horrible! I give up!” Kaen complained as he fought against Hess’s massive arms and was forced to breathe deeply the nasty aroma that came from Hess’s armpits.

Hess let go and broke out in a loud laugh as he watched Kaen back away, wiping some of the sweat that had gotten onto his forehead.

“I’ll accept your offer,” Kaen agreed as he stood tall and pulled his shirt that had gotten pulled up back down. “If there is nothing there, I will not ask you to join me in the woods again, and I will wait till I am eighteen to join the adventurer guild.”

Kaen reached out his hand, and as Hess almost grasped it, Kaen pulled it back a second and held it up with a smile.

“If there is something there, then you have to let me be off by lunchtime and help train me for the adventurer test,” Kaen stated as he put his hand back out.

Hess laughed and grabbed Kaen’s hand before he could pull it back again and shook it.

“I hope for your sake you are right,” Hess teased. “Otherwise, you will find your life filled with many rocks to be broken for a long time to come!”

Kaen nodded and grinned. He knew there was something. He was so certain he was willing to bet the next two years of his life on it.

“Tomorrow then! We will go after everyone is dismissed!”

Hess laughed as he walked back to his chair and sat down.

“Tomorrow then. For now, though, I need someone to finish the dinner they promised and refill my drink,” Hess said with a wink. “I don’t have a girlfriend this week to take care of those things, so I’ll have to let my best friend's daughter do it instead.”

Kaen laughed, rolled his eyes, and headed to the cooking pot, where something smelled horrible. Hess somehow always appeared to have no clue how to cook, and his lack of trying to get better was evident from every meal he ever made.

Multiple men commented on Kaen and his work the next day at the quarry. He had arrived early and started working on the large rocks in each group, even though it was not required of him. Patrick and Cale had both called out to him and asked him why he was in such a hurry. Neither one could understand why he had left them with just a few small rocks to take care of and dashed off to another section to help some older men.

“Kaen, you're going to wear yourself out and ruin your reputation if you keep working like that,” Hess shouted as Kaen finished helping out a fourth group of workers.

Kaen laughed as he moved to get a drink from the water cart before heading to help one more group.

“What has gotten into him?” Patrick asked Hess as Cale, and they stood in the middle of the quarry, watching Kaen attack a few more boulders.

“I believe he wants to catch up with my skill in mining,” Hess joked, even though he knew that wasn’t the answer. “One day, I will tell him there is more to that skill than just breaking rocks. I’ll have to take him into the mountain and work a few mines as well.”

Cale glanced up at Hess, and his eyes went wide.

“You worked in a mine? Wouldn’t that be really hard for someone your size?”

Hess laughed and nodded.

“It is not always easy being this large, and being in a mine is not my favorite thing, but that is where I got the metal for that pick-axe,” Hess stated as he pointed to his pick-axe off to the side. “It is made from a special metal most men would give anything for.”

Hess stared off momentarily, lost in thought as both boys waited to see if he would say anything else about it. When he realized they were still staring at him, he waved them off.

“That is a story for another day. You two are done for now, or you can help your friend, who will probably need me to carry him home based on how hard he is working today.”

Both boys groaned and looked at each other. They each had a smirk on their face. They could head home and be done, but they also knew it was because of Kaen that they finished before everyone else each day.

“I guess we will help him and the others,” Patrick said as he bent over to grab his pick-axe. “Another hour should be enough.”

Hess nodded as he watched both boys run off to join Kaen. Cheers could be heard from the men they ended up helping.

“I pray something is there,” Hess muttered to himself as he watched all the workers pick up the pace and laugh as they worked.

He knew tomorrow would be bad for everyone, especially Kaen, if something wasn't.