Disclaimer: The Witcher and every character aswell as location, that is not created by myself belongs to CD Projekt Red aswell as Andrzej Sapkowski, the original author of the books.
Reviews and ConCrits are always welcome!
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Chapter 2: On The Road
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Witcher Kaleb didn't fool around when he said 'at sunset', he literally meant the first streaks of light touching the earth, apparently. Young Elron almost missed him as he was already leaving the inn. It seems like the Witcher didn't want to spend more time than neccessary in there, but who could blame him.
"Witcher! Wait up!" Kaleb did as told, though it seemed he'd rather have it otherwise, "So you made it?" he commented upon being called. When he turned around he saw the young man, his hair still messy from the sleep and his boots not properly tied, his shirt half unbottened. Also he carried his jacket underneath his arm, thinking he wouldn't manage in time otherwise. Kaleb rolled his eyes, "Fix your clothes first, I've not that little time." he said, crossing his arms and shifting his weight onto his left foot.
"Where are we headed anyway?"
"To the nearest village, it's not too far from here." Kaleb explained, "There's a contract waiting for us." The raven haired man took out a roll of paper.
"And what are we to face?" Elron asked.
"That's what we're going to find out once we get there."
The march to the village would take about an hour, without horses, which neither of the men possessed.
Weirdly enough was, that the Witcher was the one to start the conversation, "What are you doing here anyway? All by yourself." he asked.
"Well, I don't know if you've noticed by any chance, but I've come from a rather noble family and as such I've had a quite dull life thus far. It's been my dream since I was young to just.. to just go out there and see the world, escaping my planned out life. This may sound a bit odd, but I've always wanted to live on the road. Two weeks ago I started this... new chapter of my life and I'm looking forward to what it might bring me."
"A 26 year old who wants to see the world. Interesting," the Witcher mumbled, more to himself than his companion.
"How did you know I'm 26 years old?"
"It's the way you act, of course how you look and how you talk about your ambitions. Maybe I'm a too old fashioned, but this is exactly how I'd picture a man in his mid-twenties."
"Seems as though you have met an awful lot of people, then, huh?"
"Indeed," The Witcher looked into the distant sky, it seemed almost nostalgic, "I don't get to meet the same people that often, though, which is a shame sometimes."
His voice had a slight tone of regret to it, but Elron dared not to ask further at this point.
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They could already see the fences, which served as a restriction for the fields. There was no one working on them, though.. It definitely wasn't because it was too early, that didn't seem to be the problem. It was a picturesque sight, seeing the small village slowly awaking from it's slumber as the sun rose behind a hill in the distance. However, the beauty of the scene would be interrupted as they passed a small shrine with a small painting of someone surrounded by candles and flowers – the sign that someone had died. Seeing this didn't leave Elron easily, maybe this was one of the victims of whatever posed a threat to this village. The Witcher however seemed like he couldn't care less, not even paying it a second look. Maybe it was true what they say about Witchers, they are number than most folks, not able to feel because of their mutations.
They were soon met by an elderly man in a green robe with a collar on it, presumably the head of this community, "Ah, a Witcher! I'm glad you've arrived." he said.
"Pleasure's all mine," the Witcher replied in an almost cynically uninterested tone, "My apprentice and me are here for the contract, as you've already guessed."
"Uh, yes, I'm guessing you'd like to head straight to business?"
"Why don't you give me the gist of what you know and then we'll talk about a reward. Spare the details for after we've decided that." Kaleb instructed.
"Of course." the chief agreed, "So, as you've certainly read, thus far there were two casualties of which we know off. People have been vanishing over the last week, four in total, including the dead. It must've happened in the deepest night, because no one saw the beast, the only thing we could hear was a morbid scream, like nothing I've ever heard before. It left a footprint on one of the fields, which have remained untouched since the first incident." the old man then folded his hands over his head and bowed down in a begging gesture, "Please, I beg of you master Witcher, save my village!"
Elron saw the obvious despair in his eyes, it seemed as though they wouldn't have to fear rude comments about Witchers from him. They noticed the other villages to come out of their houses and gather around them. Men, women and children all with looks of hope, fear and expectance on their faces.
"You can look up again, old man, don't make this more akward than it already is." Kaleb mumbled, so only the three of them could hear it, "You know, from what you tell me I have about hundred options of what we could be dealing with here. I've an idea," he then went on to raise his voice, so that everyone would hear him, "Why won't someone bring us to this footprint so we can inspect it to know what I have to prepare for. Afterwards we'll discuss the reward accordingly."
It wasn't long until a hunter from the village volunteered himself to guide them to said field. The elder man accompanied them. Kaleb needed to take but a short look at it to recognise the threat, "Old man, we can about a reward."
"Alright, then, what is it you desire?"
"First of all, I want 235 Floren, I think that's a generous price, given for what I have to face. Then I need to know if you have a capable blacksmith. Lastly, I want you to tell me everything about unusual bandit activities within this region. Everything that occured over the last weeks up to this day."
The elder scratched his head, "Sounds manageable. Yes, we do have a blacksmith, I'm certain he'll be able to fullfill your needs. And about the bandits-"
"Tell me once I've brought you the beasts head." Kaleb interrupted, sending the two men back to the village.
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"So," Elron began, "What are we facing?"
"A fiend and a rather unusual one."
"Unusual, why?"
"Look around, this region doesn't have any dense forrests, right?"
Elron shook his head comfirmingly.
"And neither does it have bogs or swamps, this is farmland, smaller forrests, yes, but not even hilly, so what is a fiend doing here? This is not their natural habitat." According to the concerned look on the Witcher's face, he had a suspect of what was going on, though Elron was sure that he wouldn't receive a proper answer.
"And what is the plan?" the young man asked.
"I'm not sure. It's not my first fiend, but what about you? How experienced are you at fighting monsters?"
"I'll have you know that I know my way around various threats. I've once fought off a bandit that threatened to attack my sister. I've also fought wolves on my travels."
"Good for you." Kaleb grumbled as he inspected the footprint, "But I doubt you've ever encountered a beast, three times your size with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, three eyes and massive antlers." He took out an old book from one of the bags, there was a wolf's head, the same one as on the medallion of the Witcher, with the word 'Bestiary' written underneath it, "Look what it says about fiends."
Hastily Eloren scrolled through the pages until he reached his destination:
'Fiends are walking mountains of muscle capped with horned, tooth-filled heads. Like their rarer cousins, bumbakvetches, they live in thick forests, swamps and bogs. When possible they avoid humans, but when not possible, they kill them, and without much difficulty.
Their size alone makes fiends and bumbakvetches extremely dangerous – one blow from their powerful paws can kill a horse along with it's fully armored mount. Their enormous heft also makes them invulnerable to Aard: even Witchers specializing in the power of Signs could not move one even an inch. Furthermore, any wounds they receive heal at lightning speed.
If that weren't trouble enough, fiends need not rely on their strength and stamina alone with fighting. They can also call on a more refined weapon: the third eye located in the center of their forehead, which they use to draw their prey into a state of hypnosis. During these times their victim does not see anything beyond this single burning eye – the last thing they see before their death.
A fiend's only weakness is its fear of loud noises – bombs such as Samum or Devil's Puffball are thus quite effective when fighting this monster. Furthermore, a blade covered in relict oil can increase a Witcher's chances of victory – or at least of walking away from the fight.'
Elron felt his heart sinking into his pants upon reading those lines. This must be a beast to be reconned with... He tried to shrug his fears off, replacing them with curiousity, "What is 'Aard'?" he asked.
"Aard is one of the five signs a Witcher can perform. There is Aard, Igni, Quen, Yrden and Axii. Aard is a blast of telekinetic energy. It's like a push, but without contact and much stronger." Kaleb explained. His look fell onto a small forrest, where he saw broke down trees, "This is a big one, huh." he mumbled to himself.
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As they returned to the village, they went to the blacksmith. It was a middle-aged man with a rather noticable bolding spot and an unkempt full beard, "G'day, can I help ye, Witcher?" he asked.
"Not me, but him," Kaleb replied pointing at his companion. He made a step forward, drawing Elron's sword before he could even react, "You see this toothpick? I want you to craft a him a proper sword, fit for his.. um.. stature. I can't be too heavy and not too big, it should be able to held with one hand, but also with two. Coin is not the problem. Also it should have a silver edge."
"A silver edge, huh?" the blacksmith repeated, "Are we goin' monster huntin' there, young man?" he commented, which was left unresponded, "Aye, I can do something with that. The blade should be finished in two days, starting today and it will cost you 446 Floren."
"Sounds payable, I think we have an agreement." Kaleb nodded before the two shook hands.
"446 Floren? Don't you think that's a bit too expensive to pay for someone like me? Do you even have that much on you?" Elron asked.
"Me?" Kaleb gave him a perplexed look, "You said, you're a noble, didn't ya? You're going to pay that yourself!" he patted him on the chest before walking away, "See it as an investment to assure your survival."
"Right... thanks, Witcher..."
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