Dorian, western Temeria.The sun was setting, casting an amber glow across the city. From his vantage point atop the roof of the Smiling Serpent tavern, Nikolai could see out across the city, with the outlines of Vizima and Gors Velen faintly visible to the east and west. He had been holed up on the roof of the tavern for almost four hours, and the temperature had dropped within the last two. Feeling the chill creeping through his armour, he grabbed his cloak from the ground, and threw it around his shoulders. The heavy fabric, while ripped and worn in several places, and stopping only a little past his waist, offered enough protection from the elements for now.
"At least it's not raining" he thought to himself.
He pulled a vial of Fisstech from the bandolier laying next to him; popping the cork. He licked his finger, pressing it into the faintly lilac coloured powder, and rubbing it into his gums. Within a moment, the familiar euphoric rush swept through his body, and his frayed and battered nerves found themselves at ease, the chill soon forgotten. Feeling his energy levels spike, he surveyed the area ahead of him. Ahead of him lay the council hall; where his target was located, awaiting transport to Redania. It had been eighteen months since the events of Kaer Tiele; since the Blue Stripes betrayed him and Commander Hatzel. It had been six months since the Stripes came for them, in the wilds of Temeria.
Since Hatzel was taken from him.
It had taken time, and a lot of threatening Jost, to track them down. Following the breakdown of the unit at Kaer Tiele, and the sting operation on Hatzel, the Witcher relations unit of the Blue Stripes had been disbanded. Temerian command, foreseeing Nikolai would hunt down his former teammates, scattered the remaining members, placing them in hidden safe houses, awaiting mission orders when the coast seemed clear. Jost, the only member of the unit still in direct employment with Temeria on account of his position as a diplomat and not an active military specialist, was Nikolai's reluctant informer within the Blue Stripes. He had managed to access the transfer papers for the team, and, in exchange for his life, handed them over to Nikolai; realising no punishment the Crown could bestow upon him would be worse than anything Nikolai would do to him. And today, he would take out the first target.
As the sun continued to set, he watched as the doors to the council hall swung open, and a crowd of petty politicians, house staff, and security guards left the working day behind; some peeling off and heading for their homes, and the majority heading for the Smiling Serpent. He stood up as the last one entered the tavern's doors, and slung his bandolier over his shoulder. Placing the sword in the back sheathe, and the maces in the loops on his hips, he walked to the edge of the roof, grabbing the rope he secured earlier, and climbed down. As he made his way across the street, he flicked his hood over his head, and pulled his bandanna up over his mouth; leaving only his deep brown eyes visible. He reached the front doors, and pulls out a dagger. Jamming it into the crack between the doors, he begins to wiggle and push the blade, until the doors click and swing open. Quickly entering and closing the door behind him, he surveyed the dimly lit interior, his mind racing as the Fisstech raged through his system. His eyes fell on the front desk, and he began ripping open the drawers, searching each of them thoroughly. Finally, as he opened and scoured the third drawer, he found what he was looking for; a master key. Grabbing the key and closing the drawer, he turned and headed up the stairs to the left corner of the room, making his way to the guest accommodation in the west wing. He crept down the corridor, his boots barely making a sound as they hit the floor, he reached the door to the guest room, taking the key from his pocket, and gently unlocking the door, opening it slowly, and as quietly as he could. Stepping into the room, he saw the figure of a woman, sat at a writing desk, hunched over papers, and muttering to herself as she read aloud.
Arva. Of the Blue Stripes.
He closed the door behind him, allowing the audible click to ring out in the relative quiet. Arva jumped slightly, then let out a sigh, as she turned in her seat.
"If that's you Cedric, I'm not going to tell you-"
The sentence stopped dead in its tracks, as her eyes widen with terror, seeing the figure standing before her. Though his face was obscured, and he wore no blue, she knew who was facing her. Slowly, he reached up, throwing back his hood, and pulling down his bandanna. A smile tugged at his lips. A cold, malicious smile.
"Hello Arva. It's been a while" he said, his voice almost jovial. Arva stared back at him, almost paralyzed with terror. Nikolai noticed she was thinner than before; and her face was tired. Her hair, which had formerly been styled like Captain Mia's, was longer, all shape lost. She slowly stood up, her legs quivering.
"What are you doing here? What made you come back after what happened six months ago?" she croaked.
"I made you a promise. At Kaer Tiele. That if I ever saw you traitorous cunts again, I would kill you. I was robbed of that opportunity six months ago. I'm here to carry out my promise"
The smile vanished from his face, replaced with a white hot rage, burning through his eyes, his mouth now little more than a narrow slit. Arva starts to move towards the chest in the far corner of the room. Nikolai scoffs, his face unchanging.
"Really? You're going for your weapons? How brave are you feeling today?" he growls, his lip curling into something half way between disgust, and a sarcastic smirk.
"What? Should I just lie down and accept my death? Fuck off! I'm a fucking Blue Stripe, I'm not going down without a fight!" she yells, her voice betraying the fear she was feeling.
"Arva, you were a failed diplomat, and a coward. You barely scraped through basic training. I was Hatzel's protege. Do you really think you stand the faintest chance of even landing a glancing blow on me? Be sensible"
"Well I'm not going to just stand here and let you murder me you fucking imbecile!" she shouted, the anger now present in her voice, seemingly masking the fear. Nikolai smirks, slowly walking towards her, as she scrabbles to the chest. He stops and watches as she frantically opens the chest, slowly pulling one of his maces from his belt, as she grabs her shortsword, and stands to face him; holding out in front of her with both hands.
"Don't you take another step! What is the point of this? How do you think you're going to get away with this!?"
"I told you. I made a promise, and I'm keeping it. You only found us six months ago because Hatzel was too trusting with some of his informants. I am not making that mistake. By the time anyone finds you, I will be long gone"
Arva's hands shake, causing the sword to wobble violently as a tear rolls down her face.
"You're insane! You betrayed the Crown! You can't be that stupid to think they won't hunt you down!" she splutters. Nikolai chuckles.
"There's no one left who could stand a chance. Temeria burned their bridges with the Witchers, so they can't rely on them to hunt me down, the other Blue Stripe units are amateurs in comparison, and already stretched thin. Anyone they send after me, I will kill. And I'll keep killing until my promise is fulfilled. I turned my back on a tyrant and a fool. Geddes was being manipulated by Gildarts, but he was still a cancer. My faith was to Mia, and to Hatzel, never to the Crown, everyone knows that. And both of them were taken from me. Anyway, we've wasted enough time, I have a busy schedule ahead of me. Let's dance"
Nikolai's eyes flash, and the wild, dangerous smile Arva had seen too many times before, spread across his face. Within a second, Nikolai had disarmed her with one swing of his mace, and grabbed her by the throat. He leaned in close, looking her in the eyes, watching the tears stream down her face, listening to her struggle to breathe.
"Give Private Darla my regards" he whispered.
He throws her to the floor, and as she gasps for breath, he rolls her over with a flick of a boot. She stares up at him, the fear back in her eyes.
"You're a monster Nikolai"
"I'm what Temeria made me into"
He brings the mace down; slamming into her face, which compacted and caved in under the force. As he raised it again, Nikolai felt the familiar hazy, burning rage roll into his mind, like a thick fog. By the time it cleared, he had swung a further seven times; rendering what was left of Arva's head little more than a thick, clumped mass of bone, blood, brain matter and hair. He reached down, grabbing the blood stained blue striped bandanna from around her neck, and shoved it into a pouch on his bandolier. Standing up, he walks over to the bed, grabbing the sheet, and wipes the mace clean, picking the pieces of bone and flesh from the flanges of the mace's head. Placing it back in the loop on his belt, he casually walks to the door, opens it, and closes it behind him. Locking the door, he strolls down to the desk, places the key back in its drawer, and leaves the hall. Surveying the street, he finds it empty, and turns, walking down the street, towards the east. As he walks, he once again raises his hood and bandanna. Placing the bandanna over his face, he feels a wetness coating his cheek. Stopping outside a herbalist, he looks into the window; the dark of the shop interior and the last rays of the sun providing him with a makeshift mirror. Pulling the bandanna down, he realises his face is soaked in blood. Snorting slightly in amusement, he wipes his face with his cloak, replaces the bandanna, and keeps walking. Approaching the city limits, he stops at the city wall, in front of a blazing torch, placed in a bracket, casting a vivid yellow light. He reaches into the larger pouch on his belt, pulling out a crumpled scroll. Opening it, he reads the information on the page, smiling to himself.
Selwynn - Currently located in safe house "Gallow's Gate". Awaiting transport to Maribor for assignment to expeditionary unit, the 14th Pike Brigade, for a tour of Lower Sodden.Nikolai places the scroll back, and walks out of the city of Dorian, into the cool evening.
"One down, four to go"