"I wonder how deep these tunnels go," he said looking at the dark passageway that seemed to have a small amount of airflow coming out from it. He looked around at the darkness then up at the bright sky above. Triska walked over and crawled into the carriage, hastily packing up her things into the duffel bag, cringing slightly as the bandages around her leg wound were turning red with her blood.
“Day one, we find a monster that nearly rapes Daniel. Day two, we fall into a goddamned hole in the ground and I take my dagger into my leg. Oh I can’t wait to see what happens on day three,” she muttered to herself. Daniel walked back to the carriage as Triska finished packing up their belongings into their two bags. As she did she glanced over to see Daniel kneeling down and laying the unconscious witch down against the duffel bag while resting her staff down next to her.
"I'm not sure we can climb up those walls, with her being unconscious like this and with your wounded leg," Daniel commented as he looked at the tunnel walls. They were somewhat rounded, but nothing seen to really grab onto and climb up with. Especially with a sleeping girl, Triska's wounded leg, and their heavy carrying bags.
"Then we'll have to try out luck inside the tunnel, hopefully it'll lead somewhere towards the surface," Triska reasoned as she crawled back out of the carriage, looking towards the other tunnel entrance nearby. Watching it carefully she started to get a bad feeling.
‘Why do I feel like we're being watched?’
"We can't see in there though, doesn't seem to be any light," Daniel said examining the dark passageway. He then glanced over and saw Triska watching the nearby tunnel entrance with narrowed eyes.
"Triska?" he asked. She glanced to him then around at the two dark tunnels.
"Just… getting a bad feeling down here. But you're right; we can't see much like this. I didn't pack anything to travel into caves with, I was planning on getting a lantern or something from Ashwood," she said shaking her head. Daniel looked at the nearby tunnel with concern.
"Well… what's our plan here then?" he asked. Triska looked up at the opening above then towards the carriage.
"I do have some rope in my bag. If we can get to the top we can pull Alyssa and the carrying bags up easily with Lucky," she suggested with a smile. Daniel nodded then looked up at the opening as well.
"Alright, I'll try my luck with climbing out. You shouldn't push that leg too much right now," he commented. Triska nodded reluctantly then looked to the carriage with the sleeping witch and bags in it. She wanted to help Daniel now that Alyssa wasn't able to do so, but she herself wasn't in any condition thanks to her dagger wound.
"I guess we don't have any choice. Alright, c'mon I'll help you get the rope and-" she started before quickly looking back towards the nearby tunnel with a jump.
"Triska?" Daniel asked as he saw the girl narrow her eyes at the darkness.
"I thought I heard something," she said cautiously.
"What? I didn't hear anything," Daniel said looking to the tunnel. They both watched it for a moment before Triska relaxed a bit from her defensive stance.
"I guess I'm just a bit on edge," she said shaking her head.
"Probably just shaken up from the fall. C'mon, let's just get out of here," Daniel said turning to walk back to the carriage. He glanced back to the tunnel and jumped a bit. Triska looked over and saw a figure slowly walking towards them from the darkness.
It looked to be a girl about Daniel's height. She had tall dark boots and wore a navy blue tunic with no belt, the outfit going down to her thighs, along with dark blue gloves. Her messy dark hair was cut short while her blue eyes were looking up at the bright sky with wonder, her lovely figure noticeable despite the fact that she had dirt smudges on her in most places. Daniel and Triska glanced to each other then looked at the girl curiously.
"Um… who's she?" Daniel asked slowly. The girl then suddenly looked to him from hearing his voice, her eyes locking onto him with wonder. As her head turned down to face them something else about her was seen instantly.
"She's not human," Triska said in surprise as they saw a pair of bug antennae on the girl's head, the curious monster just staring at Daniel while remaining silent.
"What… is she?" Triska asked slowly as she glanced to Daniel. He was looking at the girl carefully as she took another step closer to them. As she did another feature was seen as she stepped into the light; she had an insect's abdomen sticking out behind her, the dark brown extension resembling something that Daniel recognized.
"Ant. She's an ant girl," he said softly.
"Ant girl? I don't remember reading about them in your book," Triska said carefully as she slowly raised her hand back towards her sword. She glanced to her friend then back to the monster as it just stared at Daniel in silence.
"So… friendly?" Triska asked carefully. The monster stood still as a rustling sound was heard behind her. Daniel and Triska watched with surprise as two more of the monsters slowly walked out of the darkness.
Then two more.
Then three.
Daniel and Triska backed up worriedly as the eight ant girls stared at Daniel with wonder, all of them dressed in the same dirtied attire. Some had short hair while others were of longer length, their hair and eye colors being the same as well as the fact that they all had lovely physiques.
"Daniel? Friendly? Or not?" Triska asked as she gripped her sword's handle.
"Don't anger them, Triska, lower your hand," Daniel said glancing behind him.
"Are they friendly then?" Triska asked as she slowly did so.
"I’m not sure, but you'd better not test them now," Daniel said looking behind them. Triska turned her head then jumped in surprise. A dozen of the ant girls were seen around the carriage, with two of them on top of the damaged cart. A few of them were holding pickaxes while some were holding shovels, and all of them were looking at Daniel with wonder.
"Because we're in no position to fight back now," Daniel said worriedly as they saw more of the monsters slowly coming out from the tunnels, some of which literally crawling on the rocky walls with their gloved hands and boots. All of them looked nearly the same in appearance. All of them were making a quiet squeaking sound as their antennae twitched around.
And all of them were watching Daniel with eyes of wonder while their mouths slowly formed into bright smiles.
Chapter 7
Underground Predators
In the world of Eden, men were always in danger of being taken by the monsters that roamed the lands. Some used trickery and allure, while others used magic and poison to capture their prey. There were those that traveled alone or in small groups, while others used greater numbers to overwhelm and steal away many potential mates at once. Raids on small villages and campsites were known to usually end badly for humans, as a large group of determined and lustful monsters was a formidable force to be reckoned with. In the event that a large group of monsters did set their sights on an unsuspecting group of potential mates or a lone traveler, the odds of running away were very low for most. When confronted with overwhelming numbers of monsters there were only two options for the humans. Try to fight, or be taken away.
With the latter usually being the ending result.
*****
Daniel and Triska were looking around with surprise as light shined in from above, the two having just recovered from their carriage crashing through the ground on their trip towards Ashwood. However the travelers were not alone inside the underground tunnel, not by a long shot.
"Oh my… Daniel…" Triska whispered looking around carefully.
After they had fallen down they had found the local residents of the subterranean area, many of which that had come to see what the disturbance was.
"Don't draw your sword, you might provoke them," Daniel warned, looking around cautiously as he and Triska went back to back.
Surrounding them along the walls and tunnel entrances on both sides were dozens of monsters that were looking at them with wonder. Or rather at Danie
l as he was the only male there. They were all ant girls, smiling brightly at the sight of the human who was looking around at them worriedly.
"Are they friendly? You're the monster expert here," Triska asked in a hushed tone.
"I'm… not sure. I don't remember reading about their kind too much. Still, I think they're peaceful," he said with a glance to his friend. Triska kept looking at them carefully as the ant girls were not only standing all around them but were also hanging from the walls and ceiling.
"They're smiling, that's a good sign, right?" Daniel asked with a worried smile.
"They're staring at you, that's a bad sign, Daniel," Triska cautioned. Daniel glanced to her then looked to see an ant girl slowly walking up to them.
"Um… hello," he said carefully. The monster looked at him with wonder and a bright smile, her eyes darting around as she examined him. Daniel looked at her curiously for a moment then slowly took a step closer. She instantly looked to him with a curious expression as her smile vanished, her antennae twitching around as her eyes darted about to examine each part of his face.
"Do you… speak our language?" Daniel asked slowly. The ant girl only made a quiet squeaking sound as she looked at him curiously. She took a few quick steps closer, then slowly held out her gloved hand towards his face. He looked at her curiously as Triska tensed up.
"Daniel, get away from her, we don't know what she'll do," she said worriedly. Daniel watched the ant girl as she seemed to freeze in place and watch him curiously. He slowly held up his hand and touched hers, the girl looking at it with wonder then to him. She slowly felt his hand then along his arm, then backed up quickly as she eyed him over with her smile returning.
"What's… she doing?" Triska asked.
"I'm not sure. I think she's… examining me?" Daniel said unsurely. Triska looked at the monster carefully then glanced back to see a few others scurrying around their carriage. Two were rummaging through it while another was on top looking at the broken wheels curiously.
"Hey!" she called out. The ant girls looked to her with surprise as a few of them were carrying items out from the carriage, which included the Daniel’s backpack and Triska's duffel bag, the latter being carried by two ant girls who were showing signs of struggle with it. Daniel turned back to them before the ant girl in front grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, staring at him with eyes of wonder still.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked in surprise. Triska grabbed his arm and pulled him back, growling towards the monster with a sharp glare.
"Hey, let him go!" she shouted. The ant girl blinked and looked at her curiously, then glared back at her. She yanked Daniel away with great force, and then threw him back where two others grabbed him. They picked him up by the arms as another grabbed his waist, the girls lifting him up then running back into the tunnel while he thrashed about. Two more carried him from below by the legs as he looked around franticly.
"Hey, what's going on? Put me down!" he yelled out.
"What do you think you're doing with him? Daniel!" Triska cried out as she grabbed her sword and unsheathed it. She swung towards the ant girl in front of her, the monster ducking and darting back quickly. The monster glared at her then lunged forward and tackled Triska to the ground while two more raced over. One grabbed the human's sword and pried it away while the other held down Triska’s other hand.
"Get off of me! Let him go right now! Daniel! Daniel!" she cried out as she thrashed about. The ant girl on top of her picked her up with one hand by the neck as the other two scurried away. Triska grabbed the arm and tried to break free, her efforts in vain as the monster kept a firm grip on her throat. Triska choked loudly as she stared at the girl with surprise, realizing an apparent fact about this type of monster.
‘Holy shit, they're strong!’
The ant girl didn’t have any real noticeable muscle compared to Triska, and was nearly the same size and height as she was. However it was more than obvious her muscle strength was far above that of a human’s.
"Let him go, or I swear I'll hack every one of you into pieces!" Triska coughed, thrashing about in the monster’s grip. She grabbed her dagger and swung with it towards the monster's head, the ant girl catching the wrist with her other hand and holding it there. She applied pressure and caused Triska to drop the blade as she cringed in pain, her hand flinching as the monster disarmed her effortlessly. The ant girl squeaked in discontent then hurled the human over towards the carriage, the teen crashing through the side of it and tumbling into the cart as it partially collapsed down. The ant girl scoffed at her then darted into the darkness after the others.
"Daniel!" Triska coughed out as she struggled to get up. She looked over to seeing Alyssa next to her, unconscious still from her fall.
"Hey, wake up! Wake up!" Triska yelled out while shaking the witch. Alyssa groaned as she lay there while Triska looked around franticly.
"Dammit, Alyssa, wake up!" she yelled before she slapped the witch across the face. Alyssa jumped a bit in surprise then looked at Triska with shock as she held a hand to her cheek.
"Hey, what was that for?" she yelled out.
"Never mind that, get up! They took Daniel!" Triska shouted out before scrambling out of the damaged carriage. Alyssa blinked a few times then looked around with surprise.
"What? Who took him? What the hell happened here?" she asked looking around at the damaged carriage she was in. She quickly followed Triska out into the open tunnel, looking around with wide eyes as they stumbled to their feet.
"Where's Daniel? Where are we?" she asked looking around franticly.
"We fell underground into this tunnel. There were all these ant girls here, they-" Triska started before Alyssa gasped.
"What? Ant girls?" she cried out. Triska looked to her and nodded.
"Yeah, you know of them?" she asked quickly.
"You let Daniel be taken by those things? Do you have any idea what they're going to do to him?" Alyssa yelled out before looking around the ground for her staff. She blinked then looked down at her body as she noticed something.
"Yeah, they're monsters; they're going to rape him. I already figured that out," Triska said looking around with anger.
"No!" Alyssa yelled out looking around quickly. She dashed back into the damaged carriage while Triska looked towards her puzzled.
"They're not going to rape him?" Triska asked as Alyssa searched inside the carriage franticly. She threw the blankets around as she scrambled in search of something.
"No… no! It's not here!" she yelled out. Triska looked at the carriage with confusion then shook her head.
"If you're looking for your staff it's in the carriage. Now c'mon, we need to find Daniel fast, I didn't like how they were looking at him, not to mention they stole him along with all our stuff!" Triska yelled out with anger as she looked from one dark tunnel nearby to the other. Alyssa growled loudly then scrambled out of the carriage.
"They took it… they took it, not good. Not good!" she said franticly.
"Took what? Your staff? I already said it's in the carriage," Triska said, pointing over to the damaged ride.
"No, my necklace!" Alyssa said looking down, seeing that her blue crystal necklace was gone.
"Yeah, they took all our stuff, even my sword, those lousy thieves," Triska grunted with frustration. Alyssa looked around worriedly and held her hands together in front of her chest, biting her lip as she shook her head. Triska looked at her puzzled then with frustration.
"Would you forget about your jewelry? We have bigger problems here! Didn't you hear me, they took Daniel!" she cried out.
"I heard you! You think I don't know that?" Alyssa yelled back.
"Then why are we waiting here? Let's go after them!" Triska barked out. Alyssa looked around then down with a nervous expression.
"But…" she said softly.
"But what? I thought you were so insistent on being his guardian. I thought you were going to protect him. Well, he needs saving now, so let's ge
t going!" Triska yelled out.
"I… can't," Alyssa said glancing up to her.
"What? You can't? What do you mean you can't? Why not?" Triska roared. Alyssa flinched then looked down holding her hands together by her chest.
"That necklace… it's my focuser," she explained. Triska blinked then looked at the girl curiously.
"Wait, what?" she asked.
"That necklace they took, it's my focuser. I… I can't use any magic without it," Alyssa said looking back up to her. Triska looked to Alyssa’s chest where the necklace was missing then showed a cautious expression.
"You can't?" she asked softly. Alyssa shook her head and looked around fearfully.
"No, I'm as useless as you are without it," she whimpered.
"Hey! I'm not useless!" Triska yelled out. Alyssa looked back to her with annoyance.
"Oh no? Then why isn't Daniel safe? Why didn't you save him? In fact, where's your sword? Oh that’s right, that was taken from you as well, wasn’t it?" she accused sharply. Triska growled loudly and looked around with bared teeth.
"Dammit, this isn't happening!" she yelled out, then flinched in pain while holding her wounded leg. Alyssa looked to it as the teen struggled to keep standing.
"What happened to your leg?" Alyssa asked looking at the wound, the white bandage now having a large red stain on it as some blood dripped down along Triska’s leg.
"I landed on my dagger on the way down here. But that's nothing to worry about right now, we need to get Daniel back," Triska said with frustration. She breathed slowly to calm herself then glanced to Alyssa.
"So what's the deal with these ant girls, I thought Daniel said they were friendly," she said with annoyance. Alyssa ran over to the carriage and grabbed her staff, looking at it with worry then around the area.
"They are, they won't harm a hair on his head. They'll never kill him or attempt to injure him in any way. If anything they'll guard him with their lives," she said walking back towards Triska. The teen looked at her with surprise then around at the darkened tunnels.
"What? But then what's with the rude welcoming if they're so friendly with humans?" she asked.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 19
