The Jellybane Chapter 1

Art by Connie Walker 

(ryoki18@yahoo.com) 

 

Chapter 1

Jellies

The keen edge of Alice's broadsword cuts smoothly through thick, gelatinous flesh until cleaving into earth. With experience honed skill, she then uses the blade to wedge the newly hewn glob away from the rest, widening her slice, before, with a flex of slim but present muscle, she flings it off to her right. It plops into the lush spring grass of the heavily stumped field. The green tinted, transparent jelly's only reaction to this is to round out the flat face cut into it, shrinking a little as it once more becomes a near perfect hemisphere. This was only to the young Tokala's benefit, as each chunk she removed brought her a little closer to the faintly glowing core stone floating within the wild monster.

Alice Dippleblack is a monster hunter. Despite being merely fourteen, she single-handedly has taken it upon herself to face the jellies that emerge from the vast forest near the tiny village of Toki. Jellies, while being ponderously slow, are in fact a real danger to anything they come in contact with. Appearing as blobs of translucent goop, lacking in any extremities, the touch of a jelly is nonetheless akin to the touch of acid. Their only desire, if they even have something so complex, is to absorb anything living, plant or animal, dissolve it within themselves, and add the acquired mass to their own gelatinous bulk. Bravely facing these ravenous creatures is not, however, a commitment to heroics by the fox girl.

All the jellies Alice had ever seen have contained a single pearl-like core stone. And like pearls, core stones can be quite valuable. Acquiring these treasures is the true incentive behind the young hunter's battles with the invasive jellies. By trading them, she has managed to feed, shelter, and provide for herself, a necessary task after the loss of her parents.

Alice, along with her mother and father, had once lived together in Toki. Their lives were simple but peaceful, as were many in the vast kingdom of Arsalia. That is, until the war. Alice understood little of the conflict, Toki, being of little importance and tucked so deeply into the countryside, received very little news, and even less was shared with her. She only knew of a deep dislike for the very concept, this monstrous thing, far to the west, that had so cruelly taken her simple but peaceful life, leaving only memories to remind her of what she once had.

Years ago, when Toki was made aware of the war's outbreak, all the village's men, and even the older boys, were concripted to fight. Alice's father had been one of many to bid their farewells during those disorienting days. While away, he had sent letters home whenever he could, doing his best to keep his family informed on his whereabouts and health, last saying things were going favorably for their side. Then, after the winter of the third year, the letters stopped. Alice and her mother had remained hopeful, believing her father to just be too busy to write, he was fighting a war after all. Eventually though, word reached Toki that Robert Dippleblack had fallen and the army was being pressed back. After receiving this impossible news, Alice held out a stubborn belief that it was somehow a mistake. After all, lots of people went off to fight and nobody could keep track of every one of them. She chose to believe that if she just waited long enough the war would end and she would see her father again. Then, she was sure, things would finally go back to the way they had been. Alice's mother, however, lacked her daughter's conviction.

The day the news came, Jenna Dippleblack's trembling heart shattered, and time would not be enough to mend it. She endured for as long as she could, like a ship steadily succumbing to a minor leak. But as the weight of an existence without her mate steadily built, Jenna found the world beginning to lose its meaning and luster, the once wondrous brilliance of life fading like the color of a painting left in too much sun. Near the end, she couldn't work, wouldn't eat, and rarely left her bed. Even the helpless cries of her terrified kit could do little to rouse her. Eventually, when even shedding tears was too taxing a thing, she passed away. Now, without the care of a mother or father, Alice hunted.

The simple, unadorned sword she uses to cut another slice from the jelly before her is all she has from that former life, a parting gift from her father, given in the hope that it might protect his family when he could not. Treasured most above all of Alice's meager possessions, the double-edged blade was kept close at all times. When she first began lugging the weapon around, after claims of unpaid taxes saw her kicked from her home, the weight of it had only served as a constant reminder of all she had lost. Even so, she never dared part with it, no matter what offers were made or how her stomach growled.

She spent many months after begging in the streets. And though she still doesn't see it as such, this harsh time spent with so great a load on her back was an unexpected boon. It was during the aimless walks with no where to go, the cold nights on which moving was the only alternative to freezing, and the frantic flights from angry villagers that her delicate body built muscle. Alice, still, is not burly by any means, but with her slowly growing strength she became more accustomed to her sword's heft and balance. It would take a bit more time to gather her courage, but eventually she would come to wield it against her now common foes.

Even being the least of the monsters, jellies were monsters still and most instructed the youths of Toki to stay well away from them. Alice, however, knew from her father, a monster hunter himself, that defeating the blobs was a means to acquiring food, and so she took to finding out how exactly this could be done. When he learned he would be called away, Robert Dippleblack had tried to show his daughter a bit about his trade. But having so little time to teach so much to a confused and frightened child meant little stuck with her. She had had to learn nearly everything for herself from scratch; how to track the jellies, how to defeat them, how to retrieve their cores, to whom they could be traded, and what she should expect for them. She regrets none of it now though as she knocks away chunk after chunk from the shrinking, green, goo pile, her long, auburn tail even wagging a bit at the prospect of adding another core to her daily take. True, green jellies were the most common sort, and so their slightly darker green core stones were less valued than others, but still every bit worth the effort to obtain. A green core was another loaf of bread for Alice.

The Tokala's high arcing swings become smaller, more precise strikes, as the jelly shrinks and the need for caution rises. Core stones are hard but brittle, similar to glass, and no one wanted theirs chipped or cracked. The core floats near the center of its jelly, the creature already only a quarter of its former size. Once her foe has been reduced further, Alice simply reaches black furred fingers into it to pluck out the core. Without it, the remains of the jelly loses its shape, collapsing into a smelly puddle.

The green goo on her fingertips radiates with a warm tingle that Alice knows to be the ooze starting to eat at her flesh. Even without a core stone, a jelly's gelatin retains its corrosive touch for a time. But the Tokala doesn't panic. She simply raises a waterskin to canine teeth, pulls free the stopper, and douses her hand along with the newly acquired core. She then holds up the marble-sized treasure between index finger and thumb, admiring the perfectly smooth little sphere in the waning day's sun. The core isn't particularly big, but the jelly hadn't been either, making it a descent opponent to end the day's hunt on.

Undoing a bit of twine looped around the rope Alice has for a belt, the hunter removes a well-worn cloth sack. Taking a few steps away from the goo strewn battlefield, she places the core into it, triangular, black-tipped ears hearing a satisfying clink as the stone comes to rest among the others. She grins at her haul, seven green orbs illuminating the inside of the sack. Alice always enjoys seeing core stones. Not only did they mean another meal but they were quiet pretty as well, a surprising thing considering what they came from.

Core stones could be traded in Toki, the village Alice lives nearest to. From there, the few traveling merchants still braving the roads would take them all over. Sought for their simple beauty and faint glow, Alice had heard core stones were often used in the making of jewelry and other such finery. The young hunter isn't particularly interested in what happens to the stones after she trades them. She has far more immediate concerns, such as the growing rumble in her belly.

Resecuring her sack, Alice runs what water she has left along the blade of her sword before wiping it along the grass. For good measure, she even gives it a once over with the cleanest edge of her heavily stained blouse. Jelly goo could not only eat through skin but, if left long enough, could even damage metal. Treasured possession cleaned, Alice returns the sword to the leather sheath slung on her back. Her body tells her to take a break then, that she's pushed herself hard today and more than deserves it, but tracking and defeating that last jelly had taken its time and the day was coming to an end. If she wanted to settle the grumble of her stomach, she would have to get to Toki's small trading post, and fast. The fox girl tries to take a drink from her waterskin, only to find the few drops left not even enough to wet her tongue. With an annoyed sigh, she makes doubly sure her belongings are secure before dashing off toward the village.

The grassy, stump riddled fields Alice sprints across are where the young hunter spent most of her days. Once part of the forest, the area had been cleared to build the houses of Toki's earliest residence. As more people settled in and around, an ever increasing number of trees were chopped and the distance between the village and the forest grew. Now, the hilly fields serve as Alice's battlegrounds. Jellies tended to slip out of the forest at night when it's cooler so that by morning the young Tokala can generally find foes for the day simply by wandering about.

The fields are a fairly safe place to hunt. Free of view obstructing trees, anything dangerous could be spotted a ways off and avoided while the thick grasses made jelly trails easy to find and follow. A downside though was that it seemed only green jellies were ever found out here. Other colors did exist but they tended to stay in the forest. Sometimes Alice could spot one near the edge but this was a rare thing. If she wanted those illusive jellies, and their more valuable cores, she had to venture into the forest. Doing so, though, required plenty of supplies, and the only place to get them was in Toki village.

The outskirts of the humble little settlement are a random smattering of wood walled, thatched roofed homes, most standing guard over small farms and gardens. As Alice passes by, some of the weary residence, at last finished with their own day's work, smile and wave to her. She had a bit of a reputation with the villagers, many knowing of and appreciating her efforts to vanquish the jelly monsters that would occasionally threaten their lands. Due to their speed, or lack thereof, jellies were not overly dangerous to people but could devastate crops if left unchecked, and, with little to face them, owning a sword being an exceptionally uncommon thing, Toki's remaining residence had little choice but to rely on the young fox.

The war was several years old now and, as far as anyone knew, had shown no signs of stopping. Of the few men that had returned, most were horribly maimed which continued to leave much of the labor to the women, children, and elderly. Times were difficult for everyone, but Alice did manage to ease at least one of their concerns. The fact that the little hunter did not expect any payment only increased their appreciation further.

By the time Alice is approaching the center of town she is panting hard. Still, with the sun beginning to set, she can't afford to slow. She presses on, legs feeling wobbly under her as she passes the well. Forced to a jog now, she tries not to think of how a cool drink of water would sooth the prickling in her parched throat. The effort is rewarded when she sees the door of the trade post remains welcomingly open. Allowing herself to slow to a breathless shamble, Alice makes her way to the squat, wood plank structure. As she does, she can just make out the silhouette of Ashley Grayson peering out through the front window. The opossum girl seems to jump suddenly and then vanish only to reappear before the door a moment later.

Ashley waves excitedly, making her way over to the near collapsing Tokala, “Alice! Hey! I was wonderin' when you'd be stoppin' by.”

“Hey, Ash,” Alice pants, hunched over with both hands on her knees.

“Ticks, looks like you 'bout wore yourself out. Here,” the Didel holds out a simple clay cup in pink, furless hands.

The fox accepts it, grateful to find water within. She chugs the life saving liquid, feeling a cool wave smooth the barbs in her throat. Refreshed, Alice lets out a relieved sigh, handing the cup back, “Ah. I really needed that. Thanks.”

The opossum grins, “So how many did ya get today?”

Alice, still catching her breath, holds up seven fingers.

“You got seven?! That's a new daily record!” Ashley exclaims, “Can I see?”

Smiling while she pants, Alice undoes her sack's tie.

Ashley was one of very few Alice considered a friend. They were of an age and shared the misfortune of losing their fathers in the war. The daughter of the trade post's owner, the now widowed Mrs. Grayson, she spent the majority of her days minding the shop with her mother and learning the family business. Very seldom being allowed to leave, and never to hunt jellies, Ashley enjoyed a highly romanticized view of her fox friend's rather venturous lifestyle. Although admiring the hunter's haul was as close to it as her mother would ever allow. Even so, she never let this stop her from fantasizing of a life far away from the boredom of shopkeeping. A life of daring and adventure with Alice, where the pair would live without walls, face monsters, and save villages, all while surviving off the land and their own grit.

While it was true that Alice had no walls in which to live, occasional slew a jelly that strayed too near the village, and lived on her own, it was not a life she would have chosen. Despite growing skill, facing jellies was a dangerous and exhausting chore, one she needed to carry out nearly everyday just to keep something in her stomach. It was frequent during her battles with the monsters that jelly goo would end up on her bare fur. If she didn't have enough water to clean it off within a time, the corrosive substance would leave a terrible rash. A bad enough rash on the feet might keep her off of them, which meant no cores and thus no food. Even now, Alice was sometimes forced to choose between enduring the horrid irritation and going hungry.

Still, as they make their way to the trade post, Alice tells the Didel of the day's battles, embellishing a little, knowing her friend greatly desires it.

When they reach the doorway, Ashley calls, “Mom! Alice is back! And look, she got seven cores today!”

Alice lets the eager opossum girl hurry in first, waiting a moment to let her long, bare tail drag in behind her. Alice spots Mrs. Grayson over a counter surrounded by a wide assortment of items and containers. The opossum mother wears a simple beige dress, compared to her daughters faded blue one, and is busy tidying up for the night. Mrs. Grayson looks like Ashley might in a few years, both sharing a light gray coat that becomes almost white around the face. The Didels also have their small, rounded, black ears, circular brown eyes, and angular muzzles tipped with pink noses in common, though Alice knows the trade post owner's daughter inherited her abnormally long, gray tail from her father.

“Seven? That is impressive,” says Mrs. Grayson, glancing over from her work.

“Evenin', Mrs. Grayson,” greets Alice, looking around the shop and its wide variety of wares.

The trade post's stock tended to change based on what merchants would bring in and Mrs. Grayson thought the villagers might buy. Food was also available here as the few bakers, fishers, and farmers left in and around Toki tended to sell their goods to Mrs. Grayson. She bought them at a discount so they might free themselves to continue their labors rather than worrying about selling to customers themselves. There was little difference since yesterday and Alice really didn't have enough to splurge in any case.

Mrs. Grayson smiles, “Evenin', Alice. Seven cores in one day, that's a descent haul.”

“It's a new record, Momma,” claims Ashley, showing off one of the hunter's green cores.

The matronly opossum nods approvingly, “Oh, you really are becoming quite the hunter.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Grayson,” says Alice, stepping up beside Ashley as the gray furred girl dumps cores into a hand before placing them over the sack atop the counter, “Sorry for comin' in so late. I'm really glad to see the post's still open.”

“Couldn't very well close up knowing Toki's very own monster slayer was comin' in now could I?” asks Mrs. Grayson, setting a large wicker basket down behind the counter, “Ashley saw you headin' out this mornin', figure you'd work up a hunger. Even saved you one of Mr. Ardolf's famous trout if you're interested. Brought 'em in just this mornin'.”

Alice's eyes light up at the news. There were few things in this world Alice loved more than fish and Mr. Ardolf was known, at least in Toki if no where else, for his smoked delicacies. They were an eagerly anticipated treat for many of the locals, and, with Alice usually coming in from hunts late in the afternoon, were often sold out before she could claim one. Then, even on the rare occasion any were left, she didn't always have the cores to trade for it. But today was a lucky day.

Stomach burbling and mouth salivating, Alice eagerly offers all of her cores for the fish, not even caring how big or small it is. Mrs. Grayson gives a little laugh, reaching under her counter to produce a decent sized, whole trout wrapped carefully in large wide leaves, tail sticking out of one end. The heady scent of mesquite cooked food awakens the little hunter's primal instincts and the only thing that stops her from tearing into the fish right there is Mrs. Grayson informing her that she still had some left over from the purchase.

“You wanna spend it now of save it for tomorrow?” the mother opossum asks.

The rumble in her belly a likely influence, Alice decides to spend the last of her cores on two long loaves of seed garnished bread she spots in a wide, flat, woven basket. She crams the bread into her core sack, much of them still sticking out, while keeping her delicate fish in her hands. Business concluded and appetite ravenous, Alice offers her thanks before heading out with her prize.

Knowing the fox will have to stop for water, Ashley begs, “Mom, can I go with Alice to the well?”

And, after a moment's thought, Mrs. Grayson replies, “Alright, but don't leave the village and be back before dark.”

Ashley cheers, skipping out the door with Alice.

The evening air has gotten cooler, the shadows of the village lengthening as the sun sets out of sight, somewhere to the northwest. Alice thinks the air feels a bit moist as well though she doesn't see any overly threatening clouds in the ember colored sky. Beside her, Ashley talks excitedly of what she imagines being a monster hunter must be like. Alice reminds her of the benefits of working a safe job at the trade post, though the Didel counters these with claims of how boring it is to sit in a shop all day. It was a conversation they had often.

Ashley turns the crank to bring up the well's bucket, “I wish momma would let me go out on a hunt with you, just once. Then she might see it isn't that dangerous, and maybe I could even bring in some cores, too. All the traders like 'em. They say their a good find 'cause they're valuable but small. Makes travelin' easier on 'em. Bet if I was out with you, we could get a whole bunch.”

The bucket up, Alice dunks in her waterskin, “Might be nice to have some help out there, but what would you use to fight 'em? I got my sword.”

Ashley watches the Tokala take a drink, “Oh, I don't know. What do ya think would work?”

Thirst quenched, Alice dunks the skin again to fill it for the road, “Mmm, well, you'd need something that could get rid of a jelly's goo until you could get the core.”

Ashley lets the crank go, sending the water bucket into an uncontrolled descent that ends with an echoing sploosh. “How 'bout a club? Could that knock away some jelly?” she wonders, taking a few swings with an imaginary one.

Alice considers, “Maybe, but you'd need to hit real hard. Jellies can be pretty tough to get through.”

“I can hit hard,” Ashley claims, taking careful aim at a phantom jelly on the ground before swinging with all her might. She ends up twirling, her tail wrapping around her feet and nearly causing her to trip. She catches herself on the stone edge of the well, grinning, “All I need is a good club.”

“I can try to find ya a branch or somethin' next time I'm out,” offers Alice, looping her waterskin over one shoulder so it hangs at her hip.

“Would ya? Then we could hunt jellies together!” Ashley exclaims, taking a few more swings with her imagined club, “I bring in a few cores and momma 'll have to let me be a hunter.” Just then, the girls hear Mrs. Grayson calls for Ashley from the direction of the trade post. “Oh,” the opossum grumbles, turning from the sound, “ya comin' in tomorrow?”

“Probably,” Alice replies, securing the rest o f her supplies.

“Alright, I'll see ya then! Night!” Ashley calls, swiftly walking back to her shop.

It's gotten darker now and Alice hurries on her own way, partially because she wants to make it home before true night sets in but also because she is just hungry and very much looking forward to supper.

Home for the young Tokala is a small tent atop one of the larger hills in the fields between Toki and the jelly filled forest. It has a single grand oak that, for whatever reason, grew mostly to the east, providing ample shade when she wanted it. The tree's thick branches also granted an excellent vantage point from where the hunter might spot jellies attempting to cross the fields. It even has a little nook among its surface roots that made for a rather nice spot to nap in the afternoon sun. Beside the tree, Alice set up a ring of stones for a fire, but hadn't needed it much since winter. There was also a line of twine leading from a branch to a long stick in the ground forming a clothesline, from which Alice hung her tattered old garments whenever she got around to cleaning them. It was a simple camp but one the fox felt served its purpose well enough.

When the little hunter arrives, she quickly unloads her things, placing all carefully in her tent save for her fish and water, white-tipped tail wagging in anticipation of dinner. She sits against the hill's great oak, overlooking the fields bordering the monster filled forest. There are a few stray jellies, aimlessly wandering through the thick grasses, but they're still a ways off and pose little threat. Ignoring these, Alice unwraps the leaves from her trout, the oils slicking her fingers some. Once she has it, the fox takes in a deep inhale, letting the sweet, smoky aroma saturate her lungs. After a moan of satisfaction, she licks along the edges where some of the oil has collected, taking things slow so as to savor every moment of the experience.

Once she's lapped up this excess, she then allows herself to pull apart a flaky bit of skin, the meat underneath sliding off the bone with it. Alice places the morsel in her mouth and moans once more, tasting the savory juices drip on her tongue, feeling the tender flesh part before her teeth. She can't hold back any longer and takes another bite, right out of the fish, before even swallowing the first. Filling her stomach with the delectable meat is a wonderfully satisfying change from her usual fare of stale bread and she does her best to prolong it, leaving little more than a skeleton.

After her meal, Alice uses one of the trout's slender bones to pick her teeth while looking out across the fields. She thinks of many things, the coolness of the air, the jellies, the forest, and what tomorrow may bring. She had lived day to day for so long that she rarely thought past immediate need and was only just working up to it. Her survival didn't seem a thing left to the gods' whims anymore. Learning to fight the jellies has allowed her to lay claim to some fragment of stability, something she had not had since the loss of her parents. She was more certain than ever that she could live now, as a monster hunter. She could do it.

On that thought, the stuffed and thoroughly tired fox crawls into her tent, curls over her bed of rag worn clothes, yawns, and falls asleep. It doesn't last. Only hours later, a fast moving storm ignites the sky with lightning accompanied by several terrifying crashes of thunder. Alice is awoken by the first and simply must endure the rest. Her tent is made from a water resistant material that keeps the worst of the downpour out, but the floor of it still becomes uncomfortably damp. This makes it especially difficult to get back to sleep once the storm has passed, but after a while, the young hunter does eventually manage.

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