"I'm not sure. We're not violent or anything, and we don't invade human lands for our men, but I'm not sure if coexisting has ever crossed any of their minds before," she said softly as her hands fidgeted in front of her. Daniel glanced to them with a curious eye then back to her as she was looking down at his book.
"Well you seem rather peaceful, perhaps your race would be one I could try talking to first," he reasoned with a slight smile. She looked to him then smiled worriedly.
"Perhaps, although I wouldn't recommend it. If one of them charms you and takes you away, your journey will come to a swift end," she warned, sitting down next to him. Again her hands fidgeted in her lap as she looked at the monster book with worry.
"My kind are found near large bodies of water or expansive rivers away from human civilization. We don't live above the water though, we live under it. If you're charmed into submission and taken down into the water, you'll never come back up again," she said looking back to him worriedly.
"Your people drown the humans they catch?" he asked with a stunned expression. She blinked then smiled amusingly at him.
"What? Oh dear no, not at all. That wouldn’t work so well for either of us, would it? We are quite skilled in the magical arts, Daniel, and one of our most well-known spells is to grant a land based creature the ability to breathe underwater. A nixie would cast that on you so you would live while underwater, you would be able to breathe as if you were on land," she explained with a slight smile.
"Wow, your people can do that?" he asked curiously. Specca nodded then looked down with concern.
"Yes, but, in doing so they would never allow you to leave. You'll never return to the surface, Daniel, you'll be kept underwater as a nixie's husband for the rest of your life. If your negotiations with my race don't go well, you'll be trapped down there forever," she said glancing back up to him worriedly. He nodded slowly then looked back to his book.
"I have a feeling that's how it will be with any monster race I talk to," he said softly. Specca looked at him curiously as he casually turned the page in his book.
"Whether the monster race if friendly or not, they're going to do what their nature is telling them to do. I'm a human male; their nature will be of course to take me away as their breeder, one way or another. At least with your race it sounds like they would be somewhat kind with it," he commented, laughing a bit to himself at the end.
"I don't understand how you can be so calm about such an endeavor. You're risking your own life, your own freedom even, all on a mere chance that those you speak with will agree with your idea. Aren't you afraid?" Specca asked with worry. Daniel nodded then looked back to her with a calm smile.
"Well, yeah, a little. After all I might run into one of the more… ruthless monsters out there that wouldn't be so keen on listening to me rather than humping me to death. Still, somebody has to try," he reasoned with a slight shrug.
"But why you? Why are you doing this?" Specca asked curiously.
"Because I believe, Specca, I believe that monsters and humans can get along if they try. Some monsters out there may indeed be so savage and wild that coexistence will never be possible, but there are others, like you, that may be able to give peace a chance," he reasoned gently. Specca watched him with a curious expression, the boy looking back down to his book as the nixie tilted her head in wonder. After a moment she smiled softly and looked down.
"You're such an interesting human, Daniel, to think in such a way like that," she said while her hands fidgeted more. She flinched slightly then scratched her gloved hand with annoyance.
"Are you alright?" Daniel asked looking to her. She nodded slowly then glanced around.
"I'll be fine. These gloves always irritate me," she said softly.
"Why not take them off then?" Daniel asked. Specca shook her head and looked at her gloved hands with worry.
"No no, that wouldn't be the best thing to do… in here," she said looking back up to him. Daniel looked at her for a moment then slowly down to her hands.
"Oh, you're hiding them," he said quietly. Her hands looked perfectly normal with her long gloves on, but it was apparent that underneath they weren't normal at all. Specca looked at them with concern then glanced away.
"A small amount of discomfort is a price to pay for staying here. It's because I'm allowed to stay in this city that I've seen and read such amazing things, as well as… met such amazing humans…" she said softly before looking back to him. He looked up into her eyes as she was smiling gently at him.
"Like you," she finished. Daniel looked at her for a moment then smiled gently as well.
"I'm glad I got a chance to meet an amazing girl like you, Specca," he said kindly. She looked at him with wonder then smiled bashfully.
"Girl, you called me a… girl, instead of a… monster," she said timidly.
"Well, yeah. You are a girl after all," Daniel reasoned with a small smirk.
"I know, it's just… you made me feel… it wasn't like I was a…" Specca hesitated while looking down at her hands.
"A nameless monster of Eden," Daniel finished gently. Specca nodded and looked at him with a curious smile.
"Yes, exactly," she said softly.
"That's because you're not, Specca," Daniel reassured. She stared at him with wonder as he smiled at her before looking back down to his books.
"Daniel…" she said quietly. Glancing back to him over her glasses she eyed him with a gentle gaze. As she did Daniel noticed that, although her eyes were an ordinary brown, they seemed to have a small glimmer behind them.
Suddenly screams were heard outside the library, with everybody inside looking towards the front of the building as monstrous howls were heard out in the streets.
"What's going on?" Specca asked worriedly.
A few men ran into the library quickly and shut the doors behind them, all of them having frightful expressions as they were breathing heavily.
"What's going on out there?" a woman asked walking up to them.
"Monsters… monsters are attacking the city!" one of them cried out as he and the others kept pressed against the door.
"Monsters?" a man said with fear.
The front entrance blasted apart with a loud crash, the men being thrown from the doors as wood and bits of stone flew about. Daniel and Specca watched with surprise as a dust cloud billowed away from the entrance before a giant serpent's head was seen sticking in from outside. It had black scales with red ones streaked across its face, the monster hissing loudly before lunging forward. Two men jumped out of the way as another was taken down by the serpent's jaws, screaming before coughing out blood as the jaws of the monster snapped down on him. People started to scream loudly as they ran away from the front lobby of the library while Daniel and Specca watched with wide eyes.
"What is that thing?" Specca asked nervously.
"I have no idea," Daniel said worriedly.
The serpent crushed down on its prey, causing blood to spurt out to the sides as the man fell limp inside its jaws. The monster shook it around then hurled the body off to the side, the mangled corpse slamming into a bookshelf and knocking it over. Books and papers flew about as people ran further back while the serpent thrashed around, its large body tearing apart the wall in front of the library. Fire started to spread around the collapsed bookshelf and papers as a lantern had fallen on its side, the flames flaring around and spreading along the carpeted floors.
"Daniel, what do we do?" Specca asked fearfully as she saw the fire spreading around the library. The serpent struck upwards with its head and crashed through the ceiling into the second floor of the building, the people above screaming and running away as the monster toppled over more bookshelves and lanterns. The ceiling cracked apart and collapsed down onto the ground level around the monster while people and bookshelves tumbled down into the dust cloud. Daniel looked around worriedly then grabbed his book and put it into his bag quickly, the boy then slinging it over his shoulder before grabbing hold of
Specca's hand.
"C'mon, we need to get out of here," he said before leading her away from the front lobby. She stared at him with wonder, being led through aisles of bookshelves by the human as he looked around quickly for any other exit. The serpent monster hissed and snapped around at people nearby while fires flared around on both floors as more of the building caught on fire. Daniel pulled Specca aside as part of the ceiling above them collapsed, the rubble and debris crashing down onto a bookshelf as they darted over into another aisle. Specca stared at him with awe, being held closely by the human as they had pressed against another bookshelf to avoid being crushed to death. Daniel looked back to the rubble with surprise while Specca continued to stare at him with adoring eyes.
“We need to get out of this place, fast. Is there any other way we can escape?” Daniel asked, looking back over to Specca quickly. She paused for a moment as she stared at the human that was holding her protectively then shook her head slightly to regain her senses.
"Um, yes, yes there is. There's a back exit through the archives, we can get out through there," Specca said looking back towards the snake monster with fearful eyes. It snapped towards a man then lunged forward and crushed a woman in its jaws while its body seemed to extend back out into the streets. Specca looked back ahead as she and Daniel raced through the library with other frightened people, all of them running through the back storeroom filled with large shelves of books and old boxes. They ran out through a backdoor quickly and into the streets, with Daniel and Specca looking around with surprise at seeing other giant serpents throughout the streets. Most of them were coming out of the ground themselves, their bodies appearing to be attached and melded to the cobblestone streets while they snapped and swung around wildly. A few were even coming out of the walls of some of the larger buildings, seeming to be attached to the walls while their bodies shifted from bricks to black scales. One of them swung its head around and crashed through the front window of a bakery while another struck down and smashed a carriage and its occupants into the ground. People were screaming and running around in a panic while the guards of Ashwood were running into the area with their swords drawn.
"My god… they're everywhere," Daniel said as Specca held onto his arm worriedly. She whimpered and hid behind him fearfully, holding onto his hand tightly as he looked around with disbelief.
Ashwood guards around the area used crossbows and spears against the monsters while a few of them were striking with their swords at the beasts, with the arrows and spears flying through the air at the serpents’ heads while the sword wielding guards struck at the bodies. Although the women were armored and had numbers on their side, the serpents didn't appear to be going down easily as they swung around and knocked many of the armored women back while a few were snapped up and eaten whole. Arrows and spears struck into a few of the beasts; however they continued to thrash around without slowing down. A few buildings collapsed in while many were on fire, with black smoke billowing up into a cloud over the district.
"What's going on, why is this happening?" Specca asked fearfully.
Over in the courtyard next to a water fountain Squeak and Alyssa were watching with wide eyes at seeing the nearby block being attacked by the monstrous serpents. Alyssa watched as a giant serpent crashed its head through a building and thrashed around, its body tearing apart the wall before it yanked back out with a human caught in its mouth.
"What is she doing, why is she summoning those things in here? Is she crazy?" Alyssa cried out gripping her hat with shock. Squeak looked to her with surprise then back to the commotion. Alyssa shook her head then looked around quickly.
"We need to get out of here, where's Triska?" she yelled out. Squeak looked at her carefully then pointed towards the rampaging serpent monsters while squeaking something. Alyssa glanced to her then looked back to them.
"Those are summoned beasts, Squeak, summoned by a witch. The one that tried to kill me outside, she used one of those things against me as well," she said worriedly. Squeak looked at her with surprise then back over towards the serpents. Alyssa clutched her staff and growled with frustration, then jumped with a scream as she saw the library down the street catching on fire.
"Daniel!" she cried out. Squeak looked over toward the building then jumped with a loud squeak. She then bolted toward the building while squeaking franticly. Alyssa followed after as fast as she could, watching the library windows on the second floor blow out from the fire inside.
"Oh no oh no oh no! Daniel!" she cried out as the two monster girls ran up towards the building. They stopped suddenly as they saw one of the serpents in front of the building, its body coming out of the cobblestone street right outside the library as its head was moving around inside the destroyed front wall. Squeak stared at the large monster with wide eyes then showed a frustrated expression as she clenched her fists. Alyssa looked around as she saw people running through the streets in a panic.
"I can't use my magic here… I can't… but Daniel…" she said looking back to the serpent. She shook her head with frustration and struck her staff down onto the ground.
"Dammit, leave him alone!" she yelled as she aimed her staff towards the serpent. Squeak watched as Alyssa swung her staff to the side, causing the serpent to be pulled back from the library and flung across the street into an adjacent building. People around stopped and stared at Alyssa with surprise while the witch held her staff towards the serpent.
"You better not have harmed Daniel, or so help me!" she yelled as she swung her staff to the side, pushing the serpent's head into the building next to them with a loud crash. She looked back to see a few Ashwood guards staring at the sight with stunned expressions.
"Sorry, but I need to borrow those," Alyssa called out, holding her staff out towards them. Three of the guards watched as their swords were yanked from their hands, the blades flying forward and past the witch as she swung her staff towards the serpent. The blades struck into the skull of the monster while it thrashed around, screeching as it flailed about in the air. It slammed its head onto the ground and whipped around while people were watching from nearby. Alyssa held her staff towards the monster and focused her magic, her eyes narrowing as they glowed with a soft purplish light. The serpent screeched loudly as it rose up into the air, its face letting off black smoke from its wounds while it had three swords jammed into its head. It swung around and smashed through a corner of a building, launching out chunks of debris towards the crowd. A woman screamed as a large block of stone hurled towards her before Squeak jumped up and caught it with both hands. She landed down then spun around, the girl then hurling it towards the serpent with incredible force. The chunk of debris flew over and knocked the beast back as it smashed into its head. The woman just stared at Squeak with wide eyes and an open mouth as the ant girl continued to glare at the serpent.
"Just stay down!" Alyssa yelled as she swung her staff downward. The swords in the serpent struck down and through the head of the monster with a slick crunch, piercing down out of the head and into the ground with a powerful strike. The serpent howled as it wavered about then collapsed back while black smoke billowed out from its wounds. The crowd of humans just stared at the fallen beast then looked to Alyssa as she glared at the monster with anger. She glanced behind her then swung her staff back, causing the three swords to be yanked out of the ground and flung towards the three Ashwood guards, all of them watching with shock. The blades spun around wildly then came to a sudden stop before the women, the weapons facing them handles first as the humans stared with wide eyes.
"Sorry about that, here you go," Alyssa said with a nervous smile. The three guards glanced to her then to the possessed blades, then slowly took hold of their swords and stared at them with wonder before looking back over to the witch. Before anybody could say a word the library rumbled while the sides of the building caved in, with fire and smoke billowing up from the broken windows and cracked walls.
"Oh god, Daniel!" Alyssa cried out. Squeak st
ared at the building with fright and shook her head as she squeaked softly.
"Alyssa, Squeak!" Daniel's voice came from nearby. The two monster girls looked over to see Daniel and Specca running up to them through the crowd that was still staring at the witch with stunned expressions still.
"Daniel! You're ok!" Alyssa cheered out as Daniel and Specca ran up to them. Alyssa leapt into a hug with him and held him closely as he smiled at her.
"I was so worried about you, are you alright? We thought that serpent got you," she whimpered as she nuzzled against his chest. Squeak ran over and hugged him as well, squeaking with a joyous expression as her mighty embrace caused Daniel to stumble off balance for a moment. He chuckled and smiled weakly as the two monster girls hugged him tightly while Specca looked at the girls curiously.
"I'm fine you two, really. We got out of the library through the back exit. Are you alright?" he asked as the crowd watched the two monster girls hugging him still. Alyssa backed up and nodded while Squeak continued to hug him and squeak affectionately.
"Yeah, we're alright, we…" Alyssa said before trailing off, looking around at seeing the crowd staring at them. Alyssa blinked then glanced to Squeak as the ant girl was still hugging Daniel while squeaking softly. Daniel glanced around then to Squeak before he jumped a bit.
"Um, Squeak? Squeak, let go," he said with a hushed tone.
"Squeak, let go of him, now," Alyssa snapped quickly. Squeak looked to her then down to her arms around Daniel, and then jumped back with a loud squeak as she showed a nervous expression. Alyssa looked at the guards of Ashwood then shook her head.
"I… I was just happy to see him again, really. I'm sorry," she said worriedly. Squeak looked at the guards and held up her hands defensively as she squeaked nervously. The Ashwood guards glanced to each other then back to the monster girls while the crowd just watched with stunned expressions.
"Do… you know these monsters?" one of the guards asked cautiously while glancing to Daniel. Daniel nodded as Specca looked at the ant girl and witch curiously.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 44
