Wild Wastes Omnibus

by Randi Darren

  Small villages, towns, and even minor cities were encountered along the way.

  They went so far as to send people out to settlements out of the path of the army as well.

  Elysia’s map had quite a number listed out and detailed.

  In hidden valleys and small out of the way places life teemed. Some were even living broadly and openly.

  A number of settlements were discovered that weren’t even on the map as well.

  Each location was given a formal request to join Yosemite by a team of several military squads and envoys. The leaders of those places were handed a declaration of intent to occupy and maintain, and a book of laws to abide by. Everything that would be provided by Yosemite was included, as well as everything that was expected of them as a vassal.

  In every case, whether Human or Waster, those visited expressed shock at their visitors. Felicity had made sure that first contact with these individuals were made by an extremely diverse group of races.

  Most accepted the terms without a word. They were generous and offered as much as they expected.

  Those who declined were then forced to leave at sword point and magical threat. They were made to leave their homes and head east, out of Yosemite’s territory. Leadership changed overnight in those places, and suddenly they were willing to join Yosemite.

  A few resisted with violence. Every fighter was killed to the last, and their citizens were exiled with only what they could carry. It was unfortunate, but examples had to be made.

  Everything left behind was packed up, and redistributed to the places who had agreed willingly.

  News spread, and the number who said yes at the outset rose significantly.

  Vince looked up from the most recent report Felicity had provided him. Running his fingers through his hair he couldn’t help but feel strange.

  Petra had cut it for him the other day, and it still felt too different to him.

  “Felicity, I know we were expecting all of this to a degree, but this… we’re going to need to make a huge investment into infrastructure,” Vince said.

  “Yes, my lord. We’ll need to begin road building immediately. I’ve already prepared a missive for you. All you need to do is sign it. The plan I laid out should bring a maximum number of settlements in—”

  “No,” Vince interrupted her, holding up his hands with a grin. “No need to explain. I trust you. Just remember that we need to connect Vegas, Verix, Yosemite, and Wooden Heart. Trade and military movement will be key. We’ll also need to put in checkpoints, garrisons, and probably a few military forts. It’ll be a while before we have a steady border that we can defend.”

  Felicity stared at him, and then smiled. “Yes, my lord. I’ve already planned for all of that.”

  Vince laughed and then set his hands down. “See? You don’t need me. You and Elysia can run it all for me.”

  Shaking her head, the Dark Elf frowned with a touch of anger. “No, my lord. None of this would be possible without you.”

  Light splashed over everything as the tent flap opened and closed.

  “She is right. Though you are right as well. Claim her as yours, husband. Of her family, only she was someone Elysia would take on,” Fes said. She walked over to him, dressed in her battle gear and outfitted for a fight. Leaning down she pressed a firm kiss to his lips.

  “Fes, seriously? I can’t try to wed and bed every single woman we come across who’s talented. And I don’t disagree with you, Felicity is definitely talented,” Vince said. He seriously was starting to get aggravated with how often Fes told him to claim someone.

  “Why not? You’ll outlive a number of us. I’ll grow old and die, as will Petra. You’ll need new wives to fill our places. Felicity is young, beautiful, intelligent, and would say yes to you. She’s also going to end up being nearly immortal if you fill her with magic.

  “The more immortal wives you have, the less you’ll suffer,” Fes said. Sitting down next to him, she faced Felicity and nodded her head to her. “And I don’t wish for you to suffer.”

  Felicity for her part blushed heavily. It went from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.

  “Fes!” hissed the Dark Elf, her fingers clenched into one another.

  “What? You would, Felicity. And since we’re on the subject, husband. You should also claim Ramona, Red, Blue, Green, and Leila. Red is already bound to you, so just do it. Blue and Green as well need only a formal confirmation as wives.

  “Leila is in your debt and you could force the issue with her. Same with Ramona. You can take it slowly with them if you prefer as well. They will all be immortal if you were to use your magic. Though the Dragonnewt I’m not completely sure on,” the Orc said without mercy or care for the situation. She was making these suggestions without a worry for the implications.

  “Fes, for fuck’s sake. Really? Are you listening to yourself? I’m already—”

  “You will do this, husband. I will not relent. You can say no as long as you like, but it will not deter me. As we find new women, I will add them to my list. This is how we will make our clan strong. Do not fear that they will quarrel, I will guide them.

  “Should I fall, Petra knows what she needs to do. If not her, then Meliae. Do not fear, you will always have a Fes,” Fes said with finality.

  Are you fucking kidding me?

  The tent flapped open again before Vince could try and continue the conversation. Petra strode in, helmet under her arm. “Ah, Husband. This one is pleased to see you.”

  Petra came over with a bright smile and hugged him tightly from behind.

  It was strange to see her in her armor again. She’d gone for months without wearing a scrap of it.

  “This one must report that we’ve made contact with our caravan. They will be coming through in the next day or two. We’ve also caught sight of our foe. They are lying in wait near to where this one assumed they would attack.”

  “Right,” Vince said, his mind trying to jump mental tracks. “Right, ok. Are their numbers enough to take the caravan?”

  “Yes they are, master. Their answer is clear. We can’t afford to lose this caravan,” Petra said.

  “Alright. Make your plans then, General. I leave it to you.”

  And so Yosemite goes to war.

  Peering out from the foliage Vince did a quick count.

  Easing back from his vantage point he crawled backwards. Creeping across the ground like a mouse he made it back to his commando squad.

  Fes hated Vince’s role in the plan. As did Petra herself even though she was the one who put it into action.

  She’d determined that they needed a group of people who would be operating in Verix’s backfield.

  They were there to provide information, disrupt the enemy, and take out targets of opportunity.

  With him were Ramona, Red, and Leila.

  “Fourteen,” Vince whispered. “Four officers, ten guards.”

  Red blinked her darkened eyes. “Red would like to wait for them to split up. Prey is easier when alone.”

  Ramona wrinkled her nose and shifted her weight around. It was clear to anyone she wanted to simply dive in and start fighting.

  Leila frowned and pressed a hand to her mouth, lost in thought.

  I wish Daphne or Blue were here.

  Not for the first time, Vince regretted not having one of his combat oriented Dryads with him. They’d be able to use the environment to their advantage and make this considerably easier.

  Blue had been training determinedly with Thera and Eva to get up to their level.

  “Leila,” Vince said, getting the Gnome’s attention. “Can I store magic in you like I do the Elves? Would it let you use more spells?”

  Leila’s eyes unfocused for a second. She started to shake her head and then stopped.

  “I don’t know. We can’t meditate like they do, but we channel magic from ourselves. Our life expectancy fluctuates all over the board. I don’t know. Maybe?” she said, letting her hand drop.


  “Can I try? I think this’ll come down to how many you can drop at the start. Red, Ramona, and myself can handle a number by ourselves. But every one we don’t have to worry about makes it that much easier,” Vince said. “On top of that, it’d be even better if you could incapacitate the leaders. We can handle the guards.”

  “I… I… alright. Just be ready to stop,” Leila agreed.

  Vince didn’t waste any time and laid his hand on Leila’s collarbone. Pushing outward from the grove inside of himself, he channeled his energy into her.

  Leila’s eyes dilated in under a second, her already large eyes seeming bigger.

  Slowly, Vince increased the flow of power into her when it was apparent she didn’t have any problems.

  She wasn’t in distress. Didn’t appear to be hurting

  A minute in and he was unloading everything he could into her. Not more than two minutes after that and the grove cut him off.

  Still haven’t gotten anywhere near the power surplus I used to have.

  Vince pulled his hand off the Gnome and waited. She looked dazed. She was breathing, but her eyes were wide open. Lost.

  Drunk.

  In the time it took for him to take two breaths, Leila started to come around again though. Her eyes started to return to normal.

  Then she blinked and slowly looked around herself. “Huh?”

  Vince tried to be patient. Sitting this close to the enemy while Leila went off on a trip wasn’t that fantastic an idea.

  Holding a finger to his lips, Vince reached out and grabbed her shoulder carefully.

  She was soft under her robe. Her muscles and skin unaccustomed to work and labor. Even Meliae was far more fit than Leila.

  It wasn’t that she was overweight in any way, she just didn’t have any muscle to her.

  “Oh. Oh. Yes. S-sorry. I… everything is glowing. It feels as if I slept for days,” Leila said a touch dreamily.

  “Ok? Can you handle the officers? Incapacitate them so we don’t have to deal with them?” Vince asked.

  “Yes. Yes, I can,” Leila said, nodding.

  “Great. Ramona, Red, in position with me. When the whole thing goes down, we’re on those guards. Try to be quiet if possible,” Vince instructed.

  Red and Ramona said nothing, but did nod their heads.

  Moving back into the brush, Vince slid to his stomach, and began working his way back into position to watch.

  Watching the officers, Vince could only hope his choice of targets was the right one. Anything he could do to disrupt their response to being counterattacked would help.

  Taking out a piece of their leadership, doubly so.

  They waited there in the bush quietly as the caravan came ever closer. There was no guarantee when Verix’s people would attack, but Vince wasn’t going to give them an option.

  Even if they decided not to attack this caravan, the fact was they were still here. They were sending patrols into Yosemite territory.

  That wasn’t what a friendly neighbor would do.

  That’s what an enemy does that hasn’t declared war yet.

  There were cries from up ahead. The shouts and screams broke Vince from his thoughts.

  Ahead, the officers were waiting, staring into the dense brush ahead of them. Their guards were idling around them, intent on the surroundings.

  Then the explosion of guns, magic, and weapons went up in volume.

  Petra’s counterattack.

  Now the guards got to their feet and rushed over to peer into the brush as well. Trying to get a glimpse of what was going on.

  Not wasting the chance, Vince got to a knee and slid out of the bush. Keeping himself low and quiet he closed in on the officers.

  Almost the same moment he was within range of them, purple flaming rope encircled them.

  As one, they collapsed.

  Leaping over the incapacitated officers, Vince stabbed out with his saber. The tip went up under the armor of the guard on the right, probably piercing his kidney and liver.

  Pulling his blade back, he flicked it upwards towards the Elf on the left who was already turning around. The saber smashed into the man’s throat and jaw and lodged there.

  The two guards on Vince’s left and the two on the right were turning to see what was going on.

  Red crashed into one, carrying him into the brush.

  Ramona simply walked up and clawed at the closest soldiers. Her brute force crumpled one Elf’s face, and broke the arm of a second.

  Three Elves converged on Vince and quickly began to try to maneuver him into a position where they could attack at the same time. Behind him, Ramona held two at bay.

  Flashing out of the side of his vision, Red came again. She slammed into an Elven woman and took her to the ground. Her clawed fingers came out and she neatly carved the woman’s throat out.

  Pushing off the dying guard, Red launched herself at one of Ramona’s attackers.

  Stunned by what had happened, the two guards facing Vince hesitated.

  A tight beam of slimy gray light connected with the temple of one of them. That man dropped like he’d been struck by a club.

  Except that the hole the beam made was growing as if it were feasting on his body.

  Moving forward, Vince caught the last guard’s blade with his own. Pushing it to the side, he threw her off balance. Then he slammed his pommel into her face. The sound of her nose, and probably her cheekbone, shattering was audible.

  Shrieking, the woman collapsed to her knees, her hands coming up to her face. Taking a firmer hold on his saber, Vince brought the pommel down on her skull.

  Her shriek cut off sharply and she flopped to the ground, blood flowing from her nose.

  Spinning on his heel to find out what remained Vince was shocked. He found Ramona holding an Elf up by his neck, her cold blue eyes staring into his face.

  With a flick of her wrist, she crushed his windpipe and then dropped him to the ground.

  And I took that on in a brawl?

  The fight was over.

  Grabbing two of the officers he nodded at the others. “Grab the survivors, let’s get them pulled out and ready for transport.”

  Dragging his prize off, Vince felt like he’d contributed, rather than sat in the back.

  Thank god for being useful. I think I’d go crazy waiting in the rear with the gear. King of Yosemite indeed.

  Vince could only grin at the thought.

  An hour after they’d secured their “loot,” someone set off the signal to return to base. Vince was walking up to Petra as she received reports from her people a short while later.

  Fes noticed him first and gave him a head bob, returning to whatever was being discussed.

  The Dryad who Red had procured bounced up to him. She was a curvy thing that was Meliae’s equal. In fact she might be superior to her in that made for sex build that Dryads favored. She had rich dark brown curls that fell to her shoulders and dark green eyes.

  She had an expressive face and full lips. Her body was an hour glass and exuded a sexual predatory grace.

  I wonder if that’s why Red picked her.

  The Dryad gave him a smile and gestured to his floating captives. Rather than carry them here, they’d dropped them on one of Leila’s air cushions.

  “I’ll take those from you,” murmured the bubbly Dryad.

  “Thanks,” Vince said. He was happy to hand them over to someone else, he would rather find out what was going on.

  “Red sees you, Mouth. When this settles down, Red will want dinner. You will come and get it,” Red said to the Dryad she’d named “Mouth.”

  “Yes, mistress,” whispered Mouth, her eyes flashing as she took ownership over the prisoners.

  Vince snorted and waited nearby for Petra to finish whatever it was she was doing. He could wait, and he did want the answers.

  It only took another minute, probably spurred on when she realized he was waiting, and she finished her impromptu meeting.

&n
bsp; “This one reports that her forces are victorious. We suffered very minor casualties, the caravan is completely intact, and the enemy force was killed or captured almost to a man. Their entire supply dump is also ours, and it contained more than we lost in the caravan. This one hopes her master is pleased with her work,” Petra said, gliding up to him.

  “Oh, master is very pleased with your work. So much so, that he’s going to make sure he shows his appreciation to you very soon. Personally. Repeatedly. It’s likely you’ll be with another child after all the attention even if a Dryad tries to stop it,” Vince said, grinning up at the tall soldier ant.

  Petra blushed prettily and looked around. Red, Ramona, and Fes were staring back at her.

  “This one… she… this one is happy to accept.”

  “Good. Now, let’s go get some dinner while the Dryads pry open secrets and plans,” Vince said with a smirk.

  Nearly at the same moment, a runner came in with a sealed dispatch case.

  Petra turned and held her hand open to the man.

  “Sorry, general, this is for Lord Vince,” the courier said.

  Depositing the scroll case into Vince’s hand the man bowed and took several steps backwards.

  Vince turned the top of the case and cracked the wax seal. Upending it, a parchment slid out.

  Pulling it free, Vince opened it and read.

  Lord Vince,

  An army of the Tri-lliance comes from the south. First reports indicate that it’s at least several thousand foot soldiers strong.

  I do not know why, but I suspect they will eventually plan to move north with it.

  They should arrive in the next month and a half. Much faster than we originally were expecting.

  Our plan would be much more incredibly difficult if we are not able to hold the city before the army arrives.

  Duke Heint of Vegas

  “Of course they sent an army. Because we didn’t expect that kind of a push so early,” Vince said softly. “General, we’ll need to accelerate the time table to capture Vegas. We’ll also need to prepare to push back an army of several thousand foot soldiers.”