Of Monsters and Men

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A young man's voice pierced the morning air, immediately grabbing Ellyn's attention. She turned to face the man, smiling with amusement at the title 'sir lady knight'. It warmed her heart to see such honesty and simplicity in a person. Once he had closed to a reasonable speaking distance, Ellyn addressed him with a chuckle.
"And good morning to you, Sir Farmer. I'd be happy to help you in anyway way I can, of course. That's how I make my living, after all," she smiled. "Now, I'll need you to tell me a little more of this sister of yours if I'm to find her, but perhaps we should start at the basics," Ellyn suggested.
"My name is Ellyn, and you should address me in that manner. I'm a knight of sorts, and my faithful horse is named Oak. Now, what's your name young man?"

Evander decided to simply give up the charade of pretending not to be a mage. Will was obviously aware of what he was, and perhaps that didn't matter as long as he didn't know who Evander was. Aside from that, the young man, if a chap who had apparently been frozen for over 150 years could be called 'young', was merely asking about the fate of the Council of Mages, and that of a long dead man, a name that Evander had not heard for... well, almost as long as the mage in question had been dead. It reminded him of happier, more stable times.
"Yes, I know the name Alaster Cloud," Evander admitted gruffly, still reluctant to drop the facade of deceit. "I spoke to him a few times. He was a good man. And powerful. Very powerful..." And perhaps had the strength to keep the Council from disintegrating as it did. Perhaps.
In fact, Evander had known Alaster quite well, as their time in the Chamber of Mages had overlapped by quite a few decades. They had confronted each other furiously on critical issues more than once, and had occasionally supported each other in a grudging manner. In essence, they had had perhaps as great a respect for each other that anyone could have.
That was all in the past however, as was the Council. "As for the Council of Mages," Evander continued, "it destroyed itself. That old dispute about accepting Nilfgaardian Mages into our ranks errupted, I'm not sure how, and before the smoke had cleared and the earth had ceased it's heaving, most of those present were dead." Evander shrugged angrily. "I wasn't there at the time unfortunately, so I'm sketchy on the details. But it was hell, I can tell you that. Fucking hell."
"Those like myself who had been absent at the time, stayed absent. Those who somehow survived ran into hiding. And since then, there has never been an official regathering of the Council. There probably never will be."
With that Evander's voice trailed off, and he was left staring at Will with a hard look. "So, William, does that answer your questions? The Council is dead. Some would say for the better. And now we're left hiding in alleyways, speaking furtively of what once would have been a proud station." He glanced around their grimy surroundings with a grimace, and muttered, "I hate this place."

 

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"Thank you" Vyle nodded politely "I appreciate this may be difficult for you" With that he stepped through the portal and arrived at the cold stones of Kaer Morhen. The place had fallen into disrepair since he last visited, the walls were crumbled mostly and vines gripped at the weathered bricks. Vyle shuddered. Despite his power, he still feared witchers and would have preferred to not fight them. With his enhanced night vision Vyle spotted a horse riding along with a man, probably a witcher, and a woman. "look" he pointed them out to Ana "This is out chance to confront a witcher outside the premises of Kaer Morhen" without waiting for a response Vyle fluttered into the shadows and flew down to the undergrowth slightly ahead of the riders. Stepping out casually he held up a hand "Hold, witcher!" he stated "We require your assistance!"

Bramwell rolled his eyes at the other mage and ignored him, summoning a portal to Novigrad while the mage rambled. "Come along Annabelle, I'm going to the Palace at Novigrad, want to come along?"

 

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Veera glanced up as Aaron approached her. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for the concern." she replied, letting go of her amulet. "Just sent out a little call for help." Just in case. She sighed. "I'm sorry for dragging you away from your sister. She's in good hands." Well, mostly good hands. Derrick was a little shaky on the morality every once in a while. Something pounded against her subconscious. Veceslav. She pushed it away. Whatever words he had for her, she didn't want to hear them. She couldn't waiver, not now.

She stood up as Raymond announced there was tea. "Thank you." she murmured, accepting a cup. She would come up with a plan, and she would get what she needed. She would make this happen.

​

Ana shuddered, crossing her arms across her chest. "Let's just get this over wi-" And Vyle was gone, getting the attention of a witcher. Of course he was. And a witcher that looked familiar to her. She hovered near the edge of the road, uncertain whether to stay by her friend's side or hide. As Derrick bore down on them, she took a deep breath, and let it out. She would get through this, somehow. Reaching for her fire, she curled her fists, ready for any sign of trouble.

​

Zack tried to keep up with Seth, and managed to keep the other doppler in sight. He waited until they neared the end of the tunnel before leaning against the clean walls of the outside, catching his breath.

"Do you see her?" He asked Seth, his breath coming in gaps.

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Tessa raced from alley to alley, her hair flying behind her, breath heaving in her chest. "No no no." She muttered, running up the wall and scrambling over it, her nails breaking on the bricks as she scrabbled for hand holds. Up and over before she was off again. She was lost, so so lost. She had tried to follow Bryce, but she had never been to this part of town. The bad part. Priests stalked every corner, looking for victims to burn. Thieves and cutthroats wandered, looking for any means of entertainment. Blood stained her hands from one such encounter. She tried to wipe it on her shirt before hiding behind a pillar, crouching low to the ground. The only escape was the river. Could she swim? She took a deep breath. No time like the present to try.

​

Bryce left the doorway, adjusting the cloak before setting off to the next house. This one lay on the edge of town, and was owned by a recently made friend. He had offered Bryce help before. Well, Bryce was here to collect.

 

Will's pov:



Evander then said that he know Alaster Cloud. "I know he was a member of the Council of Mages. He worked well with all. Always friendly in a way. He was best friends with a Stonemason you know. He talked about the man a lot. Almost like they knew each other for years. What was his name? err... I seen many paintings of this Stonemason. I also got to see him from a distance." Will began to rub his head like he was trying to remember something. "I got to spend a great deal of time with Alaster. Then the day before I was to become a member of the Council of Mages sent me to that cave for the village he sometime lived it. It funny to think about It now almost like he knew what was going to happen. The battle of the Council of Mages." Evander then said 'those like myself who had been absent at the time, stayed absent. Those who somehow survived ran into hiding. And since then, there has never been an official regathering of the Council. There probably never will be' "Maybe now the time to rebuild time to bring back what was gone, but can be again." Evander then said 'the Council is dead. Some would say for the better.' "That can not be true. The council was what brought the mages together. Now it just a useless and unorganized bunch. The council of Mages was a power. Don't you want to see that again? You were about of that." After a pause. "I want to show you something, but first what is your name?"

 

Derrick heard Tatiana asking him to 'use the thing' to help her sleep. He smiled slightly at the description of his use of Axii. Of course, she wasn't a Witcher or a Sorceress so he could hardly blame her for being at a loss for words as to how to describe what he did. That, and she wasn't in the best of states anyway so. The Witcher released a hand from the reins of his horse and formed the sign, then placing his hand on her forehead.
"Sleep peacefully, Tatiana. Pleasant dreams shall come." He spoke, willing the Sign to have the desired effect on her mind. He couldn't imagine how other Witchers got on without the more advanced applications of Axii that he had discovered through his years of (ab)using it. Once she was asleep, he put his hand back on the reins and rode harder for the city, knowing that she probably wasn't going to wake up for a while.

Suddenly, a tall figure in a dramatic cloak stepped out of the bushes and demanded he hold. Derrick pulled back the reins sharply. The horse whinnied and reared, nearly bucking himself and Tatiana off. Luckily, he was a Witcher and prepared for such things. The horse rightened itself and that was when he noticed. His medallion was vibrating intensely. He exhaled. There was a small girl there, and he was entirely unsure of what this was meant to be. Either way, he foresaw a problem emerging. Disentangling himself from Tatiana, he dismounted and drew his silver sword.
"My medallion is vibrating. You look like a human. That says to me Sorcerer, Doppler, or Vampire. Former or latter I'd guess. Most Dopplers don't go for something so grand." Derrick observed coolly. He eyed the two of them suspiciously. It could be one, or both. He wasn't sure yet. He slipped into a stance from which he could quickly move. "Now, what do you want? If you couldn't tell, I've got somewhere to be."




The Dwarf scoffed at what the stranger was telling him about the sword. He didn't find that story particularly likely, but it wasn't a good idea to openly mock the idea as far as he could tell. Usually these sorts got a little err, angry if you called them out on their thievery, or possibly even murder. He didn't fancy his chances that this wasn't some sort of murder. And if it was in fact an Aen Seidhe blade, it only made sense that this human would have the sword. They had a nasty habit of killing non-humans. The whole murdering non-humans thing got him into the Scoia'tael for a while, but nobody here needed to know that he sympathised with them, even armed a Commando unit one time.
"Yeah, Ah believe ye. Ah dinnae care much as ta where ye got the thing. Jus' be careful, and mebbe ye try an' find a proper sorcerer to figure oot yer enchantment. Ah can just tell ye et's there, ye've got ta do the rest." Wilfred explained. The Dwarf took a seat and folded his arms. "Anythin' else ye need?"

"Sir farmer? Oh my. I ain't no Sir me lady! If there's a sir 'round 'ere it's me Da'!" Gordon beamed. Even if he wasn't a Sir, it was wonderful to hear something like that said to him by a knight. And such a beautiful one at that. And she was a warrior of some kind. She was probably the most amazing woman he'd ever seen. More than that, she asked his name and called him a young man! That was proper language that was! Only Delaine said that when she was being polite! "Me name's Gordon Miss Ellyn! An me sister..." His expression turned a little sullen and the farm boy looked down at the ground, fidgeting nervously.
"Well... Me sister... H- Her name's Matilda an' she's around yay high..." Gordon launched into as good of a description that he could manage of his sister, mentioning that she was only a bit shorter than he was and that her hair was long and a wet sandy colour. And curly. Very curly. "She went an' disappeared yesterday night. She was seeing a Nilfgaardian fellow an' she didn' come home. I think she ran off to be wedded. She ain't come back an' we're all worried..." ​

 

Ethan's pov:



The Dwarf said he believed his story. Well that was all well and good considering he had no reason to lie. He was glad that he did not tell the man that he was really six years old. He almost forgot today was his birthday. He was not sure how old he was. Odd aging and all that. "This may come off odd, but how old do you think I am?" Hopefully this man could tell him a good age other wise he might never know his age. The dwarf told him that he should find a proper sorcerer to figure out the enchantment. "Do you know where I can find one?" He did not have any clue on where to find a sorcerer. "There was not anything else I needed I was hoping to pick up some odd job at this farm for some money." That was when two Endrega workers came out of the forest. Towards the dwarf and him. "That can not be good." He saw to giant ants coming towards him. He took a hold of the sword on the table and threw off the black coat he had on. It looked like there would be a fight sooner rather then latter. He was going to get the chance to try out this weapon.


Olivia's pov:



She struck out with her blade at the wolf. This could not be good. If she was running into wolves now, Derrick could not be doing any better. Her thoughts going out to him. Derrick was probably bringing Tatiana with him. She knew that it was not safe to leave a normal human at Kaer Morhen as safe as the place was. She wondered what ever happened to the witchers that trained her, she had met to ask Derrick but never got the chance. It was not time to think it was time for action. With that she attacked another wolf.

 

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"You are correct. But I won't tell you which" Vyle stated with a thin smile "I'll make it quick. Have you seen a black cloaked, black hatted, black masked mage wandering around? A bit of a peculiar man, something vaguely sinister about him? As far as I can tell he portalled to your castle. The mage's name is Solomon, he is incredibly dangerous, I am persuing him"

 

"I see you've a mild sense of humour too. If you're always in such a good mood we should get a drink some time." Derrick commented, half-jokingly and half-seriously. He lowered the sword, somewhat reassured that this wouldn't turn to violence. He was vindicated. Whoever these two were, they were looking for the strange fellow that used a portal to enter the Kaer. And the one that he watched leave, just because he didn't trust the guy. It seemed that his instincts were right. Derrick smiled. "Interesting fellow. Likes to giggle, right? He stopped at the Kaer. Something about just passing through. We told him to leave and I watched him go. He danced around through the place and left. No idea where he went I'm afraid."




"Ah doon't know. Et disnae matter ta me either. Yer a person an' tha's tha'. T'ain't mah business." Wilfred shrugged. It gave him the idea that it was a fairly young guy. Probably around 16, 17, or 18 and trying to make sure that he sounded like a real man. He probably hadn't even become a man yet. He chuckled at the thought and shook his head. Well, he could do whatever he wanted with his time. It didn't matter to him. "An' as fer yer sorcerers... Ah'd say... Novigrad en't bad. King Archon en't a bad fella an' he supports sorcerers. Soo, Ah figure ye might have a good chance o' finding something." Well the guy was being a little pragmatic trying to find some work here. He was about to offer a suggestion and then something happened.
"Oh **** me life." Wilfred cursed as the pair of Endrega Workers came towards them. Bowen really needed to keep these damn things down better. That, or they needed a Witcher. Unfortunately, the Gnomish Sihil that he used to keep around was sold off so he was without his best defence against these things, so he hefted his trusty axe. "Oi, ye shouldnae use tha' unless ye know what yer doing! Endregas are dangerous beasties!" Damn kids. ​

 

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"Perhaps..." Vyle answered disinterestedly to the man's request "Blood and Ashes!" Vyle cursed "I suppose our quarry shall not be so easily captured. Nevertheless I will not give up, Solomon follows drama and tragedy wherever he can. Has anything happened recently that could have... attracted... the mage?" He questioned the man seriously.

 

"Drama and tragedy..." Derrick echoed, thinking on it. Veera and her insane quest with Aaron were the first things that sprang to mind. However, there was a risk involved in telling this man about what they were trying to do. It was still unclear where this man's priorities and loyalties lay. If he told him about what was happening... The two of them were in danger. And Veceslav was too by virtue of association. It was a risk, one that he didn't know whether to take. "I'm on my way to Oxenfurt to meet up with another Witcher, a friend of mine. Where we're going after that... I couldn't tell you. I don't know what this Solomon is like, but go wherever the strangest people are I'd say. Two Witchers in one place and we have an unfortunate penchant for terrible things happening. You might find your sorcerer there soon enough." That was the best answer that he could give this stranger. Anything more specific would put Veceslav in danger. Veera and Aaron had to be stopped, but he didn't want to put a confounding element in the path of the Crow. It wasn't that he doubted the man's abilities, but the easier it was for him the better. Veera was already a handful.
"Is that all? Like I said, I'm off to meet a friend and she's got a rather short temper." He finished with a friendly smile. Hopefully that would be enough to set this stranger on a different course. One that took him away from Novigrad, where the others probably were. ​

 

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Veera rubbed her forehead. "If our incredibly luck carries, then he was meditating and didn't feel the message." She knew this wasn't true, she had felt Veceslav's consciousness searching for hers. But Aaron would only worry, and it would be unnecessary. "If not, he doesn't know exactly where we are, and he'll have to find us. In the meantime..." she steepled her hands, brooding. "Our enemy," she remained vague, cautiously wary of what Raymond would think of their actions, "is sure to strike back. What remains to be seen is if it will be a united front, or simply random. The latter would be easier," Here she sighed, "which makes me think it will be the former."

Suddenly she stood up, nearly knocking her tea to the ground. "Apologies. I must go outside for a moment. Aaron, if you would please stay here, with the master." She inclined her head towards Raymond and whirled, striding out the door. Only when she was out of sight of Aaron did her hand go to the vibrating medallion around her neck.

​

Bryce gripped his silver sword, narrowing his eyes as Veera exited the hut. So this was how it would be. Raymond was either an unwitting pawn, or he truly had no idea who Bryce was. Either way, he stepped back into the shadows, keeping himself hidden from the road. Veera stared at him, then past him, as if looking at the sky. "I had no idea we would be attacked already. I would have chosen somewhere more public to spend the night."

It had to be her. Although the reports had been there were two witchers, Bryce knew that they were the only ones in town. It had to be them. And the woman had just condemned herself with her own words. "It seems fate has brought you to me, or me to you." She hadn't drawn her weapons, but Bryce knew that witchers were deceivingly calm just before they struck. "I won't let this stand!" He told her, knuckles clenched around the pommel of his sword. "I will take revenge."

"You can try." Veera turned towards him now, eyes glowing in the moonlight. It was eerie enough that his spine tingled. "And when you fail, I will sing a song to the gods over your body, bleeding in the mud."

They stared at each other for a few long, tense moments.

"Three days. The Town Square." Bryce named the terms. "I will meet you then. And we will do battle." Veera tilted her head, hair shifting to one side. As a human, she would have been extraordinarily beautiful before being turned into a monster. "Agreed."

With that, Bryce backed up, not taking his eyes off the witcher until he was out of sight. Then he sheathed his sword, and bolted back to the town as quickly as his legs could carry him.

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Ana glanced at Vyle, before finally breaking her silence. "Why don't we go to Oxenfurt? Between that city and Novigrad, Solomon could find enough dead for at least one army. And if he's not there, Novigrad is easily enough reached by magic."

She rubbed her hands together, the fire underneath her skin just begging to be set free. "I would gladly keep him from harming more innocents. We should hurry." The more time Solomon had, the worse she feared the result would be. As frightening as the dark mage was, it could have all been avoided if she had let go of her prejudice of nonmage folk and simply believed Vyle. That guilt would be eating at her for a long time.

She refused to look at the witcher, or really acknowledge his presence. That would mean he was really in front of her, and Ana didn't want to deal with that.

​

"You go north, I'll go south!" Zack called out before turning in that direction and beginning to run. They could cover far more ground if they were separated, and at this point, Zack feared if they didn't find Tessa by dawn, they would never find her.

He dodged a couple in love with a muttered apology and skidded down a side alley, hopping over the short railing with more ease then he would have believed. Were all dopplers just naturally athletic? He couldn't believe it was true, but then where was he getting this grace and energy from?

Perhaps it was the adrenaline. Perhaps his writer simply wanted to him to be at a certain place and time. Whatever the case, he dashed down the road, hoping to avoid the attention of the guards.

​

So, swimming was not really as easy as it seemed. True, she had escaped the sycophants on the far bank, who had stared after her before going on their way, but not she was stuck. The current flowed around her, strong enough to take her downstream. It tugged at her clothing and her hair, trying to make her leg go of the pole she held onto.

It must have been the remnants of a bridge, or a dock. Still a somewhat sturdy piece of wood, it managed to keep her afloat. For now. She knew she would get hypothermic soon. The winter had been mild in Oxenfurt, but it was still cold enough that one could catch sickness, or die if left out too long. The bank on the other side looked far, even though she knew it wasn't.

Well, she didn't feel like freezing to death in a river. Might as well die trying. With a deep breath, she bunched her nearly frozen legs against the pole, and pushed herself towards the bank.

 

Ethan's pov:



The dwarf did not answer his question about how old he looked. That was not helpful. What was he sopost to do pull an answer out of the air of someone asked him how old he was? The dwarf then told him that Novigrad was not a bad choice to start looking for sorcerers. There was also King Archon. "Where would I go to find this king?" He was sure that he would find something out there. The giant ants where coming. It was time to try out his new sword. With that he charge in hitting one of the ants. The fames coming out and hurting the ant, but the ant kept on coming. He could use magic here, but he did not necessarily want the people of this town to know he was a mage. If it came down to it he would use his magic but only if it became necessary. He raised the sword aging to hit the giant ant. He began swinging at the ant. There was two ants and he was only fighting one. Where was the other one? He had to keep fighting. It was odd that he knew what to do, almost like he has been fighting many years. He tried to find Wilfred Hoover in the mist of the battle, but was unable to locate him. He hopped that the dwarf was ok. He was probably fighting like he was and he did not need to worry.


Olivia's pov:



She began attacking another wolf. This was getting out of hand. Why did she have to be stupid and go out in the middle of the night to make her way to Oxenfurt. She should have got someone else to come with her or at least waited to morning, but no she had to go that moment. She killed another wolf. She notced that the wolves numbers were going down. It would not be long now before she could move on and continue to make her way to Oxenfurt. With that she attack a other wolf hoping it might be the last.

 

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At the mention that he and Alastar had apparently been 'best friends', it took all of Evander's will to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. A better description of their relationship would have been that they hated each others guts. He certainly wasn't in any mood to own to being this particular Stonemason, he hardly needed this kid attaching himself to him as a form of replacement mentor. As for there being a large number of paintings of Evander out and about for this young mage to see by chance, the idea was preposterous. Evander himself had only seen two... although come to think of it, he hadn't exactly commissioned or even sat for those particular paintings. The troubling thought that perhaps he had been some sort of mage pin up boy back in his heyday flitted through his mind, but he angrily brushed it away and turned his thoughts to something else.
“Well, I always heard that they never got on too well,” Evander grunted, “but I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, they're both dead. At least Alastar a funeral anyway, and I don't doubt that the Stonemason died in some other way.” Not entirely a lie.
“As for the council, perhaps it can be reformed in time, but that will be long after I and probably even you are dead. For now, the majority of mages live in some sort of hiding, or were born years after the Council was forgotten. The ones that do gather together are... not the sort I like to associate with.”
Dismissing the thought of there being a Council again any time soon, he looked strangely in response to Will's request that he tell his name before the other mage showed him 'something'. “I'm not sure what this 'something' is your so eager to show me, or why it requires my name,” Evander muttered, “but fuck it.” He still wasn't in any way inclined to tell Will his real name, so Evander started to think of all the names he had been called in the past. After a moment of this, it occurred to him that for the most part the vast majority of names hurled towards him had been 'son of a bitch. Seeing as this was not a particularly appropriate first name, he decided to take on the name of a pastry chef he had known.
“M-Melvin,” Evander grunted. “Name's Melvin.” Melvin? Why the fuck would you say Melvin? Fuck sake... “Not a huge fan of the name though, so try not to say it too often,” Evander sighed in finishing.
“Anyway, what was this you wanted to show me? I'll assume it's something interesting.”

​

The growing amusement at Gordon's opposition to being called sir, and his wonderfully vague description of his sister, was suddenly cut short by a shiver of apprehension shooting up Ellyn's spine at the thought that the young girl had run off in the hopes of being married. In her time among the battlefields she had all too often heard of young women being lured by promises of marriage and adventure by dashingly handsome soldiers, only to be cast aside once they and their companions had had their way with them. It was an all too common occurrence.
“Well, Gordon, it seems that it would be best that I found your sister as soon as possible,” Ellyn told him, her smile becoming a little strained. “I'm sure you and your father would like to be at this wedding. Now tell me, do you know this man's name? Or even what he looks like, or where he could be going? What unit he reports to? Anything at all, it will make things much easier.”
Asking the questions with as much calmness and as light a tone as she could muster, a flurry of possible scenarios flashed through her mind, settling on something positive. Perhaps Matilda and her young man really were going to marry? Being a soldier didn't necessarily mean he was morally deficient. She clung to this thought. Even if she couldn't find them before it was too late, if the worst that happened was that the two had tied the knot in some less that ideal circumstances, things would be alright. For the sake of the girl, her father and Gordon, she hoped this was what was really happening.

 

​

"Welcome, to the Hierarch's Castle" Bramwell gestured extravagantly as they entered the grand empty throne room. As Bramwell's footsteps echoed around the hall several hooded mages appeared from nowhere
"Bramwell, who is this child who have brought to us?" Evelynn demanded
"She was with Yana, unfortunately I could not capture the woman, but I found Miss Annabelle here" leaning in close so Annabelle could not hear him he murmured "And doesn't our king need an heir?" turning back to the girl he gestured "Come along, I'll show you to your room, it's rather more cosy than this grand hall"

​

"Oxenfurt? Interesting..." Vyle mused. He didn't like big cities very much, but he was determined to find Solomon "Very well. We may meet again in Oxenfurt. If not, I bid you farewell witcher and will leave you in peace" Vyle completely disappeared from view as he became invisible. Transforming into a bat again he fluttered back to Ana and reappeared before her in normal form "We should head to Oxenfurt, I'm sure you'll be happy to head away from this place"

 

Gordon wasn't clever, but he could tell when Serious Things were happening. When Serious Things were happening, Gordon needed to start behaving like a grown up. He could see that Ellyn's manner had changed a bit.
"Matilda never told me who the bloke was. I just know he reports to the barracks West of here." Gordon replied. "The troops have stayed in that garrison for ages. I don't think they're goin' anywhere." The farm boy looked down at the ground and scratched his head. He honestly couldn't think of anything else. She always said that she'd bring him round and they'd all get to meet him later. He looked up at Ellyn.
"D'ya think you'll actually be able to find 'er Miss Ellyn?" He asked, a sad expression on his face.

Well, the kid had guts that was for sure. Honestly, right about now the Dwarf was wishing that he had the flashy fancy silver sword. He was going to have to deal with the problem of the second Endrega himself. Sure, the kid had a fancy sword. Well Wilfred was a Dwarf and no bloody pinchy land lobster ******* was going to keep a good Dwarf down! He hefted Shin****er and stepped out of his shop. He gripped the trusty weapon with two hands and face off against the thing. Workers were pretty small, but so was he. This was basically a fair fight. Good thing that there wasn't a Warrior around anywhere otherwise they'd both be in trouble.
"Come on there ye wee beastie *******! I'll ****in' 'ave ya!" The Dwarf bellowed. The Endrega skittered forwards and lunged forwards faster than he could see. However, instinct was his guide. Wilfred roared and slammed the axe down in front of him. There was a loud screeching noise as the axe bit into the flesh of its head. It was not over yet. The creature swung forwards and Wilfred threw himself back, knowing that he didn't really want to get hit by these guys. His balance was off though, and the Dwarf ended up solidly on his arse. He looked up and he saw it scuttling towards him. He rolled away as it lunged at where he was and Wilfred heaved his axe over at it. There was a gout of blood as one of its limbs was removed. It backed off, alarmed that the stubby man had managed to dismember it. Wilfred picked himself up again.
"Alright then ya little *****, yer goin' on me wall!" Wilfred yelled, holding his axe above his head. The Endrega reared up and met his charge with another screeching noise.





Finally, after months of not receiving a meaningful post, they finally had one. The moment had arrived. Everyone had left Kaer Morhen. Adolin and Alanna entered the great castle of the Witchers. It was strange when it was empty. It was a mess in here, really. They looked around, saying absolutely nothing. There was nothing to say to Alanna. He was on the hunt. The hunt for a way to destroy Kaer Morhen. He had an idea about what to do to destroy it. After a while of exploration, they made their way into a basement in the castle. It looked like some sort of cellar where they kept their alcohol. Of course. Even Witchers needed alcohol for drinking. They were all the same. They were human. Just even more monstrous that the normal ones. They were made to be killing machines. He would destroy their factory.
"Mark this spot, Alanna." Adolin ordered. "We'll return here through a portal soon. Next time... Next time we'll come back with the materials necessary to destroy this place. These monsters will have no home to go back to. Open a portal back to Novigrad. We have some acquisitions to make." He folded his arms across his chest as Alanna began to set up the portal to leave the castle, their work done.



"Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you..." Derrick said as Vyle disappeared into thin air. The Witcher smiled. "Higher Vampire." He sheathed his silver sword and hopped back on his horse. He tied Tatiana's arms around him again and continued to ride to Oxenfurt, riding a little faster. The enigmatic vampire had piqued his curiosity. Now he felt to keep this whole affair through. The hunt for the mysterious Solomon and his equally mysterious hunter, the Higher Vampire. What might a Vampire want with a chaos-causing Sorcerer? It seemed like Oxenfurt was a good choice. That, and he could keep an eye on what he was doing to make sure that he wouldn't intrude on Veceslav's business. Ultimately, he still didn't know what the Vampire wanted after all... ​

 

Veceslav was approaching the city of Oxenfurt riding next to the river Pontar. It was rather quiet and seeing the city was in sight he deemed it not to make much more haste, not that Hawk would let him at the moment anyways his trusted steed was tired from the journey, first to Novigrad, then to Oxenfurt. And while Hawk was a pure-bred Zerrikanian Warhorse even he had his limits and knew that pushing it too far wouldn't help at all. Then something caught his eye in the river it looked just like a piece of driftwood, but there was someone clinging to it. He immediatly halted Hawk, gathered a bit of wood so he could immediatly get a fire started by breaking of branches and threw them on a pile, tying Hawk down to another tree. He took off his cloak, swords and his armour. Revealing his scarred muscled torso, but he wasn't entirely naked. He looked into the river again and saw the driftwood he jumped into the ice cold water and swam over he could hold his own against the current but only for now. He swam over to the piece of driftwood, his medallion started to vibrate but he ignored it. "Hang on tight!" He said as well as he could, taking the pole by one end, folding his arms around it and starting to swim back to shore dragging the pole along. As he clambered ashore he didn't waste a single moment, despite the winter being mild here in Oxenfurt the water had been cold. He lit the prepared wood with his igni sign to make a campfire, they had to warm up. He still knew hypothermia was a risk and got the fire started in no time adding more wood, soon enough the heat of the fire was noticable. He went back and gently supported the girl and moved her to the fire so she could warm up. He still knew his medallion was vibrating but there was a time and place for everything which wasn't right now as he dried himself off with some grass, he started to put his armour back on.

 

​

Teliana nodded gratefully, offering a small, nervous smile to Vyle before turning to the open field. She let her fire die and concentrated on the power in her palms, open to the air. As the portal grew from the ground up, she sighed. At least her visit to this cursed place had been a short one. "After me, I presume." She said with a small smile before striding through the portal. Her feet landed in a puddle, and she groaned before stepping out of it, onto the cobblestones, only to be shoved aside by a man, clearly in a hurry.
"Hey, watch it!" she called out, brushing her dress off after she caught her balance.

​

Bryce didn't look back, or acknowledge he had nearly knocked the woman over. He had much more important business to attend to then a commoner who got in his way.

​

Tessa was pretty sure she had drowned. Or was drowning. The cold had surrounded her, and she couldn't tell where her skin began and the river ended. It was so cold. She had never realized before how important warmth was, how vital, and precious. It made her thankful Bryce had always kept a fire burning in the hearth through the cold winters. She should have been more grateful, back then. She should have been a lot of things. It felt as though she was moving, but it could have been her mind, slowly shutting down. The thought should have been panicking, but it only caused a minor sadness. She should have done more.

The texture beneath her fingers changed, and something felt....warm. She heard a voice, but maybe this was death. Maybe death was warmth and strength and was coming to take her from this terrible and wonderful place.

It seemed it was not to be, as her body began to warm, and she began to shake as her brain tried to restart her circulation. "Sh-sh-sh-i-i-i-t. C-c-c-c-c-old." She managed through chattering teeth. She knew her rescuer was male, and strong. Perhaps a soldier, or a traveler passing by. Whatever the case, she hoped the kindness was not self serving. It would be a terrible shame to be brought from the edge of death only to be abused and then left for dead anyway. This thought probably should have been scarier, but her mind wasn't quite there yet.

 

The master Witcher had gotten himself decently dressed again he turned back to the girl he had found. She was shivering saying she was cold, he put his black cloak around her. He went to get some water in a flask threw in a berry or two and started to boil it over the fire he had just made. His medallion was still vibrating but he had put it underneath his armour, out of sight, there was no reason to complicate things, she looked like a human so she was either a vampire, mage or a doppler. He highly doubted she was a vampire so that left mage and doppler. He waited till she had warmed up a bit before speaking up. "You okay?" He asked, his voice perfectly under control, the tone friendly. He sat down at the opposite side of the fire, the water in the flask was boiling and he held it out to her "Drink up, it's just water with berries for flavour. Warm water, to help you get warmer quicker." He said, his tone indicating she clearly had a choice. He was showing a side of himself that he hadn't shown in a long time, the side he showed to the young ones that arrived at the Kaer. He had to show good will, he was unsure if she was a doppler but if she was then he would have to break the barrier of mistrust. He kept an eye out on his surroundings while waiting for the answers.