“Such interesting friends you have,” Calam commented.
“I don’t know if I would call them friends,” Falla sighed as she and her sister sat down with them. “They’re more like… ghosts that haunt us.”
“Well one of them is a harvester,” Calam reasoned with a shrug. “Yes, such interesting companions Daniel has accumulated. A harvester, a baby swarm, two sand wraiths, a jinx, and this cute little Darker One who just loves to cuddle.”
Looking down to her chest she watched Pip poking her head up from between her breasts, the fairy taking a few deep breaths before snuggling closer to Calam’s chest with a happy sigh.
“They’re not Squeak’s, but they’re still so bouncy and soft,” the fairy cooed in delight.
“Pip, what are you doing in there?” Falla scolded. “Get out of Calam’s boobs right now.”
“It’s alright, I don’t mind,” Calam assured with a wave of the hand. “The little dear seemed to be enamored by them so I thought why not let her enjoy herself. It’s okay, I don’t mind the attention. If anything I’m happy she likes me.”
“Still,” Specca sighed. “Pip has enough breasts to play with as it is. She doesn’t need to be jumping into those of people we just met. Pip, you have plenty of other boobs to fondle if you so desire, you don’t need any more.”
“Aww,” Pip pouted. “But I wanted to hug her boobies. They remind me of Squeak’s boobies. I miss her. I really do.”
“You can cuddle my breasts if they make you feel better,” Calam told her. “I may not be Squeak, but me and my boobies can still be your friends.”
“Yay!” Pip cheered, bobbing up and down in the ant girl’s shirt with renewed excitement. “More friends! More boobies! I like you!”
“Talk about being spoiled,” Clover mentioned with a raised eyebrow.
“I think if anyone is spoiled here it’s Daniel,” Calam reasoned with an amused smirk. “He has so many mates that he loves and who love him back, and on top of that he has many more who have become his friends… or at least friendly ghosts, hee hee.”
“Yeah,” Falla reluctantly admitted. “Daniel’s always had a knack for attracting the ladies.”
“He’s so nice and wonderful,” Luna praised as she pet Snapper’s head. “He takes such great care of us and loves us just the way we are. And he’s really good at having sex with us too.”
“Luna!” Specca whined. “You don’t need to be saying such things to our guest!”
“It’s quite alright,” Calam giggled. “I already know of the intimate relationship you all share with that man. Kroanette has boasted about how Daniel not only mated willingly with her out of love but also with all of you. I must say I’m rather impressed he has the stamina to take care of so many women like he has. He’s certainly living up to the amazing reputation Kroanette has spoken of.”
“Is there anything about our personal lives that she hasn’t told you yet?” Specca sighed in defeat.
“What can I say, she’s been bragging about all of you non-stop,” Calam replied with a shrug. “I can’t speak much about the circumstances I’m sworn to withhold, but what I can say is that she honestly never shuts up about how great you all are. You mean the world to her and then some, I can promise you that.”
“We feel the same way about her,” Luna said softly.
“It’s true,” Falla agreed with a small smile. “We love Daniel so much, but we do care about her as well. She’s part of our family.”
“I still don’t think she needs to go around telling everyone about our love life with Daniel,” Specca worried. “It’s not exactly proper to do that. But it is nice to hear that she thinks so highly of us.”
“I’m actually okay if everyone knows Daniel and I are mates,” Alyssa admitted. “I don’t mind if the whole world knows he takes me to bed with him.”
Calam calmly took another sip of her tea then glanced to Sheal who was quietly staring at her drink with a distant gaze, the salamander woman having been silent the entire time and keeping to herself.
“And then there’s you,” she added, getting a curious glance from the salamander. “Kroanette told me about her arachne friend, and her large family that surrounds us, and especially her loving mate who she holds in the highest regard. But she never mentioned a salamander woman lived here with her.”
“I… don’t live here,” Sheal quietly said shaking her head. “I’m just… um…”
“She has her reasons for being here,” Clover mentioned, setting her cup down with a clink. “But her story isn’t the one we’re really interested in right now. You seem to know a lot about us, but we hardly know anything about you. How about you start off with telling us a little more about who you are?”
“I suppose that’s fair,” Calam reasoned with a shrug. She took one more drink from her cup then waved her hand to make it float back down onto her plate. “Let’s see now. I hail from Tazziad, located on the far eastern side of Eden, with my nest resting under the Gigiloppes Mountains. It’s been a while since I last lived there, but when I left my queen had over 400 daughters to her name. I do wonder how many sisters I have as of this day.”
“400 daughters,” Clover repeated. “Sounds like a close family.”
“Yes, and no,” Calam giggled. “You see, the Gigiloppes Mountains spans great lengths on the country’s northern border. Our nest was spaced out nicely under those peaks to give all of us plenty of room to work. Though our family was large, we kept our distance from one another most of the time.”
“Why was that?” Specca asked. “Why spread yourselves so thin for your digging?”
“Digging?” Calam laughed. “Oh, no, that’s not at all what I meant. You see our nest had already been tunneled out by our ancestors. It had plenty of caverns and corridors for us to live comfortably in while also housing the remains of many old ruins from ages past. We made our home out of our ancestors’ nesting tunnels and the temples left behind by some unknown race.”
“There are ancient ruins under that mountain?” Doku wondered.
“Yes,” Calam said looking up curiously. “Though to this day we still don’t know who created them or how long ago they lived there. But what we did learn from the remnants of that race was something quite invaluable.”
She smiled around at the girls as they listened with interest before she snapped her fingers above the table, creating a flurry of sparks and colorful ribbons.
“We learned to use magic,” she explained, with everyone showing surprise as she started circling her finger in the air, drawing a glowing casting ring that pulsated with golden light. “It took a long time to make sense of it, but over time our nest became more proficient with magic than digging. In fact, we only use magic with what digging we still do. We don’t need pickaxes or shovels anymore, instead we harness the powers of the ether to do our excavating for us. I may have the physical strength needed to properly dig out a tunnel, but I can just as easily use my mind and magic to rip through the rock without any trouble.”
“That’s amazing,” Alyssa marveled. “That’s how your nest learned to use magic?”
“We learned many things from those old ruins,” Calam proudly stated, moving her hand back and letting the casting ring slowly dissolve away. “Though much still remains a mystery. Even so, it helped us forge a better way of life for our sisters. And we’re continuing to better ourselves and master the craft to this day. I’m sure underneath those mountains are all my sisters, experimenting and unlocking new and amazing ways to control this mystical force. I can only imagine what they’ve discovered in my time away from them.”
“That’s incredible,” Specca said in wonder. “I’d be very interested to know more about what you discovered down there. I’m rather curious as to what manner of inhabitants created those old ruins.”
“You’re welcome to visit there anytime you wish,” Calam offered. “Our nest is quite peaceful, we welcome guests and scholars of many races who could help us unravel the endl
ess mysterious of our home. And I must say the sight of those ancient ruins is something rather extraordinary to see with your own eyes.”
“We’ll make a note to stop by and sightsee later,” Clover mentioned, leaning back in her chair with a careful eye on the ant girl. “We have a few things to deal with before we can take a vacation. But back to your story, how come you left your nest in the first place? Were you planning on starting a new one here in Koskaysil for your race?”
“No, not exactly,” Calam shyly replied. She fidgeted slightly then quickly looked around before turning to the girls with a worried smile. “The reason I left my nest in the first place was because I… um… well, you see… I…”
“You what?” Falla asked.
“I met a man,” Calam admitted. The girls showed surprise as she giggled and fanned herself with a timid smile. “I’m getting rather warm just thinking about him again to be honest. Yes, I met a man and… well, I fell in love you could say.”
“You left your nest because you fell in love with a man?” Luna wondered with a smile.
“I couldn’t help myself,” Calam swooned bashfully. “I know I had to keep up my studies, and also to bring the man in for use in our mating dens, but I just couldn’t do any of that after I met him. I couldn’t focus on my work, I couldn’t bear the thought of him becoming a breeder for my queen, I… I just couldn’t. I loved him so much and we were so happy together, I couldn’t let that come to an end after I found true bliss with him. So I did the only thing I could to stay with him.”
“You ran away with him,” Alyssa realized.
“I did,” Calam shamefully admitted. “I know, I’m a horrible member of my nest for doing so, but dammit, I just couldn’t fight my love for him. He was so handsome, brave, intelligent, strong, and my word, the way he handled the ether only made me yearn for him to handle me as well.”
“You naughty girl,” Specca giggled in jest. “Stealing away such a promising man from your queen like that. For shame.”
“Guilty as charged,” Calam had to agree with a shrug and weak smile. She breathed out to regain her composure then looked around to see the girls smiling curiously at her now, except for Snapper who at this point was chewing the bone in her mouth to pieces and Sheal who merely had a curious look on her face.
“We’re still together, him and I,” she continued, taking hold of her cup and gently swirling the tea around. “He’s the only man for me after all and he’s expressed similar affections towards myself. We traveled together ever since, my amazing darling and his faithful ant girl. We learned so much from each other and grew closer than I ever thought possible. Though right now we’re currently apart as he’s traveling with his studies and I’m… well… you know.”
“You’re staying in Stonegate,” Clover said with a slow nod. “For reasons you can’t explain right now.”
“You have a man as a mate?” Specca marveled. “That’s amazing. This is further proof of Daniel’s beliefs that humans and monsters can coexist. He’s going to be so happy to hear about this.”
“I was quite happy to hear about him as well,” Calam admitted. “Knowing there was another human out there that loved a monster, nay, a harem of monsters as it appears, I couldn’t help but grow curious and excited to meet him. To meet all of you in fact.”
“Falla?” Clover asked. “All of this checking out with you?”
“It sounds legit to me,” Falla replied as Calam again levitated her cup to drink from it. “I didn’t hear anything suspicious about what she said. And I was paying close attention too.”
“I’d be happy to talk more about the ancient ruins with you,” Calam offered with a playful glance to Specca, and then to Alyssa with a soft giggle. “Or our discoveries with the magical ether if you have further questions about that. I don’t mind sharing such stories, and I do feel very comfortable spending time with you girls. I feel like we’re the same, in that we have a human man in our lives who has touched us and helped lead us towards a much brighter future.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Alyssa said holding up her drink.
“Same here,” Specca agreed.
“A very wonderful toast, my dear,” Doku said, raising her drink with her foot. The girls drank their tea together while Snapper finished devouring her bone and Sheal merely stared at her drink in silence. Everyone then turned to see Felucia stumbling away Cindy and wiping bits of cookie off her face with fright.
“Cindy!” Felucia yelled wiping her mouth. “This isn’t funny! Stop trying to corrupt your mother with that disgusting shit!”
“It’s not disgusting, it’s tasty!” Cindy shouted, grabbing a plate of cookies off the table right next to where Star was now curiously watching them as she sat atop the ravaged body of Reiko. “Just eat one and see for yourself! You need to taste it, mother! Stop being so stubborn! Now put it in your mouth and taste it!”
“No, no!” Felucia ordered, holding out a hand as her daughter began marching closer. “Cindy! No! Bad! Stay back! Keep that crap away from me! Cindy! Cindy, don’t! I mean it! Listen to your mother and put that down right now! Cindy!”
She took off running as Cindy gave chase, tripping over Rolian’s legs as the spider was slumped against the wall while passed out, and sprinting past the girls before she quickly came to a halt at the end of the table. Everyone turned to see Daniel and Triska walking into the hall, with Felucia promptly racing over behind him and pointing at her daughter from around his shoulder.
“Look what you turned my baby into!” she desperately cried out. “She has no idea what she’s talking about anymore, and now she’s trying to feed me that horrible stuff! Cindy! Put the plate down, right now! That is an order!”
“But you need to eat the yummy cookies, mother!” Cindy whined with a hopping fit. “Just eat one, eat one for me! Pretty please? You’ll like it, I promise!”
“No!” Felucia screamed shaking her head.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Daniel said as he and Triska walked over to the table. “Cindy, stop threatening your mother with cookies. If she doesn’t want to eat them she doesn’t have to.”
“But, Daniel,” Cindy complained with a pout. She groaned and dropped the plate onto the table with a clatter before walking over to him and holding onto his arm. As the wraith buried her face in his shoulder and mumbled to herself Daniel gently patted her head and looked around at seeing the girls, or at least most of them, having tea together.
“What did Reiko do this time?” Triska asked, taking notice of the battered harvester on the table. Star warped over next to them and yowled angrily while waving her arms around in weird patterns, with everyone watching her with blank looks as she tried to explain the situation to no avail.
“Well, I guess that answers my question,” Triska finally said.
“All that did was remind me of Squeak,” Alyssa sniffled.
“Me too,” Luna whimpered. Snapper looked up to her with a curious gurgle then squirmed about to turn around in her arms, the youngling gently pawing at Luna’s chest as the butterfly wiped away a tear.
“Dammit, Star,” Falla grumbled as she did the same. “It’s too soon for that.”
Star looked around at all the depressed looks she was getting then slumped down in defeat with a low meow.
“They were fighting over a fish,” Calam said with a shrug. “At least I believe that’s what it was about.”
“I see,” Daniel replied, seeing Star glancing to him with a small shrug from that before he turned to Calam as she calmly smiled at him while awaiting his verdict. “Have you girls been getting along with our guest?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Specca answered with a nod. “We’ve learned some interesting things about her, as well as things we have in common with her.”
“She and her boobies are nice,” Pip agreed as she hugged Calam’s chest. “I like her. And her boobies. And her.”
“She hasn’t lied once,” Falla mentioned. “She seems to be telling the trut
h with us.”
“That’s good to hear,” Triska said, crossing her arms and watching the ant girl closely. “We just finished speaking to Twilight about her and her story. Quite the number of odd things we learned.”
“Oh?” Calam wondered. “Is that so? And who is this Twilight you speak of? Is she another friend of yours?”
“She is,” Daniel answered. “She’s been helping us in our search for Kroanette. She can see things beyond what most are able to. We asked her to help clarify your story of Kroanette being in Stonegate. And when she laid eyes on that place she certainly saw something strange about it. Or rather what was underneath it.”
“Shh!” Calam quickly hushed. Everyone watched the ant girl showing a worried look as she slowly stood up and held a hand out to halt his words. “Please, please, choose your words carefully, Daniel. Only those who see it with their own eyes are permitted to speak about it, and also must uphold its privacy to the world. I implore you, do not destroy the veil that has been so painstakingly erected by speaking so brashly.”
“Underneath it?” Clover repeated. “What does that mean?”
Holding a hand out to silence her Calam kept her eyes focused on Daniel, her cheery demeanor being replaced with an anxious one as she slowly shook her head at him.
“Please, you mustn’t take this away from them. If you know of it, you have a responsibility to-”
“The only one in that city I have a responsibility for is Kroanette,” Daniel interrupted. “She is the only one in that city that I care about. Now I don’t know what you’re hiding beneath that place or why, only that my centaur is likely being kept there for reasons I shudder to think of. Tell me the truth, Calam. What’s beneath Stonegate?”
“Daniel, please, not here.”
“This is my family!” Daniel shouted as he started marching towards her. “My loved ones! My friends! There will be no secrets kept between us, and certainly none regarding the truth of Stonegate! If you really are a nice person, if you really want to be our friend, then you will tell me right now what is beneath Stonegate! Because if I find out there’s a prison down there with my Kroanette being held hostage in it, or worse, then I’m going to do to you and all those monsters living in Stonegate what I did to the gemini!”
Chronicles of Eden: Season II - Act I Page 13
