chronicles of eden - act I (53 page)

"Your secret is safe with me, Specca, don't worry. I won't tell a soul what you are. I only hope one day you won't have to keep it a secret from the world," he said kindly. She looked at him with wonder then showed a small smile.

"Thank you. Um, what's… what's your name?" she asked timidly.

"Daniel. Daniel Sorres," he said calmly. She nodded slightly then looked down as she held the books close to her chest.

"Daniel. Well, thank you, Daniel, and… I wish you luck on your journey. If you ever need anything while in Ashwood, feel free to come to me. I may be a monster, but… I don't bite," she said with a small giggle. He chuckled and nodded as she waved to him before she turned to walk away, her eyes glancing back to him briefly before looking ahead again.

"Hopefully one day, Specca, one day," Daniel said looking back down to the book on his table. Specca walked around a bookshelf and started to put her books away, glancing through the shelves to seeing Daniel writing down new entries in his monster book. She looked at him curiously for a moment then smiled softly.

*****

Triska and Squeak walked out of a small shop together, with the human looking down into her duffel bag as she was sifting a hand around inside of it while Squeak was staring at it with wide eyes.

"Ok, so let's see here. We've gotten a lantern for seeing in the night, a fresh supply of bandages and ointment for emergencies, rope and picks for climbing rockier terrain, new pairs of clothing for you and I; I'm sure Alyssa will be fine since she can go to her home whenever she wants, new supplies of fresh meat, vegetables, fruits, bread, and a few containers of clean water. I still have my fishing and trapping equipment; that should last us for a while longer, along with new blankets and pillows, and…" she continued on while rummaging around inside the bag with a curious expression. Squeak merely squeaked once quietly as she stared at the bag that she had watched Triska not only shove item after item into, but was being carried by the human with
one
hand. Triska looked around inside the bag then over to Squeak with a thoughtful expression.

"We still need to stop by the blacksmith here, I want to make sure my sword is in tip top condition after all," she noted, slinging the bag over her shoulder with one hand. Squeak just stared with wide eyes as she watched the human girl carrying all that gear like it was nothing. Triska smirked as she looked back at her sword behind her then glanced down the street.

"C'mon, maybe he can look at your pickaxe for you too. Need to make sure our gear is in the best condition it can be before we head out," she said before walking off. Squeak watched her go, and then looked down as she held out her hands about two feet apart. She squeaked quietly, then lowered them and held them one foot apart, her antennae twitching a bit before she scratched her head with a bewildered expression. She then followed after her friend while trying to figure out how that duffel bag was holding everything and not exploding violently.

The two girls walked down the street towards a building that had a sign over it with a hammer and anvil, the girls seeing the two story shop that had a thick chimney at the top with black smoke billowing up from it. They walked into the blacksmith's shop, the door making a ringing sound as it shook a bell attached to it, and looked around curiously. They saw racks with swords, shields, plated armor, and other items of steel and iron set off to the left side, all of which were finely crafted and well-polished. Towards the back was an open doorway leading into another room and a front counter where a few dull swords were seen lying around. To the right were a few shelves lined with rusty old pieces of armor and broken weapons. Daylight came through the front windows and illuminated the interior while a lantern was hanging on the wall behind the counter with a small flame in it.

"Hello?" Triska called out as the two girls walked in while looking around curiously. Squeak glanced over and saw a few pickaxes and shovels in the corner, the girl then walking over to them and examining the brand new digging tools with interest. From the backroom a man walked out holding a large hammer over his shoulder, the muscular human having a grizzly beard and no hair on his head while he wore a blacksmith apron and dirty linen clothing underneath it.

"Good day, how can I-" he started before he saw Squeak, the ant girl glancing over to him as her antenna twitched a bit. He looked at her for a moment then glanced to Triska, the teen pulling out her sword and examining it curiously.

"We came by to have our stuff looked over, mine could probably use a good sharpening as well as hers," she said casually.

"Is that… thing with you?" the blacksmith asked pointing his hammer toward the ant girl. Squeak looked at the man worriedly as Triska nodded, glancing to her friend carefully.

"Yeah, she's friendly I assure you," she said with a slight smile. The blacksmith looked at the ant girl with a dull expression then shrugged before he walked over to the counter.

"Whatever, as long as you have money to pay it’s none of my concern you're arming that monster with a sharpened weapon," he stated flatly as he set his hammer down behind the counter. Triska rolled her eyes and walked over to him as the man pushed aside the other swords that were lying there.

"Anyway, how much and how long to get this sharpened?" she asked placing her sword on the table. Squeak looked to her curiously then over to the digging tools in the corner, reaching out and picking up a large pickaxe. It was clearly made for stronger humans as it was much larger than a normal one; however she had little trouble holding it as the blacksmith instantly noticed. He jumped a bit and stared at her with wide eyes as she lifted the large digging tool up with one hand and tilted it around, the girl examining it curiously while her antennae twitched slightly.

"Wow, she's… strong," the man commented slowly. Triska looked at her friend with wonder as the ant girl glanced back to her own pickaxe that was slung behind her back, then to the larger variant of it that she was holding.

"Yeah, good thing she's on our side," Triska said with a small laugh. She slipped her duffel bag off of her shoulder and dropped it next to her, the bag slamming into the stone floor and kicking up a dust cloud causing the blacksmith to look to it with surprise. Squeak glanced back and saw a small crack forming on the ground below the bag, then over to Triska with disbelief. The blacksmith blinked then glanced to Triska as she was just looking at her sword with an inquisitive expression still, not noticing how the ant girl and man were staring at her. She tilted her head then looked at the man curiously.

"So back to our weapons, how much do you think-" she started, then pausing as she saw the blacksmith just staring at her with a stunned expression.

"Something wrong?" Triska asked curiously.

"Are… you a monster too?" he asked carefully. Triska blinked then looked at him puzzled.

"What? What are you talking about, I'm human just like you," she said shaking her head. The man glanced to the bag that had created a large crack under it in the stone floor then back to the girl that seemed to be at least half his physical build if not less.

"Um… never mind," he said unsurely as he rubbed his head with a raised eyebrow. Triska just looked at him for a moment then back down to her sword.

"Look, how much and how long to get this fixed up? We're kind of in a hurry here," she asked again. The man nodded and picked up the sword, his eyes examining the blade carefully as he tilted it slightly in the light.

"Not bad, this is a good quality piece you have here. Still seems in decent condition, shouldn't take too long just to get it sharpened," he said simply.

"Yeah, I got it from my mother back in my hometown. One of the best ones she had crafted," Triska boasted, admiring her sword with a calm smile. The man nodded then glanced to Squeak as the ant girl set back down the large pickaxe, and then reached over and lifted up an even larger claymore sword with one hand. She squeaked curiously as she tilted it around, her hand and wrist somehow managing to support the weapon that was obviously made to be used by two hands of a human who had considerable muscle.

"My… god. What is she anyway?" the blacksmith asked with wonder. Triska looked back to Squeak and jumped a bit, also surprised at seeing just how strong her friend was.

"She's… an ant girl," she said softly as she watched Squeak look at the sword in her hand with a curious expression. The ant girl smirked slightly for a moment then set the blade down, then turned back over toward the shovels with a curious smile. Even with all her strength and the ability to wield nearly any weapon in that shop with little effort, she only seemed interested in the tools that she grew up with underground.

"An ant girl, haven't heard of one of them before," the blacksmith said with a curious eye. Squeak picked up a shovel and looked it over, the girl then spinning it around with a sharp turn at her side and examining the other side with a raised eyebrow. She blinked then looked over to see Triska and the blacksmith just staring at her. The ant girl squeaked once as she tilted her head while looking between the two. Triska smiled and then looked back to the blacksmith who was still staring with wonder at the extremely strong monster.

"So, think you could give her pickaxe a look over as well?" Triska asked plainly. The man slowly nodded as Squeak set down the shovel and walked over to him. She brought out her pickaxe and handed it to the man with a curious expression, watching as the human slowly took the digging tool from her. Her hand brushed against his in doing so, causing her to jump back with a loud squeak.

"Squeak? What's wrong?" Triska asked as her friend held her hand with worried eyes. The blacksmith glanced to his hand and smirked slightly.

"Relax, monster, I'm not going to be calling the guards for that," he said setting the digging tool down on the counter. Squeak looked at him worriedly then to Triska as she was watching her friend with concern. The man chuckled in amusement then brought out a pad of paper and started writing on it.

"Like I said, if you've got the money for the repairs then I won't judge," he reasoned.

"Thank you, most people here aren't too… welcoming of her even though this place is a monster-neutral city," Triska said gratefully at the man. He nodded then glanced to Squeak.

"Well, that's understandable seeing as what monsters do in this world. Still, like you said this is a monster-neutral city, so even though we may not welcome them here as our friends, we welcome the chance to do business with them," he said plainly. He glanced to the two items on his counter then wrote some more on the pad.

"If I see your friend outside of the city walls of course I'd try to crack her head open, she is a monster after all," he pointed out with a shrug. Triska and Squeak looked at him worriedly before the man glanced to Squeak with a smirk.

"However, in here she's a customer, and will be treated as such. It's not good business to crack the heads of our paying customers open," he mused, tearing the paper off and handing it to Triska. She nodded slowly then took the paper while glancing to Squeak.

"I see," she said softly, unable to really argue with his reasoning. Monsters were indeed hated in the world, and were considered enemies of mankind. However some monsters did have things the humans might need or want, and vice versa. Business was business, and some cities would gain some benefit by holding a truce to allow certain monsters in to trade with. The vast majority of the citizens may be uneasy or bitter towards the trading monsters, but the gold and unique merchandise the city would obtain from them would help keep the city prospering and well-defended.

"That's the time and price for both of your items to be done. I'll do you a favor and
not
charge more for her equipment. Most sellers in these neutral zones double or triple the prices for them to get as much gold as they can," he said with a nod. Triska looked at him with wonder then to Squeak, the ant girl squeaking once while tilting her head curiously.

"Really? Then… how come you're not?" Triska asked looking back to him. He shrugged and picked up the pickaxe with a careful eye.

"Well, this doesn't need much work either, it's in very good condition, and… well, let's just say I have a bit of respect for those of great strength in this world. It's not often I get to see a young girl lifting such large weapons like they were nothing," he said with a smirk at Squeak. She smiled softly and shrugged as Triska held in her giggle. Triska looked at the paper then brought out some of her gold from her duffel bag.

"Thank you, really. Here's the money for our stuff, we'll be back to pick them up later on," she said putting the gold on the counter, then lifting her duffel bag up with one hand. The blacksmith just watched her with a curious eye then looked back to the pickaxe again.

"Yep, not often indeed," he repeated, taking the sword and pickaxe with him into the backroom. Triska smiled at Squeak and led her out of the shop, both girls walking down the street outside while the man started sharpening the sword on a spinning wheel of stone. The blade sparked as he carefully pressed it at the right angles to sharpen it properly, eyeing it closely before glancing towards the front door.

“Two girls of that strength… I feel sorry for any boy that gets caught between them,” he commented before resuming his work on the blade.

Outside in the streets Triska and Squeak walked off towards the large courtyard with the fountain that would be their meeting place for Daniel and Alyssa. As they did people around in the streets were watching the ant girl with dull glares and watchful eyes, the two girls glancing around and feeling uncomfortable. Squeak made a soft squeaking sound and looked down worriedly as Triska looked over to her.

“Don’t let them get to you, Squeak, you’re going to show them that monsters can be trusted. They’ll see reason some day,” she said gently. Squeak nodded slowly while keeping her eyes on the ground, her antennae twitching a bit as she walked alongside her friend. Triska showed a sympathetic smile and gently nudged her.