I do not own Witcher or any of the characters.
Beans
Eldin rolled aside from the last of the three bears. Baby and Mama Bear were both dead already, but Papa Bear was almost double the size of a normal bear. As he passed Aralyn, Aralyn slashed, removing his front right paw, and he roared in pain, crashing to the ground and rolling to a stop just in time for Renfri and Eldin to both reach his throat and slash. A massive spray of blood soaked them both, and they staggered backward, coughing and sputtering, then wiped their eyes.
"Serves you right, Eldin," Aralyn smirked.
"I still can't believe you stepped on Thumbelina!" Syanna snapped.
"Would you let it go!" Eldin complained, wiping the blood from his face. "I didn't see her!"
"Let's just look for the bean so that Eldin and I can go wash the blood off," Renfri suggested, also wiping her face off.
They all spread out to look, but aside from Goldilocks' skeleton, the cave where the three bears lived was empty. They headed for the lake around Longlocks' tower so that the two of them could clean themselves off, then followed Syanna to the Three Little Pigs' houses. The straw and wood houses were already knocked down, and the stone house bore cracks and wear from age, but still stood.
"Let's get this over with," Eldin sighed.
"He huffs, and he puffs, and he..." Renfri grinned.
"Achoo," Eldin smirked as he blasted the house with Aard, demolishing it instantly.
"Sneezes, apparently," Aralyn chuckled.
Despite the house being small enough for it to be cramped for even one person, three huge boars charged out of it. All three were shoulder height, and while they lacked tusks, they charged with enough force that one of them charged straight through the remains of one of the walls of the stone house. One wore a straw hat, one a blue cap, and one a solid yellow helmet.
"Oh, bumbotch!" Syanna gasped. "They didn't like that!"
"Oh what now?" Renfri asked.
"Sorry," Syanna grimaced, slashing one of the three pigs along the side as it passed. "I wasn't allowed to swear as a child, so it's a bit of a habit here."
Renfri grinned and shook her head, slashing the same pig Syanna had and causing it to crash to the ground and roll along. It stopped in front of Syanna, and she stabbed it in the head, finishing it just as Aralyn sliced off another's head and the last steam-rolled Eldin from behind while he was avoiding the one Aralyn killed. After a moment, he rolled out from behind it and it stumbled, then pitched sideways, crashing to the ground, the hilt of Eldin's sword pressed to its chest and the very tip of the blade extending out its back. Eldin sighed, walking over and pulling his sword free, then walked over to the now ruined stone house with the others.
"Here it is," Eldin said, picking up a large blue bean from the floor. "One down."
"So, do you like it here?" Syanna asked as they headed for their unicorns.
"I probably would if the magic was stable," Eldin shrugged.
"I love it," Renfri smiled. "It's beautiful here."
Just then, a dozen Pixies appeared around them, only for the three Witchers to slaughter them in seconds.
"Except the Pixies," Aralyn added.
"Fair," Syanna nodded, only to stop walking.
The others did the same, staring at the pack of wolves currently feasting on two of the four unicorns, the black one and a pink one. The wolves turned toward them, only for Eldin and Renfri to send an Igni blast into them, slaughtering them all, but also igniting the two unicorns' corpses.
"Well...I guess we pair up, then," Eldin said.
"I guess so," Syanna nodded.
"Come on, Aralyn," Eldin said, heading for the white unicorn while Syanna and Renfri walked toward the pink one.
Eldin climbed up behind Aralyn, holding her against him, and Renfri did the same with Syanna, who leaned back into her comfortably. Syanna took the lead, heading for where she claimed the Big Bad Wolf should be. As they rode, she and Renfri chatted almost continuously, a calm, easy smile on both of their faces most of the time, though at others, shadows from their past flitted over one or both of their faces. Finally, they arrived, stopping as they found the Big Bad Wolf passed out outside of the large red house, wearing a pink bonnet, a rag pinned into underwear, and a pair of too-small glasses.
"Uh...can we talk-" Eldin began.
"Shhhush!" the wolf growled, then groaned pitifully, speaking with a thick accent and a deep voice. "Bumbotch, my head! Damn it all. I swear, that was the last time I drank with Redbeard." He held his stomach and looked up at Syanna as she stepped up over him. "Oh, Syanna. A bloody long time it's been. You've changed!"
"Whereas you, not at all, Big Bad Wolf," Syanna countered. "Though it seems you've started running with the wrong crowd."
"And who should I run with, eh?" the wolf asked. "Thumbelina? One shot, and she's under the table. But, but, but...what brings you?"
"We're looking for the magic beans," Eldin said. "You ate one, right?"
"I was given one for safekeeping," the wolf nodded. "But..."
"Cough it up!" Syanna snapped. "Now!"
The wolf groaned. "Shush, Syanna. Not so loud!"
"Oh, I can be much louder," Syanna threatened, "or resort to other means of persuasion."
"Ah, right there!" The wolf nodded. "The threats! Syanna to a 'T'! Listen, I exist to restage a fairytale. If you want to play at it, I'll be happy to oblige...but it won't be easy. The thing is, Little Red Riding Hood's popped her clogs."
"What?" Syanna asked, surprised.
"A thousand times they cut my gut open, filled it full of rocks, and drowned me in the river! So once you stopped coming, I decided to repay the little imp for all her loving labor. Hood now rots at the bottom of the well. She and the Hunter. Which means, we can't play, and I'm under no obligation to talk to you. Not about beans, nor anything else! So leave me be! Sod off!"
They walked away from the wolf, looking to Syanna.
"What now?" Renfri asked.
"We have to play out the fairytale in order to get the bean," Syanna explained. "Don't worry, I'll play with him, or rather play him. I just need that little red hood. The piece of apparel, that is. Not the poor girl's corpse."
"I'm glad you made the distinction," Eldin smiled.
"I'll get it," Renfri volunteered, walking to the well. "Back in a minute!"
Then, she dove down into the well. The others all sat around the well to wait, and after nearly half an hour, Renfri finally walked over to them from the direction of the lake around Longlocks' tower, a folded up red garment in her right hand and a pointed green hat with a red feather atop her head.
"So, you are to be my Hunter?" Syanna smiled, accepting the red hood.
"It would be my honor," Renfri said, bowing dramatically.
Syanna smiled, tying the cloak around her shoulders and pulling up the hood. Somehow, despite clashing with her dark clothing, it still suited her.
"Beautiful," Renfri smiled. "It suits you surprisingly well."
"Thank you," Syanna smiled. "Shall we?" She invited for only Renfri to accompany her.
"Let's," Renfri nodded.
The two of them walked back over to the wolf together, and he growled irritably.
"You again!?" he snapped. "I thought I was clear I will not talk to you if Little Red Riding Hood is not with you!"
"But she's right here," Renfri said, holding a hand out to Syanna.
"What?" the wolf snapped, then growled. "Very well. It's not as if I can forbid you." He cleared his throat as he pushed himself up, then adopted a creepily high voice. "Granddaughter, come closer sweetie!"
"But grandmamma, what big eyes you have!" Syanna said in a high, dramatic voice.
"The better to see you with, my dear," the wolf said, his voice back to normal as he prowled around them slowly on all-fours.
"Granny, what big arms you have!" Syanna continued, unintimidated.
"The better to embrace you with, my dear," the wolf answered, raising himself up and preparing to pounce.
"And grandmother, what big teeth you have," Syanna finished, she and Renfri drawing their swords. "Eh?"
"The better to eat you with, my dear!" the wolf roared as he lunged, but Renfri and Syann both avoided his strike cleanly.
The Big Bad Wolf was fast and agile, but so were both Renfri and Syanna. They skillfully evaded his attempts to make good on his threat, all the while striking back at him. Most of their strikes were either complete misses or shallow scratches, but a few were rather deep cuts. Finally, as the wolf moved to make a wild swipe at Renfri, Syanna dropped to one knee, slashing over herself and severing the wolf's arm at the elbow. He roared in pain, leaping away, only for both women to chase him. He snarled angrily, lunging and snapping at Syanna, but she spun around him, slashing him across the back, and as he stumbled, Renfri stabbed him through the heart, leaving her sword there as he collapsed.
"Alright, now Eldin gets to do the fun part," Renfri grinned.
"Gee, thanks," Eldin rolled his eyes, walking over and pulling out a knife.
He freed Renfri's sword and passed it to her, and she used the Hunter's hat to clean it before tossing the hat away and sheathing her sword. Eldin knelt, cutting the wolf's stomach open, then reached in, feeling around for a moment and finally pulling out the red bean. He cleaned his knife on the wolf's shoulder, then put it away.
"Well then," Syanna nodded. "One step closer to our goal."
"Yeah," Eldin nodded. "We're taking a break so that I can wash my hand and clothes off."
"Hm," Syanna nodded distractedly.
"What?" Eldin asked.
"I misjudged the three of you," Syanna admitted. "I thought you would be like everyone else, use me when it's convenient for you, care nothing about me otherwise, and ignore me entirely the whole time, but you all seem genuine in your acceptance of me. Friendly, even."
"That's because we do accept you," Aralyn smiled. "We want to be friends. We want to help you let go of your pain. We can't, and wouldn't, do that if we didn't care about you."
Syanna sighed, nodding. "I owe you an apology."
"You owe us nothing," Renfri shook her head. "Come on. Only Longlocks left, right?"
"Yeah," Syanna nodded. "Should be. Although, there's also the Vizima Dragon."
"I think I'd rather start with Longlocks," Eldin grimaced. "I have a shit track record with dragons."
Aralyn laughed, nodding. "Tower first."
Syanna nodded, and they all headed for Longlocks' tower. True to his word, before they reached the tower, Eldin stopped at the lake, scrubbing both his clothing and himself completely clean, Aralyn, Renfri, and Syanna doing the same, though none of them stripped to do so. Once they were all clean, they left the water, and Aralyn dried them with magic. Then, they hiked up the steep hill in the center of the lake, where Longlocks' tower stood, connected by a land bridge.
"There it is," Syanna said as they finally stood below the tower. "It's even taller than I remember."
"So, how're we getting up?" Eldin asked.
"Well, traditionally, the princess throws down her hair, but judging by that dead knight..." Syanna trailed off, staring at a knight off to the side.
Eldin looked at him, then frowned. "He's not from here, is he?"
"No," Syanna shook her head. "Anarietta and I would encounter them sometimes as children. Knights Errant outnumber princesses greatly, in the real world, so sometimes, they would sneak in here to find their fairytale princesses."
"Only to fall to their death from Longlocks' tower," Eldin mused.
"Indeed," Syanna nodded. "In any event, I shall wait here. Climbing is not my strong suit."
"Alright," Eldin nodded. "Back in a couple minutes."
Syanna raised an eyebrow as Eldin and the others headed for the stairs wrapping around the tower, most of them having broken off and upon which the knight's decaying corpse lay. Eldin stopped next to the corpse to pick up his sword, frowning. It was a Silver Sword with a pair of short arms angled into a "V" as with most Silver Swords, this sword's arms ending in small clover-like shapes. Its grip was a textured, black material, the pommel was a ring with a the tang extending up through it, and the blade ran straight to the point with no deviations, making the weapon excellent for both stabbing and slashing. The sides of the blade were inscribed with elven writing, something Eldin couldn't read, and the first half of the blade had an open, hollow fuller. Wrapped around the hilt was a swept-hilt guard. He held the sword out to Aralyn, and she traced her finger along the ancient elven characters.
"It's a spell, alright," Aralyn nodded in confirmation. "It'll light the sword with enchanted flames. Flames that will only harm what the wielder wants."
"Neat," Eldin nodded, taking the sword's sheath from the knight and sheathing the sword before tossing it to Syanna.
"All you have to do is say 'Aenye,' and it will catch fire," Aralyn explained.
Syanna nodded, and the three of them turned, starting up the tower together. They used a combination of the stairs, a scaffold, and jumping extremely long distances. Finally, they reached a crack in the tower wall where they could slip inside, only to stop, staring down at the shore of the lake below them. There, lying on the sand, was the Vizima Dragon, dead and with its abdomen torn open.
"Well, that's one less thing we have to deal with," Renfri shrugged.
"Agreed," Eldin said. "No dragon to attack us while we climb the beanstalk."
Renfri and Aralyn both shivered at the thought, then followed Eldin into the tower. After a few moments of climbing a spiraling staircase inside of the tower, they reached a shattered room with the outer wall missing. Eldin turned to his right, finding a closed door, and walked over to it, opening it and finding yet another staircase. He groaned in annoyance, Renfri and Aralyn echoing it before their aching legs dragged them up the stairs to what they hoped was the final room. Sure enough, they found themselves in Longlocks' bedroom prison, and faced with Longlocks herself, now a wraith.
"I'm too tired for this," Eldin growled, forming an Yrden trap around the entire room to solidify the wraith before Renfri blasted him in the back with Aard.
Eldin streaked through the air to Longlocks, who he immediately decapitated before flipping and stabbing his sword into the floor to stop himself before he could break out through the wall. He sighed, standing and sheathing his sword, then looked around. Longlocks' body hung from the center of the tower, her own hair wrapped around her throat. Off to Eldin's left was her bed, and on a platter atop the bed rested the yellow bean. Eldin collected it, then walked out onto a balcony where Longlocks was supposed to let down her hair. Directly below him was the lake, so he said a quick prayer and dropped, splashing down hard. His whole body stung from the impact, but he'd survived, so he swam to the outer shore and sat down, groaning. A few minutes later, Aralyn and Renfri had followed his lead, and they sat there until Syanna reached them.
"So?" Syanna asked.
"Got the bean, but it seems Longlocks got tired of waiting for a knight in shining armor," Eldin said.
"Can you blame her?" Syanna asked. "Men these days...dandies and fops, all."
"Ouch," Eldin said.
"You're an exception," Syanna admitted. "But the rest of them can't be trusted to do anything. Including Dettlaff, it would seem."
"Was there ever a time you weren't using him?" Eldin asked.
"At first I was simply intrigued," Syanna admitted. "Do you know the story?"
Eldin and the others shook their heads.
"It was in Metinna, a few years past," Syanna recalled, diving into the full story.
She'd been selling loot to a fence and Dettlaff had arrived to sell a silver candlestick, which she had noticed he gripped only through a cloth. She followed him, but he noticed her, so he tried to scare her off. He failed, both due to her own past and also her intuition telling her he meant her no harm. She admitted to having enjoyed it at first, but quickly became tired of Dettlaff's affections, which she compared to an animal's. She admitted that she, as twisted as she was, could never have returned his feelings the same way, so she eventually disappeared, knowing he'd never understand concepts like 'Let's be friends,' or 'I don't deserve you.' Then, when she returned to exact revenge, finally, she remembered him and hatched the blackmailing plan.
"You were playing with fire," Aralyn commented.
"Definitely," Syanna nodded. "And either I'll get burned, or I'll burn everything else down. No other options."
"It may not be too late to just put the fire out," Eldin offered.
Syanna smiled. "And how should I do that?"
"It's what you tell Dettlaff," Eldin said. "Tell him partial truths to make what happened easier to accept."
"Such as?" Syanna asked.
"You did love him once, but your past experiences made your feelings fade until you saw him as a tool, which you then used to exact your revenge," Renfri answered. "You had never meant to hurt him, and you're sorry for using him."
"Not bad," Syanna nodded. "I'll give it a try, if he gives me time to speak before driving his claws through my chest."
"We won't let him hurt you," Renfri said determinedly. "And while we're talking about you, where'd you get that sword?"
The sword in question was strapped to her side next to Prince Charming's sword. It, like the Silver Sword they'd found, had a swept hilt knuckle guard, a brown contoured grip, a basic, round pommel, the ends of the cross guard's arms tipped with small balls, and a long, double-edged blade. It lacked the Silver sword's enchantments, but when Syanna drew it so that they could inspect it, Aralyn traced her finger along the blade, inscribing the same protection spell as all of their swords had, as she had done to the Silver Sword.
"What is it?" Syanna asked.
"A protection spell," Aralyn explained. "The blade will never dull, chip, break, or rust."
"Amazing," Syanna marveled. "Thank you."
She sheathed it again and nodded. "Time to plant the beans. This way."
She led them quickly to a small field next to the path to Longlocks' tower. Eldin moved to plant them, only for her to warn them all that the stalk sprouts very abruptly, then ran back behind a low stone wall to hide, bringing Renfri by the hand. Aralyn sighed, walking over to join them before Eldin tossed the beans in and ran, diving behind the wall with them as they all covered their heads. Except, nothing happened. After nearly a minute, they raised their heads to make sure Eldin had actually gotten the beans in the hole, but he had. They looked around at each other. Just as Eldin stood to go and check on them, however, the stalk exploded into the air, reaching the clouds within seconds, debris falling back to the ground for nearly three minutes.
"For a second I thought the beans had died," Aralyn admitted.
"So did I," Eldin nodded.
"The home stretch," Renfri said as they all stepped up to the stalk. "Now we just climb, then kill the giant, and then we're free."
"Yup," Eldin nodded. "After this, it's all easy shit. Stop an army of vampires, negotiate a peace with an immortal vampire who could probably kill us all, potentially pull a way to kill that same vampire out of my ass, and protect you all the while. Easy shit."
Syanna rolled her eyes, and they all began to climb. After several hours, they finally reached the top.
"Incredible," Eldin panted.
"Admire the view later," Syanna suggested, lying on her back with Renfri doing the same beside her. "First we must deal with-"
A roar rang out from inside the castle, the ground shaking.
"-him," Syanna finished, just as the giant came into view.
He was the same size as Goliat had been, wore an inverted woodstove as a helmet, had a pair of broken, silver cauldrons for shoulder guards, and carried a truly massive gardening hoe as a weapon. Eldin groaned, but drew his sword, the others scraping themselves up and doing the same, Syanna opting or Prince Charming's sword, then all charged. However, before they could reach him, the giant hopped into the air, curled up into a ball, and fell through the clouds covering the ground. Eldin frowned, tensing and turning outboard, the others all doing the same. For several seconds, there was silence. Then, the giant popped back up from behind Eldin, swinging its massive hoe down at him. Eldin dove into a roll, evading the giant's swing just as Aralyn, Renfri, and Syanna all struck. Syanna slashed its calf, bringing it to that knee, then Aralyn and Renfry both slashed the torso. The giant stood, roaring, and spun, swiping at them all, then began to turn as Eldin slashed. Its hoe crashed to the ground, its severed hand still clinging to it, and the giant roared in pain, slapping at him with the other hand, only for him to roll under it. Renfri stepped forward, stabbing the giant through the knee, and it roared, staggering away as Renfri ripped her sword back out. As it staggered back, Syanna slashed the back of its other knee, and the giant roared in pain, falling backward and crashing heavily to the ground. A moment later, Eldin and Aralyn both slashed and its head bounced and rolled away.
"Well done," Syanna commended. "You three are frightening."
"Comes with the territory," Eldin shrugged. "You, on the other hand, are also frightening. Who trained you to use a sword?"
"The former leader of the bandit gang that I, until very recently, led," Syanna said. "He chose to take me in, trained me, and taught me to be a bandit. He's the reason I survived."
"He taught you well," Eldin nodded. "I would have liked to meet him."
"He's long dead by now," Syanna shook her head. "He got a sword through the heart, then used the last of his strength to drag his opponent over a cliff."
"What was his name?" Eldin asked.
"Olgierd," Syanna said. "He was a Redanian military man turned bandit. And he was the best."
Eldin nodded, smiling. "He sounds amazing."
"He was," Syanna nodded.
"Well, the way is clear," Aralyn said. "Shall we get out of here?"
"Not yet," Syanna said, everyone turning back to her. "There's one more thing I need to do before we leave."
"What's that?" Eldin asked.
"I need you to help me with a simple matter," Syanna explained to Eldin. "You see, I do not know what awaits me outside of the Fablesphere, and though you have all vowed to protect me, Dettlaff still may kill me. Seeing as this may, in fact, be my last request, I shall make it simple. I need a man."
"No," Eldin said simply, though not unkindly. "Our plans after all of this includes trying to help save you from yourself and your past. Aralyn and I can't start that process as lovers. First you need to have friends."
"Aralyn and you?" Syanna asked. "What about..." she stopped as Renfri stepped up behind her, kissing the side of her neck and trailing her hands over Syanna's body. "Oh, I see."
"Will this work?" Renfri asked.
"This will do just fine," Syanna smiled. "I've done a lot of things, and it's nice to get to have one more first before I die."
Renfri grinned instantly as she realized that Syanna was referring to being with a woman. Then, Syanna shoved Renfri backward to the ground, only to mount her, kissing her hungrily before rolling to the side. Eldin tensed for a moment before he and Aralyn both heard the two of them laugh, then moan, and their clothing and weapons began to return a few articles at a time. Eldin and Aralyn collected them for them, folding them neatly and setting them atop a boulder that was visible through the clouds, so that Renfri and Syanna would know where they were. Then, they walked over to find a place to wait.
Leave a review.