Of Monsters and Men

​

Teliana shrugged, bemused more then anything, and brushed off her skirts before heading towards the house. She rubbed her arms briskly to warm them as she entered the house, the door still hanging open by at least one hinge. Less of a fix when Zach woke up, she supposed. She absentmindedly put water on to boil as she wandered around the house, the space nearly as familiar to her as her own. Since becoming Zach's acquaintance, she had spent an absurd amount of time here, trying to find a fix for his...curse. She sniffed the tea leaves, and made a face. She had forgotten to get new ones on her way in. Well....if the vampire was going to be picky, then he would just have to deal with whatever she brought. And if he didn't like it, then she would drink it.

She dropped the leaves into the, well...singularly passably clean cup that she could find. They would just have to share that too. It was fine with her, being that the dish was more of a bowl then a regular tea cup. She waited a minute more for the water to finish boiling, lost in her thoughts.

​

Veera frowned, her hands more then a little twitchy. This strange man was just...stranger by the second, and she was unsettled by it. Veceslav had always taught her to trust her instincts, and then had further honed them so she would be ready for whatever monsters came her way. And more then most of those monsters came in the human form.

"You've led us here, must we go further? I thought this was the place we could stay, but you want us to go onwards. What lies behind the door?" She asked Solomon, not bothering to hide her suspicions. The mage was strange, but he wasn't stupid. She crossed her arms and waited for his answer.

​

Tessa took the man's payment with murmured thanks, counting the coins as her eyes grew bigger. She started to call out to him, protesting that it was way too much in return for the drink, but he was gone before she could get the words out. She had half a mind to chase him, after all the man had said he was short on cash, but surely he had known how much he had left? She stared down at the money, biting her lip in confliction as the desire to keep the extra coin warred with her morality to give the man back the over given amount.

​

Bryce nearly stumbled into the man who was exiting the bar, and put a hand out to steady the other male, who appeared to be limping. "My apologies, sir." He kept his eyes hooded, examining Raymond with interest while feigning concern. Well, not really feigning. He was genuinely concerned the man might fall over, and would deign to help him up if he could. "I must have been distracted." He had been, truthfully. The concerns over Tessa, warring with his worry over Seth compounded into frustration that he couldn't seem to find Zack, and that he felt something was wrong, very wrong, he just couldn't figure out exactly what.

 

​

Zephyr wasn't all that tired when he sat down on the cot and doing nothing but sit on it got boring real quickly, so Zephyr decided to have a little look around the study. The various books that he'd noticed had caught his interest and he was curious as to what they were all about. Whether or not he opened and read some of those books was a different story, but there was time to decide on that. Approaching the shelve the books were on, the first thing that Zephyr noticed was the number of war books that lined the shelves. Among the war books there were a few others of varying nature. Like how to run an orphanage, some notes from Terra (Though those weren't really books) and war medals. "Her husband must've been pretty well respected." Zephyr remarked, looking at the medals.

 

Raymond Mercator

Despite Bryce's hand trying to steady him he couldn't help but fall onto the cold hard streets, as his knees hit the stone he let out a cry of pain. With Bryce's help he got back onto his feet. "No... it's not your fault..." He said only then recognising the person as the other bloke from earlier. "I wasn't entirely focussing on where I was going.... lost in thoughts you see..." He said, he wasn't exactly lying "I'm sorry for your inconvenience." all the while he was the recipient of the most inconvenience out of it, he could feel it in his leg. He had to get away from this place. He shifted his weight to his bad leg and winced, that was going to take a bit more time to heal, but what was he to do? Get rest and die in a bed of starvation because no one was there to take care of him? He looked Bryce in the eyes for a moment, this one was her brother then? Atleast they could take care of each other. He had no one left, not since he ran. The sadness was present in his eyes. "I should go.... I'm sorry..." Raymond said as he prepared himself to walk away.

 

Ethan's pov:



He sat in the chair for some time. He was beginning to nod off. He must have been really tired. That was when the lady from before asked to be shown where her bed was. He then watched Corwyn lead Ellyn down the hall to what he was the bed rooms. That was it. He guessed that he should eat before he headed to bed. He did not know when the next opportunity would be available. There was always morning, but he had planned to be leaving then. With that he reached to his bag a pulled out some bread and began to eat it. the thought of fire flashed in his mind. 'Fire was there, burning a building and kept going. He could almost smell the smoke. it was almost like he was there.' Anyone that looked at him would just see someone deep in thought. He then seemed to snap out of it and continued to eat. Wherever he went fire was soon to follow and he could not help but thing that maybe this place maybe at the same fate. He was unsure if he should say anything or not. He was now done with the bread a began to look for something else to eat from his back. He was unsure what else was in the bag food wise, but there was only one way to find out.

Ava's pov:



~a few hours ago in a unknown location. Time seemed to speed up. After a few hours everything was set up for the plan. That was when she lit a match tossing it to the ground causing the area to go up in flames. ~hours later she had gone through and was able to get some money and gold form the places. It was now time to move on. It was getting rather dark and someone was sure to spot the smoke. For now it would be best to move on before someone came onto this place. She walked away from the place and it was now long gone. She then began to thing of what her next target would be.

 

​

Solomon acted harmlessly surprised as Veera questioned him "Well, beyond the door lies beds of course, you did not expect to sleep in a lobby did you?" Solomon chuckled again "anyway, do not worry you should be perfectly safe here, Nobody will notice you" Solomon stared idly at the door, if anyone was beyond it they surely would have heard, even still "But just in case let's check, OH NO WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?!" Solomon exclaimed as reached to thrust open the door. Let the chaos begin.

Willow nodded as she listened to the girl's speech about the orphanage, Gods she talks a lot doesn't she she thought cynically. "Thank you" she said to the girl, before laying her head down and pretending to go to sleep. After a while the other girl had gone to sleep, finally. Willow got out of the bed and slowly crept out of the room. Silently peeking into several rooms she eventually found the orphanage mistress lying in bed, the candles in the room still burning. Willow had been planning her attack for a while now but she had to be very careful here. She couldn't just stab the woman, if she was a mage there was a high chance of this going wrong. Also she didn't want to end up being incriminated, after all, a new girl arriving in the orphanage and the owner suddenly dying? Maybe she could pin it on the new guy? No too risky. Hmm. Her eyes caught the candles burning in the room. Silently Willow moved over to the side table, she wouldn't even need her knives. If questioned Terra would have to state she'd left them burning. Picking up a candle Willow moved silently with purpose. slowly and carefully she lit the corner of the bed on fire, it was dry cloth, sure to catch. After that she dropped the candle on the floor, making it look as though it had simply fallen and stepped back into the doorway. Still in the form of a little girl she stared into the room as the inferno slowly engulfed Terra's bed. Hopefully, she would never awake again.

 

Callum almost completely ignored everything that had happened, focusing solely on drinking constantly. It wasn't his problem, and he was being paid for it to become his problem, so what was the point? However, Tessa had been given more money and looked a little uncomfortable. Surely her drinks weren't that expensive? His first thought was that he could raise the price he was asking for, then he remembered she wasn't even paying him and didn't actually want him around. Getting up, he reached into his pocket and pulled out some coins. It wasn't that much, but it was enough to cover the drinks he'd had.

"May as well go after the guy. If nothing else he pays well, maybe you could get a higher paying job than a barmaid. Drinks weren't so bad, but if I'm not flat on my ass quickly there's no point in drinking" the Witcher said, slapping the coins just in front of Tessa. He started walking off, before stopping. "You might not want to pick names, but that's the only way to get rid of me. Change your mind and use a courier or something, people fear me but I'm not that hard to track down. Tell that other guy, the one that lead me to that place, the same thing. Least he's paying me" Callum said with a shrug, before walking out of the bar. If he couldn't silence his demons with alcohol, he'd have to do better. And he knew just the place to go.


Yana was watching carefully, not willing to give up the charade, especially when the angry glares of the villagers slowly turned to Annabelle (as decided by coin flip). One by one, the villagers stalked towards the little girl. Some of them had pitchforks, others had torches, and those that didn't had murderous intent plastered all over their face and that was all the weapon they needed against the young child. Unfortunately, Yana couldn't let her minion die. She'd used so much magic putting up the act that she was reasonably tired. In fact, as far as her magic went she could probably only work up a basic spell before having enough energy to run away.

Fortunately, a basic spell was just what she needed.

"W-wait! There's one more thing you have to know!" she said, stopping the fake tears as a wicked gleam appeared in the young witch's eyes. "You're aaaaaaaall gonna die" Yana claimed, releasing that wicked cackle she was so well-known for. With the flames in her left hand now appearing, and the flames in her right hand, she put them all together and thrust them downwards, releasing a searing wave of flame that radiated all around her, setting each of the villagers on fire. Many of them began screaming in pain, others just suffered silently, but one thing was certain; there was now almost no attention on Annabelle at all. Hopping down from her little podium, the witch rushed over to Annabelle and grabbed her arm, pulling it away. "Now, minion, this is your last test. Do this, and you're free. Make a portal to our camp, and everything will get better" she said. If Annabelle couldn't make the portal properly, a lot of running was going to have to happen, and she simply didn't have the time for that.​

 

​

Teliana finished making the tea as a shiver ran up her spine. Strange. She shook it off and grabbed the cup, moving out of the house with nearly silent grace, a frown on her lips. "Here." she handed the vampire the cup, too preoccupied with her thoughts to gauge his reaction. "We have to share the cup. Unless you want it all. I can survive without. And if you don't like it then I'll just have it."

What exactly was going on?

​

Tessa shot a glance at Callum's retreating back, and stuck out her tongue in a most unladylike manner. "If you're not going to hang around I'm sure as hell not sending a courier for you." She muttered sullenly, closing her hands around the coin. Whatever. The extra she could drop off with some of the less fortunate dopplers. "I got this. You don't have to wait around, it's been a long day." Tessa turned to Seth as she grabbed up the abandoned mugs and glasses. "I've made my way home plenty of times before this, I don't think it'll be a problem."

​

Bryce was half tempted to say no problem and let the guy be on his way, but something about him seemed familiar. Maybe it was just the gait of another veteran, but he put his hand on Raymond's shoulder. "Excuse me, ser. Were you perhaps from Temeria? Or Aedirnian? It's a terrible tragedy, what happened."

​

Veera was half startled by Solomon's screaming, and by the movement behind the door. Without a second thought she reacted, stabbing her silver sword through the doorway and pivoting to rip it out before stabbing again. The young woman stared down at her victim, which convulsed once before falling limp. She dragged her sword free, revealing a young man, the sword steaming with the contact of his blood. Her medallion confirmed her suspicions. A doppler. Screams alerted her to the presence of others in the room. Her medallion was practically burning a hole in her skin as it thrummed. More of them. This mage had led her to a place that was filled to the brim with her natural prey. She didn't know how he had done it, or how he had known, if he had known, but she felt safe in not questioning him quite yet.

"Don't. Go. Anywhere." She told Solomon, unsheathing her second sword and holding them both easily in her hands as the screaming continued in the background. "I'm going to have questions for you. Aaron, with me."

She strode forward, blades flying and flickering in the lamplight, as the slaughter began. And if anyone tried to interfere, gods help them.

 

​

It was a courtyard. How she could tell wasn't really clear to her. There was no sky here, only the cavern ceiling to judge by. But they had entered a courtyard, and while some of the dopplers stayed to try and fight, most ran away. She could sense Aaron at her back, and it gave her a small amount of comfort, knowing she had an ally in this mess. She was wounded, she knew this too. It wasn't serious, just scratches. Her body's metabolism would take care of it once they were on the surface.

It was towards the end of the fight she noticed they were getting tougher, better with a sword. These weren't just citizens, hiding away from the world and their curse. These were trained men and women, trying to protect something. It was safe to say there was a bigger city beyond these courtyard walls, but as the last doppler was cut down, falling dead at her feet, her intuition warned her it would not be safe to wander. Better that they should retreat, heal themselves, and come back better prepared.

She motioned silently to Aaron, turning to bolt back through the door they had come. The mage stood in the way, damn him, and she decided that she would attempt to drag him through the doorway so that they could close the door. If he didn't want to come with, he would be shut out. If he did, then he would be in the same room as them, which was the apparent basement of an inn.

Before the door shut, Veera did her best to cover the identity of the door. If they searched hard enough, they would find it, but a cursory glance wouldn't give anything up. She hoped the survivors wouldn't be able to identify where they came from, or all hope to use this entrance would be lost.
"Coming?" She turned to Solomon, her blood stained hands on the door, ready to slam it shut and bar it from the other side.

​

"I don't think anyone could be a waste of space." Tessa remarked, shoving the dirty dishes in the sink. She hesitated, wishing desperately to leave them behind but knowing they would still be waiting the next day. With a sigh, she pushed her sleeves up to her elbows and stuck her hands in the cold water, reaching for the sponge.

"So what did Bryce offer you?" She said with a sigh, shoving the clean dishes into the other side. She would rinse them off tomorrow. At least they would be clean, and it would be easy work. "You're not the kind of person that does something free of charge. You want something, or he offered."

 

Veceslav Furst

Veceslav's journey to Novigrad went off without a hitch after he had killed the Cockatrice he had run into. He had asked the guards at the gate if they had seen any other witchers recently, no valuable information to be gained. He knew it wouldn't be that easy, his scion wouldn't make a mistake like that but it never hurt to check. He sold some of the ingredients harvested from that Cockatrice and made his way to a rather specific tavern, the Nightshade. It had been ages since he had spoken to his friend, but hecould use some help at this moment, one of his oldest students was going on a genocidal rampage. He had to find her and quickly, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Veera didn't know nor did Derrick, but after the attack on the Kaer he himself in a blind rage had gone on a similar terror campaign, he had gotten in way over his head and nearly gotten himself killed. The man he was about to meet did know about it, he had stopped him before it was too late. He ordered a drink and sat down, it wasn't too long before his friend had appeared, he had aged, quite a bit even. "Good to see you again, Crow" The man said, ordering himself a drink. "Likewise, Sigmund... wish it'd be under better circumstances though." The crow replied. They sat there with their drinks talking about trivial things first and when they were done they left together to find a more private place to talk about the issue. "It's her.... she's been in Novigrad recently and well when she finally came to the Kaer where I thought she'd be wintering she said something about wanting to murder all the dopplers... She stormed off I figured it'd be best to leave her for a bit, but she left together with one of the younger ones.... I gotta stop her..." Sigmund looked at him "I'll put out some feelers, see if anyone seen or heard something about witchers, I'll also have some people watch for dead people turning up. If I learn anything you're the first to know." Veceslav thank his old friend, they had worked together on the trials of witchers and they were responsible for the first female witchers. They caught up on times long since passed as they hadn't seen each other in years.

Raymond Mercator

He felt the hand on his shoulders and looked at the man next to him. "It's really that obvious then, isn't it... Aye.. I am not from around here, I am from Aedirn...or rather was from Aedirn. I fought in several battles, my last one I was there, the Black Ones were crossing the Yaruga, Demavend dead, no ruler in place. Luckily the nobility could atleast organise some sort of defense...The second Temerian Army under John Natalis supported us along the Mount Carbon - Dol Blathana line we held for three days then they smashed our lines to splinters... I was run down by one of those bastards, broke my leg... only survived by playing dead..." He stopped as the emotions were overwhelming him "I'm sorry, I shouldn't bother a stranger with this." He hadn't even told the worst, he was ashamed of himself for what he did, he should have died on that battlefield... there was no honour for cowards like himself. He left his wife and children to die. He felt the sword by his side, one of the few things from that old life, the sword that had been his father's before his.

 

​

Solomon laughed as Veera went beyond the door and began slaughtering Dopplers. His laughter echoed around menacingly as he watched the wichers' rampage. This was just brilliant, he'd let a wolf loose amongst the sheep and who knew what could stop her rampage. Slaughter, massacre, death. Oh how beautiful it was. "The sanctuary, heh, no longer as safe as it seemed" Solomon skipped along as Veera invited him along with them, he waltzed around the bodies, humming a little tune. The consequences of what he'd done filled him with joy, there was clearly nothing purer than extinction. The witchers had played right into his hands. First it would be the dopplers, every single one eradicated from the surface of the planet. Solomon's hum rose into a song, a creepy song, in any other context it would be an upbeat tune, but as the necromancer danced and hopped around the slaughterhouse it sounded... eerie. Then what after dopplers, werwolves? Vampires? Mages? it mattered little, but the important thing was that last of all had to be humans. And Solomon would watch and laugh as every human on the planet turned on each other, they hated each other enough, he barely had to do a thing. The perfect ending would be Solomon, alone, standing amongst the dead, their tormented souls calling to him.

Then, and only then, would Solomon grant himself permission to die.

Solomon stopped and grinned at Veera "Welcome, my dear, to Sanctuary"

​

"Ah, thank you kindly" Vyle stated as he accepted the cup and took a massive swig "This is good tea, have some" he offered the cup back. He sat in silence for a moment longer "You know, most people despise me simply because of what I am, but I admire that you've stayed behind. Aren't you afraid I'm going to drink your blood?" Vyle asked with a smile on his lips "After all, I am a "horrible bloodthirsty vampire", eating people is kind of what we do"

 

​

The young one was feisty. Solomon chuckled as Aaron held him against the wall "Ah, the boy has tasted the fruits of the seeds that have been sown, and found them bitter" Solomon did not struggle as the boy held him but stared into his eyes. Although no part of Solomon's face was showing he managed to exude an attitude of complete and utter apathy. Apathy towards the lives of the dopplers, apathy towards the life of Aaron, and most importantly, apathy towards his own life. "Go ahead, kill me. I dare you. But first you might want to have a talk with your friend" Solomon nodded at Veera "I want to make a plan to eradicate the dopplers" For a moment Veera's voice came out of Solomon's mouth "She wants to kill them all, every woman, every child, every murderer and every innocent. Every doppler who lives among unsuspecting humans and every one who lives in isolation. This is not going to be easy, they are everywhere. There are doppler farmers, doppler bakers, doppler innkeepers, doppler killers, doppler peasants and doppler noblemen, doppler knights and doppler assassins, your friends may be dopplers, your enemies may be dopplers. You cannot eradicate a race of people by just killing left and right, you need a plan. Cut off the head and the body will die, and I've just brought you to the head" Solomon indicated the door with his head, never taking his gaze off Aaron "Under the city of Oxenfurt lies Sanctuary. Haven of the dopplers, the one place they can be safe. As long as Sanctuary remains you cannot destroy the dopplers, but with the city threatened dopplers everywhere lose their insurance" Solomon leaned in close to the boy "So, have you lost your heart now you're here? Do you no longer wish to follow miss Veera into oblivion and hellfire? The boy has tasted the fruits of the seeds that have been sown, and found them bitter"

Weather magic, it just HAD to be weather magic. Willow thought as Terra dissolved the rain clouds she had so handily used. Willow, as Sara, looked up in wonder at the orphanage matron "...Are... are you a mage?" she asked innocently "I'm sorry... I promise I won't tell anyone miss Terra... I'm sorry..." she scrunched up her face and began to cry "I just... heard something fall over... and came because... I was scared... and couldn't sleep... and I saw the fire and... I was so worried... and scared and... I'm sorry" Sara looked down at her feet. What a pitiful act, but at least it would ensure Terra didn't suspect her, after all, who would suspect a little girl?

 

​

Veera watched Aaron through narrowed eyes, as she took stock of the injuries that had been dealt to her body. She did agree, she wanted to know how Solomon knew of this place, and why he had decided to bring them here, but she also agreed with Solomon that it was a gift of immeasurable wealth, to her especially. "Aaron, let him go." She stepped forward, ready to intervene if necessary. "We are monster hunters. Our medallions are magicked to tell us when such creatures are nearby. Did you not feel the thrumming as we battled? We didn't kill people, we killed monsters. We did our duty. That's all."

​

Teliana sipped the tea cautiously, to avoid burning herself. A sore throat on top of everything else was one of the last needed things on her list. "Why am I not worried?" She asked absently. "Because if you really wanted to do something I doubt there's honestly much I could do to stop you. You have many more abilities then I do, and I would assume after how long you claim to have lived that you know how to use them effectively. So I don' t stand much of a chance surviving whether I take a stand or run away."

She glanced at Vyle before handing the cup back. "I'd rather die with my feet on the ground and my fire in my hand then running away like a child."

​

Tessa shrugged, wiping her hands on the cloth before turning to Seth. "I have an extra room at my residence, or else I'm sure there's room at the inn. We'll find a place for you." She grabbed her keys and the lock before heading towards the front door and turning the lock. "We'll go out the back." She grabbed the small bag that held the day's earnings and shoved it in its hiding spot beneath the floorboard, not paying any mind that Seth might have seen. She headed out towards the back and held the door open for Seth, sliding the lock into place. "Thanks, anyway." She told Seth as she waited for him.

​

Bryce offered a sympathetic shoulder pat in return to Raymond's statements. "Sometimes it's better to live and fight another day. And if you hadn't played dead, you would have still died regardless, yes?" Bryce didn't add that he thought it was a little ironic, and symbolic. By Raymond pretending to be dead, perhaps the soldering part of him also died that day. "Sometimes strangers are the ones that understand us better. We can't be judged by strangers like we can by our close friends." He sighed. "Perhaps this city holds the key to the redemption you're trying to find."

​

Zack heard the screams, and he really didn't want to go towards them. But another part of him wanted to impress Bryce, to help the man that had rescued him. "Why oh why do I keep making bad decisions?" He asked out loud as he took off down the street. Two minutes into the run and he had a stitch in his side. One woman ran past him, screaming about murderers. Perfect. Another perfect day.

He skidded around a corner, yanking the fakely iron dagger out from his belt, and stopped. The metal clattered to the ground with a clang as he stared at the massacre, mouth agape. Blood splattered the stone walls, the street, and the wood paneling of the building. There was no sign of the monsters who had done this, not even a foot print.

"By all the gods." Zack whispered, sinking to his knees. The blood seeped towards him, staining his trousers. "Who could have done such a thing?"

It was then the crowd began to gather, and the screaming really started. Zack turned, eyes searching wildly. They caught someone standing on the edge of the forming crowd, the normally cloaked head bared as brown eyes stared at the scene in shock. "Find Bryce." Zack whispered hoarsely, unable to look back at the disaster behind him. "Find him."

 

​

Still looking at some of the various books that were on the shelves in the study, Zephyr found this to be uninteresting without actually grabbing the books and looking through their contents. Part of him did want to see what was inside some of those books, but those desires were outweighed by the fact that it wouldn't be right to do so considering with Terra's doing for him. Since his options where limited anyway, he decided to move away from the shelf and lay down on the cot for now.

Once situated on the cot, Zephyr directed his gaze at the ceiling. It was a plain one at that so simply staring at it served no good what so ever. Zephyr couldn't help but to sigh, maybe he should've taken some of the books he used to read back home along with him. Least that way he would have something to do right now. Oh well, it was too late the change the past now. All he could do was to move forward and deal with what was present before him.

Speaking of the present, not too long after laying down on the cot, he could've sworn that he was smelling smoke. He then sat up on cot and gave the air another sniff. He was indeed smelling smoke and nearby at that. This lead Zephyr to move towards the door and look down the hall. Although it was barely visible now there was still smoke coming out the room. A closer look revealed that the room the smoke was coming from turned out to be Terra's room, in which both her and Sarah were there. "Was something burning, I smelt smoke?" Zephyr then noticed the knocked over candle. Did that start a fire here?

 

Raymond Mercator

He once more felt a pat on the shoulder the man had a point he was still alive. "Aye, maybe I haven't fulfilled whatever purpose I was brought into this world for. This city will be an entirely fresh start for me. I'll make the most out of it or die trying. And really it's not like I'm a mage that lives for years and years and years and just won't die. If I got another 20 years then that's fine by me." He said feeling more determined to get through this all. "Thank you kind stranger, and you are right, I can't judge you on anything but your act of kindness. And such an act is all I need to know you're a good and caring man." He now had a bit of an idea as to what the argument earlier in the bar with his younger sister. "I would like to repay you I know you didn't do much for me, but if there's ever anything I could do to help you out, I could probably be found on the outskirts of the city." He considered asking the man for his name for a moment, but the way he had spoken he didn't seem to be the type that was looking to become acquainted with him, but it also seemed rude to just walk out on the man and he was pondering on what to do next.

 

​

Veera crossed her arms over her chest, watching Aaron. "I value life too. All witchers do. We are called to protect those lives from the monsters that seek to take them. It's not fair, and it might not be right, but it is the way we must do things. Do you think an eagle feels bad for killing a fawn? Or a griffin that kills a foal or takes a child? None of these animals feel anything but hunger for their prey. We are the sword and the shield that protects the young from being taken too soon. Dopplers are not animals, no they are far more intelligent. They are not unlike vampires, and werewolves. None of them ask to be what they are, but it is their way to fight against us just as we fight against them. Every creature will try to escape when they think their life is in danger. Life is precious to everything in this world, something worth fighting tooth and nail for."

Her fingers dug into her arm, and her eyes narrowed, but her face remained calm, and her voice flat. "It's always been an argument of morality. Do you save the few, or the dozens? The individual, or the masses?" she dropped her arms, and turned away. "It's your decision, but I have chosen to save the masses. And if that takes the sacrifice of a few, I will bear the burden so that no one else has to."

She hoped Aaron would stay with her, but she couldn't ask him to. If he chose to leave, however....her heart grew heavy. She couldn't afford Veceslav finding out where she was. And she couldn't trust Aaron's word, if he was disillusioned.

​

Tessa smiled at Seth, a little wryly. "I'm not sure why tonight of all nights, I need a bodyguard, but thank you. I'm sure there are many other beautiful women that miss your attention." She twisted the knob to make sure the door was locked, before turning and walking down the alleyway, hands locked behind her back as she stared up at the barely visible stars. "Perhaps that's who I need guarding from. Your old girlfriends."

​

Bryce held out his hand for the veteran to shake. "Bryce. Bryce of Oxenfurt. Born, bred, and never left."

Not strictly a lie, but not strictly true. And that was the balance he was comfortable with walking.