Of Monsters and Men

"And here I thought we were friends Veera. Take that frown off, it's a waste of a pretty face." Derrick commented as she disengaged rapidly and walked away, trying to disarm her attitude with a lighthearted comment. He sighed. Apparently things were bad. Unintentionally, she had told him a lot of what he needed to know. Yes, something had happened and Aaron was most certainly involved. She didn't believe that 'he made his own choice' thing truly. He was young, she was more experienced and he was certain that she had her ways if she ever chose to use them. She could have played on his protectiveness of Tatiana. It wouldn't be hard. The Witcher strolled over to the false panel and reopened it, then pulled the lever. The floor slid out, and there it was, a passageway. "Just as expected." He turned around and walked to the steps that led down into the passage, then looked at everyone else.
"Alright then. If you've stopped being broody Veera and Vyle has finished attempting to terrify the local population with that face he's putting on, we can get going." He gestured at the passage. With the tension in the room so high, he decided to try and defuse it with some humour. "So who's going first? I'll do it if there aren't any takers." Somehow, he didn't think that there would be anybody up for it in particular. Well, Veera wasn't going to do at least. Vyle seemed a little... Inconsistent at the moment. ​

 

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Vyle ignored the fracas with the witchers, he was sure they could sort out their own problems, they didn't seem to understand the urgency of the situation. Without a word Vyle shoved the doppler forward "You're our guide, take us out of the city, the route the witch hunters would have taken" he commanded aggressively "If this seems cruel, that's because it is. But I'll make sure you're rewarded after this"

 

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Veera brushed off Derrick's words with the same cold air she had his gesture, and narrowed her eyes at the vampire. "I'll go first." She told the group before descending into the dark cellar, pausing for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the nonexistent lighting before walking further. To her eye, it seemed like the room was bare of anything but the stones that were the foundation of the house, and well the passage that extended into the dark. She followed it warily, one hand going to her silver sword. If this went where she suspected, there would be more to worry about then tripping over a stone here or there.

A sound echoed through the tunnel, and she froze, eyes scanning the way in front of her. "Just a toad." She called back, her grip tightening around the pommel. Toad or not, she didn't want any more surprises. After minutes of walking, she arrived at a crossroads. A tunnel ahead, a tunnel to the right, and a tunnel to the left. She narrowed her eyes against the stench of Drowner pheromones, and pulled her silver sword out, holding it at the ready in front of her.

"Doppler." She called back to Zack, her voice tense. "Come stand by me, and tell me which way to go." While she didn't necessarily care if the doppler himself was maimed, it wouldn't be helpful to the vampire if their guide died. Helping a vampire. With Derrick of fucking Kaedwen. Of all the irony, there couldn't be a situation that fit the word much better. At least she was away from Veceslav. For now.

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Zack stayed mute and hunched over, just hoping for it all to end. He was surrounded by witchers and being poked by an angry vampire, this day could hardly get any worse. Well, it did when Vyle pushed him roughly towards the dark opening, demanding he showed them the way. What have I ever done to you? Zack glared at the vampire through his bangs. Besides blame you for the death of your friend. Thankfully, the female witcher had some charity in her heart, and offered to go first. Maybe this day would start looking up after all.

A half hour later, sloshing through sewage and muck, Zack decided that it would be a long time before this day started looking up. He cringed when the toad croaked, and once more when the witcher in front called his name. Keeping his head down, he walked past the vampire and secondary witcher to stand at her side. "We have to go left." he muttered, pointing and then flinching out of the way as the witcher proceeded in the direction he had pointed. They came to another crossroads, at which Zack pointed forwards. It was going to be a long walk, and he sighed.

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Tessa felt her heart drop in relief, and hobbled along with Seth, leaning her head on his shoulder. We're going away, we're getting out and we'll both be okay. She exhaled, and that was when the one good moment in the day decided to fall apart. One of the witchers had turned on Seth, and was coming towards him, quickly. Seth let her rest against the wall, putting the money in her hand. "But I don't-" he cut her off by ordering her to leave him there, and get to the meeting place. "Like hell I will." She muttered, reaching into her bodice. When Veceslav had held her down earlier, she had used the opportunity to snag one of the daggers hanging around his belt. Bryce had taught her how to do that.

She had been saving it for a weapon, since she assumed Seth had nothing but the dress he wore, and she had lost her own in the river. Tessa normally would have felt bad about taking something from the man who had helped save her, but that Tessa had died, while the new Tessa lived. And the new Tessa would do what she needed to keep herself and Seth safe. Gripping it by the hilt, she took a deep breath, and threw it towards Aaron, the act causing her to whimper with pain as she slid down the wall, her vision blurring for a moment. Hopefully the witcher would pause just long enough that Seth could get away. "Run! It's not me he wants!" she screamed, holding her side.

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Spoiler

Ana lay panting, a whimper the only sound she could make with each breath that escaped her body as Milosh was pulled aside by a second. Just when the pain had seemed never ending, the gods, or luck had given her a break. Her body shivered with each throb produced by her ruined fingers, the only way her mind could cope with the pain. She was pulled out of the haze by the sound of Milosh's voice. "No! PLEASE!" She struggled against her shackles, her eyes swollen from crying. "Please leave him alone! He doesn't know anything, and I've told you everything! Please..." her words were broken off with sobs as Milosh shrugged off her words and entered the next room, where the sounds of what she assumed was Zephyr being tortured echoed out into the hall. I'm so sorry, so sorry so sorry. She hadn't helped him get away after all, she had only made things worse for him.

Time seemed to fade out of her mind as she dozed, shivering from the pain and the cold, her muscles cramping as she was forced to remain on the torture table. She was woken from her stupor by more pain, and as her scream echoed through the room a hand clamped over her mouth. "Be quiet." A voice stirred the hair by her ear. "We don't have much time."

It was one of the other witch hunters, cauterizing her wounds. She gritted her teeth and nodded, doing her best to keep quiet as he finished, and released her from her shackles, leaving only the ones around her wrists. She fell to the ground, her legs unable to support her. Jaroslav caught her before she hit the ground, and hurried her out of the room. She was fuzzy on the rest of the details of the place she had been held as they stumbled out into the woods, twigs breaking underneath their feet. "Wh-what about Z-"

"There's no time." the witch hunter told her, his voice harried. "We have to go now." She bowed her head and put her remaining strength into helping Jaroslav half carry her into the woods. She could mourn Zephyr later, but right now the gods granted her the chance to escape, and if she didn't take it, she doubted there would be another.

 

Milosh was just sitting there knitting a sweater since it was bloody cold outside and he had nothing better to do. When the sweater was finished on the front it read I <3 Mum and Milosh left the base to go deal with something else. He had left that sweater near an open book about basic alchemy the first line reading. "The first law of Alchemy, to get something what you want, you must be prepared to sacrifice something of equal worth." Milosh had an imprtant meeting and was on his way to the Inn at the crossroads travelling on main roads without his insignia but full armour like any soldier or mercenary.

Spoiler: This time not Milosh but actually Jaroslav kiddies, be warned

Jaroslav lead Teliana to a clearing in the woods, unbeknownst to the little mage however they were being watched from the shrubbery which had been requested by some knights who said Ni Jaroslav stopped in the middle of the clearing and unsheathed a small dagger. The friendly look on his face had disappeared and replaced with a coldness similar to the one that Milosh possesed. In one quick motion, executed expertly as if it had been practiced dozens of times before, he slashed through the clothing the knife biting deep into the flesh of her thigh. Jaroslav didn't look back and walked across the clearing to where the others were waiting. And that is when the sound boomed across the clearing the crows flying from the trees in large flocks cawwing as they went. The sound of a warhorn followed by the enthousiastic shouts of men. The horn boomed again and again until it had sounded ten times in total the sound, then they came a handful of Witchhunters armed with blades and crossbows appeared from the shrubs, Jaroslav had left the site and went back to base as his compatriots started their hunt.

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Seth had willingly let himself be marked as agreed upon, but things quickly went sour as Aaron ignored what he had said and went in for a kill, he wanted Seth dead and while it was understandable it wasn't the right thing to do in this case. He put his silver sword back in it's sheath and then drew his steel sword. He pushed Seth behind him and placed himself between Aaron and Seth "Seth, go now, while there is still time. I'll take care of this." He told the man not looking at him. Then Tessa threw a dagger at Aaron and he recognised it as one of his own. When did she get that? No matter. "NO BOTH OF YOU GO! DAMN IT!" Veceslav was getting angry he turned to Aaron with the same anger clear on his face. He cast an Aard sign to blast the younger witcher backwards, he was reluctant to kill the young witcher but if he was forced to he would not relent. It would be a loss, a waste of life, but if there was no other way then Veceslav would end it in that way with a heavy heart.

 

Derrick stepped gracefully to the side as Veera passed him, thereby stopping any attempt at vengeful shoving that she might attempt in her palpable rage. He was cautious in following her. There was no telling what was beyond the threshold and he didn't fancy being caught up in anything that struck her. He had to admit to himself, he felt mistrustful of her. His faith in his fellow Witcher was shaken by her new attitude and her hostility. What was it that had made her so unfriendly? He had hoped that she would choose to confide in him, but it seemed that she would not. He was disappointed. Nevertheless, he followed and did as he was contracted to do. He needed to do something to earn real money soon. ​

 

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Zack kept pointing the female witcher one way, and then another, praying in between the cross roads that he was indeed right. The gods must have smiled on him at last, because after what seemed like minutes of walking through sewage that was best left unidentified, he saw light. The woman beside him saw it too, and her pace quickened.
They were almost out, when shadows stepped in front of them, halting their progress.

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Veera cursed and shoved the doppler to the side, holding her silver sword in front of her. This would be easy enough, and she exhaled, already preparing for herself for the task of killing, when the sound of a horn echoed faintly. Then again, and again. A hunt? This close to Oxenfurt......a shiver ran down her spine. Oh no. "Vampire. Doppler. Derrick. Get out of here. Go towards those horns. Run." She lunged forward at the drowners and then to the side, drawing their attention away from the others in the group. "I've got this." She cut off the first one's head, and split another in half, drawing them back to the tunnel to the right. If she got lost, so be it.

These tunnels all had to lead out somewhere, after all.

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Tessa gladly clung to Seth, trying to put as much of her own weight on her feet as she could. "Take this alley." She whispered, her face tight with fear and pain. Was this witcher the one who killed all of those before? Had he been looking for Seth? She desperately hoped Veceslav would hold him off until they could escape the city. She couldn't even consider where they were going, just that they had to get out.

"Keep going straight, take the next left alley, and then go straight and we'll be there." she said, hiding her face from passersby in Seth's shoulder. The last thing she needed right now was for a patron of the bar to stop her and ask what had happened, or worse, assume Seth was there to hurt her.

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Teliana stumbled when Jaroslav let go of her. She hadn't had time to get the questioning words out of her mouth before the sharp, now familiar pain of a blade slicing her skin caused her to try to crawl backwards. She ended up collapsing in the dirt as the witch hunter turned away, her ruined fingers going to the incisions on her legs as her dress, already stained, now turned red with blood.

Behind her, she heard the sounds of a horn. And another, and another. The jeers of men could be heard, and her blood turned cold. She got to her feet, slowly, painfully and began to run. If you could call what she was doing a run. The two shackles on her hands clanked with each jolted movement, ebbing the flow of her magic as she wandered, heart pounding in her chest.

She could hear them coming from behind her, and her terror made her whimper as she stumbled over a log. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she found a small pool of strength. With this, she picked herself up off the ground, and ran. The pain from her wounds faded as her fear took precedence in her mind, and she ignored how much ruckus she was making, focusing on covering as much distance as she could.

No matter how fast she tried to run, she wasn't fast enough, and she didn't have enough strength. She didn't have the courage to stand and fight either. Well, fight with what? Her bloodied, bruised and burned fists? She heard a twig crack to her right and cried out, ducking away from an imaginary attack. The act cost her the momentum she had gained, as she fell into a pit. Dust covered her hands, making her wounds sting and soaking in the blood that oozed from the wounds on her legs. She scrabbled forward, her hand grabbing at something, anything for a weapon.

The branch she found crumbled in her hands, charred black. That was when she looked up, and quickly crawled backwards, her mouth hanging open in horror. Above her was the blackened corpse of what she could only assume had been a mage, their arms nailed to the crosses on the wood, forms twisted so far beyond recognition she couldn't even tell if it had once been human.

A rough hand spun her around, and she was tossed against what remained of the pyre as a witch hunter stood over her, grim face hidden by shadow. She tossed ash in his face and turned to go, but he only dragged her back by the ankle, her fingers scrabbling in the dirt as she screamed. She was flipped over, the act knocking the breath from her lungs as the hunter stood over her, raising a sword above his head. This was it. "Please, goddess make it quick." she whispered, putting a hand up to shield her face as the blade came down.

 

Luck would be on Terra's side for Sweallow had not heard of her and simply nodded when she gave her name. "Pleasure to meet you Terra, you may call me Sweallow. Sweallow Cauther." As far as he was aware, there was no special reason behind his naming, not that that matter at all. "Is your back feeling any better?" Having just treated it, he doubted that it would be perfectly fine in a single day, however if there was any slight pain or anything along those lines, then he'd like to know so that he could treat it.

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"Yes, I can clearly see that you're doing something. I'm not blind." Kruez said nonchalantly. The other man started to approach him, talking about the apparent bounty that Tatiana was worth. Kruez didn't know that, though he wasn't even certain whether or not Tatiana had mentioned that and he just wasn't paying any attention at all. Oh well, bounty or no bounty. It matter little to him. Shortly after being asked about the bounty, the other man walked back to Tatiana and cut free her dress from around her body. "Yeah, I'm kinda going to have to interrupt your 'fun' if you don't mind. Not that your caring would affect anything." Once again said in a nonchalant manner, though this time with a hint of bluntness, Kruez start to walk towards the two brutes.

 

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Vyle hissed as the drowners appeared, he had feared this would happen, luckily Veera was dealing with it. He would have stayed behind, but he needed to save Teliana, and quickly. He feared for what those horns meant, but tried to be optimistic. Nodding to Veera with appreciation, he ran onward. They soon arrived at a door, it was locked. No matter. Vyle kicked a massive hole in the wooden door and ripped away the boards. Nothing could oppose the vampire. Sprinting out into the night he sniffed the air. Drowner pheromones? Ah. Vyle put two and two together, the reason he couldn't smell the traces of the witch hunters through the sewers became clear, they were masking themselves as drowners. Clever, but now they were out of the sewers this just gave him a path to follow. He left behind the others, they were just slowing him down now. After a long time running he arrived at a pond. Curses. They'd washed off the scent, but he was close now, closer than he'd ever been. And the horns were still blaring. Transforming into a massive bat Vyle took to the skies, his advanced vision scouring the landscape. There. Witch Hunters, running through the forest. It seemed they were on a chase. But who were they hunting? Vyle felt sick to his stomach as he feared the worst. These wretched creatures deserve no mercy. He spotted a pyre, and there, there. She was there. Alive. At last. And she was in danger. Vyle's vision went red as he focussed on the witch hunter raising a sword to attack Ana. WHAT HAS SHE EVER DONE TO YOU? Tucking in his wings, Vyle dove down with incredible speed, the air rushed past his ears and howled as gravity accelerated him towards his target. As he approached the hunter he saw the man look up, and a look of horror briefly crossed the man's face, but the man didn't have a chance to do anything. Vyle collided with the man with such force that the witch hunter was instantly crushed. But Vyle was still angry, furious at the witch hunters. He ravaged the broken man's neck and feasted on the blood. When he was finally finished he turned to Ana. the rage gone, he felt shameful about his behaviour. But this was soon overwhelmed by the relief of seeing Ana alive. Transforming back into a humanlike form, Vyle hunched over her "I'm so so so so so so so so sorry for leaving you, I'm so so so sorry I took so long to find you..." was he crying? He'd never cried before in his life... he'd never cared about someone this much before in his life.

 

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Teliana's prayers had been answered, perhaps not in the way she had intended them, but she couldn't be more relieved by the result. A winged something dove from the sky, colliding with the man in front of her and blocking out the light for a moment before liquid splattered her face. She reached up her fingers to wipe away the blood, staring down at the red with silent confusion. Where had this come from? Had the sword landed, and she was simply dying? No, she felt fine.

That ended when the creature turned to her. It looked similar to a large bat, and she could only stare at it, emotionless. Had the gods sent their own messenger to kill her? That seemed a little over the top. It approached her, and she couldn't look away, not even when it transformed into a very familiar shape. No...this is too cruel. She hadn't thought the witch hunters would do this, would stoop this low.

She had thought Zephyr would escape, only to prove that she had been wrong. She had thought Milosh would let her go, only to be cut down and hunted in the woods. And what better way to torment her even more, then to conjure up the image of the man standing in front of her? Teliana squeezed her eyes shut, rather then let more tears fall as the figure hunched over her, once more blocking out the sunlight. But then he spoke, and her eyes re opened, widening as they looked up at the blood stained face above her. Illusions don't speak...

She reached up, tentatively touching Vyle's face with her ruined fingers as she examined his features, looking for anything that was wrong, anything out of place, anything that might give away that this was a disguise, and Milosh would simply rip it off before killing her. She forced her dry lips apart, to ask a simple, important question.

"What did I do to the man you were hunting, the first time we met?" She asked, her voice trembling.

 

"Well, that just happened." Derrick said dumbly as Vyle took off in bat form and flew into the distance. He lost his patience with the rest of them and flew off, somehow finding his way through the sewers. He was pretty certain that it was dumb luck. As for the rest of them, they had the Doppler's help getting out and he was soon able to follow the trail of Drowner pheromones. He was impressed with the Vampire's abilities to isolate and track scents. He soon concluded that if it ever came down to it, in a battle, he would likely be found wanting. The only advantage that he did have was his skill with Axii. Running through the encounter hypothetically, it was going to be a hard one. Luckily, it probably wouldn't come to that. He was owed a favour. He wasn't sure how to cash in on that yet, but he'd figure it out later. For now... He shrugged to himself. Where the devil did he go? Did it matter? Not really. He probably found what he was looking for. "Well, that about resolves that then. Run along my Doppler friend. Run as fast as you can." He spoke, knowing how Veera would probably interpret it. And it was intended that way. The Doppler wasn't to know, as far as he knew it would be Vyle he had to run from. The vampire was only the second most dangerous thing to him here. The first was Derrick's old friend. ​

 

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Why was she asking this? Did she feel the need to check it was him? She must have been through a lot to get this paranoid, Vyle clenched his fists, he would kill whoever did this, and remove any trace of their existence. "Ana, it's me Vyle..." he felt a little disheartened she didn't trust him "Solomon... you made me let him go" he smiled as he remembered their first meeting, as troubling as it was. He reached down and picked her up "I'm going to take you to safety, don't worry, it's all going to be fine, we're going to get those shackles off" he gently brushed the tears from her face as he began to jog back into the city, he couldn't move as quickly while carrying Ana but he was sure he could escape the witch hunters, he had to.

 

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Veera cut another drowner in half, hissing as the blood splattered her chest. She had just cleaned this. Whirling, her sword cutting a circle through the air before decapitating a second. They were thinning out, and she smiled grimly, dispatching with a third before the rest finally broke away. Wiping her sword on the lower half of her leather shirt, she sheathed it, and started towards the shattered door. Clearly, the vampire had taken her advice. She took a moment to wonder why exactly he had been after that girl. Was she his blood meal? A favored slave? Well it mattered not to her. It was on Derrick's head that they had helped instead of hurt the monster, and to be honest, she was dealing with enough of those in human form to hardly need another on her plate.

Speaking of which...she tracked the group through the marshy ground, onto the road, and towards the pond. The vampire was gone, once again, hardly a surprise, but now it was only Derrick remaining. She clenched her fists, knowing the answer even as she asked the question. "Where is the bloody doppler?" He had let him go. Since Derrick was hardly incapable of dispatching a single creature, it was the only logical answer. "Where. Is. He." She asked slowly, tension thrumming along her body. He's going to tell Bryce our numbers, our strengths, he's going to bring us all down. And it was Derrick's fault.

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Zack's eyes widened to an even larger size, if that was at all possible, as the vampire changed shape and flew off. "Um...." He glanced at Derrick, who all but shrugged it off and continued. Zack followed the witcher, for lack of better things to do, until Derrick turned to him, next to the pond. "Run, my doppler friend." He said. Zack hesitated, then looked up at the sky. He must mean the vampire....if the vampire had been too late, there was only one person he could honestly blame. "Thank you." Zack whispered before hightailing it back to the city, this time circling the wall instead of taking the sewers. He didn't like those tunnels, anyway, and he hardly wanted to run right back into the group of drowners the female witcher had been slaughtering.

Once he felt he was a safe enough distance away, he slowed to a walk, and followed the river towards the gate. He wasn't at all anxious to return to the scene before hand, but if he was safe anywhere, it would be with Veceslav. Hopefully Tessa was still recovering, and he and Seth could take her somewhere safe. Then they could find out a way to get to Bryce. Zack's mouth tightened into a grim line. Whatever little courage he had when he was alone, with someone else it seemed to become ten fold. I promise Tessa, I'll right my wrongs and find that doppler. And I'll make him pay for what's he done to you, and all the others.

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Teliana pressed her face into Vyle's shoulder as he picked her up, smiling in spite of herself even as the tears flowed faster. It's him it's him it's him. She was saved, she was safe. It was over. "You found me." She whispered into his coat, her breath catching in her throat as she turned her face back, only to press her palms against her eyes in an effort to stem the tears. "I didn't think anyone would find me." Then he mentioned her shackles.

"They're dimeritium, don't touch them." she shuddered as she lowered her hands to stare at the metal that burned her skin, that stole her magic. The memory of what had been done to her wouldn't fade, even as the scars healed. "Please don't let them find me." Ana whispered as she stared at the shackles.

 

He heard Veera coming before she spoke up. It would be impossible not to. Her breathing was off. She seemed to be breathing intensely, and he was certain it wasn't from combat. As he looked around, he saw that she could clearly see him. And that meant that she would notice that their friend had run away. A quick survey of her told him that she was pissed. Fists clenched, her muscles tensed, she wasn't going to like his answer. She was really, really going to hate his answer. He readied himself. He tensed his leg muscles, ready to spring back and flexed his fingers. He was going to need to draw Axii fast. He met her eyes coolly.
"I told him to take a run. It's nice weather out. No rain, crisp air. Ground is solid, not going to slip over." He answered with the same joking manner as always. "Don't know which way he went though. I was busy admiring the view of this pond to notice." He added a shrug, just to heighten the effect. He was well aware of what this was going to do, and it was intentional. She had murder in those amber eyes and he would be damned if there was more bloodshed and horror today, not after the cruelty of the cages in that warehouse. He took things to the next stage.
"Why does it matter to you anyway? He's just a guy. If you wanted a good ploughing that badly you could have just asked me." He winked. Yes, she was going to be enraged. So enraged in fact that she was going to forget that she could just look for the tracks and follow them. He decided that Aard was going to be better here. It was simpler to draw than Axii and he could knock her own sign off if she chose to use one. He watched her body movements intently, every little twitch. ​

 

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It was like a switch flipped off in her brain. Veera felt nothing but numb. If she could have set Derrick on fire with her gaze, she would have done it in a heartbeat. And Igni took too long to draw. "You are dead to me." She whispered, her face like stone, as she cast Quen before charging in, drawing her iron sword. He chose a doppler, a doppler over me. Over everyone. He doesn't know what he's done, and I can no longer make him understand. She needed to take care of Derrick so he couldn't stop her, and then she needed to go after the doppler to stop him, if there was enough time. But she could suffer this insult no longer. I am worth more then a doppler ever will be.

 

As soon as her eyes turned he knew that he was in trouble. He started to back up and raised his left hand to draw the Sign of Aard, sending a heavy pushing force forwards. He saw her form Quen. At least the Aard would probably break it. His right hand leaped to his own blade and by pulling the strap that held the blades down, the sword flashed out of its scabbard as he drew it out. Her charge was headlong and thoughtless which gave him a small advantage. Derrick executed a graceful half pirouette to step away from the swing which he knew would not fall wide and hit him, and sliced low towards her thigh. He had no intention of killing her, but he had to cripple her at least. At his blow landed, he spun into another twirl, putting himself on the opposite side of her, and he held his blade to his right
"I didn't think that you were this serious in the Kaer Veera." The Witcher said, his eyes narrowed as he circled her. "Since when have you taken up arms against old friends?" ​

 

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Veera stumbled as the sword sliced through her leather pants, opening a small wound. She turned, adjusting her grip on her own sword with her left hand before meeting Derrick's eyes once again. Pure rage burned inside of her, and she hissed with frustration, circling Derrick before swinging her sword in low, aiming for his right side with her left hand as she drew her silver sword with her right, flicking the leather strap off. She turned in a pirouette as she pulled the sword from its scabbard and followed up with another blow to the right, aiming for his shoulder instead of his side. "Old friends don't betray each other." She retorted, face twisted with anger. "And families don't turn against each other!"

 

He hadn't made a bad cut, he was glad, but it still wasn't enough. She was still standing, and it was even worse than before. Her sword came low, so Derrick quickly stepped back to evade the blow. What he hadn't expected was her right hand to yank out the silver sword. He gritted his teeth. She was beyond help . Veera was a beast now, something that lusted for blood. She struck from the right again and closed in with a pirouette. He parried it as he stepped into her guard. Wielding two swords, she was now defenceless since he was up close. Derrick's left fist lashed out towards her face. He drew it back and quickly drew the Sign of Aard again before spinning away, making distance. Silver on Steel wouldn't end well for the Silver. It would be worn down. If this went on too long, he would end up wearing her sword down until it was unusable.
"Have you forgotten everything you learned? Steel for humans, Silver for monsters!" He called. "If I didn't know better, I'd consider using Silver!" It pained him to see it going this way. Sadly, she had never been famous for being rational. At times like this he wished the Crow was here. I'm just a Witcher damn it! But if nobody else is going to fight her, it'll have to be me! ​

 

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Veera dropped the silver sword after Derrick parried the blow, having enough time to draw Quen before he punched her in the face. She flinched with the blow, which broke the Quen, but after he followed it up with Aard, she was blown backwards. Rolling to her feet, she switched her iron sword to her right hand, remaining crouched for a moment to assess the situation. To try to calm down. Her focus needed to be on the doppler she was meant to kill, not on Derrick. As angry as she was, as stupid as he was, she didn't want to kill him. But she would, if he wouldn't get out of her way.

She took a deep breath, and then he opened his mouth again. "Have you forgotten everything you learned?"

"Of course I bloody haven't! You're the one who's forgotten! You and Veceslav! You've turned on everything! I didn't want to carry this burden alone! I wanted us to do this together!"

If the witcher could have cried, she would have, but despite her eyes aching, nothing came. She swung her sword as she stood, wind tugging at her hair before she created the sign for Igni, forcing the flames in a wave in front of her as she chased them, jumping up and over them to attack Derrick from the sky as the flames attacked from the ground.