Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 35 - Teaser (Patreon)

Ben and his friends arrived at the outskirts of the city of Windsor, or what was left of it. From what Ben could tell, much of the city had been flattened with a nuke during Nuke Day. There was very little of the original infrastructure left and many of the buildings there had been built after the emergence of the Meludgen. So much was different about this place, yet it was all welcoming in a way.

“Halt! State your business for coming to the town of Soaring Wind,” the gate guard demanded, with at least three of his fellow guards backing him up.

“Just passing through to D’troi on the other side. Heading straight for the ferry,” Lawrie told the man who stopped them.

“What are you?” the main guard questioned.

“We are traveling merchants, looking to do business in the great city of D’troi. We hired out this group of mercenaries to help keep us safe on the road,” Lawrie said to him.

“And what of you? What is your business in D’troi?” another guard queried, looking over at Byanka.

“I am a healer, looking to head back down to the Expanse. I also have these two in my charge, who are my newest apprentices,” Byanka told the man with a warm smile.

“Odd to take on two at a time, isn’t it?” the lead guard asked, looking suspicious.

“Not if you lose everything you have, and the man you love, to slavers,” Vanyssa stated giving the man a cold look.

“My apologies, ma’am. I meant no offense,” the man replied hastily.

“Wait, did you say slavers? Up here in the north?” another guard asked.

“Yeah. Thanks be to the Rangers of Tired Grove for exterminating those vermin!” Vanyssa sighed with a small smile. Hearing this made a few of the men nod among themselves, as word of the Rangers had reached even this far from their home.

“What about the wolves? Are they tamed?” another guard queried, his grip on his polearm tightening.

“They are. Ahmalia, go to Lawrie. He has a treat for you,” Rayne told her pup.

The Darkwolf pup did as she was told, her tongue lolling out in expectation of the treat. Lawrie shot Rayne a look and reached inside his coat, pulling out a strip of jerky he had been munching on. He instructed the pup to sit, and she did before he handed over the treat. Ahmalia snapped up in an instant before she then trotted over to her mistress, prancing like she was a princess.

“Does that suffice about them being tamed?” Dohlrak asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“It does. Bevin, lower your weapon. They won’t hurt no one,” the lead guard instructed his subordinate. Growling softly, the man did as he was told, but still eyed the pups with a degree of hatred.

“Does he have a problem with wolves?” Ben wondered, seeing some trauma in the man’s eyes.

“Darkwolves tore his family to shreds when he was a boy, and normal wolves look close enough to them that he’ll go after any that aren’t tamed. Can’t say I blame him, as those beasts have been a blight on our town for some time,” the lead guard said.

“Any ideas why they bother the town?” Byanka questioned, curious about the situation.

“None, and I’m not one for caring. As long as those wild beasts stay out of our fair town, then I don’t care what they do,” the man stated as he waved them into town. The group passed through the gates without further comment and made their way through the streets towards the ferry.

“You’d think those guys would be able to spot the difference in them,” Ben muttered quietly, wondering how the guards couldn’t tell that the pups were Darkwolves.

“These are city folk who rarely venture outside their walls for anything. Besides, because they are still young, no one will look at them twice. It will get tougher the older they get,” Dohlrak replied quietly.

“Fair point. Let’s find that ferry and get a move on, before they decide to get a closer look,” Ylva stated, putting a protective arm around Achilles.

The pup seemed to sense the woman’s distress and nuzzled into her, growling to where he sounded like he was purring. Ylva was startled for a moment, but as quickly as her shock came, it wore off just as quickly. Moments later, she was stroking the pup’s neck, and he growled contentedly. Ben took in the sight of the town as it was and marveled at what he saw then.