chronicles of eden - act I (5 page)

*****

It was a particular sunny day as a few clouds gently passed by overhead. The tall grass around the rolling plains swayed slightly as a cool breeze rolled by, a few birds flew out of a tree into the air, and the groaning and complaining of a human was easily heard.

"Seriously… why am I carrying all of your stuff?" Daniel asked as he slowly walked along the dirt road. He was carrying his own backpack with travel supplies, and also a large leather duffel bag that was filled with pretty much anything he could imagine at this point. Glancing to his side he watched as Triska giggled to herself, with Daniel showing an agitated expression as she looked around with a calm gaze.

"Well I am the girl you need to protect and take care of out here according to my mother. And I'm sure that being the gentleman you are, you wouldn't dream of having me carrying such heavy things," she said playfully. Daniel rolled his eyes as he kept pace with the girl, his sword wielding companion who was casually walking along with her hand resting on her sheathed dagger leisurely. Her blonde hair flowed gently behind her as she had a calm smile on her face.

"First off, if this is what being a gentleman entails then sign me up for being a bastard. Secondly, this is all
your
stuff that
you
insisted on bringing along with
you
on this trip. You're used to carrying such heavy equipment, you should carry this. I shouldn't be your pack mule," he complained. Triska stopped and glanced to him curiously.

"Pack mule?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. She laughed then patted him on the back, with him almost stumbling forward as she smiled.

"No no, a mule would be an insult. Think of it as… you're my daring and courageous steed," she said proudly. Daniel regained his balance then looked to her with annoyance.

"I'm not an animal!" he shouted out.

"True, but you are a man. A man out in the world surrounded by savage and lustful monsters, all without any means of protection except from his trusted and valued friend who only asks that you carry a few things in exchange for her protecting your delicate hide out here. So, that's not so unreasonable, is it?" she asked playfully. Daniel opened his mouth to speak before she started walking forward again.

"C'mon now, we need to get a move on if we're to get anywhere today," she said casually. Daniel watched her walk ahead then sighed in defeat. After a moment's pause to rethink his options about survival out in the world alone he started trudging after her while carrying her bag, which if he didn't know any better seemed to get heavier with each passing step. He looked over it to see her walking ahead of him, gazing casually around at the surrounding landscape.

They were in the rolling fields that lay between their hometown of Edgewood and the nearby city of Ashwood. It was a good distance away still; however the surrounding landscape of their home was virtually void of all monsters. Very few ever traveled out here as there were very few people this far out. They wouldn't really be encountered until after passing Ashwood, the city being on the border of the safety zone for their land.

"What's your rush anyway? Not like… we're in… danger out here…" he grunted as he struggled with the bag. He shook his head then looked up tiredly.

‘This is going to be a long trip.’

"I know that, but we still have to make good time if we're to find that proof you're looking for. And we certainly won't find it here next to our own home," Triska called back to him. She walked along the road and onto a wooden bridge over a small river, and then stopped to lean on the railing as she watched the clouds roll by. The water below flowed at a brisk pace with a few fish swimming through it. As Daniel reached the bridge she showed a curious expression then glanced back to her friend.

"Say, where are we going first? Did you have some sort of plan on where we should start?" she asked. Daniel trudged up next to her and slowly nodded as he held the heavy duffel bag.

"Yeah, there are a few areas outside of Ashwood I want to check out first," he said as he stopped and leaned against the railing. Taking a moment he caught his breath, then looked ahead to where they were going.

"Other than that we just need to keep our ear out for any place where they live or are found, and then I suppose we just try our luck with them," he said simply.

"Try our luck? That's your brilliant plan with trying to find monsters who could possibly be our allies? Wander around aimlessly and try our luck?" Triska asked with a raised eyebrow. Daniel smiled weakly and just nodded.

"Well that's all we can do I guess, I mean-" he started before the wooden railing next to him gave out, with him promptly falling back and down into the river. The bag dropped down onto the bridge, with the wood creaking and moaning from the weight, as Triska watched with surprise at her friend being washed downstream from the moving water. After a pause she started laughing as he floated down the river.

"Haha, what are you doing, Daniel? Quit fooling around, now's no time to take a dip," she called out with a smile.

Daniel stopped splashing around then floated over to the edge of the river, grabbing onto a nearby root to stop from being pulled away. He groaned as he slowly pulled himself out and dropped down onto the grass coughing out water. As he sat down to catch his breath Triska casually walked over to him, smiling amusedly.

"You know, if you wanted to go swimming I could have changed into my swimsuit," she said with a smirk. He glanced to her with annoyance then shook his head to get the water out of his hair.

"I wasn't planning on it. Great, now my clothes are soaking wet," he complained. He looked to his wet clothing and sighed, then reached back and brought forth his backpack to examine it. Aside from being wet it appeared alright, although he questioned how his food rations were going to taste now. Triska looked at him with an amused smile then slowly glanced away timidly.

"Well… if you need to… you could just take off…" she started before she glanced back to him with a small blush. He looked to her as he brushed his hair with his hand. After a pause she shook her head and looked back towards the bridge.

"I mean, at least the sun is out. Your clothes will dry in no time. Wait here while I go get my bag, and try not to fall in again," she said playfully before she started walking back towards the bridge. Daniel coughed a few times then looked down with a sigh.

"Why is life so cruel to me?" he muttered. He looked to his hand which was covered in mud and groaned, then glanced up to see he had mud smeared into his hair from his own doing.

"Seriously, we just started our trip and I fall into a river, what's next?" he complained as he moved over to the edge of the river and washed his hands in it. He brushed out the dirt and mud from his hair and shook his head a bit to get the water out of his ears. Leaning back he breathed out then glanced over to see Triska walking onto the bridge and casually lifting the duffel bag up with one hand. Daniel just stared in disbelief as the girl was able to carry the bag with little to no effort at all.

‘How the hell does she do that? And why make me carry it if she could easily do so herself?’

He groaned in defeat then looked to his wet clothing.

"A great start to a great journey," he said flatly. Standing up he shifted his foot around, the feeling of some water and what he hoped was only mud in his boot causing him to mutter to himself. Triska walked over to him, looking at the boy with an amused smile still.

"Glad to see you're still ok after I left," she said with a small laugh.

"It's not that funny, besides I fell in because that bag is way too heavy," he said pointing to the duffel bag. She looked at him curiously then back to the bag she had slung over her shoulder with one hand.

"Really? This one?" she asked innocently as she casually tossed it to him. He caught it in surprise then stumbled back as Triska smiled at him.

"Nah, it's not too heavy, see? You're carrying it just fine. I knew I could count on you to carry my belongings, Daniel, you're always so kind that way," she said sweetly. He growled a bit then looked to her with a dull expression.

"It's a curse, believe me," he muttered.

"Not at all, chivalry is very desirable in a man, makes you attractive," she said with a wink before looking back to the path nearby. Daniel gave a puzzled expression then opened his mouth to speak, only to be stopped when she started walking off again.

"Ok, break time is over. We need to get a move on again, and this time stick close to me, I'll make sure you're safe," she said with a small laugh at the end. He watched her walk ahead again and shook his head in defeat. After a pause he reluctantly started to follow after while carrying the heavy bag.

‘How does she always do that?’

After they had been traveling for a good distance, and Daniel finally talked Triska into stopping so he could take a much needed breather, the two were sitting on a nearby small hill next to the dirt road. They were laying back on the grass looking up at the sky as they took a minute to rest. Daniel's clothing were dry again as he relaxed in the sunlight that was shining down, his hands behind his head with a calm smile on his face. Triska was looking up at the clouds, her foot gently bobbing as she enjoyed the break with her friend.

"So I have to ask, how come you were so insistent on coming along?" Daniel asked as he glanced to her. She looked away with a scoff.

"I already said you needed somebody to protect you, and that may as well be me. Nobody else in the village would have helped you after all. I'm just doing what's right," she reasoned with firmly. After a pause Daniel smiled at her.

"Thank you," he said gently. She blinked then looked over to see him lying back with his eyes closed.

"I know you could be back in the village right now learning to be a real guardian, you would have been the best one there by far," he said calmly. She looked at him with curiosity as he breathed out in content.

"Still, it does make me feel more at ease knowing I have the best fighter in our village with me," he admitted with a small smile. Triska blushed slightly and looked at him with a gentle smile. She shook her head then turned to look at him, laying on her side and elbow.

"You're the one that's impressive, Daniel. Nobody but you would be trying to get monsters on our side in this world," she said with a small laugh. He chuckled and shrugged slightly.

"Well, I know it's crazy, but-"

"It's not crazy," Triska said softly. He turned to see her looking at him with a gentle expression.

"You're not crazy, sometimes a radical thinker is just what the world needs," she said. Daniel sat up and looked at her curiously.

"That's something else I wanted to ask you. Ever since I showed you my book about the monsters you never once made fun of me or anything. You were the only one in the village who… seemed to believe me and my ideas. How come?" he asked while brushing the grass off his shoulder. She glanced away then downward, hesitating to speak at first.

"Well… I didn't at first. But… you seemed so sure about it, that they could really help us in the world. I don't know… I mean you've never really been wrong with these sorts of guesses before. You've always been the smart one," she said softly. Slowly she looked back up to him with a timid expression, feeling her heart beating faster as she saw him watching her.

‘Ok… maybe now is a good time to tell him. I mean we are alone, and he's right there… in front of me… looking at me…’

"I don't know about always being the smart one, back home I felt like the crazy one actually," Daniel said with a weak smile. Triska quickly sat up and shook her head.

"Not at all. They're just too scared of trying something like this. Wanting to actually talk to monsters isn't something most people would consider safe. But you're not most people," she said reassuringly. She smiled then looked down timidly.

"I mean, you're braver than most, wanting to do this alone speaks of that," she said as she gently tugged on the grass with her fingers. Looking back up at him she saw the curious expression on his face. She slowly inched a bit closer.

"And you're not afraid to follow your dreams, even if they are completely insane," she said gently, and then jumped with a surprised expression as she realized what she just said. Daniel merely raised an eyebrow at her while she waved her hands around in front of her with a nervous laugh.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm not saying your dreams are completely insane, I just meant… what I was trying to say was…" she stammered. Daniel nodded with a sigh then rested back down on the grass.

"I know I know; it's a death sentence to try this. That no monster will be tamed or reasoned with and will only try to use me for their own breeding stock. That's not going to stop me from trying though, even if everybody does think I'm insane for wanting to do this," he said simply before he closed his eyes.

"I didn't mean you were insane, Daniel, really. I was only saying that the
idea
is insane," she said worriedly. She jumped a bit then hit her head with a quick jab.

‘Dammit, what's wrong with me? It's his idea!’

"That's not what I meant either, let me start over," she said with a nervous smile.

"Let's just stop talking about it, Triska, I'd rather not think about how doomed our journey is right now," he said tiredly. Triska looked at him with concern then up with frustration.

‘Oh c'mon, that was the moment! It was perfect!’

She sighed then looked away with a saddened gaze, holding her legs up to her chest with her arms and nodding slowly. As a small breeze rolled by she glanced to her friend as he lay on the grass. She watched him lay there with a peaceful expression as the sun was high in the sky, smiling at her friend as she held her legs close to her. After a while she looked to his backpack behind him.

"Hey, Daniel, mind if I look at your book again?" she asked. Opening only one eye he glanced to her then to his bag. Reaching back he undid the flap, and then pulled out the monster guide. As he handed it towards her the two heard a girl’s scream echo out. They jumped a bit and looked around as nobody was seen nearby.