Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 25 - Teaser (Patreon)

Many miles away lay the reclaimed city of D’troi, which had once been a human city in the Before. Now, a good portion of it lay in ruins, with creatures of the night and other beasts roaming its once great streets. There was also the odd Screamer that wandered in, but they were often put down during the day when they were spotted. While more than half the city was a wreck, some it was rebuilt to an extent.

The part of the forgotten city that had been rebuilt was mostly by the waterfront to the east and southern areas. The bridges that had connected the city to the east had long since collapsed, but there were smaller ones that spanned the river. There were even a few ferries that took people and cargo from one side to the other and back again. While the civilization that came before was long gone, the new one occupying the area was more than happy at what was left behind for them to use.

As night continued to deepen over the city proper, a group of men sat in a tavern by the fishing docks. It was a seedy place, one which had seen better days, but it still functioned well enough. It hadn’t fallen apart yet, despite the place looking ready to come down around everyone’s ears. At a larger table sat a group of Meludgen men, six in all, discussing some private matter over pitchers of ale.

These men weren’t young, fresh face louts coming in here trying to act tough. No, these men, were tough and had seen more than their fair share of hardship over the years. The men drinking were the remnants of Nahr’khan’s slaving group, the man who was Trahl’khan’s father. While the man was dead for some years now, the men enjoyed getting together to relive their glory days.

“I swear, that boy better not be having too much in tormenting that woman,” one of the men remarked.

“Trahl’khan knows better than to get too carried away with torturing a new slave. Besides, I’m certain he wants to take some of his anger out on that bitch, since she was the one who killed the old man,” another piped up.

“I would agree. While the boy can be… excitable, he’s more even-tempered than Nahr’khan was. He knows enough not to push it and to honor the agreement he made with us,” one of the smarter of the group reminded them.

“I hope you’re right, Graust! Spirits know I want to take some of my frustrations out on that cunt! Vengeance on her hide is long overdue! Because of that bitch, I have had to scrape together a proper living, which isn’t easy, with us getting pushed further and further north!” the snivelly type among them whined.

“You don’t have to tell me that, Rishko! Nahr’khan’s death shut down everything we were doing and made things that much more difficult for all of us! Don’t pretend that you’re the only one affected by what she did!” Graust rebutted, shutting Rishko up.

“The both of you calm yourselves! While Graust makes a point about all of us being affected, you all forget that Nahr’khan was a controlling bastard! He made sure that if anything happened to him, that the group couldn’t function and would fall apart without his leadership! He was also a greedy fucker too, always talking more than his share of the goods and women!” the brawniest of the group stated, growling his words.

“Mind your tongue, Bro’khail! That man was good to us!” Rishko fired back.

“Only as long as we obeyed him without question! That man kept us under his thumb and enforced that we stay there, or get nothing! You only miss him so much because you were always quick to obey him and you were rewarded for it! Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you sucked the old man’s dick if he told you to do it!” Bro’khail laughed.

“What did you say??” Rishko seethed, ready to leap at the man.

“You heard me! If you want to start something, come on then! Unless you want a repeat of what happened last time?” the brawny man challenged. Grunting in defeat, Rishko deflated faster than a popped balloon, remembered how he was beaten like a rented mule last time he tried challenging Bro’khail.

Some of the other men there who were also loyal to Nahr’khan didn’t particularly like the big man’s tone, but let it be. It was suicide to try to challenge the brawny man, as he had earned himself quite the reputation as a fierce and indomitable warrior since they disbanded. On top of the fact that he was well past eight feet in height, wickedly strong and fast to boot also stayed their hands.

“Good. While attaining vengeance against this woman is all well and good and a long time in coming,” Bro’khail said as he nodded to Rishko. “We shouldn’t be so stuck on the days that are past us. We shouldn’t be clinging to our past glories, but instead make our own glory, as that tells our story, not Nahr’khan’s.”