“Silence!” Sasha yelled before she swung down with her broadsword.
“Sasha,” Daemon called out.
The blade raced downward towards Tabitha’s head before halting a hair away from cleaving through the two girls. Slowly Sasha glanced behind her to see Daemon watching them with a calm expression on his face.
“Enough. You’re causing a scene.”
“But, master-”
“Sasha.”
The reptile girl twitched then looked back to the neko before her with frustration. Scay slowly peeked out from behind Tabitha’s shoulder as the two watched Sasha struggling not to finish them off.
“I mean, Daemon,” Sasha said through gritted teeth before glancing back to him again. “These assassins are looking for you, we should kill them now before they-”
“If they wanted to kill me they wouldn’t have exposed themselves as they did,” Daemon reasoned, turning his eyes back down to his drink. “They’re cowering before you, they’re not dangerous. Sit back down.”
Sasha slowly took a steady breath before lowering her sword at her side. She eyed Tabitha and Scay with a vicious glare before walking back towards her table, tail swaying sharply behind her while a quiet hiss escaped her lips. Sitting back down she rested her sword at her side against her chair before lowering her head and remaining silent.
“She obeyed him, just like that,” Tabitha curiously said as she lowered her stance. Glancing around the pub she saw all the other monsters sitting quietly while keeping their eyes on the swordsman. “How could one human instill this much fear in so many monsters?”
“I think he’s safe,” Scay nervously said. “Those scary girls are with him. Job’s done. Let’s go.”
“No, our job isn’t done,” Tabitha corrected her. “I have to help him still. Otherwise we get no gold.”
Scay whined while rubbing her face, her eyes going from Daemon to the girls seated with him that were all glancing to her and Tabitha with obvious discontent.
“But those other girls don’t like us, what do we do?”
“We have to gain their trust,” Tabitha reasoned while stifling her growl as she saw Forrus sitting with her mark. “I wasn’t told of a lycan being a part of their little circle, but I suppose I have no choice but to tolerate it. If it wasn’t for the amount of gold I’m being promised for this I would never work with one of those accursed mutts.”
“Want me to stab her?” Scay eagerly asked with a smile returning to her face. “Can I? Please? Nrrghmmm please?”
“I’ll think about it,” Tabitha muttered before taking a calm breath. “Follow me, don’t say a word, and don’t stab anyone.”
“Stab.”
“No, Scay. Don’t stab.”
“Sad.”
Tabitha rolled her eyes then carefully started walking towards Daemon’s table, keeping her hands down at her sides and away from her swords so not to appear hostile. Scay slithered right behind her, making sure to keep the neko between her and the girls that were showing increasing ire at them approaching. The other patrons all followed the two girls with their eyes, remaining silent and keeping on guard as the newcomers slowly walked up to the table.
“Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Tabitha reasoned while forcing a smile.
“Get lost!” Forrus yelled at her.
“Forrus,” Daemon said while keeping his eyes down at the table. The lycan snarled and bared her teeth at Tabitha as the neko glanced to her with discontent.
“Look, I don’t want to be here,” Tabitha stated crossing her arms. “And not just because that mongrel is sitting at the table with all of you. I’m here on an assignment, that’s all.”
“So you do wish to kill my master!” Sasha yelled as she quickly stood up and grabbed her blade.
“No, I’m here to protect him,” Tabitha quickly insisted while holding her hands up defensively.
“Protect him?” Rulo scoffed. “He doesn’t need any protection from anyone. Who do you think he is?”
“Who sent you, assassin?” Sasha demanded as she swung her blade over, stopping it right in front of Tabitha’s throat. “What are you really doing here? Explain yourself or else never speak again.”
Tabitha eyed the large blade with a quiet gulp then forced a smile on her face while she saw the reptile girl glaring at her.
“My name is Tabitha-”
“And I’m Scay, nice to meet you!” Scay blurted out with a twisted smile before giggling and twirling her hair around with her hand. Tabitha paused for a moment then continued again.
“My name is Tabitha and she’s Scay. I… we were sent to assist Daemon with his quest and also keep him safe by Charlotte, an alpha witch. Perhaps you’ve heard of her?”
“Charlotte?” Sasha questioned. “The alpha witch of Rystone. Why did she send you?”
Tabitha glanced around at them, seeing Rulo and Forrus watching her with sharp eyes while Daemon was still looking down and not seeming to pay attention to them, then noticed a black carrying pouch tied to Sasha’s belt near her hip armor, almost being concealed by the plating.
“He’s looking for those artifacts, like the one you have in your bag,” Tabitha said, keeping her voice low for only the nearby group to hear. Sasha glanced down to her pouch then to the neko with a careful eye as Tabitha smiled knowingly at her. “There are eight in this world, all of which Charlotte wants to see Daemon collect successfully. So she hired me to help him find and secure all the fragments, as well as to keep him safe.”
“Why would she want that?” Sasha questioned.
“No idea,” Tabitha replied with a shrug. “She didn’t say, so I didn’t ask. All I know is that I’m being paid to help him, that’s reason enough for me to be here. I don’t need the specifics about what those things are or why you want them. I was just told to come help him, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
“And we’re to just believe what you said?”
“Is there a problem with it?” Tabitha quipped. “I don’t think you understand what’s happening here. You have a neko, fully paid for and at your service, to help you find all those elusive treasures. My expertise and swords are yours. You don’t have to pay a single coin for my help, it’s already been given to you. How can you possibly complain about that?”
“She sent a mercenary-”
“Adventurer,” Tabitha dryly corrected.
“And a naga to aid my master?” Sasha finished with a stern glance at Scay.
Tabitha held in her sigh as she saw the girls around Daemon still showing hostility towards her then took a step back while smirking at the reptile girl.
“Tell you what. How about me and my friend here buy you all a round of drinks, our treat, and you talk it over whether or not you want us to assist you for free. Just think about it.”
Sasha quietly hissed at them as Tabitha led Scay over towards the bar, with the other customers watching them for a moment before turning their eyes back onto the swordsman.
“What is that witch up to?” Sasha asked glancing to Daemon. “Why would she send an assassin and a naga to assist us?”
“We don’t need them tagging along, we don’t need their help,” Rulo scoffed before gulping down her drink.
“I’d rather eat my own tail than allow a filthy neko to come near my lord,” Forrus growled while keeping a sharp eye on Tabitha.
Scay looked back to seeing the three girls shooting them harsh stares then turned to Tabitha with worried eyes as they walked up to the counter together. The three robed drinkers to their side paid them no mind while the bartender watched the two newcomers with a careful eye, it being her only one of course. Even though she stood tall and had a muscular build the cyclops seemed on edge, being evident by her single green eye quickly glancing over towards Daemon then back to the girls again as she shakily took a small breath.
“What do you two want?” she asked as she tried to keep her composure and act casual, carelessly brushing her brunette hair away from h
er eye before glancing away to avoid looking at anyone.
“I thought all cyclopses were blacksmiths in Eden,” Tabitha questioned with a raised eyebrow at the monster. “How come you’re running a tavern?”
“If you must know, not all of us are blacksmiths,” the cyclops grunted with annoyance. “If there isn’t enough work with forging weapons then we need to get our gold in other ways. Just so happens many of the monsters in this area are heavy drinkers, so this was a good way to earn some extra money.”
“So… do you also own a weapon’s store in town?”
“…yes, it’s closed right now due to slow business. Now enough about me, you buying anything or not?”
“Yeah, four of whatever you call your finest pint,” Tabitha requested as she took a few gold coins out of her pouch.
“You thinking of getting them for that man over there and his bitches?” the cyclops asked leaning close to her with a narrowed eye. “Best save your gold, you don’t want to get involved with that one.”
“And why do you say that?” Tabitha replied with a grin. “Tell me, why is every monster in here scared of one human?”
The bartender scoffed at her then glanced behind the girls and tensed up as something caught her attention.
“Tabitha?” Scay said while tugging on the neko’s hand. “He’s coming this way.”
“What?” Tabitha asked with disbelief. She looked back and saw Daemon walking towards the counter while his companions stayed at their table. Everyone remained silent as the swordsman’s steps on the floor were all that could be heard as he casually walked between the tables and benches towards the bar with a blank expression on his face and an empty mug in his hand.
“Is he crazy?” Tabitha hushed as she turned to see him making his way towards them while all the monsters he passed kept their eyes on him with growing tension. “He’s completely surrounded now, what is he thinking walking through the place like that?”
As Daemon walked by them all the monsters remained on guard, eyes focused on the human as he paid them no mind at all. Tabitha stared at him with disbelief, glanced over to see his companions drinking while watching him out of the corners of their eyes, then noticed a witch with a black hat and blue shawl quietly hop off her seat and trot along behind Daemon. Her eyes started to glow a soft shade of violet while she held her hand out towards the swordsman, her dark green focuser gemstone held in her palm by a golden chain wrapped around her wrist giving off a gleam as it started to glow.
“She’s going to charm him,” Tabitha hissed as she grabbed her swords and tensed up.
“Relax, she won’t get him,” the cyclops reassured her.
“How can you know that? Just what makes this guy so special anyway?”
The witch quietly giggled and waved her hand around, trailing a swirling glow behind her movements with a few glyphs lighting up around her palm. Tabitha watched the monster preparing to cast her spell, hands on her swords tightening as she contemplated her options of how to stop the witch.
‘Dammit, I just found him, I can’t let these monsters rape him right in front of me. What the hell are you doing, human? Why are you so goddamned confident when surrounded by-’
With a sudden halt Daemon swung his hand back behind him, a circular casting ring of white and black emblems lighting up briefly before a flash sparked against it. Almost instantly the witch behind him jerked back with blood spurting from her ears, a shocked expression frozen on her face as she dropped back with a thump and remained motionless. Surrounding monsters looked down at the girl then to Daemon with surprise as he lowered his hand to his side again.
“What… just happened?” Tabitha asked.
“He countered her spell,” the cyclops said as Daemon glanced back and down to the witch that had blood dripping from her ears and nose. “He just popped her brain from reflecting her magic back at her with even more added to it.”
A troll near the swordsman held in her grunt before quickly jumping to her feet and swinging at him with a dagger. Everyone watched as Daemon knocked the attack aside with his hand, grabbed the monster’s wrist, spun around and threw the troll over him onto the ground, before twisting its arm and snapping it loudly. As the troll howled in pain a goblin scrambled out of her seat and jumped onto Daemon’s back, with him pausing only for a moment before reaching up and grabbing her face with his gloved hand. The monster screamed as he jammed his fingers into her eyes and clutched her head before throwing her down onto the troll.
“Don’t!” a gremlin called out after her sister as the furry beast raced over and grabbed Daemon’s arm. The swordsman tossed his empty glass up, spun around the gremlin, grabbed its head with his arm and snapped it with a fierce spin, then caught his glass as the monster dropped dead. The wounded goblin and troll scrambled back to their feet and roared at the swordsman while other patrons didn’t seem too eager to test their luck as they remained in their seats.
“Who the hell is this guy anyway?” Tabitha asked as she and Scay watched with wonder.
“Beats me,” the cyclops said with a shrug. “I thought him to be a monster hunter at first, but he keeps those other three around him without killing them, so I’m not sure what he is.”
The troll snarled and raced at Daemon with its remaining good hand, the crowd around them watching as the swordsman quickly darted forward and past the monster before grabbing its dangling arm with his free hand. With a hard yank he pulled the troll back off her feet and onto the ground with a heavy thud, the monster howling in pain while the goblin then charged at him. He turned his eyes down to the screaming troll before reaching forward with his free hand and into the mouth of the goblin, jabbing her throat and stunning her before he grabbed her jaw and ripped it off with a loud snap.
“That human needs our protection?” Scay nervously asked as Daemon then jammed the broken jawbone in his hand down into the troll’s neck. The monster gurgled and coughed out blood while the goblin dropped to the ground hoarsely croaking while blood was coming from her mouth and eyes.
“He, um… might?” Tabitha unsurely said as Daemon slowly glanced around the room, seeing the other monsters staring at him with fear in their eyes while his companions lightly smirked at the sight.
“He doesn’t need you,” the cyclops scoffed. “From the moment those four came to town the locals have been trying to rape him, and not a single monster has gotten his pants off yet.”
“We noticed some of your dead out in the streets when we arrived,” Tabitha recalled.
“The three that are with him are fiercely protective of that human, they don’t take kindly to any that get to close to him. And even those that manage to get by them are stopped by the human himself. I’ve never seen a man fend off both magic and brute force like he has before. Hell, I’m not sure he even is human, something’s not right about that guy. He gives me the creeps when I merely lay my eye on him.”
“So that’s why everyone is on edge here,” Tabitha reasoned as she looked around at the crowd of monsters that remained still as Daemon started making his way towards the counter again.
“They all want him, and they all know he’ll kill them if they try anything,” the cyclops answered with a nod. “He hasn’t even drawn his blade once since he came to town, no telling what that thing can do in his hands.”
Daemon walked up to the bar next to the girls and set his mug down then tapped his fingers twice next to it. The cyclops tried to steady her hand as much as she could in taking the glass and filling it with another pint. As she did Daemon set some gold coins on the counter, the monster shifting her eye to them then to him as he gave a small shrug.
“For the drink and the mess,” he said without a care.
“Thank you,” the woman replied before carefully setting his drink down in front of him. “Much appreciated.”
Daemon glanced to Tabitha and Scay as they watched him while staying on alert, with the neko looking to where the troll, witch, and gremlin were lying on the ground dea
d while the goblin was hoarsely crying in pain and holding a hand over her face, then back to the swordsman as he kept his cold blue eyes on them in silence.
“We were going to get that for you,” Tabitha reminded him. “The drinks I mean.”
“Tell Charlotte I don’t need her help, but thank you for the offer,” Daemon informed them before he took his drink and started walking back.
“Hey, wait!” Tabitha called out as she quickly grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. Everyone in the room gasped while the neko froze in place as she realized what she just did without thinking. Sasha, Rulo, and Forrus quickly stood up from their table with vicious glares at the girl, the patrons looking to them with fear of what was going to happen then to Daemon again while he slowly glanced back to the neko.
“Please,” Tabitha implored before retracting her hand with a nervous smile. “We really want to help you. Charlotte was going to pay us quite a lot for assisting you, we just can’t say no to her.”
“I don’t need your help,” Daemon repeated.
“You don’t understand,” Tabitha shakily insisted as she ran over in front of him. “Charlotte is expecting us, me, to help you find what you’re looking for, as well as to ensure that you remain… untouched. This isn’t the kind of person I can cancel a job with, if you know what I mean.”
“Not my concern.”
“I’ve already accepted a partial payment and have my orders. Please, let me come with you, I’ll do anything you ask me to. Just allow me to help you even in the slightest way.”
“Again, not my concern what you’ve done,” Daemon replied shaking his head.
“Please!” Scay cried out as she rushed over and hugged him from behind. Again the crowd gasped with stunned faces while Tabitha stared at the naga with wide eyes as the girl had her arms held around Daemon’s chest with her bloody dagger still held in hand.
“Please let us help you! I have no money; my life’s savings are gone! I need this job or else I can’t nrrghmmm! Or else I’ll never be able to buy a man then stab him! Please!”
“That does it!” Sasha yelled as she quickly grabbed her blade. Rulo lifted her hammer up while Forrus threw their table aside, crashing it and their drinks into the wall before all the other monsters in the tavern quickly scrambled to get out of the building in a panic. Tabitha watched the various races of monster might and magic charging through the doors and even leaping out through the windows before seeing Daemon’s companions marching up towards them with fire in their eyes.
Chronicles of Eden - Act VI Page 21