Chronicles of Eden - Act V (32 page)

“Oh hell no, we are not waiting around here like this. We’re going to save that girl and show the monarch not all humans are the devil, and not even a little dark is going to stop us. Let’s go, Lucky!”

She then snapped the reins with a yell, getting Lucky to start trotting forward along the trail slowly with a grunt. Triska watched the horse with a dull stare as the animal carefully made his way along the path towards the village at the speed a five year old child could easily outrun.

“Oh c’mon, quit being such a coward, Lucky!”

*****

On the other side of the valley that Rackleholm dwelled in Kroanette was breathing heavily while leaning against a tree, her eyes wearily looking down at the seemingly abandoned human village while next to her Clover was watching the settlement with a sharp glare.

“Okay,” Kroanette panted. “We’re here. Now…
why
did we come here again?”

“What’s with you?” Clover snapped with a glance to her. “I thought centaurs loved to run everywhere.”

“I’ve been running all evening and night, nonstop, while you constantly slapped my rear and yelled at me to go faster!” Kroanette barked out at the elf. “I’m tired, alright?”

“Whatever. Just stay here and rest then, I’ll be back soon,” Clover said before she started walking towards the village with her bow in hand. She pulled her hood up with her long pigtails draping down over her shoulders then brought out an arrow and held it in her bow while keeping a sharp eye out around them.

“Hold on!” Kroanette called out, halting the elf who merely glanced back to her while remaining silent. “You expect me to just wait here in the dark forest alone? I will do no such thing. You can’t just leave me here like this when I can’t see even five feet in front of me.”

“You’re too easy a target to follow me into Rackleholm,” Clover said shaking her head. Kroanette looked at her puzzled as the elf eyed the village before them while scowling slightly. “She’ll pick your fat ass off in a heartbeat if you stray into there.”

“Hey!” Kroanette shouted out with anger. “I am not fat! I may have the body of a horse but I am lean and well fit just as any other centaur in Eden!” She then blinked and looked at Clover curiously.

“Wait a minute. She? Who are you talking about?”

“Just shut up and wait here for me to get back,” Clover snapped at her. “Don’t even think about running off on me either. If you do then you’d best pray the monsters lurking in the shadows kill you before I find you again.”

“Hold up,” Kroanette said holding a hand up. “You’re just going to venture into a human village at night alone? They’ll kill you if they find out you’re a monster.”

“There are no humans in this village, the place has been deserted for years,” Clover explained shaking her head.

“It’s deserted?” Kroanette asked looking back to the village. Sure enough she saw no lights or signs of anyone living there. “But are you sure it’s best to venture in there when it’s dark like this? You won’t be able to see too well.”

“I can see in the dark,” Clover dryly remarked. “Thank you for your concern but I’ll be just fine.”

“You can?” Kroanette said looking to her curiously. Clover nodded while watching the centaur out of the corner of her eye, her vision showing the centaur clearly with a dark green hue from her eyes adjusting to the night.

“Of course, what elf can’t? Now sit down and shut up, I’ll be back soon.”

“Wait just a moment, you can’t-” Kroanette started before Clover shot an arrow right at her with a loud twang, the bolt striking into a tree just past the centaur’s head.

“Sit
down
,” Clover ordered.

Kroanette gulped then slowly sat down on her legs while watching the elf with a nervous whine. Clover turned to walk towards the village then glanced back to the centaur with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s for your own safety,” she mentioned, with Kroanette watching her with wonder as the elf brought out another arrow and held it in her bow. “There’s another elf here, one that stole a relic that belongs to our priestess. If she spots you before I find her she’ll put you down before you can blink.”

“Another elf is here? Are you sure?”

“Yes, tracking and hunting is something we elves excel at, and I’ve followed her trail through Eden towards this village. This place is abandoned, surrounded by monsters, a perfect hiding place for her to lay low. With any luck she’s still here, and I can take back what she stole after I fucking kill that traitor. It’s my job, given to me by my priestess and my sisters, and I’m not going to let anything get in my way.”

“You’re hunting an elf?” Kroanette asked. “That’s what you came here to do? To kill one of your own?”

“That’s exactly why I came here. Now, stay here out of sight where you’ll be safe from her. I’ll be back,” Clover ordered before quickly heading off towards the village. Kroanette watched her run off into the darkness then looked around nervously as she felt uneasy about staying put in the forest like this.

“Well, so nice for her to care about me,” she nervously spoke to herself.

A few twigs snapped nearby, causing the centaur to yelp and quickly look all around her as she began to panic. Turning to the shadowy valley where Rackleholm was down below then back behind her at the darkened forest she tried to control her breathing and calm herself.

“It’s alright, it’s okay, she’ll be back soon, and then we can get the hell out of here. It’s alright, Kroanette, you’re going to be fine.”

Slowly she felt a cold chill run down her spine, the sensation that something nearby was watching her becoming more evident while she held her arms around herself with a nervous whine. After a moment she blinked then looked up, seeing a pair of red eyes watching her from the shadowy tree branches above. Kroanette froze in place as she and the unseen figure just stared at each other in silence. A nervous smile came across her face as she carefully got back onto her feet.

“Hello,” she shakily spoke up. “Nice… night, isn’t it?”

The figure above hissed as six other red eyes opened above the first two to look at Kroanette. The centaur gulped as the eight eyes of the monster above locked onto her while moving slightly closer down towards her.

“Yeah, screw this!” Kroanette cried out before she bolted away from the tree and ran off along the trail down towards Rackleholm. “Clover! Wait for me!”

*****

Triska and Lucky slowly made their way towards the village, surrounded by darkness and the quiet rustling of leaves in the trees while the moonlight above provided barely any help with staying on the trail. The gentle clopping of Lucky’s hooves seemed to echo out into the shadows woods all around them while Triska remained on guard, knowing she was left with no choice but to keep moving forward now.

“Okay,” she slowly said to herself. “This was a real bright idea coming here at night like this. I wish Tabitha would have at least mentioned nobody would be out this far, I would have brought a torch or something.”

As they approached the village the moonlight brightened just enough to show the trail leading into the settlement and turning into a cobblestone road. The buildings were built out of pinewood with sloped roofs while nary a light or sound was coming from the empty village. When they got closer to the edge of town Lucky whinnied and backed up, shaking his head with a grunt while Triska watched the horse cautiously.

“Lucky, it’s alright. This place is empty, nothing to be afraid of.”

Again Lucky neighed and backed up more, seeming to avoid going any further. Triska hopped off his back and gently brushed his nose to calm him down while looking around at the village.

“This is just like it was with Eston,” she quietly reminded herself. “Only… I can already tell something isn’t right.”

It wasn’t just the fact that she was standing before an abandoned village deep in The Outerlands, nor because she had arrived here in the dead of night. She could almost feel an ominous vibe to this place, something Lucky obviously could as well since he refused to step any closer to the place. Triska tried to pull the horse forward with the reins but he only bucked back and shook his head again.

“You can tell something’s wrong too, can’t you, boy?” Triska wondered looking back at dark town again. She glanced around then led Lucky off to the side towards a small tree that had a picket fence running near it. “Well we can’t go now, not without Complica. Just wait here, I’ll be back soon. I hope.”

She tied Lucky’s reins to the fence then brushed him one more time before slowly approaching Rackleholm. To her surprise Lucky quickly bit down on her sleeve and tried to tug her back. She watched the horse with wonder as Lucky grunted and pulled her towards him a step.

“You really don’t want me going in there, do you?”

Turning back to the village she knew something was wrong now.

‘He’s never tried to stop us from going anywhere before, not even into Eston. Something isn’t right about this place.’

“I’ll be fine, Lucky,” Triska reassured the horse before drawing her blade out. “But we’re not leaving without that little girl.”

She walked off towards the village while Lucky grunted once more and looked around the area by the fence. Triska made her way into town and slowly headed down the street, glancing around carefully and seeing all the buildings and homes resting quietly in the dark.

“Alright, where are you bastards hiding her?” she spoke quietly to herself.

From nearby she heard a door shut, causing her to tense up and look over to the side where a girl was chuckling. Slowly she was able to make out Tabitha walking into the road, one of her swords held inversely in hand while the other was holding a black carrying bag and shaking it a little.

“I love this job,” Tabitha purred as she heard the contents jingling before she slung the sack over her shoulder then took notice of Triska standing in the road. “Triska? What are you doing here?”

“Um, what are
you
doing?” Triska asked as she lowered her stance.

“I’m checking the residences to find those human kidnappers of course,” Tabitha snapped. “I told you to wait outside of town for me to finish the job.”

“What are you carrying?”

“Nothing really,” Tabitha casually replied. “Just a small bonus for my troubles.”

“You’re stealing from the homes, aren’t you?” Triska dryly asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s not stealing if they’re abandoned! Besides, no sense in leaving such pretty jewelry and silver lying around out here in the middle of nowhere, if anything I’m rescuing such treasures from this place just as I shall with that little butterfly girl.”

“We’re supposed to be saving that little girl, not looting this place,” Triska scolded her.

“Why not both?” Tabitha chuckled as she walked over towards her. “No harm in collecting a little extra for our hard work, right? Hey, where’s your horse?”

“He didn’t want to come in here,” Triska said looking back behind her. “Something spooked him good; he wouldn’t set foot into this place. I don’t know why but I’m getting a bad feeling about being here as well.”

“Aw, you poor thing,” Tabitha purred with a grin. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”

“I’m not scared,” Triska barked back at her. “I’m just being cautious. I’ve been in a situation like this before, it didn’t end well then and I’d rather not come across any similar surprises now.”

“Relax,” Tabitha said glancing around the area. “I see no danger here. I haven’t even seen a glimpse of any humans either, but perhaps they’re hiding in one of these homes as we speak. I’ll hurry and save that girl so we can get you two out of this scary place, okay?”

“Would you quit playing around?” Triska hushed while quickly looking around the area. “We’re here for a reason, one that you’re already being paid for, remember?”

“Hold that thought,” Tabitha quickly said while her attention snapped over to down the street, her eyes narrowing while she tensed up. Triska watched as the neko seemed to stare intently at something before she quickly pushed her bag into Triska chest, the teen holding it with one arm while stumbling back slightly with a jump.

“Hold onto that for me,” Tabitha ordered with a sharp eye to Triska. “And don’t even think about taking anything out of there.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Triska demanded before Tabitha quickly took off down the street. Triska watched as the neko ran swiftly yet silently as she drew closer towards the side of the road near the homes and headed towards a crossing further away.

“Don’t those bells on her tail ever jingle?” Triska wondered before running after the neko. She made sure to tread lightly on her feet as she followed Tabitha, watching as the neko began to slowly approach a corner of a building near the intersection while drawing her second blade out.

“Hey, what is it?” Triska quietly asked as she got behind Tabitha and pressed against the wall.

“I heard someone,” Tabitha slowly replied while keeping close to the brick and wooden side of the building. Carefully she peeked around the edge, focusing her sights on seeing a figure slowly walking towards the intersection in the middle of the street. It appeared to be a woman, evident by her bust and shapely hips, dressed in dark leggings, brown boots, and a black cloak with the hood pulled up over her head. In one hand she held a bow while the other rested on a black satchel she had tied to her belt. A quiver of arrows was strapped behind her at an angle while her steps were slow and silent.

“There’s an archer in the middle of the street,” Tabitha whispered back to Triska.

“One of the kidnappers?” Triska asked as she set Tabitha’s bag down and gripped her sword with both hands.

“Not sure, there’s only one,” Tabitha said watching the archer cautiously. “She’s heading this way.”

“Do you think she knows we’re here?”

The archer took another step before swiftly grabbing two arrows out of her quiver and shooting them towards Tabitha. The neko jumped back with a yelp before the bolts struck through the corner of the building with sharp whacks before remaining lodged in place. Triska saw the steel tips shimmer in the moonlight as she backed up along with the neko, both keeping on guard while everything fell silent again. Tabitha gulped quietly as she saw the ends of the arrows and noticing the angle of which they had pierced through the wood, the ends being aimed right at her head.