Wild Wastes 4 -ch19- (Patreon)

“Well, isn’t this just… nostalgic,” muttered Vince with a shake of his head, watching the entry gate of Bilbao. “Though it’s not quite the same.”

If anything, this could be worse.

Moving in and out of the city-gates and onto the various branching roads that led up to it was a stream of people. Wasters, humans, wagons, and even carts all went through those stone gates.

Distantly to the north-east he could see a wall that started in a flat spot. It ran down to the south and east. If his information was correct, it ran all the way down to the south-east to another city named Barcelona.

A wall to block everything from the mountains and beyond, out. A checkpoint on either end of it that connected to an old human road system was the entry points.

And I’m on the side that’s easier to take control of.

Take Bilbao, eliminate the garrison at the wall and then install our own troops. Hold both and wait for reinforcements.

Actually, I bet I could use the soldier-ants for that when they arrive. Just let them defend a nice fortified position. I bet they’d love that.

“Are you s-sure this’ll be fine Nest-mate?” inquired Elizabeth. “I don’t want to endanger you.”

“It’ll be fine. Don’t you see all the Wasters? We’ll just tell them you’re a type of horned lizard. They’ll leave it be at that,” argued Vince as he glanced to the side.

Blue, Sam, and Elizabeth were accompanying him into the city.

Red, Leila, and Zathira would all be conducting reconnaissance and information gathering. Leila could simply fly above and keep herself out of view and lurk above, while the other two with her could stalk reasonably well that they could prowl around.

Even if they were spotted, it’d just be chalked up to “hostile wasters”, which wasn’t wrong in a way.

“Yes. I do. I’m just… I’ve m-made many mistakes. I grew over-confident and confused and… and… I just want to fix things,” grumbled Elizabeth.

“He understands. Leave it at that,” commanded Blue. She was walking hand in hand with Vince, looking quite pleased with herself at the moment.

Sam was hitching a ride on Vince’s shoulder again. Resting her self against his back and shoulders, her boots hooked into his armor much more securely now.

She’d figured out how to use the harness he’d put in for Ramona to carry him to her advantage.

“You know, I could probably hook myself into the front of this. Use you kinda like a swing,” mused Sam, veering the subject wildly away. “Fly up a bit, fall down on you. Fly up, fall, fly up, fall. That could be a lot of fun.

“I never realized being so much shorter would present itself with so many opportunities. Leila made it seem harder. I’m looking forward to riding you like you’re a big hunk o’fun, Vince.”

Vince could only forcefully keep his steps to remain even, despite the fact that it felt like his pants were rubbing at him in the worst way possible now.

At the same time he swore he could suddenly feel every inch of Sam’s body against his back.

“Goodness. He really does response to you and your pursuit,” Blue whispered and peered at Sam. “I think I’ve decided to be jealous and envious at the same time.”

“It’s great, isn’t it? I just had to turn it around on my sweet human,” asked Sam and then leaned forward to kiss Vince at the corner of his mouth. Then she reached up and stroked his face with her left hand. Her fingers lightly grazing back and forth across his jaw, chin, and up to his ear. “There you go. A nice little reward for you. Enjoy it.”

“It doesn’t look like Yosemite,” Zathira murmured as they got closer to the entry. “At all. No Dryad gate guard. No balistae. No… unity of purpose.”

“Ah… I guess when I said it felt nostalgic I meant in regards to other cities. Ones that had helped me realized how Yosemite could thrive,” explained Vince. “Sure, there’s everyone and everything moving through here, but they’re very… not in it together.”

A group of humans was eying a mixed group of wasters that were hauling along a line of what looked like prisoners or slaves behind them. A few even looked to be in some sort of uniform.

Reaching the gates Vince looked to the guard, wondering if anything would be asked or said.

Yet nothing was.

The guards looked them over, then moved their focus to the next group of people.

Passing into the city of Bilbao he was somewhat troubled by their lack of concern of his group. That what they saw in him was so mundane and every-day, that they were let in without even a greeting.

Moving into the city, they slowly began making their way through the streets.

They had nowhere to go, nowhere to be, and were here just to figure out the situation. That left them with an open agenda and little to guide them.

“Just like last time?” Blue asked after they’d wandered up and down two different streets. “Because that seems to be very similar to the one we found in Coruna.”

Following the line of Blue’s arm he saw she was pointing at a sign up a head.

It had a bed and a mug on the sign. Along the bottom edge of it read a single and very pair of words.

“Inn. English,” murmured Sam, reading it aloud. “Sounds like a good place to poke into. Say, Vince, wanna poke yourself in? Just kinda… thrust up in there and see what’s going on? We could… unload into it?

“Okay, before anyone says it, yeah, that was a bit corny. Don’t care. I find the corny stuff works just as well for him. Just gotta get his brain thinking about it and in regards to me.”

Blue laughed and began pulling at Vince’s arm. Directing him toward the location.

“Good a place as any to ask questions,” Vince agreed, his eyes turned toward what looked a lot like the center of the city.

A large open plaza where an open market was being held.

Maybe find a few things to pick up there. Just have to figure out if the coinage we looted from the garrison would be fine here. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be but… still don’t have a firm grasp on the economy here.

Then his eyes landed on something he didn’t expect to see.

A Dryad with a very modern looking rifle and wearing the armor of a soldier. She was standing off to one side, watching people move past her with a blank and flat stare.

As if all that she saw were bugs and creatures that deserved to be stepped on.

Her hair was long, black, and held behind her head in a tight pony-tail. Her eyes were a hard-hazel color with a dull-muted green shinning through them.

Her face was of course beautiful but the lack of joy in it gave her sharp features a sombre cast. Regardless of the fact that she had an obviously full and lovely figure under her armor, no one gave her a second look either.

Looks like Leandra in a way. I wonder if… is she a daughter of Flora?

She was clearly a known personage and ignored by the citizenry.

The conflicting image of a Dryad armed and armored with such a broken view of life in her eyes brought Vince up short. He needed to speak with this woman on the spot and find out if she was like Flora.

If he needed to wipe out this city without delay.

Flora did say there were other cities that used Dryads, after all. Is this another?

“Get a few rooms for us, Blue,” he said giving her hand a squeeze.

“But I-oh… darn. Alright. Better I don’t go with you just in case she recognizes what I am anyways,” agreed Blue. She squeezed his hand in return and then moved toward the entrance of the inn. “Sam, with me?”

Elizabeth moved away from Blue even as Sam fluttered away from Vince.

Wordlessly the two exchanged places. Sam taking up residence on Blue’s back, Elizabeth moving to stand at Vince’s side.

Her great coat was fully buttoned today and she was wearing pants beneath it. He imagined there was nothing under the coat.

“That’s not like any Dryad I’ve seen,” whispered the Dragon.

“No, it isn’t.”

Moving over to the Dryad Vince saw there was a spot that two people could sit down at. It wasn’t a bench or anything made to accommodate someone sitting down, but looked more akin to a toppled column of some make.

As soon as he’d stepped into a closer distance to the Dryad she’d noticed him. Noticed him and stared at him for several seconds.

He caught it when her eyes barely flickered to life. A curiosity in her gaze that lingered on him and remained with him as he sat down only a few feet from her.

“Hello there,” Vince said while looking at Elizabeth. The Dragon looked confused but gave him a shy smile. Then her eyes moved past him and to the Dryad that was behind him and she clearly realized what was happening.

Wrinkling her nose, the Dragon grinned at him.

“Yes, hello there,” replied the Dragon.

“Would the name Flora mean anything to you?” he asked, still looking at Elizabeth.

“I’m sure it would if I were a Dryad,” answered Elizabeth.

There was a scraping noise that sounded like a boot turning.

Followed by several steps the Dryad moved past Vince and then stood closer to Elizabeth’s back. Her head swiveled to the right and she took a moment to meet Vince’s eyes.

“Would it?” he asked, meeting her eyes directly.

The Dryad’s eyes twitched as if they wanted to blink. Slowly, the Dryad looked away from him, her head moving in the other direction as she scanned the area.

“Yes,” she whispered in a tight and strained voice.

“Wonderful. Then please follow me?” asked Vince and then took Elizabeth by the hands. Standing up he guided her away from the plaza and toward a small alcove he’d spotted. It didn’t have anyone in it and looked like it might be avoided or simply ignored by others.

There was a small stunted shrub that was planted there, which made it feel a lot like the alcove of the fallen Dryad in Coruna.

Once he’d entered it, Vince found that it didn’t just feel like the alcove in Coruna, but that perhaps they were meant to be the same. It had many of the same features and was located in a plaza as well.

A central design feature, maybe? How curious.

Does that mean this shrub isn’t a shrub, but a … stunted tree?

Standing there, waiting for the Dryad, Vince stared at that tree. Wondering if it was perhaps linked to the Dryad he’d just invited over here.

“How-how exactly do you know that name?” asked the Dryad as she came around the wall that separated the alcove from the plaza. “Did my mother send you here?”

“Somewhat,” Vince murmured, suddenly feeling better. “Your mother is Flora? Leandra a younger sister?”

The Dryad let out a soft puff of breath, her eyes widening slightly. She took a step closer to him, staring at him hard now.

“Yes. Are they okay?” she asked. “I haven’t heard from my mother in a little bit. The trees that normally carry our messages have been silent.”

Err, I wonder if the old Dryad tree was one of those messengers. Might explain that I guess.

“Your mother was killed by the baron. Along with all the… all the Dryads who were planted,” Vince answered honestly. The Dryad grimaced, her eyes scrunching up and her head turning to one side partly. Her mouth was a hard line and her jaw was flexing. “I had the baron murdered, took the city under my protection, made Leandra the duchess of it, and then buried all the Dryads under their trees.”

“You… what?” asked the Dryad, her eyes set to Vince again. They were wide and almost unseeing as she searched his face.

“I killed the baron, buried Flora beneath her tree, and made Leandra the duchess. Your mother and sisters should be coming back at some point, though I’m not sure when. They’ll live again. I promise you,” guaranteed Vince. Then he tapped his chest. “On top of that, I hold your sisters tree. Here. Inside me. I’m her grove. As well as the grove for many other Dryads.”

Letting go of her rifle with one hand the Dryad put a gloved hand to his chest.

He felt a response from inside him at her touch. As if recognizing her.

“You… you do. You are. Oh… oh my heavens,” whimpered the Dryad. “Why are… but… what are you here for?”

“I’ve come here to take Bilbao and make it my own as well. I saw you while scouting the city and needed to speak with you. Find out what I could from you.

“That and tell you that… I don’t know what your circumstances are, but I’ll free you. If only because you look so… sad. No Dryad should look as you do.

“My grove-wives would hound me to the ends of the earth if I left you here like this.”

Blinking rapidly the Dryad lifted her chin up, then began to sniffle softly.

“You can’t free me. I was forced to plant in this city. My tree is… nothing more than a potted plant in the keep. I’m nothing more than one of many here in the city. Used as defensive forces. My tree held hostage as well as my family elsewhere.

“Though… I suppose that’s less a concern now. Now that mother… isn’t there anymore.”

“Do you have a seed?” asked Elizabeth, tilting her head to one side.

“I do but it’s… weak. It would never survive. Anywhere. Minutes after planting my tree they… they sterilized… me,” the Dryad got out between sobs through grit teeth. “They-the baron took an iron and got it to a red hot state and-and… put it in me and burned me out. I can barely go to the b-b-bathroom. It always h-hurts.”

Fucking kill them all. All of them.

“Seed. Now. And what’s your name?” demanded Vince, holding his hand out to her. “And are you dressed under the armor?”

Inwardly he was focusing the entirety of his being on a single idea. Taking her seed, putting it into his grove, and forcing it to a healthy state.

Then he’d unload the entirety of his grove into her. Take her back to the room and let her recuperate.

Tonight, he’d go slaughter this cities lord and everyone he could find in charge.

Pulling free his belt-knife Vince reached up with his other hand. Easing his shirt to one side he simply pushed it into his chest. Right atop the same spot every seed-pod was put in him.

Willing the wound to remain open, but not bleed, he waited.

“I’m Antona. And yes I have clothes on. But why?” she asked, holding her hands up.

As Dryads always seemed to do, the young woman pulled a seed-pod out from almost nowhere. He hadn’t even caught where it came from.

There was no glow to it. A faint darkness to the edges of it showed that it was dying even now.

Hesitating the Dryad looked at the wound. Then she pushed her fragile seed into him.

Laying his hand atop hers he held it to the wound. Staring into her face he watched her eyes.

“Because you’re leaving with me, Antona. Best you leave the arms and armor here, you’ll stand out otherwise,” he stated.

Turning his determination on himself he asked his grove to seal his wound, then welcome it’s newest tree. To assist it and bring it fully into the grove.

The Dryad gasped sharply and her eyes began to glow in a flash. Much as all his other Dryad’s did. Where this had knocked all the other Dryad’s flat Antona seemed of sterner stuff.

She stood upright, holding her breath, and gazing at him.

“It’s… I’m part of a grove again. I can feel Leandra,” she said in a whimper.

“Time to set you to rights, Antona,” Vince murmured. “Armor and arms first. Get rid of it. No telling how you’ll do after this.

Nodding her head, the Dryad pulled her hands back from his chest. The wound was now gone as if it never existed.

Antona began to pull off her equipment, dumping it to one side as she went. In no time at all she was in a pair of shorts and a blouse. There was no way of saying it other than that she was now very under-dressed for the weather.

But this was temporary and Vince was in a hurry.

Grabbing Antona by a bare shoulder he opened his grove and then dumped his power into her. Wanting her to be restored to full health.

To revert all that’d been done to her. As she was his Dryad, that her tree was in his grove, he felt this was a perfectly reasonable demand.

If the grove itself couldn’t restore a Dryad, who else could?

Power began to flood into the Dryad.

Then her face began to darken and she looked like she was in considerable pain. Her hands went down to her shorts and she let out a low pain-filled groan.

“Grab the rifle, hold it as if were normal, Elizabeth,” commanded Vince.

Stepping in, he picked up the Dryad and pulled her over his shoulder. All the while he continued to upend the power inside him, into her. Wanting it to correct everything that was wrong with her.

It only took a minute to reach the inn. Upon entering it he found Sam waiting for him, sitting on a rafter above. She came down and then went up the stairs.

Following, Vince just continued to push power into the moaning Dryad. Though he noted there was a change in the timbre of the moans as well as the volume.

They were much lower now and reminded him of when he’d cornered Mouth or Meliae. Sam did a reasonable impression of it as well.

As he headed up the stairs the grove cut him off. There was nothing left to give Antona.

Sam waited in the hall at the top of the stairs in front of a door. She pushed it open as soon as he was visible.

Walking to the door he entered as well, followed by Elizabeth.

“Oh, that was-goodness, you poor dear,” Blue murmured in a soothing way. She came over and gently pulled Antona down from Vince’s shoulder. “I felt you join the grove but I didn’t realize there was more to it than just your seed being damaged.

“What… did they do to you? Did… oh my word. This is disgusting. What foul creature would do this?”

“Dunno, he dies tonight though,” growled Vince. “They all die tonight.”

Blood was running down Antona’s legs and had stained her shorts badly. It was obvious her body was working to repair what’d been done to her, but it wouldn’t be easy on her.

Elizabeth was quietly going over the rifle she’d been ordered to take. Checking it’s operation.

“They’ll know-I’m gone soon,” whimpered Antona, her hands still pressed down to her lower abdomen. “Tree will-die in its-pot. Will send-soldiers to-investigate.”

“We’ll be d-done here tonight,” Elizabeth promised with a nod of her head as she removed the magazine at the bottom of the rifle. “It won’t matter if they investigate.”

“Yes, we’ll rest for the time. We have two rooms, but only two beds. They didn’t have any multi-party rooms available.

“We can leave Antona in here and let her sleep in the bed. She’ll need the rest. We can go to the other room.”

Why would we… oh.

Yes.

I told her we’d have fun tonight. She won’t let that get away.

Not to mention Red said we needed to give her a present.

Time to let the Dryad demon out.