Of Monsters and Men

​

Vyle didn't need sleep, he just sat there during the night sharpening his silver knives. Through the night he tried to focus on the menial task, but found himself getting distracted by various thoughts. Soon enough, dawn broke over the horizon, and Ann bolted upright, terrified.
"Shhh, it's alright, I'm here" he stated without getting up "Just a dream, and that's where it'll stay" carefully, Vyle put away his knives, and walked closer. He tried not to look at her neck. The hunger still gnawed at him, but he could resist. He'd done it longer than most of his kind. He would never sink to their level and certainly wouldn't harm Ana.

 

Sometimes Derrick debated the merit of carrying around his tent. Sure, it made the nights a bit more comfortable but setting it up was certainly a pain in the backside, and so was taking it down. Once he was done, they stopped briefly for breakfast and got back on the road again. He heard Treasa trying to motivate herself to stay awake and wondered if she had slept properly. He didn't bring it up because he still wasn't quite sure where her boundaries were. It was hard to judge. So he would just assume that she'd be alright and wait for her to start trusting him. Not that it would be any time soon, judging by her attitude. The Witcher sighed and continued to ride. They had a ways to go. They were only halfway to Novigrad - Not close enough as far as he was concerned. If only he were a sorcerer and could open a portal just to get to Kaer Morhen. Not that it went particularly well last time. He flexed his right shoulder - It was feeling significantly better. He thanked the improved metabolisms of Witchers for the speedy recovery. It wasn't fully up to speed, but he wouldn't tear it open again unless something terrible happened. He hoped that wouldn't be the case.
"Anything you want to do when we hit Novigrad?" Derrick asked. "Once we go past it, I don't intend on stopping until we hit the Kaer."




Adolin awoke bleary eyed in a tavern room. A dancing candle flashed waving shadows across the room. He was aware that he was laying on his front and his back stung. The Doppler gritted his teeth and grunted as he pushed himself up to a kneeling position. He hissed as he moved the skin as his back, prompting the burns to twinge and shoot pain up the entirety of his back. It was then that he realised he was shirtless. He looked around and saw what was left of the Witcher's armour on the ground, the chest armour having been completely ruined. He had to hand it to the mage, he made a bloody good fire. It would have been a miracle for anyone to survive that fla- He remembered Evander. The old man had passed out in the street just by where they were fighting. He was probably dead now. A sorcerer he may have been, but in his state there was no possible way that he could have survived that fire. He almost felt guilty. It was a shame that it happened, but he wasn't really their friend. Just a stranger. He got off the bed and walked around the room a bit. He wasn't too seriously injured judging by the fact that he could move around properly. The door clicked and he jumped back, instinctively reaching for a sword that wasn't there. His eyes scanned the room and he went for the blade leaning against the wall, but before he could reach it Alanna stepped inside and kicked the door closed with her heel.
"This is a set of replacement armour. It's not quite as good as Carrak of Cintra's, but it'll have to do. You'll look the part again at least." Alanna explained, crossing the room and dumping the new equipment on the bed. From a satchel that she now had slung across her chest hanging from her left hip, she produced bandages. "You're going to need to cover those burns. I'm not a doctor, and judging by their attitude to Dopplers I don't think we'll find one that'll treat you here. It's best not to risk it. Either way, I think that it's best if you don't have that exposed. You might get an infection. Now sit down on that chair and let me put them on." Thankfully, he merely grunted and sat down facing the back of the chair, allowing her to get to work. That damn mage. If he wasn't such an uptight idiot then he wouldn't have died and this wouldn't have happened to Adolin. All of our lives would have been so much better. She finished quickly, tying the bandage off and gesturing to the armour on the bed.
"Put that on. I've also bought a hood for you. I'm not sure whether they'll know our faces or not. If I tell people I'm a sorceress I think it'll be okay, but we'd best not go anywhere near that gate." She explained, leaning against the wall while watching Adolin get dressed again. "Now, your objective is to get ahold of something that'll help destroy Kaer Morhen. Sadly, Oxenfurt university is out of the window which leaves us with this city. If sorcerers are so well liked around here, then I suspect that we should be able to find an alchemist."
"This is all very well and good Alanna, but what about if we encounter another situation where they try to kill me for being a Doppler? They figured it out once. It wouldn't surprise me if they did it again." She frowned as he posited the question. It was a good point, and one that she didn't really know the answer to. "We can't fight our way out. Before we were at the gate, now we'll be in the middle of the city. This is the centre of their power. We won't get away." What she wanted to say is that she would convince them to leave him alone. But she couldn't expect herself to be able to do that, especially after the incident at the gate. She cursed herself for not coming up with a solution.
"I'll figure it out." She said, mustering the best tone of finality she could. But both of them knew that there was only one real option if things went the way that they did last time.




Boenn and Wilfred pulled the cart between the two of them. They had been walking for a while now, but it was a ways until they reached Novigrad. They were going to go there to appeal to the King, or at least some authority that could investigate and deal with the situation in Pontarsfork. It wasn't like they could do anything themselves. Neither of them were good enough fighters to take on that monster who had those dead things. The Dwarf looked more haggard than the Elf had ever seen him. No words were spoken - There was nothing to be said. What could he have possibly said? Wilfred's life had evaporated in front of him today. Nothing would ever erase those scars.

"N- No. Nothing is due to happen for another week." Gordon answered, looking at his village. It was strange, not seeing anyone in the fields. His father would be out usually, but he wasn't. He looked to Ellyn, but it was the Nifgaardian with them that spoke up afterwards.
"Wait here, I'll check it out." He held up his hand to the rest and rode ahead a little bit. He'd been in enough conflict to know that something wasn't quite right. The air here was off. It was a fine thing, something he picked up last year during a short lived rebellion in the South. Villages were places of business and agriculture, but no such thing existed here. Instead... It was silent. It was too quiet, too still. It was like an abandoned village. It was worse. He didn't have to enter the village properly to see all the signs he needed to. "By the Great Sun..." He rode hard the other direction with a grim look on his face. He knew that he had seen bodies in there, or pieces of them. When he returned to the group, he wore the most solemn expression that Matilda had ever seen on his face. Her face fell and she began to chew her nails worriedly.
"Don't look." He ordered. He looked at the knight. "If you have to Ellyn, do so. But Matilda, Gordon, you stay here. You do not want to see that."
"Gods... Wh- What happened? Arval?" A despairing look crossed her face. The Corporal shook his head.
"No, the less you two know, the better. Neither of you are ready for it." He looked helplessly at them, and then at Ellyn. "We need to talk. You and me. About this. About what's going to happen now." Gordon nudged his horse over to Matilda with a bit of difficulty.
"What do you think this means?" He whispered, scared. Matilda closed her eyes and the young man noticed a tear rolling down one cheek.
"I think- I think this means that we're not going to see mum and dad again." ​

 

​

Nodding silently in response to Ardal, Ellyn moved Oak away slightly from Gordon and Matilda, far enough so that she and the soldier could talk privately. She stared intently at the village, her fists clenched tight on the reigns. Death hung over this place, she could clearly see now that she paid attention to her surroundings. She was a fool for not having been aware of it sooner. And she wanted to cry, to scream at the world and ask why this had to happen here. Instead she forced herself to grow cold.
"I don't think there's anything left alive in there," she murmured to Ardal in a steely tone. "There's no movement," she explained further, directly contradicting her last post GOD DAMN IT. Ahem.
"Gordon and Matilda need to be kept away from this. They know, or will, what has happened, but they don't need to see it. You should bring them back to the camp." Shifting her gaze from the village towards the two in question sadly, she turned back again to Ardal.
"If your camp commander will allow it, you should also bring a squadron or two of cavalry back here to sweep the area. In the meantime, I will investigate the village and figure out what exactly happened. If I find anything, I'll either come to you myself, or leave directions on where to find me. And if you don't come back at all, then I'll manage by myself."
Looking the Corporal dead in the eye, she wondered if he would actually go along with her directions. "Just get those two out of here at the very least," she sighed.

 

​

Ana let her head drop into her hands, taking a moment to slow her breath and quiet her heartbeat. "I hope so." She whispered, pushing her sweaty hair out of her face before twisting her arms to examine them. The wounds fared like the ones on her legs, nearly halfway to healed. Whatever Derrick had put on them in Oxenfurt had done her a world of good. When he showed up at the Kaer, (from wherever he was, she thought with a twinge of guilt), she would have to ask him exactly what the poultice had been.

Swinging her legs out of bed, she shivered in the cold air, rubbing her arms. "Did you do that all night?" She asked the vampire, raising an eyebrow before moving towards the dresser to search for any sort of suitable clothing. Dresses would likely be scarce at the Kaer, so she would make do with whatever she could find that was appropriate covering. While she searched, she directed more conversation towards Vyle. "What are we going to do now? There's so much going wrong, I don't even know where to start trying to fix it..." As if it's left up to us. But really, it was. Who else was going to try to stop Solomon, or Milosh, or Archon? Who else would try to find peace between the dopplers and humans? She sighed, turning to Vyle with her arms full of clothes. "What do we do?"

​

Veera took the vials and placed them in her satchel, followed by the bombs going into her equipment belt. She gritted her teeth when the final part came, and Veceslav talked about family, of all things. She refused to use that against him, refused to argue. It was futile, and while she was angry she still formed coherent thoughts. Is there a reason I shouldn't be forming coherent thoughts? She wondered to herself, sighing as she took the bracelet, staring at it with little to no emotion.

Perhaps a little nostalgic, but whatever Veceslav hoped for her to do with it, she hadn't the first idea. It wasn't her childhood she was missing, just the last few days. And from the sounds of it, she was probably better off not knowing. Slipping the belt into her satchel to mix with the vials and potions, she allowed Veceslav to look at her with all the regret and love and whatever else was in his gaze; she didn't stick around long enough to see it. Turning away abruptly, she raised her hand in farewell before shutting the door behind her. The urge to slam it, to storm out like a teenager, was so very strong Veera almost regretted not doing it. But she couldn't do that to the man who had helped raise her. And she wouldn't. She had to be better then that, at least until the end.

Why, she couldn't say. But she didn't question the instinct. On her way out of the Kaer, sighing over her missing horse, she caught sight of Tatiana, waiting on the doorstep. Veera sighed, then looked back. Well, if she was going to have a rough day, then so could Veceslav. And since he had banished her, the responsibility now fell to him to tell Tatiana what had happened.

"Hey." She stood there, awkward. She couldn't remember the girl, and it hurt a little, knowing that in the short time they had known each other Tatiana had impacted her life a great deal. "You should go talk to Veceslav." She gave Tatiana simple directions, then patted the girl on the shoulder, every movement stilted. "You'll be okay. And I'm sorry."

Turning before Tatiana could force her into conversation, she started off down the road, the winter breeze cold on her face. If she had any luck at all, her horse had started on its way back to the Kaer when she hadn't come back for it, and they would meet on the road. If not, it was a long walk to Oxenfurt.

​

Treasa rubbed her face with one hand, blinking as Derrick's words tried to filter through her exhausted consciousness. "Novigrad...right." She sighed softly, letting her head hang. "It would be nice to get more healing herbs. And possibly a new sharpening stone, if we have the time. The battle against the necrophages dulled more arrowheads then I care to admit." She shifted, the injury in her leg twinging.

Glancing down, she winced. She hadn't checked the wound since the day before, mostly by mistake. The burning sensation that lingered on the edge of her mind told her a different story. "Do you happen to have any cleansing materials on you? Not water, but something stronger....like alcohol?" She asked hesitantly, gritting her teeth. As much as she hated to admit weakness. the wound needed more cleaning. And with her lack of sleep, it wouldn't take much to get herself sick. And if she was sick, then she would be dead weight and it would be all too easy for Derrick to leave her behind.

"I...have a necrophage wound that needs more rigorous cleaning." She admitted. Gods, if it came down to it she might have to get it cauterized. Good thing she wasn't afraid of fire.

​

Zack was now sitting on his cot, one hand clenched in the other as he rested his chin upon it. There was really only one option now, to keep the rest of the dopplers safe, and guarantee that safety for the future. He shut his eyes for a moment, basking in the quiet silence of the morning. The only sounds to disturb said silence were the birds of the forest, and the quiet murmurs of the men at arms who were on guard. He had them rotating every eight hours in order to make sure they were well rested. Because honestly, tired men were men who made mistakes.

Zack stayed there, silently meditating on his choice to make sure it was the only viable option, before getting to his feet as the camp slowly began to awaken with the sounds of food being made and fires being started. He opened the flap to his tent, a proud construct of the engineers the night before, and glanced out. Seemingly overnight, the refugee camp had turned into an actual camp, with most families having a tent to themselves. Those that didn't today, would by tonight. Zack turned away and walked towards the clearing where, soon enough, his council would gather. He would have to get them to agree to his idea before he followed through with it.

And he knew none of them were going to like it.

​

Tessa muttered, but sat up, rubbing her hair with her head and causing it to become even more tangled as Seth opened the door for Matilda. Men. She thought to herself, keeping her legs underneath the warm covers until she had to remove them. At least she hadn't taken her clothes off, or else Matilda would be getting a lot more then she bargained for this early in the morning.

She yawned as she pointed at Seth to answer Matilda's question before beckoning to Greg. "You can come sit here with me," she offered the little boy. "And tell me how silly my hair looks. Maybe we can figure out how to untangle it together with your bear friend."

The NPC guard in Novigrad who until this point was Unimportant
​

The Unimportant Guard, who's name is now Chuck, peered into the dark cell. "You alrigh' in there?" he chuckled as he spoke, giving away the reason his nickname existed. "I can' imagine tryin' to take on Kyle. Shame wha' happened." He took a swig from his canteen, wiping his mouth with his arm guard before laughing again.

"I wonder if anyone's missin ye. Tell ya what. Make me a lord, and I might consider lettin' ya go." He pretended to think about his offer before chuckling again, clutching his belly. "Oy, not even a lordship would be worth lettin' ya go and facing our good King Archon's wrath. I'd rather die in me bed, not screamin with me guts out me mouth."

 

She turned away, from him, angry. She didn't slam the door though, but that didn't fool him to think she wasn't angry. He understood it, as family having to send someone away like he had just done... to their deaths... Not to mention that he had failed to keep up the cold distant tone he had used the night before. She had to understand he himself had no other choice either. This is what Silas had warned him about, when he prepared the Crow to follow in his footsteps and lead the witchers of the Kaer, sure they were all individuals with their own wishes, but as the oldest it fell to him to keep the others in line. Silas had told him these decisions wouldn't be easy, especially if you were all a close-knitted group of individuals, like a family. However Silas had also told him that eventhough these moments would be difficult, keeping everyone together as a family was worth it. He recalled how difficult it had been for himself to take the position of leader in the begining after Silas had gotten killed trying to fight a pair of fiends simultaneously... there hadn't been much left to lead after the defence of the Kaer and the Crow, like Silas had to try and rebuild the order. To an extent they had succeeded, but when he looked at what was left now, he knew he had failed, not just himself and Veera, but also Master Silas. The Crow went to the balcony of his room and watched Veera go... another one gone.... No, he refused to give up, the Order would be restored even if it were the last thing he ever did.


"I hate to break it to you, but Witchers don't disappear, when they stop showing up, they're dead.... Seen it way too much meself, well until Treasa found her way to me that is, gradually drifted away from the others after that. Though occasionally I think back of them." Alastar said "It won't be fine, I once got into a bit of trouble when I kinda accidentally put a Zerrikanian warhorse out of commision by mounting it.... if a Zerrikanian warhorse can't handle me, I don't think yer horse can pull it off... But don't worry, I'm used to walking." Alastar listened to the story, he knew damn well Witcher stories weren't happy ones, his own one was a little bit of an exception, but it wasn't exactly a happy story either. That the town got swarmed by such an odd assortment of monsters that attacked the village, not sure how that worked at all, whatsoever but he wouldn't question it. "None of the stories do, not a single one of them does. But we make our sacrifices so others may live better lives." The Witcher said, not entirely convinced of it all, but he didn't let that on. "And Kid, I've seen a lot worse with my own two eyes than any story you can provide me." He had put Treasa through hell too, especially when they had just met, he was so used to being along that it took some effort to be more conciderable for her.... Well what was done 's done, no changing the past. As one of his comrades once said Stop looking at the past, you ain't living there "I hear ya Ragnar, I hear ya..." He muttered.​

 

Sweallow's morning had started fairly early for him. He'd gotten up to head to the market to pick up some thing for later use. Mostly fruit and other edible goods for he now had a guest to take care of, thus he had an obligation to make sure that Terra was comfortable while she was healing. He'd stayed out long enough to be sure that he had a suffice enough of goods before heading back to his home. When he walked into the building, he found Terra sitting up in the bed she was provided. "Are you're stiches bothering you?"

 

​

A smile flickered across Vyle's face as she asked him if he'd been sharpening his knives all night "Well I don't usually need sleep. I stayed in here all night" he said. He moved slightly closer to Ana "What will we do? I'll tell you what we do. We deal with these evils one at a time. At the moment... Solomon is the biggest threat I can see right now" Vyle explained "I saw the army he gathered from the dead of Oxenfurt. I won't let his sadisitc wrath destroy and defile more lives"

Atop a hill lay a ruined fort, stones laying around crumbled walls. A stony path led up to the castle, and deft feet skipped along them, a black cloak flailing in the wind trailing behind the figure. And behind the figure lurched a horde of the walking dead. Each of their eyes glowing a deathly blue, their minds puppets to the mage's control. They carried tools and massive logs of wood, and as the mage crested the hill and sat on the grass in the centre of the ruined keep, they set down their tools and got to work. One undead child brought the mage a cup of tea. "Thank you young lady. Now what should I name my new castle? Something evil would be expected, of course. That's how people see me isn't it? That's how they've always seen me. Might as well acquiesce to their expectations. So. How about it? Something with "black" or "dark" in it would be nice. Extra points if it relates to necromancy. What are some good words? "Doom", "Dread", "Grim"... hmmm" Solomon pondered. The girl did not respond. He sipped his tea. "I'll keep thinking"

 

Olivia's pov:



'Witchers don't disappear, when they stop showing up, they're dead' "I am not so sure there was something different about these two Witchers." 'kinda accidentally put a Zerrikanian warhorse out of commision by mounting it.... if a Zerrikanian warhorse can't handle me, I don't think yer horse can pull it off... But don't worry, I'm used to walking' You would think that someone like Alastar would find a horse for him. After all they do breed horses for all different kinds of things, so why did Alaster not have one? 'our sacrifices so others may live better lives' "Do you believe we are making a difference? There is so few of us now. The battle is always there. Monsters will continue to come." She did not know what to say other then to continue her story. "Like I said, At the age of 5 my home town was attacked by werewolves, Sirens vampires and other creepy creatures of the dark and night. The town was completely destroyed. I was able to get away and find my way to a new town. A new home. I was lucky to escape. Eveyone from that town died. My family and everyone I knew. A Witcher from Kaer Morhen investigated the town I was from and found me just outside of town. The witcher found me and trained me to become a Witcher along with another one Witcher helping me. From then on she set out to ride the world of all the creepy creatures of the dark and night. The Witcher gave me new family and they were all to happy to take me in. At first I was surprise by the kindness of others, but as time went on I learned that was just how people were. I was able to start training at a young age. I started shortly after the Witcher found me. I fight the creepy creatures of the dark and night. To keep the monsters at bay because no one else will do it. Most of all I do not want what happened to me to happen to others." She continued without saying much else.

 

"That's fine by me." He agreed. "I should restock the same things as well." They continued to ride a bit more, but then she spoke up about her injury. He raised an eyebrow. He wasn't aware that she had taken an injury from a Necrophage. That was bad news. She was probably already aware of what could have happened to her if somebody wasn't made aware and treated it.
"Yes, I do. Do you want to stop for a moment and get that sorted?" Derrick asked, a little concerned. "You know what happens if you don't get that treated, right?"




Novigrad was a hub of activity, as he expected. Bustling streets were filled with peddlers and guards on patrol. Their brief wanderings through the city had already shown to them the extent to which they seemed to hate Dopplers. There was little doubt in Adolin's mind that the people being dragged out of their homes around were unfortunate brothers and sisters of his that had been caught. Bryce's damn fool revolution had caused more problems than it solved. He shook his head. He was right not to get involved. He and Alanna hadn't spoken ever since he had posed the question of what they were going to do if they were found again. He got the impression that she didn't really want to think about it. So far, they had been sneaking through the city, ducking through alleyways and winding side streets. They were evading notice well, for now. He got the impression that she knew where she was going. Finally, they stopped at a door.
"This is it. An alchemist. I asked around the mages and this one is of repute. Hopefully he'll have what we're looking for." Adolin nodded and followed her inside.





"Yeah. I'll take them back to the camp and leave them there. They should be okay." Ardal agreed. She mentioned the idea of bringing around a group of soldiers to sweep the area. He agreed. He could bring his own squad around and he was sure that he could come to an arrangement with his commanding officers. "Be careful there, alright. We don't know who did this. If you have to, ride back to camp." He gestured to the two with them. He had a pained expression on his face when he saw the anguish on their face.
"Come on, we'll get back to camp. Alright?" He didn't want to be hard on them, especially Matilda, but he needed to get them back and somewhere they could cope, better than out here. ​

 

​

Treasa shook her head, pulling her horse up aside Derrick's. "Just give me what you can, if you don't mind. I'll get you the coin for it when we stop, or owe you a favor." She narrowed her eyes. "But not that kind of favor. And yeah, I'm well aware what happens. I dumped all the alcohol I had on it, and yet.." she sighed. "Just whatever you can." She repeated.

In the Dungeons of Kazad Doom
​

Chuck shook his head. "Oh I'd bet ya he knows yer here. He just don't care much. Yer not magical, and yer not important enough that he worries yer house will rise again 'im." Another swig from the canteen, another wipe of his sleeve across his mouth. "I hope ya have a soul who cares enough ta spend coin on yer bail. Otherwise, ya might be here a while." He told Talon, not without a little sympathy.

In the Streets of Gondor Novigrad
​

The alchemist raised his bearded face as two individuals. "Welcome." he said in an old man voice. "What may I do for you today?" He smiled kindly at them, placing his wrinkled hands on the counter. "I've got fertility potions, good luck charms, and fortunes for love, if that's what you're looking for. There's also herbs for good health, to keep your home smelling fresh, and to keep wounds from festering." The young couple in front of him looked like they had been run through the grindstone.

 

​

Kruez wandering around had taken a small detour when he ended up outside. Normally he would've shrugged his shoulder and gone back to trying to find the library, but when he saw Veera walking (I assume, let's just say she is now) away for Kaer. Weird, yet this caught attention thus he went to catch up to her (still assuming that she's walking). "Off for a walk?"

 

Derrick opened one of his saddlebags and rummaged through it as the horse trotted along the dirt road. He knew the shape of the bottles that he needed and after rifling through one of the many sacks, he came across the strong alchemic spirit that he used when creating potions. He picked it out and shook the bottle. It sounded like there was liquid in there. He took the top off and checked. Definitely. He turned and threw it to Treasa.
"Catch!" Derrick continued to ride on. "I wasn't going to ask you for that kind of favour Treasa. I know where we stand. You give me too little credit." He put on a mock wounded tone of voice for the last sentence.
"Besides, if I find myself desperate enough to ask you even though I know how it'll end, I'll just stop off at the Passiflora or something." He said with a casual hand wave, dismissing the issue.




"Not quite. We're looking for something... A little more rare. And specialised. Besides, we know you're an alchemist, so there's no need to act like an apothecary." Alanna stated, looking at the old man. She nudged Adolin as if to tell him to explain what they were looking for.
"We're looking for explosive compounds. Stuff out of Zerrikania." She nodded in affirmation. She was somewhat surprised that he actually knew where to find some of this. That said, from what she could tell poisons were the speciality of the Viper School and there was a reasonable amount of Alchemical knowledge in the school as a result. He must have disseminated the information from the memories of Carrak. They did need a lie though. Right now, it sounded very suspicious.
"We're working on designing experimental weapons for King Archon's army by using these compounds as a compact explosive device." Throwing around the King's name was probably the best way to do it. She had also seen the coin that Kyle gave to poor Evander. That looked like an admission. If the man inquired further, then she had the next part lined right up. ​

 

​

Teliana smiled a little, combing her fingers through her hair. "I blame myself for that, you know." She replied, turning away from Vyle and moving towards the other side of the room. There was a small screen here, with a tub next to it. She moved behind the screen with the clothes, dropping them to the floor before shrugging out of her dress. "If I hadn't showed mercy, if I had tried to interpret the situation different, perhaps this would have turned out differently." Perhaps Milosh was a punishment from the gods. She sighed, pulling on the oversized shirt and rolling up the sleeves, buttoning the white cloth up as far as it would go. This still left a moderate amount of her skin unveiled, but it was no longer obscene.

"Where will we start? I know I should have asked you, but I'd still like Zephyr to travel with us. He needs protecting, just in case Milosh comes after him again. I wouldn't be surprised if the bastard tried to finish what he started. I wonder if he's heard I escaped...." She let the thought drift away as she slipped into the trousers. "How do I look?" She stepped out from behind the screen, doing a mock twirl before grinning, feeling a little like her old self.

​

Veera turned, startled by the appearance of the mage. "Not by choice." She gestured back at the Kaer. "I've been banished as fitting punishment for my crimes. I'm off to destroy Solomon, the necromancer who was partly responsible for the massacre in Oxenfurt." She smiled bitterly. "I've got a long walk indeed. And what about you? What are you doing out here so early?"

​

Treasa caught the bottle, blinking at Derrick's statement. She shifted to sit side saddle, rolling up her trousers to reveal the wound. Which was not faring as well as she hoped. Sucking in her breath, she turned the bottle over and dumped the contents onto the injury, hissing in pain. The rest, she tore a strip off her shirt to clean the wound more thoroughly, swearing under her breath with each fresh wave and sting of pain.

"You're not what I thought you were, if you truly mean that." She said at least, keeping the cloth pressed to the injury for just a bit longer. Especially with the way it looked..she shuddered. Better to be in a little more pain and safe, then comfortable for a little while and sorry.

​

Tessa smiled, helping Gregory gently untangle the knots in her hair. "Well thank you. I hope it doesn't, I've got to impress you after all." She told him. "I like your hair too. It fits you!" She ruffled it gently with a laugh, her smile dying as she listened to Matilda's words before looking at Seth, unsure of how to respond. "Not here...I guess...is there something we should be worried about here?" She asked, her wariness starting to intrude in on her carefree attitude.

Back in the random happy little old man's shop
​

"Ah." The man lost his kindly exterior, his mouth pressing into a thin line. "Say no more, then my dear." He disappeared into the back of his shop, where the sounds of rummaging could be heard. When he returned, he had several small pouches that he gingerly placed on the countertop for the two's inspection. "I've more in the back if you tack a particular liking to one or another, though I must warn you." He pointed to the one on the far left, and the one in the middle. "Those two are the most volatile, and don't take much more then water to explode. If you've a longer journey ahead, I recommend the one on the right, or the one next to it. More stable, harder to accidently set anything off. That middle one, even a portal journey could cost you your life."

He observed them as they observed his wares. "Word on the street is the Black Ones are coming. You going to stop them?" He asked. In the end, he was just an old man, desperate for any sign of hope that he might live out the rest of his short years in peace.

 

There was a knock on the door and he then heard Tatiana's voice, were it not for his witcher sense he would probably have missed it. "Come in, Tatiana." He called as he went back into his room from the balcony, keeping the door open so some fresh air could get in. When the girl came in he gestured for her to sit down. "Make yourself comfortable." The old Crow sighed, he doubted she knew already, when the girl had gotten herself comfortable he looked at her. "There are two things that need to be discussed.... firstly Veera and I have had a discussion... we think that you should become a witcher as well." The old Crow told the girl, he kept quiet about Aaron for now, this needed to be discussed first.


"We aren't all the same we all got differences, but that doesn't mean they're not dead when they stop showing up, they're gone kid, no use keeping up the false hope." Alastar said in the similar fashion he would remind Treasa that all of the men that had taken her captive, he had made sure himself that none had escaped, so afraid that they might come back. "As long as there is still a single witcher around we may recover, restore the order and take the fight to the monsters as is our duty. And Kid come on, don't call them creepy creatures of the dark and night. You make them sound like the monsters from ****ing fairy tales. That no one else does it is a lie, there are knights who try and other witchers out there. But the Knights can't handle some of the monsters. If you think you're alone then you're a naïve girl." Alastar said as he walked onwards upon the road to the Kaer. ​

 

They continued to ride along. He looked back to see if she had caught the alcohol and sure enough, she had and was now attending to the wound. Satisfied that she was going to be fine, the Witcher faced forwards on the road, keeping an eye on what was ahead but not moving too quickly still. He wasn't planning on making her ride hard while attending to her wound. It would be painful, impractical and probably wasteful as he doubted that anyone could keep the bottle from spilling over at a hard gallop.
"To be fair, you only know me by my reputation. Oddly enough, people don't know me all that well." Derrick replied. "Don't get me wrong, I like what I like but if there's an obvious boundary, especially when it's someone that I respect, I'm not going to push that. It's not worth the trouble. And to be honest, I don't want to make this ride awkward by making unwanted advances. And somehow, I doubt that even my amazing charms are going to win you over in just this journey." He adopted an obviously joking tone for the last part.




"Yes, we are." Alanna replied. There was always warning that the Black Ones were coming, no matter the time. However, she was inclined to believe that perhaps it was. If this alchemist was concerned about it, she felt that it wasn't entirely likely that the possibility of an invasion could become the reality of an invasion. Unfortunately, it was a lie that they were going to help, but he could at least hope. She wasn't going to crush that. "If we're going to beat them, we're going to need new ways of fighting wars. And that's what we're here to discover." The goods were placed on the table, and she examined the options carefully. They didn't have far to travel because they could simply use a portal, however that presented the major issue of the volatile one.
"I'll take the more volatile one that doesn't have the risk of exploding mid-portal. We're going to need to use a portal to get back to our lab so, it's probably best not to use that one." Alanna replied. Adolin remained quiet, allowing her to deal with this. ​

 

​

The first thing that came to mind when Veera mentioned her crime was he desire to make the doppler who had injured Tatiana. He didn't know just what she had done prior to leaving the room, but apparently it was worth punishment. Hearing the word necromancy had caught both his attention and his curiosity. "Well I was going to look for the library when I ended up here, but now I'm curious about this Solomon person. Anything else you can tell me?"

"I see, well I thought as much my be the case. So that is why you're going to need to build up some strength if you want to go outside." Sweallow still planned on taking her outside like she had requested yesterday, in fact that was a small part of the reason that he had gone out this morning. The bag holding the good he'd recently purchased on his desk and took out an apple, then handed it to Terra. "Eating something should help."

 

​

Veera blinked; it wasn't the response she had expected. "He's...he can raise the dead. And he's got a of those raised dead formulated into an army of some sort. I don't think he's..." she sighed. "There's something wrong with him. He's not all there." Not that I'm any better. "I'm not sure if that helps. But I really must be on my way." The mage didn't seem to understand her dire circumstances. If Veceslav saw her again, he would be well within his rights to slay her on sight. She didn't want that to be the case five minutes into her banishment.

​

To be fair...but life wasn't fair. And most first impressions were made based on the stories and legends, especially in regards to the witchers. "Fate is cruel to you indeed. To partner you with the one person in the entire world who wouldn't simply drop to their knees and beg for your favors." She rolled the vial around in her hands a little bit before stowing it in her pouch. It would be easier to simply give it back to Derrick when they arrived.

"I've heard that not all of your partners were....willing, until you coerced them. Is that true?" She asked; another test. It was one thing to admit to sleeping around, but another to admit using methods that were beyond most human's control. And Treasa had used Axii enough times to know that it could be used for ill just as much as good.

​

Tessa patted Greg on the head before getting to her feet stiffly. She knelt in front of Matilda, her arm arching over her shoulder to reach the hem of her shirt, which she lifted with her fingers to display the wound. Ugly. The word drifted through Tessa's mind as she lowered her eyes to the floor, that mantra of shame once more slipping into her awareness. The shame of being weak and naive.

"If your brother is missing, I will do whatever I can to help." she murmured to Matilda, watching Greg play. "Nothing is more important then family."

In the dungeons of Morder Novigrad
​

"Hm, good poin'. Reckon you didn't think of that when you let them throw you in here." Chuck leaned against the bars, his eyes dimming as he went back to another time. "They'll probaby hang ya, boy. Dopper sympathizer, going against the king's orders...." He drank a litte more before putting a stopper in the bottle.

"And any that love ye enough to find you here, will be sentenced as well. It's not a pretty thing, going against King Archon." He suddenly reached in, grabbing Talon and pulling him close enough to smell the alcohol on the guard's breath. "Boy, see this here." He held the key in front of Talon, just within reach. "Ye have a choice, now. Ye can ruin my life, take this key, and go. Arguable it might be that I could escape, find a new life serving the Black Ones. And mayhap it happens. But there's no certain thing with Archon, you see. Man knows a lot more then he lets on."

Chuck paused for a moment. "If ye don't, it's fair certain though, that ye and whoever comes for ya will suffer. And there's no greater shame then failing to protect those you love." Chuck waited for Talon's reply. If the boy chose to go, he would have the key, be able to open the door, and be gone. If he didn't....Chuck drank to forget what happened to those who waited Archon's punishment.

Down in Flea Bottom Bay
​

The old alchemist nodded, and promptly began to pack up the other satchels, handling them with as much care as necessary. Once that was finished, he brought out one more bag of the favored powder, and placed it on the counter. "Free of charge." He told the two of them, his eyes on the mage. "Archon may not be the most generous of kings, praise be his name, but he has made life better for us magical folk. I'd hate to see what our lives would be like under the Black One's rules."

He bowed to Alanna, and nodded to Adolin. "Safe travels, and whatever you do, remember." He looked from one to the other again to make sure they were both paying attention. "Do not take this powder out of the satchel until you are ready to damage buildings and people. The satchels both have five layers to keep from breaking easily, but once the powder mixes with air, you have three minutes before the reaction completes itself."

He shrugged. "Good fortune to you both."