Once again, having a Witcher's strength and endurance was proving very useful considering I was digging a hole in the ground with an old wooden shovel at a steady pace without tiring or sore muscles. Sure, all this extra performance required the Rock's level of food intake to power everything efficiently, to the point I'm sure most coin Witchers earn is put towards hearty meals, but it seemed like a fair exchange.

Yes, Witchers could even raw meat and drink stagnant water considering the powerful immune system going on… not that I planned to at any point since it would likely taste awful.

As dawn was beginning to break I saw Ivar excitingly jog out of the crypts and towards me with a huge grin on his face. He was over any sourness about me tying him to Griffin when I came back to say that the graveyard and crypts were clear (wights don't let even other monsters live with them) and that he could have at it studying the long time living space of rare monster and anything else he could find.

He gladly took up the opportunity and we had been here so long dawn was approaching.

"Markus, I can't thank you enough for this opportunity! It is quite rare to study the nests of monsters so freshly! Not to mention that since this wight was much more intelligent than your average monster I found signs of habitation that wouldn't be out of place among humans! I found tomes, writings, items of personal interest, what looks to be a bed, and all sorts of things! Granted lots of it was limited in quality since wights do not have the same standards or desires as humans, but still! It is a shame that nothing remains of whatever it was brewing when you blew the cauldron away, I would have loved a sample to show a proper alchemist later to see what effects it might have had and what for."

"Based on smell along and fact wight was making it for itself I think it is fair to say it would have been deadly even to me. Who knows how certain mixtures interact with necrophages." I said idly while still digging.

"Very true, still the loss is a shame for all that it was understandable. Also terrible loss not to have access to any of that ectoplasm you talked about."

"The same stuff that summons beghersts?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"But of course! A material substance that can bring into the world spiritual beings? That alone would make one a professor in a heartbeat given the potential it could bring if harnessed!"

"I think it is best to leave the dead being dead rather than basically pouring some goo on a corpse on the off chance it is in a good enough mood to talk to you. Also, pretty sure that edges line to forbidden magic, necromancy is viewed badly even by sorcerers for good reason you know." I pointed out.

"You're right… but at the same time you have to admit it tickles the curiosity."

"The only thing I want to be tickled by is a beautiful woman who loves me for me, thank you very much." I said with a grunt as I finished shoveling the last scoop of dirt from the six foot grave deep and pulling myself out.

"Hehehe, well I can't argue there either." Ivar wiggled his eyebrows at me.

Oh great, the next thing I know is that he has as much game as Dandelion.

"You done studying the wight's body?" I moved topic along as a went over to the body in question laying off to the side.

"Of course, and once again thank you for allowing me to watch over the harvesting process. Are you sure there isn't anything more to collect?"

"Necrophages tend to have less useable parts compared to other monsters. though the tongue, hair, and ear can be used in forging strong materials. Don't ask me how, not my skill set."

"A good example of how monsters could benefit mankind! Using their parts to make better tools to better society! I will need to look around for skilled smiths willingly to work with monsters parts and watch process, do experiments to compare effectiveness to other finished materials, and the notes…" Ivar started to mumble to himself as his mind went wild.

That tended to happen a lot when he got an idea from nuggets of information that I passed over, nothing Witcher critical as far as I was aware. Just have to avoid talking about things like mutagens and such or else he will get ideas without knowing the consequences.

"You already took a few samples and can play with it later." I said as I carefully picked up the wight's body and then proceeded to gently lay it within the grave. It was the least I could do to bury it within its own home after I had to kill it. I didn't hold any personal animosity after all, and if it were up to me I would have left it well enough alone.

But it wasn't.

I grabbed the shovel and started the process of burying the body. I considered just using Igni to cremate it, but I figured if the wight had a choice it would have preferred burial. Then again, maybe I was choosing the more physically demanding task as a form of penance for my actions rather than the easier one of just using magic to solve the issue. I wasn't a therapist and don't think they were even a thing in the Witcherverse.

"Hmmm, they say monsters are opposed to the gods. Any proof to that?" Ivar asked me suddenly.

"No proof that I am aware of holy symbols or hymns doing anything unless the priest in question was a sorcerer or something, using their powers to make it do something." I answered.

"Then it shouldn't be in poor taste to read the wight it's last rites? Out of respect to the mighty being if nothing else?" Ivar asked and I actually paused at that.

I looked over to scholar and underneath his excitement of the night's activities I could see a little guilt about it. Huh, I guess he really did love monsters and if he had a choice would study them with no one dying. Maybe a little crazy thinking considering how violent and aggressive some were… but still weirdly sweet.

"I don't know any, but if you do go ahead." I said and continue to bury the dead wight.

Ivad nodded and started to speak, "In the gaze of all the gods we return this body to the earth so that it's spirit might pass on into their embrace…" Ivar continued on what must be a common Northern Kingdom's funeral prayer.

I mostly tuned him out and focused on task.

At the head of the grave I had already put up a worn up tombstone and chiseled in some simple words.

'W. Ight. Died defending his home till his last moments, never showing fear.'

I had no idea where necrophage souls went after death, but hopefully this one found peace somewhere.

--

After we were done we rode back to the village of Woodpine, named after fact it was focused around logging, to report to the ealdorman of the finished job with the wight ear I harvested as proof.

I also stopped by the local priest to deliver a sack of what remained of the three young idiots that started all this. At the very least their families deserved to know they will be given proper burials without having to actually look at their dismembered bodies. The priest understood the intention and blessed me for my deed, promising that he would go over their rites and inform the families.

The reward itself was quite good at 500 bizants, granted I could have likely gotten more haggling but I have never been much of one to do so and can get by with lots of smaller jobs adding to the pot. Would likely spend the next day or two doing that on notice board since actual monster hunting jobs were rare in peaceful times. Monsters tended to avoid people after all since they were more trouble than they were worth most of the time.

It said something that Geralt only got tons of jobs involving monsters during times of plague, war, and other times of major upheaval after all.

Woodpine wasn't that far off from Pont Vanis so likely would reach the summer capital of the country within the week. I was lucky I was relatively close to it already when I got here because if I was transplanted deeper into country could have taken over a month to get there.

No doubt by the time I get to Novigrad it would take most of the rest of summer and a good part of the fall to get to Kaer Morhen in the northeast. Taking the sea route thankfully cuts that time down a bit.

After the meeting, Ivar and I went down to the local inn to eat and rest up.

I was surprised to learn that Ivar was a good poker player and was fascinating to see him totally pull the rug out from underneath the locals, though thankfully none got too mad since it was played mostly for fun, only did small bets, and was likely to give back money by losing on purpose on the last round. I have found in the weeks of traveling with Ivar that, despite his annoying and suicidal interests, he was a generally nice guy.

And as I feared I have become emotionally attached to him, not hard since I knew no one personally in this world, and now considered him a friend.

Which means when we one day went our separate ways I would be obligated to save his life when we ran into each other extremely often, ugh.

Word spread rather quickly that I had taken down the wight and people toasted me and gave me thanks for killing it. Thankfully more than a handful of people were happy to ignore me or give me the stink eye at a distance, I was beginning to think people were reasonable. Even when you slay a monster that has everyone scared, not everyone will like the mutant human.

Thankfully I had experience with not caring about the opinions of others, especially when they were being jerks.

I felt worse when a father for one of the dead teens came to me to give a tearful thank you about returning his boy to him. I wanted to say his boy would have still been alive if he bothered listening to sound advice about not poking a place with a known monster in it, but that would be unnecessarily confrontational.

I was still salty about killing a being that for all rights there was no reason to kill.

"I notice your slight sneer hasn't gone away, still hung up about the wight?" Ivar asked.

"Yes, but not just about the wight. It's rather about all monsters and even nonhumans that are usually unfairly judged. Don't get me wrong, there are nasty beings out in the world that sometimes deserve the fate they get just like men how do terrible deeds. But the way I was brought up, I try not to judge based on origins but rather actions. As a Witcher myself I am not human enough for most folk but still a freak even among other nonhumans, not to mention the stories those of my guild are subjected to by the paranoid and hateful." I took a long drink of my cider.

"... I see, might I ask you a question?" Ivar's tone shifted.

"Shoot." I said, curious to see where this was going.

"Hypothetically, say there was this young man that was raised up in a merchant family. The family were reasonably well off but the youngest son did not have the best head for business, too earnest and not cutthroat enough. That was fine for family and even supported the young man when he said he wanted to become a scholar. However, after years of being loved and accepted by his family the young man got a little open and said some things… he should have kept hidden." Ivar looked downcast.

"He told them how at his time at university he fell in love with someone, someone who he shared so much with and wanted to share with the family as well. He wasn't worried for he loved his family and they him, surely they would love his love as well. So he brought his love to meet them… only it wasn't what they expected. For the son brought home… a man." Ivar admitted.

...Oh.

"At first the family of the man thought it a joke, but then it became much less funny when the man kept it up. To make a long story short, the man was cast out from a family he thought loved him and would always be there to support him. Being known as a deviant and worst where once they sang nothing but praise to all who would listen. What was once a moment of pride became a secret shame. As for the men and his love, his love would take his own life down the line as the same happened to him and could not cope with being demonized. The man was alone now, even at university where free and open thought was encouraged he was given looks of disgust and barely tolerated. Rather than give into despair the man instead threw himself into his work in a field of little study and where he was not deemed the worst beast, perhaps thinking if he could open the eyes about monsters to the people they could accept even those such as him. For years he worked and hid himself deeper and deeper from others… till the day he met a Witcher that showed so much kindness to a creature most would not even consider anything but something that needed to be slain. A Witcher whom most believed to emotionless killers themselves for all the valuable service they provided. After only a month the man felt comfortable to tell his story… So the question is, how do you think the Witcher would react?" Ivar finished while nursing his beer.

There was a minute's pause between us, with each second Ivar looking as if he was about to get up and leave the table.

"Well, I would think the Witcher wouldn't give a damn about who the man chose to love. After all, they are emotionless and care only about the slaying of monsters for coin. What they would care about is that the man has been a valued traveling companion in a time where the Witcher had no one to look to, and that in truth knew next to nothing about themselves before they met… but they strongly preferred women still so nothing beyond friends was likely.

Oh shit, I think I just caused Ivar to spit beer out his nose.

As Ivar struggled to breath again I could hear him laughing underneath the stinging pain of the alcohol.

"The Witcher would have nothing to worry about, since the man had standards and they were certainly not their type!" was the response.

"Then the man was missing out, cause the Witcher was easily a solid eight cause of their enhanced body alone and women would enjoy a night with him." was my cutting reply, I had my pride after all.

After all we drank and ate into the night, Ivar growing drunker and drunker while I was only slightly buzzed at most from drinking cider and pacing myself. Ivar loved telling stories of his time as a student and the bittersweet memories of his past love. It was easy to forget in this world of easy targets among nonhuman population that mankind was still perfectly capable of cruel and horrible acts against themselves for the dumbest of reasons.

I'm starting to think that Destiny didn't send me Ivar, but rather sent me to him to give the man something one as earnest and kind-hearted as him deserved. A friend that did not judge him.

And if I had my way I would find more of those for him and make him remembered as one of the greatest scholars this world had ever known… Assuming we all lived of course.

517

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Jan 18, 2020

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Threadmarks Chapter 7

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Advance toward the Future

Jan 19, 2020

#126

Moving down the road at an even pace we found ourselves amongst a lot more foot traffic the closer we got to the summer capital of the country. Everything from small merchant carts to large caravans carrying literal tons of cargo were being hauled to Pont Vanis to most likely be exported out of the country and then the traders would bring back imports to sell across the country.

While there wasn't much lore about Kovir and Poviss from the game I did know the rocky and cold country used to be quite poor until it discovered its mineral wealth, quickly making it the richest country in the Northern Kingdoms, if not the known world.

And when I saw Pont Vanis I could rightly say they put all that wealth to good use at least building up their capitals, I haven't seen Lan Exeter but I assume if it has a university there it had to be equally built up.

While certainly not as large as any city back home it was certainly impressive looking with tall and thick-looking walls surrounding the city and a huge gatehouse where most of the traffic was passing in and out with little trouble. Over the walls themselves I could see smokestacks, taller buildings that no doubt belonged to the ruling elite or rich merchant groups, and of course what had to be the royal palace sparkling in the sunlight. Ivar says as a show of wealth and power some of the roofs were studded in gold and other precious materials, especially the palace.

I guess when you mined 80% of the world's gold you were allowed to be as wasteful with it as you wanted.

There should also be a rather impressive port on the opposite side towards the sea, which I could see next to city and ship traffic also going in and out.

"Ivar, forgive my ignorance, but why do they change a country's capital cities during the seasons? Seems like an awful lot of work to shift the administration of a whole country to two main locations over a year." I asked curiously, the thought has been bugging me for awhile and it was only now that I pushed through to ask a possibly stupid question locals would naturally know. Just because I could claim memory loss doesn't mean I could totally explain selective knowledge on some things.

Thankfully Ivar loved answering questions and only really asked them in regards to monsters.

"To understand why there are two capitals, first I need to explain a quirk about Kovir and Poviss." Ivar adopted a lecturing tone, probably acquired from his experience as both a student at university and professorin training. "Many countries have summer and winter capitals - the summer capital is usually in the north, to take advantage of the cool mountain air, while the winter capital is in the south, since it's less prone to snow and ice."

"Usually? So that's not the case here?" I noticed and asked.

"Indeed, Kovir and Poviss's economy is based on mining and shipping, with some fishing on the side to help feed the people. In the summer, the king and his court come here to keep an eye on the shipping and fishing income, and make sure those assigned to managing the kingdom's trade do so in an honest fashion. In the winter, the waters are too dangerous from storms and ice for there to be anything in the way of commerce. However, mining, taking place underground for the most part, can happen year-round, and many people who otherwise work as fishermen or merchants find seasonal work in the mines, and stockpile minerals that will be shipped out once the winter storms end. It's during this time that the king comes north, again to monitor the mining industry and ensure the kingdom receives its cut of the profits." Ivar finished his explanation and looking quite proud in the process.

"Huh, neat system. Also, it looks like that university education of yours isn't totally wasted on nothing but monsters." I joked.

"I'll have you know I have studied history, astrology, alchemy, botany, philosophy, physics…!" Ivar went off listing all the subjects he learned about, if not focused on, and I politely tuned him out for the sake of our friendship.

We moved with the flood of people entering the city while in the other lane of the cobbled road were people of all sorts coming out. I noticed that since we got to the actual city I have been noticing an uptick in nonhumans, from elves to dwarves to halflings and even a couple of gnomes interacting with local humans seemingly without issue. I wasn't saying that racism wasn't a thing, but at least it wasn't readily apparent.

Knowing my luck, I will enter the city and not long after a pogrom will start up.

The line of traders and travelers slowed down a little as we approached the main gate but from what I could see people were easily be allowed in without things like cargo inspection or taxes. Seemed to imply a pretty free economy and no civil unrest, which fit with what little I know of the country from the game. They hadn't been a part of the recent war against Nilfgaard, so hadn't experienced any of the negative aftereffects of it.

The gate was rather large and walls even more so now that we were so close, and I could see lots of armsmen sporting the red and yellow armed arm of their country on their gambersons.

It was finally our turn and Ivar and I motioned our horses to move forward through the-

"Halt there Witcher!" One of the better armored soldiers suddenly shouted.

Oh fuck… I restrained a groan as I stopped Griffin and turned to the speaker.

He was a middle-aged man with a hard-looking face, and seemed to be the highest ranked soldier among the bunch guarding the gate. Most of his features were covered by his apparel but first thing that stuck out to me was his mighty fine mustache, the one that went along the jaw and up to his ears. I had no idea what it was called, though.

I was almost certain I was about to be hit by some anti-Witcher retorick when the man got a good look of my face and suddenly his hard features split into a grin.

"Markus, you cat-eyed bastard! How've you been?!" was the suddenly very cheerful greeting. "The boys said they saw a Witcher coming up to the gate and I was hoping it was you! What has it been? One, two years? The countryside keep you busy?" he asked.

"Aaaaa-" before I could continue my intelligent reply another armsmen came up to his superior.

"Captain, we can't hold up the line." he gently reminded.

"Right, right. Move along, Markus and friend. Come by the guardhouse later tonight so we can catch up and maybe I can get you proper work." He stated and waved us off.

We complied and kept moving through gate, good thing to since it looked like those behind us were getting annoyed by the wait.

"You know a captain of the guard of Pont Vanis?" Ivar asked.

"Apparently." I said, though quickly shut up as we passed gate and saw the city proper.

It was… quite the sight.

The city stretched out before us. Given that Kovir and Poviss had primarily a mining-based economy, it made sense that the city's buildings were almost all made from stone. Some of the nicer ones even had plaster or wooden paneling over the walls. The streets were filled with people from every race and profession - sellswords bartered for supplies with merchants, elven fishermen carried their catch in baskets carried between themselves, halflings trotted about on their business, and dwarven hunters hauled their game; and all that just within the first fifty feet!

Seeing as it was summer at the coast, the air was hot and humid; the streets were also thankfully dry and a little dusty. Given their wealth and access to stone, it wasn't a surprise that the streets were cobbled or laid with brick. It made for a bumpy ride for any wagons, but was preferable to wading through mud up to your knees. But the stench! Piles of horse shit could be seen dappling the streets, while just ahead someone emptied a bucket full of piss and excrement out a window into the street. The smell of ammonia and rot was almost unbearable for a normal person; for someone with enhanced senses, it was a special sort of hell.

The street extended from the gate in a straight line for half a kilometer to the central square; from there, the city spread out like a starburst along eight major roads, with the central one continuing on to the palace of the king of Kovir and Poviss in Pont Vanis, the so-called "summer palace". The city was subdivided into various districts; merchants in the southwest, the harbor in the southeast, the government in the north, and various industries sequestered amongst the northwest and northeast. Homes were scattered all across the city, mainly those of shops, businesses, and workshops owners near their places of work. No doubt there was a nonhuman district somewhere in the lower income part of city if you looked hard enough, though basing that belief from the games alone might be overly pessimistic. On the landward side of the city (opposite the harbor), the city was heavily fortified against attacking armies from the land; the harbor, in turn, had forts with ballista, catapults, and a heavy chain that could be raised to close off the harbor from approaching ships.

I could even see some of the impressive breakwaters built in front of the harbor from here - massive man-made levees that not only protected the city from rogue waves, but also restricted the harbor approach to something that could be easily defended by the harbor forts.

The landward side of the city was where one could find weapon and armorsmiths; given that Witchers usually outsourced their weapons and armor maintenance beyond the basics, I would definitely be stopping there before leaving the city.

Walking south through the city, we walked past the palace towards the harbor; the plan was to find a ship to take us to Novigrad before getting our shopping done. The smell of salt filled the air, and a fresh breeze blew off the sea, the feeling delightful after the heat and dust from the road. Fishmongers hawked their wares, barkers announced the virtues of various ships for hauling passengers and cargo alike, and people of questionable morals attempted to lure sailors into the brothels and gambling houses that littered the waterfront.

The docks were packed; almost every slip held a ship of some make or model, and the piers were filled with people. Crews were disembarking or boarding, dockhands were hauling freight on and off ships, fishermen were cleaning their catch… everywhere I looked, there was a frenzy of activity. Flags of every conceivable design fluttered from the masts of different ships. The whole thing was rather overwhelming, to be honest.

But I had a goal in mind and I aimed to see it done.

After asking for directions from some passing locals we made our way to the harbormaster's office. It was one of the smaller structures built by the docks compared to large warehouses and trading company buildings despite it's important job, but it was just the place I needed to go.

After tying up Griffin and Ivar's horse we walked through the door and found ourselves in quite the busy setup with clerks going around moving paper and likely all kinds of important documentation I couldn't even guess at. Ignoring all that I walked up to the most central and largest desk in the place and found the harbormaster… lady.

"Yeah, what the hell you want? I don't recall putting up any notices for Witchers." was the friendly reply from the well built woman who could no doubt wrestle most dockworkers to the ground, not ugly but certainly not soft. More like… the hardcore matron from media I think would be best description. She did have her red hair up in a large bun though.

"Good day, m'lady. I was hoping you could point me to a group I might be able to hire to transport me to Novigrad that is leaving relatively soon. Seeing as you are the harbormaster I figured you would be the most well informed about such things." I said politely to the most likely powerful woman.

"You guessed right, but if you haven't noticed I'm too busy to answer every question some moron asks." she motioned towards her large desk holding several decent piles of papers she was in the middle of reading and signing.

"I apologize for interrupting, I don't have much experience with this." I admitted.

"Huh, at least you're honest when lacking sense. Better than most men I know. If you are looking for transport on short notice you should head towards the Guild of Merchants. Nilfgaardians always got ships coming in and out of port and all along the coast so I'm sure you can buy your way onto one to take you to Novigrad."

"Thank you very much for the help, m'lady." I said honestly.

"You can thank me by letting me get back to work and shoving off." she stated and went back to her papers.

I took that as our que to leave and Ivar couldn't help but comment in a whisper.

"Rather rude woman, that one."

"She likely deals with idiots and tons of paperwork everyday, I'd rather fight monsters naked than deal with that."

--

An hour later had us walking out of the Pont Vanis branch of the Guild of Merchants with recently purchased permission to be passengers on one of their ships to Novigrad. Sadly, the vessel would not be setting sail until a week and a half from now.

On the plus side, that gave us plenty of time to do some shopping, exploring, and for me seeing what Witcher work I could pick up. In a city as big and active as Pont Vanis there had to be some good ones after all.

Ideally outside of the city center away from all the literal shit.

--

Spoiler: A.N.

Last edited: Jan 19, 2020

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Threadmarks Chapter 8

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Advance toward the Future

Jan 20, 2020

#137

Well, the notice board outside the most popular inn in city certainly didn't disappoint - it was absolutely littered with paper. Not to mention since this wasn't the only inn in the city, just most popular to most of the population, I was sure I would find even more on their notice boards, assuming there was more than one per settlement.

Naturally most of the slips of paper were for the spreading of news, offering of simple work, even more anyonmous sex requests (this world needed internet porn badly), and the usual fair. Thankfully there were plenty of requests that seemed Witcher related for one reason or another. The real question was what I should take and how long did I reasonably expect to be able to complete them.

This wasn't a game after all, where you could grab everything and complete it on your own time.

Hmmm, safe bet was ignoring all the ones that seemed like there were no monster involved at all but rather just people overreacting and assuming monsters. For example someone next to a sculptor's home was certain some statues were watching them as they walked past and wanting to smash them to be safe. Sounded like they were paranoid and I was not damaging someone else's property just to ease them.

I also had to pass over the low paying work and what didn't really seem like it needed immediate help dealing with. Also nothing that required too much travel away from the city itself since I needed to be close to catch boat. That narrowed things down to…

Hello, this looked interesting.

I took off a slip of paper that described how an old abandoned manor house just outside of the city walls that was apparently haunted and the poster wanted it cleared out as soon as possible. Talks of strange noises, lights, and ghastly figures being spotted whenever some used road passing by it had really scared people away from the place despite how good manor and land it was built on was. Didn't help matters that sometimes they would find mutilated corpses of traders that had dared the nearby road outside at night at the front gates come morning.

It paid well, was close to the city, it was proper Witcher work, and I'd be putting the restless dead to rest. Sounded right up my alley.

According to the slip I needed to speak to a guard captain at the barracks by the main gate for details… which means I need to speak with Markus', now my, guard friend. That will be kinda awkward.

Whelp, he did say not to come by till later tonight, most likely when off duty, so that meant I had time to kill and I need to go shopping around anyhow.

"Anything exciting!" Ivar asked like an excited kid as I met up with him after he stabled our horses next to inn.

"Haunted house apparently." I stated and I could just see him vibrating in place.

"Ghosts, wraiths, spirits of the deceased! How exciting! The spiritual implications alone will be a treat to record!"

"Not yet, need to get some supplies and then talk to guard captain we met earlier about job. I don't want to go fighting ghosts without some specter oil at least." I explained.

"You have a substance that allows you to interact with the immaterial! How?!" Ivar said in wonder.

Oh boy…

--

After a long time explaining how specter oil doesn't let my sword touch immaterial beings insomuch as destabilize their forms we made it to our first stop, a blacksmith.

Compared to the local ones in the many villages we passed I wanted someone who was skilled in more than making farming tools look over my swords since I only had basic knowledge of blade upkeep. Not to mention buy a crossbow since I really needed some ranged firepower.

The smithy itself was a reasonably large building with the forge located in an open area outside, though still under a roof, while there was a door leading inside to where I assume customers go to actually buy things. The forge was currently being used by a dwarf hammering something into shape on the anvil while two other human workers assisted him.

Moving on inside the walls were absolutely lined with weapons, armor, and all kinds of metalwork. There were a few customers looking things over while at the front counter was the unmistakable form of a gnome watching everything, his long nose waving every which way before spotting us and his eyes lit up.

"Welcome to Rasben's and Therdur's Weapons, Armor, and Everything Forged under the Sun! I'm Rasben, how might I help you today?" was his pitch as we walked up to the counter.

"Name's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?" I couldn't help but point out.

"It is a fine name! You humans are the ones who likes shortening things too much in my opinion." Rasben stated with a snort.

"Fair enough, I'm here for a few things. Most importantly, I wanted to have my swords looked over. I've been doing basic maintenance on them, but at the same time I'm no blacksmith to see if there is anything wrong with them I'm not seeing. I'm hoping you can do that for me and fix anything for the right price."

"Hand them here then and let me have a look at them."

I did just that, taking both blades off my back and letting the small man before me unsheath and study them. He examined them for a little bit, letting out various 'hmms' and 'huhhs' the whole time. At one point he put on a jewelers lens to really stare at both swords.

"Fine craftsmanship this is, old but hasn't lost luster despite it. Silver sword has Greater Dazhbog and Veles runestones imbued in it while the steel one has Greater Veles and Chernobog ones. Well taken care of but naturally a few minor places where it has been bent out of shape from hitting something hardier. No surprise there given the kinda work you Witchers take part in." he explained.

Huh, good swords. Also fits Griffin school to use magic to augment natural ability.

"I can have these fixed up in a jiffy with only a small fee for task since the damage is pretty minor." Rasben offered.

"Deal, I would also like a purchase a crossbow. Something that hits hard and from long range accurately would be ideal, along with two quivers worth of steel bolts." I asked.

"Can do! What about you, scholar?" Rasben turned to Ivar, who was looking over a stand of spears.

"Hmm, would you happen to have a good sling around?" Ivar asked and I blinked in surprise.

"Not our most common item, but yes. A skilled slinger can hit a small bird at a hundred meters easily. Course, be next to useless to you unless you trained with it since young." Rasben warned.

"Not to worry! In my youth I practiced by knocking apples off trees, while hardly an expert I won't bring shame to the weapon either."

"Very well, wait here one moment." Rasben said and hopped off the tall stool he had been sitting on before heading into backroom.

"I didn't know you knew how to use a sling, and why do you want it anyway?" I asked curiously.

"There are many wonderful things about me I have yet to share, and I figured if I was to travel with you I need at least a basic means of defending myself should the need arise. The last thing I want to be is dead weight to you." Ivar said sincerely.

I only nodded in understanding. A few moments later Rasben returned to counter with a sling in hand that looked in good condition.

Ivar even tested it out a bit, without ammo of course, and it really did seem like he knew what he was doing.

"Ha! Forget your swords, arrows, and spells! With this sling I can turn any stone into a deadly weapon!" Ivar declared.

At the mention of spells I felt a lightning bolt go off in my mind as I realized that magic beyond my Signs was very much a thing, and the people with it. I had some ideas about that and since I was in the mineral capital of the world…

"Hey, Rasben. Can I make a special commission for something?" I asked the gnome.

"But of course, what did you have in mind?"

"How much would it take to make something simple out of dimeritium?" I asked.

--

Rasben told me that based on commission request it shouldn't take more than a week to complete. After that we continued our shopping spree through the city to collect various supplies we both needed.

We stopped by an alchemist's shop to sell off various herbs and extra monster parts I had collected over the journey here, as well as buy rarer ingredients I needed to make the best potions I possibly could. I was even able to seriously bring the price down by writing down and selling formulas for the alchemist for simply potions and medicines that, thanks to my max level in utilitarian alchemy, lowered the ingredient requirements or outright replaced some with more common ones that worked just as well. Even showed some improved mixing methods to improve effects and reduce time.

To say I had the alchemist eating out of my hand was only a little exaggeration. Not to mention what I did show up he would likely guard religiously for his own research so I could do the same thing again later. I was spreading knowledge and making money!

I was even allowed to mix my potions in his own lab, he was so thankful. Because of all that I now had all the higher level potions from the games along with a few of my own making, mainly based on already established potions. For example I expanded on drowner pheromones to include more necrophages in general, the dumb ones at least.

Ivar was also quite happy to buy up monster parts just to study them and explained that he would let me use once he was done with them.

Practical guy.

It was Ivar's stop next, with us heading to what was basically a store for scholars, what with it being full of books, paper, ink, quills, and whatever else intellectuals need to do their jobs. I stood out a bunch by being the scary Witcher in a store full of nerds, which was sad since I proudly considered myself a nerd as well before coming here.

Ivar restocked on everything so he could record more monsters and things relating to monsters at a later date. He also told me he mailed copies of recordings made already with me to be sent to his university for review and documentation.

After that it was basically just general goods and supplies we need, mainly dried food and such, camping supplies, stuff to make sure horses were in good care, the works.

By the time we got our shopping out of the way the sun had nearly left the sky and I figured it was a good time to meet the guard captain about the haunted manor job, no matter how weird it might make me feel talking a friend of Markus'

--

When we explained we were here for the job notice the guards out front let us into the barracks with no issue.

Insides was basically what I expected. Lots of bunks, armor and weapon ranks, chair and temples for off duty guards drinking and playing games, and in the back, an office area most likely for officers. Ivar and I walked past this all and headed towards where the captain was, all the while I could feel the stares on me and the whispers from the various guards.

"That the one the Captain talked about?"

"He's a Witcher, yeah? Who's the bookkeeper with him?"

"I think that's the Golden Griffin, heard he most works out in the country and mountains."

"I never heard of him, you sure you ain't talking about White Wolf down south?"

"Not sure why we need a filthy mutant to solve our own problems."

"About time, getting sick and tired of idiots crying back to us about not being able to do the job."

Huh, a bunch of information there that wasn't super useful. Figures.

I knocked on the office door and her a muffled 'enter' come from the other side, and so we did.

The office itself was pretty spartan, only bit of color being the country flag hanging on the wall behind the main desk, a desk from which the guard captain with amazing facial hair stood up, and smiled brightly at the sight of me.

"Nice to see you took my advice! Good to see you Markus." the man got from behind the desk to grab my forearm before letting go and looking towards Ivar. "You gonna introduce me to your friend?"

"Ivar Holien, soon to be a professor of the University of Lan Exeter! My field of study is monsters and anything relating to them and I hired our mutual friend Markus here to be my profession guide and protector." Ivar happily explained.

"Well you couldn't ask for a better one. Name's Stig. Markus here helped the city years back when I was just a recruit hunt down this wily royal griffin that was terrorizing the roads but always fled whenever we sallied out to fight it. Everyone was convinced it was a survivor of the purge the Witchers did generations ago and had come back for revenge. Markus here and another Witcher took up contract to hunt it down, came back two weeks later with that thing's bloody head which we mounted on the walls. Of course, Markus was the only real talkative one out of the pair and we became friends since he helped save my sister from one of the griffin's attacks before he took job." Stig explained with the air of long practice. He must have told this story a lot.

Saves me some awkwardness at least.

"Stop, you'll make me blush. Before we go anymore off topic about the past I'm here because of this notice." I hand over slip of paper, which he quickly read over.

"Oh I know it. Been posted for nearly a year with no luck of getting it done. But now that you're here it will get right done. The one that posted is so desperate to get it done that they even upped the reward, not to mention it's starting to cost the city money." Stig stated before going over to his desk and picking up a piece of paper set aside.

"Over twenty groups have applied for a job, none reported success. The reward for a successful clearing of haunts from manor and surrounding land will bring you a reward of… six and a half thousand bizants. So, you interested?"

My brain must have short circuited there for a second when I heard the reward price.

All I could do was nod dumbly.

Last edited: Jan 20, 2020

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Jan 20, 2020

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Threadmarks Chapter 9

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Massgamer

Massgamer

Advance toward the Future

Jan 20, 2020

#150

"And you sure there's nothing that sticks out?" I asked for what was likely the dozenth time.

"Are you doubting my researching abilities, especially when it comes to something related to monsters?" Ivar asked in challenge.

"No, and that is what is bugging me. We came here to learn more about the old manor before we actually deal with its former inhabitants… but we can't find any real reason why there should be a haunting in the first place."

Considering the fact I liked holding as many cards as I could before diving headfirst into potentially dangerous situation I asked Stig if he had any records about the old manor, or could at least point us to somewhere that would. Que us being directed towards the local city hall/courthouse and its records room that was overlooked by a rather sour elf clerk. The place handled the many day to day affairs of the city that were below the king's notice and our taking of a job at the request of the guard captain gave us access to everything relating to old manor, despite the elf's sneering at us messing up his organized system.

"Okay, let's recap. The manor used to be owned by a prominent merchant family who primarily dealt in cargo transport and middleman trading. A little over a decade ago, the head of family and business gets pretty ill, leaving the young and inexperienced son in charge of family finances for awhile. By the time the head of the family gets well again the son had made a number of poor decisions and even had an entire trading fleet lost to a winter storm on his go ahead. The father acts quickly to save family fortune and sells off enough business assets to cover his losses, along with selling the family home to the kingdom and moving them all into a smaller but still respectable home in Redania. The manor is basically filed away as property of the kingdom but nothing was really done with it until a little over a year ago, most likely selling it off to an interested party, where builders sent to clean up place run away claiming the place is haunted." I summed up.

"Basically, since then they have tried a number of ways to deal with the haunting. Sending in mercenaries, priests, even a mage at one point to try and clear them out. Most were scared off and a small amount never returned. After so long and so many failures, along with how it's now affecting trade traffic, I'm surprised they haven't just decided to torch the place. Not disappointed mind you, just surprised." Ivar stated.

"Greed is a good motivator, but assuming an actual Witcher doesn't solve this problem for them I can see them going that far. The thing that bugs me the most is that based on the records there is nothing to hint at why the manor would be haunted now. Specters are the souls of the dead that cling to the mortal world out of some strong desire to see their unfinished business fulfilled, usually stemming from anger relating to their death. However, none of the family died in suspicious ways there nor reported any haunting before they left and the same for any staff or visitors. In short there should be no haunting, just an old house… unless a monster or something moved in people mistook for a specter."

"Ohhh, and what would that be?!" Ivar suddenly asked excitedly.

"Not sure, not even Witchers are aware of every monster in the world. Or it really is a specter and we are simply missing something, not like we can go to Redania and ask the family directly." I sighed, "I guess we are going in blind after all."

"Oh don't be like that, after all, this could be an amazing discovery of an unknown monster! I do hope it is intelligent and coherent enough for a conversation! Oh how I wish I could speak to some monsters and get to know their inner thoughts!" Ivar said as he gathered up his things.

"They would most likely be all about which part of you to eat first." I quipped sarcastically.

I also made a mental note not to tell him of the talking ghoul of Vizima or else he would demand to detour there. I had no desire to be in a city that was Salamandra's center of operations.

"Most likely! Though I am unsure why this bothers you so much, did you not say you could destroy spirits with your sword and oils?" Ivar asked curiously.

"Technically yes, hit a specter enough times while it is solid with a weapon that doesn't interact with them well and its form will be destroyed. Keep in mind though that doesn't always put it down for good. Most of the time they are anchored to the world through a place or thing, usually their corpse or something of emotional significance to them in life. If that thing remains they could just reform later which is why I wanted to know the who and why so I could plan around that. It is usually easier to deal with specters that way, morally correct as well." I explained.

"Fascinating, also good motivation to make sure when I leave this mortal coil I have accomplished all I set out to do beforehand."

"Yeah well, who truly can say they have done that at death's door?" I asked rhetorically as we left the records room and headed out to manor.

--

The ride out of the city and down road that was particularly next to manor didn't take too long, about an hour at most given distance wasn't too far and road was deserted at night due to fear of haunting. We turned off the road and headed up a small hill till we arrived at the front gate of the manor.

It had certainly seen better days.

While it wasn't a crumbling ruin or anything like that, years of enduring the elements without care certainly wore it down a bit. Paint was washed away, making it look as if the building was melting, a couple of broken windows on all three floors, the front garden overgrown and wild with no tenders to sculpt it a certain shape, even the front iron gate looked a little rusty if still standing strong. It certainly appeared just like any old house… if one ignored the rotting corpses hanging from the top of the gate that have been thoroughly picked over by crows and other scavengers.

"I don't need Witcher senses to tell those are relatively fresh." Ivar complained as he covered his nose with this arm.

"Yes… but there is something else." I hopped off Griffin and crouched low to the ground. Examining it with eyes that saw better in fading light and could pick out better details. "Ground's disturbed, looks like footprints." I noted.

"Well that is to be expected, others have come and gone before us after all." Ivar argued.

"No, these are too fresh. In fact only a few hours at most…"

"Odd, Stig didn't say that- Markus! The windows!" Ivar suddenly shouted and pointed towards manor.

I stood up and through the gate could see a bright purple light pass along the second floor windows, windows lighting up and darkening as it passed by before fading out entirely.

"Magnificent! Was that the famed will-o-wisps?!" Ivar quickly pulled out his spyglass and attempted to see the source of the now gone lights.

"You do realize that that is just swamp gas combusting, right? Surely you have colleagues who have explained how that works and why it only happens in certain areas."

"Yes, yes. But wouldn't it be wondrous to see an actual example of a spirit moving about our world as nothing but a ball of light?!"

"Right up till it tries to kill you over some perceived slight. You know the drill, stay here till I say otherwise. Feel free to watch if you want from here as long as you don't move from this spot." I ordered as I pushed the gate open and walked inside.

"If you open communications with the spirit I demand to be present!" Ivar shouted after me and I pretended to ignore him.

I moved directly to the main entrance and up the front steps, still noticing signs of recent physical moment. Something magical was up based on the light itself so maybe there was a kinda flesh golem lurking around like the Caretaker from the game, that certainly had no problems killing trespassers after all.

Seeing no reason to be rude and if spirits were involved, I knocked loudly against the front door.

Thump, thump, thump*

I waited a moment and found no answer; seeing how this house was supposed to be abandoned and was going to be fixed up anyhow…

"If there is anyone alive on the other side you may want to step to either the right or left of the door frame. That is my only fair warning!" I shouted.

No response. Well then, they only had themselves to blame.

One full powered Aard sign later and the door was broken off its hinges, blasted across the room and reduced to splinters.

"I know I could have melted the lock with Igni, but it wouldn't have been as fun." I talked aloud to myself as I walked inside.

"FOOLISH MORTAL! YOU DARE TRESPASS UPON THESE GROUNDS AND DESECRATE IT WITH YOUR ACTIONS! LEAVE THIS PLACE NOW OR FIND YOUR SOUL DRAGGED INTO THE PITS OF HELL ITSELF!" a booming voice said from what sounded like all around me.

"Sorry ominous voice, I don't take advice from people if I can't see their faces. Want to try that again in front of me or do I have to go looking for you?" I quipped.

"YOU DARE MOCK A BEING OF THE OTHERWORLD!" was the angry reply.

"Ghosts don't do grandiose speeches after I literally blow down their front door, they would come out and attack me. And seeing as I am a Witcher I actually would like you to show yourself so I can get paid quicker." I called out the bluff.

"THEN BEHOLD THE FACES OF YOUR DOOM!"

I then noticed my medallion shaking a lot as at least a dozen and a half beings seemed to just materialize all around me from thin air. They had the look of soldiers, except glowing, covered in bandages due to various injuries, and having broken and worn down equipment. They raised their equally ghostly looking weapons in slow motions, broken swords, spears, axes, all of it making it look as if these were the departed spirits of those who lost their lives in battle.

"WE ARE THE ARMY OF THE DAMNED! DYING ON THIS SPOT CENTURIES AGO AGAINST THE REDANIANS WHO SOUGHT TO BIND US IN CHAINS WHEN THE WEALTH OF OUR LAND WAS DISCOVERED! NOW WE ARE DOOMED TO WANDERED THIS EARTH FOR ETERNITY, WITH ONLY THE BLOOD OF THE LIVING LETTING US-"

I interrupted the little speech by throwing an Aard at a group of three to my right, sending them flying to the ground and one 'specter' landing badly on his-

"AHHH! SON OF A NILGAARDIAN WHORE!" the 'ghost' screamed as he clutched his now broken ankle.

That got everything to stop. The voice, the 'army of the damned', and my good mood entirely.

"First off, you all smell like you haven't bathed in months and ghosts don't smell like that, if at all. Second, you got your history wrong. The major battles against Redenia happened outside of Lan Exeter, not Pont Vanis. That is why it is called the 'First Treaty of Lan Exeter'. Third, while your magic show is impressive enough to scare those not aware of it, all these pretty tricks are barely more impressive than my own Signs, and they are the lowest magic you can use. So how about we end this game and you all surrender, or do I need to stab a few of you with my steel sword to get the point across? If you are actually ghosts it won't hurt any of you, right?" I asked sarcastically as I drew my blade.

The pause went on for a few more seconds, with no more noise other than two of the 'ghosts' picking themselves up slowly and the third crying over his broken ankle.

"Oh screw this, let's get the freak!" one of the ghosts yelled and charged me with his 'broken' axe. And just like that the illusion was broken, literally.

Where once there were ancient Kovirian soldiers around me melted away to show a dozen and a half very alive men wearing various articles of clothing and armor. Their demeanor and dress easily revealing them to be not specters, but bandits playing the part of them. All the while the mage that responsible for all this showed himself to be at the top of the stairs and quickly forming what looked to be a fireball in his hands.

Just as he appeared to be ready to throw it at me… he had a nice steel bolt sprouting from his leg from my newly bought crossbow I quickly pulled from my back and dropped to the ground to focus on mooks.

Which I did in the form of a Quen forming around me in a dome and the idiots literally smacking against it with all their might… for several minutes. Since I have always been one to believe is the best offense is a good defense I made sure to buy Quen level 3 from CYOA template which can defend me from a strike from a giant, sure bandits could break it eventually… just would take an hour at least.

"I don't like killing humans, so please be aware that you are all going to collapse from exhaustion well before any of you break through my shield." I informed helpfully.

Of course no one listened, and of course they continued to beat at shield for awhile more before they started slowing down and I even saw a few pause to take a breath.

"I do recommend you all surrender now before I have to start breaking limbs… well, more limbs than I already have." I said from the safety of my magical dome of protection.

At this point a few of the smarter ones realized how futile this was and with their mage down made a run for it. Which actually allowed me to test out some new toys.

From my pocket I brought out a half dozen wooden discs with the Yrden Sign carved into each. The requirement for Sign to work was only that it was carved into a solid object, didn't say I couldn't bring object to others. I pushed a little magic into each and watched them light up. Then I scattered them outside my dome all around me and watched as the bandits suddenly found themselves moving at a snail's pace. I didn't get them all, in fact two successfully ran out the front door, but enough were slowed that I dropped my shield and Aarded those few left untrapped and wondering what was going on.

Something which cost them as they were sent flying into walls, furniture, and even some of the Yrden circles. Did they still maintain momentum? Would they go flying off when Yrden passed?

Work now, science later.

With most of the bandits unable to defend themselves I used the flat of my sword to liberally knock them out with blows to the head. My full strength wasn't behind it, but I'm pretty sure most would have concussions. While I didn't want to kill them I wasn't feeling gentle - after all, someone killed those people and hung them out front to rot.

With the bandits down, it was time to deal with the ma- oh goddammit.

I climbed the stairs to the spot where the mage fell and while I did see a blood puddle I saw no mage. I had shot him in the leg to prevent him from casting and to question him, but he has literally pulled a Houdini. There wasn't a blood trail leading anywhere and I didn't smell any blood other than where I was standing. Did he port out? I think I would have noticed a big black portal into the space between worlds coming into existence, they weren't very subtle after all.

Hmm, this guy was using illusions… so maybe… Yeah, no easy answers there, unless…

"You best come out now before I start torching this place, I'll just say I needed to do it to drive off specters. I know you are still here since you couldn't have gone anywhere with that leg wound of yours. You got ten seconds before I start burning shit. Ten, nine, four, two…" I was already thrusting my hand out to roast the general area around me when a shout rang out.

"That isn't close to ten seconds at all you lunatic!" someone said to my right and I turned to see the mage suddenly visible before me, dropping some glamour that blocked my senses, but not my medallion. He was desperately trying to stop the bleeding from his leg where the bolt pierced through on both sides.

Of course, thanks to alchemical/medical knowledge, I knew it didn't hit anything major. He'd live with treatment.

He looked pretty young, though with mages they could choose how they looked. Dark eyes and hair and even a stereotypical evil goatee. He had what could best be described as a very punchable face, the kind that seemed stuck in smug superiority mode all the time. He wore baggy robes around a slight frame and was easy to pick up and drag him down the steps despite his protests.

"Let's have a little talk, shall we?" I asked in my best ominous voice.

"Markus! I ran into some ruffians out front who tried to steal our horses and- what in the world happened here?" Ivar suddenly appeared by the door and took in lobby area littered in knocked-out bandits and the mage struggling in my grip.

"What did I say about waiting? Whatever, what you were saying?" I signed.

"Oh right, I say these two ruffians run out of the manor and towards me. They yelled at me to give them our horses or they would kill me. Not being one to let myself be threatened by criminals I killed them and came to see what was happening." Ivar explained.

"Wait, you killed them? How?" I asked in total surprise.

"With my sling of course! People don't realize that without proper head protection a properly aimed lead ball can easily crush skulls." Ivar said in a matter of fact tone.

Ooookay.

"Well, these are our specters. Seems like we've come across nothing more than bandits and their mage boss making it appear this place was haunted for whatever reason. I was actually planning to question them about it."

There was a moment's pause.

"So… no ghosts to study?" Ivar asked in a low voice. Made me feel like I kicked a puppy.

"Nope, just humans."

"... Markus, can we burn this whole manor down with them inside it?" Ivar asked, completely serious.

"... No?"

"Very well, I shall wait with our horses. Put away my journals…" Ivar moped and I watched as he sadly dragged himself back to the gate.

"Huh, Ivar you are a weirdly scary guy." I mumbled to myself. I turned to the still struggling mage. "You're lucky I don't leave you to him to vent his frustrations. He was really looking forward to this you know. Now I have to find a legitimately haunted spot later or else he will never get over it."