Disclaimer: See Chapter One
A Story of Eighteen Years
by Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415
Deepground Revival Pt. 2 (Nokturne of the Deep I)
I quickly departed to get the others after Quara reassured me she would be fine and get to work on cleaning up the aftermath of the battle. It didn't take long for me to Erik and the girls in the marketplace. Felecia saw me running up, red-faced and out of breath. "Ezra? What's wrong?" She asked distraughtly. I bent over, hands on my knees as I took a moment to catch my breath. I huffed and puffed. I had beat my feet on the cobblestone roads of Mountain Glenn town as if my life had depended on it. Rather, I believed that theirs depended on it. After hearing that chittering asshole's chilling threats, I had expected the worst. Nothing had befallen them yet as they looked on in confusion. It was all thankfully hot air, thank the goddess.
Which goddess, you might ask? I would have even kissed Malenia's chilled unalloyed prosthetic feet if it meant their safety. That's how desperate I was for their safety.
"Ezra…?" she asked again, worry coloring her lovely aquamarine eyes. Kyana's flawless forest green eyes shone with concern, and Erik's sky-blue gaze made it a hattrick of anxious concern.
"You guys need to get home, right now," I said between breaths, gladly taking the skin of water Kyana offered me and dumping it down my throat, the magically chilled water felt very pleasing. "We had an unexpected guest and he decided to cause trouble for your mother and I. Said his name was Nero." I had never seen Erik's face go so red in my entire life. He looked seconds away from taking that massive great sword of his and turning into a full-on berserker of myth.
"Say that again? Say that again!" Erik snarled; his face contorted into a mask of rage. The girls instinctually shrank back in fear as he stamped forward. "You said NERO of all people showed up at our house?" Damn, those veins in his neck were going super throbby! The brief nod I gave him started an angry tirade of Redanian, Nilfgaardian, Elvhen, and a couple of other tongues I didn't recognize straight off. "Damn, that rat-faced, piece of shit cockbiting fucktard to the farthest circle of Gehenna! I'll cut his head off myself the next time I see him!" He was starting to attract the attention of the neighbors and so Felecia had to bring him back into line.
"I see you've had the displeasure of meeting him?" Felecia asked of her brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. Though, he wouldn't be so easily abated as he seethed, and shuddered like a man possessed by the spirit of crazed yellowed flamed. "I've heard not great things about him. Dad only put him down as the black sheep of the family, and wouldn't elaborate further when I pressed him for it."
"Yeah, Dad said the same thing. He told me to keep as far away from him as possible because he was a really bad guy." Kyana shivered, shaking her head away her head left, and right as if to be rid of the terrifying stories she'd be told.
"They were both putting it mildly!" Erik stamped his foot angrily, just looking about for something to skewer. He found nothing besides friends and family, so it was sadly a no-go as he was a man of morals. "The man is a full-blown psycho for hire with his personal crew, all equally depraved I might add! Bunch of pig men who gladly accept whatever scraps their boss throws at them. Rape, Mass Murder, and Kidnapping, they're notorious for it. They'll grab a few girls their age," he indicated to the girls, they shuddered in response. "Nero will have his way with them and then let the boys have their fun, and finally throw them into slavery for whatever paltry coin it can get them." He growled, a familiar haunted look reappearing in his eyes. "They were there at Thanedd that night. Luckily, I didn't have to interact with Nero directly, but I saw him, he was so eager for the carnage to come."
His fists squeezed, only for Felecia to hold them gently. He couldn't bring himself to meet his younger sister's eyes out of shame. "Remember when I told you about fleeing and seeing some servant girls be violated? It was Nero and his boys doing what they do best. They call it "porking" like it was some big joke to them. If I hadn't been such a coward that night, I would have happily buried my blade in his gut myself. So, the fact that he showed up at our house, and threatened our mother!" Erik had to will himself to calm down, clenching his jaw for a few moments. Do your breathing, Erik, I thought. "Yeah, I'm not in a good mood at all, Ezra. So how about we get back and see to this right now?"
I didn't say anything else to him, so we just returned home. Erik and Felecia looked so worried about their mother's state, but they shouldn't have. We returned and found Quara hard at work, manipulating three brooms at once as if she had not a worry in the entirety of the Queen Eternal's gold and green earth. The cleaning implements busily swept away the dust outside into three dustpans, Quara looked quite irritated at this chore. She sighed boredly as she witnessed one of the dustpans drop the ashen white substance into a swirling portal she had opened. Quara beamed at the sight of her children running up, her bright aquamarine eyes flashing with joy. "Mom…! A-Are you okay?!" Felecia blurted out hastily, stammering.
"But of course, dear," Quara shrugged eloquently as a member of the Elvhen race would, placing a dainty hand on the slight shoulder of her youngest. Felecia's anxiety deflated visibly, staring at her mother in both equal parts annoyance and relief. Quara would always be Quara, after all. This was but a trifle to somebody so long-lived. How many times had she faced death just like this, and smiled without a worry at the end? Only the goddess knows.
"Nothing Ezra and I couldn't handle. What? Did you expect me to become a pile of ashes? It's so cute both of you are worried about me!" She gifted me a grateful little half smile before her face resumed its earlier somehow gracefully grumpy demeanor. "But still, Nero definitely needs a major spanking for what he pulled here. Ezra sweetie, next time you see my dear nephew, kindly disembowel him and hang him up by his entrails for me, will you? I'll hook you up with Caela and Kyana if you manage to make it happen!" The gruesome image was a stark contrast to the sing-song way she mentioned it. Still, Mama Lamperouge smiled angelically. Cruelly. I didn't know whether I should feel honored by the offer, academically trolled, or scared shitless. "Let's be real my lovely Caela is a little weird for any other man to really get her. You two get along so well despite her many…let's say obsession with weird animals."
"Mom! I am not sharing Ezra with my sister!" Felecia exclaimed in protest, cheeks turning an embarrassed shade of Radagon red. A wave of her loosely balled fists added to the too-cute picture of mortification. Erik was doing his best not to laugh, covering up his mouth with both hands. He ended up with an elbow in the side from her for his trouble, not that he seemed to care that much. The poor guy needed something funny to focus on after hearing about the toxic arrival of his offender cousin.
Quara's brooms kept on sweeping with gusto, she smiled with glee at the consternation of her youngest daughter. "Oh, come on, honey. I'm sure he wouldn't mind being sandwiched between you girls. And really sweetie, I don't think you understand that our line has done far weirder things in the past, and I mean that quite literally. Marika married off her demigod stepkids to their half-siblings like they were door prizes at the local festival. You don't need to look any further than Godwyn and Ranni, or Malenia and Radahn. They were very good matches." She slightly grimaced, pausing for a minute to telekinetically will the pans to dump some devilish dust into the portal. I wasn't sure if that was out of mental exertion, or disgust. I know I felt the latter extremely right then. "At least before the Shattering War started."
"Mom!" Felecia whined again with the timber of a cat with her tail pulled, her face turning redder than before. Kyana gagged, holding her throat with her hands as if to signal she was choking. I clapped her on the back in camaraderie, and to make sure she wasn't dying. I shared the sentiment, fully as I felt the heat creeping into my cheeks as well. "I do not need that image in my head!"
Quara tutted at us, the brooms kept eagerly sweeping as if they wished to be oblivious to this thrice-damned topic. "Honey, you hardly have any ground to stand on. You're already distantly related to Ezra," reminding us quite pleasantly, pointing between us both with two fingers. "I'm pretty confident he's also a great-great something of Enno's so that part is already taken care of. Besides I wouldn't have Ezra make hanky panky to the both of you if you were half siblings. I do have some standards after all, and I want the bloodline to remain strong. Inbreeding is simply not cool!" It just seemed wrong to hear an elf sage hundreds of years old call something "not cool". But Quara was someone who could make it work like eloquent poetry.
"Uh, I won't do that, even if I do think Caela is very attractive," I said quickly, not wanting to raise the ire of either Quara's children. Erik was still trying to stifle his laughter, and Felecia looked so darn cute when she pouted at me. Kyana just sought to admire the grass, pretending to simply be elsewhere.
Quara let the brooms continue their eager pursuit of uncleanliness in all of its sinfulness, she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Then what are the chances Kyana is in the cards then?" The Lamperouge matriarch mused aloud as if she spoke of what to have for brunch, it was then her gaze was fixed on Kyana and me. A discomforting grin spread across her face. I couldn't tell if she was plotting, or merely trolling. It definitely was a little bit of collum A, and B. There was no need to be naïve and think otherwise. "There's a good chance Radagon's blood flows in her a little bit since she has that bright red hair," that grin got toothier by the moment. Suggestively so. "I've heard you always had a taste for redheads? So, what's holding you back? Go for broke!"
Kyana let out a surprised cute little squeak. It was then her turn to go all redder than her rust-colored hair. She was going to say something in protest with Felecia, but big brother cut them off.
Erik just sighed resignedly, knowing where this was truly going. "Mom might speak in bloodlines, but I think she just wants grandkids to spoil." His whole body ceased as his mother's well-aimed stare fell squarely on him.
"Aw Erik!" Quara cooed, clearly amused by her son. She let out a titter. "So nice of you to bring that up! Why do I need to rely on Ezra to do everything there? Let me give you that friendly reminder that you have a role to play as well for ensuring my happiness as well, sweetheart." Heh, now it was Erik's turn to be on the hot seat, Felecia and Kyana both giggled at the exasperated sigh the eldest Lamperouge sibling gave as he shook his head.
"I just never found the right girl, Mom." He kept his face neutral. Still, I could tell by the annoyance shimmering in his blue eyes that he already was done. This was his standard response for the subject, but Quara was not having it. She gave him a motherly pat on the cheek.
"Oh, then you're in luck. I can save you the trouble. I'm pretty sure the local lord's daughter has had her eyes on you for years." Erik stiffened, averting his gaze. Quara grinned, that toothy smile impishly deviant. "Or maybe you prefer girls who are older? I mean I know she's only a year older than your sister. Maybe that's a turn-off for you then." Erik sighed, again torn from wanting to beat his head against the wall or just hiding in a dark hole. I came up to pat him on the shoulder, a true moment of brotherhood. Quara came up to her eldest, giving him a light kiss on the head. He looked off to the side trying his best to hide his embarrassed reaction.
"Oh, my sweet firstborn," Quara said in a gentle singsong voice, closing her eyes gently. Quara affectionately ran a hand through his light-colored hair. "I've never put a lot of emphasis on age, given that your father is way younger than me. All that matters to me is that you are satisfied dear." Erik in turn gave his mother a light hug which she returned quite eagerly. "Now that I've relentlessly teased all of you, I can get back to the business at hand." She broke off from that moment of sweet contact, making a swift sweeping gesture with her hands. Several more brooms swooped in from the house with a thud from the door house, joining in on the work in earnest.
"Mom, what's with all the brooms and sweeping in the portal?" Felecia finally asked as the ballet of telekinetic sweeping continued on. She eyed them with suspicion, knowing Mommy dearest was likely up to something beyond the pale.
"Nero left a huge mess when he showed up. Honestly, I don't know what he was thinking by summoning that horrid beast. Then again, he wasn't exactly high on the ladder when it came to common sense anyway." The second dustbin dropped the ash into the portal and a small lick of flame came out for a fraction of a second. She sighed loudly, clearly irritated by all the extra work. "If we don't clean this up quickly, then it could have bad repercussions down the line."
The brooms kept sweeping up dust and the dustpans kept cycling their contents into the swirling portal, gouts of blue flame licked the air. I know I could feel the heat on my skin from here. "Especially if you breathe in the corrupted Maso particles these things are composed of. It can poison your very souls." She continued sweeping more of it up, and dumping the dust into the portal, which belched out a huge flame and a noxious odor. Smelling of fire and brimstone. That wasn't a portal to the underworld itself, was it…?
"It's why it's so critical for a mage to be on site when such things happen to ensure a proper cleanup," she explained lightly, running touching her pointed ear as they twitched.
"Then I guess it's a good thing we have that covered." Erik quipped, crossing his arms about his chest, watching as the mental dance of the brooms danced in their cleaning ritual unabated. Indeed, who better than one of the oldest living elves in all of Midgard? If anyone knew how to handle such a situation, then it would be Quara Lamperouge. Another dustpan load went into the orifice, and another small gout of otherworldly flame shot out the hole to hell itself. "Definitely gives salting the earth a whole new meaning."
"What kind of demon did that psycho even summon in the first place?" I asked thoughtfully, massaging my chin. My brain had gone back to every text I had read and there was never any note about skeletal-looking crustaceans. "What circle of Hell did that thing crawl out of?" Quara said nothing, instead, she finished sweeping, she raised her hand balling it into a blunt fist. All of the brooms simultaneously snapped with a sickening crack. They were all deposited into the hellish portal along with the dustpans, which closed with a visible pop and a slight sulfuric odor to the air.
"How about we go inside? These are matters of an adult nature and the entire neighborhood doesn't need to hear about it." We dutifully trooped in behind here and all took seats at the table. Despite her youthful looks, Quara seemed every bit her lengthy age. Her delicate nails rapped against one of the golden snake-shaped bracelets on her other arm. A snake? Yeah, even a godless heretic like me knew it was an anathema to the Erdtree. "A part of me laments the fact that Mark and Caela both couldn't be here for this, given how major it is." Quara touched her face with one hand, bemoaning the lack of backup from the other capable members of the family "But Mark is in Scandinavia right now and Caela is with Princess Alisha in the capital right now."
Erik and Felecia both reacted to this bit of news. "Dad's up north? I thought he was going south to fight the Nilfs in Grell." Erik said, shaking his head. Felecia likewise had a disbelieving expression. Kyana looked on with worry. What could that have meant? It was a surprise to hear that the Crimson Fox was in the realm of the Nords, but it was that other name that caught my attention.
"Caela is with Alisha?" I said in rising anger at myself, feeling the guilt, the sheer stupidity of my actions, needle my heart further. "Then that means she was in Vizima at the same time we were." Wow, I was really kicking myself at that moment. I was so blinded by my rage and anger that I missed a chance to see her. I looked at the Lamperouge Siblings; Felecia's eyes were making it a point to focus on the table. Kyana simply muttered. "Awkward." Before nudging Erik in the side, giving him a pleading glance. "Uh, you're way better equipped at explaining this than I am. Best do it now before he lights us on fire!"
Quara saved him the trouble, gesturing at her children to calm themselves. I wasn't going to burn down the house over something like this. Geez. "The simple truth is we were trying to put a spy in Hawthorne's court. Caela volunteered for this critical mission. She basically hit the jackpot by getting in with an Imperial Princess who didn't want you dead. Many see your Crest as a threat, but there's also an equal number who see it as a huge asset. Especially since I learned some juicy information about goings on in the court. The Greater Will and the Temple have declared four new candidates to take the throne Marika left empty, and Alisha just happens to be one of them."
Now that was big news. The vacancy at the top of the heavens was about to be filled. But Quara wasn't finished. "And with a new queen, that means a new Elden Lord is also needed." She eyed me, a slight frown of disproval on her face. "A position you could have filled if you had just been nicer to Alisha and given her a chance. I hate to say it, Ezra honey, but you thoroughly screwed the pooch on that one!"
I growled slightly, my hands on the table curling into fists. "With all respect, I have no desire to become Elden Lord at all. It's only right to point out that we're trying to bring down the Golden Order. This sounds like it's anathema to that mission. Besides which…" I trailed off, taking ahold of Felecia's soft hand for gentle emphasis, a gesture that brought about a surprised gasp and red cheeks from her. "I don't love Alisha like that. I would never betray your daughter for something as petty as power."
Quara wasn't impressed, she folded her arms and gave a truly icy stare. It was the coldest I had ever seen her in all the time I had known the Lamperouges. "As flattered as I am you think that way, let's be realistic Ezra," Quara's eyes had the chill glint of a winter's moon in her eyes. I truly felt cowed, but I tried my best not to show how off-kilter I felt. I merely stared back, calling all my years with which I had been in the face of death. There were worse things in the world, I reminded myself. "You have no chance of beating Hawthorne as you are right now. He is a demigod, an original from before the Shattering War no less. The High King is just plain on another level from everyone else. Trying to fight him in the traditional methods would be far too costly. Would you be willing to sacrifice them in the name of revenge?" She indicated to her children and niece with a graceful flick of her finger.
The Lamperouge Matriarch's gaze softened a little, gentle sympathy, perhaps pity, in that expression. Compassion was a virtue, but it was merely a cold comfort here. "I hate to say it, Ezra, but playing the game of thrones may be your best bet. If you throw in with one of the candidates, then that gives you a huge advantage. A vassal goddess is not complete without her lord husband by her side. And if anyone has a chance to succeed as the next Elden Lord, it is you, because you bear the crest of Enno. Alisha or any of the other girls would wet themselves at the thought of having your potential at their disposal. You could be on the same level as Radagon and Godfrey." Her eyes became hard as the cold blue surface of the moon again. I could see she meant business as she lectured me further. "But you can't do anything about it if you're a rotting corpse!"
I'll give Quara credit where it's due, that gaze of hers can bore right into your very soul. I was having difficulty keeping eye contact with her. But I could see this for what it was, a test of my resolve. So, I kept my composure. I knew the answer I was going to give her, and nothing was going to convince me otherwise. "I still won't take that path. It's much too obvious. With all due respect, Lady Quara." I threw that harsh tone on "lady" on purpose to let her know I meant business in return. "I refuse to take anything just handed to me."
I was on a roll now. I was going to take this momentum to the end. I took all speech craft training into account. Hopefully, I would roll a perfect natural twenty. "I won't compromise my morals for the easy shortcut. I won't bend my knee, much less prostrate myself before a god who thinks she can chuck some fancy title at me and expect to rest on my laurels after the fact. That's just begging for complacency of the worst kind. It's why things have gotten so bad in Midgard in the first place. The Shattering itself is a result of it. No one was willing to stand up and take accountability for it. They liked to believe things were so perfect and deluded themselves. I won't be that kind of man who deludes himself as being a god because his bloodline dictated his lot. That's wishful thinking of the worst kind."
Test. Passed. If the very wide smile Quara was giving me was any indication. Her progeny felt the same way. Felecia mirrored her mother's reaction, she squeezed my hand to further show her approval in concert with that brilliant smile. "If that's the case, then I won't accept the easy answers either. Ezra's path is my path." Her eyes shone with her love for me as she made that declaration, it's really too sweet how much devotion she had for me. "We'll struggle together and change the world for the better, Mom. Just watch us do it!"
"You heard that right!" Kyana chirped, her green eyes glowing with new hope.
"I'm certain we can do it, Mom." Erik nodded strongly. He was on board as well. Could always depend on my half-elf brother from another mother.
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear from you, from all of you. Because you will need each other for the trials ahead." Quara was aglow with pride towards us all, her warm eyes sweeping over us all. "You will need the greatest force of will because we are chasing after the foulest and unholiest of magics. The place we're going is amongst the darkest shadows of the Earth. It's not Gehenna, but it's as close as you can get within this plane of existence."
"In ancient times there was a race called the Nox. They were detestable creatures who had no issues crossing lines any sane man, elf, or dwarf would not even dare to approach. They were willing to violate every natural law in their pursuit of playing god." The pained grimace on Quara's face disturbed her ethereal beauty. Paused for a moment, steeling herself to continue recounting the lurid tale. "Savages," she said with chill disdain in her voice. "The whole lot of them, eagerly warping creation away from God's intended path. A war broke out between light and darkness itself, the Nox obviously being the latter. Their creations wrought incredible havoc during this conflict, the Godskins and the Gloam Eyed Queen being the most infamous, but there were others."
"So, they're just really nasty monsters then?" Felecia asked slowly, a look of befuddlement on her pretty face. "Not like we don't have experience with those already."
"Oh no, Felecia dear." Mama Quara said patiently in reply, shaking her head slowly. "These aren't just mere monsters. They are the monsters other monsters fear. Demons transcended into physical form, they've taken the flesh of human and beast alike into their very essence. It's given them the power to shapeshift, like a doppler, but even more insidious." She resumed after a long pause; everyone was entranced by her very words. "The Nox also created weapons of incredible destructive strength, forged from the darkest magics and a total perversion of alchemical knowledge. They have the ability to kill vassals of the Greater Will, namely the flesh and blood gods like Hawthorne, who are subject to the one above. All the others are merely extensions of her kingdom."
"The Nox's transgressions brought about an equally heavy punishment. I'm sure you heard of the destruction of the great cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, rife with sin. What the Nox did was so severe they paid a very heavy price for it. Their great cities were caught up in a massive earthquake and sent plunging into the depths of the Earth itself, taking these godslaying weapons with them." She pulled out the pouch I took from Nero during the battle, showing everyone the map. It was a map of an unfamiliar place, aged many moons from the ratty appearance alone. It said "Siofra River" in Angelic text translated from some worn text I did not recognize. Curious, it wasn't Enochian. Nor was it ancient Lumirean. "And now Nero has a map to one of those lost cities, I'm not sure who he's working for, but if they know where such a weapon is located, then we cannot let them have it."
"I don't see why it's a problem," I asked with a frown, not completely understanding how it was our problem. "I mean, if someone is against Hawthorne that just helps us, right?"
"Yes, but if those weapons can kill anything, then they're going to go straight after him. If these unknown forces gain access to them, what's to stop them from killing Hawthorne before you do? Or gods forbid get their hands on the Elden Ring itself?" Yeah, kind of hard to argue with that logic. With all this said, some things all started to come together in my head. I got up from the table for a minute and went to my room, I came back with a certain bell in hand. Wordlessly I offered it to her, and she picked it up with a strong degree of reverence…and familiarity. Quara looked at it fondly. "Now that takes me back. She doesn't give that to just anyone."
"So it was actually Ranni who visited me last night." It wasn't a question. Quara fiddled with one of the rings on her hand. "Let me ask, Quara," I insisted, leaning forward with my hands on the table. "If the moon goddess did visit me, what did she want with me in the first place, and what connection do you really have to her?"
"An old friend, and my former boss." Quara carelessly shrugged, answering with no amount of hesitation. "Lady Ranni and I were co-conspirators back in the day. I was her liaison between Lady Ranni, the rest of her siblings, and Queen Marika herself. I have no problem saying outright that I directly interacted with every demigod and full god on her behalf, which was far more often than I'd like to admit." A light giggle escaped her lips tenderly. "But Lady Ranni did enjoy her books and studies, and plotting. Especially her plotting." But the somberness in her tone returned, her beautiful Elvhen features darkening. "But that all came to a crashing halt a hundred and twenty years ago. I'm sure all of you know of this little party, the Night of the Black Knives."
Kyana shuddered, knowing the stories of that stygian night by heart. "So much divine blood was shed that night. It was a butchering of the worst kind. A slaughter without mercy!"
"We've all heard the stories of what went down. How a bunch of nut jobs attacked the gods with the obsidian knives that could actually kill them." Erik added bluntly, gesturing dismissively. "Mom made sure of that when she was schooling when we were younger."
"It was all depressing, to say the least. Losing so many gods was bad enough but it was Godwyn's death that set Marika off and made the Elden Ring go poof." Felecia said clinically. She'd been through the history of this horrific night of demise inside and out. It was basically like examining the aftermath of a crime scene. Over one hundred and twenty years after the fact, that is.
"The event is a defining moment in history, and I'm just willing to bet that you had a direct hand in planning it along with Ranni herself." I indicated with the bell, it rang clearly and softly. Quara beamed wryly, giving me a slow, thudding clap.
"You are a sharp boy, Ezra. That's why I like you so much. But I'm sure all of you have suspected it in some small way." She indicated to all four of us with a casual wave of the hand, that sardonic smile turned grim. Blackly so. "I haven't exactly been secretive about it to you kids. I've dropped enough hints that I have been up to shady dealings in the past. Well, let me tell you the game of thrones was even worse back then. All the games Hawthorne is playing right now pale in comparison to the kind of nonsense that Marika herself was up to. She would play all kinds of games with her children and stepchildren; she'd put them at odds with each other. Make them jockey for her attention."
Quara looked to each of us in turn, one at a time. It was like no time had passed whenever she'd personally teach us, giving Devola and Popola some much-needed time off. "For Marika, these games were a crucible of sorts, all of the weakness would be burned away to forge the perfect heir. Marika may have been queen eternal, but that wouldn't always be true. Everyone has their expiration date, even her. And let's be fair, her age had gone sour a very long time ago. Change was long overdue, but there was no chance of a peaceful transition. There would be no justice, no peace, without blood to slake the tree's thirst."
I had never thought a proper woman like Quara Lamperouge could look so hateful at that moment, the venomous sneer her lips were curled into. She reared her head back, and spat on the floor with a sound, wet noise. It was a nasty thing. Viscous, and full of phlegm. Truly a thing of malice.
"Mom!" Felecia exclaimed in surprise, not expecting the surliness of her mom either.
Erik grumbled, quietly eying his mom's leavings with disgust. "All that mopping is ruined now."
"Forget the mopping, honey." Quara snapped, making a foul gesture. I shouldn't describe it for the sake of Mikhail. "It's time you learned some hard truths. Remember why your father and I never sent you to Sunday School at the temple?" They both nodded at this. Although, Felecia winced, not believing her precious eyes and ears. "There's your answer. I absolutely refused to have my children exposed to such a toxic, rotten ideology. It's all a tremendous lie, and it will stay a lie no matter how pretty it is. It's a false religion propped up by false gods, and there's no way I'd let you kowtow to it!" The passion in her voice rose again and it was shocking to see how mad Quara could get. She didn't even lose her composure like this when we were fighting against Nero.
Felecia was gob-smacked, mouth agape. "I've never heard you express these feelings before, Mom. It's just so unlike you. Then again, you and Dad always did encourage us to figure out our own beliefs."
"Mom and Dad weren't always yoked in the same place when it came to their faith at first either, little sis. I'm not surprised because I've seen this all before." Erik was calm in that moment, glancing over at his younger sister. Kyana only looked on quietly, not seeming surprised at it at all. I can only imagine the tirades Ioran went on. "Mom simply didn't say anything to you because she didn't want you to see her ugly side." Quara smiled at her son for a moment, but I could see a flash behind Quara's eyes, a primal flare of molten gold. I knew at that moment that Quara truly was a descendant of the Golden Lineage. It occurred to me that despite sharing blood with Marika, she genuinely hated the woman and the entire order she helped build.
"Why do you feel this way, Mama?" Felecia asked plaintively, hoping to find out. The day had been full of intense revelations, and a side of her mother she hadn't expected. I could see the agony, darkness, and fear in her eyes.
But Quara merely held her hand up, before giving Felecia a gentle kiss on the forehead. "You aren't ready to know, honey." She said quietly. "I haven't been ready for a long time myself. I'll say this much though. Lady Ranni pulled me from a very dark place in my soul. She is the reason I'm the woman I am today." The motherly smile they knew so well came back. The golden flashing in her eyes no longer held anger. Only a deep well of overcast sadness was present. "In fact," she offered a melancholy smile. "You could say she's the reason you were even born on some levels."
Clearly, there was more going on than what Quara was saying, but she didn't want to discuss it. I figured it was better not to press that issue. I decided to focus more on my little moonlight chat with Ranni. "At least she means well for me then. That ghost puppet the night before was Ranni the Lunar Princess," I looked distantly out the window at the very spot I sat next to Ranni on the fence. I felt a sense of deep, melancholic longing. For a place, and a time I never knew. I didn't know why I felt this. "It was a very strange meeting. Both moons were out last night," I nodded to myself, pressing the sad feeling in me down. I would likely start weeping if I focused on it. I instead focused my will, gazing straight at Quara. I had questions that needed answers. "It's practically a signpost for magical activity. The witching hour for all wizards who practice Glintstone Sorcery. Ranni's the patron of that branch of magic. So what does she want with me?"
Quara's eyes took on a little bit of that distant playfulness we knew from earlier. Certainly, relaxed Felecia and Erik to see their mother like that again. She took hold of my hand. "I wish I could give you a straight answer, Ezra," I saw way her pointed ears twitched slightly. It was Felecia's tell, and it was her mother's tell as well. "It really could be anything. If I had to be honest, Lady Ranni was always like a thief in the night with her comings and goings. I imagine she had come to see me, but instead, you were the one she zeroed in on. You should be really honored that milady spoke with you and gave you that bell to use."
She did mention it would be useful down the line in summoning spirits of some kind. Maybe Quara has some books on the subject. "As far as her intentions. I think it should be pretty obvious, Ezra," she informed me, a matter of factly. It was completely the answer. Quara was just deflecting with half-truths. "You're the spitting image of her beloved brother. Lord Enno used two swords and he was known as a master pyromancer who created several new spells, and of course, his crest stood out. As far as Ranni is concerned you tick off all the boxes of being his successor."
Quara sniffled a little. "Not that it means anything good. There have been many contenders for his position and power over the last hundred years. And as sad as it is for me to say, they all met very untimely ends. Prince Jan of the Rosensteins was killed way before his prime by a coven of vampiric assassins. Lord Raithwall the Dynast King, he was killed in mortal combat by no one less than Hawthorne himself. It's a mantle of demise, just like Enno himself in the end. He spent four millennia inflicting death on Marika's enemies before he fell. it all came back to him eventually, that is karma."
"Although Ranni still sees something in Ezra. It's like she picked him to be her personal champion." Kyana intently looked on to me with a serious expression. It was truly a beautiful thing to see my girl's forest green eyes glimmering with such great conviction. It made me feel like I indeed could overcome anything. "Maybe it's a sign the cycle can be broken."
Despite the hopeful words, it was clear that neither of the girls liked hearing about that, it was a premonition that something bad could happen to me. I didn't find it comforting. Yet, I knew I couldn't stand by idly. I had a journey to walk, and nothing would stop me despite the dangers. It didn't matter to me if I had to face the next god of the coming age. I had to find my dear mother. There was simply no going back to me.
"It won't happen on my watch." Erik declared, his fist tightly clenching on the tabletop. Ah, good man, Erik. His time with Rodger aside hadn't dampened his loyalty to those he really cared about. I didn't miss the little smile Quara gave them. The children were being tested by their mother as well. And judging from the hopeful smiles on Felecia and Kyana's faces, they were finding their resolve as well.
"I'll be there for Ezra too!" Kyana declared, leaning forward in her seat. A bright look of hopeful determination on her face. "He won't have to endure this trial on his own." She looked so cute when she was determined. Of course, she also had the skill to back up those words, so I'm pretty sure Kyana wasn't going to buckle under the slightest hint of pressure. Rose may have only seen some wild jungle girl, but I knew Kyana had a huge heart and wouldn't back down from any fight.
"All three of us will be," Felecia shared the sentiment, her tiny hand tightening about mine. The warmth of it bolstered my confidence and my determination at once. "You can count on it, Ezra." Oh wow, if I didn't think those ocean-green eyes could be any more dazzling. Felecia was a true beauty, indeed the spitting image of her mother, her eyes awash happiness, shining with her love for me. I couldn't be worthy of someone so loving and kind. But the evidence to the contrary was literally staring me in the face. I took Felecia's hand and gently kissed it, awarding me with that beautiful smile. Her cheeks glowed a great shade of bloody tomato red. Blooming like a sanguine rose of passionate love.
I cleared my throat, feeling embarrassed by all the attention was getting. My cheeks warmed despite my gladness as I scratched at them. "I'm glad that we've all affirmed our loyalties to each other, but I think it's more important to be getting to the actual task at hand. Quara," my countenance became grim, trying to emphasize the actual point with the coolness of my voice. "If Nero is after this god-killing weapon, then it's probably going to be a good idea for us to call in some extra help. I don't see us getting to the bottom of this problem with just the five of us, but perhaps Fianna and her crew could be of help to us? I'm sure Rose would be willing to lend her sword as well if I ask her really nicely."
All three of them grimaced at the fact Rose would be tagging along with us. Kyana shook her head, trying her best to hide the fact that she didn't want to speak of our local source of frustration. "Okay, so just to recap, there's some super powerful weapon that can kill a god in a city deep underground, and we have to keep my psychopath of an, let me emphasize adopted, brother from acquiring it. I suppose after dealing with the likes of Wolf Queen, it's just another day on the job for us. But I do have to ask, how are we getting there, Aunt Quara?"
"There's only one way to reach the cities of the Nox" Quara answered, her beautiful, soft Elvhen features the epitome of dire seriousness. Like the chiseled statue of a dignified goddess. The way her hair glowed gold in the sunlight convinced me that she was indeed a descendant of the eternal queen herself. The depictions I had seen of Queen Marika at the great temple in the capital were very comparable to real life. "We need to take to the Deepground. It's a vast network of tunnels that runs all throughout the depths of the earth, it's practically a second home to the dwarves. It can take us to where we need to go. But it will be treacherous, to say the least, children. All kinds of dangers pervade this unending labyrinth. Even the most seasoned of adventurers are cautious when they enter the depths of this realm."
She spoke of this place with a great reverence, maybe even a hint of fear. Then again she likely knew what she was talking about, so it was best to take Quara at her word.
"Is there an entrance to this place nearby? Is there any kind of map to the Deepground? A way to navigate it?" Felecia asked, her voice colored by a cool professionalism. The treasure hunter I knew so well was coming out in full force. The gears in her head were already turning. Despite her usual excitement at exploring what could be the mother of all dungeons, she wasn't short-sighted about the dangers Quara had brought up. She was trying to prepare herself for what could be down there. The Lamperouge matriarch was pleased with her daughter taking it seriously.
Nonetheless, I could feel the excitement radiating off of Felecia. This was our first big adventure together. She tenderly held my hand, and I returned it with a loving squeeze. We would face the dangers of whatever lay ahead. Together.
"To answer your first question, sweetie," Quara started, a pleased smile turning the corners of her mouth upward. "The closest entrance to us is located in a mine shaft not too far from here. It belonged to the local lords ages ago. They made Demihumans mine all matter of magic minerals, Glintstone chief among them, but there was also gold and various gems. But one day they found a real treasure—a hidden elevator to the Deepground. And to answer your second question, daughter, there is no singular map, the Deepground hasn't been charted at all. Most of it was long a couple of centuries ago. The Conjunction of the Spheres caused massive shifts, I've heard rumors that whole cities were placed in great hollows in the earth. The Dwarves connected these caverns with numerous tunnels as a way to connect their Thaigs, their underground cities, the various underground colonies scattered about, together."
"So, in other words, it could spread for miles and miles in all directions and we'd have no idea of how to get there," Erik stated, looking very unenthusiastic all of a sudden. "Forgive me for being pessimistic, Mom. But I like to think I'm being practical when I say it could take days to find this place if we're going in blind."
"Weeks or months would be more accurate, son," Quara allowed, giving her eldest son a small nod of her head. The glint in her eyes indicated she knew we didn't. "Which is time we simply do not have. There are stories of parties being lost in the Deepground, going around in circles, and running into numerous dead ends before meeting their end in any number of unpleasant ways." Quara wasn't mincing words with this, clearly establishing what to expect. "The danger is very real, and we'll all need to bring our A games if we do not want to die."
"It sounds like we'd need to make some very heavy preparations if we're going down there for any extended period of time." Kyana piped up, a steely look in her green eyes. Her hands curled into fists in her lamp anxiously. "Are there any preparations we can make to maybe improve our chances?" I silently concurred with that. If this Deepground was as dangerous as Quara said, we'd need every edge we could muster. It wasn't like we were just going down there for a nice picnic.
"Normally it would take months to plan out such an expedition, but we aren't looking to rediscover some Thaig that's been lost to time. We have a clear idea of what to look for and where." Quara indicated to the map; her lithe finger traced along the path. Her Carian blue-painted fingernail of her right pointer finger gleamed in the light. "With this, It's a straight-on shot. The lords just sealed the place off because it was too dangerous to be open all the time. But I'm willing to bet Nero has already unsealed it."
"I guess we'll have to get Fianna and her crew on board," I said cautiously, purposefully leaving out the part about Rose, given how she had rubbed all three Lamperouges the wrong way. I had a theory that now she had awakened her Crest, it meant that she had the potential to grow beyond being a helpless prostitute. Rose just needed a chance to develop that potential, and this trip could be a good way to start drawing it out. I just needed time to help her with it.
(Fianna's POV)
One thing I look for whenever we roll into a new town is the local watering hole. If there's a pub, tavern, or any kind of dive, I'll be attracted to it like a moth to a flame. Luckily the Dry Willow is my kind of place. It's lacking the usual filth found in the places you'd find in big cities like Vizima or Novigrad. It had a very rustic air about it, almost like a hunting lodge, which fits the motif of the rest of the town. Now I can say that while the rest of Ezra's crew may have never liked Rose all that much, I actually took the time to get to know her. We had a bottle of fine mead on the table and were really getting into it.
"So how does it feel slipping free of the shackles of bondage, Rosie? I suppose you're grateful to Ezra for paying for your freedom from that horse-face bimbo." Rose snorted, knocking back the whole tankard in one gulp. I bet that wasn't the only kind of swallowing Rose was capable of doing. Hehe.
Her face was more than a little red, given how much she had already imbibed. I drank far more sedately, for my plan was going along perfectly. One thing I had come to learn about Rose in the short time we were on the road was that despite her acerbic demeanor, she was also very insecure and hid behind an icy mask. Honey, let me tell you there's no better way to melt that mask than watering them down. She was singing like a bird after that.
"He's a stupid, snowflake moron! Taking all the time to gather that money and use his bad poetry to impress me!" Rose's voice slurred, struggling to keep her head up. She slammed the tankard down with a loud thud, causing the nearby patrons to wince. Damn, girl, I thought. Way to lay it on thick. "If he wanted me so badly, he should have taken that dumb sword of his and stuck it in the hag's face and forced her to give me over to him!" She started pouring more alcohol from a nearby pitcher, a lascivious, distorted half grin on her face. "Yeah, that's all it would have taken to win me over! None of that prissy pussyfooting around! Take me at sword point and then throw me on the bed and fuck me senseless! That's the way to go!"
Rose threw back another tankard in one long-winded chug, I could hear the slurping of the alcohol. Rose finally finished, quite loudly burping. Once again causing the patrons to look on in horror. Rose didn't give a shit, though. No, she looked proud of her lack of manners. It normally would have repulsed anyone else but hey, I'm special. If it's a girl as hot as Rose, I couldn't help allowing it.
Noa being Noa, just looked on with more than disapproval at her words, and lack of manners. It was plain disdain with the haughty ennui she so presented herself with. "And that's not a horrible idea at all. If he had done that, everything would have been jeopardized," Noa said cuttingly, tenderly sipping at her wine. The picture of composure. The exact opposite of our not-so-delicate white lily. "I applaud Ezra for playing the long game. He's not impulsive or stupid enough to think he could have just liberated you." One thing about Noa I love is her cutting wit, the way she emphasized "liberated" was perfect! "From the Datura without serious consequences. And besides, who would have guessed that you would end up with a Crest? That's a one-in-a-million shot right there. You've won the magical lottery, Rose. So, congrats. You're considered one of the Erdtree's blessed now."
This sobered Rose up a little bit, coming back to herself. given how her eyes hardened, I would say she was ready to throw down. Rose leveled a glare at my long-time friend and partner. Also, later solemn sister in Ezra lovin'. "You want to take this outside?" She hissed, hand going for the cutlass hanging at her hip. Noa looked unperturbed. I knew she'd win a fight between them even if Rosie had been completely sober anyway. But I decided to play peacemaker, no point in causing trouble.
"Pax, girls. Pax." Rose shot me a look of confusion; I spoke plain Common Tongue. "By that, I mean "behave yourselves"." I interceded in a smooth tone, waving my two delicate fingers in their respective directions. "We're all pals here, there's no need to rock the wagon." Rose scowled and stuck her nose in the air, figuring it wasn't worth it. Noa allowed herself a slight half-smile as she took another drink. Again, I knew that Rose didn't stand a chance against Noa as she was at that moment. The former prostitute sighed, running her finger through the honey-colored liquid. She stirred it with a thoughtful expression on her delicate features. Suddenly looking like a statue of the poised, immaculate eternal queen herself. I saw why the Wolf Queen said she had the beauty comparable to one. Yeah, was easy to say I was more than taken with her by this point. Ezra had a good eye, indeed. Part of the multitude of reasons why I love him so.
"Let me ask one thing of you, Fianna," she asked quietly, staring into the drink in her hand as she swirled the amber liquid with one pale, slight finger. A chaotic whirlpool of gold. Perhaps an image comparable to the primordial Grace of old.
"You said I was blessed, what the fuck does that even mean anyway? I sure as hell didn't feel blessed beforehand. In fact, I'd dare say that old hag, Marika, hated my ass until right now." She took her finger out and sucked on it suggestively for a long moment, and I'll just say it was real hot! A couple of the other patrons certainly thought so, given I caught the men leering at her out of the corner of my eye. Rose noticed it took, rolling her eyes, before thinking for no more than a decisive moment. She smirked, holding up her fingers while pale blue lighting danced on them. This made the men pale in fright. She wasn't some vulnerable little girl anymore. Slay, queen. Slay.
"On the other hand, now I get to decide who to fuck and where I go to do it. No one can tell me otherwise. My freedom gave me this power, and power feels good. I'll tell you both that much." Her smirk turned into a distorted devious arc of devilish depravity. The opposite Grace. It was a look of chaos. I was all here for it. "And I suppose I have Ezra to thank for this little gift of mine. If the idiot wants a good fuck and suck, I suppose I'll sling a freebie his way, he's earned that much. I'll show him a night that hot pants elf could only ever dream of."
Noa shook her head, but I waved her off dismissively. That brown hair swaying gracefully as she did it. It wasn't worth it. She just let out a long-winded sigh, one I was all too familiar with, taking another drink of her tenderly aged red wine. "According to legend," Noa explained gently, trying not to let her annoyance show. She swirled the drink in her glass as Rose had done before. More so resembling the primitive red grace of the Crucible, I believed. "Crests are made of starlight, shards of the Elden Ring made into power by the Greater Will for her chosen, those she considered worthy. A long time ago, Rose, the Erdtree went through this phase where it made sap. That sap was part of a blessed sacrament Marika handed down to her followers. Those apostles, at first, were her many husbands."
Rose grunted, pouring herself more mead while Noa continued. "They became gods, blessed with the gift of magic as a result. And they put children in her in exchange. Those children became demigods, one and all, as it is written. Deus vult, as the priests of Marika, would put it. Well now, you're as god willed it. Blessed because some demigod probably plowed one of your ancestors on a drunken lark."
This made Rose laugh, it was quiet, even a little melancholy, in this moment she was letting her true self out. "Heh, sounds about fucking right. Ironic if anything else. Maybe they were the demigod of hookers, certainly makes sense given my profession, or former one at least." She snorted. "Well, I suppose in the end it doesn't matter. I've got power and freedom, and my booze. So is there anything else a girl needs? I don't think so!" Noa and I could both drink to that, we clinked our mugs together and relished a quiet moment.
But if anyone knows me well enough, it won't stay quiet for very long. According to the Fox kids, this was a relatively sleepy burg, so it needed to wake up. I motioned to Noa to get the band warmed up. This was going to be fun! But then again isn't that exactly what the role of a bard is? Taking one last drink, I hopped up on the table, getting a questioning glance from Rose. I just winked at her, my way of telling her to enjoy the show. "Excuse me good people of Mountain Glenn! My name is Fianna, and I am a bard of the Scattered Feathers music troupe!" Giving a sweeping bow as I announced myself. "We came here for a quick respite, but a bard's work is never fully done. And I imagine you don't get much entertainment out here, so we'll fix that for ya."
"Is that a fact?" A refined voice said from another table. A young woman the same age as me sipped on what appeared to be a very expensive-looking aged wine from Toussaint. Not only did she have good taste in her choice of drink, but she was also a real looker, too! Long white hair tied in a ponytail that almost looked ghastly in the dim light of the tavern, all in a beautiful way in all its luster. I assure you. Her gem-like amethyst eyes radiated authority. Something about her face was cherubic, almost like an angel. Yet, I sensed something else behind those softly rendered features. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Their true intent was another subject entirely. Much harder to divine, that's for certain.
She wore a short-sleeved dress in strident red with a wide black leather belt around her waist. Black thigh-high stockings covered by knee-high boots covered by brass plated steel greaves adorned a pair of stunning legs. My kind of woman! "In that case, does your troupe do requests, Lady Bard?" I gave her a slight nod, noting she had an Adrestrian accent. From the heartland of the Central Imperium, doubtlessly. "Is it possible for you to perform some of Zersplitterung for us? I love the legends of the Demigods, especially the piece written about the Shattering by the unknown priest?"
My grin just grew wider, I knew that one by heart! Excitement welled up within me. Some monk whose name was lost to time had done a dramatic play about the Shattering, and there were excerpts performed by many troupes all over the Midgard. "Ah, I see you're a woman of culture as well. You're in luck. I happen to know that particular story intimately, so let's raise the curtain and begin." We cleared the chairs from around the table, and Rose went over to the bar. She had sobered up a little, clearly wanting to enjoy the spectacle herself. "Now ladies and gentlemen," I announced, projecting my voice as far as I humanly could without the aid of magic. "May I ask for some audience participation? When I signal, bang your mugs on the table. You'll know when the time is right." I looked to our lead lutist, giving a slight nod. He strummed lightly, playing a quiet tune. A somber tone. All eyes were on me as I began.
"The fallen leaves tell a story. In our home, across the fog, the Lands Between, there was that which commanded the stars, giving life its fullest brilliance. I doubt you could even imagine it. The Elden Ring. Oh, Elden Ring! Shattered by someone or something. Ahh...Don't tell me you don't see it! Look up at the sky, it burns!" With a slight snap of my fingers, everyone banged their tankards, glasses, whatever they had on hand. Each bang was solid and firm, indicative of Marika's great hammer rending the ring asunder. "Now Queen Marika the Eternal is nowhere to be found, and in the Night of the Black Knives, Godwyn the Golden was first to perish. Soon, Marika's offspring, demigods all, claimed the shards of the Elden Ring. The mad taint of their newfound strength triggered the Shattering." I paused as the inn went silent. "A war from which no lord arose. A way leading to abandonment by the Greater Will."
It was a story known to almost everyone, and the way everyone tensed up made it clear the great loss was still on everyone's mind even now. But now it was time to take it to the next level, another flick of my finger and the band started up. Drums banged in a heavy, synchronized beat, while the lutes strummed firmly, and Noa began vocalizing, her voice haunting and melancholy. "Arise now, ye Tarnished!" I held my hands to the sky. My partner's voice became all the more clear and mournful. The ghost of a widow awaiting her love never to return. The lost love of a goddess in mourning. "Ye dead who yet live! The call of long-lost grace speaks to us all. Horah Loux, chieftain of the Badlands! The ever-brilliant Goldmask! Fia, the Deathbed Companion! The Loathsome Dung-Eater! And Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing!" My voice became louder with each Tarnished I named. "And one other, who grace would again bless. A Tarnished of no renown." I spoke softly, almost a whisper, but everyone could hear me. "Cross the fog to the Lands Between, to stand before the Elden Ring, and become the Elden Lord."
A faint clapping could be heard in the back of the inn. I couldn't help but smile, for there was Ezra, standing with all the Lamperouges. Erik, Felecia, and Kyana began clapping in turn, and soon the entire joint was filled with rousing applause. Even Rose looked on with approval, clapping with some base enthusiasm. The white-haired girl who asked for the performance also joined in, her face alight with glee. I was swimming in adulation. Ah, It was simply too much! "A stirring performance, Lady Bard," the still unknown young woman praised me, a smile splitting her lips into a bright grin that showed off those pearly whites. I liked her more by the second. "You truly, truly do know how to captivate a house. Thank you for fulfilling my request."
"Say nothing at all," I replied, giving a deep bow. I ushered more praise, and more calls from the crowd until it all died down. Now, that I had a moment, I looked up, watching as Ezra made his way toward us, followed by Erik and the pretty, pretty girls. Not to mention their smoking elvish mommy. And Ezra, dear boy Ezra. Oh, I could look at those green pools of his for hours on end. I was simply in heaven between them, and Ezra. "So how did you like the show, Ezra? I'm sorry I didn't have time to get into costume for it, but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. But then again, spontaneity is never a bad thing if you get it right. Don't you think?"
"I'm in total agreement. You are a master of your craft, Fianna," Ezra replied casually, a boyish grin on his face. It was but for a moment sadly as his face turned quite pleasingly stoic. What a litany of brilliant expressions out of my boy. "But I'm here in need of the other side of your skillset, both you and Noa actually. You as well, Rose." He gestured gracefully at her, simply breathtaking. My heart was aflutter. Rest my weary heart, please. It was nothing short of the border of death, I swear on Marika's glorious chest of Graces.
The former hooker finished her mead and got up, flashing an irritated glare at the Lamperouge siblings. Ezra paid Rose no mind, which seemed to irritate the thorny girl even more.
"I've got a job that requires some extra muscle, and since you mentioned working as adventurers when you're not lighting up the stage, then this will be right up your alley." I cocked my head, curious as to just what Ezra had up his sleeve. Nothing was more relaxing than trawling through a dungeon after a rousing performance. It was then he fully explained what was going on and let's just say it was a bit more than what we expected. "A trip to the Deepground?" I giggled like a schoolgirl despite the seriousness of the matter at hand, secretly I was impressed, "You don't do anything small, Ezra."
"It's a bad idea if you ask me!" Rose cut in before Ezra could respond, he looked on as though he were a fish pried from the water. Poor boy.
Rose, on the other hand, looked as if she were a hulking pissed-off Runebear ready to gobble him up whole despite the difference in size. Hah, the irony. "Why in the hell would I have any part of this? It's already crazy enough that my old man got his limbs chopped up and became devil gator chow. Now you want to get me tangled up in some wild Chocobo chase for a god-killing weapon in some lost city beneath our feet?" A hand was now on her hip, in an aggressive fashion. Her generous chest shook a bit at the gesture. Quite nice.
And the cutlass on her belt rattled slightly in its sheath I had oh so generously provided her. What a way to rattle a saber. "Can we take a moment and maybe consider that this whole enterprise is a total fucking waste of our time," Rose continued her ruthless inquisition of coercion. Ezra was simply unable to get a word in over her. It was quite charming with the way he looked to me for help as she got in his face. "I say we forget all about the damn thing. In fact, we should go south to Nilf country. Constantinople is basically the opposite of everything we have going on here."
"If you're worried about going down there, you have the service of my axe." The white-haired girl in brilliant red suddenly spoke up, indicating the sizable weapon, an imposing axe, hanging at her side. "My name is El, an adventurer like these two." She indicated to Noa and myself with all the grace of an angel. Yes, even Ezra was looking quite astonished at his savior from the pale-skinned, wicked fallen angel before us. "If you're looking for some extra muscle for this little expedition, then I'll gladly accompany you." She smirked a little and put a hand on her hip. "For the right price of course. A girl's gotta eat after all." Everyone looked to her with confusion, and then to Rose and then back to El. "What?"
"It's nothing, it's just that you look and sound very much like Rose." Erik indicated to the still-glowering girl in white.
"Yeah, the same hair color, and if their eye color was different, they could be sisters. But total opposites." Felecia mused, leaning in curiously to observe further. Like a curious little water nymph, she was. Kyana snickered as Rose's face started to turn red, while El just seemed amused at the idea. El let out an angelic titter. And Rose fumed with steam shooting out of her ears like the great serpent himself.
"My, my, quite the meeting we have here," Quara said in awe, certainly faux, I thought in amusement. She touched Ezra's shoulder, advising him most wisely. Elves were good at appearing so. But I could sense the impishness behind it. "The famous El, and the prettiest ex-prostitute in all of Vizima are here in the very same end of creation, why it must be some stroke of cosmic fate! I'm so happy to be here. Ezra, you'd be wise to take El up on her offer. Her axe work is second to none, not to mention she's honest, upright, and quite beautiful if I do say so myself." Despite her cool demeanor, I could see her cheeks start to turn the same shade as her dress.
"What are you wanting exactly?" Ezra asked evenly, quickly changing the subject. Down to business, trying not to acknowledge the teasing in Quara's voice. Didn't you hear that all work makes you a dull one, Ezra my boy? "I know adventurers don't work purely out of altruism. And I'm going to need every advantage I can get, so name your price."
"Just a share of any potential loot you could find down there. Not to mention the added prestige would do me some good," El answered with a graceful shrug, an eager smile cracked her porcelain visage. "I'll admit I've pulled off some impressive feats in my day, but I never dared to go down into the Deepground myself, mostly because my loving brother would have thrown a fit if he learned of me attempting such a feat on my own." It was then that she let out an undignified, childish huff. It was very cute on one so noble of bearing. "Dear Hubert wouldn't allow me to do so in a thousand years and with the blessings of Marika herself."
"By Grace, Hubert sounds like a man of uncommon sense," Noa put in curtly, I could hear it in her voice. Her Prussian blue eye flickered neon green with annoyance. She wasn't enthused about going down into that dank labyrinth of labyrinths any more than Rosie did, and was trying to be the voice of reason, as she often was. "Ezra, think about this really hard for a moment. Novigrad is just over the horizon. Anything can be found there, and if I can be totally honest, this detour is completely uncalled for. Especially not one to a destination as ungodly dangerous as the Deepground. Ezra, it is simply not advised. In fact, it's ill-advised by anyone who knows what going down there will entail."
Ah Noa, ever the voice of reason, and trying to keep us all alive. "I'm grateful for your pragmatism, Noa. But I'm afraid you're outvoted here." I spoke up at last, gently patting her on the shoulder, eliciting an irritated growl from her. Noa pouted, so cute. "This does sound like it could be a very lucrative endeavor. We can handle it just fine. You have your little shadow summons, so you're worth something in yourself." I could see Noa's left eye flash neon green for just a fraction of a second.
"I just prefer not to do this again, Fianna!" Noa snapped, rubbing her temple with one hand. Her magic eye quickly returned to its normal Prussian blue. I saw Ezra look at it questioningly, but he didn't say anything about it. He only looked on like the perfectly innocent cherub he was. Sweet, sweet boy, you give me the shivers. "And please don't bring up my actual capabilities again. It gives away too much and it means I lose the element of surprise in combat."
"That's why I'm so confident about it," I stated matter of factly, brokering no further argument. "We will be more than enough for this, Noa. Brad taught me more than just mere dagger play." I fingered the hilts of the knives hanging on my belt for emphasis perfectly. "Your clan of shamans and exorcists did much the same for you. And besides, what good is power if we don't flaunt it every so often?" I looked over to Rose when I said that and she smirked for a little bit, recalling our earlier conversation. Noa sighed deeply, resignedly throwing up her hands in defeat, knowing she had lost this fight. "Okay, we're in, and the same terms as El. Whatever loot we find down there has to be first come, first serve."
Ezra nodded sternly, wishing only to get through this. "Terms accepted, and we're on a bit of a timetable with this one, so we need to get moving yesterday." I was singing hallelujah gleefully on the inside. I always did work best under pressure. Noa of course got the musicians and instruments out fast. I was about to pay the bar tab when Rose laid a hand on my shoulder. "Something I can help you with Rosie? Need a hangover cure?"
She groaned, putting a hand on her forehead. She appeared much paler than usual. "That might not be a bad idea. Maybe I've had a bit too much to drink, but is that a fucking bat hanging upside down in the corner?" She pointed to one corner of the inn, looking on in wide-eyed fright. "Because if I'm not seeing things, that is the ugliest bat I've ever seen. Not to mention the fattest…and it's white, what's that fucking about? You'd think a place like this would pay for better fucking pest control. I'd swat it myself if I didn't feel the need to puke out back."
Felecia saw it, letting out a hissing curse in elvish. "That sounds like you. Maybe you're related Rose?" With that, Rosie's alcohol-induced stupor burned away, and they were bickering. Honestly, she didn't need to stir the pot like that, but that's not my business.
I took a look over there and sure enough, there was a fat, albino bat chilling in the corner. I felt a chill go down my spine, seeing those red eyes, tinged with pink, and an empty dead stare. It let out a shrill cry and madly flapped toward a window, it seemed to open all on its own. The creature flew out of sight faster than you could blink. I flashed a glance over to Noa, she had a look of dread in her eyes. A sense that was growing in my usually very jovial heart as well. "We should probably leave right now."
"I agree with you completely. There's no point in drawing out the waiting any longer." I whistled to Rose and Felecia. They both broke it up quite quickly. Still, they both looked like pissed off cats in heat with the way their faces burned red. Doubtlessly still fighting over our boy. "Hey girls, I hate to break up your repartee, but we can't waste any more time."
"That bat was mighty ominous," Quara spoke up, looking on at the site quite worriedly. "We should get blessed at the local temple before we leave."
"And now you're suddenly interested in the benefits of organized religion, Mom?" Erik remarked blithely. El twitched slightly, hand clenched into a fist. This whole situation just turned very awkward fast. Apparently, Ezra had caught sight of that and went over to her. Ever the gentle, goodhearted sort.
"Are you okay?" He asked innocently, worry coloring his tone. El flashed bright red for a minute. Ooh, my boy Ezra was already putting the moves on the new girl! He does not waste any time. It's so cute really! I could see Felecia glaring at him, wondering if steam was about to come out of her adorable little pointy ears. Rose looked irritated, looking ready to gag at the sight. El looked away, trying to hide how much her cheeks were glowing.
"I-I'm fine." She said quickly, struggling to keep her cool demeanor as she stammered. "You're quite kind if you're so worried about me. We just met after all."
"That doesn't matter as far as I'm concerned. You're part of our crew now. It's only natural I'm thinking about your well-being. I wouldn't care otherwise. But now you're special since you're part of our group." Ah, this is one of the reasons I found Ezra so intriguing, his kindness knows no bounds. El smiled at him, clearly not used to being treated in such a matter.
She even laughed a bit. Quite the angelic sound. Comparable to a bell. "You're very kind but right to the point. It's refreshing if you ask me." Her cheeks were as red as her dress. There was also a bright shine in her amethyst eyes that wasn't there before.
Ezra just shrugged, a simple, elegant gesture on his part. "I'm just speaking my mind, El. You looked uncomfortable and I asked if there was something wrong. No need to put on airs for something so simple." Aw, that's so sweet. I think he forgot something though. Namely the other three women who currently have the hots for him, all standing right there.
Heh, I'm sure steam would be coming out of Felecia's ears right now. She was fuming. "Get over here right now!" she hissed at him, very annoyed at the whole little interaction unfolding before them. Ezra blanched, remembering they were all still present.
"And pronto, dummy!" Rose growled, slapping her hand on the tabletop for emphasis. The very nasty thud caused the bartender to flinch. "You flirt with some random thot just because she looks and sounds a little like me! The fucking cojones you must feel you have today, bub! The absolute nerve of the whole damn thing! You must think your flesh lance is really big in the pants if you're pulling shit like this in front of me and hot pants here!"
Felecia was willing to let it slide just this once. "I agree completely! She exclaimed, hands on her hips with a big scowl marring her visage. "The nerve of you when we're standing right here!"
"Don't forget about me!" Kyana huffed, her arms folded beneath her chest. Her bright green eyes darkened with disappointment. How Ezra looked like he wanted to die. Very cute indeed. "You cuddled with both my cousin and I this morning, and now you think you're the next Elden Lord! How dare you, Ezra!"
Quara just let out a very amused titter, putting an arm around her daughter as she silently burned with jealousy. Is it wrong to think I wanted to bang Felecia and Erik's mother? A non sequitur, I know. I am famous for those.
"Oh my, my, my!" Mama Lamperouge theatrically tittered, making a sweeping gesture to the girls. "Your stable of fillies is getting quite upset Ezra. You have to be careful that you end up like Naaman." She clicked her tongue in false disapproval. "Regardless I'm sure he would be proud of you if he saw this, given his reputation at your age. You clearly take after him in every single way." Hmm, remind me to ask Ezra about this Naaman guy when we get a chance later. That intrigued me quite a bit. Poor Noa didn't feel that way.
"Is this really our lot in life now?" She let out a frustrated groan. I merely handed her another tankard of mead. May as well have one for the road before we go into the depths in search of treasure and glory!
(Ezra's POV)
With the Feathers and Rose on board, we were ready to descend into the bowels of the Earth. Quara sat up front with Fianna and Noa, acting as the guide to our destination. "Right into the forest, Noa. Just keep following the trail. It will become pronounced the closer we get there."
The battered old cart creaked and groaned along the trail. We headed deep into the forests surrounding Mountain Glenn. It was beautiful in an ominous sort of way. The farther and deeper we went in, the darker it seemed to get, the sun barely poking through the canopy. And there was an energy in the air, a dark one. I could see everyone else getting uncomfortable about it.
Quara then poked her head out from the front where she'd been sitting up front. "We've arrived." We slowly emerged from the wagon and gazed in equal parts wonder and fear at the massive cave before us. Beyond the entrance was pure darkness, but leading in was a slight flicker of gilded light. It was the guidance of Grace. Something was leading us in there. Also present was a small stone statue, looking far too pristine given all the undergrowth here.
"A Stake of Marika." Noa breathed. Yeah, the big G herself. She had a regal bearing about her, I had to admit. Her arms spread out invitingly and giving off the air of a welcome place. Noa stepped forward, and surprising everyone, she knelt before the effigy of the mother goddess and started chanting in a language I could only identify as Yuyakean. She clapped her hands twice, and that was it. Request for divine intervention submitted.
"And what exactly are you doing here, Your Majesty?" Quara sniffled, her nose turned up at the statue. Clearly, she wasn't pleased at the thought of the Golden Order's presence here.
Rose folded her arms and mirrored the Elven matriarch's posture. She snorted, shaking her head. "Madame Horseface had a statue of the Old Lady in her office, about three times the size of that thing, made of solid marble and trimmed in gold. It was the single gaudiest thing I ever laid eyes on. I used to call her the patron goddess of whores."
Quara laughed at the joke. A clear noise that was so pretty. "A fair assessment to make, you're closer to the truth than you realize."
Off to the side, Rose smirked a little. "You what the worst part is? I actually had to dress up as Queen Bitch Whore for a show once." She turned to face Dandelion, who had just popped up from the back of the wagon. "How drunk were you to think up that idea?"
"Not sure, but it made sense at the time, Dear Rose." He quipped, adjusting his oversized beret. "You had the right proportions, that is to say, the aura to play Queen Marika."
Quara then embraced Felecia, who started blushing brightly in embarrassment. "In truth, you would bear a striking resemblance to grandmother dear if you grew your hair out more, honey. You could also be a dead ringer for Etoile." Mother Quara gently tousled her daughter's hair, manicured nails brushing her cheek. "And people said Etoile could have been Marika if you squinted right and looked at her at just the right angle in just the right light." Felecia's cheeks turned redder from the show of loving affection.
Erik snorted, gesturing airily to his mom. "I'm curious how you knew Marika, Mom. I mean she was God, and then lost to mankind. It's like the legend of the Christian God from before everything went to shit thanks to us all appearing." It was Dandelion's turn to surprise when he made the sign of the cross, bowing his head.
"That's because a great deal of preaching about the Lord Christ was snuffed out by the Golden Order. The ones who wouldn't accept their God as subordinate to Marika didn't make it. I know this because my grandfather was one of those last practicing Christians." His hand went into his frilly overshirt, touching something hidden beneath the folds of silk and woven linen.
Fianna side-eyed Dandelion with a wide grin, slapping the older man on the back. "Does this mean you're coming along with us as moral support?" When I say the man started sweating buckets in an instant, I mean it. His brow became very shiny, and a large bead slid down his cheek. He pulled out a handkerchief from his red leather jerkin. "Oh, Christ no." He bit out, cleaning his cheek of the sweat. "Besides, someone should stay here with the wagon, ensure nothing happens to it right?"
Right, because a few other members of the Feathers were present. "I've had my fair share of dark and dank spaces for a while. I can make a fine ballad or two out of the stories you tell me after you get back." He quailed under Rose's frown as if she knew that he wanted to add something to that little statement.
Now that was a major disappointment. A crawl into the dungeon of dungeons with one of my childhood heroes would have been a scream, but I understood why. "I want to talk to you a whole lot more, so you can be damn sure I'll come back." He looked at me with a wistful air, as if he was looking at an old friend. His mouth partially opened as if to say something to me, but quickly closed it and shook his head. "Listen, Ezra, you survive this ordeal. I promise I will tell you all the stories about Geralt you wish to hear. Until then," he drew a cross about his chest. "Deus sit apud vos."
I felt a smile draw the corners of my mouth upward. Now that was good motivation to get back alive. Quara came up, putting a motherly hand on my shoulder. "I'll also bring him back alive. I'll bring them all back alive. None of them will die on my watch, Master Bard. And if I may say, Per aspera ad astra. The boy can't grow unless he's tested, Dandelion. I'm sure Vesemir would say the same thing if he was here."
His eyes widened slightly as his eyebrows shot up. "How could you possibly know about Vesemir?" He asked suddenly, to which the Lamperouge Matriarch gave a cheeky smile and winked at him. He shook his head. "I suppose such questions are best kept for another time. But indeed, Lady Quara. I have faith that you will prevail. My prayers are with you always."
"You hear that, boys? Keep old man Dandelion safe while we're mucking about in the cave!" Fianna called out over her shoulder. A disembodied arm stuck out from the corner of the cart giving a thumbs up. She grinned, patting him on the cheek. "There you go! No one will harm a white hair on your pretty little head while we're away!"
Dandelion looked indignant. "I'm not that old, and only a few of my hairs have started turning gray." He grumbled.
Only for Noa to march up to him, arms crossed beneath her gracious chest. "I'd say I wish we didn't have to part ways. But then again parting is such sweet sorrow, so I'm not that sorry. Maybe you can make a ballad out of it while we're gone." Noa walked off with a spring in her step, while Dandelion continued pouting. All the while El had stood off to the side, quietly taking everything in, while taking silent glances in my direction. I had noticed it myself, and wondered why it was. I saw Felecia, Rose, and Kyana all sizing her up as well.
She was a wildcard to be sure, but Fianna and Quara both had vouched for her, and we were going to need every advantage possible, so what more could we do? I tugged at my coat and walked up to her. "So, are you ready for this?" I finally asked her. El seemed to pause for a minute, not sure what to say.
"Ready is something I always am. Still, I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with the idea of venturing underground. Or caves for that matter." El shivered all over. "Dark, enclosed spaces are always something I dread. It's been that way since I was a child." The cool mask was back in place. "But I offered my services, and I have no intentions of going back on my word. So, let's do it."
Erik walked up; thumb dug into his belt loop. "We came this far, no point turning back right five feet before the entrance." He had changed out his greatsword for a short sword and shield combo, a practical move given the close-quarters fitting waiting for us in the depths.
"Then let's quit with the prattle and get down to business." The glintstone staff Quara used against Nero earlier materialized in her elegant hand. "We cannot let them claim whatever weapons the Nox have developed." She then looked at me. "Ezra you can have point, that night vision of yours is going to be our biggest asset here."
"And what about the rest of us poor schlubs that can't see in the dark?" Rose huffed. Quara just gave her usual disarming smile and the glintstone at the tip emanated a soft, but brilliant cerulean light, not all the dissimilar to the light Ranni gave off. "That helps a little bit I suppose." She folded her arms, not saying another word. Felecia and Kyana said nothing, taking comfort they had a light source of some kind.
I drew Nightstar, watching the glintstones embedded give off that same blue sheen, followed by a lick of flames. Everyone pulled their own respective weapons. Rose looked quite at ease with Rodger's cutlass. Kyana had her large saw-toothed blade resting on her shoulder. Felecia checked the teeth of Sword Breaker, El gave the leather wrappings on her axe a quick check while Fianna expertly spun her knives in hand, and Noa lightly tapped the boomerang against her thigh. We were as ready as we could be. "Onward and downward then I suppose." I quipped.
I could hear Rose scoffing in the background. I was about to turn and say how it was a good joke when a low growling made my entire body tense up. "Everyone on your guard, we're about to have company!" We could start to hear grunting, and the scraping of feet on the hard stone ground. And then they appeared. Hunched over with clawed bird-like feet, stringy gray hair framing an ugly, primate-like face, all of them lugging heavy Iron Cleavers. My eyes narrowed. "Misbegotten!" I hissed.
Nasty little creatures the Misbegotten, another kind of Beastkin and not the pretty type like Raphtalia and Shiloh are. They are also one of the most frequent kinds of creatures you can find anywhere in Midgard. Several requests for Misbegotten extermination can be found on any request board in every adventuring guild hall and town square. Not to say they're easy prey. More than a few adventurers met their end because they underestimated them.
"Ugh, that is disgusting!" Rose voiced what we were all thinking. "I hope we're not holding back on these things, are we?" Especially given how they were looking at her and the other women in our party. "New Mamas!" One of them spoke in a raspy lisp, and all of a sudden, a certain part of his anatomy suddenly sprung out. The sword almost fell from her grasp. "What the…did that thing just fucking TALK?!" Rose exclaimed, not sure she wanted to believe her ears.
My jaw almost became unhinged. "Seriously?" was all I could say. The other goblins all leered at the pretty girls, and all their second swords quickly were unsheathed. I could hear all the girls groaning in disgust, and I'm pretty sure poor Erik was looking for a corner so he could empty his guts. I was about to join him. Kyana's face was growing red out of sheer unadulterated fury, given how the Misbegotten all seemed to be focusing on her!
"New mama to replace the mama that the mean ones killed earlier!" Another Misbegotten spoke with the same raspy voice, but a little higher pitched. They all started hooting, banging their cleavers on the ground Oh, if Kyana's eyes could shoot flames they'd be nothing but cinders right now, judging how her grip tightened on her blade, she was really wishing to do that right now.
"Lots of new mamas to replace old mama! Bad men killed our mama, but we'll have a good new mama." A third one chirped, slavering. This one looked wantonly at Felecia. She looked at me with a look that said: "no chance in Gehenna". Nero and his boys had been through here and stirred things up, and now the Misbegotten were looking to recoup their losses. Not that any of my girls would let themselves be used for…that.
"Oh, hell no am I becoming your damn mama! I just finished being a whore to a bunch of horny apes, no way am I going back to that for a bunch of literal horny apes!" Is it wrong for me to say that I found the way Rose swung her cutlass around to be really hot? And that was just the start. Every girl had been agitated by this turn of events, and they were all about to let their opinions be felt.
"You are so going to pay for that!" Kyana snarled, clenching his hands around the hilt of her axe-like sword. "It was bad enough when those knuckle draggers Hammer and Anvil were looking at me. They were at least somewhat human, but this?" She raised her weapon, looking over the edge of the heavy steel blade and serrated metal teeth. "I am so over being leered at by drooling idiots! The only person I'm giving my first time to is Ezra!" Oh boy.
"Kyana?" Felecia looked at her incredulously. Her cousin just flushed the same shade as her hair.
"Don't lose focus, you two!" El snapped, her axe and shield at the ready, her purple eyes flashing in disgust. "We can't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture here. I have no desire to be some kind of broodmare. These uncouth beasts need to learn what it means how to treat a lady properly." I got the feeling she was going to take a lot of pleasure in chopping off their heads or something a little lower if you catch my drift.
Quara's smile was evil, and made me wonder how she'd look in a revealing black dress and eyeshadow, really go for the dark sorceress look. "Oh, my my, it appears some naughty monkeys need to be neutered, permanently!" She intentionally banged her staff on the ground, causing the Misbegotten to flinch back. "Oh yes, all you dirty little boys should get ready for a live abortion. We're not generic women from some trashy fetish carving. You think you can make that kind of statement and not die in the most horrible way your basic mind can imagine? You think I just let the Daedra I summoned from the depths of Gehenna in my wild years just have me?" She let out a very haughty laugh. "Think again! You're going to have EARN it!"
"MAMA!" Poor Felecia, I couldn't imagine anything more embarrassing to hear. Erik just nudged her, and shook his head. "Forget it, sis. Mom's all worked up right now."
"I'll admit I'm into some very kinky shit, but bestiality is way out of my comfort zone!" Fianna hissed, angrily clenching her daggers.
"Yeah, why don't you mutants go crawl back to your mama's corpse and die?" Noa snarled, and she began a series of elaborate hand gestures. This one at the very end represented the shape of a dog with his fangs bared, casting a shadow of the shape of a hound in the light. She was chanting in that strange tongue again. Her shadow seemed to warp a little, and a white, furry paw erupted from the depths, followed by an angular head, and suddenly a majestic-looking white wolf stood there, and then another paw came out, this one black as the shadows it emerged from, revealing a second wolf. They both snarled and clicked their teeth together before expectantly looking at their mistress. Noa just pointed furiously to the Misbegotten. "Boys, the order is simple. KILL!"
The wolves howled and ran toward them. Slavering, and barking like the wild animals they were. The twin black, and white wolves were in a rage at the offense caused to their master.
I looked to Rose, looking eager to cause some mayhem. "Rose, to answer your question. By all means, you can kill as many of them as you want!" I said, eager to end a few of them myself. I tightened my grip on Nightstar, the scrap against Nero had been my first time using this incredible blade, but now it was time to cut loose with it. I saw the glintstones flash, and with a single powerful swing, I let a powerful wave of blue energy loose. Noa's wolves leapt over it, melting the initial wave of those loathsome creatures to raw viscera. My hand went to Imperial Fang, and I drew it. "I swear to your ladies, on your honor, and my own as a Witcher, these things are all going to die!"
I looked over my shoulder to Quara who raised her staff, and the blue light flared to a blinding intensity. The Misbegotten all screeched in pain as the light seared their eyeballs. Which was the perfect opening for me. I swung Nightstar again, sending out a huge gout of flame, roasting the initial line of these freaks very quickly. The smarter of these beasts were quick to retreat back chattering fearfully, they had a natural fear of fire, but this was just the opening move.
I raised my free hand, flames sparked to life on my fingertips. "You didn't like those flames? Then maybe these will be more to your liking then! Great Squall of Flames come to my aid!" I said, pointing my finger at the nattering creatures. "Firestorm!" A huge maelstrom of fire erupted from the ground, pillars of cleansing flame impaling and burning them all in turn.
With that the fight began, each of us splitting off into groups of three. I truly felt at home, just proving how much I loved a good fight. I was flanked by El and Kyana and it gave me a chance to observe the former in action. Quara wasn't joking when she said El's axe work was second to none. She used her shield to deflect one of the monster's heavy cleavers, taking her axe and burying it into the beast's shoulder when it suddenly erupted into flames. The monster screamed in agony, trying desperately to put the fire out before she swung again, decapitating it.
Looks like her weapon had a flame enchantment, and a pretty strong one at that. I will always approve of anything fire-related. Another came at El, but she deftly sidestepped it, backhanding it with her shield, delicately spinning in place to embed the head of her axe into the monster's gut, causing it to spew up green blood, before she pulled it out and buried it into the Misbegotten's spine, severing its spinal cord. It was pretty evident it was dead as it fell bonelessly to the ground.
It was only thanks to good timing on El's part that she avoided a sneak attack from the side. "You'll make a good mama!" The creature rasped. Okay, good timing and the thing's inability to keep its mouth shut. El returned the favor with a well-placed kick to the gut, she switched her axe to a reverse grip and relieved the Misbegotten of the arm carrying its weapon. She grabbed the goblin creature by the throat as it madly flailed about, trying to scratch at her face.
"I think not," was all she said, and squeezed with all her might. It started to choke, and the flailing slowed down. El dropped it to the ground and buried her axe head inside its skull, sending bone chips and other viscera all over the place. A light nudge with her foot and the creature fell over dead, joining its creepy brethren. She looked at me with a smug grin on her face. "I trust you approve of my skill thus far?"
"Very much so." Was all I needed to say as we all stood back-to-back, not wanting any of them to get behind us. She was definitely worth the investment.
My gaze flickered over to Kyana, who was working in tandem with Farram to fend the nasty little buggers off. One of them ran up some rocks and tried to attack her from above. She backflipped out of the way, and the thing face-planted on the ground, sounded like some bones were breaking. Kyana stood over it and started bashing the disgusting critter repeatedly, the metal teeth slicing flesh into a bloody green paste, before crushing its head. Ooh, he's going to feel that one in the morning.
Our gaze met suddenly, and she quickly averted her eyes. I suppose I can't blame her, that little declaration of hers had left my stomach a little uneasy. And I can only assume she was rather embarrassed about blurting the whole thing out. She was using that frustration as motivation to kill the Misbegotten who tried to approach her. Kyana screamed in frustration as she rented a beast asunder and back kicking another to where Farram chewed its face off. It was kind of hot, not going to lie. "I wonder if maybe Kyana was really my girlfriend the entire time, but I have Felecia, how can I think that?"
El laughed at my little musing, taking note of Kyana hurling a couple of throwing knives caught in their throats. They choked and gagged before she took the oversized saw cleaver to them and sliced them in half at the waist. "You must be very popular with the ladies. I dread to think how the girls at Garreg Mach would react to you." She replied, bashing her shield into another Misbegotten and giving me an opening to stab it in the heart. "I'm sure Dorothea would love to have your company. She's been looking for a man for the longest time. You would certainly tick all the boxes on her list. She's told me more than a few times."
Her words did not endear her to Kyana. "Where this place is, Ezra's not going! So don't get any ideas!" She pouted, sticking her tongue out in a truly adorable manner. Farram growled at her feet as he leapt at one of the horrid beasts, ripping its throat out, gargling in blood-choked pain as it died. El just cracked a smile, raising her axe as the three of us protected each other's backs.
"We shall see about that. The day is young after all!" El exclaimed, bringing up her axe to bear. The blade intimidatingly glinted in the azure light of glintstone.
Farram crouched in an offensive stance, barking his head off as the Misbegotten inched closer in the shadows, drooling with those twisted ugly smiles. Kyana brought her bladed club in a ready stance with both hands. One of them came at her with a knife, but she was ready for it. The steel-tipped points caught the light from Quara's staff before the serrated edge parried the short iron blade away and sawed through one of the monster's legs. It fell to a knee before Farram mauled him, ripping out its stomach. Good doggo.
Kyana didn't flinch as she slashed through a couple more goblins, ignoring their agonizing cries of death, while blocking a third. "I've read about these things. Misbegotten were bred by the old dynasty and used as their primary workforce, not to mention commanders used them for arrow fodder for any military campaigns." Her face twisted up in disgust. A twisted parody of her normal beauty. "I'm guessing they didn't really worry too much about their personal hygiene!"
"You are quite right in that regard. The Shattering War turned them into slave soldiers that were readily thrown onto the front lines." El explained coolly. The edge of that shield of hers was getting a workout as she crushed a Misbegotten's throat with it. "Whatever remained of them turned into feral tribes of cave dwellers. The current Midgardian army still makes use of them." She tripped a pair of the beasts and ended them with two quick axe swings. "They'll just search through every cave they find and put them back to work after decades of dereliction of duty." She grimaced slightly. "And yes, I'm pretty sure the word bath is totally foreign to them."
Baths were not a thing in the underground…unless there were underground hot springs. I dare say Niamh would even go for that. As for me, I was doing my own thing, switching between dual-wielding my blades and conjuring up flames. Nightstar was just so amazing, I swung one way, and there were flames, and the other way was brilliant, lethal moonlight. I went for a Rage Spike, flames swirling around me as I swung downward on a couple of the foul beasts, they jumped away only to remember the flames, they got roasted, and I wheeled around and slashed another one from shoulder to hip.
The two cauterized halves fell. I saw three more of them come at me. I sneered and spun about, flames trailing behind my weapon. The tip of Nightstar embedded in one Misbegotten's throat. The glintstones flashed to life, and a wave of energy severed his head from his shoulders. One of them tried to get me from behind, I elbowed him in the gut, and embedded Nightstar and Imperial Fang in the ground. I could feel that same shift in my mana from when I knocked out Rodger and his boys. The pressure gathered in my fists. I decided to see if I could use it again.
It was just like the first time; I aimed a right hook at the nearest Misbegotten's jaw. I could feel my mana surge and flex and it sent not only the goblin I was aiming for but the others surrounding it flying back. A very satisfying feeling, not going to lie. I snatched up my swords and quickly advanced on the fallen beasts. Imperial Fang cleaved off legs and Nightstar stabbed deep into their throats. I was absolutely livid at that moment. While on the one hand, the fact the Misbegotten were slaves and constantly used for anything dangerous sucked. It didn't excuse their behavior.
They readily admitted to planning on using the girls as their sex slaves. The idea of these things laying a finger on any of the girls brought my blood to an inferno. But doubly so, Kyana. She had been their primary focus, and that did not sit right with me. I was about to let them know exactly how I felt. I sprang over a clumsy swing from one of them. I let loose a powerful backswing, and the brilliant glintstone light tore the thing asunder, and it was so satisfying! The Misbegotten were hesitant toward me, given how I had kicked things off. They were afraid, and I liked it.
My sneer grew wider. "You think you're going to get some new mommies out of this. I hate to break it to you, but you're sticking those fleshy swords in any caves today. This is why monsters like you are total wastes of space. This is why no one wants you around." I marched toward them, swords in hand, and death in my eyes. "You may have one working neuron between all of you, some fraction of intellect, but you chose this!" I thundered, the flames roaring up again. "You chose to be awful. We just wanted to pass through, but you chose to make it difficult for us." I crouched low, my weapons in hand. "That is why you will all die here!"
Nightstar and Imperial Fang were getting an absolute feast blood-wise. They deserved to eat well tonight. I was the lightest I had ever been on my feet, dancing through the little beasts in a whirlwind of steel and silver, punctuated by the brilliant flames and the glintstone light that so emulated the full moon. I wished that another Witcher could have been there to see me, and give me their honest opinion on my technique. Then again it didn't matter at that moment. All I could see was death and I would not be denied. "The only reason you're so angry is because you were them all for yourself." A quiet voice floated up from the depths of my mind.
This just served to fuel my rage. These pissants were nothing to me, and no harm would come to any of the girls. So, my death dance continued. Imperial Fang sliced through another Misbegotten while Nightstar did what it did best, burned two more Misbegotten, and vaporized three others with the azure light. I let out a primal roar as I kept hacking and slashing away. But these things were being so incredibly persistent. I let my gaze fall to the other part of the cavern where the rest of my compatriots did battle.
Rose, Noa, and Fianna were in another corner, also backed up the way we were. It was clear Noa and Fianna had done this a long time, their movements were perfectly synchronized with each other. Fianna was a red blur, speeding through the enemy ranks, using her acrobatic prowess to run up the wall for a short distance, and dove headlong into the Misbegotten horde. I could only see the slight flash of her daggers as they carved through them. Fianna had a thing for heads, given how she was impaling her blades right into their skulls, that or just slicing their throats wide open.
"You're a bad mama!" One of the Misbegotten snarled, coming at her. Fianna just gave a fake smile before hook-kicking him in the head, he doubled over in pain. Our resident bard took this chance to gracefully slide over his back, stabbing him in the spine. Before she had even landed on her feet, Fianna threw one of her knives at one that was about to attack Rose, the slight weapon embedded just above his hip. Noa's white summon wolf jumped, ripping its throat out. Fianna smiled, patting the dog on the head and retrieving her dagger, flicking off the blood.
"Sorry pal, I'm way too much woman for you to handle!" She quipped. Oh, how I loved that sense of humor of hers. Fianna held up her daggers and ran toward another goblin at speed most normal folks would have difficulty following. She closed the distance in seconds, her daggers flashing as she repeatedly stabbed the thing's entire upper torso, before finishing it off by jabbing one dagger into the beast's mouth, it gave off a rasping, hissing noise before it slid off and Fianna kicked it on the ground.
Noa meanwhile observed the Misbegotten with a keen eye, tasseled boomerang perched on her shoulder. She looked almost bored, I'm sure this isn't the first time she's dealt with these monsters constantly whining for their mothers. She had her eye on a quartet of goblins hemming in Rose. She brought her arm back, and a flick of the wrist saw her weapon hurtling end over end through the air. It slammed into the back of one goblin's skull, before bouncing off a second's shoulder, and finishing by splitting the jaw of a third. A pretty good throw if I have to say so myself, and it managed to return to her outstretched hand.
"You should have just stayed in the cave and not messed around with us." She said in mild irritation as a group of six Misbegotten scurried from around a corner. The fingers of her left hand began twisting in a series of strange gestures as she began chanting in that strange language from earlier. I had to really squint for a minute when I saw the air shimmer and seem to warp within a five-foot circle, catching the incoming enemy reinforcements. I saw indentations forming in the ground as the Misbegotten struggled to heave their blades.
"Enjoy being crushed!" She said, shouldering her weapon as the chanting became faster and Noa started using both hands for the strange finger-tangling gestures that were the focus of her magic. The air got heavier and heavier finally Noa slammed her fists together and everything within the area of effect was crushed, bones were pulped as if a giant invisible boulder slammed down on the goblin squad, spraying the area with gore. Really don't think the blood is coming out of the walls on that one.
Yet the goblins still kept coming, chanting about their new mama. Noa wasn't having it. A shrill whistle and the two wolves joined their master. She reached for the tassels on her boomerang, and produced a pair of short, single-bladed swords. Always nice to meet a fellow dual wielder. "Heel boys." Was her simple command to her familiars. They bared their fangs, growling. And they were off, leaping right into the midst of the fray. I could hear squealing and gurgling over the sound of flesh being torn asunder.
All the while, Noa was calmly making her way through the Misbegotten. It wasn't like the wild melee even mattered to her. One of them made a sound halfway between a hiss and a squeal when it swung its oversized curved blade at her. She bent at the waist, letting it pass over her. She pivoted on her feet, introducing a blade right to her assailant's face. Slicing upward through the thing's forehead, the two pieces flopped about as she kicked it to the ground dead.
Another came behind her, and she whipped her leg up for a perfect back kick, aimed straight behind right for the goblin's lower regions. I dare say Noa enjoyed it, not that she would ever say it openly. Her twin blades buried themselves into its shoulders and she cut downward, removing the Misbegotten's arms, before stabbing right between the eyes. Noa only had just enough time to react as one of those oversized butter knives came down on her head.
Luckily Noa is faster on the draw, and managed to catch the cleaver between her own blades. It didn't seem possible, but she parried it. She pushed the monster back, slashing across the goblin's torso with one blade while the other was buried into its neck, the ugly green blood flowing evermore. "No mamas for you here." She snarled as if she were a wolf. Noa is lethal. These things stood no chance against her, or Fianna for that matter. Our resident bard just looked over to Noa, flashing that familiar smile. Noa just nodded in silent acknowledgment.
But the real surprise was Rose, this was her first true battle and despite having only recently picked up a sword, she had matched her own rhythm to the other two. Her movements were still raw and her grip on the blade was still a little on the clumsy side, but she made up for it with sheer ferocity. I almost felt sorry for the Misbegotten, but even then, it wasn't that much. The cutlass in her pale hand flipped and slashed through the mutated monkey creatures, blood liberally sprayed everywhere. Oh yeah, she was having a lot of fun with this.
"We like a feisty mama!" One of the Misbegotten chittered nastily, spinning around with its cleaver. And Rose was only barely able to keep her guard up. It laughed, revealing ugly decayed teeth. It took everything for our future white-haired avatar of song and death not to puke. But even then, Rose had a toughness about her that came from enduring adversity. She ducked to the right, the iron cleaver striking the ground hard. The goblin snarled wordlessly, only for Rose's cutlass to stab him directly in the mouth. Another dead monkey.
Despite that, the creatures were still coming, and Rose was getting overwhelmed. Lightning crackled on her fingertips for a second. It was then Rose remembered what happened with Indigo on the bridge. She smirked as an idea came to mind. Sword on her shoulder, she casually walked toward one of the Misbegotten, a slow, sultry walk, an inviting smile on her face. She beckoned with a single finger. Those monkey goblins just need a date. It leapt at Rose, and she just stood there, unmoving. It flew toward her, so focused on those pink eyes, the Misbegotten didn't notice her free hand sparking with electricity. Rose's face turned sinister, and she bitch slapped the thing right across the jaw!
The Misbegotten screeched in pain as the same lightning that caused Indigo's last moments to be so painful coursed through its body, twisting and writhing just as the elf girl did before it fell to the ground, scorched and barely alive. "Fuck your mama fetish!" She snarled, driving the tip of her blade into the goblin's chest. Lightning traveled from her hands down the blade, and in a truly spectacular display, lightning bolts temporarily illuminated the cavern, and found its way to the other goblins, who made it easy since each of them held a nice big lightning rod.
I really have to stress this was a moment when you had to be there to get the full scope of Rose's little maneuver. This bolt of lightning traveled to every sword and when I say those creatures started dancing, it was equal parts beautiful and terrifying. Rose had turned up the voltage to the maximum because when it stopped every single one of those creatures had been scorched and blackened so hard they were full-out carbonized. A maddening cackle erupted from her lips. "Oh yeah! You wanted a mommy? I'm your fucking mommy of death!" Rose contemptuously threw her hair over her shoulder, letting out a lower-pitched chuckle. "You fuckwads couldn't afford my prices anyway!" Okay, Rose was going through her own power high.
The Lamperouge Matriarch and her children were doing their own thing. Quara raised her staff to the sky. The glintstone crystal flashed to life. A wave of her staff launched a heavy spray of glintstone shards in all directions. Her aim was as precise as ever, every projectile found its mark, some goblins had the back of their heads blown out, others had their torsos ripped to shreds, and one of them was full out and ripped in half by the sheer speed the glintstone shard tore through flesh and bone.
She looked on with satisfaction. Looking totally unperturbed at the three goblins coming at her. The staff flashed again, this time conjuring up a glowing blue heater shield. The cleavers bounced off the arcane ward. It dissipated and Quara's staff came around sending out a flat horizontal arc of magic, rending several more of the foul beasts asunder. The next thing she did was conjure a huge ball of glowing light that emulated the moon, craters, and everything. It floated overhead, radiating brilliant light.
"A little present for you boys. Don't worry about returning it. You won't be in any state to anyway!" She pointed her ebony wood staff, and the miniature moon flew like a rolling ball of magical death, running over any Misbegotten unfortunate to be in its way before it exploded at the edge of the cave, vaporizing more of the damn things. That was clearly one of Quara's own original spells because I don't recall seeing that in any book, or scroll I had ever read. One of the monsters charged at Quara again, looking to disembowel her. But such a clumsy attack would never harm the likes of her.
The crystal flashed again, her staff was encased in the azure light, taking the shape of a giant blue sword. She swung her spectral weapon and batted the cleaver aside. Quara then spun delicately, bisecting the Misbegotten and two more in a single gesture. While my pyromancy will always be my go-to when it comes to magic, I will definitely see about adding some of that blue glittering wonder to my own arsenal. It was too good to pass up!
Erik was the total opposite of his mother, he had no magic to rely on, just his natural skill with a blade. I had forgotten just how really good he was with a short sword and shield, given his preference for heavier weapons. But still, he carved and slashed through the Misbegotten ranks with a steady hand. Raising his shield to let a cleaver slide off, and promptly buried his sword in the creature's gut right up to the hilt. He took a page from El's playbook, slamming the edge of his shield into the throat of his next attacker, followed by the tip of his blade carving a new airway through its throat.
The goblins screeched and gnashed their teeth. This wasn't potential mama material, so they were just going to tear Erik apart. Provided they could get near him. The son of the Crimson Fox wouldn't fall so easily. He kicked back one, slammed another with his shield, cleaved off the hands of a third, and decapitated a fourth. Erik had become a whirlwind of steel death, and he was going to ensure that nothing got in his way. He parried the iron cleavers easily, his blade finding a lethal mark every time.
The Misbegotten started getting smart, swarming Erik with sheer numbers, but he was not deterred. He waded into the middle, his gladius flashing as it sliced off a monster's right arm and leg, before punctuating it by scalping the monster entirely. He back kicked another, falling backwards, and letting two of the goblins slam their cleavers into each other, the impact stunning them long enough for him to slice one across the throat and stab another in the heart. Erik was backed against the wall. One goblin charged at him with a comically oversized axe. He then ran up the wall, flipped in the air, landing behind him, eviscerating the creature's spine with a single thrust.
He wasn't finished yet. He saw a couple Misbegotten coming toward the bards. Erik raised the arm holding his shield and threw it with all his might. It was one of the best trick shots I had ever seen, the shield careened off the walls, breaking the necks of at least five goblins, including one that was about to slice Rose in half. She looked at Erik in surprise, he just grinned at her, holding up his arm and the shield flew back, latching on with a sharp metallic click. "Neat trick! But can you do it again?" Never thought the day would come Rose would complement Erik for something. Of course, she had to dress it with her special brand of sass. That's just her.
Erik took that as a challenge. He eyed another group of Misbegotten coming from the depths of the cave, it was the largest yet. But it seemed they were finally running out of bodies to throw at us. "Yo, Ezra!" He called to me raising his shield up, "Mind giving it a little extra kick?" I was more than happy to oblige, I held Nightstar up, flames roiling around it. I swung downward, and the fire began heating up Erik's shield until it was awash in the cleansing flames. The scion of the Lamperouge family hurled the burning disc, bouncing off walls as the power of my pyromancy burned every Misbegotten the shield touched, the cavern illuminated by fire before it all went dark. Again, Erik raised his arm and the disc, slightly scorched, came back to his hand.
"How was that?" He asked Rose, looking very smug.
Rose just shrugged carelessly. "Meh, a 7 out of 10, I'll give you a half point for using the flames though. That was pretty ingenious." Coming from her, that was about as good as you could get.
Felecia wasn't about to be shown up by her mother and brother, and she was going to pull out every trick in the book to put these horny beasts in place. She had Sword Breaker out, the serrated comb edge of the blade reducing the torso of one goblin to raw meat. She ducked under another of those damn giant slabs of iron and sliced upward through the Misbegotten's skull. Her blade flashed green for a second as she used a couple of Sword Skills to end the lives of the beasts. She backflipped out of a cleaver strike, the hood of her cloak flapping behind her as she swung downward across the thing's back.
A couple of the goblins ran at her. Felecia scowled, sheathing her sword as she clapped her hands sharply together in front of her as she dropped into a bracing stance. "Piercing Water!" She whispered harshly, and a thin jet of water no bigger around than a sewing needle blasted from between her fingertips, ripping through every Misbegotten in its path and leaving a perfectly circular hole in the rocky cavern wall. She raised her hand and shot a quick burst of lighting at a couple more of the nasty cave dwellers, they yelped and ran away, but Felecia wasn't going to let them escape. Again, her hands came up with a sharp clap, and another liquid spear shot out, adding to the bloody body count.
Wearily, Felecia drew Sword Breaker again. She could hear the footsteps of the Misbegotten approaching her, the eerie scraping sound of their cleavers against the ground. "I guess this is as good as time any!" She said, raising her trusty weapon to eye level. Yellow lightning crackled along the edge of Sword Breaker and gathered into a glowing ball of crackling saffron at the tip. She flung it into the center of the enemy ranks. A miniature thunderstorm erupted in the cavern for the second time that day, lightning bolts arcing in all directions, flash-frying anything unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast radius.
All the Misbegotten started jabbering in fear and bolted for the depths of the cavern. I guess they decided losing so many of their ranks wasn't worth their new mamas. If it seems like we were finally in the clear, think again. The jabbering gave way to a piercing roar, one that was even louder than normal given how confined the caves really were. These monkeys were just the opening act. The real battle was about to begin. We all ran deeper into the cave, not wanting to be forced out by whatever was coming.
"YOU ALL BAD!" A deep bestial voice growled, thundering footsteps advancing ever closer. "WE JUST WANT NEW MAMA TO REPLACE THE MAMA WE LOST TO THE MEAN ONES!" Out of the shadows stepped another Misbegotten, even larger than the fodder we had just fought. Feline in nature, the heavy mane surrounding its face would have looked almost regal if wasn't so tangled and matted. Fangs the same length as Fianna's daggers dripped viscera, and let's not forget the odor that could have stripped skin from bone. It was hunched over but if it stood up tall, I bet it would be at least eight feet tall or so. A massive iron greatsword clenched in its furry hand.
"Monkeys were bad enough now we're facing mutant lions?" I groaned, looking over to where Quara was finishing off a goblin with a Glintstone Pebble burst. "Quara, how close are we to the elevator that leads downward into the actual Deepground? We can't keep getting caught up by all these stupid monsters!" I was getting desperate to be sure, not to mention just plain annoyed. Who knows what kind of threats were waiting for us down there, and we had to play around with monkeys and lions? This trip was already turning into a real hassle!
"It's at the very back end of the cave!" She called back to me. "It's probably where these things have their lair, you can tell by the stench!" Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the incredibly pungent aroma permeating the air through the caverns. The crap pit behind the Datura smelled better by comparison! Probably explains all the perfume, they needed to cover up the damn stench. Oh wait, there's an angry lion beast still trying to kill us! It roared, swiping with its blade, but I was able to duck under it. "Everyone head into the depths of the cave!" The Lamperouge Matriarch gave us the stern order, and everyone followed, even Rose, without question.
The further down we went the stench got much, much worse. All the while we were chased by the titanic mutant lion. Every so often, Quara would launch a Glintstone spell or Felecia would send one of her piercing water jets at the beast, but it was incredibly agile, managing to weave and dodge through the projectiles launched at it, all the while madly flailing its great sword about. It let out the loudest roar yet, and we all clenched up at the sound of an identical roar echoing down a side corridor. He had just called in backup! So, we now had to hustle even more, all the while having to endure the intensifying stench.
The narrow corridor widened into a circular cavern. We had found the Misbegotten Lair. Not much to the place, a lot of dead carcasses lying about. But in one corner was a corpse that was surrounded by several of the goblins, hopping about madly. From where we were standing it looked like a horse. It was even bigger than the Leonid beast we now faced. It had to be at least ten feet tall if it stood up. I couldn't get an exact measurement since I had to be so razor-sharp of my surroundings. Despite its equine features, it was extremely human as well.
Despite the horse's head, I could clearly see five fingers on its hands. It made for quite the contrast, and the emaciated shape was so human. it was disturbing yet fascinating all at the same time. I really wish I had the time to study the corpse in greater detail for scientific purposes. In that moment I found myself feeling something I wasn't expecting, sympathy for the Misbegotten. I mean, despite us slaughtering them wholesale just literal seconds before. These creatures could talk, and were kind of coherent in their speech.
Is it wrong to say I wanted to sit down with them and pick their brains about how they ended up like this? Anything about civilization pre-Erdtree is sketchy at best, and outright myth at worst. The Shattering War destroyed so many records. I could only imagine the original traditions and lore these people might know, so I found myself going down the route of diplomacy. "Look guys, is there any way we can make peace here?" I'm sure everyone thought I was truly insane as those words came out of my mouth. I knew Rose probably would have called me a fucking idiot. But I continued anyway. "We really didn't come here looking for a fight. We're looking for the guys who hurt your mama! They've hurt lots of people's mamas." I trailed off in that moment, because I thought of my own mother.
The established order hurt both of us. I would have wanted nothing more than to feel her embrace, and smell her perfume one last time. We really were not that different in that aspect. "They're going to hurt a lot more if you guys don't stand aside. So please, I know humans and others have done a lot of evil crap to you all. You're fully justified in your anger toward us. We just want to just the elevator down to the depths. My desire is to avoid more of…this." I indicated to the corpse. "We don't need to be like this. We can understand each other. I know you have a heart like us so just listen for once. I'll listen to you in return." Not a bad little bit of speechifying if I do say so myself. Of course this is a two-way street, the other guy has to agree as well.
The Leonid Misbegotten looked at me like I was speaking a different language. None the less, I could see the gears turning in their little brains. "You not fool me!" He snarled at last after a long pause. "Just nasty human trick. Humans steal from us and lie to us! It's been the same since Fire Man came here and messed everything up! Mama was the one who knew the words, the true words, and old memories of moons ago." The other Misbegotten began chattering again. "The Golden Mama sent him to steal our treasures! Fire Man burned the woods, the words, and our homes. His Golden Mama even stole the means of death from the Morning Mama! All our mamas are gone because of bad bad Golden Mama!" You could hear the way he choked on his words. The guy was about to start crying. the Leonid pointed his blade at Quara. "You the worst of all! Pointy Ears betrayed the way of the woods and became bad too! Just as bad as the Hoomans!"
Quara blinked for a second. She was surprised at the statement. She just gripped her staff, harshly glaring at the thing. "You're delusional. Anything you say is just gibberish to me." Ouch, that was a burn hotter than any pyromancy I could sling out.
But it was nothing compared to what Rose did next. "Wow, talk about the biggest fucking dumb dumb babies in the world! You really are just a bunch of mindless animals who don't know their place." She folded her arms and marched toward them, cutlass in hand. "If you won't get out of our way, then you'll get cut down like the trash you are. Mamas always betray their kids eventually. Your spineless, dumbass naivety cost you big time! Take responsibility for your actions for once! Stop blaming others for what people did before you were even shit stains in your mama's ass!" I retract my earlier statement, THAT was a burn that I could NEVER replicate!
Rose had voiced everyone's sentiment. They all looked indignant at what these creatures wanted. Kyana especially, given they wanted her to be their mama first. The Misbegotten were tragic, but in the end, they were in our way, and thus their corpses would little the ground and they'd be with their precious mama soon enough. Felecia sidled up to me, hissing at me in disbelief. "I can't believe you even thought of trying to talk to these things." She truly wanted to smack me upside the head. Erik seemed quite entertained by the whole thing.
"I suppose you deserve points for trying, Ezra. Even if they are just a bunch of random bullshit stapled together by prayers and the collective will of everyone on the continent." Damn, everyone was pulling out their A-Material today!
"Just stay focused, let's remember we are on their home turf!" Noa added forcefully, always there to remind people of the here and now.
"I agree with Lady Rose though." El readied her axe and shield, softly agreeing. "The sins of yesterday beget the tragedy of today."
"Ooh, pretty!" Fianna chimed, letting out a small giggle. "You're quite poetic, El. Maybe you should be a bard yourself."
"Everyone ready yourselves, the action starts here!" Quara ordered, grasping tightly onto her magic stave. The light on the crystal burned cosmic blue doom, promising celestial demise to our foes.
Another roar came from the Leonid Misbegotten, followed by another louder roar, as a second Leonid stalked in, blocking the way out. The grip tensed on his sword. "No more dumb talking! Now all bad hoomans and Pointy Ears have to die!" He roared and rushed at me, swinging his blade downward to where I was standing. It would have killed me if I had been dumb enough to stand there. I sprang to the side as rock and dirt were kicked up. Shouldn't have surprised me they'd react this way. Any intelligence they had was overshadowed by their overwhelming stupidity.
I had tried to be nice, but since the dumb kitty clearly never heard of brain cells, it was time to get to work. I drew my swords and began mentally sizing up my opponent. It was tall, and muscular, and could swing that sword around quickly, but that isn't always an advantage. We were fighting in a fairly confined space. I had speed and agility on my side. I felt confident I could flank him. But it would require some maneuvering on my part. Ducking under the oversized feline's sword. I made my way over to Erik. He looked at me as I explained myself. "I have an idea, but I need your help to pull it off! Keep the big kitty occupied as long as you can, and I'll try to get him from behind."
Erik gave a brisk nod. "Hey, kitty!" He yelled loudly. "Over here you infantile baboon!" He began beating heavily on his shield. "You're looking for your mama so badly? I've got it right here! She begged me for it all last night!" The distraction was working. The Leonid snorted and surged at Erik to rend him to pieces. I'll commend Erik for his courage and discipline. He stood his ground, shield raised to take the hit from the Leonid's blade. He grimaced as the rusted old weapon slammed into the steel plate, his arm straining. He took the chance to stab with his short blade into the monster's thigh, drawing some blood.
The Leonid roared again in pain, swiping at Erik, who backpedaled to evade being slashed by the monster's claws. This was my chance. I decided to rely on an old standby, the Flashing Penetrator, to try and stab the thing in the back. Imperial Fang coated in that familiar blue sheen. I was fully committed when something happened that I didn't expect at all. The monster spun about suddenly, glaring at me with those golden eyes. The Leonid jumped to the left, and ran up the wall, leaping from one protrusion to another. He made it almost fully up to the ceiling. A pair of black feathered wings erupted from his back. He glided just beneath the ceiling of the cave before the wings retracted. The Leonid roared and flew toward the ground at me for an overhead strike.
It's hard to describe what happened in those next couple of moments, a lot occurred all at once and very quickly. Time slowed down, and I took a breath. Deftly sidestepping to the left, I saw the massive great sword come down inches from my face, burying itself in the rock. The Leonid struggled to pull it up and an opening presented itself, so I took it. Nightstar returned to its sheath, drawing my fist back. That feeling came back, my mana twitched and contorted around my fist as I punched the beast square in the jaw! The actual impact planted deep in its mandible, but the shockwave behind did the real damage. The oversized mutant cat spiraled through the air, landing headfirst in the dirt.
I could still feel the pulsing of the mana on my knuckles. It all felt so familiar, like I had done it a million times before and I couldn't explain why, a memory that my fingertips could barely touch. Quara was standing there completely dumbstruck, her jaw hanging open in full surprise. She came over to me, marching with a graceful yet powerful stride and I was looking right in those eyes that her daughter inherited. "That was an amazing Parallel Fist you just performed Ezra." She looked deliriously happy. "I haven't seen that in a very long time."
"You know what it is?" I asked, flexing my fingers a bit. Eyeing how the Leonid was lying there, twitching every so often, implying it was still alive. "I first used it on Rodger and his goons back in Vizima. I went to punch Anvil, missed completely and then it was like some concussive blast of mana sent him flying into the wall and knocked him out cold!" Quara let out a triumphant laugh, clearly relishing the idea of the moronic buffoon being clocked in such a way.
"Oh, but it is so much more than that, Ezra. The Parallel Fist is the most basic move in a very ancient martial art. That fat tub of lard, Anvil, was lucky to survive. If you had managed to hit him square on, his entire head would have painted the walls." She eyed the Leonid, beginning to stir as it growled, working through the jolting shudder-inducing pain. "And I guarantee he's going to be feeling the hurt just as much."
Sure enough, the thing staggered to its feet, his entire body wracked with minute shaking. To the casual observer, he seemed to have caught a really bad chill. But I could see how his muscles twitched erratically. Made me think of a tuning fork, and every shake was a reverberation of the original sound. "Ow! Jaw hurts! Why so much?" He growled, rubbing where I had hit him.
Quara's grin was anything but ladylike. It was truly a thing of vicious beauty like an omen lioness on the hunt. "Because that wasn't just any sock to your jaw, Whiskers. It was a blow that disrupts the system that processes your very mana. To put it in a way that even you could understand. It was an attack that hit your very soul, kitty cat! Tell me did you like it?"
"I didn't! I didn't, Mama!" The monster cried out deliriously. I never thought a mutant lion monster thing could actually sound like a whiny brat, but here we are.
"I don't get why you're explaining it like this," Felecia said, not quite understanding the concept. "I mean what does it even do and who benefits from it?"
"It's a passive buff." El cut in with a clear voice, explaining it quite slowly for us all like a nun to her younglings. "It doubles the effectiveness of any magic technique. Damages the target on two different levels. Some Crest users have taken to it quite well and made its use into a fine art."
"I've heard of this as well, but I just thought it was some dumb way of dramatizing a fight, even if it was extra satisfying to see Rodger and his band of oafs get schooled," Erik commented.
"Where does a buff like that even come from?" Kyana asked aloud, shaking her head in confusion. Quara's lip curled into a light sneer of disgust.
"It's supposedly a blessing from the gods." She finally ground out, the disgust at the forefront. "A god of struggle to be more specific. She finds great delight in watching us scramble over every obstacle and overcome every challenge that's put in front of us." Clearly whoever this god was did something to earn Quara's eternal ire. Questions for later. We still had a big stinky, dumb mutant lion baby to contend with.
"So, what exactly do you expect me to do? Take that oversized house cat with naught but my bare fists?" I asked her, not believing what I was hearing. To which she just nodded firmly. I struggled to keep my jaw straight. "Going toe to toe with nothing in my hands sounds like a fast way to die if you ask me, and I'm not sure your daughter will appreciate that!" Quara gave me that same hard glare when she asked me earlier if I was willing to do whatever it took to win. It looked even sharper than before.
"I don't see why you're so apprehensive, my future son-in-law." She raised her arms aloft, all too similar to the statues I'd seen of the eternal queen, commanding me to listen with those now golden eyes of hers. Starkly, shining like golden amber stars in the dark of night. "To a true warrior, they themselves are the actual weapon. If you are the warrior, you believe yourself to be, then dealing with this oversized house cat as you so eloquently put it, should be naught but a simple task. You won't be able to grow as a warrior, much less as a man, if you don't test yourself. You can't even begin to believe you'll overcome the High King if you don't fell the Red Lion first."
I wasn't sure what it was, but as she uttered those words, I felt a strange calm overtake me, my senses became clouded. I could smell the fresh warm air of a spring day. The all too familiar sour odor of acrid smoke from tobacco within a burning pipe. I could feel the sharp coolness of finely polished wood beneath my suddenly bare feet. I was confronted by someone, but couldn't make out their face, blurred by time or something more. There was great disappointment in his voice. "That was a pathetic showing! Three against one and you couldn't overcome them? I thought I taught you better than that young man!"
His finger shook with barely constrained rage. "How can you seek to get stronger without testing yourself? You grow with every challenge you overcome! You must wrestle and conquer the Red Lion to the ground before you can even think to confront the hated Red Wolf! You must taste the blood of retaliation, love the taste of conflict, and relish the struggle! That is how fear is conquered, glory is won, and victory in battle is achieved! You are better than that! So, what are you waiting for?"
I felt my senses sharpen again, and all my anxieties fell away. In its place, I felt an incredible burning sensation. It wasn't like the flames I drew upon for my pyromancy. This was the flame of combat in its purest form when you had nothing but your own natural skill to fall back on. My eyes narrowed sharply like a blade's edge. I realized how foolish I had been, Quara was right. I wouldn't be able to save my mother, protect Felecia, or any of the other girls if I didn't find the absolute upper limits to my skill and strength. This Misbegotten was the first step upward. I just had to be willing to do it.
Sneering like a madman, my hands went to the buckle of the baldric holding Nightstar and Imperial Fang, unfastening it and tossing it over to Quara. She looked at me with satisfaction. Glad that her point had gotten across. "Okay then…I'll take the risk!" Crackling my knuckles, I began advancing toward it. It was time to punish the bad kitty.
"Are you out of your mind, Mama?" Felecia exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes. "You're crazy to let him take that thing on barehanded!" Only for Quara to give her daughter a gentle hug and a light kiss on the forehead. Long elegant fingers brushed against Felecia's cheek as she took a handkerchief to her tears.
"Have faith in your man, daughter mine. He will prevail. If he wants to be the man who overcame a god. He'll have to overcome godly struggles first." There was a calmness in the Lamperouge Matriarch's voice as she lovingly patted the cheek of her baby girl.
"Mom, I'm glad you have such faith in Ezra, but I really have to question this," Erik said dubiously, nervously eyeing as more Misbegotten were starting to leak in.
"Yeah, Auntie Quara, I think this is too much even for me!" Was as far as Kyana got before a loud roar announced the arrival of a second Leonid Misbegotten, slightly smaller than the first but no less dangerous. Its teeth flashed in the dim light. The longer we waited, the more mutated freaks were starting to come out of the woodwork. El looked remarkably nonplussed. Her axe clenched firmly in hand.
"It doesn't sound crazy to me," El disagreed firmly, those amethyst eyes of hers glimmering like the harshest of blades. I could see the merciless warrior in her that granted no quarter or sympathy. Just calculated thought. A cold lizard brain in the heat of danger. Something I felt I needed, and admired. "Think of every conqueror, warlord, king, and god that has sat on the throne of history. They didn't get to where they were by shying away from challenge. They became that way because they were willing to take risks. The fact that Ezra has found his nerve is admirable. I wish him well."
"I agree completely. We're risking everything right now after all." Noa's gaze scanned the enemy for a weak point. That blue eye flickered neon green, glimmering with fierce determination. "It's only right he takes responsibility for his actions by making himself more than he is right now. Fight on, Ezra!"
"Don't let us down, honey!" Fianna called in a sweet voice that I'm sure was solely to irritate Felecia. Whom just huffed as everyone began turning on her reasonable protests. Maybe we were all just crazy? "We're expecting you to take over the world and I'm looking forward to sitting in your lap as your queen! Although I'll be happy as your chief consort!" That woman sometimes…
"You're all fucking crazy," Rose muttered, looking worriedly at the fact we now had two giant housecats to declaw. "But then again, crazy is what we're gonna need if we ever wanna confront those dumb knights who made off with Alice!" What Quara said made sense not just for me, but for everyone. You don't grow if you shy away from challenges. So go ahead and take the first step, I told myself.
It went without saying that all of us were starting to get a little tired from the earlier fight. But we had to dig down and find the strength to prevail. Quara seemed unperturbed, her ebony wood glintstone staff in hand, while she manipulated Nightstar and Imperial Fang with her telekinesis. If she could handle a few brooms, I bet she could work wonders with a pair of the finest blades ever made. Given how the Glintstone crystals embedded within Nightstar gleamed, I think she would be okay with dealing with the lesser rabble while I disciplined the cat.
Erik, Felecia, and Kyana joined forces against the other Leonid beast. If it was as ferocious as what I was tangling with, they'd be in for a fight, but I wasn't worried. All three of them had trained together since their youngest days, so they could read each other's movements perfectly. I could only imagine what it would be like if Caela and Mark were present. But four out of six was still pretty good. Not to mention Farram was present, definitely giving that dog a nice steak when it's all said and done.
I saw El, Fianna, Noa, and Rose beating back some of the lesser Misbegotten for us. The former three's respective techniques were all so polished and refined, indicative of their status as veteran adventurers, but my gaze fell on Rose. It seemed just tangling with the icky little goblins had given her valuable experience and improved her confidence. But her overall technique was still on the rough side and some formal training was definitely required to get her blade work up to par, but I knew that I could help her with that part.
An angry roar reminded me of what I had to contend with, so I went back to the housecat. "You want to cry to your mama so badly?" I said, reaching into my satchel to pull out a Witcher potion for a quick power-up. "I'll send you to meet her in Gehenna!" I knocked it back and felt it take effect. Unlike the Mad Cobra, this was just a general potion to enhance my strength and offense, needed if I was going to be using nothing but bare knuckles against something so dangerous. I got an idea in that moment. As we've well established by this point, these creatures are not working with a lot, so any little distraction would certainly throw them off guard.
I took the empty phial and threw it squarely at the Leonid. He cried out in surprise, his blade flailing about, trying to swat it. I ran, pumping mana to my legs, and went for a flying sidekick square in his furry gut! I spun in mid-air, following it up with an elbow thrust and a right cross to the face. The Leonid roared in pain, dropping his sword as he tried to get at me with his claws, but I ducked and weaved around them, those nasty blackened nails swiping just inches from my face. I responded by uppercutting him in the jaw, and I broke it.
"You mean man!" I could almost hear the sniffle in his voice. Wow, Rose was right, these guys need to grow up a bit. So, I guess I'm the teacher here. I rewarded him with another kick in the gut, followed by a mean stomp to his foot. I then noticed something from the alcove in the corner of the room, it was bathed in a blue glow similar to glintstone sorcery. I could hear a whirring sound coming from the depths of the shaft. This was clearly the elevator to the depths of the Deepground and something was coming up!
"Blessing from below! Blessing from below! Kill the humans!" The chanting was eerie. Apparently, the elevator held some kind of sacred meaning for the Misbegotten. Given how they started chittering excitedly. It seemed to give them new resolve, given how they were throwing themselves at all of us. I watched Quara use Nightstar to send a sweeping curtain of flame that roasted several goblins while Imperial Fang spun end over end to decapitate a few more. But they were pushing in. I rolled backwards in time to keep the Leonid from crushing my skull in.
The Leonid laughed menacingly. "Now mean humans will get what's coming to them! Friends from below will tear you all apart!" The glow became brighter and brighter as the elevator reached the surface. I could see several figures obscured in shadow. I braced myself for whatever was coming through. "Help us friends! Kill them all!" The Leonid roared toward the new arrivals. I saw someone raising a weapon, and then a whistling sound as several projectiles flew through the air. Several of the Misbegotten gurgled, stumbling about as they fell dead, courtesy of numerous crossbow bolts embedded in their bodies.
"Uh yeah, not happening." A thick voice responded, and out of the shadows stepped Varric, Bianca in hand and a menacing sneer on his face. "Your ilk is the last group I'd ever help. In fact, Bianca loves making pincushions out of Misbegotten! At least you're easier to deal with over those damn Claymen from down below! I guess it was worth inspecting this thing after all, Brokky, Zolty, we found a way out of the damn place at last! And we even got dinner out of it as well!"
From behind him came a second dwarf, He had a thick brown beard, his hair shaved off into a mohawk. "Ah, it's a good thing, given we were almost out of rations." Clenched in his hand was a large axe with a semi-circular blade, bearing the telltale bronze coloration of Dwarven craftsmanship. "I didn't relish the idea of eating anything we found down in the depths." My jaw about dropped. This was Zoltan Chivay…a companion of Geralt of Rivia himself! I dare say the odds just improved in our favor.
The two were joined by yet another dwarf, he was bald, and his skin was blue, very blue! "Ha ha! Good thing since I was starting to get hungry from all that exercise down below!" The dwarf barked happily, a plain-looking steel sword in one hand and a heavy-looking hammer decorated with runes in the other. "Ah, it's been a while since I've had Misbegotten Tail! You set it up on a spit and cook it just right, it'll put hair on your scrote for days on end!" He cackled "I'm going to eat good tonight you sons of bitches!"
"Must we?" An elegant, feminine voice whined. A gorgeous young woman my age came out of the elevator, in one hand she carried an impressive-looking staff, painted a deep blue to match the large circular glintstone crystal on the top in an engraved bronze cage, at the bottom was a blade made of silver, elaborate runes ran the length of it. In the other was a book with a brilliant blue cover engraved with a miserable-looking silver face on the cover. Somehow, it felt, along with the girl, all too familiar. Strangely so.
Her Carian blue hair was done in an elaborate plait, and a large fur coat covered the long grayish-blue dress she wore underneath. Those equally dark blue eyes glanced about furtively, yet I saw flawless strength behind them. Ready to be unleashed in the chill of this dark, dank cave. Her fingers were adorned with a bevy of expensive-looking enchanted rings. This girl was someone of importance, a noble perhaps? "No offense Master Brok," she complained, sounding quite done with it. "But I've had my fill of exotic food, as you put it, to last me quite some time." If you're wondering, yeah this is how I met Phoebe.
"Ah girly, quit your whining and make use of that fancy staff of yours to start killing these nasties!" Brok spat on one of the corpses Varric killed earlier. "The longer we wait, the less fresh the meat will be!" Phoebe wailed, tears stinging her the corners of her dark blue eyes, clearly not excited at the prospect of eating goblin tails.
"I have to agree with Brokky on this one, little Miss Spring-Rain. You did volunteer to come with us when we said we needed a translator for any ancient texts we might find in the Deepground. You'll have to be with us until the end!"
"Just don't let Phoebe near the cooking skillet again!" A light voice tittered, it sounded otherworldly, certainly not human or elf. "After all she almost nearly fried dinner a few nights ago." I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Were my ears playing tricks on me?
"I'm trying to improve Trixie!" Phoebe pouted but only got another mocking laugh in return. It was then I saw a flicker of green light flitting around her head. She had a pixie? Heard about them, but never saw one in person. I wasn't sure if I should be worried, or not given their ill reputations.
"Hey, quit quipping and get to killing!" Brok smacked his hammer against his sword. A dull ring resounded throughout the cave. He really wanted those tails.
"Ah, this takes me back. Perhaps if I see Dandelion again, he could write a new song about this little scuffle." If only Zoltan knew how close his old friend really was to them at that moment. Either way, we had fresh reinforcements, and the odds had shifted back into our favor. We were about to do the Lord of Mountain Glenn a favor by cleaning the old mine out.
Brok joined Rose and the Bards in keeping the lesser goblins back. He was really enjoying himself, using his smithing hammer and sword in concert with a bevy of various things he kept in the hip pouch at his side. "Ha ha! enjoy this, chunky monkeys!" Brok cackled, tossing out a trio of sizzling bombs. The Misbegotten just looked down at them stupidly as the explosives went off, sending them all flying into the air. The blue-skinned dwarf merrily pounced on them as soon as they landed, either ending them with a sword in the throat or crushing their skulls with their hammer. "Ha! And the tails aren't even singed!" He quipped, holding a bunch of them he had just cut off, much to Noa and Rose's joint disgust.
Zoltan grouped with the Lamperouges against the other Leonid. Hefting that giant axe of his, he looked ready for a fight. "Pardon me, folks! Hope you don't mind an extra body in this little dance of ours." None of them said anything. The extra backup was welcome. "Wow, you're an ugly thing, aren't you? But I bet you'll go down faster than those rock creatures we fought down below." The Leonid roared and charged at them, swinging its blade. But Zoltan stood firm, his weapon in front. Axe met the sword in a shrill clash of metal. "Ha! That all you got?" He smirked, pushing the Leonid back. "Let me show you how it's really done!"
He held his axe high in the air, and the blade gave off a spectral, white glow, three ghostly skeletons phased into existence, and all four brought their weapons down on the poor dumb cat, yowling in pain as the skeletons receded into the ether. Zoltan rubbed salt into the wound by kicking it in the face. "Come on you! Let's finish this up!" He yelled at Quara and her children. They didn't need any prompting to act. Quara was quick to follow, throwing out a Glintstone Crystal Barrage to distract the beast, all of the azure energy bolts bursting around its head as it batted it away with his blade. But all of that was a distraction as Quara mentally directed Imperial Fang to try and decapitate him.
Again, the Leonid parried it, but not before just sprouting its wings to avoid being roasted by a flame strike from Nightstar. He growled, knocking my silver blade away, Quara waved her staff, launching another burst of Glintstone Pebbles at it. "Ha! Puny magic things can't stop me!" Famous last words pal. Quara simply smiled, and raised Nightstar, a flash of the glintstone crystals and a giant spectral blade formed around it, she swung once, catching the Leonid's great sword, a second swing and a sharp gust of ice emanated from the tip, snapped the kitty's weapon in half. "You were saying, dear?" Quara shot back. "Adula's Moonblade, taught to me by Ranni herself, you should feel honored."
A sharp crack sounded off, Felecia pulled out another Piercing Water that caught the Leonid square in the shoulder, causing it to whimper and drop the remains of the now useless blade. Zoltan dropped another of his skeletal attacks on him. Only for Felecia to use that moment to come in and rake the serrated edge of Sword Breaker across its bare chest. She rolled out of the way so that Erik and Kyana could take their pound of flesh. Erik went for a quick four-hit combo before slamming the edge of his shield into his neck. Kyana took her paddle sword to the Leonid's face, slashing it open. Blinded by the blood, it lashed out madly.
"Down kitty!" Zoltan delivered his third skeleton axe strike; I may have to ask about that technique later. Erik looked to Kyana, who just smiled and nodded as her cousin knelt. She started running and hopped off Erik's back, dropping her own weapon, and drawing out his faithful claymore from Erik's back. Kyana swung in the air in a perfect Lion's Claw Strike, splitting the Leonid Misbegotten asunder. A good kill to be sure.
I had Phoebe and Varric backing me up. Phoebe looked at me worriedly, seeing I had no visible weapon in hand and was fighting something so big with just my bare hands. I just looked at her and grinned. I figured she'd feel better if she saw me actually holding my own. The Leonid roared, swinging its great sword around to carve me up. But I was too quick for him, rolling to the left and going for a sweeping kick to his ankles. But he managed to leap over it. Of course, this also meant he was open to a flurry of bolts courtesy of Bianca. Varric was well renowned for his aim after all.
"Mean people everywhere!" He snarled, only to become well acquainted with my fist, cracking him right in his ugly nose. A series of blue spectral knives tore through his mane, and caught him in his left leg. I saw Phoebe standing tall, her earlier shyness replaced by a firm determination. The crystal on her staff crackled to life as she conjured up more of those glowing blue blades. A wave of her staff and she launched them at our opponent. The Leonid roared again, and I did a picture-perfect jump back kick to his right knee. Usually, I wouldn't use such flashy moves in a fistfight, but I wanted to show off to Phoebe a little bit.
I followed it up with a quick flurry of punches to his face, it was an improvement to be sure. He yowled hard and I got backhanded, but I was able to recover, landing in a crouch. Varric introduced him to Bianca's charm one last time. A trio of glowing purple boulders were next, pelting the Leonid square in its ugly fat head. One thing about Phoebe, she was well-versed in Glintstone Sorcery, this was just scratching the surface of her power. The Leonid stumbled about, and she raised her staff to the sky once more, this time launching a glowing blue ball. It hovered in the air, raining down a heavy barrage of magic fire, striking it multiple times.
"That's it! Finish that ugly thing off!" Varric cheered. Her confidence bolstered, Phoebe generated a massive cone of blue energy around the tip of her staff, holding it like a spear. She slammed it down into the ground at the Leonid Misbegotten's feet, causing it to shatter around him. The Leonid started to tumble downward, and that was when I made my move. In that moment I felt it again, the telltale shift of my mana, and I knew this was going to the end the fight. I uppercut the beast square in the jaw, no missing this time. The physical blow shattered his jaw, the magical blow completely blew out the top of his skull, brain and bits of bone decorating the ceiling.
"At least you'll get to see your mama now!" I panted. The remaining Misbegotten squealed in terror and fled from the cave. They knew they had lost this fight. With a moment to breathe, we could familiarize ourselves with the new arrivals. As excited as I was to meet another comrade of Geralt, I was drawn to Phoebe more so. I couldn't explain why, for Grace's sake.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly, worry evident in her tone. "It was very dangerous to take on a Misbegotten, especially a Leonid like that one barehanded." Quara then subtly handed my baldric to me, cinching Nightstar and Imperial Fang to my back.
"Maybe, but if I don't find ways to challenge myself. I'll never grow as a fighter." I shot Quara a knowing smile, who simply nodded back to me. I put my attention back on Phoebe. "But I'll definitely say thanks to you and your compatriots for the last-minute backup. You handled those Glintstone Spells like a real pro." She blushed at the compliment, and her smile was just too adorable. "So, tell me, what business does a gorgeous lady such as yourself have in a place like this?"
Phoebe was flattered by my words. "I was hired for a job. The dwarves were exploring one of their old abandoned Thaigs. They needed a scholar who could translate any old books or scrolls they might find, and I needed the coin badly." She paused. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Phoebe Spring-Rain. It's nice to meet you." She bowed slightly. I then took hold of her hand, gently kissing it, eliciting a gasp and her face turned red again. "W-what are you doing here?" She asked softly.
"Ezra, and it's very nice to meet you Miss Spring-Rain. As for what my compatriots and I are doing here. We came to use that." I indicated to the elevator. "We have a vital mission in the Deepground, and this was the only place we could access it."
"You want to muck about down in the depths?" Brok walked up, having stuffed the tails into his pouch. "Good luck with that! We've been down there for a few days now and we about had enough."
"I'm afraid it's a matter of utmost importance, Master Dwarf." Quara, the unofficial leader of the party spoke. "We have to retrieve a dangerous artifact from someone who seeks to use it to their own nefarious ends. Time is of the essence if we're going to reach the City of Nokturne before they do." All three dwarves froze at this. All of them suddenly became quite interested in it.
"Did you just say Nokturne?" Varric's tone was measured as he marched up to Quara, looking her square in the eye. "You actually found a way to the Lost City of Nokturne?" Wordlessly she pulled out the map and handed it to him. The dwarves crowded around it, looking at it intently. Varric whistled. "Well, how about that? We've been looking for a direct path to Nokturne for years." He chuckled, handing it back to Quara. "Tell you what, my good woman. If you're really looking to go there, then my companions and I will happily be your guide. We know a couple of shortcuts that could shave off an hour or so." He leaned in. A greedy smile was on his stubbled face. "For the right price of course."
Quara didn't flinch. She was used to such shady types as Varric. So, it was easy to tell what he was looking for. "You can have whatever loot you find down there. We already hired some adventurers and made the same deal." she indicated to Fianna, Noa, and El. The former waved at them cheerfully. "All I'm interested in is the weapon itself." She held her hand out. "It could do a lot of damage the longer we spend up here talking, the more time they have to get to it."
"Done deal!" Varric exclaimed happily, the two of them shaking on it. We all boarded the elevator and began heading downward. The elevator hummed as it descended further into the bowels of the very Earth itself. Despite the light, the shaft felt confined and stifling. But then gaps started forming in the rocks, and we could see a wide cavern, soon it was fully exposed, and all I could think was…Wow.