!IMPORTANT!
Holy shit I bet none of you expected this now did ya?! Anyway, let me get straight to the point. Why haven't I been updating this story? It isn't because I'm not online, because I've been updating my most popular story quite frequently, it's because of something else. In case you haven't read my other stories, I am writing a book and this has taken up a ton of time. But know that I haven't abandoned this story. To prove it to you, here's a thick 15k chapter! I hope you guys enjoy!
Chapter Four: Killing Monsters
Geralt rubbed his eyes as he heard the wind roar outside his window. Currently, he was living in a small one person apartment in Northern Magnolia. After Banaboster filled him in on the specifics of the Grand Magic Games, Twilight Ogre's guild master offered him this room at a steep discount. A tournament for mages... The thought was enticing. A nonstop battle between the country's strongest guilds to determine who deserved the title of Fiore's best guild. For the past few years, the title had been held by a group of mages called Sabertooth. And before them, it belonged to Fairy Tail. If Ciri were here, she'd jump at the offer. Geralt thought with a smile. However, he wasn't Ciri. Even though Banaboster offered him a small fortune for his guaranteed participation, he just couldn't accept it. I wasn't given these powers so that I could lord over others... Witchers were created for one thing, and one thing only, killing monsters. The Butcher of Blaviken sighed as he looked over his next job request. The job was simple: eliminate a monster infestation in underground Crocus, Fiore's capital city. They're probably scrambling to clean everything up before people start pouring in. If there was one thing monsters loved, it was a crowd. "I'll have to leave early tomorrow morning if I want to make it on time." Geralt mumbled as he leaned out of the apartment's only openable window. Even with his heightened senses, Magnolia at night was soothingly silent. For the first time in his long life, he would be able to sleep in a city without having to deal with the noise.
"Natsu! You're snoring too loudly!" Geralt sighed, perhaps he spoke too soon. Amongst all of this pleasant silence, there was one group of people who were trying their damnedest to shatter it. Unsurprisingly, that group of delinquents were the members of Fairy Tail. Even after he beat two of their most prominent members black and blue, they still decided to party well into the early hours.
"My age must finally be getting to me." He smirked. "I'm starting to get annoyed by the sound of merrymaking." If Yennefer was with him, the witch wouldn't let him hear the end of it. I wonder what they're doing right now... He thought as he stared out into the ocean. Even if he didn't have his enhanced witcher senses, he could still smell the pungent stench of the sea. The aroma tasted sour on his tongue, but also a little sweet. This is a healthy port town, that's for sure. There weren't many peaceful places like this back in his world. Thanks to the church's raids, what few peaceful vestiges there were had been burned to the ground. However, that didn't mean Magnolia was perfect.
"Hey Thibault, what are we going to do now?" Geralt sighed, team Twilight Ogre was right on schedule. Apparently, the team of mages were regulars at a bar near his apartment. All of them were red in the face, and had obviously spent the night drinking away their sorrows.
"Hell... hic…" the leader, Thibault, cursed as he smashed his fist into the pavement. "How could we let those fairies beat us?! The Grand Magic Games are just a month away! And to make matters worse, we lost face to a new recruit!" He was probably talking about him. "Who was that man anyway? You know, the old fart who went into Fairy Tail and clipped some of their wings."
"I think his name was Geralt, or something like that... hic…." One of Thibault's lackeys burped-out in his drunken stupor. At that point, the majority of what came out of their mouths was slurred and unrecognizable.
"Those mages must've drank that bar dry." He saw things like this happen all the time when he was traveling through Velen and the Skellige Isles. Sad men who tried to drink away their problems. In some small way, he pitied the poor bastards. Once he was done taking-in the sights, Geralt sighed and stretched his legs. Currently, he was wearing a pair of simple grey jeans. The extra pockets that were sewn into the sides were a pleasant little addition, as was the modern wallet. I guess I won't be carrying my money around in a bag anymore. He welcomed the extra space, but for some reason, he just knew that he'd grow to miss that old worn piece of cloth. "I guess that's the price of convenience.…" As he flopped down onto his bed, the Butcher of Blaviken yawned and stared out of his window. "The beds here feel like they're meant for royalty." Each and every one of them were stuffed with either high-quality foam or feathers. I wonder what Yennefer would give to sleep on one of these right now. If everything was on-schedule, the sorceress should've arrived at the prearranged safehouse by now. Yet again, the White Wolf groaned and stared at the ceiling. The intricate carvings that were engraved into the wood told stories that he had never heard of. Tales of unknown gods and goddesses, and intricate myths and legends that would've made Dandelion drool.
Eventually, as the night grew older, the White Wolf felt his eyelids start to get heavy. Without thinking he closed his eyes and allowed his body to drift off to dreamland. However, fate had other plans that night. Right when he was about to lose consciousness, something flew into the room through his window. With speed that would impress the quickest of vipers, the Butcher of Blaviken shot out of his bed a grabbed his crossbow. Moments later the device was loaded with poison-tipped bolts, and was ready for battle. He arched his arm towards the intruder and prepared to take the shot; however, when his night vision finally kicked in, he stopped himself. "Owww~" The intruder squeaked as it slowly crawled out of the darkness. For a second, Geralt thought he was seeing things. The intruder was nothing more than a simple cat! Granted, it definitely wasn't a normal feline. For one thing its fur was blue, and if that wasn't enough, the creature had a pair of small wings attached to its back. "Oh no..." it mumbled as it lightly patted its sore forehead. "I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere..." Geralt sighed as he watched the creature accidentally walk across some of the broken glass. Some of the smaller shards dug into the cat's fur, causing its feet to twinkle like silver in the moonlight. "Oh crap! Did I smash into somebody's house?!"
"Yeah..." Geralt sighed, this world was just full of surprises. "You might want to remove that glass from your fur, unless you enjoy getting cut." Finally, after what seemed like ages, the feline noticed him.
"I'm sorry!" The cat apologized as Geralt stepped into the light. However, the second he did, the cat recoiled back and flew up into the rafters. "You-you-you're that guy who gutted Natus and Gray!" The White Wolf raised an eyebrow when he heard that, he didn't recall this cat being there. In his confusion, Geralt took in a deep breath and smelled the surroundings. The blue cat had an obviously foreign, and oddly sweet, stench to it. A stench that he remembered.
"You were there during the fight?" He asked the cat, who was now absolutely terrified. Instead of answering him, the blue feline just shakily nodded its head as it tip-toed deeper into the shadows. "These eyes aren't just for show. I can still see you." Somehow, that just made the poor creature even more scared. Well... I guess I can't blame it for being terrified. If this cat was affiliated with Fairy Tail, of course it would be wary of him. So instead, the White Wolf tried something different. "You're a cat, right?" Thankfully, even though the feline was too terrified to speak, it could still nod its head. Once it did, Geralt sighed and took something out of his apartment's fridge. "Then I assume you like fish?" Before the creature had the chance to answer him, Geralt gutted the large trout with a kitchen knife and placed the fresh carcass on a glass plate.
"What are you doing?" The cat finally spoke as Geralt placed the plate down in front of it. The feline didn't even last a minute before its mouth started to water. As Geralt started to pick up the pieces of shattered glass, the feline unconsciously reached for the fish. However, right before it could take a bite, the creature stopped itself.
"No Happy! Remember what Mira said! You can't accept fish from strangers! No matter how tasty it looks..." the feline mumbled as it stared longingly at the trout's supple flesh. Geralt sighed and scratched his beard, the little furball finally said something useful.
"So your name's Happy?" He asked the cat. "You can go ahead and eat that trout, it was already in there when I moved in, so I won't miss it." For a split second the cat's eyes lit up like diamonds. What followed soon after was a pure testament to the strength of a feline's stomach. The strange creature named Happy devoured the carcass in seconds, it even drank the blood on the plate! Wow... Geralt thought as he picked the plate up off of the floor. It licked it clean...
"Thank you for the meal!" The cat said as it adorably raised its right paw in the air. However, like a normal peasant who had just chugged a bottle of swallow, its upbeat tone quickly changed. "Wait a minute!" It screeched as it jumped into the air and flew up towards the ceiling, its tiny claws ready for battle. "Come at me Sir! I, Happy, will ensure that you suffer for what you've done to Fairy Tail!" The second that it got within reach, Geralt sighed and plucked the creature out of the air.
"What in the world are you doing?" The damn thing was acting like a lunatic. "Before you go and attack me, I'd appreciate it if you give me a reason why you crashed through my window." When he said that, the feline bent over and scratched at its eyes. In all honesty, it looked a little guilty, and scared as well.
"I'm sorry, I was just flying back home when I remembered that Twilight Ogre is Magnolia's guild now." Geralt sighed, so that's what it was. If this little scamp was from Fairy Tail then that would make sense. As he placed the winged feline back onto the wooden floor, the Butcher of Blaviken walked over and tried his best to board-up the hattered window. As he did this, he felt little droplets of rain start to pour in through the cracks.
This is going to be a long night... He thought as plugged any remaining gaps with beeswax and waterproof oils. "How're things going at your guild?" For a second, Happy thought he was hearing things.
"Why do you care? You're the one who just waltzed in to our guild and hurt my comrades. All of you Twilight Ogre members are the same." The cat mumbled as it scratched behind one of its ears. Yet again, Geralt sighed as he returned his swords and crossbow to their proper place at his bedside.
"Don't forget, your friends were the ones who challenged me. I just came in there wanting an official apology from your guild master. I never planned on harming your friends, and even though I did, I gave you more than enough medicine to heal their wounds." Geralt pinched the bridge of his nose when he heard the feline scoff.
"Hmph!" It said as it crossed his arms. "Like we needed your medicine, our guild has access to two of the best healers in all of Fiore!" Now that caught him off guard. When he went there, he didn't notice anyone who looked like they could use healing magic.
"What're the names of these two mysterious healers?" Geralt asked the feline as he used Igni to light a nearby candle. Might as well do something productive. He thought as he brought a small bundle of sticks and feathers to the apartment's sole workbench.
"Hah! Their names are Wendy Marvell and Grandeeney! And they're two of the most powerful healing-magic users this side of Magnolia!" The feline yelled, its voice absolutely brimming with pride. "I know for a fact that your guild doesn't have anyone like them! They're..." The cat stopped. "Hey..." it asked him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making crossbow bolts." He said as he poured a drizzle of liquid wolfsbane onto the bolts silver tips. The second the mixture touched the metal, small puffs of purple smoke jumped off of the bolt.
"Cough! I've never seen anyone make them using stuff like that!" The creature hacked as it scrambled to cover its nose with something. For a second, Geralt felt a tinge of pity shoot through his body. It took him years before he got used to the smell. For a creature like Happy, who was blessed with an animals nose, enduring the putrid stench must've been absolute torture. Normally he'd open a window to help vent the fumes. However, for obvious reasons, that wasn't an option. "Well..." the feline mumbled as it waddled over and plopped itself into one of the apartment's cushioned seats. Its eyes glued to the broken window.
"I'm not going to charge your guild for this little accident, so don't worry about that." The White Wolf said as he started to fletch his bolts. It was painfully obvious that Fairy Tail wasn't in the greatest of positions money-wise. So even if he did want some form of payment, they wouldn't be able to provide it. He might've been a witcher, but that didn't mean he was heartless.
"Really?!" For a second, Geralt thought he was talking to a different person. Once he had taken the monetary weight off of the feline's shoulders, its mood immediately perked up. "Wait... what's the catch? You're from Twilight Ogre, and they don't let anything go for free..." The cat had instincts, Geralt would give it that.
"Don't worry, I'm not like my guildmates. I only use Twilight Ogre as a tool and nothing more." Yet again, the feline responded with a raised eyebrow. Maybe it was due to the guild it belonged to, but it seemed as if his witcher philosophy didn't resonate with the winged feline. Although, he couldn't say that surprised him. Even though Fairy Tail was poor, he could tell from his short time there that it was a warm, and welcoming, place. In a way, it was the polar opposite of Twilight Ogre. If Yennefer, Trish, or Ciri were here they probably would've chosen Fairy Tail over Twilight Ogre. But he wasn't any of those people. Right now what he needed was money, not friendship. But still... he thought as he glanced back at the feline. The furball was currently straightening up its things and preparing to leave. As lightning started to flash outside, he noticed a small shiver run down the creature's spine. Dammit... I'm getting too soft. Geralt sighed as he grabbed his cloak and scabbard.
"What are you doing?" The cat mumbled as it hovered in the air, its little green backpack hanging off of its side like an injured monkey. Instead of answering him, Geralt just held open the front door and motioned for the cat to follow.
"Here, take this and rub it on your fur." He mumbled as he tossed the creature a small vial of oil. "It's a mixture of salamander, lye, and special oils. It will ensure that you stay warm and dry on our way back." As the feline held the warm vial, its eyes lit up like the sun.
"Thank you so much!" It started, however, its enthusiasm quickly dissipated after it heard the rest of Geralt's sentence. "Wait... what do you mean by 'our' way back?"
"Exactly what is sounds like." Like it or not, a kind gesture like this would've been necessary in the future. Especially if he wanted to bridge the gap between the two guilds. After all, if he didn't do it, then who would? "At this time of night, any town is dangerous, especially for a tiny thing like you."
"Hey! If you're calling me weak then you better take that back! I'm a fully fledged Fairy Tail wizard!" The feline yelled as it thrusted its guild mark into the light.
"Yeah, yeah..." this thing was going to be the death of him. After the winged cat flew out of his apartment, Geralt sighed, locked the door, and followed after. The stables aren't open at this time of night. So that means Roach isn't an option... In that case, they would just have to leg it. "Shit..." Geralt cursed as he walked out of the lobby's front door. The rain was coming down in sheets now, and didn't show any signs of stopping. "Does it normally rain this much?" Granted, Magnolia was a port town, but this was far worse than a regular tropical storm. The rain pattern was unnatural, the winds too violent, and the drops too cold.
"The weather has taken a turn for the worse." The cat said as it flew happily around in the sky. The oil he gave it must've worked. As the pair trudged through the muddy streets, a gust of wind blew through the square, sending an odd scent with it. The stench reminded him of forest dew and old leaves, with just a hint of ash. It was a deep, hearty, scent that could shrivel the nostrils and caused his eyes to water.
This smells like... Geralt thought as he took in a deep breath of the stench. Fire! He'd recognize that smell anywhere! Could one of the lightning bolts have struck a house?! No... that's not it. The source of the stench was far off, on the outskirts of Magnolia.
"Is something wrong?" The cat asked him as he ran off towards the source of the smoke. "Hey! What's up?" It cried out as Geralt moved his hand to the hilt of his silver sword.
The only creatures who can create flames like these are...! He thought as he finally arrived at the source. It was a small hut that was absolutely covered in flames. The hilltop it rested upon overlooked the entirety of Magnolia, and was constantly spewing out a plume of putrid gas.
"Oh no!" The cat cried as it shot past him towards the hut. "My house!" Geralt raised an eyebrow when he heard that, why in the world would a cat have a house? Did it share it with someone else?
I'm getting sidetracked... Geralt thought as he picked a handful of debris off of the ground. His medallion was starting to shake now, which meant something was nearby. The air now had a hint of blood wafting on the breeze, it smelt fresh, and was obviously spilled near here. However, it wasn't human blood. Several feathers were strewn across the ground, many of them torn and greatly damaged. "Happy... that was your name, right?" He asked the cat as he drew his silver sword. "Do me a favor and go get your friends, I've got a feeling that they may want to know what's happened here."
"Uh..." the feline cried with tears in its eyes. "O-okay..." after an adorable little salute, the winged cat nodded and rocketed off into the horizon. Once he was an acceptable distance away, Geralt got out a small rubbing stone and pressed it against his sword. As the rune engraved in the rock glowed red, a faint violet aura covered his blade.
It's definitely a different breed, but the species is similar. Geralt thought as he cast Quen and headed into the blaze. Whatever did this was nearby, and it was hungry. Once he made it inside, the Butcher of Blaviken unhooked a small grenade from his belt and lit it. "Come on out you bastard." He said as he tossed the bomb into the fiery ash. For a brief moment, the flames cleared, allowing the witcher to stare straight into the beast's red, serpent-like, eyes. This is going to be a long one... he thought as he pointed the tip of his sword towards the monster. And with that, Geralt bent down, and leapt into the fray.
The Fairy Tail guild hall was as silent as a morgue. A somber atmosphere hung over the young mages heads like a heavy fog. Enveloping everyone, including Makarov, in an inescapable aura of despair. "Ah hell I can't take it anymore!" The old guild master cried as he turned and pointed at Natsu. "You and Gray lost fair and square! Now hurry up and sign the damn letter!" They had been at this for hours. Everyone had already signed the apology except for the two men of the hour. Makarov sighed, the two of them were like mules when it came to stubbornness.
"There's no way I'm going to kneel down to Twilight Ogre, right Gray?" Natsu asked the topless mage, who happily agreed with him. Both of them had bags under their eyes, and it was obvious they both had a little too much to drink.
"As much as I hate to admit it Master, I think they're right." Erza said, which caused the two aforementioned mages to nearly fall out of their seats. "No matter how you look at it, Twilight Ogre were the ones who assaulted us first. In terms of common courtesy, our actions make sense. Plus, guild fights like that one aren't unusual." Makarov groaned as he took a sip from his mug, at this rate, these kids would learn nothing. "
"Listen... I don't like it as much as you do, but we still have to deliver this letter with everyone's name on it. We made a deal, after all." A mage's word was their code. "Plus, this apology won't really harm us. Once the Grand Magic Games come around and we retake our spot, this will all just be dust in the wind." Makarov mumbled as he pressed the long-dried pen against the paper.
"Even if that is the case, I still think we should go about this differently. Oh! I know! Why don't we ask that man for a rematch?" Natsu said as he pounded his fists together. The shock from their earlier match had all but vanished. Some would call that stupidity, but for Natsu, that was just part of his charm.
"Yeah... sorry, but I'm going to pass." Gray mumbled as he scratched his chin. "I've been gouged enough for one day, thank you very much." Much to Gray's surprise, Natsu didn't snap at him after he said that.
"I understand, after all, he did put us through the wringer!" The mage laughed. Makarov frowned, Natsu was taking this whole thing too lightly. Even though the boy's utter defeat did disturb him a bit, it wasn't enough to force him to learn. Even though they were all powerful mages, they were all still just flesh and blood. One false move and... Makarov sighed and shook his head. The drink was starting to get to him.
"Try not to act so carefree after you were nearly killed, it may give people the wrong idea." The tired guild master said as he let out a much-needed yawn. Many of their members had already fallen off to dreamland. Carla and Wendy were currently sleeping in a makeshift bed that Reedus made, while Lucy was currently perched in one of the comfy armchairs. Thankfully, Mirajane had a few spare blankets on hand, so nobody was sleeping in the cold. However, there were a few that were still as lively as an annoying fly.
"You just gotta train harder Natsu!" Romeo yelled as he twirled some purple fire around in the air. "If you do that then nobody would be able to stand up to us!" Even though he was loud, Romeo did have a point. There was nothing like a day of training to put the spring back in these youngsters steps.
"Heh, sure Romeo. But you're going to have to wait until me and Happy get some sleep first." Makarov scoffed, at least the boy wasn't completely clueless.
"Really?! Thanks Natsu! You're the best! What about you Gajeel? Would you like to come train with us tomorrow?" Romeo asked the iron dragon slayer. Amazingly, the man didn't look tired in the least.
It sure is nice to be young... Makarov thought as he leaned back against the bar. Sometimes life just wasn't fair.
"I don't have any plans tomorrow. Hey Squirt! Do you want to join in?" Gajeel asked Levy, who was already fast asleep.
"Oops! Be careful tiger, you don't want to wake the sleeping princess!" Mirajane joked as she tossed a blanket over the resting mage. "Does anybody else need one?" She whispered, Natsu yawned and looked around the room. For the most part, everyone was accounted for. Everyone except...
"Oh crap! Happy!" The dragonslayer yelped as he shot out of his chair, jostling everyone from their slumber. "He went to go buy some medicine after our fight! I completely forgot!" As if on que, a thunderous bolt of lighting shot down into the yard outside. Sparking everyone into action.
"Do you know where he was last?" Panther Lily asked the panicking mage as he got out a small map of Magnolia. When Natsu shook his head, the exceed sighed and rolled up the map. "Then we'll just have to go look for him." Without asking any questions Natsu nodded his head and made his way to the front door. However, before his hand could even touch the metal handle. The door shot open.
"Natsu!" The one responsible cried out. To everyone's relief, it was none other than Happy. However, that relief quickly turned into dread when they saw the panic staining the blue exceed's eyes.
"Happy! Hey, uh, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Instead of answering him, the exceed just grabbed Natsu's shoulders and hoisted him up into the air.
"It's our house Natsu! It's on fire!" Happy said, which caused everyone in the room to gasp.
"What?! On fire?! How?!" The dragonslayer yelled as Lucy, Erza, Wendy, and several other members from the guild, hurried after them.
"I don't know! I was just flying back here when it happened!" Happy said as they finally neared the pair's house. Plumes of black smoke were billowing up into the air, and a putrid stench lingered about every corner. However, before anyone could find out what happened, a monstrous shriek reverberated throughout the forest.
"Duck!" A voice called out as a gigantic creature shot out of the forest. Nobody could really tell what it was thanks to the poor light, but its size was awe-inspiring. Before anyone could even have the chance to breath, the monster turned around and tore a huge rock out of the path. But before it had a chance to throw it, a single crossbow bolt pierced its left eye, causing the stone the monster was carrying to come crashing down to the ground.
"M-my house…." Natsu whimpered when he finally saw the poor state of his humble abode. The building was almost entirely reduced to ashes, and that wasn't all. Thanks to the horrific stench which clung to every corner, the land was now practically uninhabitable. "It took so long to build..." Sadly, Natsu had no time to whimper. As the second the dragonslayer came into view, the monstrous creature tore a tree out of the ground and tossed it at the mage.
"Natsu look out!" Gajeel yelled as a shadowy figure rushed to the young mage's side.
"Stupid kids.…" The figure said as it pushed the mage out of the way. "Things like this are meant for professionals." He said as he loaded another crossbow bolt, it was around then that Natsu, and the rest of the mages, finally recognized the strangers voice.
"C-crap! Your that weirdo from Twilight Ogre!" Natsu cried out as he jumped back into one of the trees. Geralt chose to ignore that comment, and instead tried his best to focus on the task at hand.
Ah hell... I didn't think that cat would bring the whole guild. This is going to be a problem. The White Wolf thought as he stared down his adversary. It was a gigantic, mutated, chort-like creature with venomous bile constantly draining out of its mouth. All of this was very strange. However, that wasn't what worried the witcher. What worried him was the various shards of black metal that were stuck in the creature's teeth. They were jagged, bent, and rusted. However, the work was still easily recognizable. "So the Wild Hunt's paid this place a visit as well..." Why wasn't he surprised? The armor that was lodged in the mutant's teeth obviously belonged to a Wild Hunt foot soldier. "Hey kid..." Geralt started as he turned to Romeo. "Can you do me a favor and make sure that nobody comes near this thing? The gas it exhales is extremely toxic to humans." Without even waiting for conformation, Geralt unhooked some potions from his belt, and charged at the monster. He didn't know what was happening, or why, but he was going to find out. Come on you big oaf!
Author's Note
So yeah, this chapter was kind of a more plot-heavy one. There wasn't much action in this chapter, and that was on-purpose, trust me. Don't worry though, the next chapter will have plenty of action, I promise. And speaking of the next chapter, it won't take six months to come out! (Huzzah!) I've managed to clear a bit of my schedule here at Uni, so I should have more than enough time to get another chapter out!
Anyway, that's pretty much it for me. If you guys would be so kind as to leave this poor soul a review, and maybe a rating, I'd appreciate it. But until then, have a good night! (Or day) And I'll see you guys on the next chapter of The Wolven Maw!
Chapter Five: Hymns of Acceptance