The Waystation ch.20 (Patreon)

Chapter 20

The Road…again. I

“And you’re sure about this?” Bert asked as Scruff stared defiantly up at him.

“Yes.” Their eyes shone with determination. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Bert quickly stammered. “Just where I come from… well, kids working the fields is not exactly a good look.”

“Where do you come from, anyway?” Scruff’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Not important,” Bert sighed. “If you are really sure about this… I don’t see why not.”

“Good,” Scruff grinned, “Because I already did it.”

“Of course you have,” Bert sighed as he rubbed his eyes, “You’re going to fit in around here just fine.”

“I know.” Scruff chuckled. “You’re all nuts.”

“So, what are you planning to do?” Bert asked.

“Plant stuff, duh.” Scruff gave Bert a look as Bell giggled in the background.

“I think you might need to put more thought into it than that.” Bert cautioned the grinning urchin-turned-farmer.

“I’ll get to that,” Scruff rolled their eyes theatrically.

“You’re not a kid, are you?” Bert narrowed his eyes.

“What? Of course, I am.” Scruff tried to saunter towards the door casually.

“Sarcastic comments, impulsive decisions, eye rolls… you’re a teenager.” Bert laughed as Scruff spun round and glared at him.

“So what?” Scruff growled.

“And massive emotional overreactions, I knew it!” Bert grinned at the glowering teen.

“What the hell does it matter?” Scruff huffed.

“It doesn’t.” Bert shrugged. “Just makes me feel better that you’re not a kid. We have laws against child labor where I grew up.”

“That’s it?” Scruff looked skeptical.

“Yeah… why?” Bert scowled.

“People want lots of things if they know you’re… older.” Scruff gave Bert a look.

“Ewwww… no.” Bert laughed, then ducked as Scruff threw a cup at him.

“No need to be a dick about it!” They stomped out of the barn.

“I hate kids,” Bert sighed as he picked up the bits of the shattered cup.

“It seems to be mutual,” Bell laughed. “The farmer class will be useful, though.”

“I know, I know.” Bert sighed.

“And if they get too annoying, I’ll just kill them.” Bell cackled.

“Bell! No killing the staff.” Bert said sternly.

===================

“The Fae will arrive in the next few weeks.” Larry cautioned Felicia.

“I know that!” Felicia snapped. The two Immortals watched the Waystation through a small, misty portal in Larry’s study.

“The treaty with the Fae is important,” Larry clarified. “They protect their own. Fiercely.”

“I know.” Felicia kicked the wall in irritation.

Larry frowned at the small cracks she left behind.

“Please don’t kick my walls,” Larry waved a hand, watching mist fill in the cracks. “I like things to be neat.”

“Sorry,” Felicia grumbled. “But I have a plan.”

“Will you tell me now?” Larry asked, “Or wait until it goes horribly wrong, and I need to save you again?”

“That’s why I’m here,” Felicia spat. “Once the Fae arrive, he is much more difficult to….”

“Annoy?” Larry offered.

“Persuade.” Felicia gave her Uncle a look. “I think I need to try a different approach while I still can. I’m just not sure it is allowed….” She laid out her plan and reasoning for her uncle, watching his giant moth wings flutter occasionally.

Larry was quiet for a long while afterward.

“Well?” Felicia’s patience ran out.

“It is not terrible,” Larry said.

“Am I allowed to do it?” Felicia ground out between clenched teeth.

“I don’t see any reason to stop you,” Larry said. “I don’t think-” He started, but Felicia was already vanishing into the mists. “Bye, Uncle, thanks for all your wise counsel. No, Felicia, it is my pleasure.” He grumbled to himself as he returned to his cleaning.

He cleaned every day now. It was the only way to keep the numbers down…

A growing pile of figurines was around the base of Larry’s stone tower. They were all of Bert.

And they were all grinning.

=============

Bell glowered at Felicia as the red-headed immortal waited impatiently at the edge of the Waystation’s influence.

“Are you really immortal?” Bell asked eventually.

“I am, pixie.” Felicia gave Bell a haughty look.

“How immortal are you, exactly?” Bell grinned unsettlingly.

“No one has ever managed to kill a Watcher.” Felicia sneered.

“How hard did they try?” Bell’s smile was feral.

“What?” Felicia stammered; the manic gleam in Bell’s eye was starting to get to her.

“Did they just try and cut bits off or… did they put the effort in?” Bell trilled.

“I am an Immortal!” Felicia snapped, unconsciously crossing her arms defensively.

“So, if I was to skin you, submerge you in acid, and drive spikes through you… you would survive?” Bell asked.

“Yes.” Felicia tried to smile and failed.

“And If I cut you up into one-inch pieces, slowly… say over a matter of days or weeks, would each bit still be alive?”

“What? Of course.” Felicia’s voice shook a little as the pixie made a few notes.

“So, basically anything I do to you… you will survive?” Bell rechecked her notes. “Right?”

“I can NOT be killed!” Felicia roared.

“You would still feel it,” Bell’s smile was innocent and bright. “Right?”

Felicia was silent as she went pale, sweat beading on her forehead.

“That’s what I thought.” Bell giggled as Bert trudged down the drawbridge.

Felicia did her best to pull herself together. Then, in the corner of her eye, she noticed that Bell had to wipe a bit of drool from her mouth.

Felicia shivered.

“What do you want?” Bert asked, staying a reasonable distance from Felicia. “No one said your name.”

“I have a suggestion.” Felicia tried.

“Oh, honey… no. If he was that desperate, he could go fuck a corpse.” Bell giggled. “We make plenty of them.”

Bert chuckled as Felicia glared at them both.

“What she said, fuck off.” Bert turned away.

“If you do what I suggest, I will leave you alone for a month,” Felicia said.

Bert kept walking.

“For six months!” Felicia growled.

“Completely leave us alone, no interference of ANY kind,” Bert said quietly.

“Agreed, I won’t even watch you.” Felicia smiled.

“What do you suggest?” Bert asked as he gave Felicia a doubtful look.

“You don’t need me because of these… creatures.” Felicia gave a dismissive wave that included Bell and the Waystation, “You would if they weren’t around.”

“We always will be, bitch.” Bell growled.

“Yeah, not interested.” Bert shook his head. “I’m a part of the Waystation. I’m not leaving it behind.”

Bell beamed at him.

“I don’t want you to,” Felicia said. “They make you strong. Only a fool gives up power. I want you to simply experience life outside the Waystation.” Seeing the hesitation on his face, Felicia hurried on. “I want you to see that I can be useful. I will transport you a distance from the Waystation. If you can make your way back here without needing me… I will leave you alone for six months.”

“Transport me into the heart of a mountain, a river of lava, or a prison… I can see too many ways for you to fuck with this.” Bert shook his head.

Felicia fumed.

How did he know?

“It has to be somewhere he has been before, on this world, with a traversable path back to the Waystation. Plus. No adding anything to the path. No extra monsters, new mountains, or anything that you or another Immortal adds to the path.” Bell said quickly. “He has to be transported to the ground level, above ground, and not in a monster den or anything. Also, you are not allowed to speak to him. You stay right here the entire time he is on his way back.” Bell grinned. “With me.”

“Agreed.” Felicia snapped.

“You think this is a good idea?” Bert asked Bell.

“No.” Bell chuckled. “But six months without this immortal stalker has its advantages.” She shrugged. “Also, that amounts to a contract with the Fae. If she fucks with it in any way,” Bell grinned over her shoulder at Felicia, “The Four Seasons can deal with her… forever.”

Felicia’s eyes widened in shock.

Bert looked around, thinking as he paced back and forth. Then, finally, he looked up at Felicia. “If I do this, I need a bit of time to gather a few supplies.”

“No.”  Felicia shook her head, “You have to go without any supplies. So your storage must be empty.”

“Why?” Bell narrowed her eyes.

“If he takes everything he needs from here, where is the test?” Felicia asked.

“Three items.” Bell snapped.

“One item,” Felicia countered.

“Two items,” Bell insisted.

“Agreed.” Felicia nodded. “If he leaves immediately.”

“Agreed.” Bell snapped.

“Fuck sake, Bell.” Bert sighed

“What?” Bell asked innocently. “I got carried away.”

Bert emptied his dimensional storage as he grumbled about over-enthusiastic pixies. He kept his shield as his first item. After going back and forth over his choices, he chose a coil of rope as his second.”

“Not taking any food?” Bell asked, surprised.

“I can always hunt,” Bert shrugged. “And I want the rope.”

“Is this really the time to indulge your fetishes?” Bell asked.

“I do not have a rope fetish!” Bert snarled at the pixie.

“Sure, sure.” Bell giggled. “You just make sure you come back quick.” She looked serious for a second, “I don’t want to end up stuck in the middle of nowhere again.”

“Bell, you can drive anywhere you want now,” Bert reminded her.

“Wouldn’t be the same… if you didn’t come back,” She whispered.

“Bell….” Bert stammered.

Bell slapped him hard. “That’s for making me feel worried!” She growled.

“Fuck sake, Bell!” Bert gaped at the pixie.

“What?” She giggled. “It’s to motivate you!”

“How?” Bert asked, honestly curious.

“Imagine what I’ll do to you if you make me wait too long.” Bell beamed.

“That’s a good point.” Bert nodded. “Just keep the Waystation here, will you?” He smiled. “I don’t want to have to go hunting for it because you got bored.”

“Promise!” Bell grinned.

A theatrical sigh sounded from the edge of the grounds.

“Are you two done yet?” Felicia snapped.

“Fuck off!” The two shouted at her before both broke down into fits of laughter.

“Time to go.” Felicia insisted. With a wave of her hand, she summoned a swirling vortex of mist. A faint hint of light shone through. Bert eyed it suspiciously.

“Fine,” Bert nodded and, with a last look at Bell, walked toward the vortex.

“Say you will be my follower, and you can stay here… for now.”

“Get fucked, Felicia.” Bell monotoned dismissively.

“See you soon, Bell,” Bert called over his shoulder.

“Have fun!” Bell called excitedly as he stepped into the mist, “Bring me back something to kill!”

======================

The mist swirled around Bert, bringing back unpleasant memories. The last time he had set out into the mists, he had met Felicia.

And died, sort of.

His first arrival in his current world was less than promising, considering that he had arrived in a muddy shithole that he dearly hoped never to see again.

It was not really that much of a surprise then that, as the mist cleared, he found himself standing once more on the small patch of dry ground in the middle of a swamp of mud.

The same remains of a town with wood sticking up like rotten teeth, the same mildewed smell, the same vast expanse of mud. There was one change, however. The remains of the small cottage were scattered about, with a destruction trail leading into the forest.

Bert raised an eyebrow at the trees lying where they fell, the ripped and torn earth marking the passage of some vast destructive force.

“Well, I can’t say it’s nice to be back,” Bert muttered to himself. A creak sounded from the cottage as something moved beneath the rubble.

Bert summoned his shield out of his storage as he crouched, his hand elongating into an axe as he cast the Chill rune on the mud.

Bert was already sprinting across the frozen mud when the first of the beams was shrugged aside by whatever moved beneath the ruin.

His body lit up as the knotwork mana channels beneath his skin began to shine. The Mana Tides pumped through him as he leaped high into the air, riding the surge tide. A massive head encased in stone armor pushed free of the building as metallic-looking mandibles snapped closed where Bert had been a moment earlier.

As Bert landed on the back of its head, the creature thrashed and freed more of its body from the cottage. He slammed his axe in between two plates of thick stone at the neck, bringing forth a spray of familiar yellow blood.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Bert yelled as he was thrown from his perch, landing with a crash on the forest's edge. Rolling aside on instinct, Bert felt the wind of the mandibles closing just above his head. Dodging left and right, Bert moved to get clear of the beast; it was way too big to be fast.

Bert analyzed it once he had a few feet between him and the monster, sighing heavily at the result.

Giant Rockipede lvl 24

The larger cousin of the common Rockipede.

As if the regular ones weren’t bad enough.

Solitary

Highly Territorial

Grumbling to himself, Bert braced as the creature charged again. Pulling Mana into his shield as the ebb tide came, the mana shield glowed as a blue outline several times the size of the original. The clang of the impact came just as the ebb tide was at its strongest. Bert felt the impact all the way up to his shoulder. His mana shield faded, and the giant mandibles closed around him as it fell.

Thanking whatever gods were on his side for the unbreakable tag on his shield, he swept one aside as his axe hacked at the base of the other.

The Giant Rockipede reared back, screeching as the axe blade sheared the mandible away. Yellow blood sprayed as Bert’s world went silent, his eardrums shattered by the screech.

Pressing the attack, he charged in.

Bert’s axe skittered off the stone armor again and again. Finally, Bert leaped back, buying time to think as the massive rockipede slammed its body against the ground, trying to crush him.

He fed mana into his prosthetic hand, shifting it into a hammer. On one side, he engraved the rune for Heat; on the other was Chill. Diving back into battle, Bert danced around the rockipede, alternating blows with the heat and chill runes active. Trying to hit the same plates with both runes active, hoping to crack the hard shell.

To slow to dodge as time passed, one of the sharp legs caught him on the arm, sending him spinning away as blood fountained from the wound.

Bert kept backing up; the hammer was too slow. Another loss of focus and those legs would rip him apart.

Bert shifted his hand again, shifting it to the crossbow. Firing rapidly as he danced backward, Bert sent spikes of ice and near-molten metal at the beast. He snarled as the bolts simply chipped at the stone armor of the beast.

A clicking buzz came from the Giant Rockipede as it circled him, dodging the bolts he sent at the beady eyes, the only weak point he could think of.

For the first time in his life, Bert wished he had a gun. He could imagine the bullets spinning from the riffling of the barrel as they flew from a .50 caliber rifle.

A slamming sound made him look over his shoulder, seeing the head of the rockipede slam into its own tail. Bert’s laugh died in his throat as the creature turned on its side and drew itself together. The needle-sharp legs reached for him as the creature rolled itself into a ball around him.

Eyes wide in shock, Bert fired his crossbow with every rune he could think of. Spasms rocked through the creature as red hot spikes dug into its armor as they spun like drills thanks to a tiny turn rune on their base. Bert leaped straight up as the flailing legs slammed together.

Somersaulting in the air, Bert shifted his arm again, a sword blade spinning so fast it blurred, replacing the crossbow. Landing with a crash of metal on stone, Bert drilled into the creature’s eye, raising his shield against the explosion of yellow blood.

When the thrashing beast finally stilled, his arm was up to the shoulder in the eyesocket. For a second, Bert simply hung from the head of the dead Rockipede, gasping for air and casting Reclaim Flesh.

“Oh, Gods! That feels so gross!” Bert swore as he withdrew this arm, once more sporting a hand covered in yellow blood and chunks of jellied flesh. Bert threw up several times as the feeling and smell overwhelmed him.

“I HATE THIS FUCKING MUDPIT!” Bert screamed into the sky as he lay on his back, recovering.

Pulling himself to his feet, Bert trudged back over to the dead rockipede and hacked its other mandible free. Then, he gathered the pair of long metal mandibles and spent a few minutes absorbing them. No new icon appeared, but the metal was always good.

Bert stared down into the ruined basement of the cottage and frowned. He had a feeling. Looking longingly at the forest one last time, Bert descended into the ruins.

He climbed carefully, using the ebb rune here and there to prevent his footing from slipping out from under him. As he descended, he fused a few pieces of material together, the first use of his crafting abilities in a while.

Bert crouched and searched through the debris as his feet touched down on the rough stone floor. The basement was empty, except for an ornate chest, the size of a shoebox, in a small hollow in the wall.

Bert poked at it with a long stick.

Once he was sure that nothing would happen, he pulled it gently from the alcove and made another sweep of the cellar before climbing back out.

Bert placed the chest down in the center of a large stone, freezing it in place with the chill rune; he changed his hand into his trap-finding stick and gently lifted the lid while crouching behind his shield.

Feeling a little silly when nothing happened, Bert peered inside. A small pearl lay on a pillow. It was the only thing in the chest.

Pearl -

Rare

What do you want? It’s a pearl… sell it, I guess?

“That’s it?” Bert asked, dumbfounded. “I fought that big bastard worm thing for a single fucking pearl?” He bent down and picked it up, turning it this way and that. No new information.

No secrets.

It was a pearl…

“What a crock of shit!” Bert grumbled as he tossed the pearl and the chest into his bracer.

Grumbling to himself, Bert followed the trail of destruction into the forest. Skirting around the hole that had dropped him into a spider nest by a wide margin, Bert looked over the cliff's edge, seeing the treetops far, FAR below.

“How the fuck am I supposed to get down?” Bert grumbled.