chronicles of eden - act I (47 page)

"We don't know what kinds of monsters were responsible for it, but we heard that the city was raided and burned to the ground in one night. All the men were taken away while the women… well, they weren't," Daniel said with remorse. Squeak looked at Daniel worriedly then to Alyssa, the witch nodding slowly.

"I see. I'm sorry, Daniel; if it makes you feel any better I don't think my kind had a hand in it. Witches don't raid human cities like that," Alyssa said looking to Daniel. Squeak shook her head and squeaked something at him as well. Daniel gave the two monsters girls a gentle smile and shook his head slightly.

"It's alright; I don't blame either of you for what happened to them. Besides, you're my proof that coexistence can exist with certain monsters, it's that sort of union that might prevent another incident like what happened to that city," he hopefully reasoned.

"It's places like Rehnder that remind people of the dark side to monsters. You two may be special cases, but until we can get more proof for the world to see, mankind will always view monsters as a plague,” Triska said shaking her head. She sighed then glanced to the two monster girls.

"You two need to be on your best behavior in there, we can't let anybody see you for being evil monsters," she said worriedly. After a pause she blinked, then looked at the two girls with surprise.

"Wait, hold on a second. What are we going to do about them going into the city with us?" she asked nervously.

"What about us?" Alyssa asked.

"Ashwood is a
human
city," Triska pointed out expectantly. Daniel looked to Alyssa and Squeak then jumped a bit as he realized what she was getting at.

"Oh… yeah. I didn't even think about that," he said softly. Alyssa and Squeak looked to each other then to the humans curiously.

"What are you two talking about?" Alyssa asked.

"We're talking about us going into a
human
city with two
monsters
. They're not going to let you in with us," Triska said shaking her head.

"Sure they will," Alyssa reasoned.

"What? But you're both monsters, they're going to try to kill you if you go inside," Triska said with bewilderment. Alyssa giggled and shook her head.

"I'm not sure what kind of village you came from, but not all human settlements outlaw monsters," she said with a laugh.

"What?" Daniel and Triska asked with surprise. Alyssa looked at them curiously and then tilted her head slightly in question.

"You're surprised?" she asked.

"Well… yeah," Daniel said unsurely.

"What do you mean not all human settlements outlaw monsters? I thought mankind hated… your kind," Triska asked with confusion. Alyssa nodded and glanced away.

"Well, I'm not saying they're going to welcome us with open arms. Far from it actually. Still, there are some human areas where certain monsters are permitted for various reasons," she explained with a shrug. She then looked to Daniel with a curious smile.

"Let me guess, your home had a zero monster tolerance," she guessed. Daniel and Triska just nodded with stunned expressions still.

"You mean there are humans out there that… are already coexisting with monsters?" Daniel asked curiously. Alyssa showed a bit of worry and shook her head.

"Not exactly, Daniel. We're allowed into human areas, but not as welcome guests or residents. Some of us are allowed in to sell and trade with our own merchandise, and others are hired for various tasks by your people. Of course there are some types of monsters that are strictly banned from human areas for obvious reasons, and some of us even require an armed escort to make sure we behave," she explained.

"I never knew that, I always thought all humans hated monsters," Daniel said curiously.

"Yeah, our village council raised all of us with that belief," Triska agreed with.

"We're still not exactly loved, Daniel, and those that are permitted into human areas aren't considered trusted by your kind either. Still, some monsters have things or services that humans are willing to pay for, and we don't mind getting some gold for our hard work," Alyssa said with a shrug. Daniel and Triska looked at her curiously then to Squeak. The ant girl merely shrugged and looked at Alyssa curiously, her antennae twitching slightly. Alyssa giggled and shook her head.

"I doubt she would have known; ant girls always stay near their nest, so they don't travel too far away from their own land. She's probably the first ant girl to accompany anybody like this, let alone venture into a human city," she said with a smile.

"Have you been in human cities before?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Yep yep, in fact I was in Ashwood before I met you. I was on my way to see if I could sell my potions at your village, and to see… if…" Alyssa said before trailing off and looking down, her expression shifting from a happy smile to a remorseful frown. Daniel looked at her with a sympathetic smile and nodded knowingly.

"To see if there were any men you could charm," he finished. Alyssa cringed at that and nodded slowly. Triska looked at her for a moment with a blank expression then glanced away and shook her head.

"Well, that wouldn't have worked out well for you, Alyssa, our village would have tried to kill you long before letting you in," she said simply. Alyssa nodded and looked to Daniel worriedly.

"I'm not like that anymore though, honest. Please don't think that way about me," she begged.

"It's ok, Alyssa, you were just following your nature then. I guess it was good fortune that we found you when we did," Daniel said with a kind smile. Alyssa nodded and looked down with a small smile. Triska looked to the witch and then down with a gentle gaze. She knew Alyssa was indeed trying to fight her nature, that was a given seeing as how the witch wasn't trying to kill her and Squeak and merely charm Daniel into submission.

'If she really wanted to, she could take Daniel away by force. Not even Squeak or I could stop her. She really is fighting her inner nature for him.'

Daniel looked down the path towards Ashwood then back to Alyssa with a curious expression.

"So since you were just allowed in there, does that mean you and Squeak will be ok going in with us?" he asked. Alyssa looked to him and nodded.

"Don't worry, Daniel, we'll be fine. I've been in human cities before, I know how the law is with us," Alyssa said assuredly.

"The law?" Triska asked. Alyssa glanced to her and held up one finger.

"All monsters types that are permitted into these cities are allowed
one
chance to stay. That means if any witches ever tried to use their magic or steal men within the city limits then they just got
all
witches on the banned list, and we wouldn't be allowed into that city ever again. Since we can get some pretty good gold for our wares in the human city, no witch wants to blow that for all our kind, not to mention that if a witch did screw that up for all of us she would likely be hunted down for it," she explained.

"Wow, strict policy," Daniel said scratching his head. Alyssa nodded with a small shrug.

"It is, but it's effective. The types of monsters that trade with you humans want to keep doing so, and won't risk losing their permission to do so. Selling our merchandise in the cities is a lot more profitable than selling them out in the wilderness, and a lot of monsters make very good money doing so. Ashwood still allows witches in to sell their magic, so they'll let me in even though I don't have anything to sell," she reasoned casually.

"How come monsters want gold anyway? What are they going to do with it?" Triska asked confused. Alyssa looked at her with an amused smile.

"Same reason as you humans; for wealth of course. What's so odd about us wanting gold just like you?" she asked curiously.

"Where are you going to spend it? Or on what? I don't know, I just never thought about monsters wanting gold, I thought they only wanted our men," Triska reasoned with a shrug. Alyssa giggled and glanced to Daniel.

"Well, I think almost any monster would choose a man over gold, I know I would. Still, monsters use gold for the same purposes you humans do, to buy and trade with other monster races. We may be monsters, but we're not that different than humans in some ways," she said with a wink. He smiled and nodded in agreement.

"It seems we're not," he said gently. Alyssa looked down with a timid smile as Triska looked at her curiously, the teen then shrugging in response.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. Squeak's queen did mention that her race traded with other monster races," she said simply. She blinked then glanced over to the ant girl who was looking at her curiously.

"Speaking of her, do they allow ant girls into cities too?" she asked. Squeak tilted her head curiously as the group watched Alyssa merely shrug.

"I don't know, again, she's probably the first ant girl ever to go near a human city. I'm not sure what they'll say about her, but odds are she would be allowed in with me. She looks rather harmless," she reasoned, eyeing the ant girl carefully. Squeak looked at Alyssa curiously as the witch showed a cautious expression at her.

"Still, you need to be on your best behavior in there, Squeak. You may be allowed in as a traveler, but you need to be very careful about what you do and say… well, not so much what you say," she cautioned, raising an eyebrow at the ant girl. Squeak merely made a soft squeaking sound as her antennae twitched a bit. She then looked to Daniel as he nodded with a small smile.

"Just stay close to me, ok?" he asked. Squeak nodded with a smile and a soft squeak, then quickly walked over to him and held onto his arm with a timid smile. Daniel smiled weakly at the gesture while Triska and Alyssa stared at the ant girl with dull expressions.

"Squeak, not
that
close to him," Triska said with a hint of anger. Squeak glanced to her then down to see Daniel's arm being held close to her, so much that her breasts were enveloping his arm slightly. She smiled timidly and looked at Daniel, who was trying not to look at what his arm was being held in. Squeak made a soft squeaking sound before she was yanked away by a magical force, skidding back on her boots as her arms were held to either side of her. She looked around puzzled before the group turned to Alyssa as she was holding her staff towards the ant girl.

"And
especially
don't hold onto Daniel in there, Squeak, or else," Alyssa warned, shaking her head. Squeak gave Alyssa a dull glare before showing a curious expression, seeing the witch looking at her worriedly.

"I'm not just saying that, Squeak. All monsters in these cities are
never
to touch a human male like that, ever," she said firmly.

"Never?" Daniel asked. Alyssa looked at him worriedly and nodded.

"If any monster attempts to seduce or even hold onto a man it's considered an attempt to steal him away. If Squeak holds onto you like that in the city they'll try to kill her on the spot," she said looking back to Squeak worriedly. The ant girl jumped a bit and squeaked with fear.

"They'll try to kill her, for just holding onto Daniel's arm?" Triska asked glancing back to the witch.

"There's no tolerance for such behavior in these cities. Monsters are only allowed in to sell their wares, and that's it. We can't get involved in a fight, we can't use our magic, we can't make any suspicious movements or else we'll be killed. We're only allowed entry during the day to sell our stuff, and then we have to leave before nightfall. Those are the rules, and there are no exceptions," Alyssa stated as she looked back towards the city.

"Wow… very strict policy," Daniel said softly. Triska looked at Alyssa carefully then over towards the city in the distance.

"So wait a minute, you mean to tell me that once inside the city neither you nor Squeak can touch Daniel at all?" she asked curiously. Alyssa looked down with a frown and nodded.

"Yeah," she said softly.

"And you can't use your magic at all… and Squeak can't get involved in any fights," Triska asked carefully.

"That's right," Alyssa said closing her eyes. Triska looked at the two monster girls then towards the city with a slight smile.

"Really," she said quietly to herself. Daniel gazed around at the large city then looked back over to Alyssa, seeing her having a saddened expression. She glanced to him then looked back down worriedly.

"I'll be good though, Daniel, I swear. I won't blow this for you. I've been in human cities before, I know how to behave," she said softly.

"It's alright, Alyssa, I trust you outside of those city walls, so of course I would trust you inside them as well. I know you'll be on your best behavior," Daniel reassured gently. Alyssa looked to him with a small smile as he looked over to Squeak, the ant girl having a concerned expression while she was looking ahead at Ashwood. She glanced over to Daniel and made a soft squeaking sound as she pointed to the human city.

"It'll be alright, Squeak. Just don't do anything to draw more attention to yourself, and stay close to Alyssa and Triska. You'll be fine," he said assuredly. She nodded slowly then looked back ahead at the city.

"Alright then, let's get going. We've got some shopping to do before we head out into the outerlands," Triska said, motioning the group forward. As they started making their way down the hill along the dirt road she glanced to Daniel with an eager smile.

'This is my chance. Alyssa can't use her magic to interfere with me and neither she nor Squeak can touch Daniel inside those city walls. All I need to do is wait for my moment to get him alone, and then he's all mine.'

*****

The travelers headed towards the city of Ashwood, all watching with wonder while they approached the large stone walls as they saw just how big the place really was. The walls stretched out for quite a ways towards both forests on opposite sides of the city, with the main gate ahead open for travelers to enter freely. The dirt road from outside shifted into a smooth cobblestone street that headed into the city and branched out between districts. People were seen walking around inside the city while a few female guards were scattered amongst the populace, with the citizens dressed in casual and simple clothing. The guards of Ashwood however all wore steel armor plating on their chests and arms as well as their leggings, along with steel and leather boots with white undershirts and pants under their armor. Their swords were sheathed at their hips as they patrolled the inside of the city, with the women either having their hair held back in long ponytails or in short cut hairstyles.