"Come on. Don't make this any harder for us than it has to be. You know how this will end up ... " The already injured Wyvern backed away, only to strike out with his spiked tail to a mighty blow. Eskel threw himself down with a roll and jumped to his feet again at a safe distance. The Draconid, aware of the danger to his brood, defended the clutch to its last breath. But it had nothing to oppose to the Witcher´s silver sword. Eskel faked an attack from the left side, then went over to a fast pirouette and slammed the sword into the Wyvern´s right side, just below the wing. The beast shrieked and went down.
The Witcher jumped and dealt the deathly blow to the Wyvern. When it was over, he let his breath settle and looked at the scratch on his left arm. The Draconid had struck him with his tail sting. The wound was superficial, but Eskel already felt the burning of the poison under his skin. Fortunately, he had prepared for the confrontation beforehand with a potion that mitigated the toxin's effect.
The season was coming to an end.
The contract situation was even worse this year than in previous years. Mainly, Eskel had taken care of the elimination of Draconids and Necrophages. The most spectacular job had been the hunt for a flutterer who had unsettled the surroundings of Heatherthorn.
Year by year fewer monsters and beasts threatened humans and their livestock. More and more courageous villagers took themselves to the threat and went out against the less frightening creatures in the field with forks, clubs and crossbows.
The greatest danger to humans was man himself. Redania, Temeria and the northern kingdoms had suffered badly during the last decade from the yoke of wars, waged by the powerful on the backs of the inhabitants.
But that was none of the Witchers' business.
Eskel took one of the last two remaining Samum bombs from his pocket. At the beginning of the season it had been twenty. During this years winter break, he would have to make new ones in Kaer Morhen.
He lit the fuse and threw the handy bomb into the Wyvern's nest. Then he took a few steps back and, with the help of the sign Quen, casted a shield that would protect him from the blast and possible rock splinters. He felt the quake of the soil following the detonation. Then he went back to the nest to inspect the destruction. Satisfied, he pulled a cloth out of his pocket and used it to clean the edge of his sword from the Draconid's blood. Then he turned away and called for Scorpion, his Kaedweni warhorse. It was time to receive the reward.
"Well, well, Master Witcher ..." The elder of Mulbrydale scratched at his nose in embarrassment. "The whole village has pooled money, but we only got 42 crowns. No way around it ... " "But we agreed on 50 crowns." "Sure we did. But you know, farmer Hilbertz's cow died yesterday in calving and now he has to buy a new one. How else could he make it over the winter? And that's why his share is missing now. But our blacksmith has given a few good rivets for your sword belt. And a whetstone. Unfortunately, we can´t get anything more at the moment. I'm sorry, Master Witcher. "
Eskel took a deep breath. Being paid in kind – that's how far it came … If Lambert had been in his place, he'd respond with threats and insults, Geralt would probably still knock out a few crowns with his threatening appearance. But that was not his style. And the elder of Mulbrydale knew.
"I'll come back to your village next spring and pick up the remaining eight crowns. And I advise you to check your finances before our next contract. Otherwise, I'll probably miscount while eliminating the Wyverns´nests and accidentally forget to destroy one or two of them. "
The Witcher took the pouch and stowed it in his pocket. There was no need to recount, he knew the elder well enough to know that while he was always trying to press the price or finding excuses why the reward had to be paid by installments, the sum had always been correct in recent years. And with regular customers, Eskel often turned a blind eye.
With a nod, the witcher bid goodbye, mounted Scorpion and spurred the black war horse to trot. On his way through the village, the inhabitants met him with suspicious eyes or looked quickly in the other direction as usual. A heartfelt farewell, in contrast to the reactions in most other villages. Often people spat on the street in front of him, insulted him or struck the signal against the evil eye. Of course, the deep scar that ran through the right side of his face added to the fact that people regarded him with fear, disgust, and mistrust.
Eskel made nothing of it after all these years. When beasts threatened the village, people disappeared in the forest, or the cattle were torn, people were never too good to use his services. The summer had passed a few weeks ago and the autumn blew stormy gusts over the fields. Maybe one or two contracts, depending on the effort. Then it was time to head north, back to Kaer Morhen.
Like most years, Eskel would spend the winter months back in his old home - or at least what came closest. Right after Vesemir's death three years ago, when the Wild Hunt had attacked the fortress, Eskel wanted to turn his back on it and never come back again. Let the castle crumble to dust - since the fight, the damages to the walls were hard to count. But that would not have been what Vesemir wanted. The old Witcher had always stuck to the traditions, the Witchers´ code and the school of the wolf. Whenever there was talk of abandoning Kaer Morhen and giving up the school, he had been outraged and insisted on preserving this last bastion of the once famous school of the wolf.
So Eskel had changed his mind a few weeks later. Weeks in which he had traveled restlessly and aimlessly in Kaedwen. Geralt and Lambert welcomed his decision and supported him in honoring the memory of their old mentor by preserving the home of their order as good as possible. Since Vesemir's death, the only three remaining wolves had spent more time and effort realizing the most necessary renovations and repairs, and protecting the fortress from complete ruin. Although everyone was aware that the glory days of the school were long gone and the future of the witchers was uncertain ...
Eskel was looking forward to seeing his brothers Geralt and Lambert again soon. Unfortunately, in Geralt's case, this brought the company of Yennefer of Vengerberg, who liked to order the Witchers around and constantly mess with Lambert. Geralt now spent most of the year at his vineyard in Toussaint, although every winter he visited Kaer Morhen for a short time. He had earned enough on his last assignment in the duchy to retire. Now he apparently enjoyed the pleasant life there. When they weren't arguing, he and Yennefer were probably living together peacefully. At least if one believed Geralt's stories. But his standards for a harmonious relationship were probably not very high after years of quarrels and divisions, as Eskel suspected ...
Fortunately, they were spared of meeting Keira Metz this winter. After a year traveling with her, Lambert had apparently realized that living side by side with a sorceress seemed to consist mainly in carrying out her instructions and not having much to say otherwise. No wonder that at some point his freedom became more important to the young Witcher than a warm bed and the admittedly agreeable benefits the sorceress gave him.
The only representative of her guild Eskel was looking forward to was Triss Merigold. Although she meanwhile had her main residence in Kovir, she visited Kaer Morhen every winter for old times sake. Although he was well aware that Triss still had feelings for Geralt - and this would probably always stay this way - he still had a weakness for the sorceress.
It wasn't far to Oxenfurt now. There, Eskel would stock up on supplies and look for a new contract. With a bit of luck, even the Academy might have had use for its services. The scholars were often demanding and sometimes had abstruse ideas about hunting for creatures worth researching - but they usually paid decent rewards and did not haggle for a few crowns. And the prospect of a hot meal and a bed in a tavern was tempting, after all the cold nights he had spent in the wilderness of Velen.
Eskel spurred Scorpion to gallop.