“You kidding?” Clover quipped with an amused smile. “I’m going to be bragging about it to everyone I can every chance I get. Knock yourself out.”
Daniel chuckled at seeing the feisty look in his elf’s eye then noticed Squeak and Cindy approaching them, with the ant girl having her pickaxe slung behind her back and the sand wraith coddling Snapper close while watching her with a worried smile.
“Squeak?” Alyssa carefully asked. “Why do you have your pickaxe with you?”
Squeak walked up to Daniel’s group and squeaked while crossing her arms with a firm expression on her face.
“No way!” Falla shouted shaking her head. “Squeak, you’re not going too! It’s nerve-wracking enough that Daniel is going out there, but we can’t have you doing the same! Please, just stay here and-”
Squeak turned to her and squeaked loudly while waving her arms around, the group watching as she said something very sternly towards Falla while clearly expressing her desire to go with the others.
“But,” Falla stuttered shaking her head. “No, you can’t go too. Please, stay here with us. With me.”
Squeak shook her head then squeaked at Daniel while pointing to him.
“Squeak,” Daniel softly said. “You don’t have to come just because I’m going. We’ll be fine, we can-”
Without pause Squeak held a hand to his mouth to silence him, the girl squeaking loud and sternly a few times before quickly hugging him and squeaking something into his shoulder. Daniel slowly held the ant girl who gripped him tightly and shook her head then noticed Cindy showing him a frown.
“We’re coming too,” she declared. “We don’t want anything bad to happen to you. To any of you. We want to help.”
“Cindy, you can’t come with,” Daniel argued shaking his head. “Neither of you should-”
“I want to be a good girl!” Cindy screamed out. Everyone, including Rolian and Snapper, fell silent as all eyes turned to the sand wraith who was holding back her tears. “I was very bad before, Daniel. Very bad. I did bad things to people, I killed people before I met you, I was a horrible monster. I want to be good. I want to make up for the bad things I did. I’m not coming just because I’m scared I might lose you, I’m coming because I want to help those elves. I want to be a good person like you and help people.”
“Cindy,” Specca quietly said in awe.
“I don’t care if it’s dangerous or there’s going to be lots of fire or any of that,” Cindy continued shaking her head. “I’m coming to help you all however I can because I want to be good. I want this. I want to walk on my own two feet and make my own choices, and I choose to help you because this is what I want to do. I do I do I do!”
“Cindy…” Daniel softly said. He noticed Squeak leaning back and showing a firm expression with a tear in her eye, the girl squeaking a few times before he gently wiped the tear away.
“What is she saying, Reiko?”
“She wants to be like you,” Reiko relayed. “She’s coming because she wants to be brave and help the elves like you are. That and she wants to make sure you all return safely.”
“Squeak,” Daniel said as he held her cheek. He looked between her and Cindy as the sand wraith gently handed Snapper off to Falla, the butterfly cradling the youngling in her arms while Snapper continued to watch Cindy with a curious gurgle.
“Take care of Snapper until I get back,” Cindy kindly requested. “I’m going to be a good girl, I’m going to be a good sand wraith. I’m going to make Snapper proud of her mom.”
“Cindy, you don’t have to do this,” Falla insisted shaking her head.
“I know,” Cindy replied as she turned to Daniel with a proud smile. “I want to do this. I really do.”
Daniel sighed as Cindy walked over to his group then glanced between the two persistent girls as they and the others awaited his response.
“The last thing I want is more of my mates being placed in danger,” he stated shaking his head. “I don’t want any of you getting hurt, ever. However, I will not stop you from trying to do the right thing in this world. If it means that much to you, if you truly wish to help despite the danger we’ll be in, I won’t tell you not to come. But I want both of you to be as cautious as you can be and don’t take any unnecessary risks. I will expect all of you to come back with me unharmed when this is over. Am I clear?”
The girls nodded to that while Reiko was again staring at Star and eyeing her over with a lecherous grin. Daniel looked at the two new members of their party with a small smile then turned to the girls nearby that were standing together and praying for their family to return safely that day.
“Watch over Triska,” Daniel ordered. “Keep an eye out for Kroanette. And try to calm down Rolian if you can. We’ll be back soon, and with the elves of Green Haven.”
“We’ll do our best,” Specca promised. “So please do your best too, everyone.”
“Hurry back,” Falla begged with a worried smile. “I mean it. All of you. Except for Reiko, we don’t care about her. Just the rest of you. Please hurry back to us.”
“Fuck you,” Reiko scowled at the butterfly.
“Alright, Pip,” Alyssa said as she lowered her head and focused on their mission. “Let’s go.”
“Okay!” Pip cheered as she zipped off of Clover’s shoulder. The fairy raced around Daniel’s group in tight blue circles, a gust of wind blowing outward before a large casting base of blue and golden light bloomed beneath them. A few intertwining rings slowly spun around within the base while question and exclamation marks lined the edges and outer ring as the fairy powered up her spell. Daniel held a hand to his sword as he watched the fairy’s magic lighting up under him, his eyes then going to the girls who were waving at them and wishing them luck. Specca held her blouse and waved with a worried smile while Falla did so as well while holding Snapper in her arm. The young swarm watched the bright lights with wonder then saw Cindy waving to her with a small smile on her face. Star smiled at Daniel, her eyes never leaving him as she silently prayed for his safe return. The girls around Daniel, minus Reiko who was merely licking what lips she had while ogling Star, waved to their co-mates as the magical light under them grew stronger.
“Here we go!” Pip declared before she zipped down to the casting base, a bright flash then erupting and flaring heavily atop the knoll. With a sharp crackle the light then faded to reveal Daniel’s group gone, with those who remained looking to one another in uneasy silence before gathering near where Rolian sat next to the carriage.
“Please let them make it through this,” Specca softly said as she lowered her head.
“What just happened?” Rolian asked. “Where did everyone go?”
“They went to help the elves of Green Haven escape The Sisterhood,” Doku explained. “They went to help those poor people.”
“Can they really do that? There’s lots of mean monsters in The Sisterhood. And lots more of them too. Like, a whole bunch.”
“They can do it,” Falla replied as she looked down to Snapper. She coddled the youngling and gently held her hand, the child looking up at her with a curious expression and twitching antennae.
“They’ll be back. Our family will all come back soon enough. I know they will.”
“I hope you’re not lying, Falla,” Luna worried as she looked over to where the others had vanished. Falla slowly nodded then looked behind her as well to where her family departed with a troubled frown.
“Me too.”
*****
Under the afternoon sky Clover silently stood at the edge of a wide clearing while the tall trees of her home grove were seen further ahead. Her eyes keenly observed the area and the entrance to Green Haven, seeing nothing moving about that appeared dangerous yet feeling very clearly that something was off within the once safe haven the forest used to be.
“That’s your home?” Daniel asked walking up behind her along with Cindy and Squeak. “That’s Green Haven?”
“That’s it,” C
lover softly replied. “That’s the place I called home before I met you.”
“It looks really quiet,” Cindy noticed. “Are we sure there’s bad monsters nearby?”
“There are no elven guards in the trees,” Clover answered shaking her head. “I know where they’re supposed to be, if you know where they are you can spot them from here. Not a single one is where they’re supposed to be. Nobody is guarding the forest now. Something is really wrong in there.”
“Any sign of anyone?” Daniel asked looking around.
“No. Neither elf nor this Sisterhood that’s intruded upon my grove, I don’t see anyone up ahead.”
“Did the elves leave already?” Cindy wondered. “Maybe they ran away and nobody is in the forest anymore.”
“Not a chance,” Clover argued shaking her head. “They’re still in there, I just know it. I can feel something really nasty in those woods now, no mistaking it.”
“If they’re in there we’ll get them out,” Daniel promised as he rested a hand on her shoulder. The elf held his hand and nodded while keeping her eyes fixated on the forest, almost as if she was peering into the unseen in search of her kin and their captors.
“Alyssa?” Cindy asked looking behind them. “Is Pip okay?”
“She’s fine,” Alyssa answered as she held the sleeping fairy in her hand with her staff struck into the ground beside her. The witch was gazing at not the elven forest where all manner of dangerous monsters had taken residence but instead a large field of tall grass that was gently swaying in the breeze. Daniel, Squeak, and Cindy walked over to her while Clover continued to watch her grove with unblinking eyes, the group gathering near the witch while Reiko was hovering in the air nearby with a bored expression on her face.
“Pip just needs to rest a bit after using her magic,” Alyssa continued, her hand gently brushing the fairy’s hair and wings while her eyes never left the grassland that lay before her.
“Is this going to be enough to make a large fire with?” Daniel asked.
“It should be,” Alyssa answered with a nod. She looked around at the clearing they were in, the area of land they had teleported to south of Green Haven being mostly flat with small hills to the east and south behind them and wide enough to reasonably fit every elf in Green Haven on it should they gather there. To their west was a large field of grass that reached as high as Alyssa herself, it’s width appearing roughly the same size as the clearing they stood in while around it was nothing in addition that could be added to the witch’s kindling. A steep cliff lay beyond it that lifted higher up to a raised plateau that had no trees seen growing atop it, a worn dirt trail which winded through the land and led towards Green Haven lay to its north that separated another field of grass that would be too close to the elven forest to safely use, and to the south was a boggy quagmire with nothing flammable seen floating among it.
“The field here is large enough,” Alyssa reasoned before turning to Daniel with an uneasy frown. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“What are you worried about then?” Cindy asked with the group showing concern now.
“The field is as big as I can make use of,” Alyssa explained. “Any larger and I wouldn’t be close enough to the outer fires to get any energy from them. The size is good, the quality is not. This grass is going to light up quickly, burn bright and wildly, and then shortly after die down. We won’t have long before most of the grass burns away and the fires start to wither, and once that happens my magic will drain as well.”
“So what does that mean for our mission?” Daniel asked.
“When I start the fire and then the spell, there’s no stopping. Either all the elves in Green Haven are hauling ass to this location and can be ready in a short amount of time, or nobody is getting out of here.”
“How long will we have? How short is a short amount of time?”
“Honestly,” Alyssa hesitantly said as she eyed the field of grass. “Not that much. All this grass will catch fire quick enough, I can spread the flames without any problem, but it’s just not going to last very long. The fire is going to start to run out and slowly die down once the entire field is lit. I need as much fire around me as possible to power this big of a spell, if I don’t cast it when the flames are running their hottest and fueling my reserves then I’m not going to be able to cast it at all.”
“So just to clarify,” Daniel cautioned as Cindy and Squeak exchanged worried glances. “As soon as you send the signal that you started the fire we’re going to have to evacuate the entire elven forest and get everyone here to this field with ‘not that much time’ to do it while The Sisterhood will likely be chasing after us?”
“Pretty much, yeah,” Alyssa agreed with a shrug.
“And if we don’t get everyone back here in time?” Cindy worried.
“Then nobody is leaving,” Alyssa answered while slowly shaking her head. “We’ll be stuck here with The Sisterhood and with nowhere to run.”
“That’s not much to work with considering there’s three hundred elves we need to evacuate from the forest,” Daniel pointed out with obvious apprehension.
“It’s not much but it can be done,” Alyssa reasoned. “If I didn’t think it was possible at all we wouldn’t even be here trying this. Even if we had a bigger field it wouldn’t matter, I can only gain so much power from fire at a reasonable distance from myself. We have to make do with this the best we can, and we can make do with it. As long as all the elves know what to do when they see the signal they should have enough time to get their asses over here.”
“We’ll need to spread the word to all the elves first,” Daniel said while crossing his arms and considering the short window of time they’ll have. “If they’re not all prepared when the time comes we’ll lose a great deal of them in the chaos. We can’t let that happen.”
“I know,” Alyssa agreed with a nod. “As soon as Pip recovers I’ll send her into the forest to help you spread the word of our plan to the elves. When you’ve done all you can to get the elves ready send her back to me and I’ll start the fire and send up a little light show to let you know it’s time. After that you and all the elves need to race back here and get into the casting ring before the fire around me starts to die down. I’ll send you all back, Pip will take me back after, and then we’ll all be safe in Ruhelia while The Sisterhood scratches their heads in confusion as to what happened.”
“Yeah, great, whatever,” Reiko spoke up while stretching her arms. “Save the elves, run away, got it. When can I start reaping souls while I’m here? In case you’ve forgotten I’m still hungry.”
“Wait until Alyssa gives the signal,” Daniel said looking back to the forest. “Once all the elves start running The Sisterhood is likely going to try chasing them. Help yourself to those that get in the elves’ way.”
“I shall indeed,” Reiko giggled with a drooling smile. “And then some too. I’m going to murder them with absolute glee.”
“Is she going to kill those monsters?” Cindy worried. “I thought killing was bad. Why are you saying she can do that?”
“Killing is bad, Cindy,” Daniel sighed shaking his head. “I don’t want to kill anyone while we’re here. If I could help it nobody would kill anyone today. But The Sisterhood isn’t going to leave us much choice. They killed the centaurs of Ruhelia, it sounds like they’ve been killing lots of innocent people they’ve been coming across, and when the elves try to escape they’ll try killing them too. They’ll try killing us even. We’re going to have to fight to defend ourselves.”
“So we’re all going to be doing bad things today?” Cindy asked with a frown.
“Cindy, let me tell you this,” Daniel said as he gently took hold of her hand. “Somebody very wise once told me that even a pacifist must draw their blade from time to time. We’re out here for peace between our races, but there will be times we’ll be forced to fight for what we believe in or simply to defend ourselves from those who wish to harm us. Killing is b
ad if it’s done out of cruelty or hatred, if it’s done to purposefully cause pain and suffering to others. Killing when protecting the innocent and defending ourselves isn’t bad, but it too isn’t something we look forward to doing. Taking a life is never an easy choice to make.”
“It is for me,” Reiko mentioned raising her hand. “I love it so much. It’s like sex to me. I just want to kill and reap souls all day long.”
“Taking a life is never an easy choice to make for the rest of us,” Daniel flatly corrected before showing Cindy a sympathetic smile. “If there was a peaceful option of stopping The Sisterhood we would take it, but these monsters aren’t going to give us that option. They don’t want peace, they only want to kill.”
“So I’ll have to kill others today?” Cindy worried.
“No,” Daniel assured shaking his head. “Not if you don’t want to. I’m not asking you to kill anyone, Cindy. Nobody is. I don’t even want to kill anyone here, and I hope I don’t have to. But if those bad monsters threaten the innocent elven women and children in there, threaten my mates, threaten you, then I will fight back. And if I have to, I will kill them. Because I want to protect you, Cindy. I want to protect all of you. I want to do what’s right, even if I have to do something that isn’t nice. Do you understand?”
“I think so,” Cindy softly said with a slow nod.
“Just focus on helping the elves get out of the forest,” Alyssa said. “Help them, Cindy. Protect them. Protect them like you would Snapper. That’s all you have to do.”
“I’ll try my best,” Cindy promised with a big nod.
“We know you will,” Daniel reasoned as he patted the girl’s head. While Cindy giggled and wiggled her chest and hips Clover walked over to them while keeping an eye on the forest behind her.
“We’d better get going,” she urged. “We’ve got to warn all the elves what’s going to happen soon and make sure they’re ready to haul ass.”
“So are we just walking in through the front?” Daniel asked as the group turned to the forest.
Chronicles of Eden - Act XI Page 61