Of Monsters and Men

Olivia's pov:



Alastar again said that the Witchers were dead. At this point there was not much to say. '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.' Really it was not the same. "Witcher fight alone, well most do. Some say that we are a family." She did not know what else to say to Alaster. 'If you think you're alone then you're a naïve girl.' "Just because the Witchers are a family does not mean we are together. Most Witchers die alone. A lucky few may find someone but really it does not happen all that often." The Witchers are alone. "but I am alone", She whispered to herself.

 

Derrick chuckled at her comment about him.
"Cruel indeed." He nodded with half a smile on his face. Seemed like they were having a reasonable conversation and nothing was going to go terribly wrong. At least, until she asked that second question. There was no point lying about it. "Yes... I have done so before. There's no point denying that." He didn't say anything after, instead he fell quiet. There was no point in trying to justify himself. Now that he had to answer to someone about those actions, he got a sense of perspective on what it meant. Sometimes, it felt like a better option than bankrupting some of the people he was working for. Not every farmer could afford to pay large amounts for a Witcher's services and he couldn't do anything unpaid, but that didn't make it any better.
"I'm not planning on pulling anything like that on you before you start thinking that." He said flatly, the humour obviously gone from his voice. "I don't plan on causing any tension. Besides, I'm basically leading you back to the Kaer. When we're back, if I need to I'll spend a bit of time healing and I'll be on the road again. Knowing what life is like, I doubt we'll meet again afterwards." Never knew you before now anyway. What difference is it going to make? He kept his head fixed straight ahead. He didn't look back. To some extent, he didn't want to look behind him. He wasn't sure that he wanted to face the judgement that she was undoubtedly giving. He had been above all that for so long in his life that he wasn't used to it. It wasn't like Veceslav had ever said anything about it to him. So long as he didn't go around butchering people in cold blood, the Crow seemed happy to let it lie.




"Thank you." Alanna smiled warmly at the alchemist. "Is it possible to get some more? If this works out, then we'll need more materials. I'm wiling to pay."
"Al-" Adolin began, but she put her finger up to his mouth and he stopped. What was she doing? She's going to set money down on this? Just for me, and my crazy quest? In any case, he was forced to stand by and watch her take a pouch of coin from the satchel she wore at her hip and place it on the counter.
"How much will two more be? She asked. She could probably put down the money for it. It might take a lot of the money that she had available but she had some at the house still, which hadn't been touched in the riot. ​

 

He noted how Tatiana glanced at her hands. "Tatiana, I know it'll be a very big change for you, but you may look at me when we talk, I'd even prefer it if you did." The old crow said, okay time to answer all the questions one by one now. "Strength, can be trained, knowledge of weapons, can be taught. Intelligence? What we need to know is all in tomes. My dear girl, Veera came here as a scared little girl. I came here as a scared little boy. Witchers aren't selected on those traits, they are taken as children, trained to become witchers from a young age." Veceslav looked at her, it she probably couldn't imagine the scared little boy that he was when he first got to the Kaer. Then again that scared little boy died a long time ago. "Yes you did indeed drink some Witcher potion, I don't know if it will help with the confusion or the pains though it is quite possible it will help there. However, it is not entirely without risk. I will not deny that there is a good chance you may not survive the trials, if you do well there will be a rigorous training awaiting you." Veceslav explained. "As for the second thing...it's about your brother and this is also why we want to help you become a witcher... Your brother fell in combat in Oxenfurt, fought bravely to defend himself and us, I tried to help him but to no avail." The crow knew damn well that he was lying to her, but hey she didn't know any better.


"Girl are you blind?" Alastar asked Olivia as she said she was alone. Clearly he didn't matter, clearly he wasn't considered a real person just a figment of someone's imagination. Had this girl had too much Fistech and that's how he got here? Just a hallucination, no dear reader that is not the case. "Most of us lose their family of blood when they become witchers, which their brothers and sisters in arms will replace as their new one. For if we do not look after one another who will? The peasants? The Army? The Nobility? No we look after our own. This is why Derrick, Veera and the Crow rather quickly accepted my aide, it came from a Witcher, one like yourself, while we are from different schools, we're all witchers that stick together." Alastar said This girl was an idiot if she thought she were the only witcher trying to fight the monsters the entire witcherkind was made for that purpose to fight the monsters, it was their entire raison d'être, he wondered if this maybe was a fault in the crow's teachings or this girl refused to listen to sense and reason.​

 

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Not many necromancers are all there. Kruez thought. That much didn't surprise him at all. It would be more surprising if he was all there in the head, but that wasn't the case. "It does help, in fact I would like to tag along with you." Kruez was being pretty straight to the point with his desire to tag along, something that he hadn't been for quite some time to be honest.

Sweallow hadn't taken into account just how hungry Terra was and surprised when she made quick work of the apple. "Looks like it was a good thing that I went out this morning." He'd stood there and watched as she shifted a weight slightly before asking him to help her stand. "Of course, you are still my patient." Having said that, Sweallow held out his hand for Terra to grab. Once she did, he would do his best to aid her her standing up as well as keeping her balance so that she didn't fall back onto he bed.

 

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Veera blinked. "Oh." She hadn't expected that response at all. "Well then. Follow me, I suppose." She turned and began walking once more, down the long road to Oxenfurt. This time she had company, and she found that she didn't mind all that much.

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Treasa frowned as Derrick spoke, but didn't say anything in return. She wasn't sure what she could say. It all went back to using women as objects, hardly considering them as a person. She found that she didn't want to believe Derrick was like that, but by the words from his own mouth he was proving otherwise. She rubbed her hand on the back of her neck, trying to ease some of the tension in her spine.

"Am I only different because I can fight? Or because my uncle is a witcher? Or just because I helped save you?" She asked. "What makes me so special that you wouldn't try your charms on me?" She didn't want them, honestly. But the thought that there was something wrong with her that made her not good enough for Derrick of Kaedwen irked her. He didn't know about her past, so that couldn't be the issue.

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Zack grimaced as once more Lila and Gregory began to argue. Lila was all for Zack's course of action, while Gregory was completely against it. "What makes you think he'll honor such an agreement? If the past is any indicator, peace is the last thing on his mind!" The old man was nearly shouting, until Rael put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Lila simply folded her arms across her chest, frowning. "Because we have no choice but to hope for the best. We are going to starve soon, we're still in the midst of winter, we have no supplies or support, and how long will it be before the city guard turns back to Archon, who has, by all accounts, ordered dopplers to be slaughtered in the streets of Novigrad?"

Angeal moved forward at this, his face also set in a frown. "We have no desire nor allegiance to Archon, and never will. He abandoned us in our hour of need, and that is not something I, or my men will forget."

"The promise of gold causes many men to forget even the most heinous of crimes." Lila replied, causing the guard captain's knuckles to whiten.

Zack had had enough. He slammed his hands on the table to get the others' attention, all of which turned to him. "Lila is right. Gregory is right. You all are right. But this is the only way." He told them. "If we are going to be the leaders of this community, we have to put our own desires after the safety and welfare of our own people."

The tent was silent, waiting for him to continue. "It's been a blessed winter. Fairly little snow, the cold has been bearable, and the we've had plenty of food and coin saved up. But things are different now. We cannot survive in tents made out of cloth if the snows return and the temperature drops; we'll freeze in our beds before we know what's happened. We don't have enough food to survive the week, let alone a month. We do not have the numbers to start a war, let alone a siege, nor the supplies. We barely have enough to defend ourselves. So I ask you, what choice do we have?"

The members of the Council looked at each other, then at Zack. One by one they each nodded their assent. Zack sighed with relief, or as much relief as he could muster, and after they had left, turned to Rael. "Send this on the fastest bird you can find." He told his bodyguard, who looked at him with a mixture of admiration and surprise. "You knew they would agree." He murmured, taking the scroll gently.

"I hoped they would see reason. Otherwise there would have been a schism. It's been avoided, thank the gods." Zack ran his hand through his hair, tired even though the day had barely started. "Rest, ser. Everything else will be taken care of." Rael gently squeezed Zack's shoulder before turning and exiting the tent flap. Zack instead braced his hands on the table, mind still working quickly as his thoughts briefly drifted to the thought of another letter he had sent.

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Tessa's hands clenched as she waited for Matilda to finish. "We have to help. I'm really good at navigating cities." It hadn't occurred to Tessa that not all cities were shaped the same way, but it didn't matter, not to her. "Greg could come with us, since Seth is good with weapons and I know my way around a dagger, and we'll split up. That way, when you find him, if he's in trouble you can deal with that while Seth and distract Greg." Tessa spoke quietly so the little one wouldn't hear, but her eyes and voice were filled with determination.

Bryce, whoever he was now, wouldn't have just let someone suffer and stand by. He would do something about it. Even if it meant putting himself in danger. "We can help, and so we have an obligation to help." He had always told her. And she still believed it, with all her heart.

"I just need to ask Sigmund if there's a dagger I can borrow." She said, getting to her feet.

~Back in Novigrad~
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The old man frowned, but shrugged. "Twenty gold for the other three. Call it a special." He told her, bushy eyebrows coming together in a frown. It wasn't his business what they needed the powder for, but he had some misgivings about selling his entire stock to the girl. For one thing, she would be carrying enough to level a good part of Novigrad if she slipped up. It was a risk he would have to take, provided she didn't stumble right outside the door and send them all careening into the afterlife.

"If you're going to blow yourself up, do it far away from my shop." he told her before going back to the storage room as she counted the coins. When he returned, a special bag in tow, she had the money laid out on the counter. He swept it up and began to package the explosives in the special bag. "This will keep it from getting wet or jolted too much." He told the girl as he carefully strapped each pouch in. "But that's not an excuse to go cavorting about the country side." Grudgingly, he handed the bag over to her. It had a thick shoulder strap so it could be slung across the front of her body.

 

"The latter two. Not because you can fight. And because I know that it would be pointless." He answered, still speaking in the flat tone that he had started talking in when they started talking. He looked down, fidgeting awkwardly with the reins of his horse. He wasn't used to talking about this. "A lot of people needed a Witcher's services. We can't do things for free, and I'd rather not leave them penniless. You probably have a different perspective. To you, it's probably the worst thing. And it isn't brilliant. But I'd rather that, than save them from a monster only for them to die of starvation when they ran out of food. I could offer the Law of Surprise, but I don't want to take a child either. That's how it always turns out in stories right?" He smiled bitterly.
"But it happens. I know what hell that child is going to face. I don't want to see his dead eyes when he dies to the Trials, or when Old Speartip in the caves breaks his back." He continued. He finally looked around at her. "Call me what you want. Accuse me of being every terrible thing in the universe. Maybe it's not right, but neither is anything in this world." He turned away and muttered under his breath.
"And at least this has the possibility of being pleasant. Spending money never is."




"Thank you." She said sweetly, tucking the coin pouch on to her belt and slipping the satchel that he gave her for the pouches over her shoulder. She walked out of the shop with Adolin ahead of her, presumably clearing the way. He was quick on the uptake. Neither of them particularly wanted to explode. At least, not yet. "Let's get back to the room. Then we'll discuss our next move." Adolin looked at her.
"You got a damn good price. I would have thought a couple hundred at least..."
"We'll talk about this later. Just focus on getting me through the city without blowing up." He nodded, and began dutifully pushing his way through the crowd for Alanna. She smirked. He's such a gentleman when he wants to be. ​

 

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Treasa paused, unsure how to reply. His logic was sound, as much as she hated to admit it. She knew all too well the hardship most of folk they helped would face after they left. And a witcher must always be paid. She clicked to the horse, pushing it to ride past him as she tossed him the empty vial. "Maybe for you it's pleasant." It was still selfish, and some part of her mind said it was wrong.

She wanted to ride ahead, clear her thoughts, try and understand. Because what she had once thought of Derrick, what she now thought, and what she wanted to think were slowly becoming more convoluted the more questions she asked. This time, her thoughts weren't interrupted by Derrick, but by the sound of chittering. Swearing, Treasa managed to jump off the horse just as it panicked, rearing its hind legs up in the air. Her bow slipped off her shoulder as she pulled an arrow form the quiver, aiming it at the Endrega warrior that moved towards her with alarming speed. Where there was one, there were always more. And a queen. She fired, the arrow having little to no effect on the hardened shell, backing up a step as she reached for another missile to launch at the monster.

Though if Derrick chose to reveal his true nature and ride off now, she would be utterly screwed.

 

Derrick saw her ride ahead, and made no effort to catch up. She probably wanted to be alone with her thoughts, and possibly away from him. The Witcher continued at his steady pace, but sped up quickly as he saw the danger heading towards her. From his position behind her, he could see the Warrior lunging for her and the horse. His silver sword flashed out of his sheath as he rode his horse in a hard gallop towards the quickly ensuing battle. Luckily, his horse was a good beast and complied with his demands. The horse closed the gap quickly and Derrick leaned down from the horse and swung his blade in a wide arc as the Insectoid raised its tail to strike. Startled by the sudden noise of the galloping horse, it paused and twisted its carapaced body to look at him before the blade struck. There was an angry scuttling noise as a spurt of inhuman blood sprayed out from the dismembered stinger tail, a feat only possible because it hadn't been expecting him. Next time, he wouldn't be so lucky and he knew that more were coming. Derrick jumped down and twirled his blade in front of him, meeting the Endrega's fierce gaze with his own.
"Come on then, show me what you've got." He taunted it. It seemed to get the message, despite it not being able to understand his words, and an angry mass of Endrega threw itself towards the Witcher. He pirouetted with another wide sweep of his blade and he felt the blade connect with something. When he faced it, one of its hind legs had been cut by his strike and it was moving awkwardly. Still, Derrick placed himself between it and Treasa, just in case it made a sudden move, but it was finished now anyway. He drew the sign of Axii in the air and it was over. Obeying his commands, the Endrega settled on to its front legs and Derrick walked over, flourishing his blade and stabbing the creature through its mouth, into its brain and killing it. "Watch out, there'll be more. That was only so easy because it was focusing on you, the easy prey." The Witcher cast his gaze around the sides of the road, watching and listening for more of the abominable things. ​

 

Olivia's pov:



There was a whole thing about being blind. Clearly she did not mean in this moment she was alone but in general. Really it did not matter. 'For if we do not look after one another who will?' She did not know what to say to this. 'while we are from different schools, we're all witchers that stick together.' ok. Again not knowing what to say. "So, what is your story?"

 

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"I'm not sure you could have changed much, Solomon only put himself in such a vulnerable position because he knew you'd give him mercy, he can see into your mind, he's a master manipulator" Vyle warned "And we can bring Zephyr, if you're sure he won't mess anything up" Vyle would have been reluctant to bring the young mage along, but he couldn't deny Ana's logic. A bat fluttered into the room and rested on the window as Vyle looked out onto the vast landscape, respectfully looking away while she changed clothes. She came out from behind the screen and Vyle smiled as she twirled "beautiful" he said with a slightly dreamy expression, before shaking his head and getting back to business "He was last seen in Oxenfurt, we should head there... we may have to portal. Come on, let's grab Zephyr" With that, Vyle entered Zephyr's room and returned to Ana, where she made a portal "Let's hope this works"

"How about "Bloodworth"... or "Shadowskull"... hmm... naming things is so hard" Solomon complained to the dead orphan who poured his tea as he sat in his new castle. Walls had been reconstructed and the castle was looking less like ancient ruins now. At this moment an army of dead were constructing a grand hall, some were even affixing a chandelier to the ceiling. Solomon desired a castle of decadence and that was exactly what he'd achieve. Stepping down the stairs, Solomon skipped into the hall. He grabbed a noonwraith's hand and began to dance a slow waltz with the undead woman. While they dance, he hummed a tune. A slow, eerie tune "Hear that? It's the screams of the vengeful dead. Their howls are music to my ears... They shouldn't be screaming they should be WORKING!" he suddenly turned and shrieked into an undead doppler's face "I am expecting guests and this castle must be complete before they arrive!"

The horse galloped along the landscape, Willow on its back, cloak flapping in the wind and eyes dead set on her destination. Oxenfurt, that was where the mage was last seen. The boy who Milosh wanted back, and she would complete that mission.

 

Tatiana seemed to be going over everything in her head and then decided to go ahead and take the offer. "Very well, Tatiana." Was all the Crow said, the Trials were more likely than not going to kill Tatiana, that she survived that one dose of swallow meant nothing. That she wasn't in a very strong physical condition also meant that the normal odds of 30% survival chance. She had to be blessed by the Gods themselves giving him a miracle before his very eyes if the girl survived. "I will have to make some arrangements then, if you die in the Trials, know that your death won't be easy..." The old crow said, he was certain of that, he had seen plenty of people die in the trial of the grasses their screams filling these ancient halls... He hoped it wouldn't come to that but the odds were astronomical. He would have to get in touch with Sigmund first though since he would need the Mage's help on this one. "Seeing we'll have to wait for a while for a friend of mine to get here, we can start on some of the training right now." The old Crow said, he figured a good start would be basic sword practice.

Milosh was looking out of the window of his new home, the other day ended with the mage finally singing for him and that ending with that. With that out of the way he had given his instructions to Willow to apprehend the mage that had gotten away before. Jaroslav would have dealt with the other girl by now. Learnt all there was to learn and disposed of her, such a shame but alas. While Crow's Perch was a good spot and quite the defensible position, he wanted something even better, Fyke Isle, back-up residence of the Lord of Velen, Milosh had a decent group of fighters assembled, they would scout out Fyke Isle and depending on resistance they would take it for their own. His support would only grow, he had still was unsure as to what happened in Oxenfurt and he had dispatched a set of eyes and ears to investigate.​

 

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Ana smiled, blushing a little at Vyle's praise before her eyes once more filled with fire, and she turned to the far wall, her hands making the gestures to cast the portal. She waited until Zephyr was there to finish the process, showing him as she moved slowly what to do. When they had time, she would have to have him make one for himself. Though when she had first been taught, she had ended up in the middle of the ocean with her mentor...

Shaking off the memory with a slight sigh, she strode into the portal confidently, Zephyr and Vyle following her. This one was much stronger, given she had time to regain her magic and heal her injuries, and there were only three of them. When she stepped out onto the grass, blinking in the sunlight, she looked around. They had appeared to have landed two miles east of Oxenfurt. Luckily, no monsters were roaming in the nearby vicinity.

"Hm..." Ana crossed her arms over her chest, brow furrowed as she debated. "I doubt Solomon would remain in Oxenfurt. It looks...." There was still a column of smoke rising from the gutted city. "Would he have gone somewhere else to strengthen his army? The witchers did take out a lot of his numbers." She turned. "Or could he have left a clue somewhere in the city itself?"

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Veera watched as Kruez created a portal. She stepped inside nervously, apprehensive after what had happened last time. The winds only gently tugged at her hair this time, and when they exited the magical transportation spell, they had arrived next to the river that bordered the city. So near, in fact, that Veera could have said she was in the river as she looked down, feeling the water seep through her trousers at the knees. She quickly left the freezing water, deciding not to comment upon it.

"When I saw him last, he seemed to be heading out of the city." She glanced around, and finding the bridge, started towards it. Tracks would be hard, at least, it would be hard to tell the tracks of the living from those of the undead. That didn't mean she couldn't try. Any number that came from a large group of people was worth following.

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Treasa raised her eyebrows. "I thought we had already touched on the subject of how easy I am." She turned, her back centimeters away from Derrick's as the clicking came from behind them as well. A smaller Engreda, a worker, appeared out of the trees. She raised her bow, narrowing her eyes before taking the shot. The worker's armor wasn't as tough as the soldier's, and the arrow pierced the hide, the shaft wavering with the force of her draw.

She nocked another arrow to the string, drawing back before firing again. "This isn't my first fight with these insects. However..." She inhaled, letting the arrow fly from her fingers and hit the monster with a thud before pulling another out of her quiver. "I find myself wishing I had picked myself up a blade somewhere along the way. Any ideas?"

She had halted the progress of the worker, but there was another soldier coming up behind it, and arrows would not be as proficient against the tougher armor.

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Tessa nodded as Seth talked into Matilda letting them help, then led the way through the home. She found a servant relatively quickly, and pulled the girl aside, whispering that she needed to speak with Sigmund. The girl looked from her, to Matilda and Greg behind, followed up by Seth, before shrugging and leading through the hallway to another door. She bowed to them before continuing on her way. Tessa squared her shoulders and knocked on the door. "Sigmund? Can we talk to you?"

As Alastar and Olivia traipsed through the mountains, the quickest but arguably most dangerous route, they could hear a faint sound on the wind. Something, no...two somethings, was fast approaching.

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The two basilisks careened high over Alastar and Olivia's heads, screeching their displeasure at being disturbed before diving; the male towards Alastar and the female towards Olivia. The male's hind claws were outstretched, intending to grab Alastar and drag him into the ground. The female landed, hissing as she circled the girl witcher before turning her back and using her tail to whip towards Olivia's legs.

​

 

Derrick saw Treasa turning to face the next two Endregas. He turned as well, because she was probably going to need the help. He drew the Sign of Axii and flashed it at the incoming Warrior, leaving it standing perfectly still where he wanted it to. The worker, now crippled by Treasa's sniping would have little defence against the Witcher's blade. It scuttled forwards, trying to close the gap between the thing that had caused it pain only to find another source of pain waiting with a smile. He drew Aard, staggering it back with the force of the wave of energy. He stepped forwards swiftly, bringing the point of his sword down through the Worker's head while it attempted to rearrange its limbs. It sunk to the ground, dead. He pulled his Steel Sword out from its sheath and handed it to Treasa.
"Not quite as effective, but a sword is a sword." He stated. "If you stick it in the right place, you'll be able to kill it. I'd keep back though. They have venom, and you're not quite as fast as me. If they nick you with any of those protrusions then you could be in trouble. Even if they get me, my immune system will neutralise it quickly. You don't have the same luck." Although she said that she had faced these before, he wasn't sure how much she actually knew. It was time to give her a quick lesson. He kept his eyes glancing around the forest edge and making sure the Warrior was staying put. There was no reason for it to break free yet, but still. Sometimes they surprised him. ​

 

Olivia remained remarkebly quiet, she didn't have any opinion at all? Well then she seemed to have at much personality as the average tree then oh well, not his problem, no cure for being a tree. She then asked him for his story, not much of a story that. Young kid picked up by a witcher to train, and train he did. "What's there to tell? Got taken in by a witcher when I was but a cub, I trained, aye I did, 't was a hard training, you know the drill, though Bear school tends to focus more on the physical prowess and skill with sword and ax-" There was screeching, up high and Alastar grinned, time for some fighting, going through the mountains had it's risks, like this one. Alastar grabbed his axe, and as the creature dove at him he dove underneath it intending to roll beneath the claws and the creature, rolling back to his feet, axe in hand, this would be good. He charged it with his silver axe in hand, intending to strike it near the 'shoulder' joint.

Sigmund was working in his laboratory when there was a knock on the door, he was trying to concentrate on something and the knocking startled him, he dropped a little bit too much Forktail spinal fluid in there and ruined what he had been working on, the old man sighed. "Yes, you may come in." The old mage said as he started to prepare for starting the experiment anew.​

 

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After having been brought to Ana's room, a portal was for them to travel to. Zephyr may not have known where they were suppose to be headed, but he trusted Ana enough to venture into the portal anyway. They had ended up in a grassy plains and the first thing that stuck out to him was the pillar of smoke that was seen rising from the city. "I don't really know." Not like there was many way for him to know. He barely knew anything on Solomon in the first place and yet, so much grief had befallen him because of a brief encounter.

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For his third time ever making a portal, it appeared to turn out pretty well for him. Landing in a river was unexpected nor planned but the mage silently made his way out of it, following behind Veera. "Do you think he's arrived at another city by now?" Kruez questioned. From this area alone they didn't exactly have many clues to aid in the search for Solomon.

Once Terra had gotten up onto her feet, Sweallow started to ponder where it was they could walk to. Unfortunately there weren't many places in Whitechapel that were good places to stop and visit. Pondering it for a few seconds, he thought of something that would be suitable despite their limited options. "Well there is a alchemist we could pay a visit to, if you so desire."

 

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"It appears he headed that way." Veera murmured, pointing to the mass of tracks. They split off in two directions, one heading towards the forest next to the river, and the other heading along the river, directly away from Oxenfurt. She glanced at the first set; some were old, new footsteps overlaying over them. Large numbers of people had come this way, but not at the same time. Glancing at the other set, her suspicions were confirmed. They were all about the same age, with footsteps both large and small, the shapes indicating an odd gait.

"He headed for the fork in the river." Veera turned and began to walk alongside the tracks, motioning for Kruez to follow. "Let's see if we can catch up to them." If she recalled correctly, there was a small village of some sort along the river, a trading post on the way to Oxenfurt. She shuddered to think what they would find when they got there. Judging by the tracks, they were at least a day behind the necromancer.

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Treasa took the weapon with a grateful smile before glancing back the way the two previous enemies had come. There didn't appear to be anymore, but the first had come from the opposite way. And why were two warriors guarding only one worker? Unless....she twirled the blade experimentally as another warrior appeared. But no more soldiers? Something wasn't right....

All the same, she stuck the sword in the ground, mentally making a note to apologize to Derrick later before drawing an arrow and firing upon the incoming warrior. That was when the ground shook beneath her feet, causing her to stumble. She grabbed the sword and rolled away as the endrega tried to stick her with its poisonous quills, the lethal weapon barely missing her leg.

She turned, ready for trouble, when her jaw slackened, mouth hanging open for a moment as she stared in horror at the creature running towards them. She had no words to describe the abomination as it crushed the warrior that had attacked her, swinging a giant claw towards her companion.

Spoiler

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"Derrick!" She screamed, dropping the sword and pulling out her bow to fire another arrow at the....thing. She had seen some monsters in her time, but none fit the word more then the creature that now lay between her and Derrick.

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Tessa opened the door and strode in. "I need a dagger. Can I borrow one? We're going to get her brother. Not that one." She indicated Greg. "The other one. Older. Seth and I are going with, and I need a weapon." She reiterated, realizing that Sigmund hadn't been privy to their conversation earlier.

"I'll pay you back." She added, her eyes glancing at the mess of an experiment for a second before returning to Sigmund. "But you can give me one, or I can try to steal one, or I can just go without." She shrugged. She didn't want to sit at home, a helpless girl while others got hurt. She hated being taken care of. It was that same attitude that had kept her in Sanctuary all those years, blinding her to how things were.

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​

Following Veera's pointing, Kruez took notice of the mass of tracks. While he himself didn't know what to make of it, Veera clearly did with how closely she was examining them. It was probably something that she had picked during her witcher training, least that was what he was assuming anyway. From his standpoint it was a valid assumption given that the next thing she said to him, was the presumed direction that Solomon had gone off in. The mage gave her a quick nod before following behind her.

"Right, shall we be off then." Sweallow said, leading the way. Given Terra's injuries and the risk that she was taking by walking, he wasn't walking particular fast or gotten all that far ahead of her. He was probably just a step or two in front of her. Far enough to be considered leading, but not too far so that if something had happened he wouldn't be able to do something on the matter. The small lead was briefly stopped when they had gotten to door and Sweallow proceeded to open it and hold it open for her. "After you."

 

Derrick was watching the treeline and finding the lack of backup odd. The Witcher tightened his grip on the blade. Nothing else was coming, though he heard Treasa drawing her bow back behind her. He looked around to see what it was, and then he heard it before he saw it. Something loud, with heavy footfalls. He didn't need to wait long before it revealed itself. The monstrosity stormed out of the forest and crushed the Endrega that was gunning for Treasa beneath its foot. Derrick gulped, and his eyes opened wide.
"What the f*ck is that?" Derrick yelled. It swung a massive claw towards him and he threw himself backwards. He rolled away, getting up from the floor, but it was on him again already. He stepped aside once again, but it was all that he could do to evade the rampaging monster, let alone attack it. It wasn't a fiend or bullvore, nothing he recognised at all. It was several hundred pounds of solid muscle and pissed off. He eventually managed to put a little distance between himself and the beast and prepared himself to make an attack. He drew Quen and prepared to move. The beast swung its claw and now, having dodged enough to get an idea of its reach, he jumped back just enough and swung his blade at it. It caught the creature's immense 'hand', but seemed to do nothing. He saw it bringing round its other claw and he repeated the move. He stabbed the blade into it. It was a deeper wound, but not as effective as he wanted. The sword caught in its hand and the Witcher was pulled along with the backswing. Derrick found himself airborne, thrown by the creature. At some point he lost his silver blade in mid air and landed hard on his back. The air was forced out of his lungs and Derrick raised his hand to his throat, feeling as if he was choking. His body felt numb, and he could only gasp for breath on the floor, a bit of blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth.

He saw the sky above him. It was a nice day. It was clear. And sunny. Not a cloud in sight. Pleasant weather to die under. He tried to move, remembering his conversation with Treasa. Witchers never died peacefully in their beds. They died out in the wild, killing some monster that they were paid far too little to kill. Some part of him was amused. He wasn't even getting paid for this one. ​