Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

On paths unknown

The narrow riding path was well used and rather visible, he was half asleep in the saddle or he would have been, if Jaskier had been able to keep his gob shut for a few seconds. The bard was very enthusiastically describing the “charms” of the last bar maid he managed to talk into his bed and Geralt was rolling his eyes. He wanted peace and quiet, a chance to rest. He had been sent off to some village as far away from anywhere as you could possibly come and there he had to fight not one but two bruxas in one night. He had been paid well but what the hell, the gods certainly hated him since he had met the bard on the inn after the job. Jaskier was exactly what he didn’t want just there and then and his small hints had been all but ignored. It seemed as if the concept of silence was one Jaskier simply didn’t have the mental capacity to understand.
The bard rode a small roan gelding which moved with just as much speed as a lame snail and if it hadn’t been that these were dangerous woods he would have spurred Roach and gotten out of there. But he couldn’t just leave the bard, he would get into trouble faster than you can say fuck. So now they were riding along, heading for the next real village and it was a trip which would take at least a whole day. The temperature had dropped the whole day and there were grey clouds gathering, he was rather convinced that it would snow soon, or something even worse and he was glad he had brought good clothes. Jaskier on the other hand wasn’t well dressed at all and he carried just his lute and a small knife. But as he said, he didn’t need to fear anything, he was riding with the white wolf.
They were heading down a rather steep embankment towards a small river when Geralt suddenly felt a cold chill running down his spine, he sensed some sort of magic and he grasped the reins, stopped Roach. The mare snorted and he threw a gaze at the surroundings, just forest, dead leaves, dead branches, nothing which did move. He turned back and now there was something straight ahead of them on the bank, it hadn’t been there just three seconds before. It was a wolf, a pitch black she wolf with yellow eyes and she was massive, the largest he had ever seen. The feeling of magic got stronger, in fact almost painfully strong. He grasped for his swords and Jaskier gasped, the wolf made a sound, it sounded a bit like laughter and there was most definitely a smirk on its face. Then everything turned in front of his eyes, the world spun and went dark and he heard Jaskier scream and the horses whinnied. It felt like falling, and it was very cold and he held onto the hilt of the sword as if it was a life line.
He opened his eyes, he still sat on Roach with Jaskier right behind him, and he had the sword in his hand. They were still in the woods, only that it wasn’t the forest they had ridden through. There was no riding path, no signs of humans at all and the air was cool and rather crisp. The wolf was there still, she cocked her head and there was intelligence in those golden eyes, and something akin to perhaps a challenge. It turned around and trotted off, relaxed and self assure, turned to look at them one last time and was gone in the undergrowth and Geralt was feeling utterly confused. What had just happened? Jaskier was panting. “Geralt, what the actual fuck did just happen?”

He grunted and took one more look at their surroundings, they had changed completely. They were no longer on an embankment but on the side of a hill and he didn’t recognize anything there. Had that wolf sent them somewhere unknown? “I have no idea Jaskier so do not fucking ask”

He tried to stay calm, to analyse the situation. The beast hadn’t felt evil, but it had been powerful, immensely so. Was it some sorceress in animal shape? He did pet Roach on her neck, tried to think. There were a lot of smells there, all natural and he raised his head and tried to sniff the wind. No signs of humans at all. Wherever they had ended up, they were far from any farms or villages. The wood was mixed, many different species of trees and it was rather open, they weren’t all the way north then. The trees hid the view, he couldn’t see the landscape around them so he made Roach walk again, downhill. Sooner or later they had to find somewhere open so he could try to determine where the heck they were.
Jaskier looked scared and Geralt wished that he could have said something to soothe his fears but he had nothing to say. He checked his saddle bags, some extra clothes, a small jug of wine, his potions and then his weapons. That was what they had. Jaskier bit his lower lip, the gelding he rode was acting up, still spooked by the sudden teleportation. “What are we to do?”

Geralt made a grimace. “We are to try and find out where we are and then find a village, or a farm at least. We are not equipped for trekking through the wilderness, or at least, you aren’t.”

Jaskier pouted. “Am I hearing concern for my wellbeing? I am flattered”

Geralt didn’t answer, the bard could interpret it any way he wanted, but the witcher was worried. The air was strange, the place felt completely alien somehow. He kept the mare moving and used his eyes for all it was worth. It was getting dark fast, he was heading south if the direction of the sunset was the same here as where they had been but he saw nothing which did indicate that people had been there. He had no idea of what dangers this place held, if he and Jaskier would be safe come the night. He kept moving forth and for once Jaskier held his mouth shut, the idea of having to spend the entire night in the forest seemed to throttle even his annoying optimism.

They found a small cave by a river, it was just big enough to provide cover for them and the two horses and Geralt made a small fire. He didn’t need the warmth but Jaskier did. They had no food, not even scraps and he knew that the bard would starve rather fast. He was used to inns and proper cuisine, not raw meat and roots. If Geralt had been alone he would have been way more relaxed but now he felt responsible for the bard and that ate at him. Jaskier rolled himself into his cloak and fell asleep, whimpering and shivering. Geralt stayed awake, the forest made its own sounds and they were all natural, all to expect. Noting out of the ordinary except from the fact that they hadn’t chosen to be there in the first place.

The next morning came with sour winds but clear skies and Geralt knew that this was their chance at finding out where they were. As they broke camp he set course uphill and after a few miles he reached the top of a hill. Jaskier had barely said a word the entire morning and he was obviously not feeling very happy at all. The hill had an open area where a fire once had cleared away the trees and it gave him a chance at seeing the landscape. His heart sank, there were no signs of anything there, except forest. Rolling hills with some open areas, rivers and in the distance something which had to be lakes. There weren’t a single settlement to be seen anywhere. He cursed and made a grimace, where the heck were they? He had never heard of such a landscape. Far away beyond the forests he could spot some mountains and behind them were just more forest and more hills. Was this some realm without humans at all? Jaskier was pale. “Where are we? Is this the continent at all?”

Geralt sighed. “I am not sure, it could be that we have travelled…in time maybe?”

Jaskier frowned. “Do you mean like to before the conjunction?”

The witcher shrugged. “I don’t know damn it, and I am being honest with you. I feel no signs of people here at all”

Jaskier blinked, his expression was one of shock. “But…how are we to make it, alone?!”

Geralt tried to smile. “Listen, we travel south, towards the lake you see there. If there are people here I bet they live by the waters”

Jaskier pulled his cloak closer to his shoulders. “You think so?”

The voice was thin and Geralt felt something akin to pity. Jaskier was dependent on people, it was his personality after all. Geralt had no problem handling being alone but for how long? He too looked forward to meeting his surviving brethren over the winter and sharing stories and just being safe and comfortable. The idea of never seeing anybody again, except Jaskier wasn’t exactly pleasant.

They rode on, the landscape was beautiful and he soon noticed that the wildlife was familiar but completely without fear. Deer came all the way up to them to sniff the horses and he saw both foxes and a bear in the distance. Hawks and other birds were soaring way up there and he knew that this was a place where nature hadn’t been disturbed. Could this be some world the conjunction hadn’t touched? He was rather sure that they weren’t in their own world anymore, he just felt it. Nowhere he had ever heard off had wilderness this large and if they were on some unknown unexplored island or something it was way too large not to have been discovered by the sea faring nations like Skellige. He stopped when the sun was at its zenith, killed some large grouse like birds with some rocks and made a fire. Jaskier was very hungry and ate like a pig, he could barely wait until the meat was cooked. Geralt could just hope that they would find people soon, or else their future looked bleak.

That night they slept close, it was very cold and the bonfire wasn’t enough to keep Jaskier warm. The bard still trembled and Geralt got a new worry, he wouldn’t get sick very easily, but Jaskier could. He had given the bard his extra clothes and his cloak but that just wasn’t enough, the winds there were biting to the bone. They rode on, Jaskier seemed to have given up, he barely spoke a word and normally Geralt would be glad but now he wasn’t. He needed Jaskier to keep their hopes up. He found some edible roots, he found nuts and some wild apples which were sour as fuck but still edible. The winter was clearly coming there too and he was getting scared.

Then Jaskier’s gelding slipped and fell and when the animal got back up it was limping badly. It couldn’t be ridden anymore and Jaskier had to sit behind Geralt on Roach. But the mare couldn’t move as fast as before carrying two men and their speed was limited. The gelding was limping more and more and after a couple of days Geralt did the merciful thing and killed it, the leg was probably broken anyhow and letting it suffer was out of the question. Now they had only one horse and Geralt started walking, leading Roach behind him. Jaskier too walked most of the time and he was not even complaining.

Geralt saw that they both looked terrible now, they did smell so bad any animal for miles could track them and Geralt was more and more nervous. There didn’t seem to be any intelligent species there at all, not even monsters. This was some realm untouched by human hands or was it? They had been travelling for more than a week and a half when Jaskier started to cough. He had after all been given all of Geralt’s spare clothes and his cloak too but it was very chilly and the bard had developed a nasty cold. He was sniffing and sneezing and Geralt ordered the bard to ride the mare, he had to save his strength.

Geralt wasn’t a man who prayed, but now he did. Snow had started to fall, and Jaskier was running a nasty fever, he was shivering and sometimes he was rather confused and out of it. The cough was getting worse and Geralt knew that the man had pneumonia. It would kill him if they didn’t find shelter and medicine soon. Geralt hunted and got them food but it wasn’t enough and Roach was getting skinny and weak too. There weren’t much grass to find when they stopped and he was getting afraid that he would be left there all alone in the end. The idea was unbearable. At night he held the bard close to share the warmth and Jaskier was constantly wheezing and gasping for air. Still they saw no signs of people anywhere, the woods were undisturbed, pristine and virginal.

He tied Jaskier to the saddle, it felt like the worst betrayal to make the mare carry anyone but he had no other choice. And he kept walking, kept hoping and kept trying to keep them all alive. Jaskier had some moments of clarity, he would ask Geralt to simply leave him with his knife, to seek safety alone. The witcher could survive there, but Geralt knew that it wasn’t so easy. Yes, he could survive but could he live? All alone? Without anyone there? No, he would go mad eventually. Jaskier was in a daze most of the time but one morning as they went over a steep little hill the bard groaned and pointed towards the horizon. “Geralt, smoke!”

The witcher raised his head and stared, with hope and fear. Fear that this was some trick, some illusion, just a natural forest fire. It was a column of smoke, hanging heavy and black over a hill quite a distance from them. He felt his heart hammering, the black smoke…it wasn’t natural. Normally this meant that something was burning which shouldn’t burn at all, he had seen that before. Jaskier moaned. “Maybe…”

Geralt felt frantic, a burning village, that still meant people or something akin to people and that could mean danger but also salvation. He had to take the chance. He grasped the reins and prayed that the mare still had the strength to carry Jaskier for yet a couple of days. It would be needed to get to the place with the smoke, he saw that clearly.

For the next two days he ran, he pulled the horse behind him and Jaskier was unconscious most of the time. When they stopped he would give the bard some of his own potions, just to slow the impending doom, Jaskier was barely breathing now and burning hot. He gave Roach too some potions, to strengthen her. It wasn’t enough and he was such a beast for pushing the mare this way but there was no way out of this, they had to reach that place soon, or Jaskier would die. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing the bard, he realized now how much he actually did care for the man, although they were complete opposites. The terrain was awful in places, rocky and treacherous and yet he managed to keep going, and so did Roach. The potions seemed to have a very strong effect on horses.

The smoke disappeared after a day, but he had noticed where it came from and held the direction well, if there were people there he hoped they were friendly. It took him two and a half day to reach the source of the smoke and by then he had seen that there were humans in the area. The game was afraid of him, there were trees cut down, he saw some fences and paths and it was clear that some farm or village was close by. He slowed down when he felt the smell, the acrid stench of smoke mixed with something he yet couldn’t identify but it was nasty and musky and very intense. The snow was disturbed by feet, or feet? It looked like someone had driven a zoo through the snow, paws, claws and every other possible combination of feet could be seen and he had no idea of what this was supposed to mean. The smell also carried something else, burned flesh, singed hair and he felt his heart drop. He already knew that what he would see would be bad.

He walked forth carefully, sword drawn, Roach followed him out of old habit even though she could barely walk anymore. It had been a village, not very large but probably the homes of several families. The buildings were burned down to the ground, only black ash and singed remains of logs remained. The footprints were everywhere, and so were huge specks of blood. But no bodies, not a single body and as he used his eyes he did see something which rekindled his hope. It was a heap of scorched bones, and they weren’t human. The skulls and bones were grotesque and didn’t look like anything he had ever seen, and around the heap were hoof prints, of huge horses, shod horses.

Behind the village were some fields and someone had dug there recently, he could smell the freshly turned soil and realized that somebody had buried the dead people, and done so with respect. The dead monsters had been killed by someone who had tried to help but arrived too late. A wide track did lead away from the ruins, the riders had been many and he gasped and knew that these people had to be there ahead of him somewhere. With that many horses they needed stables, and food and it could perhaps be a castle or fortress somewhere there. He tried to smile at Jaskier. “Don’t worry my friend, there are people here, I am sure I can get us help”

The bard didn’t answer, he was too far gone to say anything anymore. The mare seemed to have gotten some extra energy now, the scent of other horses had awakened her sort of. Geralt ran, he was no longer in his full strength but had to push forth still. The days with less than ideal food and constant worry had worn him down. He ran pulling the mare behind him, ran until he felt the taste of blood in his mouth and knew that he hadn’t pushed himself so hard since he was a lad, being trained by Vesemir. There was a road there, not much used but the snow was compacted and allowed him to really run. It had to lead somewhere…

He ran all night, it was getting a bit lighter along the horizon when he saw distant lights, it had to be a farm or at least some buildings and he stopped, listened. The forest was quiet there, too quiet. His instincts told of danger and he stared at the lights, no, it couldn’t be true. Nothing should stop him now, hinder him from saving his friend. He pulled his sword and Roach whinnied, a loud terrified sound. The smell came on the wind, musky and nasty, it made his blood turn cold as ice. There was growling, and hissing and he saw movement in the darkness, everywhere. Whatever it was, it was obviously enjoying scaring its prey witless before it attacked. He saw eyes, everywhere, high low and moving about, red and yellow and some were extremely odd. As if the beings had more than two.

Jaskier moaned and Geralt felt guilty, this was all his fault. Whatever that black wolf had been, it had probably nothing to do with the bard, it was he it had been after, the witcher. Jaskier was collateral damage. He swallowed, some of the shapes moving in the darkness were huge, and he was weak, not at all what he used to be. He made a split second decision, they stood by a tree and he grasped Jaskier and threw the man up among the branches. The beasts were probably capable of climbing but Geralt wouldn’t sell himself cheap, he would fight until his very last drop of blood was spilled. If the gods were merciful they would let Jaskier die from the fever before the beast could kill him. It felt bitter though, that this would be his end, and that his death would lead also to the end of his friend. He could have died a thousand times if it could have saved Jaskier.

He smacked Roach over her rump but the mare just sighed and fell to her knees, too exhausted to even run. He ought to end it for her, before the monsters got to her but he didn’t have time for suddenly something hairy and immense came screeching towards him and he had to move. The thing was covered with matted fur and had a round head with a wide maw and several rows of teeth. He made a roar to give himself some courage and let his training take over. He cut off the snarling head and another monster was behind it, some slick ghastly abomination with a head like a shark and several tentacles trying to grasp him. He fought, cut and sliced, jumped and ran and they never stopped coming, more and more came rushing, he was fighting with his back to the tree and the fallen horse and it became a blur, a vision of death and blood.
He was soon covered with black goo from the beasts and he was bleeding from many cuts and wounds, still he managed to keep them away from the tree. He gave his all, the gods damn it all but he wouldn’t stop now, not until he was dead. Despair was clawing at his heart but he refused to give inn, refused to give up even though it was hopeless. There were too many, even someone like him has limits and his were reached and overstepped already.

He fell to his knees and some beast with the body of a buffalo and the head of an alligator came snarling towards him, he didn’t even have the strength to raise his blade anymore. He was empty, wasted. There was nothing left in him, he was broken. The beast was going inn for the kill but something came flying through the air, hit it with a heavy thud and sent it flying like a ragdoll. Geralt watched as if in a dream, a massive pitch black destrier was pulled to a stop in front of him, the animal wore plate armour and had jumped over him and hit the beast with its wide chest. On the back of the massive black horse sat a rider also wearing armour and he wielded a long slender sword and swung it with undeniable elegance and skill.

From the other direction other riders came forth, in full gallop on horses much larger than any other horse he had ever seen. An armoured figure on a long legged silvery stallion swung a pole blade with a sort of fierce fury he could recognize, but it was efficient, cold, methodical. There were many there all of a sudden and they slaughtered the beasts, cooperating. The horses fought just like their riders, kicking and biting and using their armour as protection against claws and teeth. A massive brown horse with no armour were kicking its way through the crowd, forelegs hammering like war maces and the rider swung two blades. Geralt was stunned, some of the beasts were rather small, they looked like balls of fur with just a massive maw and nothing else and some of the others looked almost like normal animals but just almost. Something was wrong with all of them. The rider on the black stallion jumped down from the enormous steed and stood in front of him, the man said something but Geralt didn’t understand a single syllable. The man tried again, obviously in some other language but Geralt could only shake his head. He pointed at the tree. “Please…my friend, he needs help”

The man waved his hand and shouted something. Someone came running, with a speed which was unnatural and a slender woman kneeled in front of Geralt. He had to gasp, she had pointy ears, it was an elf but she wasn’t like the elves he was used to. This being was ancient in herself and he sensed that she had magic in abundance. The man said something which sounded worried and the woman nodded. She smiled at Geralt, her hair was thick and silvery white and she had shimmering blue green eyes which reminded him of some sorceresses he had met. She was lovely, no, stunningly beautiful but he saw the blades she carried, no sorceress but a warrior. She said something soft sounding and laid her hand on his forearm, very gently. Geralt jerked, a chill went through him and he felt dizzy for a few seconds. She tilted her head. “Do you understand me now?”

Geralt gaped, he had to nod. Then he became frantic. “Please, my friend, he is in the tree, he is sick, help him”

The man from the black horse took off his helmet, he was a human but Geralt could sense something strange about him, some sort of aura which wasn’t human at all. “Rhylja, get up there”

Another woman came forth, she wore leather armour and had her hair tied into a tight braid, she rushed up the tree like a squirrel and before long Jaskier was hauled down gently. The elf with the frost white hair laid a hand on him, she made a grimace. “He is almost gone, the body ravaged by fever. We have to get him back to the farm now!”

The beasts were chased off, the sunlight had started to get bright and it was obvious that they didn’t like it for they fled instead of fighting. The knight tilted his head, there were heaps of dead beasts there, Geralt didn’t realize he had killed that many of them. “You fought like a small army, but you are not of this realm now are you? I can sense something very alien about you”

The voice was deep but calm, the voice of someone you listen to and obey. Geralt tried to gather his strength and dignity but it was in vain, he was so very tired. The elf grunted. “Raigh, he is wounded, and extremely tired. Ask questions later”

The knight had to be Raigh, he nodded. “Very well, gather his belongings. We ride back and we ride hard”

Geralt saw that Roach was alive still, the mare was trembling. “My horse…”

The knight made a grimace. “That mare is almost dead, but we have people who are experts when it comes to horses.”

He snapped his fingers and a man who looked like a farmer’s assistant came forth, bowing in respect. “The beasts are gone now, until sunset again. Bring this mare to us when she is capable of walking again”

The man just nodded and the white haired elf walked over and placed her hand on Roach, the mare grunted and fought her way back up onto her legs. It seemed as if the elf gave her some extra strength.

Geralt saw that another man grasped Jaskier and placed him in front of him in the saddle, he spurred the horse and was gone in a flash. The rider on the silvery horse came forth, the animal was covered with black blood and was rolling its eyes, it looked as if it wanted to fight more. It was a woman and she took her helmet off, she had the most intense ice blue eyes Geralt had ever seen, they didn’t look natural at all and he got a strong suspicion that she was something akin to himself, someone transformed into more than a human being. She looked at the dead monsters and her eyes were narrow. “You did this?”

Geralt had to nod, his throat was dry. She was a beauty too, but a beauty similar to that of a well forged blade, lethal and balanced, steel hard and cold. She pressed her lips together. “We have to get back, but how did you get here? Did you follow us?”

Geralt felt dizzy still and her voice was as if wrapped in cotton, oddly distorted. The elf hissed. “Akisha, he is passing out, questions later the goddess damn it”

Geralt felt how the world spun yet again and then someone grasped onto him and everything went black, he didn’t try to fight it, he was safe.

The light which reached his eyes was soft, and he was warm, or at least warmer than before. He didn’t feel too good though, even his mutated abilities for healing were struggling for some reason. He opened his eyes, he was in a farm house, it was made from notched wood and the room wasn’t very large. He lay on a sort of bed, it was very makeshift and probably made in a hurry, the straw underneath him was soft though and clean, he had slept in way worse places. Someone had placed a horse blanket over him and he grunted and tried to sit up but felt that his entire body ached like he had fought for days upon end. There was a woman there, with her back to him, sitting by a small hearth. She turned around and smiled. “Ah, awake at last, we were getting worried”

She got up and walked over to a door, shouted something. She sent him a friendly grin and he noticed that she was an ordinary person, probably the lady of the house if one could use that title. The door opened and the man whose name was Raigh entered, with the woman named Akisha, the elf and some others. Geralt had to stare, one of the men who entered the room could have been his brother, almost. He was just taller, more slender and way better looking, beside, the skin was rather dark and it was the white hair and the golden eyes which did resemble the witcher’s. But this guy had a very long thick braid and the eyes were like those of a raptor, an eagle or great owl. The room suddenly felt crowded, there were two more elves, a male with black hair and black eyes who made Geralt feel oddly uncomfortable, as if he was a threat. He was accompanied by a woman with hair like flames and eyes like glowing embers, unbelievably beautiful and also extremely powerful. The air around her was shimmering, this was no sorceress but something way beyond even that.

The tall black haired man sat down, the others found places to sit too and Geralt suddenly felt like some odd animal on display. But there were no hostility to be felt from these people, no disgust and no anger, just plain curiosity. Raigh didn’t wear armour now, Geralt saw that the man was extremely fit, the movements were like that of a huge feline, they all seemed to share this odd un-describable trait. “You are an enigma my friend. Those monsters got you good, you ought to be dead but you are still here”

Geralt swallowed hard. “I am…different”

He frowned. “Wait a minute, are they poisonous?!”

Raigh nodded and the black haired woman made a grimace. “Some of them are yes, the little ones with the long legs and the long claws? At least three of them stung you pretty bad, you got enough poison in your system to kill five horses.”

Geralt blinked, what was he to say really? He had to come clean about what he was, it was no way around it. “I am changed, mutated, to survive fighting monsters”

Raigh had the most incredible sharp green eyes he had ever seen, it was as if they all there were enhanced somehow, and in a different manner than him. “We can see that yes, by man or by deities?”

Geralt looked down, his back was aching and his mouth was bone dry. “By…others like me. We are…were needed where I come from. Lots of beasts”

The silvery haired elven girl walked over the hearth and brought a cup, she poured something into it from a flask and handed it over to him. “Here, drink. But slowly!!”

He took the cup, the scent was fruity and fresh and he took a careful sip, not sure of what it was. He found that whatever it was it had a kick like a mule and a burn like that of a dragon and yet it left a pleasant taste in the mouth. He gasped and shook his head, by every deity…Raigh sent him a wry grin. “Frostbird ought to warn you first, that liquor has a definite punch. “

Geralt had to take a deep breath, he had never encountered anything like that before. “I say, but enough of that, what about my friend, and my horse?”

The silver haired elf sent him a soothing smile. “Oh your friend will survive, he was in a very bad state though, it was almost too late. The mare is in our stable and she is being taken care off by our horse expert. He hasn’t left her for more than half an hour I think over the last day”

Geralt blinked. “Ah…for how long was I out?!”

Raigh looked sympathetic. “Twenty four hours, whatever was done to you, it saved you for sure. But do explain how you got here? “

Geralt didn’t like the feeling of being crowded inn, but these people were friendly and maybe they were the equivalent of witchers? He had no idea of what this world was like. “I was riding along with Jaskier, I had finished a job in a village and we were heading for a larger one. Suddenly there was this huge black wolf in the path ahead of us and I think we fell and …I tried to find people for over a week but saw naught, until I saw a column of smoke”

Akisha suddenly looked tense. “You said your kin are made to hunt monsters right?”

Geralt nodded and she made a grimace. “What you saw was our goddess, she shows herself as a black wolf. Just when did this happen?”

Geralt closed his eyes. “About two weeks ago? I didn’t count the days but I think that is rather correct?”

They looked at each other and Raigh cussed, the witcher realized that these people had some of the same devil may care attitude as some witchers did. And a foul language to boot for the words were such that it would have made a street worker blush. “That was when we arrived here, damn it, she never does anything without a reason”

Akisha frowned. “Describe the beasts you have been trained to fight, can you use any form of magic?”

Geralt took another sip from the cup, this time he was prepared and didn’t have to cough. “Alright, but it may be a long tale”

Raigh shrugged. “Fine by us, it is early still, many hours until sunset. Go ahead”

Geralt wasn’t a story teller, he preferred to keep his mouth shut but these people sat there and truly listened and they seemed to understand in a way others didn’t. When he was done Raigh looked at Akisha, she was playing with a small throwing knife, obviously in deep thought. “The goddess brought you here for a reason Geralt, she needs you. She hates monsters, beasts created by unnatural magic, wants them gone.”

Raigh crossed his legs and leaned back. “We are also monster hunters, and more than that. We are the fists of the goddess, her warriors, her justice and to some we are both jury, judge and executioner.”

The man with the white hair and the golden eyes made a wry grimace. “What Raigh is trying to say is that you probably know something we don’t. Some of the group have fought these beasts before but something has changed since then”

Geralt got a bit curious, he sat up and made a grimace, he was stinking worse than a bog filled with rotten carcasses in the mid summer heat. Frostbird chuckled. “Yes, you do not smell of roses but when we are done talking there will be a hot bath waiting for you, and some real food too”

That idea sounded like a glimpse of heaven. Raigh looked intense. “Listen, many years ago we encountered hordes of beasts outside of the city we live inn, the situation was almost exactly the same as now. But back then they were brought here by a cult wanting to take over the world. There is no such thing now and the monsters seem to come from everywhere and nowhere, we have not been able to track them at all.”

Geralt tried to think. “They have been brought inn through portals?”

Frostbird nodded. “Yes, random ones we think. I can sense them but only for a few seconds, not long enough to locate them. Somebody is behind this, but why and how?”

Raigh grunted and his face was grim. “The beasts have changed too, they are more ferocious, way more intelligent and more intent on killing. The only thing which keeps them away is fire and sunlight really.”

Geralt frowned. “When you fought them the last time, were they less dangerous?”

Akisha nodded. “They were not meant to kill everybody, but to chase off the population, make them all seek refuge in the cities where the cult could suck up all their wealth and exploit them. Oh they did kill but never more than a few people, just to create fear. Now on the other hand they seem unstoppable.”

Geralt was truly curious. “Right, they are many?”

Raigh sent him a wry grin. “You saw that didn’t you? But jokes aside, thousands upon thousands and we are in fact besieged here. This farmstead can be defended, it has walls strong enough to keep them away but there is no other such place for miles. We had to stay when we arrived, to save the people living here.”

Akisha stared at the witcher and those odd eyes were colder than steel. “It is our duty, to be the sword which defends the defenceless, to be the force which brings justice to those who cannot grasp it for themselves. We are the blades of destiny, her chosen ones, it is an honour but one which comes with a bitter prize at times”

Geralt didn’t doubt her words at all. The elven woman with the flame like hair got up and walked over, she had the grace of a queen and she sat down and smiled, there was nothing broken about her, nothing of the shame and fear he often had seen in the elves of his homeland. They were different from those poor souls, very different indeed. Here there was power, power a human never could have any hope to stand up to. “I have helped with the defences here, for many nights now. The goddess cannot do anything directly, it would break the world if a deity were to ascend into it in person with its full power intact. But we do her bidding and she helps us whenever she can. So you are most definitely here to help us, we just need to find out how”

Geralt just grunted and Frostbird tilted her head. She was very charming but he sensed strength in her, and an unbreakable will. “Relax Elywen, no point in pushing it. He needs to rest some more and get some food into him. He is skinny as an old dog, and rather weak”

Geralt frowned and felt his own chest discretely underneath the blanket, damnation, she was right. He had lost a lot of body mass and could feel each rib clearly. The long march had taken its toll of him, and a heavy one too. The tall elven male with the black hair walked over, laid a hand on Elywen’s shoulder, he smiled and Geralt could see that he had a scar along his right cheekbone, it entered his hairline just above the ear and a thin lock of hair had grown white where it continued. The black eyes were terrifying, like his own when he used the potions. “I am Hawk, Elywen’s mate.“

Geralt had to look twice, that couple was like darkness and light combined, striking contrasts and in spite of that he sensed deep love and trust between them. The elf looked at him with narrow eyes. “I will help you get to our bath, Elywen has warmed some water”

Geralt felt confused. “Are you a fire sorceress? Fire magic is very dangerous”

Elywen shook her head and chuckled. “No my friend, I am a dragon”

Geralt just gaped and the elf helped him sit up. Someone had stolen his strength, he felt weak as a new born and realized how close it really had come to his end. It was not a good thought. Hawk supported him and did it rather discretely too, Geralt was grateful, he didn’t want everybody to see just how wobbly his legs were. The room outside of the one he had been inn was larger and he let out a small yelp when he saw Jaskier, the man was wrapped in blankets and sat in a sort of large chair in front of a roaring hearth, he was pale and breathing in a rather nasty rhythm but he was there, and he was alive. He saw Geralt and made a groan. Hawk seemed to understand for he helped Geralt walk over to the bard. Jaskier coughed and he was obviously very sick still, but no longer dying. “Geralt, I would like to….cough…say you look like shit….but I would…insult shit if I did!”

Geralt had to grin, Jaskier was the same old, it felt oddly good knowing his friend was alive. “And you look like a half drowned sewer rat so shut your gob”

Jaskier coughed violently and the woman who had watched over Geralt handed over a tankard of something warm, forced the bard to drink a little. “Gods Geralt, that was too close for comfort”

Geralt felt that he ought to say something deep and wise but all he could say was “Fucking right”

Jaskier tried to grin, “But these people are awesome, I haven’t been this spoiled since like…forever!”

The woman smiled and straightened the blankets covering the bard. “It was a close call but by the grace of the goddess he was saved. It did take a lot out of Rheynek to get the worst of the pneumonia out of him but your friend is stronger than he looks”

Geralt frowned. “Rheynek?”

Hawk grunted. “The tall guy who looks a wee bit like you, he has some healing abilities”

Geralt felt a surge of sheer gratitude. “Then I must thank him properly”

Hawk nodded. “I am sure he will appreciate it but come now, the water won’t stay warm forever”

He helped the witcher exit the room and they entered a small yard. Geralt had to stop and stare, there were people everywhere! Some wagons were pushed into a corner and held what had to be several families and there were kids running around with chickens, some goats and some dogs. The farm was overcrowded to say the least. Geralt saw that it was a rather large farm with many buildings, the outer ones were placed so they formed a sort of wall, with a mason wall in the gaps between them. The walls were solid but not that tall and Hawk saw that he was evaluating the defences and smiled. “You see it too right?”

Geralt just nodded. “Fuck”

Hawk chuckled, the elf was not that terrifying up close, he was in fact very pretty but it was an odd beauty. “Yeah, I couldn’t have said it better myself. It is not a good place to be under siege at all, way too much dry wood and too many people in one place. And the walls are too low.”

They entered a smaller building and heat met them like a blast from a furnace. It was a bath house and it had several huge wooden tubs, towels were hung everywhere and a couple of elderly women were busy washing clothes in a corner. Geralt noticed that some younger women were busy in a small room next to the baths, they were obviously fixing clothes which had been torn. Hawk made a gesture. “We all bathe here each day, it has to be done. After the battles we are drenched with that goddamn blood and the monsters bleed a lot. And if it stays on the skin it can cause a nasty rash.”

Geralt was dizzy and weak and he still felt slightly unwell. He had used all of his potions and he could just trust that his healing abilities would restore him soon. “They sound like a true menace”

Hawk helped him get over to a tub and Geralt started to pull his shirt off. He wore only that now and his pants and boots and he made a grimace. There was grime everywhere and Hawk helped him pull the boots off. They hadn’t been removed for many days so they were pretty stuck. “They are a horror, I have fought orcs which were both more friendly and way easier to kill”

Geralt raised an eyebrow. “Orcs?”

Hawk tilted his head. “You don’t have those where you are from?”

Geralt shook his head. “No? What are they?”

Hawk made a grimace. “Huge nasty creatures, intelligent but extremely malevolent and hard to kill, they attack in packs and I would not hesitate to describe them as evil incarnate.”

Geralt nodded. “Right”

He stared at the tub, it was very large and the water was warm, he could feel it from afar. He got the pants off, normally he wasn’t shy at all but he realized how reduced he was. He felt like a kid again, barely able to move. Hawk put a hand on his shoulder, very gently. “You gave your all to save your friend, do not worry. You will regain your strength.”

Geralt could only nod and managed to get into the tub without falling, he sat down with a hiss, the water was really hot, almost too much so but as he got used to it the heat became pleasant. Hawk found some pieces of soap and a sort of sponge. “Here, use this, get all that blood off of you.”

He did also find a brush. “Here, your hair is atrocious.”

Geralt closed his eyes, the warm water was like a blessing. But he couldn’t relax, not completely. “Are you a large group?”

Hawk sat down on a bench and tilted his head with a wry grin. “You haven’t met everybody yet, but we aren’t that many. We have brought some apprentices though and others capable of fighting. Just four of us are weaponsmasters, and Akisha is the leader of us all, the head of the priestesses and the leader of the weaponsmasters too.”

Geralt scrubbed himself, it felt as if the water washed away the pain and the feeling of fatigue. “Do explain that to me please?”

Hawk crossed his legs and started to tell the witcher of the history of the weaponsmasters and Geralt realized that these people were rather like Witchers, just with a larger job than himself. They didn’t just hunt monsters, they also hunted evil doers and criminals of every kind. If the person was really bad they would come for him. Geralt remained in the tub for quite a while, he washed his hair and scrubbed even his feet and when he was done he felt way better. He got some clean clothes on, one of the men of the group were apparently of his size. Hawk got up. “We sent some of our own out a few days ago, to look for a better place to stay and some clues as to where the goddamn beasts come from. We expect them back soon”

Geralt got the clothes on, he felt like a new man right away. “Is that safe?”

Hawk shrugged. “They are skilled, and know where to seek refuge. But we are too many people here and the beasts are attracted to crowds.”

Geralt looked at the windows, they were darkening. He frowned. “The beasts will return tonight?”

Hawk nodded sternly. “They always do, and we fight every night so we try to rest during the day.”

He gave the witcher a new set of boots, they were a bit large but not too bad. “You will soon see for yourself”

Geralt almost growled. “Fuck, I cannot fight yet”

The elf stared at him. “No, if you try Akisha will skin your behind, believe me. But you can watch, and give us an experts opinion, you may see things we don’t”

Geralt sighed. “They are ugly and stink and fight dirty. I didn’t have that much time to really admire them”

Hawk grinned, the elf had some charm after all, when he smiled he was rather likeable. “Well said, but you’ll see more soon.”

He helped the witcher get out of the bathhouse and Geralt noticed that a few of the women there stared at them both. Hawk lowered his voice. “Be aware of the girl with the red hair and the generous bust, she is like a tick!”

Geralt frowned. “Really?”

Hawk nodded. “She’s tried to get into the bed of almost all of us, even the ones who have mates, I guess there aren’t that many single men around here and she is…desperate”

Geralt felt a need to shake his head, back home that was never a problem, if he wanted some he would have to pay. “I am not interested!”

Hawk sent him a swift glance. “Ah, your friend, are you two…you know? Or are you just friends?”

Geralt felt himself blush, why he had no idea. “Friends, just that, At least from my point of view”

The elf nodded. “Not that it is any of my business, some do not accept that sort of thing but we don’t care, the goddess would never judge anybody by who they love”

Geralt had to stare at the elf. “Then this world is better than my own, people fear anything which aren’t just like them”

Hawk helped him cross the yard. “I bet you have faced some prejudice then?”

Geralt sighed. “You have no idea!”

He noticed that there was a stable there, and it was huge. Hawk grinned. “Wanna check on your horse?”

Geralt felt eager, he still had a feeling of guilt for having pushed the mare that hard. “Yes”
Hawk helped him over, discretely with a grasp on his arm. The hand felt as if the elf was capable of crushing steel, Geralt had never felt such strength in anyone, or anything. The stable was very well maintained and he stopped and stared. He had seen that massive black stallion and the silvery grey one, also the huge brown one but there were other horses there which also caught his eye. A tall dun mare was chewing at some hay in a corner and another mare, a gorgeous palomino had the stall next to it. Hawk went over to the brown one and petted it, the horse was so tall the ears touched the roof. “This is my steed, Trollcrusher.”

Geralt remembered how that horse had been kicking and trampling its way through the monsters and had no doubt that the name was well earned. “They are massive!”

Hawk smiled. “We breed for large destriers, but our steeds are all special. Gifts of the goddess”

He pointed at the black one. “That is Raigh’s Nightblade, the silvery one is Akisha’s. His name is Steelhawk. The dun mare is Rheynek’s Starwind and the palomino belongs to Elywen, her name is Icerose.”

A smaller man with a shaven face and a rather short braid came sprinting, he smelled of horse and smiled from one ear to the next. “Ah, you are the owner of that lovely red mare? Follow me, I am Dern by the way”

Hawk grinned. “He has forgotten more about horses than most can hope to learn in a lifetime”

The man had the energy of a squirrel and he felt a bit odd, nobody there had reacted to his eyes and general looks. It was…strange. He found that he liked it, here it was as if he was an ordinary man, nothing out of the ordinary and absolutely not some mutant people usually wanted gone. There was an extra room there with some huge boxes and the man stopped in front of the first one. “This farm used to breed draft horses, that’s why the stable is so large.”

Geralt stared into the box, Roach was laying down but she was just resting and she was covered with a thick blanket and had been groomed. Dern came carrying a bucket of water. “She was in a bad state, but I will get her back on her legs, it won’t be a fast process though. She is very skinny and has spent her strength.”

Geralt swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t have pushed her that hard if it hadn’t been..,”

Dern nodded. “I know lad, I know. Don’t blame ya, I would have done the same. But rest assured that she is in capable hands now”

Geralt felt relieved and Hawk patted him on his back. “I bet you are hungry? It is time for some food before the shit hits the fan once more”

Geralt couldn’t have agreed more and they entered a rather large hall. He was still wobbly and needed Hawk to support him, or else he would have tumbled he was sure. The room smelled of food and he saw that the others were there already, some locals were running around with bowls and tankards and Akisha waved her hand at him. “Come friend, be seated. We have stew, and stew. Well, all we have is stew at this point but it is good stew. Decent at least. I have had way worse”

Geralt sat down, he stared at the bowl a young man placed in front of him, it did smell tempting and he got a spoon and tried to control himself. Akisha smiled. “When we return home I will make sure that the king do compensate these people, they have used all their stored food and need more for the winter, badly”

Geralt looked at the woman with a bit of shock. “The king answers to you?”

Raigh chuckled. “Friend, if a weaponsmaster asks for something nobody, not even a king, has the authority to say no. if he tried people would simply stop obeying him for that would be a sign that he is too arrogant and way too fond of power.”

Geralt realized that these people had immense influence, way more than a sorcerer or sorceress. It had to be a completely different system of checks and balances when it came to the political reality of this realm. Akisha nodded at him. “Eat, the sun sets soon, we don’t have much time.”

The witcher ate, slowly. He didn’t want t take any risks since he hadn’t eaten proper food for two weeks, and even one like him could suffer from an upset stomach. The others there ate a lot but they didn’t really drink much, he could smell that even the weak ale had some punch to it and he understood why it was a bad idea to enter a battle, drunk! When he was finished most had already left the room to prepare and the atmosphere there was a bit sombre. The locals entered now and the kids were gathered by the hearth. Two men were placed by the door, they both wore swords and he realized that these two were the last line of defence if the beasts made it through the gates.

The yard was cleared of people and the horses had been saddled and brought forth. Geralt was given a thick cloak and a local man took him to a sort of platform near the gate, he could stand there and watch and it gave him a nice view of the area around the farm or at least the front and sides of it. The forest was darkening and he could hear something in the distance, some sort of howling which didn’t come from a wolf. The area around the farm was covered with stacks of straw and wood, not large but he realized that these were replaced each day. Elywen came forth and he saw that there was a similar platform on the other side of the gate, she placed herself there and her eyes were glowing faintly in the growing darkness.

She smiled at him but he sensed that she was nervous, but she had claimed to be a dragon? Couldn’t she have burned the whole pack then? She must have sensed his thoughts for she turned towards him. “I could take dragon shape but I cannot keep it for very long, it is not in my nature. I could burn them but new would come and then I would be weak for days and unable to do much. This is better, it doesn’t drain me that much,”

Geralt sort of understood, it was the least of two evils, the best solution. The warriors mounted their horses and he saw that Frostbird rode a very long legged red mare which did resemble Roach in shape, it was just taller. The animal seemed like it had a bad temper and she struggled with it. The blond woman named Rhylja rode a lovely black stallion with white mane and tail and blue eyes, the animal didn’t seem natural and Geralt had a feeling that it was changed too somehow. It wasn’t as tall as the destriers but looked very fast. The other warriors rode good horses too, expensive well trained animals which lined up and Geralt was a bit puzzled. The gates couldn’t be opened? But there was a sort of ramp pushed inn in front of it and he realized that they simply jumped the gate, it was risky but he had no doubt that these warriors knew the art of jumping over a gate on horseback to the T.

Someone gave a shout and Elywen closed her eyes, she was glowing slightly. The fields in front of the farmstead were alive, he saw movement everywhere and he gasped when he realized how many they were. There were beasts everywhere and they were moving forth at a staggering rate. Raigh were roaring orders, the warriors seemed to be well prepared and they didn’t even flinch when the sound of roars and guttural grunts reached the farm. Elywen threw her head back, she screamed, a sort of high pitched yell no human throat could hope to imitate. The heaps of straw burst into flames and the area was suddenly well lit. The beasts did slow down, hesitated. Geralt saw that Hawk had jumped up on the wall too, he carried a quiver of long shafted arrows and a bow which made the witcher stare. It was impressive and probably made from bone and sinew as well as metal and wood, it would take an immense strength to pull it and yet the elf didn’t seem to put any effort into it at all. He fired an arrow and the distance should have been way too long but the arrow hit a huge beast and it fell immediately.

Hawk lifted an arrow and Geralt saw that the arrow head was glowing slightly, in an odd greenish hue. The arrow heads had to be magical somehow. Raigh let out a shout and the massive black horse ran forth, hit the ramp and jumped the gate as if it was just a bump in the road, the silvery horse was right behind it and they spread out. Everybody rode, every horse cleared the gate easily and landed well and they seemed to know exactly what to do. Elywen sent off some fireballs which exploded among the beasts and she was panting as she did it. Hawk jumped from the wall and onto his horse and the brown stallion jumped the gate too. Raigh were giving orders, he sent the riders to where they were needed most and Geralt saw that Akisha pulled her sword, that too glowed slightly and he saw that Rheynek too had a blade like that. Hawk was firing from horseback, rode around the farm in wide turns and fired at the largest of the beasts, they all fell. One nick from one of those arrows seemed to be enough to bring down even the most fierce of beasts.

Geralt tried to focus, he was there for some reason, he’d better find it soon. He stared at the beasts, they were a nightmare, a mix of species or so it seemed and he had a strong feeling that these were all created by magic. No natural evolution would come up with something like that. He saw that a monster with the head of a pike but body of a bear raced towards Hawk but the brown stallion spun around and kicked and the beast was thrown several meters backwards. Rhylja was there right away, she used a spear with a very long blade and pierced it, Geralt had to look twice, suddenly she had tiger stripes all over or so it seemed and her teeth were bared in a feral snarl. So, she wasn’t exactly your average person either.
The fighters kept the monsters at bay and Geralt concentrated on what he saw. The beasts were chaos, he saw that clearly. There was no leaders, no control. It was each beast for itself and they all wanted to get inside the walls. Elywen torched those who got too close and he saw that the glow around her waned and grew all the time. It made him realize that she absorbed something from those she killed, their life force maybe? But it did also drain her and she was getting more and more pale.

The night wore on, more and more beasts arrived and more and more were slain. The defenders seemed to be able to fight for days upon end and they never hesitated. Geralt was both impressed and a bit shocked by what he saw, this was no fight where chivalry and rules are to be followed, it was raw and terrible and just brutal and the riders cooperated very well. The beasts were not very intelligent, they could be tricked and the riders used their bloodthirst against them rather often. The sun started to rise again, the night had lasted a long time but it felt like a swift moment now. The beasts retreated and the riders chased off some, then they gathered in front of the gate. Some of the locals opened the gate swiftly and everybody rode back inside, the gates were slammed shut. The local men put harnesses on three huge draft horses and attached chains to them, they too were let out and men followed them. They started dragging the carcasses off to some point behind the farm, other men gathered firewood and straw into new heaps.

Akisha got off her horse and Geralt walked towards her, he noticed that her sword was glowing still. She saw where he was looking and grinned swiftly. “Elthear does glow yes, it is a gift from the goddess.”

Geralt frowned. “What does that mean?”

She shrugged. “The one who tears all, Rheynek has a similar sword, Nadharn, the wolf’s fang”

Geralt tilted his head. “We use swords of silver against monsters?”

Akisha nodded. “I saw that sword of yours yes, lovely weapon but useless against those monsters, no better than a steel one. Silver may be functional against things such as vampires and werewolves but these goddamn beasts are immune to it. Only the goddess own metal is efficient.”

He took a deep breath. “They do die like other animals when cut?”

She smiled. “Yes, but they are hard to kill. Only few of us have weapons made from that special alloy and we only use them in such situation as this one”

The horses were taken away and washed off, the warriors entered the hall again and the locals returned to the yard and the barn. The place was more crowded than a marketplace on market day. Food had been prepared and there was a certain order to it even now, nobody tried to push their way forth in the queue and everybody got their fair share. Raigh was covered with black blood and his teeth were shining white when he smiled. “We got them good this night too but we cannot keep fighting them here forever.”

Elywen was followed by Hawk, she was visibly weakened and he seemed to be concerned. Frostbird looked wild, the eyes were huge and she was trembling still, too much adrenaline, Geralt had seen it before. Geralt sat down slowly, he wasn’t hungry but someone did dump a bowl with some bread and a piece of cheese in front of him anyhow. Rhylja sat down there too, she was covered with goo and there was an insane expression on her face, one of wild fury and fierce glee, he could feel that she enjoyed this and enjoyed it immensely. She took pleasure in killing and it made him a bit apprehensive. She tore into the food like a starving animal and now he couldn’t see the stripes anymore. What was this? He waited until she was done eating, then he gathered his courage and asked. Rhylja shrugged. “The stripes are tattoos, but they only show when I am fighting. I am a Kher-el”

Geralt raised an eyebrow. “What is that?”

She smiled slowly. “An assassin, working for the deities. The weaponsmasters and priestesses deal with the supernatural and the masses. I deal with single people the gods want removed, corrupted souls you may say, those drunk with power and high with sadism.”

Geralt had to stare at her again, she looked like some normal woman now, pretty and very fit alright but there was nothing about her which told of the insane skills she had showed. He knew he would have faced great problems if he was to fight her, she had a speed equal to none he had ever met. “Yes, the hunter’s god whom I serve have given me some extra gifts you may say. I do however hunt monsters too with just as much luck as humans”

Geralt nodded slowly. “I saw that, you all did…well”

Akisha came over, sat down, her eyes narrow. “So, what can you tell me?”

Geralt sighed. “Not much I am sure you haven’t already figured out. “

Akisha sent him a swift glance, there was a light challenge in her eyes. “Alright, out with it anyhow”

He cleared his voice, it was odd but he had spoken more now in just a mere day than he would normally speak in a week or more. “They are not cooperating in any manner, there are no leaders and no sense of pack mentality. They are each on their own”

Akisha nodded. “We have figured that out already, yes, anything more?”

He made a grimace. “Ah, this may be nothing but…”

She sent him a glare and he continued. “They are not natural, no world can have beasts like that, some of them shouldn’t even have been able to live and yet they do. They are magical, or were at least created through magic. I feel that they are almost a parody of some sorts”

Akisha looked a bit stunned. “Oh fuck! Goddamn it! Balls!!”

She got up, her eyes blazing. “We have been wrong the whole time”

Geralt was puzzled. “Ah, what?”

Akisha waved her arms. “Everybody, over here!”

Raigh and the others came and sat down, they looked curious. Akisha pointed at Geralt. “He gave me an answer, one we couldn’t see.”

Raigh frowned and Hawk raised an eyebrow in an approving grimace. “Alright?!”

Geralt saw that they stared at him, he tried to remain calm but it felt unnerving. “They are parodies?!”

Raigh closed his eyes. “Of course, motherfucking…uh, damn it. We have fought them before, we didn’t think that…”

Geralt swallowed. “Listen, I may have given you an answer but I do not understand it?”

Akisha sighed. “The differences between now and then, we believed that it was the same types of beasts, just evolved. It isn’t. They are from somewhere else altogether. But as you said, a parody, a mockery. Or a failed attempt at creating a copy of the monsters from back then”

Geralt frowned. “Do you have sorcerers or sorceresses here?”

Raigh grimaced and his face was rather sinister. “Few, most are harmless but this make me believe that we do have at least one person with such powers here, and that he or she isn’t really capable of using them well.”

Geralt nodded slowly, his thoughts working hard. “That would make sense”

Hawk had been standing there looking like a granite statue the whole time, now he moved again. “But why? Is it yet another attempt at seizing power?”

Geralt shook his head and they stared at him. eyes narrow. “No, this isn’t like that at all”

Akisha pouted. “Why not?”

Geralt made a vague gesture. “Listen, I have some experience with …magical powers out of control, there is no real plan behind this, it is an act of desperation, a spell gone wrong if you like. I don’t think the one behind this wanted something this grand”

Raigh leaned forth. “What makes you say that?”

Geralt sighed, “The randomness, there is no real target now is there? They just attack anything! Whoever is behind it, the person is inexperienced and possibly unaware of their involvement in the first place. Or it is a person so desperate he or she doesn’t give a fuck anymore about who falls victim to whatever it is they conjure up!”

Hawk grunted. “That gives me a bad feeling folks”

Akisha nodded. “You have to be very desperate indeed to do something like that, even if you don’t really mean to”

Geralt shrugged. “If someone has the power and isn’t aware of it the results can be horrific. I attended a party once where a princess levelled a whole throne room, and she hadn’t been trained at all”

Rheynek tilted his head and the strange eyes were distant. “Then the magic in your realm is different from the one in ours but still, I think you are right. I don’t think this was intended, at least not on such a terrible scale”

Geralt felt a bit confused. “How large an area is affected?”

Raigh looked tired. “Many hundred square miles, this is however where the density of beasts is the highest. “

Elywen had been silent and her expression one of deep thought, she bit her lower lip. “I think Geralt was brought here for several reasons, if the one behind this isn’t aware of their involvement we are here to also help that person. I think it may be someone in need of help and desperately so. Geralt can see the situation from several angles, we are blinded by our own routines, our own past.”

Akisha nodded. “Yes, that is true. But now we have to get some food into us, and wash the bloody mess off of us.”

They got up and were heading towards the door when it flew open and one of the men ran inside, he was heaving for air. “Riders, from the east. I think it is the ones you sent out”

Raigh got an expression of relief on his face. “Finally!”

Chapter Text

They entered the yard and the gates were opened. Several riders entered and Geralt gaped, behind the riders came a huge feline, the size of a small horse. It was covered with black goo and sauntered over to the well, as if to say “Be at it then, get it off of me”

An elf jumped off one of the horses, he was a bit shorter than Hawk and Elywen but stockier, more muscular and his face was rather rough compared with Hawk, more masculine. He hugged Frostbird with obvious relief, then he walked over the giant cat and petted it. A huge man with a bald head and a huge axe on his back dismounted and grunted, he wasn’t young anymore but seemed to be strong still and a very delicate and elegant looking girl with dark golden hair did rush into Rheynek’s arms and kissed him passionately. Two humans with bows over their backs dismounted too, the man looked like a warrior and the woman was a somewhat hardened type with a pretty but worn face. Akisha walked over and hugged the huge man with the beard and he laughed and patted her across the back. “Did you find anything”

The huge man nodded. “Yes, we found aplenty lass, not all good”

Akisha grasped the man by the elbow. “But tell man, tell!”

The man discovered Geralt and his eyes went wide. “Wait a minute, who is this handsome fellah`? Another of the goddess servants?”

Geralt swallowed. “I am from a different realm than this, my name is Geralt, of Rivia”

The man smiled, he wasn’t set back by the eyes and the skin at all. “Pleased to meet ya, I am Wilbwyn, I have taught many of these lads and lasses all they know”

Akisha rolled her eyes and it was odd to see for normally she was as cool as a cucumber. “Ah not exactly my dear friend, remember, there were other teacher too but yes, you taught us how to ride”

She made a gesture. “Geralt here is a monster hunter, the goddess brought him here, to help us. So, what did you and the others find out?”

Wilbwyn grunted and scratched his beard. “There are two fortified castles in the area, not far from each other. The first belongs to the duke who owns this entire area, we already knew of him and we were welcomed as if we were royalty. They were terrified over there, the castle was solid and they have provisions to last them for years, although it is as overcrowded as this farm. He had brought everybody in the valley inside, the monsters were everywhere each night”

Akisha was focused, he could see it. “So, the duke was a good person?”

Wilbwyn nodded. “A true gentleman, and very eager to help. He was beside himself really, trying to save as many as possible. But his knights were out of the area since they had been off to join a tournament as the shit started happening and he is not a colt anymore, more like a worn out plow horse I would say”

Akisha frowned and the young woman who had to be Rheynek’s girl grinned from ear to ear. “He was fat Akisha, fatter than a pig right before yule. But nice, very nice. He didn’t stare at me even once”

Akisha raised an eyebrow. “A solid person then Enez, there was another castle?”

Wilbwyn made a grimace, it wasn’t pretty. “Oh yes, not far from the Duke’s. It belongs to one of his relatives, an uncle I think. We were not welcome, oh he was sooo eager to help and get rid of the beasts but we weren’t allowed to enter the castle at all”

The short elf looked pissed off. “He is hiding something, or else you can call me a sack of oats”

Akisha grinned. “Nobody can mistake you for a sack of oats Khir, but I understand what you are saying.”

Enez spat on the ground. “He was sleazy, I could feel it”

Akisha frowned. “How come?”

Enez put her hands inn underneath her breasts and lifted slightly. “Look? I am not exactly busty, and yet he was staring as if I was a steak and he was a starving hound. That place felt off!”

The two warriors nodded too, the woman had long brown red hair in a tight braid and her clothes were worn but showed that she was a person who spent most of her time outside. “She is right, that man is no good.”

Wilbwyn looked as if he had tasted something foul. “The duke warned us, not directly but rather discretely”

Geralt was intrigued. “How?”

Khir showed his teeth, they were almost feline in appearance. “He said that his uncle was a man not even a troll would be able to digest, and that his manners were those of a boar and had gotten worse gradually”

Geralt felt cold, a chill ran down his spine. “There it is, I am sure. It has to do with that man, I am certain”

Akisha smiled. “Your instincts hardly ever lie now does they?”

Geralt nodded. “You are right, they don’t. If they had I would be dead by now.”

Raigh had listened with a focused expression on his face. He stared at the sun. “It is too late now, but tomorrow, as soon as the beasts leave we ride out. How far is it?”

Wilbwyn blinked. “Three hours ride, hard! There is a road so it isn’t too difficult but you have to keep your speed up, the whole way”

Raigh took a deep breath. “Good, we cannot all go, some have to stay to protect the farm.”

Akisha nodded and crossed her arms. “Yes, no more than four.”

Raigh stared at Geralt. “You will go, you can do this. We need your experience now. I feel that this is something you can deal with better than us”

Geralt swallowed hard. “As long as Jaskier is safe”

Akisha nodded. “He will be, do not worry”

Raigh waved his hand. “Rhylja, Hawk and Rheynek, those are the warriors needed for this. Prepare yourselves”

Rheynek looked as if he had some doubts. “Ah, will there be enough people left? The monsters are getting larger in number each day”

Elywen smiled vaguely. “I have managed to contact Ghuad, he is coming, but heaven knows when. He isn’t a lapdog”

Geralt frowned “Ghuad?”

Elywen smiled. “Ghuad Blackfire, another dragon, of a different kind than me. He is capable of torching the beasts, and won’t suffer any ill effects of it at all”

Akisha looked firm. “Excellent, you need to prepare. Heaven knows what you are to encounter”

They looked at Geralt. “You have experience with magic. You will be the leader on this expedition”

Geralt suddenly felt nervous, and at the same time proud. These people did trust him with their lives and it was an odd feeling.

Everybody went over the bathhouse and Dern walked over to him. “Your mare is doing well but she isn’t ready to be ridden for a long time yet. However, we do have some other excellent steeds you can borrow”

Geralt smiled. “I thank you”

Dern just chuckled and walked off and Geralt entered the room where Jaskier was being kept. He felt that he had regained quite a lot of strength now but he needed more rest. He would go to bed again and try to become hale before they were to leave. Jaskier was awake and flirting rather badly with one of the girls there, the poor thing looked as if she didn’t know whether to feel flattered or spooked. The bard grinned widely. “I am better, listen, no more wheezing”

Geralt smiled and sat down. “That is great. But you should not sing yet, you cannot risk your voice remember”

He wanted to spare the locals from the in his eyes rather awful songs and camouflaged it as concern and Jaskier was suddenly all teary eyed. “Oh that is…sweet of you…I will wait…of course”

Geralt petted the bard’s hand. “I have to go and help them with something tomorrow, I may be gone for a few days”

Jaskier pouted. “I will worry then.”

Geralt sighed. “Don’t. I will be fine, just rest and recover and I am sure things will be fine”

The girl who sat there with a bowl of stew looked at him with a silent plea in her eyes and Geralt got up and nodded. “You need more sleep, you look terrible.”

Jaskier blinked in shock. “Oh, darn…well, I guess you are right”

Geralt waved at the girl. “You may leave, he needs his beauty sleep”

The girl mouthed a silent thank you and ran off as if her skirts were on fire. Jaskier could be a wee bit too flirtatious at times.

Geralt returned to the simple bed and laid down, he sighed and pulled the horse blanket over himself. Another bed had been made next to him and he saw that the stocky elf occupied it already, he was sleeping and Frostbird had somehow managed to perch herself next to him. The place fell silent rather fast, everybody were resting and Geralt slowly fell asleep too. He was suddenly aware of the fact that he was dreaming, there was darkness around him and he suddenly remembered the attack at Kaer Morhen, the fear, the screams and the feeling of doom, of having been targeted by hatred. He felt just as he had back then, shivering, cowering and sweating. There was a voice in the darkness. “A time of fire, a time of fangs, a time of desolation is near. Beware the one wearing the silver and the blue, beware the one with the blood”

He woke up with a start, the room was dark and the others there were sleeping. He wiped the sweat off his brow and forced himself to breathe normally. This was a warning but a warning of what? He managed to relax and slowly he fell back into sleep, still feeling a bit shaken.
The others went to fight as darkness fell, he still laid there, his body working hard to recover. He had eaten well and maybe there were other hands there too, aiding him unseen. When the sun yet again rose above the horizon he was awakened by Akisha, she looked like she had taken a bath in black blood and her eyes were eerie. The unnatural colour frightening. Geralt sat up, he felt…oddly well. He was rested and there weren’t any pain anywhere, more so, he felt strong, invigorated. Akisha sent him a wry grin. “She has been here, strengthening you. Come now, some food, then you must go”

Geralt got up and stretched, he hadn’t felt that well in a long time. There were new clothes placed on a chair, warm and solid and the thing he did appreciate the most was that there were a leather armour among it. It was not very fancy nor of the expensive type but it was very solid and well taken care of. He got it on, placed his swords in their belts and carried them with him to the hall. He saw that the three others were ready and he felt oddly eager, this would be a true challenge for he had no idea of what they were to meet.

He ate rather fast and Akisha grasped his hand and before he really knew it she had placed a ring on his finger, it was made from green jade and rather simple. She gave him a strict glare. “This does identify you as a weaponsmaster, nobody has the authority to order you to do anything, remember that, it is you who give the orders”

Geralt felt moved, he swallowed hard. Hawk came over and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Ready? We have to go now”

He followed them outside and saw that the others rode their usual horses, but there was a horse there he hadn’t noticed before. It was a very elegant grey mare with dark legs and dark mane and tail and she was obviously capable of outrunning the wind itself. Akisha smiled. “Her name is Hagila, it means eagle. She will keep you safe”

Geralt swallowed again, the mare was so goddamn tall he had problems getting in the saddle. Raigh crossed his arms over his chest. “Ride hard and get to the Duke’s castle, stay there for the night and then move on to the uncle’s keep. Find out as much as you can while at the Duke, every little pinch of information is valuable.”

Hawk grinned and Rheynek looked enthusiastic, the only one who seemed to have some doubt was Rhylja. Akisha smacked the mare over the arse. “Go!”

Geralt clung to the saddle as the mare shot forth like an arrow from a crossbow and jumped the gate as if it wasn’t even there. The others followed and he felt an odd thrill. He had never ridden a faster horse, he felt the wind tear at him. The road wasn’t wide but it was there, a carriage road leading up to the one who owned the land and it was indeed a long ride. The landscape was rather pretty covered with snow and the horses were strong. Geralt had time to contemplate the situation, the beasts were the key there, He felt it. If he could figure out their nature he could figure out what this mystery really was.

The sun was at its zenith when they saw the castle, and it was a real one, with a high wall, a moat and towers. There were people everywhere and Geralt made a grimace, the stench was intense for his nose. Hawk just grinned. “They are doing their business over the wall, into the moat”

Rheynek made a grimace and Geralt tilted his head. “Forgive me for being intrusive but Enez? She is an ordinary person yes?”

Hawk started chuckling. “Oh she is far from ordinary, too brave for her own good, more fierce than a wolverine and she has a potty mouth which would make a pine tree drop its needles. Grew up in a brothel that one, and guess who’s reaping the benefits of that ha?”

Rheynek blushed, then he made a very obscene gesture aimed at Hawk. “Ah shut your gob, yes, she learned a lot of rather…useful…things growing up but she is also a very skilled thief and the heir to a whole kingdom”

Geralt gaped, the heir to a kingdom? He had never seen a person who was acting less royal than her. Rheynek rolled his eyes. “Listen, the goddess made me what I am alright, I was made to hunt vampires, or rather, one vampire in special, their God. My biological father by the way”

Geralt gaped even wider, he couldn’t really believe it. Rheyney continued. “And that bastard wanted her because of an old spell which locked him inside of that ancient kingdom, he couldn’t cross the borders. She has the old blood and could be used to break it, so she let him capture her so she could steal the source of his power from right underneath his nose”

Geralt stared. “You let him get her?!”

Rheynek shrugged. “Don’t look like that man, I didn’t like it but she has a will stronger than steel, and we had to get those crystals, without them he would have won”

Geralt tilted his head. “You are a half vampire then?”

Rheynek just made a vague gesture. “Not exactly, you see, my father wasn’t yet a vampire when he sired me. My mother was a servant girl he raped and she ran off to avoid the shame of having a bastard. The goddess found me and well…she changed me”

Geralt just swallowed. “No shit!”

Rhylja sent the men a rather glaring stare. “Behave you three brutes! From now on we are the goddess own hands remember? So no swearing, leering or spitting!”

Hawk just grinned. “Of course…mother!”

They approached the gates and the drawbridge was lifted, they rode into a rather large yard and there were people all over the place. Some stable hands came for the horses and stopped in shock seeing how large they were. Rhylja petted her stallion on the neck and smiled at the man trying to grab the reins. “Just go in front of him, Moonsinger will follow”

An elderly man with a very narrow face and a somewhat grey complexion came forth, he bowed deeply and Geralt saw that Hawk and Rheynek had the same ring as himself. “My lords, lady…the duke is awaiting you”

He seemed a bit too servile, why Geralt thought so he didn’t know but he didn’t trust that man, not with a fleas arse. They followed, the rooms were crowded and the smell of unwashed human was rank everywhere. Just the main hall was almost empty and the duke was as Enez had said very obese. It had to have been years since he could mount a horse and Geralt could hear that his heart was straining. The man didn’t have a long time left. The duke smiled and spread his arms. “Welcome, be very welcome. A glimpse of hope in these horrid days”

They sat down by the table and Geralt noticed all the empty trays and tankards, the man ate like a pig for sure and the food was probably superb. It could be that he was eating to drown his fears but it could also have other reasons. The man was staring at them and his eyes were a bit blurred and distant, he couldn’t see very well at all. Hawk was all business now, the silliness was gone completely and he was rather intimidating. The deep hoarse voice was sharp as a blade straight from the forge. “My lord, we have some information concerning the monsters, we may be able to fight them if you can fill in the gaps”

The duke looked confused. “I would love to my lords, but…I know naught?”

Rheynek crossed his legs, he was like a negative copy of Hawk there and then, darkness and light in contrast and Geralt suddenly realized that these men knew how to use anything somebody say to haul for more information, and that they also used their own looks for all they were worth. “The beasts have something to do with that uncle of yours, who owns the castle down the road?”

The duke cringed, for a swift second he had a terrified expression on his face. “Oh Gertram, ach, he is…a nasty character, yes, a nasty character”

Rhylja was all sweetness. “Oh so we have heard but what can you tell us about him”

The duke became eager, almost frantic. “He is a lecherous scumbag, a breaker of oaths and a thief too. Do not believe a word he is saying, he never spoke a word of truth in his life”

Hawk was listening and the black eyes were like deep dark wells, Geralt could sense that he was onto something, like a tracking dog following a trail. “So he is a bad person, we get it. Does he have many men? Is he a man of wealth?”

The duke seemed to relax a bit more. “He has a few, rotten lazy punks like himself, not worth a dime any of them. Former soldiers he says but I think they are former convicts”

Hawk’s eyes were turning towards Geralt, there was something in them, a silent warning. “Good to know, so he won’t be able to resist us then?”

The duke shook his head, his double chin was shaking like a bowl of jelly. “If you go there do not believe him I say, if he is behind this…I cannot understand how he can be but he is a ruthless bastard”

The tall skinny man appeared again, he bowed even deeper than before. “Gentlemen, there are refreshments being served in the kitchen”

The duke sighed. “Go, you need something to keep up your strength. Follow Oscar, he is my butler by the way”

They got up and followed the tall man down a rather deserted corridor, they stopped in front of a wooden door and the butler turned around. “Listen to me, I have served the duke for forty years and I have served with pride and joy. My master…he is a very good man, a man who wants only what is good for his people. But he has his own demons to dodge”

Rhylja made a grimace. “Food”

The butler sort of cringed. “Yes, and for a particular reason”

Geralt grunted. “Heartbreak”

The butler frowned. “Ah yes, but how do you know that…”

Geralt sent him a rather harsh grin. “Experience”

The butler sighed and leaned against the door. “Yes, twenty years ago the duke was going to marry, the contract was already signed and only the wedding was left. But his bride to be disappeared and was gone for months. When she finally was seen again it was as the wife of his uncle”

Hawk froze. “Did she marry him out of her own free will or?”

The butler rolled his eyes and huffed. “What woman with a brain in her head would marry that bastard? Oh he was good looking, a real charmer but dark gentlemen, very dark. The servants who dared to speak said he captured her, raped her and forced her to marry him. She had no choice”

Hawk growled. “Then he is a criminal, and a just target for our wrath”

Geralt frowned. “What happened next?”

The butler took a deep breath. “The duke haven’t really spoken to his uncle since, but he does despise him and hates him. He just ignores the fact that the man lives this close. “

Rhylja looked intense. “The wife?”

The butler looked down. “Dead, years ago, but there are rumours…”

Geralt froze up, his eyes got narrow. “Tell us”

The butler didn’t raise his eyes from the floor. “There was a child, or so they say. A girl. And she had to take her mother’s place if the rumours are true”

The butler looked up, his eyes were dark. “Do not tell anybody that I have told you this, I do sometimes have to protect my lord from the truth. He would go mad if he knew what happened to his beloved, his mind isn’t all that solid. That he stole the woman is bad enough, if he heard of the rumours he would do something stupid for sure. Gertram has men you see, more than my master knows, and way more influence too than anyone here is aware of.”

Rhylja stared at the three men, her gaze held daggers and fire. “That swine, he is abusing his own daughter!”

Geralt sighed and looked down. “It makes sense, it all does. When did the monsters first appear?”

They looked at each other. “About five months ago?”

Geralt turned to the butler. “If the rumours are true, how old is the girl?”

The butler seemed to be thinking hard. “I have no idea, for there are more than one rumour you see. Some say there was a child born to them after just two years but that she died, and then they had another one twelve years ago, and the wife died giving birth to her”

Rhylja stared at Geralt, her eyes were keen, unnaturally so. “What do you think?!”

Geralt bit his teeth together. “Those rumours are true, there was another girl at first, I guess the son of a pig used her until she died. And then he got a new toy to play with”

Hawk clicked his teeth. “But why now?”

Geralt made a grimace. “This is nasty people, but…”

He took a deep breath. “He has probably abused the girl for a long time, but it wasn’t until five months ago he…went all the way. A virgin cannot use magic”

The butler was pale and the others looked as if they had stepped on something incredibly nasty. Rhylja swore and her voice was weak, Hawk growled and Rheynek looked like a statue, only the strange eyes seemed alive. “Good, very good, we know enough to strike down upon that bastard with all our authority.”

Rhylja nodded. “Yes, but we cannot just ride up to the castle and demand to be let inside. He won’t let us. A man like that won’t give a flying fuck about the law, believe me”

Hawk turned to the butler. “Are there many beasts around his castle at night?”

The man shook his head. “Oddly no, only on nights with a darkened moon”

Rhylja closed her eyes. “I know someone who may help us, I need to get up on the roof though”

Hawk frowned. “Are you serious? There has to be innocent people there, workers, servants?”

Rhylja bared her teeth and suddenly the stripes were visible again. “I know, but he doesn’t need to tell them he means them no harm?!”

Rheynek shook his head. “We don’t know if he is near at all”

Rhylja put her hands into her sides. “Well, if he is he will hear me, we have a connection! He’ll go here first.”

She grasped the butler by the shoulder. “Show me the way to the roof, now!”

The butler looked confused. “But…the food”

Hawk smiled swiftly. “We three will take care of that”

The butler shoved the door open and sent them a pale grin. “Dig inn gentlemen”

He grasped a torch and sent Rhylja a rather shaky grin. “Follow me young…lady!”

The kitchen was large and there was a table there, with food on it. Geralt saw that Hawk sat down and Rheynek was a bit stiff, his movements were not as soft as usual.
“Geralt, that man is ours, by the law. But you may cut down anything you find of a less than natural nature”

Geralt placed himself on the bench, his gaze was distant.” Do you suspect something like that in the castle itself?”

Hawk spread his arms. “The castle is the source, whether it is the girl or someone else who’s behind it all. We don’t know that man, the goddess alone knows what he has been up to. She brought you here Geralt, she never does something like that if it isn’t needed. Yes, I think there are dangers there, which we haven’t seen yet”

Rheynek was still stiff, there was something dark in his expression. “I have an odd feeling here, I haven’t felt it before but I can assure you, it is a harbinger of trouble. I have walked straight into lairs filled with vampires and never felt anything like this”

Hawk frowned and turned towards the other man. “That bad?”

Rheynek nodded. “Yes, worse!”

Geralt pulled a bowl with pieces of cheese closer, he felt nervous, on edge. His nerves were almost on the outside or so it seemed and he just wished that they had known more. “I feel worried too, my instincts are usually rather well honed. “

Hawk was about to answer but the door opened and a small old woman entered with a basket in her arms, she stopped and looked stunned and Rheynek smiled at her. “Do not worry my good lady, we are guests of the Duke, here to find out why those monsters have appeared”

The woman war truly very old, her skin wrinkly and her body bent but the eyes were clear and she stared at them and saw the ring Hawk wore. She bowed. “Servants of the black she wolf, finally. I have prayed my lords, prayed and prayed”

She put the basket down and sat down at the table, her eyes swept from one man to the other and she made a grimace. “I assume that Oscar has told you some truths about our neighbour”

Geralt nodded. “He has, but much is still unanswered”

The woman was silent for a few seconds. “I can tell you more, oh so much more, but I am no flowering maiden anymore, my bones are very old and I am no longer able to remember everything”

Rheynek grasped a bottle and found a glass, he poured into it and shoved the glass over towards the woman. She stared at the glass with large eyes, then she grasped it and downed it all in one go. She grinned. “I haven’t had such vintage for many a summer, it warms the old bones, yes it does”

She wiped her mouth and Geralt stared at her. “The uncle, Gertram was it, he is older than the Duke?”

The woman shook her head. “No, he is a brother of the duke’s father. You see, our masters grandfather was a piece of work, he had twelve children in all, his first sired when he was only seventeen, a bastard by the way, and the last one with his third and last wife when he had reached the respectable age of ninety”

Hawk whistled. “Ninety? And still able to perform in bed?! I am impressed”

The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh from what I heard they had to lift him up onto his blushing bride and then lift him off again when the deed was done but she got pregnant that night and three months later she was a widow. Anyhow, Gertram is ten years younger than our master”

Rheynek was swirling another glass between his fingers. “You have heard the rumours I bet?”

The woman stared at him. “That he has bedded his own daughter? Oh by the goddess, we all know that. What you do not know is that there has been disappearances in this area for at least two decades, young girls, never two from the same village but six or seven in all. I say he got them all”

Geralt stared and he felt slightly nauseous. “Why? Just to have a plaything or something worse?”

The woman eyed the bottle and Rheynek did pour her yet another stiff drink. She tossed it back as if it was blackberry juice. She burped and made a grimace. “I can tell you one thing gentlemen, that man doesn’t mingle with people, and he doesn’t employ servants for more than a few weeks at a time Most of the castle is off limits to everybody. I have a nephew who worked there one autumn to help out with the harvest and he said he could smell something odd there at times. And some animals go nuts there, the man cannot keep dogs or cows or anything, the animals do commit suicide”

Geralt gaped, his eyes were huge. “Tell me, has there always been a castle there?”

The woman cocked her head and chuckled. “You have a quick wit young man, yes, I am getting to that. You see, the duke’s grandfather split his property between his children and Gertram asked for that particular castle. It had been empty for decades before that, abandoned and feared”

Rheynek closed his eyes. “Let me guess, it isn’t really worth that much”

The woman nodded solemnly. “It was almost a ruin when he got it, he did fix it though but it doesn’t make him rich, I can tell you that. The fields are sick somehow, doesn’t yield much at all and the water in the area smells like…farts”

Geralt grasped the bottle and poured himself a rather large drink too. “It is the castle, who lived there?”

The woman leaned back, her eyes were shiny, she was getting drunk fast. “Many, for years it was a prison, it was a storage, it housed some ladies of a more shady nature. But the one who built it and lived there at first was according to my mom a man who sold his own soul to the darkness”

Hawk cocked his head and grasped the bottle, drank straight from it. “A wizard?”

The woman shook her head. “An alchemist, who went too far if the legends aren’t lies”

Rheynek frowned. “A wizard would be worse yes?”

Geralt shook his head. “No, magic has rules, you cannot break them without causing yourself serious harm. An alchemist on the other hand knows no such bonds at all”

Rheynek swore. “Fuck, but what did he do then?”

The woman sighed and looked down. “Produced monsters? He wanted to be like a God you see, create life from nothing. Somehow he did succeed. Or that is what people say. He was found dead by the drawbridge one morning, torn apart like a rotten sheet. And there were tracks there, like none other anybody had ever seen”

Rheynek and Hawk stared at Geralt who felt rather shocked. “I… I think I know what he may have done then…when they create…people like me…they use concoctions and potions, of a very dangerous nature. They change you, some more than others. If you survive you will be enhanced. I think that alchemist was trying to do just that, enhance people, and he did something he shouldn’t have, created something…unexpected”

Hawk rolled his eyes, it looked insane since there was so little sclera visible in those pitch black eyes. “Oh jolly good, we can risk facing something truly horrible then”

Geralt nodded. “If the alchemist managed to create a mutagen it could still be there, changing people subtly. Was Gertram a bad person to begin with?”

The woman had listened with keen eyes. “No, he was a normal man, a bit strict and way too proud but which nobleman isn’t? Full of themselves all of them”

Rheynek sighed. “Right, how are we to attack this problem then?”

They all stared at each other, good ideas were hard to come by.

Rhylja had followed the butler out onto the roof, she was trying to calm her mind. The roof was open and very cold and the wind tore at her but she nodded at the butler. “You can go back inside, I need to be alone”

He just shrugged and left and she turned so she had the wind at her back. She made a grimace. She had a connection with Ghuad but it was vague at best and as Elywen said it, you never knew if he would listen or not. She stretched, relaxed her shoulders and took a deep breath. During her training the ability to enter a light trance was rather important and she had no problems doing it even now but reaching out was hard. It felt as if something was blocking her and it confused her. She fell deeper into the trance, reached out with all she had, stretched her spirit like a piece of string. There. It was very vague but not a coincidence. She recognized that spark in the darkness, that spiritual touch. It felt like touching a red hot stove and she made a grimace of pain as she linked to it for a few seconds, sending out a desperate plea. He had to notice, had to hear.
She could just hope that he would be there in time.

She reached back into herself again, tried to shake off the trance but something kept her there, in this half conscious state. She turned around slowly, someone was staring at her, she felt it. Rhylja was very hardened, tough like few others. She had seen death, seen horrors few could imagine and yet this made her let out a shrill yelp. There was a girl there, staring with empty eye sockets. The eyes appeared to have been gauged out, and she was wearing what could only be described as rags. Rhylja saw through her, it was a ghost and the spirit raised an arm slowly. She was pointing in the direction of the other castle and Rhylja was trembling. There was malice there, a cold and heartless wickedness ancient and unspoken. But it wasn’t the girl, it was surrounding her though, like a dark miasma Rhylja could feel more than see. “Help…us.”

The voice was distant, weak, but she felt it, the horror, the despair. “He…kept us…there”

The girl seemed to tremble. “It is pulling me back, please…she meant no harm…help her, help us. Beware the silver and the blue, beware the blood. Fangs and fire”

She vanished, in thin air and Rhylja found herself trembling and heaving for air. She gasped, then she ran, as fast as she could.

Rheynek and Hawk were discussing how to gain entry to the castle when the door yet again flew open and Rhylja ran inside, eyes wild. She stopped and stared, Geralt could feel it, she had seen something horrible. “What is it girl?”

Rhylja sat down next to the old woman and grasped the bottle, downed what was left in it without a word. She heaved for air and blinked desperately a few times. “Goddamn it, fucking…oh pardon ma’am”

She made a sheepish grimace towards the old woman who raised an eyebrow and smiled a wide and toothless grin. “Do not worry pretty one, I have heard worse. Our blacksmith swears so badly they swear that is how he gets his forge started in the morning.”

Rhylja swallowed. “I did manage to contact him, but lads, I saw a ghost, from that castle. She was trying to get help, desperate”

Geralt tensed up. “Are you sure? Such apparitions can be malicious but mask it”

Rhylja rolled her eyes. “I am sure, she was in despair. She said he kept them there, and that “she” didn’t mean to cause harm. The she said something about silver and blue and blood, and fangs and fire”

Geralt swallowed hard. “Right, she was honest then. What did she look like?”

Rhylja pushed some loose hairs from her face. “Very pretty, young, maybe fifteen? But her eyes, they were gone, gauged out I think. And she was skin and bones, wearing rags”

The old woman looked intense. “Tell me lass, what colour was her hair? Did she wear anything else?”

Rhylja frowned, tried to remember. “Ah, her hair was auburn, but shorn short, and I think she wore a sort of bracelet, made from antler perhaps? Very primitive”

The old woman leaned back, sighed. “Arica, the daughter of the miller down the valley. She has been missing for ten summers poor little one”

Rhylja was shaking still. “There are souls there, needing to find their rest”

Rheynek was blinking. “We will do all we can to ensure that this is what they’ll get.”

Hawk sighed. “But we cannot get there today, it is soon dark again and I don’t think we should enter that place at night.”

Geralt nodded. “You are right, we have to wait for the morrow.”

Rhylja made a grimace. “So, what have you found?”

Rheynek filled her inn and she cringed. “The goddamn piece of rabid meat, motherfucker!”

Hawk sent Geralt a quick glance. “Is there anything we can do, to protect us against…apparitions?”

Geralt nodded. “Yes, if they are malicious there are tricks, I can show you. And there are symbols too which wards them off”

Hawk got up and left the room, when he returned after a short while he carried some pieces of parchment and a pen and ink. “Here, draw them”

Geralt sighed and did what he was told, he made some quick sketches and Hawk stared at them with narrow eyes. “I recognize a few of these, I guess they must be universal then”

He grasped the parchment. “Can they be efficient if they are put on say a medallion?”

Geralt nodded. “Yes.”

Hawk turned to the old woman. “My lady, do you think your blacksmith can make us medallions? With these symbols on them?”

The woman nodded and smiled. “Surely, I will show you the way”

She got up and Hawk followed her, the others sat there, staring. “What are we to do until sunrise.”

Geralt stretched. “We need to rest, gather our strength. We will need it”

Rhylja grimaced. “I do actually miss Jirhg, he could probably have made something no ghost or monster would anticipate”

Geralt frowned. “Jirhg?”

Rheynek nodded. “Yes, our own alchemist, or rather, a madman. But he do sometimes come up with good ideas and things which are useable. I know that during the last situation with monsters like these he made a thin powder which he spread over the horde and it caused them to itch themselves silly”

Geralt felt intrigued. “Itching powder? That is a new one”

Rhylja giggled. “Oh yes, and he has made a whole lot of other things too.”

Geralt found a better position. “Do tell.”

They sat there for quite a time and Rhylja seemed to enjoy telling, then Hawk returned and they checked on their horses. The Duke was supposedly busy but Geralt could smell that he was chowing down on some chicken, the rooms did reek of it. They had been given one room to share and Rhylja was annoyed. She wanted to be treated like a lady when she had the chance but she didn’t protest and found the bed rather tempting.

They spent the rest of the evening telling tales and Geralt had to tell some too, he felt oddly at home with these three, they felt almost like his witcher brothers, perhaps just from a different school. They would have to get up early and Geralt pulled off his boots and placed his swords by the bed, near enough for him to reach them. They all went to bed and Geralt had no problems falling asleep, oddly enough. He had anticipated that he would stay awake but nope, the wine they had had was stronger than he had anticipated and the excitement and tension had also worn him down.

He was dreaming again, felt himself floating, relaxed and warm and the room was dark. The others laid there, their breathing slow and deep. The room suddenly smelled of fire and ash, of hot metal and something he couldn’t recognize. He turned his head, was he awake after all? No he couldn’t be? He jerked, there was somebody in there, the smell got stronger and he tried to sit up but couldn’t. The dark shade came closer and he heard chuckling, it was friendly of all things. Like a grandfather who is witnessing the folly of a beloved grandchild. There was a faint light, a handheld candle. It was an elderly man, clad in a blacksmiths apron and thick heavy leather clothes. He wore an eyepatch over his right eye and his face was worn and tanned and filled with shadows. He nodded and smiled, it was a pleased smile. “You are the white wolf, the hunter of beasts. Oh I have heard of you, news travel fast among us”

The man placed the candle on the table, it grew and threw a better light at the surroundings. “She got you here and she has asked me for a favour. You will need it” ¨

He leaned down and picked up Geralt’s silver sword. “Silver, a good blade no doubt but no match for what you may encounter.”

He winked and made a gesture, suddenly a third blade was standing there, next to his steel one. The scabbard made from some sort of black leather and it looked a bit strange. The man chuckled again. “It is never the blade itself lad, it is the hand which wield it. But this will give you an advantage.”

He put down the silver sword and pulled forth the new one. It had a peculiar vague s shape, it was one edged with a very discrete guard and it looked mean, snake like. Odd runes were etched into the greenish white metal and they were also visible on the pommel and the other metal parts. The lightly curved hilt was covered with black leather and Geralt could have sworn that the blade was singing, an eerie low pitched hum which made every hair on his body stand up. The smith smiled, it was a wicked smile. “Oh you can hear her can you not? Her song is one of thirst, of hunger. But she will never turn against you, she will be your true friend, a friend who never will leave you”

The smith put the blade back in the scabbard and Geralt felt a need to protest, it had been…oddly beautiful. The smith placed it next to his other swords. “Do not hesitate, she will destroy everything of an evil nature, one nick is normally enough. She feeds upon their souls, drinks their power. She is Dhinfiadh, the dragons flame”

Geralt froze, fang and fire…The smith nodded. “You are clever. You and the goddess own hunter must face this together, you cannot do it alone”

The smith petted the hilt. “One of my masterpieces, very few are worthy of my work lad, be proud. But I know you will honour her, and carry her with confidence. “

The smith was fading, as if he was slowly being pulled away. “One more thing lad, see with your heart this time, forget the eyes”

He was gone and Geralt fell back into deep sleep, as if someone had knocked him out.

He woke up from the sound of loud knocking, Rhylja was already out of the bed and raced over to the door and threw it open, outside was a somewhat shocked young man who stared at her with huge eyes, he gaped like a fish on dry land a few times before he had time to say anything. Geralt could understand it, Rhylja had loosened her hair and removed her tunic, and her chemise was rather see through. Jaskier would have written epic ballads to the honour of her “charms”. “What?!”

The man bowed. “Ugh, ah, there is breakfast being served…”

Rhylja rolled her eyes. “Thanks, We’ll be there shortly”

She slammed the door shut and hissed like an angry cat and Geralt realized that she was no morning bird, this time of the day was no favourite of hers. The sunshine was starting to lighten the room and Geralt sat up, then he started and stared at the blades placed by the bed. There were three, as in the dream. It hadn’t really been a dream then? He got up and grasped the new sword, hesitantly. It felt perfect, as if it had been made just for his hands and perhaps it had. He would have to use a different technique with this one but that wouldn’t be a problem at all. He swallowed and pulled it from the scabbard and Rheynek saw it and his eyes went wide. “Oh by the goddess…is that…”

He walked over and stared at the sword with obvious reverence. “That is…another one”

Geralt nodded. “I had an odd dream last night, a blacksmith? With one eye?”

Rheynek nodded and Hawk tilted his head and his lips were moving, as if he was praying. “The deity of the dwarves, the master smith, a friend of our goddess. He rarely bothers with the matters of this world but a blade like that…they are few Geralt, and only for those the gods favour”

Geralt felt that the hilt felt almost alive in his hands, it should have been unnerving but it wasn’t, not really. Rheynek smiled, a smile with a sort of melancholy within it. “You can feel it right? That it isn’t just a sword?”

Geralt nodded slowly. “It…sang to me”

Hawk sighed and crossed his arms across the wide chest. “Yes, they are sentient, and thirst for the blood of the wicked ones. That the goddess felt you needed one like this makes me feel a bit nervous”

Geralt put the blade back into the scabbard, then he replaced the silver sword with the new one. Rheynek was obviously curious. “It has an elven design, less traditional than ours. It is beautiful, does it have a name?”

Geralt nodded. “He called it Dhinfiadh, dragons flame”

Hawk stared at Geralt with a rather stiff expression. “The names are never a coincidence.”

The witcher swallowed and got his boots back on, Rhylja had redressed and braided her hair, she suddenly looked intimidating again. She put her hands on her waist and took a deep breath. “Right, so, breakfast and then a visit?”

Geralt nodded. “While we still have daylight yes”

They got ready and walked to the grand hall, it wasn’t really that grand, or large but there were people there and Geralt saw that many stared at them. But he wasn’t alone there and he wasn’t the only oddball of the group. He noticed a portrait on the wall, it was of a young woman with auburn hair and a complexion like cream, she was very beautiful and Hawk nodded. “I bet this was the fiancée the duke lost”

One of the women there placed a tray with break on the table. “It is, lady Benera was a famous beauty, and of a family famous for their magical talent, that’s why that bastard decided that he wanted her.”

Geralt frowned, the woman on the portrait had a proud stance and yet she looked vulnerable, frail almost. She wore a sort of amulet which had to be made from gold and it was small but Geralt did notice it. There was some sort of symbol etched into it and it reminded him of some of the signs he had been taught to use. The woman brought them also some cheese and dried sausage and a jug with mild cider. “She was a noble woman but very dear to everybody, even the poorest peasants. She never failed to help those in need and she had a heart as soft as the finest down pillows. “

Rheynek looked around the hall, the duke wasn’t there but that was no wonder, he probably needed help to walk even a few feet. They ate in silence, the daylight had grown strong by now and Rheynek finished his meal and grunted. “This cheese was old when my mother gave birth to me, but the bread was at least not too bad”

Hawk just shrugged. “I have had worse yes”

Rhylja just grinned and emptied her tankard, she burped and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Geralt felt tense, excited and nervous at the same time. The butler appeared, he looked just as sad and worried as the day before and he bowed and looked down. “If you leave for his castle today be aware that the castle itself has seen better days. He did fix a lot of it but some of the towers are…dubious”

Rhylja just stared at him with a tired expression. “Oh my, a decrepit castle, with monsters inside? Who would have guessed that such a thing was possible.”

Her voice dripping with sarcasm and the butler blushed and bowed, he left again and Rhylja hissed. “He is hiding something, or else you can call me a donkey’s arse”

Hawk chuckled. “The last guy who did make remarks about your arse ended up with his balls somewhere near his liver so I won’t take that bet, but I see what you mean. He is absolutely hiding something”

Geralt nodded. “And it is eating at him, I could see it in his eyes, he reeked of guilt, and fear”

Rheynek got up. “Too bad he won’t be telling us, I cannot just go ahead and force it out of the guy, we are guests here”

Rhylja made a grimace and she sighed. “Right, the rules of conduct. But I fear that we may have to give a flying fuck about that soon. “

They left the hall and entered the yard, the horses were ready and Rheynek looked over at Rhylja. “You said you managed to contact him?”

She nodded. “Yes, but I have no idea of what he will do, or when he will arrive, if he does arrive that is”

The blacksmith had in fact made medallions for them all and handed them over, Hawk paid him quite a lot and the man looked slightly shocked, the pouch with coins had been heavy. Geralt felt that the metal was oddly warm, it had some power then.

They checked their weapons and left the castle. Their target was just half an hour away along the road but they didn’t want to announce their arrival so they took to the forest instead. Rhylja was leading the way, as a follower of the hunter’s god she knew how to remain unseen and it was eerie how she suddenly seemed to merge with the shadows, even on horseback. They followed a small creek which did mask the sound of the hooves and then they rode along some fields and fences made from rocks. Geralt saw that castle now, or rather, its roofs. They seemed to be in different stages of disrepair, only the main part had been thoroughly rebuilt. Rheynek squinted. “Most of the castle is unused, I can see it. They only live within the main building, we have to be careful now”

Geralt saw that they rode slowly now, as if they were just out for a joy ride, for sheer leisure. But the weapons would give them away to anyone who saw them up close. They stopped in a small groove of hazel nut trees and left the horses. The animals would hide there and come if called and the four did sneak forth, the castle was once an impressive one but now much of the outer walls were crumbling. Rheynek found a way inside through a rotten door which had been leading into a storage behind the stables. The stable was in rather good order, after all, horses were expensive and there were four there, rather good draft animals but no riding horses. That was odd, the noble are not that fond of being humble, riding an expensive palfrey was a sign of wealth and class.

Geralt could smell that there were people in there, but there weren’t many. He could separate the scents of no more than seven humans and then there was a smell he couldn’t identify but it was unpleasant. Hawk nodded slowly. “I smell it too, it smells like…old unwashed socks”

Geralt took a deep breath. “Right, we move forth but try to avoid being seen”

Rhylja was suddenly transformed again, now she was focused and ice cold, the blue eyes were intense. “If there is something rotten going on, and it is, it should be well hidden. The basement?”

Rheynek grinned. “The basement!”

The four of them slowly made their way out of the stable, there was a rather large courtyard there and it was a mess. It looked as if somebody had looted the old castle and left everything in the yard, unsorted and mostly broken. There were old furniture, broken carriage wheels, crates of the gods alone knew what. The place did stink and some rats ran by, unafraid and almost the size of a large cat. Rhylja hissed and Rheynek made a grimace. Geralt stared at the mangled objects and his eyes were narrow. Hawk nodded slowly, they were heading into a small guard room near the gate, it was uninhabited and had to have been for a while for the cobwebs and layer of dust was impressive. “You saw something out there?”

Geralt nodded. “Yes, the furniture. The owner of this shit hole has cleared out whole rooms”

Rhylja blinked. “Know what? You are right, what would he need that space for?”

Geralt took a peek out through the door. “I do not know but it cannot be anything good”

They saw that a man appeared in one of the doors, he sauntered off towards one of the smaller buildings there, it had to be the local outhouse since he carried what could only be a piss pot, but he poured the contents onto the ground instead of entering. Hawk looked slightly amused. “Explains the stench now doesn’t it?”

Geralt grunted. “They don’t care, people here are indifferent to their environment.”

Rhylja grinned, “Sloppy, that means they are sloppy”

Rheynek took a deep breath. “That may be but we cannot allow ourselves to be seen, we have no idea if that goddamn bastard has guards”

Hawk leaned against the wall, he was almost one with the shadows. “Human guards aren’t even a challenge, but if he has some other types? Now that can be a bit more tricky”

Rhylja peeked out through some cracks in the door. “Over there, behind that well. I bet that is an entrance we can use to find the cellar”

Rheynek smiled at her. “Good thinking, but we have to move fast and silently”

The man with the pot had returned to the inside of the building and Geralt stared at the yard again. He pointed at the mess. “Something is missing here, something important”

The others frowned “What?”

The witcher sighed. “Beasts, animals. Where are the chickens, the geese, the goats and cows? Those horses are the only animals we have seen, with the exception of rats of course”

Rheynek blinked, then he turned around slowly and before anybody had time to say anything he started whispering something none of them understood. For a second the stable seemed to glow, a faint shimmering light which looked almost like a sort of thin transparent veil. “The stable is protected, with spells. Remember what we were told? Animals here go mad, but they do need horses.”

Geralt looked at the man with some respect. “You do have magic”

Rheynek just shrugged. “Basic stuff, not much really but useful nonetheless. The horses are probably in danger without that protection”

Rhylja looked worried. “Then what are we talking about?”

Hawk was sniffing the air. “The rats, they are smart and fast and know when to hide. I say we trust them, if there are no rats shit is about to go down”

Geralt just nodded and Hawk took a deep breath. “No point in hanging around here, let’s go”

They sneaked out of the door, followed the shadows to the entrance and it was unlocked, the door was ancient and not very well maintained but they managed to open it without making much sound. It lead to a corridor and it smelled of mould and dirt. Rhylja opened one of the side doors and the room behind it was full, of rocks and earth. “Somebody has been digging, and hid the evidence here”

They looked at each other and some swift peeks revealed that all the rooms there were packed with dirt. Then the corridor took an abrupt turn and they heard clamouring and voices. A faint smell of cooking oil and burned wood told them this had to be a kitchen. They all moved slowly, weapons drawn. They heard a voice which was rather unpleasant, rough and squeaky at the same time. “Hurry, damn it, the master wants it now, do you want me to serve your ass on a platter instead?!”

Somebody did squeal and they heard the sound of somebody being smacked. Rhylja looked furious and Rheynek sent her a sharp glance, no running amok now. They walked on, the corridor took another turn and ended in a staircase, going down. The smell of raw dirt was strong and they suddenly felt a strange chill, the air felt heavy and moist and the smell was getting pretty nasty. The staircase was well maintained, clean and dust free, it had to be used a lot. It ended in a door and Rheynek stopped, stared at it with a rather sour expression. “We won’t get through, it is bolted from the inside, and protected with some nasty spells”

Hawk looked rather intense. “Yeah, I can feel it. But this means that Gertram has a sorcerer in his service?”

Geralt shook his head. “No, he is the sorcerer. This place has changed him, it has made him into a wielder of magic, but I bet it wasn’t just for his benefit.”

Rhylja took a deep breath, “Right, we have to get through, how?”

Hawk had been eying the wall with narrow eyes. “Know what? He has used magic on the door, not the wall”

Rheynek grinned. “You cannot see the forest for all the trees right?”

He walked over and put a hand on the rocks, they were old and looked as if the stone itself was being eroded away, slowly. “The binding used between the rocks here is bad, you can pluck it apart with your bare fingers, help me here”

They came over and before long they had loosened a pair of rocks, the hole was large enough for them to squeeze through, but Rheynek was worried that the hole could make the whole wall crumble. They got inside, the room was not very large and very dark, but there was a lamp there and they lit it. Not even Geralt could see in absolute darkness. The door at the other end wasn’t locked at all, and the chill was getting even worse. Geralt and Rheynek took the flanks, Rhylja opened the door slowly, she gasped.

Chapter Text

Behind the door was what had been a huge hall, probably a place where feasts and balls were held. Now it was transformed. The floor was gone, instead there was a giant pit and on the bottom was a sort of platform. Something protruded from it, it looked almost like a piece of a fossilized tree trunk, twisted and weathered. A stair lead down to it and Geralt clenched his jaws together. “Do you feel this?”

The others nodded, the place was bad, very bad. The room was eerily silent, the smell intense and it was astonishing how much work which had been put into digging there. “Somebody didn’t want that thing to be found, by anyone except him.”

Geralt had to agree with her, Rhylja looked as if she has smelled some very nasty farts. “I think the place itself wanted him to find it, I think this place draws inn people with flaws, weak minds, a bit of cruelty perhaps.”

Hawk almost growled. “People likely to give inn to evil without a fight, easy to control, easy to manipulate”

Rhylja grinned but it was a cold grin. “And too full of themselves to realize what was happening to them”

The object was indeed fossilized wood, extremely old and yet the trunk seemed almost alive, it was vibrating with power. Rheynek took a turn around it and he stopped, his expression said it all. “Folks…”

Behind the tree they saw two bodies, hung from a broken branch, more or less skeletal but it was clear that it had been two females, rather young. “Sacrifices”

Rhylja was a bit pale. “What is this place?”

Rheynek shrugged. “A place of worship, but what is being worshipped here is beyond my understanding”

Hawk stared at the tree trunk, his eyes were really sinister now, as if they had an eerie kind of glow within. “People, I was a servant of death, for many years. And death is here, in abundance.”

Geralt swallowed. “The blacksmith, he more or less said that whatever is behind this, I have to deal with it, with Rheynek”

Rheynek grinned, there was a wild expression on the face. “Makes sense, we both are inhuman. Hawk and Rhylja are enhanced but we are the monster killers here”

The two bodies were chained and Rheynek took a more thorough look at them. “I bet that two of the girls the bastard kidnapped ended here, what about the rest of them?”

Rhylja stared at the roof, her eyes were distant. “Guys? Check out the roof”

They looked up, the stone was scorched, black and covered with sooth. Rheynek hesitated, then he reached out and touched the trunk, very swiftly. He rubbed his fingertips together, they were black and greasy. “This thing was burning, or rather, something was burned on it”

Hawk went over and sniffed, his eyes glowed again. “Fat, meat.”

Rhylja cringed. “Human?”

Hawk shook his head. “Pork!”

Rhylja let out a sigh of relief. “Thank the goddess, but the two girls?”

Geralt stared at the dry corpses. “Dead before they were left here.”

He stared at the twisted remains. “I think these two didn’t survive whatever it was the master of this place wanted from them.”

Rheynek petted his sword almost lovingly. “How can you tell?”

Geralt pointed at the bodies. “Do you see the faint marks on the skin? Near the wrists, heart and navel?”

Rheynek had to tilt his head and hold the lamp really close. “Yes, looks like tattoos?”

Geralt nodded. “They are, magical markers, to enhance the nervous system.”

Rhylja swallowed visibly. “Poor girls, I fear they suffered”

Geralt growled. “Yes, beyond what we can understand.”

Hawk made a grimace. “So, whatever this is about, the master here dug out this tree and it has magic and the first owner of this place created something which killed him? Where is the connection?”

Rhylja froze, her eyes went wide. “Guys? Listen!”

They didn’t move, Geralt heard something in the distance, a strange almost sobbing sound and it wasn’t strong but there, barely. “It is coming closer, whatever it is”

Rheynek drew his sword and Geralt did the same, the air was getting colder. Rhylja was almost panting and Hawk was growling, he was suddenly terrifying, darkness was seething within him and Geralt realized that this was a man who knew darkness intimately and was strong enough to force it to become a slave instead of a master. There was movement and Rheynek shouted something, the room was suddenly well lighted and they saw. A ball of light hovered up there and something screamed, a fierce piercing cry.

It was on the roof, scurrying forth, five creatures unlike any they had seen before. The upper body was strange, almost as if someone took a human torso and head and gave it several long legs like those of a spider and then added a snake’s tail to it with a scorpion stinger at the end. The heads were humanoid but the jaws were extended and double and the eyes were red and glowing with malice. Geralt hissed. “Not natural, created. By strong magic”

Rheynek nodded. “The master?”

Geralt grunted. “Not strong enough, he’s human”

The five creatures were extremely fast and made an eerie scuffling sound as they moved, Geralt focused. He was strong again, almost fully recovered. He could do this. He waited, the moment had to be right. The beasts let go as one, fell towards them as one and he threw an Aard sign. The beasts were thrown back, hit the walls with heavy thuds. It didn’t hamper them though, they were back on their legs, screeching and Hawk shouted. “They have poison, like a spitting cobra”

Geralt saw it too, the huge glands in the gaping maws. “Yes, be careful”

Rhylja stood back, she wasn’t capable of fighting something like this. She used her eyes instead. “They are probably the girls who survived”

Geralt had seen these fighters on horseback, now he saw what they were capable of doing on their own. Hawk had a rather brutal looking broad sword and he moved like lightning. He charged at the first one and the blade cut two of the legs but the creature just screeched and he had to dive to get away from the scorpion stinger. These monsters were wicked fast. Rheynek caught Geralt’s gaze. “Us two!”

He understood and the swords started to glow, he heard that eerie hum again, it was intense and raw, uncontrolled. A force of nature. Hawk and Rhylja stepped back and they heard something from behind now, human voices. Rheynek grinned, there was something akin to madness in his eyes, a wild glee. “Deal with those, they are human, no match for you”

Geralt could smell it, leather, sweat. The master had human guards as well. He and Rheynek charged at the five monsters, using their speed for all it was worth. The swords were howling, he heard that Nadharn had a different voice than his own, it was almost like the howls of a wolf. He met the first monster with a upwards motion and the effect was horrifying. The blade cut through the thick skin and Keratin armour like it was made from butter, cleaved the entire torso in one go and the creature fell with a horrible gargling sound. Rheynek cut the next in two just above what would have been the waist.

Hawk and Rhylja ran, there were five men heading their way, just one look was enough to know that these were no soldiers but brutes. The armour dirty and worn, the bodies fat and untrained and the attitude one of a typical bully, used to everybody running away out of fear. That somebody ran towards them was probably so unexpected it made them hesitate and that was enough. Hawk was used to fighting orcs, and Rhylja was the hunter gods own warrior, it took less than two minutes and the five men were all dead, more or less reduced to something out of a butchers shop.

Rheynek and Geralt cooperated in a very elegant manner, Geralt found that the beasts were very vulnerable to the Aard signs and it also seemed as if the medallions they wore had some effect. They made it hard for the beasts to actually touch them. He slammed them into the wall or the platform and Rheynek finished them off, Geralt took the last one and the room was silent again. “The master knows we are here, so what now?”

Geralt stared at the tree trunk. “This thing is what it’s all about isn’t it?”

Rhylja made a grimace and shook blood off her blade. “Yes, but there isn’t a darn thing we can do about it. “

She suddenly lit up. “But I know someone who can, if he is coming”

Hawk grunted. “He’ll bring down the entire castle”

Rhylja put her hands on her hips. “Good riddance then, it isn’t exactly a nice and comfy place in the first place and if that goddamn stump there makes people go bad like old stew it shouldn’t really be allowed to continue or what?”

Geralt stared at the tree. “Yes, but it is strange, a tree? And evil?”

Rheynek cleaned off the sword on his pants legs. “Magic can be neutral, you can use it for whatever you want to”

Hawk spat. “Well, this isn’t neutral, I can feel it, it is darkness incarnate”

Rhylja nodded and Geralt hesitated, then he touched the tree, swiftly. “Oh…it isn’t the tree in itself, whatever it is, it is in the ground, beneath it.”

He hissed. “It felt like touching red hot embers”

Rhylja cocked her head. “I suggest we remove ourselves from this place, it is no good”

There was another door at the other end of the room and Rheynek nodded towards it. “Right, I agree. Ghuad can deal with that goddamn trunk”

They walked forth, slowly and Geralt felt the sword humming, it was pleased, happy, purring like a cat with a bowl of cream.
The door wasn’t shut and the room inside of it was a dungeon. There were six cells and inside of them were the sad remains of several humans. Rheynek frowned. “The beasts weren’t the girls after all?”

Hawk grunted and felt the bars, they were old and rusty. “Oh they were, this is older, I bet these were the victims of the first owner of the place, the alchemist.”

Rhylja stopped, her eyes huge. “Ah, I think we have made a false assumption.”

Geralt stared at her, his eyes narrow. “What?”

She opened and closed her mouth a few times. “The ghost, she was of the girls Gertram kidnapped but what if she didn’t only mean that group, but also the ones before?”

Hawk nodded slowly. “Yes, many have died here, many more than we know of”

Geralt moved forth, there were doors leading from the dungeon and one was almost open. The room behind it was a lab, other words couldn’t describe it. There were shelves filled with jars and bottles, strange instruments and the smell there was acrid and unpleasant. The room was well lit and Hawk sniffed. “Blood, fresh blood. And someone was here not very long time ago”

Hawk opened a side door and grunted, waved his hand. “Over here”

They walked over and the room held a body, strapped to a sort of chair. Several broken bottles lay on the floor and the body was riddled with sores and what had to be puncture wounds. The body was a young boy, skinny and bruised, covered with sweat and grime. But the most horrible thing was the legs were changed, twisted and contorted as if the very bone itself had tried to reposition itself but never quite managed to find a suitable position. Geralt felt nauseous. “FUCK!”

He recognized this, the constraints, the leather gag, everything. This master had tried to do what the witchers had done to create their own kind but done it for far from noble reasons. The witchers had been needed, to save countless innocent lives. This was done for the sole purpose of power and greed. He forced himself to breathe slowly. This wasn’t the time nor the place to lose his cools.

Rheynek’s voice was rather dry. “An experiment gone wrong”

Rhylja was pale. “That poor kid, how old could he be?”

Hawk shrugged. “Ten? The goddess alone knows what the beast wanted to transform him into”

Geralt cocked his head. “I hear shouts”

Rheynek smiled. “Perfect, more guards?”

Rhylja tensed up. “I would guess so.”

One of the doors moved, slowly. They saw glowing eyes behind it and grasped their weapons, something came forth. Rhylja almost screamed and Geralt stared, his eyes wide. The creature was grotesque, the upper body human like but the skin like that of a frog. The face was flat and the nose was gone, the arms extremely long and ended in long fingers with skin between them. The lower body on the other half was like that of a goat, it was grotesque and the feet were not goat hooves but claws, like a dogs. Hawk hissed “Someone tried to make a satyr?”

Geralt had no idea of what that was but he trusted that Hawk knew what he was talking about. The beast hissed but stopped, didn’t move to attack and it seemed frantic somehow. The huge eyes were odd, there wasn’t any malice in them, only fear. Geralt remembered the blacksmith’s last words. See with your heart. He made a gesture to the others. “Wait, I don’t think this is hostile”

The creature made a croaking sound, then it fell to its knees, shivering. “Didn’t want to…so afraid”

The voice was contorted but understandable, once human. Geralt swallowed, this creature was suffering, horribly. “Who are you”

The creature hung its head. “His…daughter. I needed help, mother…”

She reached down, there was something hidden in the thick fur of the lower body. It was an amulet, the mother’s. “Told me, the black wolf helps”

Geralt lowered his voice, the shouting was getting closer. “You released the monsters? To get the attention of the goddess warriors?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, he…hurt me. Then he…gave me to her…I didn’t want it to be that many, but…they kept coming”

Rheynek was frowning. “Her? Who’s she?”

Geralt walked forth, slowly. He grasped the amulet and it was very warm, there was strong magic in it. “His goddess, his…mistress. “

The creature gasped for air. “The amulet…I was transformed, didn’t die. My kin…magic powers. But I cannot do anything now…too late. Destroy the amulet, the monsters will be trapped”

Geralt stared at the bizarre face. There was a human being in there, behind all the changes. “I swear we will. You will be avenged”

The former human made a sort of smile, then it slowly collapsed. Rhylja squeaked. “What is happening to her?”

Geralt grunted. “She was too transformed, the body couldn’t take it over time. She is dying”

Rhylja made a grimace. “But we were right? She was the one who brought the monsters through?”

Rheynek nodded. “Yes, in desperation. Brave girl”

The creature took its last breath and Geralt dragged the body inn behind the shelves. “They are coming, I hear many boots”

Hawk tilted his head. “So the master has a goddess? A magical creature for sure?”

Rheynek spat and grunted. “Yes, hostile no doubt. I say we hunt the master, when we find him we find this deity of his”

Rhylja had run over and put a bar across the door, they heard wild banging now and the door was old and brittle, it wouldn’t last long. “Straight through?”

Hawk bared his teeth. “Straight through, no hesitation, no mercy”

The door was groaning and the bar broke, it too as old and dry. The door almost exploded and several men ran inn, armed and not much better than the five down in the pit. Rheynek growled, his eyes were glowing now and he rushed forth followed by the others. The men didn’t have much time to realize what had hit them, their training hadn’t been very good and they hadn’t expected anything like this. They were hardly an obstacle at all. The four ran forth, the corridor ended in another stair and they shot up it like a bunch of race horses along a track.
What met them up there were yet more beasts like the ones in the basement, only larger and way less humanoid. Geralt and Rheynek was suddenly very busy and Geralt used his signs for all they were worth. Rheynek too had some sort of magic and they held the beasts at bay. Rhylja was standing at the back of the room and she had her back to the wall, normally a safe position but not this time.

Suddenly something grasped onto her and dragged her backwards, there was a hidden door there. She could smell it was a male, she had gotten a sack over her head and she recognized the smell. She hissed and realized that the man was underestimating her, a lot. He panted and tried to pull her with him but she made herself heavy and hid the fact that she could break free easily enough. If she could coax some information out of the dude. “Let go of me you…”

The man grunted, she put up enough of a fight to keep him occupied. “No, the master needs you, she needs another pure sacrifice…”

Rhylja laughed. “Pure? Are you out of your head?”

The man hesitated. “You are so young…”

Rhylja chuckled. “I am way older than I look and if I ever had a maidenhead that was lost decades ago, I have had some very good and satisfying cock thank you very much!”

She made a swift movement and suddenly the man was thrown into the wall, she got rid of the sack in the same movement. “If you think that the warriors of the goddess are celibate you will need to think again”

She plunged her dagger into the man’s shoulder, she knew human anatomy to a T so she didn’t cause fatal harm, just some substantial pain. The man screamed and grasped the shoulder, he looked terrified. “So, tell me why you apparently ride two horses at the same time, doesn’t the duke pay his butler well?”

She made her voice sweet, girlish and yet her face could have scared the living shit out of a troll, the dark side of the goddess was visible on her face. The man trembled. “I…had no choice…”

She hissed, the stripes were visible, dancing over her skin like one dimensional snakes. “Explain, you have one minute”

The butler panted. “Benera wasn’t the only one he did take, also…my sister…”

Rhylja tilted her head, the blue eyes were like spears of ice. “She cannot be alive now”

He gasped again. “She…isn’t. He…killed her…but I had to get him…girls…and boys”

She pressed the dagger against his sternum, drew blood, rage boiling in her chest. “How!”

He trembled. “I…made advertisements, for the cities, for workers, servants, handmaids. I met them and handed them over…said it was for the duke”

Rhylja was suddenly cold, frigidly so. “So, you sent innocent youths into the hands of this monster? What is he after?!”

The butler stared at his chest, the shirt was starting to get bloody. “Immortality…and power, beasts to control”

She growled again. “And is he in control?”

The butler shook his head. “No, he thinks he is, but…she…can I go now?”

Rhylja let out a shriek, it sounded almost feline. She pushed the dagger inn, all the way. Watched the man grasp at her hands, desperately, saw the pain, the fear. She spat at the face and smiled as the light vanished from the eyes. “I hope the wolves of the goddess chase your soul and devour it, you stinking piece of rotten meat”

She spun around and kicked the opening up, the three others were busy fighting the monsters, many were already dead but there were others left. “Guys, there are many here, the butler, he was trafficking young people for the master, tricking them into coming here, thinking they would find employment”

Hawk grunted. “How many?”

She hissed. “Have no idea and no, he is not capable of speaking of it. I lost it a bit”

Hawk just rolled his eyes and slid underneath a tail, cut it with one strike. Rhylja fought too now, she was just as fast as them and the anger and disgust she felt gave her extra powers. The fight did last for a while, the beasts were hard to kill but in the end they were finishing off the last one. Rheynek wiped sweat off his brow. “If there are more of those beasts in here we’ll be in trouble.”

Geralt nodded. “Yes, but the master hasn’t been seen yet, nor has this thing he worships made itself known. I do not like it”

Rhylja growled and walked towards the door, she was almost fuming. “I say we go, he has to be here somewhere”

They moved forth, the rooms they now found were those of a rich man, luxurious and Geralt stared at the furniture and the nice curtains and he had a sinister expression on his face. “If immortality was what the man really was after he was stupid”

Rheynek nodded. “Brutes usually are yes, they think the world owe them everything and fail to see that the reason why they fail is themselves”

Rhylja raised an eyebrow. “Oh crap, listen?”

There was a creaking sound and they ran to a window, tore the curtains aside. The gate was opened and the drawbridge was being lowered. There was a carriage there, with two horses and as soon as the bridge was down the animals shot forth. “That coward is fleeing”

Rheynek let out a few words so filthy it was a wonder he didn’t spontaneously explode. “Rhylja, Hawk, get him. We take care of whatever is left here”

The two just nodded and ran and Rheynek turned to Geralt. “The source is still here, the reason behind it all. We have to check every corner of this place”

Geralt sighed. “Right, it will be quite a job”

Hawk and Rhylja ran down, the yard was abandoned and they saw that the men guarding the gate had taken the remaining horses and fled too. Rhylja whistled a few times and Moonsinger and Trollcrusher came running, both mounted at speed and the riders knew that they had to catch the master before it got dark. If justice was to be done they had to apprehend him before the beasts killed him. Moonsinger was faster than Trollcrusher and Hawk yelled at her. “Go! I will catch up with you”

She just gave the black stallion free reins and the former steed of the horned God ran like a deer, fleeting and lightly over the road. No mortal beast could keep up with him, he would catch up with the carriage soon enough.
Rhylja bared her teeth, eyes glowing. She allowed the powers she carried to run freely now. She was a kher-el in full, a sword of vengeance, a tool of cleansing.

Geralt and Rheynek ran through the rooms, they soon found out that the castle was empty, everybody had fled. It was good, no loss of innocent lives. Geralt sniffed the air, the odd scent they had felt was still there and Rheynek nodded. “I think that pit is the key, we have to go back. There are no answers up here”

Geralt sighed. “You are right, whatever he was up to, the pit holds the answers”

They turned and walked down the stairs and Rheynek suddenly stopped, turned his head. “I saw movement…”

Geralt pulled the sword, it hissed. Nadharn seemed to make a similar sound for Rheynek’s eyes got huge. “Oh Goddess, there is something here they don’t like”

Geralt nodded. “And if they don’t like it then I don’t like it either”

He focused, missed his potions a lot. “There…”

There was motion ahead of them, in the corridor. Something fleeting by, a swift glimpse of something…blue?
Geralt remembered, the warning. Blue and silver and blood. He hissed at Rheynek. “Whatever you think you see, it is an illusion”

The hunter nodded, his eyes ominous and Geralt saw that he in fact had fangs, like a vampire. The goddess had probably given him abilities similar to those undead fuckers to better hunt them. The blue was visible again, for a fleeting second, as if someone was ahead of them, fleeing. Rheynek caught Geralt’s gaze and the witcher nodded. “Who’s there, make yourself known”

There was silence, then they saw a figure ahead of them. A young girl, apparently someone of importance for she wore a lovely blue velvet dress with silver lining and she also had a nice necklace of hematite. Geralt held his breath, hematite was also known as blood stone. It was all there. The girl stood there, like deer in front of hunters and Geralt knew what she was trying to do, to lure them closer, to trick them by playing on their chivalry. Rheynek smiled, Geralt realized that he too could play a role and do it well. “Do not fear us young lady, are you the daughter of the lord of this castle?”

The girl nodded and sobbed. “Something….something is very wrong here”

Geralt kept his mouth shut but he had a deep urge to say something very impolite but very fitting. The girl walked towards them, seemingly small and frail but Geralt felt it, the magic streaming from her was the same as the one they felt down in the pit. “We are here to protect you young lady, what is your name?”

Rheynek’s voice was filled with sympathy and it sounded genuine enough. “I am Maghena, please, what is going on?”

The voice was thin, made to create pity. Geralt didn’t swallow that bait at all, he caught the eyes of Rheynek for a swift second and then he signed Yrden. The girl let out a startled cry, she was surrounded by a force field of magic and couldn’t get out and Geralt followed it with an Igni. Flames were licking towards the girl and the illusion was lost, suddenly they saw something rather horrible there. It was a grotesque demon, with skin like raw meat and bat wings, it had spikes and protruding bones and scales everywhere. It let out a roar and charged and Geralt realized that the yrden sign weren’t powerful enough. She broke through and both men were blasted with a gust of heat so strong it singed the ends of their hair. Rheynek managed to keep his footing, he was suddenly very transformed too.

This was how he had had to look when he fought that vampire God, his skin was like metal and the eyes just glowing cracks. Geralt could only look on in disbelief. The demon shrieked and rushed towards him, claws stretched out and Rheynek roared something, The demon was flung to the floor so hard the bricks cracked and exploded. She roared with anger and rushed forth again, Geralt got back onto his feet and saw that Rheynek distracted her. He ran, jumped the last stretch and brought the sword down in a sharp arch. The blade cut into one wing and the creature let out a horrible shriek, so wild it made their ears hurt. Then she swung around and there was boom and she was gone.

Rheynek was cussing. “She returned to the pit, I can feel it, it is the source of her power”

Geralt nodded. “She’ll be much more powerful there, do we have a chance?”

Rheynek nodded. “We have to try, that thing cannot be allowed to run free.”

Rhylja rode like the wind, the black stallion would not get tired and before long they saw the carriage in the distance. The driver had to be desperate for he drove like a madman, the carriage was jumping and skipping and creaking and the horses were terrified. The driver swung the whip all the time and there were in fact two men on the roof, with cross bows. Rhylja was trained by the very best, and had received more training after she left the temples. These two were in fact professionals, they wouldn’t fire until she was close and she cussed. She had no magic to ward off bolts, and she was vulnerable to being shot.

How was she to stop the carriage? Hawk was behind her, she was on her own and she needed to get that carriage to stop before she could do anything really. That was when she heard an odd sound from afar, it was a sort of whistle and she cheered on the inside. The forest around the road was tall and thick, the visibility was low. She bared her teeth in an infernal grin, her eyes glowing. He had heard her after all.

The road made a swift turn around a cliff and Rhylja prepared herself, the carriage shot through the turn and then there was a complete and total stop. The enormous black dragon had simply lifted one front foot and placed it on the carriage, the horses screamed and broke loose from the shaft and the harness, storming down the road in panic. The two men on the roof were crushed and the driver thrown forth, he was dragged behind the horses and the screams stopped swiftly since he hit a rock with a sickening thud.

Ghuad tilted his head and Rhylja rode up to the carriage, her hands on her sword. She jumped down from Moonsinger and ran over. The carriage was creaking, she lifted her head and smiled. “You can let the door up”

Ghuad nodded and lifted one massive claw, it had blocked the door. Rhylja tore the door open and was met with the stench of piss and shit. She grinned. Right now she was ready to slay just about anything, her rage so large. The man who lay shivering on the floor was pathetic, a richly clad person with a weak face and a thin beard. He was pale as cheese and shrieked as he saw her.

Hawk came thundering, he stopped the brown stallion and jumped down, sword drawn. “So this is the piece of sewer filth which has run that hell house?”

The man squealed, Hawk was a terrible sight right now, a dark and awful beauty, the dark side of the goddess incarnate. Rhylja grasped him and hauled him of the carriage, he howled in fear and the smell got even stronger.

Ghuad growled, it sounded like a rock slide down a mountain side. “Bad one right?”

They heard his voice in their heads and Rhylja nodded. “Yes, but no barbeque here, there is a castle up the road, it is…not a nice place. We have two friends there, trying to get rid of whatever it hides. Go help them, there is something nasty in the basement”

Ghuad just nodded the enormous head, he got up on his back legs and the ground shook as the black dragon took off, heading towards the castle. Rhylja smiled, a wide and very pleased grin with promises of violence and lots of it. “And now former duke Gertram of shithouse, we are gonna have a nice little chat. If you refuse to speak you’ll serve as light snack for Ghuad when he returns.”

The man just beeped, eyes like marbles from sheer fear.

Geralt and Rheynek were moving forth slowly, in case that bitch had some hidden traps there, Rheynek suddenly jerked and his eyes got wide, then he smiled, a very wide smile. “Oh goody, Ghuad is inbound. He just helped Rhylja and Hawk”

Geralt frowned. “Can you speak to him?”

Rheynek nodded “Telepathy, a gift from the goddess. Come, you have to see this”

They ran to a balcony and Geralt gaped. He had seen dragons, but even the largest ones were like flies compared to this gigantic beast. The head alone longer than three horses standing head to tail and the wings blotted out the sun. It was black, blacker than pitch and shiny like a beetles wing, and it had a horrible beauty. The dragon swung its hind legs inn underneath itself and landed smoothly, the entire building shook violently. He folded the wings inn and licked his jaw, the head was taller still than the roofs. Standing on its back legs the torso was almost humanoid with arms and legs but it had a tail and the neck was long and strong with spikes. Geralt was gaping, the power…
Ghuad hissed. “Something in the basement?”

Rheynek nodded. “Yes, the west side, deep down, clear it all aside. This castle is no good”

The dragon looked as if it liked the idea. “Watch yourselves!”

He dove inn, nothing else could describe it, pushed his head into the building so bricks and logs flew sky high, tore into the building with enormous front claws and simply swiped the entire structure to the side. It took perhaps four minutes before the entire pit was bared, Ghuad hissed. “No good, I can smell evil”

Rheynek and Geralt jumped down, ran down to the pit. The tree trunk was there and Rheynek nodded. “She is hiding, but we’ll force her out”

He pointed at the tree trunk. “That piece of fossilized wood, pull it up”

Ghuad reached down with a front leg, grasped onto the tree with his hand like claws and pulled. It did resist, but it wasn’t strong enough to resist his unbelievable power. It gave way, came up and it was long. There was much of the tree buried underneath the ground still and Geralt saw that much of the trunk was glowing with odd runes, the magic within them still active. “What the heck is that thing?”

Rheynek frowned. “Binding runes, the demon was trapped underneath that tree, and the master or someone before him released her”

Ghuad lifted the tree and tossed it aside, then he pointed at the hole. “Something glows there”

Rheynek stared at the dragon, it was clear that he was giving Rheynek an order but silently.
The dragon started digging, pushing aside the dirt and the glow became stronger. There was a bang and the demon was visible again, larger than before. She was closer to the source of her power and she charged at them, the air filled with sharp rocks. Geralt shielded them with a sign, the force behind the attack was desperate and immense. Ghuad grunted and suddenly the entire pit was covered with a glowing dome, so the dragon had magic too?

The demon shrieked and charged again, the ground was shaking under them and the platform dissolved as if the wood was reduced to dust. Underneath it was a flat area, covered with rock, it was a mosaic. The patterns were glowing and the demon shouted something, shadowy figures formed there, like dark mist condensing over a cold lake. Shrieks were heard and Geralt panted. This monster did control spirits, he should have known. The dead, they were still there, forced to be her slaves. They couldn’t really get to the demon as long as they had to defend themselves all the time. Misty fingers were trying to grasp at them and Geralt hissed. “Do not let them touch you, they are trying to possess us.”

Ghuad reached into the dome, his arm disappeared into the hole and came back up with something which glowed intensely. It was a huge crystal and the colour was blood red and almost dirty in some way. The demon shrieked. “NO!! don’t you dare…”

She made a sudden movement, a shock of energy flew outwards and both Geralt and Rheynek were thrown off their feet. Ghuad was smiling, a terrible grin with the glow of fire behind it. He lifted the crystal out of the dome and she attacked the glowing walls, clawing at it, desperately. The dragon held the crystal almost leisurely, like an expert jeweller admiring a fine specimen. The demon shrieked so badly Geralt had to cover his ears. Ghuad let out a single burst of flame, so intense nothing could withstand it. The crystal melted, no other words could describe it. There was a burst of light and it was gone. The demon was clawing at the wall, letting out those shrieks still. It hadn’t killed her, it had just taken much of her powers but she was still dangerous and the dark mist was still flowing around there.
Rheynek was on his knees, his teeth bared and there was a nasty grin on his face. “By the sister of the moon, by the mother of wolves, by the goddess of the three, maiden mother crone, by the hunter’s god, the horned one. I hereby release all trapped souls and give them the peace of death and path to the afterlife”

He raised Nadharn, then he plunged the blade into the very soil, straight through the mosaic. The ground glowed, what looked like veins lit up everywhere and there was a sound of thunder from below. The dark mist disappeared, instead they saw human figures, slowly fading away. The demon howled. “My servants…”

She rushed towards them, claws outstretched and this time Geralt and Rheynek moved as one, as a well choreographed ballet, they spun, in opposite directions and the glowing blades cut off the arms before they could reach them. The demon fell, black blood gushing and the two spun again and cut off the wings. The demon howled, her dark magic thickening around her like a thick veil, touching it was death. She was wounded but not dead.

Geralt sensed the encouragement from Rheynek and he knew what to do now. He grasped the hilt of Nadharn as it was flung at him, threw it at the monster as if it was a spear, then he threw Quen and dove inn. The wolf’s fang bit deeply, the demon tried to grasp it to pull it free from her chest where it had penetrated up to the guard. The sign protected him from damage, he swung his sword with a sort of relaxed ease, the dark magic couldn’t hurt him. He wasn’t of this realm, of this world. His sign a shield and the blade cut through the neck of the demon with ease. There was a gust of heat and the body collapsed. He tore Nadharn free and threw it back at Rheynek, he caught it and grinned. The body was twitching and Rheynek made a gesture. “Ghuad, now”

The dome fell, and the black dragon lowered his head, Rheynek pulled Geralt to the side. “Watch it”

Ghuad spewed flame, an intense and very dark fire which consumed the remains within a few seconds. Rheynek grinned. “And now, if you please, the rest of this goddamn fuckery. “

The two exited the building through what had been a wall, and Ghuad went to work with remarkable enthusiasm. He demolished the entire structure within ten minutes, then he torched the remains to the level where even the foundations became ashes. When he was done nobody would ever guess that a castle had stood there.
Geralt stared at the smouldering ruin, if they had had a dragon like that in his world…Rheynek patted him on the back. “That was a neat trick, thank you”

Geralt shrugged. “It wasn’t that much. But what now?”

Ghuad grunted, stretched the wings. “They said there were monsters here?”

Rheynek nodded and gave the dragon thumbs up. “Oh yes, feel free to have fun, go torch them, every one you see. There are plenty of them, just spare fields and farms,”

Ghuad took off again, and Rheynek grinned widely. “I bet the others are here soon, then we’ll get an explanation for sure.”

They sat down on some rocks and rested and about half an hour later two riders were visible along the road. Hawk had something on the saddle in front of him, it was the former master and he was alive but in a sorry state. The dark grin on Hawk’s face told them that he had enjoyed getting the truth out of the man. The former nobleman let out a wail when he saw what had become of his property. Hawk just pushed the man out of the saddle and he landed straight onto a heap of rocks. He screamed in pain and the two dismounted. Rheynek was curious and his eyes revealed it. “So, what was this whole mayhem about?”

Rhylja kicked the man for good measure. “Immortality, what else? I cannot understand people, I truly cannot”

The others stared at her. “I mean, if you are gonna ask the gods for some sort of favour why not ask for endless sex appeal or something like that? But nope, it is always immortality, or endless wealth. Bha!”

Rheynek chuckled. “I see, but the story please?”

Hawk sat down, spun a lock of his hair around his fingers. “This fucker heard the story of the alchemist, and wanted to see if he could somehow make gold. Then that thing which was hidden here got a hold of him, filled his head with new ideas. You see, the alchemist managed to awaken it, but he wasn’t strong enough to release it. He just wanted to play God on his own and yeah, one of his creations killed him, before it too died. But the old books were still there and this idiot used them, wanted to create things which would do his bidding, be his army. He was very happy with the butler who got enough people for him to experiment upon.”

Geralt grunted “And his reward was probably that immortality he so desired?”

Rhylja smiled. “Of course, the demon told many sweet lies, he was a tool and never saw it.”

Hawk tilted his head. “She told him what to do, how to do it. She wanted more servants, like those beasts and he obeyed, gladly. Moron!”

Geralt frowned. “The tree? And the runes? The mosaic”

Hawk crossed his arms. “The idiot knows nothing about that, but I can make an uneducated guess. This was once a temple, and they caught and trapped that demon here, used the tree as a lock you may see. But her power permeated the very ground and dragged those of a weak will to her, she wanted to be free again.”

Rhylja made a sweet smile. “Oh, but she is toast now so no coming back and a very good riddance.”

Rheynek went to the backside of the former building and whistled and his and Geralt’s horses came trotting. Hawk tied the noble man and smiled. “You have probably never walked much in your entire life but know what, you are going on a long walk, your last!”

The man sort of wailed but made little resistance.

The four rode slowly, the area was glowing, it was dark now and the beasts had come forth, Geralt remembered the amulet he had gotten from the girl and lifted it out of his pocket. “This must be destroyed”

Hawk nodded. “We’ll deal with it when we are back with the others”

The black dragon was hovering up there, torching whole packs and when they reached the farm all they could see of the beasts were scorched bones. Ghuad was so skilled he didn’t even burn the grass, only the beasts. The others came forth to greet them and there was some heartfelt moments, Geralt felt oddly emotional seeing it. Hawk and Rheynek told the whole story and Akisha demanded to see Geralt’s new sword and she swore that it was meant for him from the moment it was forged, it was perfect for him. He handed over the amulet and Akisha took it to the forge where Wilbwyn used a forge hammer to crush it into smithereens. It couldn’t be used to call fort any more monsters, and its destruction would ensure that the monsters couldn’t return to whatever dimension they had been snatched from.. She too believed that the poor girl in her desperation remembered when the land was assaulted the last time and brought forth what her memories showed her, but since she had been a child it had all become different from what had been reality. She had probably never truly seen the beasts back then, just heard the stories which often were exaggerated and when the beasts were brought through the portals they were changed to fit her will. But she was at peace now, and so were the others there.

Akisha was furious when she heard the entire story and she stared at Gertram and her eyes were colder than the backside of the moon. “I will send a messenger to the duke, he deserves to know that his uncle has met his demise. That castle should never have been built, let the forest have it back”

She smiled. “Tie this piece of garbage up in the manure bin, tomorrow we’ll have a trial”

Geralt was relieved, it was over. He now knew why he had been brought to this place, he could survive the dark magic of the demon, none other could. The monsters were gone so that night there was a rather wild party there and he saw to his shock that these so controlled and seemingly focused warriors really knew how to party. When he woke up the next morning he had a redheaded and rather shapely girl in his bed, no memory of how she got there and a terrible hangover. He was treated to some medicine by Rhylja and then everybody got up and washed and tried to look decent and serious.

Akisha had really sent a messenger to the duke and a man from the castle came, to be witness. The duke hadn’t had a clue that his butler was serving the neighbour and he was aghast and promised to find the families and compensate them. It was clear that he was everything that his uncle was not. At noon everybody was ready and Akisha had put on her armour, she stood there and held Elthear, the sword was shining and the air around her shivered in an odd manner.
The former duke was dragged out into the yard, everybody were gathered there now and the people were furious, rotten food and shit rained over the man and he stood there and looked rather broken. Akisha raised her chin. “Listen good people, listen to the words of the goddess, listen to her judgement, her justice.”

Geralt noticed someone he hadn’t seen before at the back of the crowd, a very tall elf with hair which was both black and red at the same time and strange amber coloured eyes. He sighed, a shape shifter, of course the dragon was a shape shifter, what else? Ghuad just grinned and nodded at him once.

“This man has committed murder, he has committed rape, incest and he has worshipped dark powers. There is no mercy for this, no pardon. The Goddess has spoken, his life is forfeit”

The people cheered, but there wasn’t much bloodlust to be felt there, more of a sort of deep satisfaction. They saw that the goddess took care of them, and that nobody was above her laws.

Hawk went forth and ripped the man’s shirt off, then he tied the man to a tethering pole. Raigh came forth holding a cattle whip made from rawhide. Geralt cringed, he knew how that would tear into flesh.

Akisha nodded, her face without expressions. “Fifteen lashes”

Raigh shook the whip, his face was just as cold as hers, this wasn’t something which gave them any sorts of pleasure, this was something which had to be done. Raigh was strong, and he had a technique was amazing. Not one of the lashes overlapped, and all dug into the skin. The man was shrieking like a banshee.

Akisha made a gesture and the strange shimmering became solid, two enormous wolves were suddenly next to her. She reached out and petted one of them, almost lovingly. “These are the wolves of the Goddess, her servants. The wicked are their prey, they will hunt your soul and devour it and there will be no afterlife, no second chance. “

The man just gargled and fell to his knees. The wolves looked hungry and licked their mouths, the eyes were glowing. Rhylja walked forth and put a blindfold on the man, there was no block there, it wasn’t needed. Akisha waited until the crowd was silent, then she walked around the man and raised Elthear. The sword was giving a sound which sounded pleased, satisfied.
Geralt was impressed, she took off the head with just one swift strike, it was perfect, didn’t even hit the vertebrae but went between them and the body collapsed, spurting blood. Some dogs came running, eagerly licking it up. Akisha lifted the bloody blade. “Behold, the Goddess justice has been done.”

The people cheered and Raigh raised a fist in the air. “Burn the carcass. Spread the ashes on the manure heap”

Rheynek placed an arm around Geralt’s shoulder. “And now my brother we drink!”

Geralt could only nod. “Yes, darn right we drink”

Jaskier was getting better, he was already becoming a menace due to his many attempts at creating new and freshly inspired ballads about this place and he didn’t quit until Wilbwyn decided to join him. That man had a singing voice like a boar with a throat infection and to say that he could sing was equal to saying that a donkey was a suitable steed for battle. Jaskier shut up to spare himself from hearing what he described as the cries of a dying mule and everybody knew that Wilbwyn had taken one for the team.

The team was preparing to leave and Geralt wasn’t sure of what would happen now, he had found new friends there, he would even go as far as call them family and he felt an odd urge to stay. But there were things he simply couldn’t leave behind and Akisha assured him that the Goddess would bring him back to his own world when he was ready. Jaskier was finally brought back to health and given both new clothes and a small brown mare he named Thrush.
Roach was recovered as well and she was gaining weight and looked good. The mare had been taken well care of and Geralt noticed that Rheynek had visited her and the hunter had a wry smirk on his face, he suspected that the hunter had given the horse some extra power. The group was planned to leave the next day, they packed up and Geralt felt restless, he didn’t want to go but at the same time he did. He was sitting at the table having some ale when Rheynek entered, he nodded. “There is someone here to meet you!”

Geralt frowned and followed him, outside, in the gate, stood the black wolf. It was even larger than before and her eyes were friendly. He didn’t know what to do, so he did kneel. The goddess cocked her head and her entire shape changed, suddenly it was a very tall blonde woman wearing leathers and a hunter’s garb. Her eyes were still those of a wolf though, and she smiled at him. It was a sharp smile, a smile made by a creature of immense power. “My child, you have served me well. My blessings shall follow you”

Geralt could only nod and she walked forth, laid a hand on his shoulder. “Do not be afraid my white wolf, you have friends here and you will see them again. If you wish for it think of me and I will make sure you find your way to them. One day this connection will be valuable, for you, and someone close to you”

Geralt dared to raise his gaze. “I…”

She smiled again, this time a motherly smile. “You must return now, I promise you, it will be alright.”

She was a wolf again and he saw that somebody had gathered the horses and their equipment. There was a new armour on the saddle and the swords hung from it too. Jaskier looked eager and he got in the saddle with a grin. “Oh I have such grand ideas now, your name will live forever when I get to sing this ballad I have thought up.”

Geralt rolled his eyes, fuck! Jaskier looked almost ecstatic. “What do you think about the ballad of the wolf, the hunter and the demon?”

Geralt got in the saddle, there were hands touching him, voices wishing him well. “Jaskier, shut your gob!!”

A miracle happened, Jaskier did indeed shut up. Akisha took Geralt’s hand. “You are welcome anytime, she will show you the way. And may her wolves protect you on your travels”

Geralt could only swallow. Rheynek took his hand too. “I have fought alongside many men Geralt of Rivia, but never one like you. Do return to us, we will both have many stories to share for sure”

Geralt could only pat him on the shoulder, he felt choked up. The black wolf was standing in the gate, patiently and Geralt swallowed. He had to say something. “I…you have been…oh darn it…”

Jaskier broke inn. “What my not so eloquent friend here wants to say is that he loves you all, and wishes you only the best for the future”

Geralt could only nod. “Fuck”

Akisha smacked Roach over the rump. “Goodbye, and thank you. It has been an honour”

Geralt just mumbled and Jaskier smiled. “Likewise!”

He swung a bottle of the strong liquor and kicked the brown mare into a jog, Geralt threw one last glance backwards, they were all there, even Ghuad and they waved him off. He closed his eyes, he would return for sure. It was a safe haven, a blessed realm of acceptance if not peace. There was a feeling of falling and he swallowed and opened his eyes. They were back at the river bank, with the black wolf ahead of them. She lowered her head. “Remember, you will return one day. It will be needed.”

She faded away and Jaskier petted the horse and his eyes were huge. “Geralt, was it all real?”

Geralt took a deep breath. “It was real Jaskier, now, let us ride.”

He threw a swift glance at the new sword, oh yes, it had been real and he had an odd feeling that the powers weren’t done with him by far. No, they weren’t done with him yet, his instincts told him that. Destiny moves in its own peculiar dance. He nudged Roach and left the river bank behind, but not his memories, and the feeling of having been blessed and accepted.