“Wait a minute, this is the same thing that…” she exclaimed with surprise, remembering what the succubus in Ashwood was holding in her hand from their encounter. It looked to be an artifact just like this one, something that the Darker One was keen on finding and taking from the human city. Specca stared at the artifact with surprise then quickly swam back towards the surface.
Waiting on the shore Kroanette was looking around for any sign of the nixie, the centaur pacing around in the shallow part of the river restlessly while Daniel and his friends carefully made their way down the slope towards her.
“If she doesn’t find that thing I am seriously going to freak out here!” Kroanette cried out.
“So she’s basically a centaur princess?” Triska whispered to Daniel. The boy nodded as the group watched the centaur pacing around while pulling on her hair.
“I suppose so, her mother is the empress of their race for this region, that would make her royalty,” Daniel reasoned.
“She doesn’t really act like the royal type,” Triska whispered back skeptically.
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t,” Daniel said with a shrug.
From the water Specca surfaced with a small splash, the nixie then swimming over towards the group while Kroanette watched her anxiously.
“Well? Did you find it?” Kroanette called out.
Specca swam over then got back up onto her feet near the shore, water dripping from her skirt and tail as she walked towards the centaur while holding the artifact out towards her.
“Is this what you dropped?” she asked cautiously. Kroanette cheered with a hop of all her legs then nodded with an eager smile.
“Yes, that’s it! That’s it, give it here!” she called out while holding out a hand. Specca walked over to her and held the artifact out, the two then exchanging that and the nixie’s glasses while the group looked at the strange treasure curiously.
“What is that?” Daniel asked. Alyssa peered closely at it then jumped a bit.
“Hold on, that looks like…” she said with wonder.
“Yes, that’s the same thing the succubus took from Ashwood,” Specca confirmed. Kroanette smiled with relief at the artifact then looked at Specca with confusion and a bit of worry.
“Wait, what?” she asked, thinking she heard wrong. Triska and Daniel walked over and looked at the object carefully.
“Hey, you’re right, that looks just like that artifact she stole from the city,” Triska said with wonder.
“What are you talking about? This isn’t stolen, and what’s this about a succubus?” Kroanette asked looking around at everyone.
“Kroanette, what exactly is that?” Specca asked cautiously.
“I don’t know, I was just hired to deliver it, not study it,” Kroanette said shaking her head. Daniel’s group looked to each other then to the artifact worriedly.
“Kroanette, we encountered a succubus recently in a human city, she stole something that looked exactly like that artifact from the humans,” Specca informed.
“Whatever it is, she really wanted it, she even had summoned monsters set loose in the city to cause havoc as a distraction to get it,” Triska added. Kroanette looked at the artifact carefully then around at everyone.
“But why? What is this thing?” she asked.
“We don’t know, but whatever it is it’s attracting a lot of trouble. If she was after the one in Ashwood she might be after this one as well,” Daniel warned.
“You might not want to hang onto that thing any longer than you have to,” Alyssa said shaking her head. Kroanette looked to the artifact worriedly then glanced around at everyone.
“Are you serious? You’re saying a Darker One is after this thing?” she asked nervously.
“Maybe, she threw a human city into chaos just to steal another one of those from them,” Specca said with a shrug.
“I don’t understand what it is though,” Triska said while looking at the artifact carefully. Kroanette shook her head then looked around at them with a small smile, trying to hide her fear that a Darker One may be after the treasure. She began walking back up the slope towards the trail with the group doing the same, all of them looking at the strange artifact with both curiosity and concern.
“Whatever, it makes no difference. I’ll deliver this on time and as promised, and then it’s none of my concern. If my clients bring a Darker One down upon them then that’s their problem, not mine,” Kroanette said with a weak laugh. The others glanced to each other worriedly, none of them hoping to encounter the succubus again all over a simple artifact. They all walked up onto the trail before Kroanette sighed then looked to Specca with a small smile.
“Thank you, for retrieving it for me,” she said kindly. Specca nodded and smiled a bit at her.
“I trust you’ll uphold your end of our deal,” she said expectedly. Kroanette nodded and looked to Daniel.
“Of course, a centaur never goes back on her word. I’ll deliver this to my clients, and then I shall take you to my home where you may speak with my mother about whatever it is you wish. I wouldn’t count on your strange ideas winning her over, but that’s not my problem either,” she said with a shrug. Daniel smiled and nodded to that.
“Thank you, Kroanette, I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to her like this,” he said gratefully. Kroanette merely gave him a small sympathetic smile and shook her head then looked to the artifact in her hand.
“Good luck, you’ll need it,” she said simply. Specca glanced to the centaur’s bag then tapped on her arm to get her attention.
“If you wish, I can mend the hole in your bag, I’m rather good with a needle and thread,” she offered. Kroanette looked to her bag then smiled calmly at the nixie.
“Thank you, that would be most appreciated. What was your name again?” she asked.
“My name is Specca, and this is Daniel, Triska, Alyssa, and Squeak,” Specca informed while gesturing to each member of the group. The others gave small waves to her while the centaur nodded and glanced around at them. She blinked then looked at Alyssa curiously.
“Wait a minute, Alyssa? Alyssa, why does that name sound so familiar?” she asked. The group looked to Alyssa as she smiled nervously.
“What do you mean?” she asked carefully. Kroanette looked up in thought for a moment then down while scratching her head and scraping her rear left foot on the ground.
“I thought my clients mentioned that name during our conversation, I could have sworn they said that name regarding something,” she said curiously. Alyssa watched her for a moment then showed a cautious expression.
“Um, just wondering, who are your clients that want that artifact anyway?” she asked. Kroanette glanced to her then shrugged with a smile.
“Well, I suppose there’s no need to hide that from you since we’re going to be heading there to deliver this thing together. This artifact is to be delivered to the witch village Rystone, there’s an alpha witch who has arranged the drop there,” she informed. Alyssa gasped and stepped back as everyone looked to her.
“Rystone?” she squeaked out.
“Yes, that’s correct. Do you know of it?” Kroanette asked.
“Alyssa? What’s wrong?” Triska asked. Alyssa gulped then shook her head quickly.
“Uh uh, we can’t go there, I can’t go there, no way, no way,” she argued nervously.
“Why not? What’s wrong?” Specca asked. Triska looked down in thought for a moment then to Alyssa curiously.
“Wait a minute, if there’s an alpha witch there we have to go, an alpha is like a great leader for the witches, right? Daniel would want to talk to her as well,” she reasoned.
“No! We can’t go there, we just can’t!” Alyssa cried out.
“Why not? What’s wrong, Alyssa?” Daniel asked with concern. Alyssa whined and looked to him with fearful eyes.
“Rystone… it’s right next… to Ritherwood,” she said sadly. The group looked to each other before Daniel jumped
and looked to Alyssa with concern.
“Ritherwood, your… home,” he said softly. Kroanette looked at Alyssa carefully while stepping closer to the witch.
“Alyssa… something about your name and that location, I know it was mentioned to me before,” she said looking down in thought. Alyssa cringed then nodded with remorse.
“Kroanette, Ritherwood was my home before. I’m… I’m Alyssa, the Wildfire Witch,” she said with no hint of pride in her voice. Kroanette looked at her with wonder then pointed to the girl.
“That’s where I heard of you, you’re the one that burned that forest down to the ground. That’s right, the witches of Rystone mentioned you, saying you were the scourge of their land,” she said thoughtfully. Alyssa looked down with closed eyes and a whimper.
“It was an accident, I never meant to do that, it was just… it was a horrible mistake,” she pleaded sadly. Kroanette looked at her with a hint of sympathy then shrugged.
“Well, it makes no difference to me, that’s your history, not mine; I bear no ill feelings towards you despite what your reasons were. Though for your sake I recommend hiding in that caravan of yours during our trip there, I don’t suspect you will be welcomed with loving arms,” she warned. Alyssa shook her head and looked to Daniel with fearful eyes.
“I can’t go there, if those witches find me they’ll kill me for sure, and there’s no telling what the alpha witch would do to me,” she said nervously.
“Calm down, Alyssa, we won’t let them hurt you, I promise,” Daniel assured as the witch ran over and hugged him. Triska and Squeak looked at her with concern as Specca held a hand to her chin while thinking about something. Triska then sighed and looked down while holding a hand to her head.
“Great, so in order to speak to the empress of the centaurs, we need to travel to Rystone and deliver an artifact that a Darker One may be after, where Alyssa will likely be hanged if not worse if found by the local witches, and also attempt to reason with an alpha witch in hopes she’ll listen to Daniel’s idea. I don’t like this at all,” she said cautiously.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but with the chance to speak to two leaders of monster races like this, I have to try and take it. We just can’t let them know we have Alyssa with us,” Daniel said while holding the witch close. Alyssa shook her head and looked up to him with worried eyes.
“But, Daniel, it won’t be easy talking to the witches at all, you know how we are. You’re not ready to try something like that, we should just try to speak to the centaur empress, at least then you’re not in so much danger,” she pleaded. Kroanette glanced to her then to Daniel while crossing her arms.
“She does speak the truth. Listen, if you want to try and talk to monsters about peaceful coexistence then that’s your choice, fine, but you do realize that walking into a village of witches is a very bad idea for any human. At least with my home you won’t be hexed, poisoned, or raped upon entering,” she pointed out. Alyssa backed up and held her hands together while shaking her head.
“You’re not ready to talk to witches about this, let alone an alpha witch. Their magic would be too much even for me to protect you from if we enter that village. If they decide to capture you or worse, there won’t be anywhere to run,” she said urgently. Specca glanced to her then looked at Daniel with concern as well.
“I hate to admit it, but they are right. Witches are very hard to approach, especially if they’re in great numbers. You remember what a group of them did to some travelers we came across when we started our journey out here. Well, as your guide, Daniel, I don’t recommend approaching the alpha witch like this. We would need a bigger escort to try to talk to a village of witches, should they turn hostile we’ll be helpless,” she warned. Daniel looked down with remorse, remembering the humans they passed in the outerlands who had been ambushed by a group of witches. How the men were screaming while suffering at the hands of the monsters, with many of them dying from the constant abuse while their families were already dead since they weren’t needed.
“But… if I could reach the alpha witch with my beliefs, it would be a powerful addition to our support for this cause,” he tried to reason with. Triska shook her head and walked over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
“No way, our guide said no and so are we. We’ll try to talk to the witches later when we have a better opportunity, let’s not be rash and push our luck with this. We’re not ready to chance an encounter with a village of witches, let alone an alpha witch. Let’s just deliver that artifact so we don’t have it with us anymore, and then go speak to the centaur empress,” she reasoned. Squeak nodded in agreement while squeaking something. Alyssa looked to the artifact with concern then to Daniel.
“I don’t like the idea of delivering that thing to my kind’s village, but right now it’s better off in their hands than ours. We’ll drop it off with a warning that a Darker One may be after it, and then that’ll be it,” she said decisively. Kroanette nodded and stepped forward.
“The witches aren’t expecting a large group of couriers, just me. You all can wait by the outskirts of the village while I deliver the artifact, you don’t have to go in there at all. Afterwards I’ll keep my word and guide you to my home, simple as it gets,” she reasoned. Daniel looked to her then around at the group, all of the girls nodding to that with worried expressions. It may be a big chance to convince some powerful monsters to ally with mankind, however at the moment they weren’t prepared to risk such a confrontation. In doing so their journey could come to a swift end right then and there, something they couldn’t take a chance on.
Daniel reluctantly nodded with a sigh, knowing they had a point. He wanted to speak to the alpha witch, and was prepared to risk his life in doing so, but he had to agree that they didn’t have much to go with since they would be overpowered by the village full of magical casters and they also had the infamous Wildfire Witch with them.
“I suppose you’re right, now isn’t the time to talk to them. We’ll have to wait for a better opportunity,” he admitted, with the girls nodding in agreement.
“Alright, then let’s get going. Where is Rystone anyway?” Triska asked. Alyssa blinked then face palmed with a grumble before looking to Kroanette.
“It’s to the north past Eston,” she said with annoyance. The group turned to the centaur who was looking at the witch curiously.
“What? But, Kroanette, you said you weren’t traveling in our direction,” Daniel said shaking his head. Kroanette looked down while tracing her finger around in the air before her, with the group watching as she showed a puzzled expression. After a moment she looked back to where they had traveled from, then ahead past the river, then back to Alyssa with a curious eye.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“You really have no sense of direction at all, do you?” Alyssa said flatly. Kroanette twitched at that then growled loudly at her.
“Hey, I know where I’m going, the legendary courier Kroanette does not get lost!” she yelled out.
“Yeah, she does,” Alyssa mocked with a raised eyebrow. Kroanette growled then grabbed her whip and snapped it hard at her side, with Alyssa going wide eyed and backing up a step as the centaur scraped her rear hoofs like she was getting ready to charge.
“No I don’t! I don’t I don’t I don’t!” Kroanette shouted out before she started snapping the whip at Alyssa. The witch screamed and ran off to the side along the trail next to the river, with Kroanette chasing after her, the centaur cracking her whip just behind the witch constantly while yelling at her.
“Oh dear, shouldn’t we stop her?” Specca asked worriedly.
“Nah, they’ll be fine,” Triska said with an amused smile.
“But Alyssa can’t use her magic against her,” Specca pointed out. The group watched as Kroanette chased after the little witch while snapping her whip again and again, with Alyssa frantically trying to run around her without getting hit or trampled on by the temperamental centaur
. Triska giggled and nodded as she watched the sight while Daniel and Specca showed some concern for Alyssa.
“Yeah, sucks for her, huh?”
Chapter 8
Help Me
In the world of Eden, danger could come at any time, and even calls for help, especially when traversing the outerlands. One could be faced with a dire emergency of a complete stranger, or a life-or-death decision for someone in mortal danger, without warning, and have to choose what path to take in a mere moment. They would need to react quickly to these situations, using only their base instincts and judgment as their guide. In doing so their true character would often come into light, revealing just what kind of person they were inside. Would they show mercy, compassion, indifference, spite, anger, resentment, or perhaps even pleasure at another’s misfortune? When faced with a difficult situation, that is when someone’s true nature can be seen.
Whether they choose to be spectators, villains, or heroes.
*****
Looking up at the sky Daniel took a moment to relax and let out a quiet sigh, his mind still running with many things that were all fast approaching him and his friends. They had in their possession a strange artifact, of which a succubus was seen to have taken a very high interest in, and would be heading towards a village of witches to deliver the artifact to an alpha witch, a village of witches that would likely kill Alyssa on sight out of anger towards the infamous Wildfire Witch. They also had a centaur joining them during this trip, one who was the daughter of the centaur empress of the region, and who also promised to allow Daniel to speak to her mother upon finishing her scheduled delivery.
And then there was the fact that recently he had been finding himself really noticing the girls for how they were, in a way that he hadn’t anticipated feeling. During his night with Specca he had felt a closer bond forming between them, as well as realizing that even in her monster form she was indeed very beautiful, not to mention she was certainly intelligent and loved to read as he did, and also the way he had held her during their night of reading a book together, which involved her bare bottom resting on his lap while her tail was curled around him to hold him closer to her. After the night had come to an end he had found himself noticing her lovely figure and caring nature even more so, and wondered if those feelings would grow as their journey together continued.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 24