chronicles of eden - act I (55 page)

“I keep telling you two not to call me that,” he said flatly.

“Sorry, master,” Rulo said again while looking down with remorse, this time being whacked in the back of the head by the reptile girl.

“Thank you, Sasha,” the boy said looking back over to them. The reptile girl smiled slightly and nodded, then showed a focused expression again.

“She’s here, master, her and that witch. I don’t think they saw me though, I held my distance and kept my form concealed,” she reported in a professional tone. Rulo whacked her in the back of the head with a stubborn expression.

“He said don’t call him that, remember? Don’t you reptile girls listen?” she said with an oink. Sasha growled at her with narrowed eyes.

“You’re one to talk, orc,” she said with a hiss. They glared at each other before the boy cleared his throat, both girls then looking to him as he had a dull expression on his face while watching them.

“Ladies, could you please remain focused here?” he said dryly. The girls nodded and watched him worriedly as he glanced back behind him down the alley.

“If she’s here then there’s no doubt she’s after it as well. We need to grab it before she does,” he said carefully. Rulo and Sasha glanced to each other then back to him as they stood ready.

“What’s our next move then, master?” Sasha asked cautiously. Rulo whacked her in the back of the head, the reptile girl flinching then looking at the human again with worried eyes.

“I mean, Daemon,” she said softly. The human gripped his sword’s handle then looked back over to the two monster girls.

“We take what’s ours, one way or another.”

The world of Eden was full of mystery and surprise, with lost tombs and ancient ruins being hidden within the outerlands. Secret caverns in the mountains, forgotten temples within the forests, or even catacombs deep under the desolate wastelands often held strange and powerful relics within them, and also monsters that may have inhabited the lands. Mystical artifacts and weapons of civilizations past, or ancient knowledge and wisdom of a time long ago; you never knew what you might stumble across while venturing through the world. Of course with such powerful artifacts one must always be careful when claiming them.

You never know who, or what, may come after it.

*****

The city of Ashwood was located between the rolling plains to the west and the outerlands to the east, the large settlement dividing a forest to its northern and southern borders. Surrounded by a fortified stone and brick wall, the people of the human city were protected from the more malicious monsters that roamed the outerlands as well as from human bandits. Within the city fortifications the streets were lined with homes and shops, along with a school for the children, a blacksmith for armor and weapons, a marketplace for humans and prohibited monster traders to do business, a church for praying and worship, a ranch and stables for the horses and travel merchants, a library that housed nearly everything for research and study, and all the typical locales that were common with the larger human settlements.

And towards the northern side of the city there was another building that stood out against the others, the large circular temple that had finely crafted stone pillars around its base and multiple stories that held trinkets of unique and special interest to mankind.

"I think you'll be happy with this find, Mr. Claymore, it's certainly the most promising of all the artifacts we've uncovered," a male's voice was heard as footsteps echoed slightly within a corridor inside the temple. Walking along the marble floors were two men dressed in white shirts with red trimmings, black pants and fine dress shoes.

"Are you still hoping to uncover some lost relic or power in that old mine near the northern mountain? There's a reason it was closed off ages ago, its minerals were exhausted and nothing but rocks and shadows remain down there," Claymore commented, his eyes looking through a pair of small glasses as he glanced to his colleague.

"Oh, but we
have
found something, I'm sure of it this time," the man said with an eager nod.

"You were sure of it
last
time, and all you had as your incredible discovery was some old rusty piece of metal that likely came from a miner's pickaxe," Claymore said rolling his eyes.

"Now hold on there, that 'rusty piece of metal' did
not
come from any digging tool used by our miners or any others, it was nothing like what our blacksmiths could forge and you know it. But this is different sir, this is… well, special," his colleague reasoned as they walked up to a large doorway inside the temple. Through the entryway was a spacious grand hall holding various display cases and tables while dozens of other people dressed in the same style of clothing were walking around, the area being illuminated with tall lamps that were set around the hall. Some people were holding old worn scrolls of strange scriptures while others were examining chunks of stone for anything out of the ordinary that was recovered by their explorers. The two men entered the hall and walked across towards a table that had a few people gathered around it, all of them talking amongst each other as a woman sitting at the workbench held something in her hands. She glanced over to the two men as they approached then back down, examining something intently while her surrounding colleagues were talking amongst themselves with curious expressions.

"Alright, and just how is… this… special..." Claymore asked, trailing off as he stared with wide eyes at something. His friend nodded as he too eyed the artifact that the woman was holding with wonder.

"Because, sir… this is something that nobody has ever seen before," he pointed out with a slow nod. Claymore walked slowly up to the table and leaned closer as the woman held the object out for him to see.

"Where… did you find this?" he asked carefully.

"Deep within the mine, sir. We didn't find anything else around it, but are still searching the surrounding tunnels as we speak. It was buried under the rocks, it was only by a lucky strike from a digger that we uncovered it," his friend answered with a shrug. Everybody watched as Claymore slowly reached out and took hold of the artifact, holding it up in the light while his eyes examined it with amazement. His friend glanced to him then back to the object.

"Should I inform the council about this?" he asked softly. Staring at the artifact with unblinking eyes through his glasses Claymore slowly nodded.

"Yes… yes, tell them at once. This… is indeed a great find," he said with a hushed tone of amazement.

In his hand was a unique object, something of the likes that he had never seen before. It looked to be a fraction of a sphere, an eighth of one, which was made of a strange metal that appeared dull and dark. The rounded side of it had strange etchings and lines carved across while the flat edges had a few angular lines etched into them as well. It weighed almost nothing at all as the man tilted it in the light, the tip being pointed and giving off a faint blue glow. He ran his other hand along it slowly, admiring the object which was nearly the size of his hand. As he examined it closely the etchings seemed to glow a soft blue light, the man watching as the light traveled around through the etchings briefly before going dark again. The artifact gave off a slight pulse, the human feeling the resonating wave through his hands as he stared at it with wonder.

"It's magical of some kind, it has to be," another researcher claimed, looking closely at the artifact.

"You think it was made by the monsters?" a woman asked curiously.

"I doubt it was made by a human, the pickaxe that struck it got chipped digging it out. But that thing… not a scratch on it," another man said shaking his head.

"What do you think it is?" the woman sitting at the table asked curiously. The researcher holding the artifact shook his head slowly as he examined the strange relic closely.

"Whatever it is… it is truly a great treasure," he said softly with an intrigued tone.

*****

Walking down a street in the city Triska was carrying her duffel bag over her shoulder with one hand, holding a bag of gold given to her by Alyssa in the other that also held the reins to Lucky, and was looking down in thought as she led the horse towards the stables near the eastern wall.

"I come to Ashwood hoping for some alone time with Daniel since Squeak and Alyssa can't go near him, and what do I end up doing? I go shopping with Squeak while Daniel heads off to the library
alone
," she said shaking her head. With a sigh she then looked ahead with a calm gaze while Lucky trotted along behind her.

"It's not like I didn't want to be with Daniel, it's just… I couldn't leave Squeak alone in the city. She was scared, and wouldn't have been safe with all those people around her," she reasoned to herself. She blinked then looked up with a thoughtful expression.

"Wow, I chose to be with a monster girl over Daniel in the city, what's up with me?" she asked softly. She smirked slightly and shook her head while she and Lucky made their way through the streets, no longer receiving any glares or cautious glances from the people around her now that she wasn't being accompanied by a monster.

"I chose to help a monster girl who was alone. Just like Daniel would have done if he were in my shoes," she said softly. After a pause she laughed slightly to herself and glanced back to Lucky.

"Guess that proves my point huh? I'm dedicated to Daniel's cause just as he is, I really am the right choice as his girl, aren't I?" she asked playfully. Lucky snorted as he shook his head slightly. Triska looked at him curiously then showed a dull smile.

"You think Alyssa is the better choice for him, don't you?" she asked flatly. Lucky nodded with a small neigh, walking calmly behind Triska as she just looked back ahead with a dull expression.

"You really are loyal to your witch, aren't you?" she said with annoyance while leading Lucky towards the stables in the city. They were wooden barns built against the surrounding wall, the buildings being painted a soft white with red shingles. Outside were large pens with wooden fences, with a few horses trotting around while stablemen were walking around dressed in dirtied clothing and leather boots. To the side were several carriages set near the wall, with some ranging from small two-seater carts while others were larger enclosed caravans. There were a few stagecoaches off to the side which were being painted while a few muscular men were putting a new axel and wheel on another that was on its side.

"Alright, Lucky, let's get you a new set of wheels," Triska said walking up towards a few men who were near the side of the stable. She led the horse up to them as a few smiled at her.

"Good day, miss, that's a fine horse you have there," one of them said politely.

"Thanks, but he's not mine, just getting him a new carriage for the owner," Triska said with a shrug.

"Well we have them in all shapes and sizes, what are you looking for?" the man asked glancing to the rows of parked rides. Triska looked them over with a curious eye.

"Well, we have four in our party, and are going to be out in the outerlands for a while. Something with a bit of room would be nice," she said casually.

"I see, well if you're thinking of traveling out in the outerlands I wouldn't recommend traveling light, it's a long trip to any other city from here. Provided you have the necessities, I would say one of our caravans would be a better fit, especially if you want to have four people traveling comfortably," the man said, gesturing over to a few parked caravans in the row. They were larger carriages, larger than Alyssa's even, and would reasonably fit the four travelers and their belongings inside. They all had slightly rounded roofs, with the top being painted brown with the body having a soft white coating, and no windows on the sides. The front had a seat for two passengers and it had four wooden wheels, all of them thicker than Alyssa's carriages had and larger as well. Inside the cabin was enough space for the travelers to move around, at least while ducking down slightly, with the back being closed off with a small square window in the middle.

"Now that's a decent ride," Triska said looking over a caravan curiously. She walked over to it with a slight smile then looked towards the man that was nodding in agreement.

"So, how much?" she asked.

"Well, these here are a great choice for going out into the world, but they don't come cheap," he said with a smirk. Triska nodded then shook her bag of gold with a curious expression.

"Hmm… I think I have enough," she said looking back to him with a smirk of her own. He chuckled and walked over to the caravan.

"I don't mind selling one to a young lady willing to pay, but these rides here may be a tad too large for your horse. You might want to get another steed to pull them for you. If you want I can show you our horses here," he said looking over towards the ranch.

"Trust me, Lucky here will be fine. He's got a lot of stamina," Triska said confidently. The man looked at her curiously, then to the horse. It looked to be an average horse; however it seemed unlikely that it could pull the large caravan all on its own, especially with four well-supplied travelers aboard.

"Lucky, huh? Well alright then, if you think he can do it on his own. This ride here is priced at 200 gold coins, a very good deal considering they’re all brand new," he said with a chuckle. He motioned his friends to head over and ready the caravan, with two stablemen promptly running over and giving it a quick check before it was sold. The man smirked and looked back to Triska, the girl nodding and opening the bag of gold to count the money. She dropped her duffel bag to the ground as she gathered some coins in her hand, the large bag slamming into the dirt and kicking up a dust cloud. The men all stopped and stared with wide eyes as she casually counted to herself while plucking out some gold coins from the smaller bag that wasn't lying on the ground with a large crack under it.

"What… the…" the man said with surprise as the teen kept casually counting quietly to herself while she sifted her hand through the bag of gold. The ground under the duffel bag cracked some more while the men around the area stared at the sight with wide eyes. After a while Triska dumped the coins in her hand back into the pouch then handed it over to the stableman.