Of Monsters and Men

Raymond Mercator

While he was pondering as to what exactly to do the answer presented itself. The man held out his hands and introduced himself as Bryce of Oxenfurt. While the last name was odd nearly fit of nobility the man didn't seem to have that same air around him as that bunch. He took the hand a gave a firm handshake, despite the broken leg he still had all the strength in his arms, the kind of strength one only got from working long days in the fields. "Raymond Mercator, born near Aldersberg, bred in the Aedirnian countryside, lost everything and now we're here. Pleased to make your acquaintence, Bryce." He said, the feeling was entirely geniune it made him feel less alone around here. To have atleast someone to talk to, a familiar face. He wasn't sure, maybe Bryce had felt it in him that he had been on his last straws, but now he felt a lot better, prepared to not go down without a fight. "If you ever need a sword at your side, for whatever reason, Bryce, I would be honoured to stand with you." He said, eventhough his leg would play hell on his footwork he felt confident he would still be able to fight.

 

"I'll figure something out. In any case... You'll have no luck in a place like this. In a bigger city, perhaps we'll find a healer for you." Derrick answered. He had no idea what to do about this woman's situation. It was clear that everything was out of his hands, so he would need to do something else. Going to a city was probably the best idea. Oxenfurt was an academic place. The university there probably had some decent scholars who could help her. Also, it would mean that he could make that meeting he had arranged with Olivia. He clicked his fingers and looked back at Tiana. "I have an idea. Oxenfurt university has a school for doctors there. If you're willing to ride, I can take you there." Derrick said, showing some adult sense. If he could get away with it, this was the last he'd play sensible. He was usually sensible. He couldn't afford not to be at the moment, but hopefully with a bit of luck that would change soon. He looked over at Kreuz.
"If we do leave, that does of course mean that you'll have to leave." He pointed out. The Crow had trusted him to look after this place. If he was going to abandon ship, he'd do it knowing that it should be safe. At least for now. ​

 

​

Evander sat on the edge of a bed in an empty room somewhere in the brothel. The girl who had serviced him a left a short while ago, and he was lest in a stifled silence, staring vacantly at the floor, something like regret shimmering in his eyes.
The visit had managed to still the restlessness that usually drove him to this establishment, but as always he was left... unsatisfied. Not with the sex or the girl, both were as good as they came. It wasn't something he wanted to think too deeply about. He was sure that it would drive him mad to face the truth.
His musing was interrupted by the door opening and the entrance of a tall man with strangely white hair. It wasn't white with age, the man's face indicated he was somewhere in his thirties, so Evander could only assume it was dyed. Probably a fashion statement, a lot of the wealthier denizens of Novigrad adorned themselves in bizarre manners.
Evander watched the man curiously, wondering what he had come for. He knew who it was already; this was the man known as Henry Holden, at least within these walls, and Evander had had a few dealings with him before.

After a few moments of the two men simply staring at each other, Henry broke the silence. "Hello my man," and stepped towards Evander.
"I'm guessing you want something," Evander stated somewhat suspiciously.
Henry smiled thinly at this. "The correct response would have been something along the lines of, "Why, hello! How good it is to see you! And how are you?" Don't you think?" Stopping in front of Evander, Henry handed him one of two glasses of whiskey he held in his hands, which the other mechanically took. "But I suppose you never were one for niceties," he sighed.
Evander chuckled mirthlessly in response. "Neither are you. I doubt you came here to say hello and have a drink with me," he said pointedly before sipping at his drink.
"Very astute," Henry remarked, tapping his glass thoughtfully. Silence once again descended on the room, one wrapped in his own thoughts and the other trying to guess what the other was at. Henry suddenly perked up, and began talking about something that seemingly had just popped into his head. "Novigrad is nice this time of year, isn't it? What with the festival coming up, there's stalls up all over the place, and so many people coming in from the surrounding towns. Don't you like it?"
Evander ignored the question, instead glaring at Henry. Get the fuck on with what you have to say.
Henry in turn ignored Evander's pointed silence, and continued on. "Of course, with more people, there's inevitably more crime. In fact, I recently heard about a young woman's home that was broken into, and when the neighbors went to see what was going on, both the man entering and the woman had, well, vanished. An impossibility, of course," he smiled at Evander, beginning to pace around the bed.
Evander nodded slowly in return, now glaring at the floor, an uneasy feeling creeping in the pit of his stomach.
"A child claiming to have seen the man break in said that he used the earth to break in, but of course she was dismissed as talking a load of shit. Curious how we never listen to childre- "
"Cut the crap out," Evander roared, still glowering at the floorboards. "It was me, you know that. Why the hell does any of that interest you?"
Henry had now reached the other side of the bed, and was behind Evander. Evander couldn't see it, but he could hear the smirk on Henry's face. "It just so happens that the girl in question was a prostitute, and owed a lot of money to some nasty people. Not quite my competitors, of course, but I keep tabs on them all the same. They're looking for information on both the girl and the man."
"Did you give them any?"
"Course not. I didn't know where you were, and certainly not the whereabouts of the girl. But I thought I'd mention it to you."
"Why?" Evander asked flatly. It wasn't for his benefit, he was sure.
"There's a reward for bringing her back, as well as for information. Perhaps you and I could figure something out?"
Evander spat on the ground. "Yeah, you'd like that. Well fine then. I heard some noise and broke into the house. Nothing of interest there. Inside I found the girl, a young man, and... a Witcher." He said this last bit with a vague tone of triumph in his voice.
"And?" Henry demanded through clenched teeth.
"And then I teleported them to Kaer Morhen at the Witcher's request."
The sound of shattering glass ripped through the air. Looking over his shoulder, Evander could see Henry looking down curiously at his now bloodied hand, cut by the fragments of the glass he had crushed. "Interesting," Henry said softly.

Sensing that he had for once won against the brothel owner, Evander decided that now would be the time to leave. He tightened his robes and went to the door. "I'll be going then."
Still examining his hand with complete interest, Henry called after the mage. "Like I said, they pay for information. I... don't want to be involved, but... perhaps you could pay off some of your own debts."
Evander grinned back at him. "Don't tell anybody shit about me. I know secrets of yours as well."
The sickly yellow eyes of the man known as Henry flashed dangerously at Evander. "You should go."
With that, Evander left the room, and quickly made his way down through the building and out onto the street before Henry changed his mind.

"Pay off my own debts, eh?" Evander muttered quietly as he started to plod down the street. "Not at a young girls cost though."

 

Will's pov:



He has been sitting in the corner of the brothel keeping to himself. He was watching and waiting for the right moment. Then that was it. He then saw the man he has been waiting for. He spotted Evander leaving. He had to get going. The man was possibly the only one that knew anything. He still thought he looked like he saw him somewhere before, but could not place it. Whatever the case it was time to go. He waited a while then went out of the brothel following Evander and keeping a good distance. He was not sure how to approach this man, perhaps something would come up. Whatever happened there was only one thing and that was answers. He heard the man saying something to himself, but was not sure what it was. Maybe he was just thinking about what had happened in the brothel. He for one did not want to know what had happened. He saw how the man drunk and it was not something he was into. The girls in the brothel he felt bad for, but there was nothing he could do for them right now.

Ethan's pov:



He pulled out some more food out of his bag and began to eat that. He noticed that the noise level in the inn was starting to die down. He finished the food and closed his bag. He decided that he would walk around for a bit. He stood up and began to walk around looking at the various things in the inn. He wondered where the people from the in came from. Well questions could wait to morning. He the noticed that it seemed that there were not that many people left up. He then took a seat again and decided that he would head to bed soon after a little bit.

 

​

After the two witchers had their confrontation there was a silence. Until that silence was rudely broken by Solomon clapping "Bravo, bravo!" Solomon applauded "So I suppose we shall continue? Excellent. As I mentioned, beyond that door lies the key to destroying the dopplers forever. There will be more guards alerted by the commotion but I'm sure they're no match for you" Solomon stopped and cocked his ear. The restless souls of the slaughtered were calling out to him, their voices strained and distant. They sang a song of loss, Solomon hummed softly and it almost seemed as though the shadows were dancing behind him. So many dead, so many souls who did not understand what they did to deserve this, who could not comprehend that it was the nature of life to disappear. Although the room was silent Solomon alone could hear a chorus of voices, rising together in a cacophany of fear and sadness. The only way Solomon cold drown out the overwhelming emotion of a sea of souls was to join the harmony and sing along. My children of death, oh what torment I have wrought upon you. But worry not, for you shall return. Suddenly Solomon returned to reality. "I will guide you into the city and assist you as much as I can but after that I will have to leave" More souls call, more torment may be delivered. The melody of life must come to an end and be replaced by the harmony of death. Don't worry Aaron, Tiana will be quite safe...

​

Vyle smiled as the girl spoke "You certainly are brave, braver than most humans I've met. But yes you are quite right, if I wanted to kill you... well let's not go into that. Whatever the case I do not wish to cause you any harm, I value human lives above all else. But unfortunately, just like the rest of my kind, I still must feed" Vyle rubbed his stomach slightly "It's been far too long since my last meal, I was going to feed on that necromancer, I try to avoid feeding on the innocent and only feed on criminals and killers"

​

"Yes... I understand" Willows said softly as Sara, drying the tears on her rags. She looked up at the other ma, Zephyr, he was called. Willow wondered if he could be of any use to her plans. She tugged meekly on the man's sleeve "Before you take me back to my room... can you please... come outside with me?" Willow coughed "I want fresh air... and I don't... I don't want to go out alone"

 

Derrick nodded along with what she was saying and started thinking to himself. There was bound to be a solution here somewh- Wait. That was it. She had given him the solution to her problem and she hadn't realised it. Of course, it meant something serious for him. It would mean that he had to get involved and risk his life. He thought about it. Did he really want to get involved in this? He thought about it. He was a master of the Axii Sign, and that meant that he had more sway over people than most. There were risks involved. It would involve using Tatiana as bait to lure the people coming after her out. They were probably average collectors. Threatening enough to a young woman with nowhere to go, to most people truly. But Derrick was a Witcher. He was faster and stronger than they were. He had the Sign of Axii. And he had a damn good sword. The problem was, there was still a risk. And there was no pay for this job. And he was a monster slayer, not a killer. Nor did he know which city that she came from. He looked down at her, his mouth set in a hard line. There was always the payment. The option he offered to people with little else to give. She was wounded, crippled and abused by the looks of her. He wouldn't give that option until there was no other. And he considered something else. New as he might be, Aaron was still a Witcher, a part of their brotherhood. What would he think if he demanded that of his sister? Finally, Derrick spoke.
"You don't have to run anymore. I have an idea." Derrick spoke. He looked her in the eyes. "These people who are coming for you. They're average. They're human. Debt collectors. They're not professional soldiers or swordsmen. I'm a Witcher. If we go to the city, we can bait them out. I don't even need to kill them. I'm a master of the Axii Sign. It allows a certain amount of influencing of people's minds. In my hands... I can find the person who wants you, and I can make him forget your debts. I could even make him forget you even existed. If that didn't work... I could kill him. End his life right there and then. After that, you wouldn't even matter. His business would be through." ​

 

Darick's pov:

He walked over to the group of two people, one that just killed many people with fire. Anger in his eyes. The girl (yana) asking the other to make a portal. He saw she was to young to do so. "If I make one you will promise to leave her alone and never bother her again, you will do a magical promise, saying this." (totally made this up, think harry potter's unbreakable promise)

 

​

"I figured as much." Kruez replied. It wasn't like he had all that many alternatives on what to do since he was still tagging along with them just for the hell of it. Evidently the only issue with Derrick's plan were the people who would be looking for her. As problematic as that sounded, there wasn't much that Kruez could thing to do to resolve that. Well anything not involving a conflict of sorts.

Not having anything else to add, Kruez crossed his arms and leaned back a bit in the chair he was sitting in. Not enough for there to be any noticeable difference in how the chair was seated, but just enough to make him a bit more comfortable. Hearing Tatiana's attempt to ask him something, he looked towards her before answering. "If you're asking why I'm still here, it's cause I don't have anything else to do nor anywhere to go." He's mostly spent his time traveling and staying at whatever place he could afford at the time. Plus there was something he still needed to do, so traveling helped.

​

At least the fire had been put out. Zephyr wasn't sure just how Terra managed to put out the fire, but judging from whatever method she used he figured that she could handle the rest herself. Now as for walking Sara back to her room, the little girl had wanted to go outside for some fresh air first. "Sure." He didn't see much wrong with taking her out to get some fresh air. Seeing as Sara still held on to a part of his sleeve, he used that hand to gently hold her hand took her towards the entrance.

 

​

Veera shrugged at Aaron's response, secretly impressed with the man's intelligence. "If that's how you have to sleep at night, so be it." She half smiled at the thought of Aaron bringing Veceslav news of her death. "Somehow, I don't think the old man would take out his disappointment on the messenger. But I appreciate the thought." She turned to Solomon. "If you know of a safe place to stay, I would prefer we move there as quickly as possible. I don't think my comrade or I are in the best of shape to take on armed forces."

Not to mention she could use some rest. And maybe some liquor to wash down the taste of battle.

​

Teliana wrapped her arms around her knees, the toes of her shoes poking out from underneath her dress. "Yeah, that necromancer..." She shuddered, remembering the events from earlier that day. "He shouldn't be able to do that. Bring the dead back. I haven't seen that magic since...." Well, Yana could do some pretty messed up things, but she had never done something quite like that. "How did you find someone like that? He doesn't seem like a mage you would just find wandering along the road." she asked Vyle.

Part of her was genuinely curious, the other demanded to know information on this adversary in case they ever met again. Because, after all, it wasn't that big of a world.

​

Tessa turned her head to look at Seth as she walked down the road, the cobblestones shining in the moonlight. It usually entranced her as she walked, but not tonight. Tonight she had something else to pay attention to. "I know Bryce cares, but really, sometimes he cares too much. Instead of letting me keep the bar open at night, he only allows it during the day." Granted, if she had run a doppler only bar in Sanctuary, then it would have been a different story, but she wanted to see the sun, smell the fresh air, and hear the sounds of people and animals. She didn't want to live underground, like a dwarf. That wasn't what she was made for.

"I'm sure someone out there is wondering where you are, and hoping you're okay. No matter if we have family or not, we touch other people's lives. I'm sure they think about us every once in a while. I know I do."

She shrugged. "And if they don't, then they're not really experiencing life as they should, are they? Do you ever do that? Wonder about people you've met and talked to?" She imagined that Seth had a great deal many more people to worry about then she did; after all he had traveled all over.

​

Bryce felt a shiver run down his spine at Raymond's words. Intuition, his mother would have called it. His da would have called it a gut feeling. Whatever it was, Bryce had a bad feeling about it. "Thank you, sir. That's very kind to offer." he replied with an easy smile.

Just then, one of his spies, his little birds, as he called them, darted down the street, passing by his shoulder. That was all it took to impart the information the bird had, before the cloaked figure darted away. Bryce stood still for a moment, his brain too shocked to demand action of his body.

"I...I have to go. I'm sorry sir. I'm sure we'll meet again."

In fact, I think I'll be able to guarantee it.

Despite how rude it was, Bryce turned and started walking quickly down the street. As much as he wanted to run, it would attract all the wrong kinds of attention. It can't be true..But his birds had never steered him wrong before. He disappeared down the manhole, making sure the grate covered up his passage, before breaking into a run. He didn't stop running until he made it to the square, where Zack kneeled in a puddle of blood, and one of his worst nightmares had come true.

 

​

"Very well" Solomon stated evenly "When you're ready I will find you" With that Solomon stepped backwards into a portal and disappeared from view. The room with Veera and Aaron in seemed to get slightly lighter and the shadows were still.
Above, on the streets of Oxenfurt, the dark mage stood. The souls still called to him, singing their song of fear. So many dead. The energy filled Solomon as he gracefully accepted their souls. Soon. Soon he would be strong enough. Slowly Solomon took out the locket "Soon. Soon. we will be together". Suddenly Solomon heard people approaching and the door to the building he was next to opened. Ducking into a back alley Solomon hid himself in the shadows.

​

As soon as Zephyr took her outside Willow ducked around the corner of the building, evading the man. While out of sight she began the transformation process. Suddenly she felt a presence beside her."Who's there?" she hissed quietly
"You can't stay hidden forever, little doppler" a voice stated from the gloom "they will find you" it was an unnerving voice, something that sounded like it didn't belong to any normal person
"Where are you?" she whispered as she peered into the shadows, but she could not see the source of the exclamation. Who will find me? What is he talking about? She decided to put it out of her mind, the voice had fallen silent so she assumed it had left, she could worry about it later, right now she had a job to do. Silently she readied her weapons.

Solomon stood back, he was curious about this situation. And the way the doppler woman held those blades made him smile grimly, she wasn't playing around. She was here to kill.

​

Vyle was silent for a moment as he considered what Teliana had said and recalled what he knew of the necromancer "Solomon is... very very old. Older than most mages. Not as old as me, but impressive age for a mortal. I've heard reports, stories, about him, a strange black clad man wandering the land causing torment wherever he goes. These stories are dismissed by most as fallacy, after all, raising the dead is not a very common thing. But I paid attention. I finally managed to track him down today. And now he's gone again. But wherever there is chaos and torment, Solomon is not far"

 

Well shit, literally seconds after stepping foot outside, Sara ran around to the corner of the building. Evidently she wanted a bit more than fresh air. No matter, Zephyr didn't waste much time in going after the little girl. He'd started to turn the same corner that she did when he heard a voice down the alley. It wasn't a voice that he recognized and he was positive that Sara had gone this way. Zephyr then decided to take a quick peek to see just whose voice he'd heard. He certainly didn't see Sara, but he did see some random lady with what looked to be weapons in her hands. This brought about some questions, but for now Zephyr decided to watch from where he was hiding for the time being.

 

Raymond Mercator

Something odd had happened, a stranger darted past and there was a change in the man. He tensed up and all of a sudden decided he had to leave. Raymond feigned ignorance of it all and spoke up "It is fine, I wouldn't have been able to stick around long anyways and I too am sure we shall meet again." He watched the man walk away from him. He stood in the darkened street, left by himself. He considered following him to where ever the man was going, but decided against it it wasn't his place, if he needed him he would have asked about it. He turned around and walked in the opposite direction, so now what? He had been eager to get away from the people in that bar and it was a curious thing to note it was already closed down this early on the evening. But now he was all alone he wished he could be among them eventhough his mind may have gotten a little cloudy there for a moment. Maybe he could return the next day. Seeing it still wasn't too far into the evening he decided a nice walk would do him some good, despite it playing hell on his leg.

 

​

Curses, the man had seen her. It mattered little, swiftly she skittered backwards further into the alley "You can't protect the girl!" she called to him. When she was sure she was out of sight she deftly clambered up the side of a building and perched above, hidden in the darkness. But as she watched she began to see strange shapes appearing in the shadows. Was that... her? What was going on?

​

Solomon wondered where or not he should interject here, and instantly decided that of course he would. with a flick of a hand the shadows of the alley coalesced into an illusion that the man (Zephyr) would just about be able to see. It was the young girl who the doppler had been disguised as. And behind her he created an image of the assassin doppler herself grabbing at the young girl and taking her away, further back into the alley. Still stealthed in the shadows Solomon orchestrated this scenario, smiling ominously behind the mask.

 

​

Veera followed with a sigh. "I had hoped the mage would show, or take us to a better place, but I should have expected better. Mages." She said with disdain. A small small part of her wanted to apologize to Aaron for dragging him into this mess without a better plan, but the larger part of her refused. He was an adult, a graduate of the witcher school, and he should be prepared for all situations. If he wasn't, she would do her best to teach him, or at least keep him from death.

She opened the door for him, wiping the blood from her face with her sleeve. I desperately need a bath. And some ale. And a plan. "Aaron, we should take the alleyways to the river. We can wash the blood off there, and stay at an inn tonight. I have enough coin for such purposes." She hesitated. Aaron had promised to keep her safe. She shouldn't treat him like he was an inferior. "Is that alright with you?"

​

Right. About that. "Sorry I caused you to lose your quarry." she murmured, resting her chin on her knees. "It was short sighted of me to get involved in the matters between you two. There's just been so trouble that I didn't want a fellow mage hurt. I should have considered the circumstances."
The shiver that ran down her spine...was it because of Solomon? The gods giving her an inkling of what she had let happen, because the psychotic man had slipped past his judgment once more? "I hope you find him again." she told Vyle. She hoped that the gods wouldn't punish her for her ignorance. There were few ways to make up for the loss of life, and none of them pretty.

​

"Still, once is enough that they'll remember you for the rest of their lives, even if they don't know it." She hummed as she bent over, tugging on the sewer grate to move it aside. "Did you know our brains can't make faces when we dream? Each face on a person is someone you've seen, somewhere. So you see, even if you don't know it, you remember them. And they remember you." She gestured at the sewer grate for Seth to lower himself first. "I wonder who's dreamed with my face? I hope I helped them in some way, anyway."

​

Bryce felt anger. He knew he did, deep down, but it hadn't penetrated the shock that filled his brain, numbing him to the pain that also gathered. He knew these people. Each one of their names, their families, their faces. The doppler community wasn't so large that he didn't know who resided here and who didn't.

Zack was there, his knees stained with blood. His eyes staring at the face of Elle, the woman who had made incredible bead art. Bryce had never managed to get the secret from her, hoping to teach Tessa so that she might wish to stay. "Gather any witnesses. Immediately. Have them come to me." The figure at his side darted off, joined by two more. Bryce turned to the small crowd, his shoulders heavy with the burden he now bore. "We must clean them up, prepare them for their final journey." As some of the denizens of his small society moved forward, Bryce turned back to Zack. "We need your help."

​

Zack felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned dully towards Bryce. "Help?" He didn't know how to help. "Help me with the bodies." Something in his stomach tightened, and Zack felt sick to his stomach. "I don't know how."

Bryce's hand tightened on his shoulder. "I'll help you. But we can't leave this for the families. No one should.." He heard Bryce take a breath, and something came back alive in the Zack. His suffering would be small compared to that of the others. Of the mothers and sisters who would have to bury their family tonight.

"Alright. I..I'll try."

Getting to his feet, Zack reached towards the nearest body, a girl, with shaking hands. One of her arms was missing. Bryce helped him, taking her shoulders as Bryce grabbed her feet. They took her, gently towards the nearest building, a bakery. One of the women held the door open for them, her eyes averted. They set the girl on the floor, the furniture pushed aside so there would be room. "Wrap her body in cloth. Her face is untouched, so you may leave it bare. For the ones that...aren't, we must cover them. Their families should remember them as they were, not as they are."

Bryce did as he was bid, the cloth provided by another woman who began doing the same task with another body. She helped Zack when she was finished, silent as the cloth was wrapped gently around the lifeless flesh.

Who would do this? We haven't hurt anyone. Why did we deserve this?

 

Derrick nodded when she asked whether the rest of her friends could be freed. He saw no reason why not to. He had already signed himself up to saving her so, why not the rest of them? Besides, it wasn't like the person who was after her was going to let her go easily anyway. He might just have to kill the guy and the girls would be freed anyway. That whole business would have to go. Now that he thought of it, even if he dispatched the leader someone else might pick up the business. He could Axii them all. Or... He could kill them. He was started to prefer the idea of killing them. It was a more permanent solution.
"I can free your friends too, Tatiana. Be assured of that." Derrick confirmed. He would have to tell her this sooner or later, but he had to figure out a payment. Now that the situation had changed, he couldn't just afford her the one option that he had considered as a last resort. Now he'd actually have to look at a monetary reward, or perhaps invoke the Law of Surprise. It was archaic, but it did work. Perhaps it would be rights to take a portion of the money of the man that was after her. Well, it wasn't like she could stop him now that he thought about it. He'd take a portion anyway. He needed it after all. "Remember, I am a Witcher. It pains me to say so, but I can't work for free. It feels a little disingenuous to ask, but I have to. It's part of the code." That, and he was broke and needed an excuse to himself to justify asking this poor lady for something for this job. However, he was a Witcher. He wasn't meant to have real emotions. He just knew he should feel bad for it. ​

 

Yana turned to face the one who had spoken. A boy, bargaining for Annabelle's freedom. With a sour expression on her face, she held up a single hand on her right side and created a portal. "Nope, nope, the deal wasn't made with you. It was made with her. Aaaaaall her responsibility, but since she can't then she isn't allowed just yet. How did you not get set on fire? I could've sworn I got everyone. Oh well, always next time. Minion, into the portal. I'll be having a talk with you after I've gotten some answers out of this little brat" she said, for once her voice sounding completely serious and more than a little annoyed. She didn't have much magical energy left, likely only enough for one more spell after the portal, but this guy didn't know that. Maybe she could scare him into talking, and if she couldn't....well, she'd just have to make a return trip once she got her strength up.


Zach slowly rose up from where he lay. His transformation had reverted, the thing he'd taken earlier finally kicking in. However, he had a new problem, one that he encountered after every transformation; he was completely stark naked. With a grumble, he got up and wandered over to his home. He stopped for a brief moment, glaring at the vampire as he passed, before continuing on. He walked over to his closet and quickly tossed some clothing on the ground, got changed, and headed outside. Sighing, he sat down on the ground, same position as always; sitting like a dog. "Okay, now that I'm not likely to bite your heads off, can someone explain to me what the hell a vampire is doing on my property?" the male asked.


Matthias had finally left the city of Vizima and made his way to the nearby woods. There seemed to be woods all over the world, always there for when he needed to lay low for a bit. He didn't doubt that he could handle many more people inside the city, but he needed to give them time to behave like bunnies and pop out a few more potential victims. He didn't feel like waiting 9 months for that to happen, but at the very least they could bring their loved ones inside to grief. He'd even do them a favor and reunite them with the recently departed if they went there. But no, for the moment he had to sit and stay like a good dog, inside the woods, hidden away. Once The Change wore off, he could wash off the blood and go into town to see what happened, maybe even gain the trust of the people there. He wasn't well known by many there, but there were those that knew him as the champion of the streetfights, and that was a good enough foothold to get a following. And the more people he could gain the loyalty of, the easier it would be to feast upon them when the time came.


Callum was faced with immeasurable odds. He was surrounded by at least six people, with all six of them taking the money away from him at a rapid pace. No, he wasn't being mugged, but by god was the brothel making a profit in that hour.​