Wild Wastes 3 -CH3-

Vince sighed and sat down at the table.

“Don’t be so upset,” Mouth said, patting his thigh as she sat down next to him. “I imagine this’ll be over and we can head home.”

“Think so?” Vince asked, looking to the Dryad.

“I do. Personally I think this whole thing was a farce propped up by the command of the emperor.

“So far, he hasn’t intervened despite the length of the war. The moment he does decide to get involved, it won’t end well for anyone.

“As long as they abide by his decree, they can continue to struggle with one another.”

Vince thought on that, and slowly nodded his head.

“You’re probably right. But is it rea-”

The door opened and both diplomats walked into the room, one after the other.

“Good morning, lord Vince. We appreciate your return, and apologize for… for our behavior,” said one of them.

“Yes, we sincerely apologize said the other.”

“Uh huh. I’m here because I promised the emperor I would be. Unless you have any new ground to cover, I’m going to leave and head home.

“My letter to the emperor will be very simple. You both failed to achieve anything, and seemed more interested in verbally sparring than getting anything done,” Vince said in a scathing tone.

Both men looked at each other, then back to Vince.

“Unless you have something new to discuss?” Vince asked, forcing the discussion to what he believed was the inevitable end.

“That is…”

“We don’t-”

“Great, then I bid you goodbye, I’ll send my letter the emperor, and I’ll be on my way,” Vince said, standing up, even before the other men had a chance to sit down.

Not waiting, Vince left immediately.

Placing his fingers in his mouth he whistled sharply twice.

His honor guard of Ogres snapped to attention. Their Orc counterparts and “light” version of their troop type, set about breaking down the camp rapidly.

“Vince,” Mouth hissed at him, catching up. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“I met every agreement I made to the emperor. I promised him I’d do my best, but that when my patience ran out, I’d be done. He accepted that,” Vince said. “Beyond this point, I’d be more likely to believe they’re stalling for the sake of it.”

Mouth bobbed her head back and forth as she thought on that.

Then her eyes snapped to Ramona and locked onto her.

The Dragonnewt was waiting around doing nothing. Vince’s pack and belongings clutched against her chest.

“Oooh?” she said curiously.

Shit. She’s about as empathic as a Dryad could be.

“Huh. Well, I’m glad that worked out. Will you be taking in Leila and Red soon?

“And should I send a letter to Felicity?” Mouth asked, seemingly jumping one tiny thing and running away with it.

“Now, I don’t think-”

“Goodness. I can’t tell from here but I think she’s going to need to nest soon.

“It’s rather potent,” Mouth said, waving a hand back and forth in front of her nose.

“What is?”

“The scent coming off of her. It’s similar to what some Wasters put out when they’re getting ready to give birth.

“I knew your seed was potent Vince, but a Dragonnewt?

“Congratulations, by the way.”

Vince sighed and pressed a hand to his brow.

That’s all I need. More children. More and more children.

I’ve more children than all of Yosemite I swear.

Before Vince realized it, Mouth and gone straight to Ramona and patted her on the shoulder.

Ramona’s face went into a deep dark red color, her head dipping down closer to Mouth.

They were talking about something in such a low voice that he couldn’t make it out.

But he already knew what it was.

Child planning. And what Dryad would be assigned to take care of Ramona.

It was the same every time one of his wives got pregnant.

Berest, Keith, Vince the second, and Mila were all about five years old now. Most of them were running around on their own, outside of their mother’s view.

A number of Dryads had taken on the roles of nurse maids and second mothers to the kids. Following them around at a distance or close, depending on the need.

And then there’s all the Dryad children.

Vince shook his head rather then think about it.

Turning to the Ogre lieutenant who worked for Kitch, Vince nodded at the big guy.

“I want to be gone as soon as possible. Did you contact our rides?”

“Yes sir,” said the Ogre grimly, then he smiled at Vince. “Sent Sam to notify Kitch as well. She’ll want to know.”

“Smart man,” Vince said.

“Happy Kitch, happy Snorg,” said Snorg, Kitch’s husband.

Vince could only smile and shake his head.

“You two are too damn sweet on one another. Thanks Snorg.”

Vince didn’t have much to do except wait.

Then Red appeared with Ramona, holding her by the arm.

“Red wants her meal before we leave.”

Ramona looked at Vince, then looked down at her feet.

Well that’s one way to pass the time.

***

The Gryphons banked hard and came in low into the designated landing field for the Heavy Cavalry.

The numbers of ridable mounts were increasing every hatching, but were nowhere near enough to outfit the entire group.

It was more than enough to travel safely and to distant locations for Vince and his inner circle though.

No sooner than the Gryphon stopped and waddled to one side, than Vince saw a number of people waiting for him to one side.

“Looks like I won’t be seeing you tonight,” Mouth said, pressing herself up against his back.

“More than likely not,” Vince said with a chuckle.

“I’ll speak to the grove-mother about Ramona later. No need to trouble yourself,” Mouth said.

Vince nodded his head and then pulled on the reins to his personal Gryphon.

It pulled up short and stopped in the grass.

Dismounting there, Vince turned and held his hand out to Mouth.

Taking the hand she got down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you dear. Now go say hi to everyone. They haven’t seen you in quite a while,” she said.

Vince didn’t argue, and turned and walked towards where everyone was waiting for him.

He immediately spotted Fes at the front.

In his mind’s eye, she’d always be the wild green skin, dark haired and eyed warrior from his memory.

She’d changed little in the years since he met her, though it was obvious to him that she was aging.

Life in the Wastes was hard, and had a tendency to shorten lies.

Standing in front of her was Berest, his daughter. Who looked like a lighter skinned version of her mother.

Immediately to Fes’s left was Yaris.

The queen of Yosemite, his wife, and who he had only began to understand two years ago.

Built very much like the High Elves, Yaris had dark blonde hair with red streaks and bright blue eyes.

She held their son Falaein the second at her side.

Vince had felt odd naming it for his father in law, then simply went with it. It was easier to appease his queen than fight with her over something that wouldn’t harm the boy.

Petra the ant-soldier stood nearby. She hadn’t donned her armor in a while, and let her hair grow out. The bright blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and her crystal blue eyes watched him like a hawk.

Vince the second, their son, was sitting next to Keith and Mila, his children with Meliae.

The busty Dryad was, as ever, pregnant with what looked like twins again. She stood beside Petra, who had a protective arm around the smaller woman.

She’d also grown her pale white hair out, her eyes the normal Dryad green, and always inviting him to do terrible things to her.

I wonder where Thera, Eva, Elysia, Daphne, Karya, Blue, Green and the younger children are.

They were the rest of his wives, and they typically all remained together. It was a bit strange to not see the others.

“Fes greets her husband,” Berenga said, stepping up to Vince and hugging him tightly.

Fes and Yaris had fought for a full year on almost every single thing, before something had been resolved between them.

No one would tell him what it was, but he was glad for peace it had brought.

Though in situations like this, he could feel the tension between the two of them grow for a time.

Giving Fes a kiss, he hugged her tightly.

Berest plastered herself to his leg and hugged him tightly.

“Missed you dada,” said the Orc girl.

“Missed you too, sprout,” Vince said, hugging her tightly.

Berest gave him another tight hug and then she stepped back.

Fes gave him a shove toward Yaris as soon as their daughter had moved.

Bowing her head to him, Yaris gave him a bright smile.

“My king, I greet you gladly,” she said, before wrapping one arm around him and hugging him, pressing her head in close to him and giving him a quick kiss.

“Dada,” Falaein the second said, wrapping his arms around Vince’s neck.

“Hey buddy.”

“Dada hold.”

“Ok, dada will hold you. But I have to say hi to everyone, ok?”

“No, dada hold.”

Everyone chuckled at that, and before he could do anything, all the kids piled on him, hugging him from every angle.

Then they all broke into sobbing tears after one of them did.

Getting down on his knees, Vince pulled his kids into his arms and held onto them.

“Sorry. Dada was working, but he’s home now.”

Meliae and Petra were watching with smiles.

“The rest of the kids are all at home with the other half of your harem,” Meliae said, her voice playful as always. “You terrible, terrible brute of a man you. Giving so many of us children and fleeing all the time.”

Vince grimaced at that but couldn’t argue it. He hoped that soon he could settle things down and let others do the work.

Lately he was missing being a simple Ranger more than ever.

Take a mission here, stay at home for a while. See the kids. Take another mission a year later, maybe some courier work.

Nothing big. Nothing hard.

“This one greets her master and husband happily,” Petra said, smiling at him.

“Hello dear,” Vince said, looking at the ant-soldier.

Settling in on the grass right there, he decided he wasn’t going to leave this spot till his children weren’t crying their eyes out.

***

“No. No, I’m not,” Vince said firmly, looking at Elysia, Thera, and Eva in turn.

The three Elven women stared back at him as if he were the stupidest man in the world.

They ranged the entire spectrum as far as features went. From the high elven blonde blue eyed Elysia, to the dark eyed and dark haired Thera, and finally the brown haired, brown eyed Eva, they were all elves.

The very picture of elves.

Though pregnant elves. Each one was pregnant with their second child with Vince.

“Yes, you are, my liege,” Elysia said. “You need to do this, whether you want to or not. Duke Heint has requested your help personally. I agree with him,” Elysia said.

Yaris, Meliae, Fes, and Petra sat on his side of the table, but were nodding their heads.

“I haven’t been home more than a day, and you want me to head south,” Vince said. He used to dream of traveling constantly, and now he just wanted to sit in his home, and play father.

“Yes, master,” Eva said, reaching across the table and touching his hands. “We are. And we understand. We want you home, too. But… this is for Yosemite. For our children.”

Vince sighed and hung his head.

“My lord, it really is for the best,” Thera said. “Blue and Green already went south with Karya and Daphne. They’re doing what they can, but they need you.”

“Ok…” Vince said finally. “Ok. I just… I want to step down as the head of Yosemite. Or delegate out more of these responsibilities. I want to be home. I want to see our kids grow up, and not be traveling all the time.”

“I know, Sweetling,” Meliae said, snuggling up to his side. “We really do feel the same and we’re working on it.”

“Tell me what’s going on then. Give me the full rundown,” Vince said.

“Of course. First, we’ve heard from the north and east in the wastes. More villages, towns, and cities are pledging allegiance to Yosemite.

“It’s likely you’ll need to raise another Duke or Duchess for the Minnesota and Texas areas,” Elysia said, flipping open her ledger.

“Alright… do we have any candidates?”

“Not really. Though the area in Minnesota is much colder and has a rather good sized population of Dwarves,” Meliae added.

“Ok, what about Desk-”

“He said no, in advance,” Fes said, interrupting him. “He wants to remain the head blacksmith, that’s it.”

“Would we consider someone from Verix?” Yaris asked.

Fes nodded her head once sharply.

“Yes, that’s a good idea. There’s also a very large contingent of snow elves deeper in Canada,” Elysia said slowly. “Though, do you have any family members we could entrust it to?”

Yaris sighed, and touched her lip with a fingertip.

“I have a number of cousins, but let me think on it,” she said, then turned to Vince. “Would you be alright with it, my king?”

Vince nodded his head. He felt the same way Fes did.

Yaris had proved herself to be one of his wives, even if she and Fes didn’t see eye to eye all th etime.

“Think on who you’d think would work, and get back to Elysia,” Vince said.

“Of course, my king. Thank you. But… what do you think sisters?” Yaris said, looking to the other women. “You’re also the wives of Vince, are there anyone in your families who would fit?”

Everyone seemed deep in thought.

“Send my cousin to Texas,” Fes suddenly said. “It has a good sized Orc population. We can use it as a recruiting pool and to hold the boundary with the Tri-lliance.”

Yaris tapped the table rapidly.

“Yes, yes. Send him, that’ll work perfectly,” Yaris said, smiling at Fes who smiled back at her.

Such a strange friendship there.

“Now… the reason we need to send you to the south though, my liege,” Elysia said, jotting down a note in her ledger. “We believe the Tri-lliance is pushing in deeper and deeper raids.

“We keep getting reports of Lizardman packs that are moving around past our borders.”

“Are they substantiated… or is this a lot like those reports we were getting from the northern villages about a pack of Yeti’s eating their livestock,” Vince asked.

“Substantiated,” Thera said, then shook her head. “In a sad way I’m afraid. We came across a traveling caravan that was on their way from the empire to Yosemite from the far south.

“They were ambushed, my lord. One of our own patrols found them. A survivor said it was a pack of lizardman that attacked them, despite waving the Yosemite banner.”

That drove a spike of anger through Vince’s head.

The banner of Yosemite was respected across west coast to east coast as a neutral flag.

It didn’t matter where they went, they were welcomed and wished for visits.

Selling Dwarven merchandise and other items, Yosemite was a guest everywhere.

“On top of that, master,” Eva quickly added. “They didn’t take anything. They just killed everyone and fled.”

Vince raised his eyebrows at that. Not taking anything really just made it feel obvious.

To the point of stupidity.

But then again, the Lizardman are at best shock troops. They’re not out there to think through strategy or tactics.

“Blue and Green are heading to the south and east. Daphne and Karya to the south west. Kitch went with them,” Fes said. “I’m going to join them.”

“Oh?” Vince asked. Berenga didn’t often leave the city anymore. Her role as spiritual leader as Fes, was quite well known and many sought her out for advice.

“Yes, husband. I wish to go out one more time before I retire my blade. My arms grow weaker by the year, and I fear I’ll not be able to hold my title by combat soon,” Fes said, giving him a wide tusk showing grin. “Soon, I’ll only be Berenga, wife to Vince. And I’ll be happy.”

“This one will join Blue and Green,” Petra said. “This one is… aging… quickly. The life of a soldier-ant, is not long.”

Looking at Petra closely, Vince couldn’t deny that she did look as if she’d aged ten years in five. She had been a young woman when they met, and now she was much closer towards looking forty in human years.

“Do not fret for this one,” Petra said, smiling at him. “This one has led a very good life, and has provided two children for her husband. It is more than any soldier-ant could ask for.”

Vince frowned at that. He didn’t like all this talk about aging and dying and stepping down.

“We spoke of this, husband,” Fes said, touching his forearm. “My second and I are mortal. We’ll pass from this world while you remain young. It’s why I push so many talented women who will be able to live with you for all time.”

Vince didn’t say anything, but he laid his left hand atop Fes’.

In truth he hated this kind of talk, but he couldn’t deny it either.

He hadn’t aged a day since he’d become the grove for the Dryads.

With so many trees now inside him, it was unlikely that he’d ever die of old age.

And yet I cannot even begin to fathom a life without those two.