"This is incredible, Specca, this is going to be a very big help to us," Daniel said turning the page. The entries he had already written in were redone by Specca with a few finer details and points while other entries were entirely new as she had seemed to copy all that she had learned from the book back at Ashwood into his from memory alone.
"I'm glad you like it, Daniel, I wanted to make sure these were as clear and detailed as could be for you," Specca said bashfully. The other girls held in their growls of annoyance as they watched Daniel look through the book with an amazed expression. Specca glanced to the girls and smirked then scooted a bit closer to Daniel, much to other girls chagrin. She leaned closer to him and pointed to a page.
"I also made references as to what type of natural surroundings they are found in, at least to those that I could remember. I hope my handwriting is acceptable for you," she said softly.
"Of course it is, it's far better than mine even. It looks like it was professionally written," Daniel praised with a smile. Specca giggled then glanced to the other girls as her tail slid around her and rested near Daniel.
"I'll always do my best to make you satisfied, Daniel," she said with a twitch of her eyebrow. The other girls bared their teeth slightly as they tried to control their anger at the nixie flaunting Daniel's approval in front of them. Specca smirked and looked back to the book as she leaned closer to him, her head near his shoulder as she was looking down at the book with a calm smile.
"Would you mind not getting so close to Daniel like that? You're crowding him," Triska said with a forced smile, her eyes beginning to fail with hiding her anger. Specca looked at her with a curious smile.
"I'm only making sure Daniel likes all the work I put in to help with his guidebook. What's wrong with that?" she asked innocently. She looked back down to the book as she slowly scooted closer to him, her breasts resting against his arm. At this point Daniel noticed just how close she really was, as he could not only feel her warm breath on his cheek but also how soft her breasts really were.
"Um, Specca?" he asked with a slightly nervous smile. She looked up to him through her glasses, her face extremely close to his.
"Yes?" she asked softly. He suddenly jumped in surprise and looked behind him as the other girls tensed up. Specca giggled as her tail slowly coiled back behind her.
"Sorry, that thing has a mind of its own sometimes," Specca mused with a small shrug.
"What did you just do?" Triska demanded as Daniel glanced away with a weak smile.
"Oh, my tail accidently brushed against him. That's all," Specca said with a laugh. Daniel smiled a bit and nodded, choosing not to explain that by 'brushing against him' she was referring to how her tail caressed his rear for a moment.
"Really," Alyssa said with narrowed eyes. Specca looked down with a calm smile as Daniel nodded nervously.
"That's ok, just… surprised me is all," he said with a small laugh. He looked to see the other girls glaring at Specca, then back over to her as she glanced to him again. Her eyes darted back to the book then to him again.
"Well, I'm glad you approve of my work, Daniel. And should you not have your book with you at the time, I'll gladly inform you about any monsters we come across, I have a very good memory after all," she offered gently. Daniel smiled and leaned back against the wall as the other girls narrowed their eyes at the nixie.
"Thank you, Specca, really. It's great to know we have such an educated guide helping us," he said with a nod. Alyssa looked at him worriedly while Specca blushed even more from his compliment.
"But, Daniel, I was going to be your guide out here before, remember?" Alyssa whined with a small pout. Daniel chuckled lightly and nodded.
"I know, Alyssa, and I'm still grateful that you're out here helping us as well. I'm just saying it makes me feel more confident about this journey with Specca knowing so much about the monsters of the world," he reasoned gently. Alyssa nodded slowly then glanced to Specca, using a great deal of self-control to not throw the nixie through the wall out of the caravan with her magic.
"Thank you, Daniel. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Specca asked looking to him with a gentle smile.
"No, you've done more than enough, Specca, thank you," Daniel said as he closed the book. Specca nodded as he started to move towards his bag in the corner, the girl quickly yet gently reaching out and grabbing hold of it.
"Allow me; I can at least help manage your books while out here. I've had lots of experience doing so at the library anyway," she offered with a small laugh. He smiled amusingly as she took the book and leaned over towards his bag, using one hand to hold her skirt down so not to reveal herself to him again.
"Um, sure. Thank you, Specca," he said leaning back against the wall.
"Suck up," Triska growled quietly through her teeth.
"What was that?" Daniel asked glancing to her curiously. Triska jumped a bit with a quick smile and shook her head.
"Nothing, I didn't say anything," she said with a shrug.
Specca packed Daniel's monster book into his bag then looked inside of it curiously, seeing other books inside as well.
"Oh my, what are these?" she asked pulling one out and looking at it.
"Oh, those are just some of my favorites from home. You know, just to read on a rainy day or something similar," Daniel said with a shrug. Specca looked at it then smiled brightly.
"Wow, this is A Lost Light by A.S. Gordon, that's one of my favorites," she said excitedly.
"You've read it before?" Daniel asked with a curious smile. Specca nodded as she flipped through the pages quickly.
"Oh yes, many times. A.S. Gordon is one of my favorite writers. He's the one who wrote Scarred Skies, The Lightmaker's Key, and Brightest Darkness, those are some of my favorite stories. The way he writes about how the Darker Ones of this world aren't to be feared and creates such brave and courageous tales of men that fight those monsters are so vivid and spectacular," Specca explained eagerly.
"You've read Brightest Darkness as well? That's one of my favorites too," Daniel commented with a smile.
"Really? I read it many times in Ashwood. I know it's one of the longer stories out there, but I honestly couldn't get enough of it," Specca said looking to him with a warm smile.
"Haha, yeah, it is one of the longer ones. I couldn't pack it into my bag after everything else though, hopefully I'll get to read it again someday," Daniel said with a shrug. Triska, Alyssa, and Squeak just watched them with blank expressions as they sat together near the cabin entrance.
"You've got to be kidding me," Triska muttered quietly while her hands clenched slightly.
"Ok, here's the plan. Squeak kisses Daniel to keep him paralyzed, I'll throw Specca through the goddamned wall, and Triska can stomp her skull in," Alyssa said under a hushed whisper as she narrowed her eyes at Specca. Triska and Squeak merely glanced to her for a moment before looking back to the nixie with dull glares.
"Well you're welcome to read them here whenever you want, Specca," Daniel offered kindly. Specca looked at him with a bit of surprise then down with a timid expression.
"Really? Thank you, Daniel, you're far too generous," she said glancing to him with a small smile.
"Yeah, he really is," Triska said dryly while glancing to him with a careful eye. He laughed a bit with a weak smile and shrugged in response. Alyssa drummed her fingers on her staff then looked away.
"Anyway, we should probably get some rest for the night soon, the earlier we start out again tomorrow the sooner we can reach the elven forest across the outerlands," she mentioned. Daniel nodded and looked up as he leaned against the wall.
"I wonder what I could say to them to help convince their race to join us," he asked himself. Specca looked at him curiously for a moment then smiled timidly.
"I'm sure you'll be able to help them see that we can live together, Daniel, I believe in you," she reassured. He smiled and looked back over to her as the other girls were giving her dull stares.
>
"Thank you, Specca, I'll sure try my best," he said hopefully. Triska quickly looked to him with a hopeful smile and nodded in agreement.
"You'll do great, Daniel, you already opened up the possible alliance with Squeak's nest near our hometown, talking to elves should be a piece of cake for you," she agreed enthusiastically. He chuckled as Specca glanced to the girl with a raised eyebrow. Squeak nodded in agreement and squeaked something while Alyssa smiled and bounced up and down with a giddy giggle.
"Yeah, Daniel, you've already got three monster girls helping you with your quest, how could you have any doubt about yourself?" she asked with a bright smile.
"Thank you, all of you. It really means a lot that you're all out here helping me too, I don't think I would have gotten this far without it," Daniel said with a small laugh.
"That's funny, I remember saying something along those lines to you before we left home," Triska mused slyly. Daniel laughed slightly and looked down in response.
"Wait, there's an ant girl nest near your home?" Specca asked curiously. The group looked to her and nodded as the nixie looked at Squeak.
"Where?" she asked puzzled. Squeak pointed behind them and squeaked something while moving her hand around, the group watching her as she seemed to be trying to explain where her nest was. After she finished with her little speech Specca just glanced to Daniel.
"Um… where?" she asked again. Squeak twitched a bit then looked down with a slightly frustrated expression.
"It was a few days away from our home, about a day or so away from Ashwood. We kind of stumbled upon it while we were heading to the city," Daniel explained. Specca looked at him curiously then to Squeak.
"How… did they get into the safe zone behind Ashwood?" she asked puzzled. Squeak tilted her head with a curious expression while the group looked over to her.
"Well… I don't really know. Underground I guess?" Daniel reasoned with a shrug. Specca looked at Squeak carefully then down in thought, moving her finger around as she seemed to be tracing some sort of path in her mind.
"Specca? What is it?" Triska asked. Specca showed a confused expression and shook her head.
"I don't understand how they got past the city like that," she said looking back over to Squeak.
"What do you mean? They probably went right under it," Daniel said looking to the ant girl.
"No, the humans would have noticed them tunneling under the city. And they certainly would have been seen around the city limits if they had a nest under it. They had to have tunneled in from somewhere else," Specca said looking down in thought. Her eyes darted around in thought then looked up curiously.
"They couldn't have come from the south, the Devilo Forest is inhabited by wild hornets and they would have been a problem. They couldn't have come from the north or west, it's all mountain ranges, ant girls need soil and dirt to tunnel through," she said carefully. She shook her head and looked back to Squeak.
"How did your nest end up out there? You would have had to slowly move underground beneath Ashwood in order to get out that way, but you would have been found out before ever making it out that far," she asked bewildered.
"Yeah, I was kind of curious about that too. I mean, Alyssa was traveling out that way so I can understand running into her. But still, I never knew an entire nest of monsters was a few days away from home," Triska asked curiously. Squeak looked around at the group and shrugged.
"Maybe they got pushed out further and further into the land by those ant-lionesses, Squeak's queen mentioned they normally collapsed any tunnels that became infested and then push further away," Alyssa suggested. Specca looked at Squeak curiously then down in thought. She quickly reached back and brought out the map, laying it down and examining it closely while the others watched her. Specca held her finger down to the mountains north of Edgewood then drew along the mountain ranges to the west. She stopped when she got to the break where the Devilo River flowed horizontally across the land and where the mountains stopped. Looking closely at it she jumped a bit.
"There, that's where they came from," she declared pointing to the small opening near the mountain’s southern range where the river came from. The group looked at it curiously as Specca drew her finger from the small gap out towards the bluffs south of Edgewood.
"They came from the west, right under the river and into the safe zone. They missed the wild hornets just barely and kept pushing up at this angle. That's the only way they wouldn't have ever been spotted near the forests of Ashwood, they came from the west and were moving east towards the city," she reasoned looking back to Squeak. The ant girl looked at the map curiously as the group examined it.
"Wow, you mean they moved just south of our home?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, it looks like they tunneled under the bluffs through the softer areas and wound up in the fields here, just east of your home and west of Ashwood," Specca said, adjusting her glasses while pointing to the fields near Edgewood on the map. She looked at the map towards where it ended past the mountains to the west.
"It must have taken them years to slowly move their nest from the neighboring region into ours," she said softly. Daniel glanced to Squeak as the ant girl looked at the map curiously.
"Those ant-lionesses kept following them wherever they went, I had no idea they chased you so far, Squeak," he said with remorse. Squeak glanced to him then looked down with concern, seeing just how far her nest had shifted through the land trying to escape the underground predators.
"Oh dear, if they keep moving in that direction they'll run right into Ashwood, the humans there will find them," Specca said worriedly. The group looked to her then down to the map as she showed the direction the ant girls nest was heading in.
"That's not good, ant girls may take men for their breeding, but they never raid and go that close to human settlements, it would be too dangerous for them. If their nest moves too close to Ashwood the humans may send in their fighters to kill them off," Specca warned, looking to Squeak with concern. Squeak jumped and looked down to the map with wide eyes.
"Oh no, you're right. If they keep moving their nest they'll run straight into Ashwood. Even our hometown of Edgewood would have been dangerous for them to run into, but if they get too close to that city they'll have armored soldiers clearing them out," Triska said shaking her head. Squeak looked to her with a quick squeak then down at the map with fear.
"Didn't you kill the ant-lionesses though? You and Squeak cleared out those infected tunnels together didn't you?" Alyssa asked looking to Triska. The teen nodded slowly with a concerned expression.
"We did, but what if there's still more down there in other tunnels? Or if they came back? Squeak's nest would likely try moving again rather than fighting, they were still scared to death of those things when we left," she cautioned.
"How long would it take them to reach Ashwood?" Daniel asked looking to Specca. She looked at the map carefully and shrugged.
"I'm not sure; I don't know how fast they can move their nest or how big it is. It could take years, or months, there's no way to be sure. They may even veer off course and head north where they would hit solid rock and come to a quick stop, or head south and run into the wild hornets," she questioned worriedly.
"They're trapped, there's nowhere else for them to run," Alyssa said looking to Squeak. The ant girl shook her head and looked around at the group while squeaking quickly with a fearful expression.
"What can we do to help them? We can't just stay back there and be their ant-lioness killers, especially after Squeak was sent with us to help with this quest," Triska asked looking around at the group.
"There's nothing we can do for them right now," Specca said shaking her head. Triska growled then looked at her with a glare.
"What are you suggesting we do then, just forget about them? That's Squeak's family back there in case you didn't know; her whole nest. We can't just do nothing," she argued firmly. Daniel looked at her curiously as did Squeak and Alyssa, the three noticin
g how adamant the girl could become in a monster's defense.
"I know that, but like you said we can't just go back and remain there as their soldiers. We're out here for a purpose, and this is just another reason why we cannot fail with it," Specca explained.
"What do you mean another reason?" Triska asked.
"She's right," Daniel said looking to the map. The group looked to him as he pointed to Ashwood.
"Ashwood would have the manpower to wipe out their nest if they got too close, but what if Ashwood became their allies? If we can help our two races coexist then the ant girls' nest would be right next to their own guardians," he said thoughtfully. Squeak looked at him curiously then down to the map as Specca nodded with a smile.
"Exactly. If the humans of Ashwood were ok with the ant girls' nest being in their backyard, they would have the strength and power to help protect them. A prime example of why the ant girls need humans, not just for reproduction but for protection from their natural enemies," she agreed eagerly. Alyssa looked at the map and nodded slowly.
"Yeah, if Ashwood allied with that nest, the ant-lionesses would never be a problem again for them. They would have all the help they need to clear out those tunnels and keep them safe," she said curiously.
"Our fighters are more combat ready than their diggers, if we did become allies in this world then Squeak's nest would be protected and wouldn't have to move anymore," Triska said looking to Squeak. The ant girl looked at the map curiously then to Daniel, the boy studying the map closely.
"That would be their best bet for survival. But we can't just go back to Ashwood now and talk to them about it. For one they just got attacked by monsters, talking about coexisting with them to any extent is not an option right now. Also even if they weren't attacked, they're not going to just listen to us," he said shaking his head a bit.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 57
