The Waystation Ch.33 (Patreon)

Chapter 33

Farming, Fighting, and Feelings. II

Nadine frowned and watched the Lich King of the City of the Dead walk out into the night.

She was back.

Her Ale House was back too.

Now what?

She turned around, casting a careful eye over the new Waystation. It was almost exactly how she remembered it… except… she could feel it now. The building was alive, and it wanted things. This was a new wrinkle. Nadine was never one to have partners. Friends rarely, subordinates certainly, but never partners.

Basics first. That was the way to start. The things she already knew how to do.

The Waystation was currently little more than a bar. Bar’s she knew.

The next day was spent buying glasses, tankards, flagons, and a supply of undead-friendly alcohol. It was just like the old days, and she found herself smiling as the first of the bar supplies arrived.

People always forgot about the other things needed to run a bar. The snacks, thank you, Scruff, and the linens. Mats and coasters. A chef. A waitress. Cleaning supplies. As the day wound to a close, she finally ran out of things to do. They were almost ready to open officially.

She had an hour or two before the doors open… and no idea what to do next.

It was not a familiar feeling to a woman who had been singlemindedly doing her own thing for years.

“Need a hand?” A man called. Nadine looked up and saw the other Caretaker. The living man, Bert. “I figured you might have a few questions.”

“What makes you say that?” Nadine knew she sounded defensive and hated it.

“Hey, you are doing miles better than I did.” He smiled a charming smile: "I spent the first few hours foaming at the mouth and trying to figure out where I ended, and the Waystation began.” He laughed. He told her the story of his first few days as a Caretaker and the complete mess he had been, flailing around clueless and missing so much. Despite herself, Nadine laughed along and felt drawn into the conversation naturally.

“I just don’t know how to interact with the Waystation or the fairy.” Nadine shook her head. “I’ve never encountered a sentient building before, or a fae for that matter.” She chuckled. “The Fae, I can’t believe I’m even saying that.”

“You interact fine with me,” Bert shrugged. “Why should they be any different?”

“Because they are creatures of myth and legend!” She snapped. “How can you be so calm?” She watched as he choked on his water and laughed, “What?”

“Sorry,” He wiped himself down, “Sorry, It’s just funny to be sat in a magical building in a city of the undead and hear a Banshee say anything is mythical.”

Nadine frowned at him before laughing; he was right.

“Look, the building is sentient; why not think of it as a friend? Maybe a child. It is the most loyal friend you will ever have.” He said earnestly. “It has your back, no matter what, forever. It is the nature of the Waystations.” He shrugged. “I take the title kind of literally. Caretaker. I am here to take care of the Waystation and its people.” He smiled, “It is simple that way.” He shot a look over at the fairy lurking in the eaves like a scalded cat. “The Fairy? That is up to you. I can say that I see Bell as my partner, my best friend, and my family. It works for us.” He chuckled. “She even stopped trying to murder me eventually.”

“What?” Nadine thought he was joking until he told her about the various pit traps, poison needles, and more that he had endured before earning Bell’s trust.

“Why didn’t you just leave?” Nadine’s curiosity got the better of her.

“Because everyone else had, and she couldn’t.” Bert grinned. “What kind of a prick walks off and leaves someone trapped like that?”

“If they keep trying to kill you? Anyone.” Nadine shook her head. “Anyone sane, at least.”

“No one ever accused me of being sane,” Bert laughed again. “Well, I better get back before Bell talks Scruff into growing explosive vegetables.” He thanked her for the drink and patted the wall in thanks to the Waystation on the way out.

Nadine felt the Waystation almost purr in her mind, feelings of happiness and comfort pouring into her. At least, thanks to Bert’s story, she knew what was happening now.

She was turning away when she realized that he had given her a how-to guide without once talking about anything other than his own mistakes. And he never offered unsolicited advice, only what she asked for. All with a smile and a self-deprecating story of his own blunders. She smiled; that was a dangerous man that would turn up with a grin and a twinkle in the eye. He was the kind of man that people followed.

Nadine had rubbed shoulders with Nobles and beggars, heroes and villains, and everything in between in her long life. Right now, this second, Nadine would put even odds on the entire city following him into battle if he asked.

A dangerous man is one with a quick tongue and a quicker mind.

A smile that made you forget yourself didn’t hurt either.

She smiled.

“Let’s talk, shall we?” Nadine called up to the Fairy a few minutes later.

“Oh, remembered I exist?” A sulky voice carried down from the rafters.

“Well, if you don’t want to?” Nadine shrugged.

“No! No, I do….” The undead fairy came down and hovered hesitantly in front of her.

“That’s better. Hello.” Nadine smiled kindly.

“Hello.” She looked sulky.

“I’m Nadine; what’s your name?” she asked.

“Tammy.” She said sullenly.

“Nice to meet you, Tammy,” Nadine smiled, “Sorry about ignoring you, but I was a little unsure of what to do.”

“Why do you have to do anything?” Tammy asked.

“I have no experience with Fae; I needed to figure out how to talk to one,” Nadine said patiently. “I’d like us to be friends, Tammy.”

“Oh, yeah?” Tammy’s face twisted into a sneer. “You have no problems talking to Bert, or is it just the shorter Fae you don’t like?”

“Tammy, I am trying here,” Nadine said as her patience began to fray. “I know how to talk to Bert because he is just a man; I am used to talking to men, but not Fae.” She tried to make it sound like she was in awe of them, which she kind of was.

“You don’t know, do you?” Tammy looked delighted for some reason, “You act big and scary, but you're just a dumb human!” She had a mean laugh.

“Know what?” Nadine said with the last of her patience.

“He’s Fae!” Tammy said with a wicked smile, “An actual Fae right in front of you, and you didn’t even see!” She cackled evilly. Then her face twisted into a snarl, “And I could have been his fairy if that bitch hadn’t killed me!”

“Want me to do it again?” A bright voice called happily from the doorway.

The fairy yelped and hid behind the counter as Bell turned a beaming face to Nadine, “Hi! Can I come in, please, Miss Caretaker?” She waved merrily.

“Of course, Bell, but no killing my fairy, please.”

The pixie buzzed merrily into the Waystation and plopped herself down on a nearby table. “Thanks; I just thought I would come by in case you had any questions about running a Waystation?”

“Thanks, but I just got through talking to Bert.” Nadine smiled, “He seemed to worry about the same thing.”

“He would,” Bell giggled, “He sucked so hard at being Caretaker at first!”

“Can I ask,” Nadine hesitated.

“Go on,” Bell said. “It’s what I’m here for.”

“Did you really try and kill him that many times?” She asked quickly before she lost her nerve.

“Hah!” Bell giggled, “More times than he knows.” She saw the look on Nadine’s face. “He could have stopped me, you know?”

“He could?” Nadine asked. “How?”

“Don’t you dare!” The fairy squeaked from behind the counter.

“Come on out and stop me,” Bell giggled with a dangerous edge, “No? Okay then!” She beamed at Nadine, “He discovered the truth on the first day. If he ordered me to be honest, I had to. If he ordered me not to try and kill him, I wouldn’t be able to.” She shrugged. “And he never did!”

“What?” A squeaked voice.

“Why not?” Nadine asked, “No offense, Bell, But I would have.”

“Because he wanted me to trust him, not obey him.” Bell shrugged. “I guess we don’t talk about it.”

“So, spirits are the Caretaker’s partners?” Nadine asked, changing the subject.

“No!” Bell laughed. “I guess Bert told you that, but no. We are servants to the Caretakers and the Waystation.” Her face turned cold momentarily, “Caretakers can leave; the spirits never do.” She looked angry for a moment, then brightened. “That is why Bert made ours move. That way, if anything ever happens to him, I’m never stuck in the middle of nowhere again.”

“That was nice of him,” Nadine nodded approvingly.

“Nice of him? NICE OF HIM!” An enraged Tammy came shooting out from behind the counter like a little comment, “You stupid bitch, he changed a fundamental part of the Waystation’s design, invented a whole new type of Waystation!” She was practically frothing at the mouth, “He re-wrote the rules, just so his spirit could not end up alone,” She deflated and began to cry, “Do you know what one of us would give for someone like that?” She wiped her eyes and then flinched when she realized how close she was to Bell. “Sorry for trying to steal him.”

“I would have done the same, only better.” Bell laughed.

“How?” Tammy asked, hands on her hips in defiance. “I offered him power, money, and all the Sex he could want! What else is there?”

Nadine sprayed her drink across the bar, “You what?”

“She offered to sleep with him,” Bell giggled. “Not the first one to think it would work.”

“I wasn’t?” Tammy asked in shock. “You?”

“Eww, no.” Bell shuddered, “He’s like my very annoying brother. But an Immortal tried it.”

“A Mistwatcher?” Tammy said.

“Yeah,” Bell giggled. “He told her to go fuck herself, and she is still pissed about it.” She turned to the still-stunned Nadine, “See, he is one of them, one and only types. His wife’s everything to him… so no matter who tries to crawl in his bed, no matter who… they aren’t gonna do anything but piss him off.”

“Fuck!” Tammy kicked a mug off the table. “Would more money or power have worked?”

“Nope!” Bell said smugly, “He doesn’t want anything but her, and money or power gets him no closer to her.”

“What if I had impersonated her?” Tammy asked, smiling evilly.

“Then you better be damn sure it is perfect,” Bell got a look on her face that made even the Banshee shiver. “Rule of Balance, see?”

Tammy paled.

“Rule of Balance?” Nadine asked.

“Bert is all bright and happy, kindness, empathy for all,” Bell said.

Nadine nodded.

“So what happens if you do something that pushes the pendulum the other way?” Bell asked brightly.

“Bad things?” Nadine guessed.

“I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemies what he would do to something that tried to pretend to be his wife.” Bell shivered. “They don’t have words for how far it would push him.”

“We are all born knowing about the Rule of Balance,” Tammy said. “So we know who NOT to push too far.”

“World’s burned before we learned,” Bell giggled.

Nadine blanched again, “Seriously?”

Both the little Fae turned to her, their animated faces suddenly showing the true alienness of their existence. “Seriously,” They said in perfect union.

In her mind, Nadine saw flashes of whole worlds burning, of rivers of blood, mountains blown to ash in flashes of light and fire, and heard the screams of the dying.

She blinked, and it was gone.

“The memories of the Fae, a warning to all. Balance must be maintained.” Bell and Tammy intoned, then blinked.

They were themselves again, arguing as Nadine shivered. Deep in her mind, she knew she would never really stop hearing the screams. When she shook herself free of the memory, the two were laughing at something.

“So, are you two friends now?” She asked, her mind still sluggish with shock.

“Fuck NO!” They both said and giggled.

Bell waived goodbye and buzzed out the door, stopping to pat the Waystation that once more purred happily.

What had she gotten herself into?

Nadine stood and flipped the sign to open, welcoming the first customers with a dazzling smile as far inside, the screams still echoed through her mind.

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

For the first time in a while, everyone got together for dinner. Scruff kept giving furtive glances at Bert and Bell as they all ate and laughed. After Reed and Lowes left, she kept playing with her food, drawing out the meal. Next to finish were the orcs, who always had seconds. As they piled out the door to continue training, Bud got up to go with them. Scruff pulled him back down.

“Guys, I need something.” She said nervously.

“What?” Bell asked suspiciously.

Living on the street had given Scruff an appreciation of family, of the things other kids had and she didn’t. It also gave her an appreciation of what type of parent someone was. Bert and Bell may not have been parents or even together, but they had fallen into familiar roles.

Bell was the taskmaster. She suspected everyone and everything, constantly driving them to do better. She showed love through relentless, unwavering suspicion.

Bert, on the other hand? He was the teddy bear. The soft touch. Always vulnerable to a pleading look and a sob story. Sometimes you didn’t even need that. You just had to ask.

Bud was here in his role as protective big brother, always ready to calm things down and, more importantly, distract Bell.

With all this in mind, she turned to Bert…

“I need more space for one of my projects,” She said, wide-eyed and hopeful.

“Sure, how much?” Bert shrugged.

“What for?” Bell asked, narrowing her eyes.

Scruff kicked Bud under the table.

“Miss Bell, do you think the orcs are coming along okay?” Bud asked. “I’m not sure I am training them well enough.”

Bell immediately pounced on the idea, suggesting many new and horrible training scenarios to subject his charges too.

“I was hoping I could maybe have a barn?” Scruff said casually. This was her moment to strike, “I really want to work on some stuff that grows better in darkness, and my cellar is too small.”

Bert frowned, “Well, I guess you could use the area behind your cottage, but it would be a small barn,”

“I was hoping it could be a high one, though. Maybe with a couple of extra floors?” She leaned forward and let eagerness creep into her voice.

“Promise to be careful?” He asked.

She had won.

“Promise!” She said, “Thanks, Bert. Can we do it now?” Before the pixie talks you out of it, she added mentally.

“ Way Way is already on it,” He smiled.

“On what?” Bell asked.

“Thanks!” Scruff grabbed Bud and dragged him outside quickly. She gave him a quick hug and ran for Trailer One.

Another step is complete!

She was a genius.

Bert and Bell sat in silence as she dashed away. Once she was out of hearing range, they laughed at each other.

“She really thinks we are that easy?” Bert chuckled.

“She thinks you are,” Bell smirked.

“But she knows we can sense everything that she does on the Waystation, right?” Bert asked.

“Yeah, but I still can’t tell what is moving around in that basement.” Bell frowned.

“Let’s let her go with it for a while longer,” Bert sighed, “She’ll tell us eventually.”

“You’re almost as soft a touch as she thinks you are,” Bell giggled at him.

“Yup,” Bert smiled happily.

==========

“Ho, there!” A deep, rich voice called a few hours later.

Bert was just coming out of the Bear’s Fall after checking in on Trav. The Satyr was in his element in the back of the Bear’s Fall, which now looked more like a laboratory than a distillery as he scaled up manufacturing of his death-friendly meads, ales, and wines.

Bemused, Bert trotted over to the drawbridge. At the base, a small party of humans stood. They looked… ridiculous. They were a parody; they had to be.

They seemed to be led by a large man, rippling muscles encased in shining silver and gold with a bright white tabard. Even his shield was gold. At his hip was a large silver hammer. His helmet even had wings on it. He was… a joke. Bert saw his boots even had little silver wings on them. The rest of the party was almost as bad. A grey-haired man in a white cassock lined in silver and gold with a massive silver chain holding a golden sun around his neck. He radiated Priest, literally giving off a soft golden glow.

Behind him was a younger priest with an earnest, constipated expression that just screamed punch me. He was wearing a plainer cassock with just a little silver lining. The last of their party was a young boy, all in white, holding the reins of a donkey. At his waist was a harp.

An actual harp.

Bert lost it, a short barking laugh escaping him before he could stop himself. He tried to pass it off as a cough, but from the looks on their faces, they didn’t buy it.

“Sorry! Sorry,” Bert fake coughed again, “Dusty place this; how can I help?”

“Begone in haste, noble traveler. You have tarried too near a city of the dead!” The paladin and Bert would bet he was a pally, said.

“Are you taking the piss?” Bert asked, “Or do you always talk like that?”

“Fool!” The pally shook his fist, “I come to secure your soul. Jest not!”

“Oh fuck off, Tin Man,” Bert chuckled. “I’m fine here, thanks.”

“Do you not know yonder city swarms with unholy abominations?” The priest joined the pally at the base of the drawbridge.

“Yonder?” Bert muttered, “Seriously?” He cleared his throat. “You are nuts, the lot of you. I’ve been here for days, and the people inside are lovely.”

“Quickly! We must save this poor man from the bewitchery they have done!” The younger priest hurried forward. “He does not see that they are undead!”

“Yes, I do,” Bert eyed the young priest, “And if you touch me, you are leaving with less fingers than you came with, son.”

A collective gasp.

Bert fought a fit of giggles. They were better than a stand-up act.

“You have treated with the unclean!” The young priest pointed a shaking finger at Bert.

“If you mean I got pissed with them, then yes.” Bert laughed. “Now, push off back where you came from.” Bert turned his back on them and started to walk away.

“We will burn these unclean to ash, and you with them, foul creature!” The Pally had drawn his hammer and slammed it against his shield.

“Well, now you're playing my song,” Bert grinned as he turned around. With a shrug, he summoned his shield and armor, his hand changing into a crossbow behind the cover of his shield. “Let’s dance, pretty pally!” He grinned.

“I will not dance with you, unclean one!” The pally said proudly.

“That’s not…. That’s….” Bert shook his head, “You ruined a perfectly good line, idiot.”

“I see no lines here,” The pally drew himself up as the two priests looked on with confident smiles. “I see only a tainted soul that requires cleansing!” He stood and posed proudly, “Behold the shining armor of the Paladins of Purety!” He hefted his hammer high over his head as he threw his other arm wide.

Bert’s crossbow bolt thunked into his unprotected neck a split second before another pierced his eye.

He toppled over backward as Bert shot the elder priest in the face with a chill rune-enhanced bolt. The younger priest turned to run, only to find an arrow hovering an inch from his face as Bud calmly waited for Bert to make the call. They hadn’t even heard as Bud gently dropped down behind them. The squire and donkey were currently in the tender care of the orcs.

Bert was reasonably sure the squire had peed himself as Tru’nal held him as far from herself as possible with a disgusted look.

“Let’s you and me have a little chat, eh lad?” Bert said in a friendly tone.

“I will never treat with the unholy!” The priest yelled and slammed a dagger into his own throat.

“Fucking fanatics,” Bert said. He turned to the squire. “Don’t be an idiot, boy. Chose to live.” He grinned.