Monster Girl Islands 2

by Logan Jacobs

  Marella bounced back quicker than even me, having already been awake when I cracked open my eyes, but she remained oddly quiet. She’d toddled off as soon as she saw I was awake to spend time out in the sun with Nixie and the dragon eggs. She curled around the egg that held her dragon, but she didn’t want to slight Arrick’s dragon, so she laid a hand on that egg, too. Nixie sang her dragon songs and told her stories while Mira and I took a few extra hours to recuperate.

  Once we were all feeling like ourselves again, we gathered outside around the table where Jonas brought us some solid food. He brought us plates full of scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and onions, and toasted loaves of bread along with a pitcher of fruit infused water. We dug in as Jonas threw more wood on the fire before sitting down to join us, and we ate in silence and savored every bite of what might have been the best meal I’d ever eaten.

  “I really think I needed that,” I sighed before popping the last bite of bread into my mouth. Marella hadn’t been able to finish her breakfast, so I’d polished that off, too.

  “Astral projection makes the body hungry,” Jonas chuckled. “Now, if you don’t mind entertaining an old man for a while, I would like to share with you the story of how we ended up here. It is a long one, so bear with me.”

  “I am definitely ready to hear it,” I replied and leaned forward eagerly. “I would like to have some of the mystery solved.”

  “While I may not be able to answer everything,” he said with raised eyebrows, “I think I will provide you with enough. Or at least I hope I will.”

  “Fair enough,” I laughed. “Anything is better than what I have now.”

  “Come,” he stood to his feet, “I have brought your cloaks, let’s make ourselves comfortable around the fire so the dragons may listen if they wish and the stone of the benches doesn’t put our backsides to sleep.”

  We all grabbed our cloaks and found spots near the fire to relax and listen to the old soothsayer’s tale.

  “Four years or so ago,” he began, “I left the village because I thought I was losing my mind. I was having increasingly persistent dreams and visions about a man from a land with buildings that reached the sky, and oddly colored boxes that moved along paths that carried people from one place to another.”

  I laughed out loud at his description of my homeland. It was aptly fitting, and I could only imagine how odd it was to someone who had never laid eyes on skyscrapers and cars.

  “This man looked enough like us, but with obvious differences,” Jonas went on in a soothing cadence. “He didn’t have the scales, webbed feet, or the other dragon features our people did. Because of this, which I hate to admit, I believed he was a figment of the imagination of a crazy old man who seemed to be getting crazier with every minute.”

  I looked at Mira across from me and down at Marella in my lap and could see they were already hooked on the tale. Then I glanced over my shoulder to see both dragons were also tuned in for story hour. I would be interested to hear what they thought after it was all said and done with.

  “I tried hard to ignore it all and go about my business, but this man kept haunting my dreams,” Jonas continued. “I spent most nights watching this strange man travel in huge boats, bigger than anything I could ever fathom. I watched him join a legion of sorts that I figured out had something to do with protecting his vast homeland and the millions of people who dwelled there.”

  “The Coast Guard,” I explained, “and yes, it was a branch of military that kept our shores safe, among many other things.”

  “That explains a lot,” Mira chuckled.

  “Yes, well, I became oddly attached to this man through my night time wanderings of his world,” Jonas admitted with a rueful smile. “I celebrated with him when he was awarded for his merit, and I was there when his heart was broken by a silly girl.”

  “We don’t have to talk about that,” I groaned when I thought about my ex, who had ended up being a serious gold-digger.

  “Of course not,” Jonas laughed, “but I watched him make friends and then have to leave them behind to move onto his next duty station. I watched him save the life of a drowning child who had fallen through some kind of solid barrier and into a pool of water.”

  “It was my buddy’s son,” I explained when Mira turned to me with a puzzled expression. “He walked across a sort of blanket that covered a pool of water to get his toy, but the cover hadn’t been properly secured and gave way beneath him, and I was the only one to see him fall.”

  “Then I watched as this man lost both of his parents at the same time to the shadows,” Jonas went on like I hadn’t spoken. “I grieved with him, and it haunted my every thought. I didn’t understand why this was happening to him or why I had to bear witness to it. It was at this point I decided my mind was in rapid decline, and I needed to leave the village before all of you had to bear the brunt of my insanity.”

  “But you left the village four years ago,” I pointed out with a frown. “My parents died two years ago, well, almost two years to the day before the boating accident that brought me here.”

  “I have come to realize time passes differently here than it does back in your homeland,” Jonas informed me.

  “That makes a lot more sense,” I agreed, “but how did you figure that out?”

  “By watching your nephew grow in your eyes,” he explained. “Well, that was the main thing. Many sunrises would go by between the times you would see him, and he would have barely grown. At first, I thought he might be ill, but I soon caught on to the fact he was growing at the normal rate for your species.”

  “That’s brilliant, really.” I grinned. “By my homeland standards, Marella’s current size would be that of someone who was five or six years old.”

  “What?” Mira and Marella both exclaimed at the same time.

  “Can you now see why it all freaked me out so much?” I laughed.

  “Very understandable.” Jonas nodded. “It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, leaving the village, I was the last living male, after all, but I couldn’t stand the idea of vexing my dear granddaughters with my failing mind. So, in the quiet of the night, I packed a few provisions and made what I thought was Oshun’s Walk to leave this plane and move onto the next. But our goddess had other plans for me.”

  “What happened next?” I asked, and I had to admit, I was pretty hooked on this tale now, too.

  “I made my way through the jungle without so much as a bird chirping at me and started my way up this mountain, thinking surely the goddess would bring me home before I reached the top,” Jonas replied. “Instead, I found this cave and a nest of gryphons in the woods above it. I didn’t enjoy the idea of becoming their lunch, but I wasn’t going to deny my goddess’ plan for me. To my surprise, however, the damn creatures brought me seeds to plant and meat to eat and chased off any predators that dared spy on me. They showed me the nearby fresh water source with a waterfall and clear pool, and every damn thing I needed to survive.”

  “The gryphons in my world are mythical creatures that work for the gods,” I mused. “I guess it makes sense that Oshun would use them to do her bidding.”

  “Yes,” he laughed, “and I found it extremely irritating. I came to die and instead found salvation in gargantuan mammal-bird hybrids. I made my home here, but soon the dreams of you began again.”

  “What did you see this time?” Mira questioned with wide eyes.

  “I couldn’t understand why the goddess plagued me with all these visions of a man from another world,” Jonas huffed as his face creased with a frown. “It was driving me mad, so I spent hours in prayer and meditation searching for answers. Then it finally came to me, in visions of your future. I saw glimpses of Marella and Arrick, a pregnant Talise and Nerissa, you fighting side by side with Mira, and I wept tears of joy that not only had Oshun found me worthy enough to bless me with this knowledge, but that a savior for my people would soon arrive. I wanted to rush back to the village and tell them all I had discov
ered, but that would have ruined everything. So, I had to stay put on this mountain until you came to me. I knew the time of your arrival was looming, and I was stressed I wouldn’t be there when you made your transition into this world. I started stealthily sending dreams to Sela so she would be on the lookout for you, but I knew I couldn’t ask her to be kind or to immediately trust you. I couldn’t give away my position, so this was something you were going to have to earn on your own.”

  “Sela was definitely the hardest one to win over,” I grumbled. “Damn near took me dying to do it.”

  “And it made you all the stronger,” Jonas laughed. “I was there the day you saved that young lady and her family, including the funny looking furry beast they loved so much, from their sinking boat at the cost of your own life. Well, not your actual life, but life as you knew it. As you sank unconscious to the bottom of the sea, I opened a portal in the ether just as Oshun had instructed and pulled you into this world and onto the island where Sela later found you. I couldn’t save you in your own world, it is not allowed, but I could assure you made your way safely here where you would find a new home, with a family that would not replace your old one, nothing ever could, but would be just as precious in their own way.”

  I let all of this process for a while. I had, for all intents and purposes, died in my old world. The only reason I was alive today was because a goddess deemed me worthy enough to save, and to in return save her people.

  Hot tears burned my eyes, but I blinked them back quickly. I really was given a gift, one straight from a goddess. I didn’t know what I did to deserve it, but I wasn’t going to waste it.

  “Do you know what happened to the family I saved?” I choked out.

  “All I know is they survived,” Jonas said as he reached out and patted me on the shoulder, “even that cute little beast.”

  “I thought you said it was funny looking,” Mira giggled through her own tears.

  “It was both, if that is possible,” Jonas chuckled. “My dreams of you, Ben, slowed down considerably after you finally made it here. I got bits and pieces of what you were accomplishing, of the battles you fought, your children being born, and you bonding with your dragon, and I was proud. Very proud. So, I thought maybe now my goddess would let me go, but no, I still have more work to do. I have a great-granddaughter who needs me, with more on the way. I am also supposed to help you with this map you found and the quests you are about to endure.”

  “You want to help me build a legion of boats?” I asked with a grin, which only grew wider when Jonas nodded.

  I really liked this old guy. Strangely enough, I was starting to feel like we’d been connected for years.

  “Ben,” he went on in a serious tone that drew my attention, “you are destined for great things, and among those is the survival of many people, not just the ones you have already claimed as your own here. There are several small islands around this one with people on them. Each one is a little different, but still very much alike at the core of their being, but all have had trouble with the scourge that threatens our world.”

  “You mean those orc-pirate assholes?” I asked.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “The men of these neighboring islands have been killed, and their remaining women-folk hide. They won’t last, though. They need you. You must journey to them, and save them, just as you have saved my people.”

  “I’m not sure I’ve really saved you all yet,” I argued with a frown. “I don’t know how many of these orcs there are, but--”

  “There are many,” Jonas sighed. “They are a dark plague on the gentle ocean waters. And you are right, they will be back. The only way you can win is if you gather these other clans to you. You must build a new army--a new navy. I have seen glimpses of battles. I’ve seen countless ships. I’ve seen war in the jungle, and on the beaches. I’ve seen … well, I don’t know how much of it will come to pass, but there is only one man standing between the darkness and the innocents of this world: you.”

  “Damn,” I muttered, and then I processed everything in silence for a few minutes. I wanted to know more about what the future held, but I knew it would be pointless to try and get it out of Jonas. He’d already given me so much more than I’d expected, and that had to be good enough.

  “When you are ready,” Jonas interrupted my thoughts, “you can make the hour climb up the rest of the mountain. From there, you can see the village and some of the islands nearby. It will give you a better idea of the map you have in your possession.”

  “Which I didn’t think I would need on a rescue mission into the jungle,” I groaned, “so it’s still sitting in my room at the palace.”

  “Luckily, you know a handsome soothsayer with an amazing memory.” Jonas winked. “I copied the map for you onto a piece of weathered hide. It is in the cave, ready when you are.”

  “I owe you so much, Jonas.” I shook my head.

  “You owe me nothing,” the old soothsayer countered. “You saved my people, you brought new life to my village, and you will save our world. You proved I wasn’t as completely crazy as I thought I was. It is I who owes you.”

  Before I could object, the man reached out and hugged me like a father would a son, and there was nothing I could do but return the hug. I’d just met the old dragon-man, but I really liked him, and I was grateful he was my grandfather-in-law.

  “Take Mira with you when you go up the mountain,” he murmured in my ear. “I will stay here with Marella and the dragons. All will be well.”

  I decided to wait one more day before making the climb to the top of the mountain. I felt a shitload better than I had, but I didn’t want to push Mira or myself, either, so there was no harm in waiting one more day before going.

  Mira and I decided to go hunting for a while in the afternoon to see what we could come up with for dinner, and to spend a little time away from the others. She and I had that in common, we both needed our quiet time every now and then.

  We’d been tramping quietly through the woods when I spied what I could only describe as a cross between a whitetail deer and a buffalo, and it was as weird as it fucking sounded. It had the broad chest and shoulders of a buffalo, but the longer snout and antlers of a deer. It was also a silvery color and had a sort of mane like a lion.

  Mira raised her eyebrows in question, and I knew she was wondering if it would make for a good meal or two. I started to nod my head and let her take her best shot when the bush behind the buffa-deer moved and two fawns popped out. Mira lowered her bow with a smile, and we watched as the babies chased after one another and bounded into another nearby bush.

  “Maybe we should stick to the rabbits,” she whispered. “They don’t have any younglings with them.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” I said.

  Soon, we had half a dozen rabbits and decided to head back to the others. Along the way, we found more of the purple berries and a grove of apple trees. Well, they looked like apples, except they were red and green marbled together, not just one color or the other.

  “What the heck is that?” Mira asked when I picked one off a branch.

  “They kind of look like what we called apples in my world,” I said, “but not exactly. I thought it would be best if I just picked some of them and then asked Jonas about them before randomly biting into one like some fucking idiot.”

  “Probably a good idea,” she laughed, “we would be in big trouble if our savior poisoned himself.”

  I rolled my eyes in response before I filled my bag with a dozen or so of them just in case they were edible. If they were as good as I was hoping, maybe we could take some back to the village. They would be amazing with the wild boar and roasted vegetables Hali was so damn good at preparing.

  We walked in comfortable silence most of the way back to the cave, and I was thinking about making the trek up to the mountain top and being able to literally set my eyes on our future goals.

  We were almost back to the cave when Mira stopped dead in her tra
cks.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Everything Jonas said really happened, didn’t it?” she asked as she turned to me.

  “Yes.” I smiled. “It did.”

  “You have lost so much,” she whispered, “but yet you gave so much to us without a second thought.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I assured her. “You and all the others are my family now.”

  Mira just nodded her head and started to walk away, but I caught the tears in her eyes and pulled her close to me. I wasn’t sure why she was crying, but I really didn’t need to know. It had been an emotional time up here on this mountain for all of us, so I let her get it out of her system before I tilted her head up and wiped her tears away.

  “Don’t cry, shopgirl,” I quoted.

  “You are so fucking strange!” the warrior groaned as she composed herself, and then we continued on our walk back to the cave.

  Marella was napping in the curl of Nixie’s tail right beside both of the dragon eggs when we got back. Jonas was sitting at the table grinding some kind of grain with a makeshift mortar and pestle, while George was patrolling the edges of the clearing and having too much fun sticking his head into random bushes to see what he could scare and send running.

  “Look what we brought,” I called out to Jonas as we approached the table. “Plenty of rabbits for tonight, more purple berries, and something I need your wisdom about.”

  I reached into my bag and pulled out one of the apples to show him.

  “Oh!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t realize it was time for those to be ready again. I just came across those last year, and the gryphons let me know they were safe to eat. They are quite delicious. Have you ever seen them before?”

  “They remind me of the apples from back home,” I replied, “but I haven’t tasted one yet. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to poison myself with one.”

  “Go ahead.” Jonas nodded. “They are perfectly safe.”

  I wiped the one in my hand off on my shirt out of habit, before I took a bite out of it. It was an instant orgasm in my mouth, I fucking kid you not. It was sweet with just the right amount of tart, crispy, and juicy, like a Honey Crisp apple and a pear had a love child, and it was currently dancing a very sexy mambo in my mouth.