"Well we need to do something, if we don't get that city to side with the ant girls then Squeak's nest is going to dig themselves straight into trouble," Triska said worriedly. Daniel nodded and glanced to her.
"We will, we'll do what we set out to do. Squeak's nest already sent us an ambassador of sorts; they're ready to talk about peace if we are. For them all we can do is help sway our kind in this region into giving peace a chance," he said looking back down to the map. Specca nodded in agreement then looked down as well.
"Worst case scenario is that her nest will be within Ashwood's sight in a few months, that is if they do indeed keep moving and rather quickly. Hopefully they won't be moving at all or it will take longer for them to move out that far, but even so how are you going to convince that city into siding with them before then?" she asked with concern.
"There's only one way we can gain their support quickly," Triska pointed out looking to Daniel. He nodded and leaned back against the wall while looking up at the ceiling with a deep gaze.
"We would have to convince the queen of the region of my belief, we would have to get her to side with us on this," he reasoned. Squeak looked at him curiously and squeaked something. He looked over to her then down to the map, and then pointed down further southeast into a large area marked as a safe zone.
"There, the kingdom of Rockhelm. We would have to go there and speak directly to Queen Leanna, only she would be able to approve true coexistence in this region," he said carefully.
"Tell me you had a plan about how to do that from the start, right, Daniel? I mean you would have had to talk to the rulers of Eden at some point about this, right?" Triska asked expectantly. Daniel sighed and shook his head.
"Truthfully, I was hoping that finding proof like these three would hopefully be enough to sway your mother into listening to us back home, I… haven't really worked out a plan on how to talk to the queen of our land about this yet," he admitted worriedly.
"But… what do you mean you haven't? Isn't that one of the most important parts of you getting mankind to coexist with monsters, talking to our own rulers? How can that not be on your to-do list?" Triska asked shaking her head. Daniel looked to her and held up his hands defensively.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't expect to be talking to the rules of Eden so quickly in this. I mean we just left Ashwood, I didn't think me talking to our queen would be coming up so suddenly," he defended with remorse.
"Well you're going to be talking to her now, you need to," Triska said urgently.
"If we go to Rockhelm as it stands now, Squeak, Alyssa, and I would be executed on the spot for walking into a human kingdom while you two might be imprisoned for talking about such things as monsters and humans coexisting," Specca pointed out worriedly.
"She's right, talking to your queen would be needed to make this happen, but we don't have anything to back up our case on this yet. Three lone monster girls aren't enough," Alyssa added shaking her head.
"How many would we need?" Triska wondered looking down.
"A lot, and even then it's still going to be a challenge to get the queen to listen to us at all," Daniel said with concern.
"Then start thinking about your opening speech, Daniel, because you're going to need it," Triska cautioned while looking down at the map. Squeak shook her head and squeaked at the group worriedly as the others looked over to her.
"We'll help you, Squeak, we won't let your nest be destroyed. We just need to gather more support for this," Daniel said looking back down to the map. He pointed to the elven forest then traced his finger further east towards the two other marked areas further away.
"We need to keep on course towards the elves; hopefully they'll agree to help as well. Then we keep going and gather as much support for this as we can," he said hopefully.
"Those other two locations are a really long ways away, are there really no other races near us that are peaceful?" Alyssa asked looking to Specca.
"Not that I'm aware of. I'm sorry, but those two other locations are the safest ones for Daniel to approach," Specca said shaking her head slightly with concern.
"There are bound to be other monsters we'll see along the way, hopefully some of them would be willing to listen to Daniel," Triska mentioned looking at the map carefully. Specca shook her head again and looked at her with a worried expression.
"I'm telling you those other two locations are the best choices for him. The first one is where bovinettes normally roam and graze; they're incredibly docile and peaceful. The second is where harpies make their nests, the mountains are small there and they are also friendly with humans," she reasoned.
"Wait, those are the monster classes in those two areas? Bovinettes and harpies? That's who we're traveling out there to talk to?" Alyssa questioned with a raised eyebrow. Daniel looked up thoughtfully as Squeak and Triska looked to Specca curiously.
"Bovinettes and harpies, I don't remember reading about those," Daniel said looking over to the nixie.
"What's wrong with those two? What are they even?" Triska asked looking to Alyssa. The witch looked up with a tired expression.
"Bovinettes are cow girl monsters, they mainly sit around large grass fields and graze like their animal counterparts. They are very friendly and gentle, and their milk they produce can actually cure various ailments and sicknesses with ease," she said simply.
"Most humans already know about their milk and how special it is, surely that would be a good reason for mankind to be allies with them," Specca said hopefully. Alyssa shook her head and looked back to Specca with a dull stare.
"Of course they know about them, there are humans out there that farm those monsters. Mankind doesn't want to coexist with them; they already use them as livestock in certain areas. And the bovinettes don't care, they're so gentle and tame they don't mind being used like that at all. Humans aren't going to want to mate with them, not if they can get the milk for free," Alyssa argued with an annoyed tone.
"Wow, there are humans out there that actually use monsters like that?" Triska asked with surprise.
"Some, yes. The bovinettes are a common one to be used like that since they're so easy to get their milk from," Alyssa said with a shrug.
"They don't care that they're used like that?" Daniel asked with wonder. Alyssa glanced to him then down.
"Well, not at first. Like all monsters their inner nature builds up over time if nothing is done about it. And when it gets to be too much…" she trailed off, glancing away as she thought about something. Specca looked down with a solemn expression, knowing what Alyssa was getting at.
"They go mad with lust, and try to rape any man they can find around them. They may be gentle and tame with humans normally, but when they go mad they're incredibly forceful. Humans often put them down before they get to that point and just replace them with new ones. But if mankind were to live with them willingly without using them like cattle they wouldn't turn like that. They wouldn't have to be killed," Specca reasoned softly. Alyssa shook her head and looked back to her.
"Again, that's not a good example for us. Humans would rather just use them and kill them like they already are than just mate with them in order to save them from going mad," she argued. Specca opened her mouth to speak before Alyssa raised a finger.
"And your idea of Daniel talking to harpies is just as bad. Those monsters are extremely possessive with men they like. If one of them were to desire Daniel enough they would take him away. Literally, the harpy would grab onto him and fly off to her nest to keep him as her husband," she said shaking her finger at the nixie.
"They would? But I thought Specca said they were friendly with humans," Triska asked looking to the nixie. Alyssa nodded and looked up with a reluctant sigh.
"They are friendly, they don't raid or attack humans settlements. It isn't that their not friendly, it's that they can get too friendly with a human. The only way Daniel would get away from being taken by them would be to either take a leap of faith out of their nests, which
are usually located in steep cliffs high above the hard unforgiving ground below, or to break the harpie’s heart and decline to be with her, in which case she would likely push him out of the nest towards the hard unforgiving ground below," she explained. Looking over to Specca the witch raised an eyebrow in question at her.
"Not only that, but they don't really offer much for humans in terms of coexistence. They can fly around, sure, but they don't have any magic or medicine to trade with, nor do they have any strong fighters to speak of. I don't think asking them to be couriers for deliveries would be something the human race would be willing to accept in trade for mating with them," she pointed out flatly. The group looked over to Specca as she shook her head worriedly.
"But if we were there with him we could keep him safe if one of them really did try to fly away with him. Besides, they are friendly with humans, that's going to be a requirement that many monsters in this world will not meet, and we need all the support we can get remember?" she asked expectantly.
"Yes, but mankind won't have any real reason to coexist with them, they don't offer anything that mankind isn't already getting without having to sleep with them," Alyssa argued with frustration.
"Daniel needs followers for his belief and those two are the closest ones besides the elves that are the safest for him to approach with us. I'm not only thinking about his quest but also about his safety," Specca said defensively.
"His quest is about finding monsters that mankind would be willing to coexist with, that means that the monster race would have to offer something in return for humans mating with them willingly. They already use bovinettes for their milk without having to breed with them and the harpies offer nothing of real value in exchange for mating with them," Alyssa said firmly.
"I'm trying my best to help him with his journey!" Specca shouted back.
"We can't waste our time with monsters that aren't going to help him with his cause!" Alyssa yelled back.
"We need all the support we can get; we can't be picky about which monsters to talk to!" Specca shouted out.
"Stop!" Daniel called out. The girls looked to him as he was showing a serious expression.
"You're both right. We do need all the help we can get, and the queen is only going to listen to us if we have monster races that could be of benefit to mankind willing to try to coexist peacefully," he said carefully. The girls looked at him curiously as he leaned back and looked up with a small sigh.
"The bovinettes and harpies may not be critical to ally with, but if we do start to coexist with monsters then hopefully they would be a part of that. It doesn't sound like they're malicious at all, I'm sure humans could learn to live with them peacefully enough," he reasoned with a small shrug.
"But it sounds like those two monster races wouldn't help with your cause," Triska mentioned with a bit of concern. Daniel nodded then looked down to the map.
"No, it doesn't. I do still want to talk to them, and try to see if they could give peace a chance if at least we were willing, but right now we need to get the idea rolling with mankind, and we need monsters that can offer something in return to show that they could be useful allies," he stated, holding a hand to his chin as he examined the locations marked on the map. He didn't want to just ignore monsters like the bovinettes or harpies if they would be good candidates for allies, but in order to get his own race to even consider the idea of coexistence he would need monster races that could actually provide something that mankind would be willing to live with them for. Ant girls were expert diggers and could help with mining and excavating for humans while witches were adept with their magic and potions which could be of great help to mankind, both monster races being positive examples of the benefits of coexisting.
"Then what do we do next? Other than the elves in the region we don't know of any other monsters that are remotely friendly with humans. Where do we go after them?" Triska asked looking down to the map. Daniel thought for a moment then looked over to Alyssa.
"Alyssa, who would we need to speak with for the witches to listen to us?" he asked. Alyssa jumped a bit then looked at him worriedly.
"Um, well, that depends. Alpha witches would be the ones who we would need to convince about this idea," she said nervously.
"Alpha witches?" Daniel asked. Specca nodded and glanced to Alyssa with a raised eyebrow.
"A witch that is more powerful than others by far, usually one of the eldest witches in a region. Their magical reserves and knowledge of more demanding and powerful spells makes them sort of the leaders of their race," she explained. Alyssa nodded and looked down with a worried expression.
"The alpha in my homeland is the only one I know of personally, but… I don't know if talking to her is the best idea," she said shakily.
"Because you burned your homeland to the ground?" Triska asked flatly with a raised eyebrow. Alyssa twitched at that then nodded slowly.
"I'm not exactly welcome back there anymore, all the witches in that region know of me. I'm only able to travel around other parts of Eden without being attacked by my own kind because not all witches know I'm the Wildfire Witch. The names Alyssa and Wildfire Witch are known throughout the witches’ world, so whenever I'm around others I make up some random name so they don't try to kill me," she confessed worriedly. She trembled slightly and shook her head.
"My home is still safe, other witches won't find it… because…" she said shakily.
"There are wolves around your home," Daniel said softly with a sympathetic expression. Alyssa nodded and looked to him.
"They keep other witches from going back into that forest, not that they would have had much reason to anyway since it's all dead now. It's ironic, but… the wolves I tried to do away with are the only things keeping other witches from finding my home," she said with remorse.
"Alyssa, I'm sorry," Daniel said gently.
"So then you can't speak to your kind for Daniel's cause," Specca pointed out, raising an eyebrow at the witch. Alyssa clenched her staff tightly and glanced to her with annoyance.
"You just said for us ‘not to waste our time' with monsters that can't help Daniel's cause. Well, doesn't that include you then?" Specca accused, crossing her arms before her.
"Hey! I'm out here helping Daniel because he needs a guardian; I am helping him with his cause!" Alyssa said sternly.
"But you're not going to be an example of witches willing to coexist with mankind. At least with the bovinettes and harpies we would have monster races that could possibly speak on their own behalf, but with you we have one witch who is an outcast to her own kind. You're being a hypocrite saying we can't go talk to the other races when you can't even talk to your own," Specca argued.
"I'm not a hypocrite, I'm telling you that getting those other monsters to side with us won't do anything for Daniel's cause, we need to find others that mankind would have a reason to mate with," Alyssa snapped back.
"We need to find anyone we can, we don't have a lot of options here," Specca said shaking her head.
"What about your race then? Are you going to talk to them and get them to side with Daniel as well?" Alyssa asked while glaring at the nixie. Specca glanced away as everybody looked over to her.
"Where are they? I wasn't aware nixies normally traveled this far out away from their homes, where's your home at? I don't hear you offering to take Daniel there," Alyssa snapped with narrowed eyes.
"Well… my home is quite far away, it's not really an option for us right now," Specca said quietly.
"So then you're not helping his cause either, you're alone out here from your own race on this aren't you?" Alyssa said with discontent. Specca looked back to her with a flustered expression.
"Hey, I'm… doing all that I can to help him. I've agreed to be his guide out here haven't I? I'm doing my best, I want our kind to coexist too," she defended with frustration.
"So am I, that's why I'm out here in the first place, I want to help him too!" Alyssa shot back. Triska sighed and looked up t
iredly.
"Great, so we have a witch who can't speak to her leaders on our account and a nixie who is far, far away from her own kind for support from her own people," she stated flatly. She shook her head then looked over to Squeak.
"The only monster we've found that is out here representing her own kind for Daniel's cause is Squeak," she pointed out. Squeak smiled and nodded with a quick squeak. Triska blinked then looked over to Daniel with a tired expression.
"And she can't even speak to anyone on behalf of her own kind," she said with exasperation. Squeak paused for a moment then looked down with a saddened expression and squeaked softly. Alyssa and Specca glared at each other then looked down with troubled expressions, both fearing they weren't a help to Daniel's beliefs since they were all alone from their own races.
"We're off to a fantastic start," Triska groaned as she looked back down to the map.
"I'd say we are," Daniel said with a calm smile. The girls all looked to him as he was going over the map with a curious eye, smiling in content.
"I was being sarcastic, Daniel," Triska said shaking her head.
"Well I wasn't, we have three monsters girls already helping us with our journey just after leaving Ashwood. We have the famous Wildfire Witch with us, an ant girl who represents a nest that is willing to coexist with mankind once we're ready for that, and a nixie who knows so much about the world and is willing to be our monster guide. I'd say that's a great start to our journey," Daniel reasoned with a shrug.
"But, Daniel, me being the Wildfire Witch is a bad thing, remember? I can't talk to the alpha witches at all, they'll never want to help me with anything," Alyssa said shaking her head.
"I'm flattered you think so highly of me, Daniel, but… Alyssa is right, I'm not able to strengthen your cause alone, and I'm not sure if I can even convince my people to talk peacefully with mankind," Specca admitted worriedly.
"And have you forgotten that Squeak can only squeak? How's she going to speak on behalf of her queen when nobody can understand her?" Triska asked waving to Squeak, the ant girl looking down with a worried expression. Daniel looked around at the group with a kind smile then to Alyssa.
chronicles of eden - act I Page 58
