Chronicles of Eden - Act VI (33 page)

“Still can’t figure her out,” Alyssa commented before biting another cookie.

“And we probably never will,” Falla added.

“Here, Pip,” Daniel said as he held out a cookie for the fairy. “Try to keep your eye on it this time.”

While the fairy looked at the snack curiously and the group watched her with amused smiles Triska slowly turned her head the other way in her sleep. Her breathing was calm and steady, her face showing no discomfort or distress, her body appearing relaxed.

And her hand had a faint blue wisp of light rolling along it off her fingers for a brief moment.

*****

Running through a darkened forest Sasha kept a focused gaze before her as she swiftly made her way past trees and fallen logs, feet moving without tire, tail waving sharply behind, sword steadily held in one hand while the other was holding the black bag tied to her hip. Although her vision wasn’t enhanced by any racial benefit or ability she had grown accustomed to traveling just as well at night as she had during the day, her eyes picking up even the slightest difference in shade or depth of what was in front of her as she had trained herself to be as sharp and aware as the one she followed tirelessly.

A fleeting glance was made to her side, spotting Rulo running at her pace with more heavy steps as she usually did. The orc held her giant hammer back over her shoulder with one hand while keeping up with the reptile girl, her method of knocking aside shrubbery and trampling over logs not being as graceful and quiet as Sasha’s but working well for her all the same. Her vision was as fair as Sasha’s if not slightly less attentive, though during this run just as all the others before she was staying as focused as she could while keeping her sights on the same one her fellow comrade was.

The two ran through the woods together while ahead of them Daemon was running just as fast, his eyes keenly set before him while he kept one hand on his sword’s handle and the other held before him. Sasha and Rulo had come to understand a few things about him during their time together, one being that he seemed perfectly capable of navigating a forest even in pitch darkness. His cold blue eyes remained focused as he weaved around trees and over bumps on the ground, his legs seeming to never tire as someone running behind them was completely baffled by.

“How the hell can he run like this?” Tabitha asked herself as she followed behind Sasha, her gasps for breath showing she was struggling to keep up with the group. She proved to be as agile and light on her feet as neko’s were known to be, running along the forest floor swiftly while her tail swayed about behind her with its silent bells, however it was apparent her endurance wasn’t up to the same level as the others as she saw with her nocturnal vision that everyone had no trouble traveling like this for a very long period of time.

“We’ve been running nonstop since we left the town, and he didn’t even have any pie with us. How can he keep going like that?”

“You underestimate my lord,” Forrus growled while quickly running alongside her, keeping a close eye on the neko while she showed no difficultly with keeping up with the group. Her tail wagged about behind her while her bolas clacked together as they swayed at her side, the lycan’s movements being nearly as graceful and smooth as Sasha’s as she easily navigated the darkened woods. Although her vision wasn’t as keen as Tabitha’s during the night her other senses were just as sharp, being able to keep track of both the neko beside her as well as the others nearby while weaving around and past the trees.

“Underestimate him?” Tabitha repeated with disbelief. “I’m not underestimating him; I’m questioning how the hell he can keep running like this for over an hour straight! How can any of you? And why didn’t we get a horse and carriage back in town? Why did we have to just run out here without even a plan as to
where
we’re going?”

“We’re going this way!” Scay cheered as she quickly slithered along the forest floor beside Tabitha. Even though she had no actual feet the naga proved to be extremely agile and fast, evidenced that she was zigging and zagging around trees and stumps in a wide arc while still keeping up with the group and not showing any fatigue at all. Her dagger was sheathed in her belt while her hands were mostly clean from the pie she ate and the baker she butchered when she bought said pie, the naga having taking a few quick seconds to wash them when she dove into a shallow stream and raced along through it before hopping back out and joining the others as they kept running along.

“Quit your whining, neko,” Forrus snapped with a grunt. “If you’re so insistent on serving my lord to earn your petty gold than silence yourself and keep up. It’s unbearable enough that you’re accompanying us but I can’t stand hearing your voice for more than a few seconds.”

“Okay, first off, fuck you,” Tabitha shot back at her while breathing heavily. “Second, I’m not
serving
him; I’m following my orders from Charlotte and merely helping him with this one quest of his, that’s it. Third… where are we going anyway? Seriously, do any of you know where he’s leading us?”

Daemon dashed through the woods ahead of the girls, making his way around trees and past boulders and fallen timbers before suddenly exiting the forest and coming to a halt, boots skidding on the ground for a moment as he stopped just before running straight off a steep cliff. Sasha and Rulo ran out from the woods behind him and quickly halted as well, with Sasha skidding a bit before stopping next to Daemon while Rulo stomped her foot down and anchored herself with the ground cracking from the force. Forrus nimbly darted out from the woods and stopped next to them while Tabitha stumbled out from the tree line as she tried to catch her breath.

“Hi, Tabitha!” Scay joyfully called out as she raced past the neko, gliding along the ground at high speed before flying by the others and shooting off the cliff. Before Tabitha could shout out the naga’s name Daemon quickly reached out and grabbed hold of Scay’s tail at the end, stopping her instantly as she stared with wide eyes at seeing there was no more ground below her. Tabitha’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw Daemon having caught the monster girl with one hand while not wavering off-balance in the slightest. With a hard yank from Daemon and a loud yelp from Scay the swordsman pulled her back and dropped her onto the ground behind him.

“Impossible,” Tabitha breathed out, staring at Daemon with a stunned expression while the other girls merely looked at Scay with dull glances. The naga blinked then looked to Daemon with wonder as she slowly sat up, the swordsman merely gazing around at the large valley before them while the moonlight from above illuminated The Outerlands enough to show the forest and hills ahead.

“Um… how did you do that?” Scay asked tilting her head curiously.

“Don’t you watch where you’re going?” Rulo scoffed at the naga.

“Honestly, these two are just slowing us down,” Sasha hissed as she glared at Scay then over to Tabitha who was slowly walking towards them with unblinking eyes.

“I don’t understand why we must take them with us,” Forrus scorned with a harsh glare at Tabitha. “They are of no use to my lord at all.”

“How did you do that?” Tabitha slowly asked as she walked up next to Scay. “How… how are you doing any of this?”

Daemon merely glanced back to her while remaining silent as the other girls continued to show nothing but discontent for the two newcomers. Scay looked Daemon over with a curious eye, seeing that while he did look fit and healthy he appeared just like most humans did and shouldn’t have been able to stop her so suddenly and effortlessly as he had.

“Really, how did you do that?” she asked again.

“Okay, I think I need a few more details about this job,” Tabitha said pointing to the swordsman. “Mainly just who are you? You had an entire monster village scared of your presence, you completely annihilated that cyclops and her tavern with a single swing of your sword, you have more stamina than a normal human should possess, and you just stopped a full-grown naga from flying off a cliff using only one hand. I feel as though I haven’t been told everything here.”

“There is much you don’t understand,” Forrus derided while crossing her arms.

“Just go away,” Rulo snorted. “You don’t belong here with us.”

“Find another way to earn your gold,” Sasha snapped while looking away. “This
job
is not one that you should have taken.”

“Oh hell no,” Tabitha argued with a stern expression. “Job or not now I’m really curious as to how this guy is doing all this. None of this is right. He’s not acting like any human I’ve ever heard of, he’s got all of you wrapped around his finger, and you all just ran a marathon through the forest and none of you are tired at all! Just what the hell is going on here? Who
are
all of you anyway?”

“My name is Scay,” Scay politely said with a twitching smile at everyone. “I’m 25 years old and I-
nrrghmmm
want to have a man someday. Actually if I can buy two that would be even better because then I can have a threesome with them, that way I can have sex with one and
stab the other so much!
HAHA-
nrrghmmm
… I just want to have a daughter-
stab
- and a loving family-
stab
- and be happy.
Stab stab stab!
Also my right breast is
really
sensitive but I can’t feel my left one too much. I don’t know why.”

Everyone just stared at her in silence, with Daemon and his companions showing absolutely no interest in the naga’s introduction and Tabitha questioning where to begin commenting on her future interests. After a taking a moment to realize that she was surrounded by those that both confused and worried her Tabitha then turned her sights back onto Daemon as he was merely glancing back to the girls while still facing the valley ahead.

“See, her I understand. She’s out of her mind, I get that. But
you
, I don’t get you at all. Now normally I don’t ask questions when given an assignment, but I’m wondering just what it is I got myself into with this one. So would you kindly explain yourself?”

Daemon drummed his fingers on his sword’s handle while watching the neko, not saying a word or showing any change in expression while the other girls glanced to him to see what he would do. Scay twirled her hair with one hand and held her face with the other, a wide smile and a strained murmur coming from her which made it hard to tell whether she was even paying attention to what was being said around her. After a period of silence with Tabitha keeping a sharp eye on Daemon he turned his gaze back onto the valley before them.

“You keep saying you’re just doing your job,” he spoke distantly. “So are we. Unlike you however we’re not doing so for riches or glory, if anything it would be best if nobody knew about us or our deeds.”

“What are you talking about?” Tabitha asked. “You’re going through the trouble of finding all those fragments for nothing?”

“No, not nothing,” Sasha corrected, earning a confused look from the neko. “For something far greater than any material reward you could dream of.”

“Are you sure? Because I can dream of
quite
a lot of money,” Tabitha quipped with a smirk.

“He isn’t seeking those artifacts for any amount of gold,” Forrus snapped. “Such things as that mean nothing to him or to us.”

“You’re all crazy then,” Tabitha said shaking her head. “Quit playing around here. Just who the hell are you and what’s the big deal about those artifacts anyway?”

Daemon looked around at the valley below then started walking off to the side away from the girls.

“Hey, where are you going?” Tabitha called out as she ran over to him. To her surprise he stopped and looked to her while pointing to the ground.

“I’m going to survey the area, you rest here,” he stated. “Since you’re so in need of a break like you were complaining about take a moment to recover yourself. And while doing so feel free to ask them anything you wish.” He then glanced to Sasha and nodded once.

“Tell her what she wants to know if she’s so insistent. That’s her choice to know the truth, it’ll be her problem to deal with.”

“Problem?” Tabitha repeated with confusion while Sasha nodded and eyed the neko skeptically.

“As you wish,” Sasha agreed before sticking her sword down into the dirt with a sharp thrust. Daemon glanced around at the girls then to Tabitha as she watched him with a slowly waving tail.

“Ask them what you want to know, and when I return decide if the gold you were promised is enough to keep you here with us. Otherwise you and your friend may leave and find your own path.”

Tabitha quietly watched as he walked off alone along the cliffside then turned to the others with puzzlement. Sasha sat down against her blade while Rulo dropped her hammer to the ground with a heavy thump and looked around the area with a dull expression. Forrus crossed her arms and eyed Tabitha with a low growl as the neko slowly walked back over to them.

“Where’s he going?” Scay asked pointing to where Daemon walked away into the darkness. “Aren’t we supposed to be watching over him?”

“He’ll be fine,” Sasha said while looking down to the black bag she was securely holding in her lap. “He needs nobody to watch over him.”

“What was he talking about?” Tabitha questioned. “What truth?”

Sasha gently cradled the bag in her lap, treating the artifact within with the highest care and attention, then looked up at the moon in the sky above with a distant gaze.

“You don’t know what real monsters are.”

In the world of Eden all monsters sought out potential mates to breed with in their own way. The reptile girls preferred to ‘test’ their men in combat, challenging them to a fight and then seeing just how strong the man was firsthand. Unlike most monsters the reptile girls didn’t rape their men, but rather determined who was worthy enough to give them daughters who would be just as strong as they were. If he beat her in combat and proved he was strong and noble enough she would devote herself to him and do whatever it took to be his.

Whether the man wanted her, refused her, or even terrified her.