The Waystation Ch.21 (Patreon)

Chapter 21

The Road…again. II

Bert marveled at his lack of vertigo. It had always been a problem for him. Until he lost Gwen, anyway. He didn’t care about or fear anything very much after that.

It seemed that the fear had not returned despite his happiness and connections with the Waystation.

It was not that he actively wanted to die anymore; he did want to live these days. This world was simply too fascinating to leave so soon. But he still didn’t fear death. Compared to most things he had seen in this world, falling off a cliff was quite a pleasant way to go.

That small voice that told you to jump whenever you were somewhere high was still there, but it was muted. Bert crouched and leaned out over the edge, looking at the face of the cliff.

It was smooth, offering nothing in the way of handholds.

What he needed was a nice set of climbing tools. He had a rope, but nowhere near long enough. Inspiration struck him, and he sat down and closed his eyes, focusing on his arm.

Bert had not had all that much time to study his new hand and lower arm. It had been a busy few days. It had included driving over a town, which could distract anyone. Looking closely at it now, Bert marveled at the incredible prosthetic. Mana followed through the material, not just in his mana channels but in every part of it. Looking closer showed that the bracer that was on his hand when it was cut off and reclaimed had fused entirely into the whole. As he examined the detailed mana flows around the join, he realized that a portion of the dimensional storage had been siphoned off and infused into the arm itself.

He guessed that was how it managed to store everything that comprised its various forms.

Concentrating, Bert noticed he could shape the forms however he wanted. Even the arm itself could be elongated or shortened as he wanted. He spent about an hour practicing the process of shifting the arm into the various states and holding it there. He discovered he had created a couple of new icons in the process. One was a short and powerful forearm that almost looked like a stone tube until he flexed his fingers; the other was an elongated forearm with frankly creepy-looking, overly long fingers.

They were his proof of concept; the next part would be more complicated. Bert calmed his mind by dropping into the mana tides. He focused on the ebb and flow of mana within him and then began to piece together a new form for his forearm in his mind. Starting with a version of the spike launchers he had from various traps he had recovered, enlarging it and replacing the spike with a grappling hook. Next, he added a large wheel on the side of his forearm; a smaller one was placed off to the side a little. Both of them sported Turn runes. Moving the large spike launcher into position and leaving his hand intact, Bert spun the mental image this way and that, checking that everything looked right. He fixed a few minor problems that he saw, then linked the launcher to his hand, enabling him to control it. It felt like growing an extra finger.

The last touch was spooling the rope around the large and smaller wheel before tying it onto the grapple.

Satisfied, he sent the mental design into his arm. A spike of pain shot into his head before it finally settled into place, a new icon shining on his arm.

Grinning to himself, Bert activated it and watched the new forearm take shape. It was impressive.

That didn’t mean it worked…

Deciding to try it out on a nearby tree, Bert looked behind him to find a likely candidate.

He froze.

Spiders had been creeping toward him while he focused on his arm. The trees rustled as unseen things crept through the branches.

“Nope.” Bert waved and threw himself over the cliff, wincing as the brood rushed forward, webs flying towards him a hair too late.

Bert fell through the air and looked frantically for anywhere to attach his grapple. Seeing nothing, he pointed mindlessly at the cliff and fired it.

The grapple bounced off. Bert drew it back and tried again, adding the Turn rune. It bounced again.

Swearing loudly, Bert summoned his shield and poured mana into it, the explosion of force when he released it slamming him against the cliff. He scrabbled against the cliff, digging gashes into it. He was slowing.

Pushing mana into his shield again, Bert used the explosion of force to slow even more.

Snarling with effort, Bert swung the shield into the cliff face, feeling it bite into the rock and snag there. He clung on for dear life. The indestructible shield left a gash in the rock as it tore through it, slowing before coming to a stop.

Bert immediately cast Chill around the base of the shield. The ice held the shield firm as Bert managed to climb up onto it carefully. Looking up above him, Bert finally saw a spot for the grapple.

It made a satisfying clink as it caught into the outcrop of rock. Taking up the tension, Bert unsummoned his shield and prepared to descend. Bert took a moment to admire his work before he turned and looked down to see how far he had to go…

“Fuck!” Bert swore as he shook the grapple free and dropped the ten feet remaining to the floor. “Waste of fucking time, that was.” He continued to grumble to himself and tried not to think about how close to hitting the ground he had been.

In frustration, Bert kicked a large stone, sending it flying off into the trees before a faint plopping noise. Curious, he pushed through the trees, finding a familiar-looking pond.

Bert laughed as he watched the ripples fading on the water's surface. His eyes wandered over to a crude fence's dried and half-collapsed remains. It was all that remained of the shelter he had made on one of his first nights in this world. Kicking the remains aside, Bert patted his crafting rock affectionately.

This was his real starting point in this world. For a moment, he felt nostalgic, wanting to wander the same path all the way back to the original home of the Waystation.

He shook his head and smiled. He had a job to do, and people were waiting for him.

Whistling to himself, Bert set off through the forest, jumping effortlessly into the branches of a tree and moving away.

=========

“You almost done?” The guard asked the exhausted men and women working on the barricade. “The first one of you useless bastards to slack off is going to be beaten to within an inch of their life!”

“Yes, sir.” The old man spoke for the group. “Another ten minutes, and it will be complete.”

“Good!” The guard chuckled, “Then you can start on the next one.”

A hand rose at the back of the exhausted group of townsfolk.

“What is all this for, sir?” A shaky voice asked. The crowd parted hurriedly, leaving a young woman alone in a widening circle.

“You got a problem working?” The guard dropped his hand to his sword.

“No, sir.” The woman blanched, “I just wondered if we were going to be attacked.”

“Not this time,” The guard sneered. “This time, we get to do the attacking.”

With that, the guard spat and walked away, moving off into the maze of tents that had been set up in the plain.

“You shouldn’t ask questions!” An old woman slapped the woman who had raised her hand, “Know your place!”

“Really, Martha, do you want to get us all killed?” The old man shook his head as everyone returned to building their makeshift barricade.

Martha narrowed her eyes at the old couple as they looked away.

“The barricades will be completed ahead of schedule!” The guard reported to the three men gathered around a small rickety table in the largest tent.

“Good, we must not miss our chance.” The first man said.

“Can we trust that woman, Master Able?” The man on the left asked.

“Of course, Reed.” Able snapped. “She led our army to the Waystation!”

“We still have not heard from them, Master.” The last man said quietly.

“No matter, they are expendable.” Able smiled, “If you catch this criminal, Officer Lowes, we will have control of the Waystation no matter what.”

Reed and Lowes exchanged a look as the Master left the tent. They nodded to each other and strolled out to the outskirts of the temporary camp.

“This is a mistake,” Lowes said once they were sure they were alone.

“Yes.” Reed nodded.

“We attacked the damn thing in the first place!” Lowes growled in frustration.

“Blanchette was a greedy idiot and a noble.” Reed shook his head, “I’m not sure he even thought he could lose.”

The two men watched a pair of guards laughing as they beat one of the villagers.

“This town, we should never have come here,” Lowes grumbled.

“Tired of being the head of security for the Traders Guild in town already?” Reed laughed.

“What town?” Lowes smiled grimly.

“We could always just….” Reed nodded towards the empty land around the camp.

“Let’s see how this hunt goes first,” Lowes grinned. “I may be able to get us some better traveling conditions.”

“I should stay close to Master Able,” Reed grinned back as his hand dropped to the dagger hidden in his belt. “Such a man should not be ignored, after all.”

=========

Bert smiled as he bounced from tree to tree, flying through the forest canopy in a blur of leaves and branches. Trying to push faster and faster, it was only a matter of time until he fell. Laughing as he missed a branch by that much, Bert tumbled out of the trees, bouncing and crashing to the ground.

Lying on his back and laughing, he caught his breath as he watched the leaves swaying back and forth in the breeze.

“I’m sorry you never got to see this world, Gwen,” Bert said as he gazed up. “It is a crazy, fucked up place, but things can be amazing in a world full of magic. I keep trying to figure out what class you would get, but then again… who would have pegged me as a Garbage Man.” He beamed up into the sky. “I hope you're watching and enjoying the ride. I know you are… but it would be better if you were here with me.” Bert wiped a tear from his eye. “Hey, could I pull off a Spiderman act?”

A minute later and the grapple caught in the top of a tree. Bert was crouched on a high branch, ready to swing. He gave the rope a test or two and then leaped forward, swinging through the air with a wild whoop.

Seconds later, he was orbiting a branch and swearing loudly. As he crashed through the branch, catching the tightly wound rope on his shoulder, he swore wildly as he crashed to the floor.

Bert groaned, one arm stuck up behind him, still attached to the tree with the grapple.

“That was a bad idea,” Bert grumbled as he slowly untangled himself. “I guess that’s why they always stick to a city.” He squinted up into the trees, trying to find a good place to try again.

Five minutes later, Bert was picking bits of a tree out of his teeth.

“Fuck Spiderman,” He muttered and returned to leaping between the trees.

Faintly, on the wind, Bert thought he heard his wife’s laugh.

He knew he was imagining it, but he smiled anyway.

As time passed, Bert got a bit bored. He had forgotten how far they had traveled.  He was just about to drop out of the trees when a slight movement below caught his eye. Stopping, he watched carefully, unable to see anything amiss.

The tree he was in shivered for a second; his instincts made him jump clear just before it dropped into the ground. Bert jumped again as the tree he landed on began to shiver; seconds later, Bert saw whole swathes of trees dropping into the ground. With no other trees in range, Bert had no choice but to drop to the ground.

His feet crashed through the thin crust as he landed; Bert tumbled into the gaping cavern beneath the ground. All around him, black bodies swarmed. A pair of giant ants charged toward him as he fell. In a panic, Bert fired his grapple at the wall. Pulling himself clear of the attacking ants, Bert crashed into the wall and summoned his shield.

Bert leaped clear of the wall a second before more ants swarmed the area. Hopping from one glistening chitinous back to another, Bert dashed towards the rapidly closing hole. The workers swarmed the area around the hole, piecing the thin crust of their trap back together.

His ears filled with chirps and clicking as he moved. It was the ants. The clicking he expected, but the chirping of the workers sounded like bird song. It sent shivers down his spine.

He wasn’t going to make it.

Bert fired his grapple again, digging it into the wall just below the hole. Pouring mana into the turn runes, Bert smelled the rope begin to burn as he shot forward. As soon as his feet impacted the wall, he kicked upward.

His head spun frantically as the swarm closed in on him. Finding a standing tree, he fired his grapple. It bit into the trunk, pulling him out of the pit and flying across the forest floor.

Halfway there, fire burst into life on the rope, burning through it in seconds. Bert tumbled across the floor in a mess of limbs.

Rolling upright, Bert sprinted across the ground, feeling it crumble away beneath him as the industrious workers expanded the pit. The floor burst open all around him, giant ants pouring from the holes.

Sprinting as fast as he could, Bert changed his hand into an axe. He dug it into the floor, using it to turn sharply to the right and racing out into the scrubland. The ants poured from under the ground, but the sudden turn had brought him a small lead. Thousands of feet hit the ground behind him each second, sending a constant rumble through the ground. It felt like running on water.

Pushing his mana cycle faster and faster to keep ahead, Bert knew it was a race he would lose.

Misty words appeared in front of him in the air…

SAY MY NAME!

He snarled and cycled the tides faster. His mana channels strobed with light, speeding up into a flickering almost too fast to see. His heart beat so hard he could see it in his vision as it pulsed.

SAY MY NAME!

Flickering light began to dance on his skin as the mana started to escape from the knotwork channels.

SAY! MY! NAME!

Gwen’s face flickered before his eyes as pale blue flames began to burn on his skin.

His axe dug into the floor, spinning him around to face ants. Shooting forward, his momentum kept him upright as he slammed into the ants in the frontline. A wave of force traveled ahead of him as he ran, the flames burning brighter as his skin caught fire. The pain flared in him, his muscles seizing. In desperation, Bert cast Reclaim Flesh on the ants torn apart by the shockwave. An endless wave of flesh flowed over him, healing the skin as fast as it burned away.

A grim smile broke across his face as the flames burned higher.

A line of enormous guard ants moved into his path, three times the size of the workers. Bert ran on.

He pushed harder as the enormous creatures crouched to intercept him.

Bert ran on.

The pressure was building ahead of him, worsening the faster he moved. With a fierce snarl, Bert pushed as hard as he could, feeling the air tearing apart ahead of him.

He slammed into the line of guards.

A shockwave burst out from the point his shield met the ants. It moved outward, leaving behind nothing but a pink mist in the air as a sound like thunder roared across the Scrub.

Bert stood in place, the last of the flames dying out on his skin as the pink mist swirled in to repair his shattered body.

And it was shattered, only the mana flowing through it keeping him upright.

As the final bit of bone was healed and the mana in his system finally subsided, Bert dropped to his knees in the center of a vast crater.

“Ow.” His voice was barely above a whisper. It hurt to talk; it hurt to breathe. It hurt to think.

“Ow,” Bert said again as his vision swam.

A faint rumbling in the ground drifted towards him.

“Oh, fuck right off,” Bert grumbled as he struggled to his feet and limped off across the scrubland.

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

Lowes hid in the bushes and watched the team stalking the Caretaker. He had no idea what had happened to the man, but he looked to be in a rough way. A rogue was slowly creeping into position to launch a sneak attack as they moved from branch to branch above the limping man.

A hunter moved along parallel to the Rogue, bow held at the ready as they crept from cover to cover. The final three members of the team were already in place up ahead. The three warriors were prepared to launch a pincer move when Hudson was in range.

Lowes was a little disappointed if he was honest. This man had been built up as the biggest threat to the area in years, yet looking at him as he grumbled and limped along, Lowes would have never given him a second look.

The rogue crouched, ready to leap, their twin daggers shining with a deadly poison.

“Can we do this later?” Bert sighed as he looked up at the rogue, now frozen in shock. “It’s been a bitch of a day….”