“I think centaurs are cursed,” Alyssa said, with the girls turning to her in question as she slowly shook her head. “We met Kroanette, and then nearly get killed by gemini. A horde of monsters destroyed their kingdom from out of nowhere. Kroanette’s sister was found by a dangerous man who’s after Twilight’s life. We camp here near their homeland and Triska is nearly killed by succubi, there’s apparently now a beelzebub lurking about out there somewhere, and Kroanette is still lost and who knows where. We haven’t even heard a peep from Twilight all day. I honestly think centaurs are cursed like jinxes.”
“A lot of shit sure is happening all at once it seems,” Clover agreed. “Though I don’t think it’s the centaurs you should be cursing for it.”
“Then who should I curse?” Alyssa asked her. “Seriously, what the hell is going on out there? It’s like everything bad that could happen to us is happening to us.”
“We need to find Kroanette and get the hell out of here,” Falla suggested. “Maybe out of the country too. If there’s a demon lord out there drawing in all manner of horrible monsters then we shouldn’t stay here. Right?”
“And go where?” Clover quizzed her. “Where in Eden isn’t there shit like this happening?”
“There’s a beelzebub here in Koskaysil! We should go anywhere there isn’t one, that’s where!”
“And abandon Dan’s quest?” Clover sharply retorted. “In case you’ve forgotten he’s trying to save this land, the whole damned world even, from never-ending war! You really think he’s going to want to give up his home, his kingdom, and those that are counting on him just like that? What about Queen Victoria? Charlotte? Your monarch? They’re all offering to help him make his beliefs known to his queen so he can make his point to mankind. He’s not just going to abandon them and his quest to run away like you cowardly butterflies do the first chance you get!”
“Hey, take that back!” Falla shouted.
“That’s all you giant butterflies do when trouble comes, you fly away! Well guess what, if we bail on Dan’s quest then he’s never going to succeed! If we bail on those leaders who are offering to help him then they’ll never help us again! We can’t just run away and hide like weaklings because there’s bad monsters out there, there’s always bad monsters out there!”
“That could be your home next!” Falla yelled while pointing to the ravaged countryside. “Our home! Daniel’s home! Maybe even Rockhelm! A beelzebub is only going to attract the worst of monsters in this world, and lots of them too! What are we supposed to do to stop that?”
“Maybe Daniel can make her be good too,” Luna nervously suggested. “Maybe he can talk to her and make her stop bringing bad monsters here.”
“Right, and maybe Clover will learn to fly,” Falla scoffed while waving to the elf. “It’s a demon lord, Luna! A Darker One that lives to feed on chaos! That is not a monster Daniel can talk to about peace!”
“We’re not running away,” Alyssa said, the girls turning to see her looking up at the sky again with a solemn gaze. “Even if we didn’t have friends and family we’d be abandoning in the process we can’t give up with what we set out here to do. If there is a beelzebub out there then that’s all the more reason our races need to unite to survive. Daniel won’t give up, he won’t be scared away. If anything this will only motivate him more to bring our races together, to show them that we need each other in order to defend against the real monsters of Eden.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Clover agreed shaking her head. “If there are more monsters coming they’ll be coming for all our homes and sisters. If we run away and let them get wiped out just like that then how are we any better than those fucking bitches that ruined Kroanette’s home?”
“But-” Falla started to protest before Luna held her hand.
“Daniel promised to take care of us,” Luna reminded her. “And not just us but also our races, everyone that’s putting their faith in him. He wants to give our sisters back in Flairwood a better future, he wants to give Complica a better future. He won’t be scared away from that promise and neither should we.”
“But what can we do?” Falla worried. “A demon lord isn’t something we can take on. And what about all those monsters that leveled Ruhelia to the ground? We’re out here to speak about peace, not go to war against an army of bloodthirsty savages. What are we supposed to do against that?”
“We’d better start making more friends,” Alyssa suggested. Pip looked down over the brim of the hat to see the witch showing a very uneasy frown. “A lot more friends. We’re going to need them, just like they’re going to need us.”
“We all need Dan to make his voice heard now,” Clover agreed. “If we don’t all work together soon, we’re all fucked.”
The girls exchanged troubled looks with one another while Snapper hopped around and leapt back onto Cindy’s chest. As the swarm mauled her sandy bosom with thrashing claws and vicious snaps Squeak and Star walked over to the group, the two remaining silent just as their co-mates were as all the girls suddenly felt a boon of pressure for Daniel succeeding with his quest now.
“Rystone could be next,” Alyssa softly said.
“Or Flairwood,” Luna added.
“Or Squeak’s nest,” Falla said looking to Squeak.
“Green Haven,” Clover mentioned. “And Dan’s home. Doku’s home. Every fucking settlement out there, human or monster, it could all be destroyed if we don’t succeed with Dan’s mission and get our people to stop fighting and start working together.”
“We have to succeed now,” Alyssa reasoned. “Daniel has to succeed. Otherwise Ruhelia won’t be the last casualty.”
The girls slowly nodded while Cindy watched Snapper with a worried frown, the youngling still mauling her chest and not sharing the group’s concerns at all. Pip looked down with a worried eye while sitting atop Alyssa’s hat, the fairy then jumping and looking back as she heard a rustling in the woods nearby.
“Is that Kroanette?” she gasped. Zipping off the witch’s hat she raced into the thicket with a cheer. “Kroanette, is that you? Did you and your boobies come back? I missed you! And your boobies!”
The girls watched the fairy vanishing into the dark woods before she quickly raced back with a terrified scream.
“That’s not Kroanette or her boobies!” she cried out before racing into Squeak’s tunic to hide. The girls all looked towards the sounds of bushes rustling and twigs snapping, with Lucky grunting and quickly trotting away to the other side of the campsite which only raised tension among the group. After a moment a figure stumbled out of the shadows, with all the girls going wide-eyed as they saw it was certainly not their missing centaur.
“Whoa,” Rolian groaned as she skittered out of a bush, the arachne staggering about on all her legs while holding her jug in hand. “Why is the ground tilting around so much? Stop moving, Eden. I’m trying to- ump… trying to walk here.”
“An arachne!” Alyssa screamed as she leapt off her seat and held her staff towards the monster. Clover quickly took aim at the stumbling spider while Squeak and Star tensed up near her. Falla and Luna dashed off the roof of the carriage in a blur to get behind the girls while Cindy merely watched the newcomer with a curious eye as she held Snapper, the swarm again coughing out sand in her arms before shaking her head and then noticing the arachne nearby.
“Oh wow,” Rolian mumbled as her head rolled atop her neck. “The world’s really spinning today. Isn’t it spinning a lot, Juggy? Make- make it stop. Please. It’s making me dizzy.”
The arachne wavered on her legs before dropping onto her abdomen with a hiccup. She took a few more heavy drinks of her brew before looking around the area, her blurry vision having trouble making out pretty much everything including all the girls nearby who were watching her closely.
“Who- who- who’s there?” she asked squinting all her eyes.
“Fucking arachne,” Clover scowled as she got ready to let loose her arrows.
“Kroane
tte? Are you there?” Rolian called out, with the girls showing surprise as the arachne took another large gulp of her brew. She wiped her mouth then slowly got to her feet, her eyes narrowing as she tried to make out who she was seeing.
“Hey, is that you? C’mon, tell me. I’ve been looking for you all day. Is that you or not? Kroanette? Yoo-hoo… are you there?”
“Did you say Kroanette?” Clover demanded. “You know her?”
“Of course I know her,” Rolian mumbled before hiccupping. “She’s my friend. She’s my friend. My friend. Is she- is she- is she here? Um… where is here anyway? Where am I? And who are you?”
“What do you mean she’s your friend?” Alyssa retorted. “Have you seen her? Where is she? Tell us!”
Rolian opened her mouth to speak, wobbled on her legs, and then dropped to the ground with a thump. All the girls watched as the arachne laid sprawled on the ground with a few legs twitching, her face buried in the grass, and her hand still holding onto her jug which was pouring some of its brew onto the ground.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” Clover asked shaking her head.
“Did she say she knows Kroanette?” Luna wondered as she peeked over the elf’s shoulder.
“Oh god, she didn’t eat her, did she?” Falla feared while clinging to Squeak’s back.
Star took a step closer with a low yowl before suddenly hopping with a startled mew. She trembled with a shaky breath while her cheeks took on a blush, the girls seeing the jinx moaning slightly with a timid expression coming over her before quickly being replaced with rage. She looked down and pulled her skirt up, with everyone then seeing a tiny harvester between her legs with her face buried in the cat’s crotch.
“Mmm,” Reiko purred while holding onto the jinx’s thighs. “I missed you so much, my delicious kitty.”
“Reiko?” Alyssa exclaimed.
“Oh fuck, she’s here too?” Clover complained.
“What’s she doing?” Cindy asked curiously.
“No!” Pip cried out from Squeak’s bosom, watching in apparent horror the sight of Reiko slurping Star’s private flesh. “Those are my juices of life! You can’t have them!”
Star quickly grabbed the tiny harvester, warped to the side of the campsite, and then started bashing the little monster into the ground with furious snarls. After a few more hard impacts she then started mercilessly swiping her claws and tearing the undead monster’s body up with loud meows of rage. After Reiko’s body had been slashed into tatters Star then proceeded to heatedly stomp on the harvester’s mangled remains with loud yowls.
“Worth it!” Reiko called out between her bones breaking with her spectral cutter flailing about at her side.
“What in Eden is going on here?” Alyssa cried out. The girls looked from the sight of Star stomping Reiko into the dirt over to Rolian who merely burped while remaining face down in the grass then to each other in bewilderment.
*****
Holding her hand inside a lantern Alyssa clicked the tinder to ignite its flame, her hand brushing through the fire and gently swirling the embers before she closed the glass door. Using her magic she levitated the lamp up to hook onto a tall growing root that had sprouted up next to the carriage to provide light as the sun began to cast shadows over the campsite from the nearby forest. In its glow Daniel and his mates who weren’t sleeping within their home stood before an arachne that was bound in twisted vines with her arms tied behind her back and legs ensnared below her. Rolian nervously looked around at the group of travelers that were watching her sharply, seeing they had easily detained not only her but also Reiko as the harvester was limp in Star’s hand.
“You know Kroanette?” Daniel asked, with Rolian nodding quickly at him. “Where is she? What happened to her?”
“I don’t know,” Rolian said shaking her head. “Please, do what you will with me, but just don’t hurt Juggy.”
“Juggy?” Falla questioned. “Who’s Juggy?”
Rolian looked over to where her jug was lying on the grass, with Daniel and the girls noticing the object and also how the arachne was on the verge of crying in fear for its safety.
“Your stupid drink?” Alyssa asked. “That’s all your worried about?”
“Please don’t hurt her,” Rolian begged. “She’s a good jug. She always has been. She never hurt anyone, she only made me happy.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Clover shouted. “Forget your stupid jug, where’s Kroanette?”
“She was on her way to Ruhelia last I saw her.”
“This is Ruhelia,” Specca pointed out as she waved towards the ravaged countryside. Rolian looked around at the massive scar in the land then slowly shook her head.
“Wow, The Sisterhood really wrecked everything here. They weren’t kidding.”
“The Sisterhood?” Daniel repeated. “What’s that? Do you know what happened here?”
“Um, sort of,” Rolian unsurely said with a shrug. Daniel walked up closer to the arachne with Squeak and Clover by his sides, all of them glaring at the newcomer who gulped and slumped back.
“Where’s Kroanette?” Daniel demanded. “What happened to her home? Tell me what happened to my mate and her kin right now!”
“I don’t know, I’m sorry, I just-” Rolian cried before blinking then looking at Daniel curiously. “Wait, did you say Kroanette is your mate?”
“Yes, she is!”
“You’re the one she was coming to find,” Rolian realized. She looked him over then smiled a little. “She was telling the truth. She does have a mate in this world. Lucky girl.”
“What?” Daniel shouted. “What are you talking about? Where is she?”
“I was following her here,” Rolian pleaded while hopping in her binds. “She’s not here yet? I don’t understand how I beat her. She was running really fast and I blacked out a few times on my way here.”
“Why were you following her?” Clover demanded.
“I didn’t know what else to do. After I let her go I didn’t have-”
“Let her go?” Clover shouted. “What do you mean let her go? Did you kidnap her? What did you do to her, you fucking bitch?”
“Stop yelling at me,” Rolian whined shutting her eyes. “Please, I don’t like it. I didn’t do anything to her, those others monsters did. They were mean to her and me. That’s why I let her go, I didn’t want them to hurt her. I didn’t want to be like them or around them anymore so I left and I came here to find Kroanette, and she’s not here and you are and you’re yelling at me, and I don’t like it. You’re scaring me and Juggy.”
“Forget about your damned jug!” Clover shouted in her face. “What happened to Kroanette? Tell me right now or else you’re fucking dead!”
Rolian broke down crying and lowered her head, the group watching in frustration as she sobbed loudly and squirmed in her binds. Daniel shut his eyes and took a few slow breaths before stepping closer to the arachne while pushing Clover back behind him, prompting Rolian to squeak and lean further away from him while crying out of fear.
“Did you harm my mate?”
Rolian whimpered and shook her head.
“Did someone else hurt her?”
Again Rolian shook her head.
“You claim to be her friend?”
Rolian nodded while sniveling.
“Then tell me everything,” Daniel ordered. “I want to know how you know her. I want to know where you saw her last. I want to know what this Sisterhood is. I want to know what happened to Ruhelia. Tell us everything you know right now.”
“Please don’t yell at me anymore,” Rolian whimpered.
“Then start talking,” Daniel warned shaking his head slowly. “My patience is already at its end. I’m worried sick about my missing mate and I need to find her. If you know anything about Kroanette then you will start talking and prove to us you’re her friend. And if you’re lying, if you harmed a hair on her head, I will make you sorely regret ever having met me. Am I clear?”
“Talk,” he sternly ordered.
“Okay, I will,” Rolian agreed nodding. “Just please, don’t hurt Juggy. She’s innocent in all this.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Daniel said standing back and crossing his arms. “Now tell me, what happened to my centaur? Who dared to mess with my mate?”
Chapter 16
A Desperate Strategy
In the world of Eden it was important to plan carefully when opposing conflict. A good weapon could be useful, but a sharper wit could be what saves the day in the end. Always consider all options presented and even those that aren’t so clear. Sometimes the correct path would be obvious, whether it be simple or daunting to navigate. Other times the key to victory may be more surprising to believe and perhaps even crazier to try. Whatever choices were available, all that mattered in the end was the resolve of those faced with them.
Even the wildest plans could be achieved by those most determined.
*****
“I’ve got you now,” Bermuda chuckled with a dark grin. “This time there’s no escaping me.”
“Run, Max!” Lelu cried out. “Run for your life!”
“There’s nowhere left for him to run,” Bermuda laughed. “Nowhere left to hide. This time I’m going to get him. There’s no evading me any further.”
Chronicles of Eden_Act XI Page 55