Of Monsters and Men

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Crow was right about one thing, it was an extreme ideology to be glad being were dead just because they disliked them, but this is where Kruez should've been more specific. The truth of the matter was that when he was younger, he took the looks and glares that gave him as just looks of dislikes. The reality was they hated him and his entire family. The villagers may not have openly done anything to show this, but how they treated him was more than enough proof of that. Years of that and of course he'd be glad that they all are dead. Though, maybe the ones who just avoided him all together are an exception to that. Unfortunately the majority outweighed the minority in this case.

"Normally yes, but that dislike turned to hatred after a while. They made that pretty clear by blaming me for whatever went wrong there." That was all Kruez had to say on the matter since he had no intentions on going further into his past. So he was glad when Crow, albeit briefly, mentioned what it was that he could teach him. He didn't have the chance to further ask what he meant, for the other girl had returned and said something about horses being missing. Well it wasn't hard to put two and two together. So Crow presumably left to go after them, leaving him and Tatiana in the library. Well, guess now was the time to strike up a conversation with her. "So Tatiana, just what kind of person is your brother." From their brief interaction, he had no reason to think ill of the guy.

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Zephyr had followed behind Terra as she guided him to the kitchen, after which she wasted no time pointing to the stack of dishes for him to clean. "Alright." Adding his dishes to the mix, the teen rolled up his sleeves and started to silently wash the dishes. It had been awhile since he's done something like this and fortunately he still had some idea on how to wash the dishes.

 

Derrick sighed as Olivia began her tirade. This was getting an awful lot more complicated than he had intended. She was certainly in a bad mood today. Honestly, what did this woman expect of him? Hadn't she seen him rushing about trying to do something about the various things happening around here and having to run the Gauntlet for the crow? He looked at her.
"Alright, well he didn't say anything about not going anywhere so feel free to head to Oxenfurt I guess. Just don't get mixed up in Veceslav's business." He said, before all hell broke loose with her angry torrent. "Listen, I've been a bit busy trying to manage some of the things going on around here. We've had a woman showed up severely injured and that needed dealing with. Before that, I managed to piss off the old man and had to do a run for him. Speaking of the Crow, he just buggered off out of nowhere to go and deal with at least two extremely pissed off Witchers about to start an insane mass murder by the sounds of it. I now haven't got as much **** to do, we can talk now. Okay?" Why did he get the impression that this was pointless and that she was going to get pissed at him anyway? Something told him that it was heading that way anyway...




Delaine took the coin gladly and put it in her purse and flashed a smile at the young man who had just paid. Finally, he gets it.
"Alright, if you want to catch some shuteye, then go through that door over there." She pointed at a door that was at the other end of the room, past most of the tables which were all occupied and crowded with people around them. "Through that door is the main room. There's about ten cots in there, take a look around and pick whichever you fancy. Now, is that all you want? If you want food, you'll need to pay for that obviously, but you can have some if you want. You'll have to wait for Corwyn to cook it though." ​

 

Olivia's pov:



Derrick said it was alright for her to go to Oxenfurt. It was not like she need his permission anyways. "You could come with me you know. It would be an adventure." Derrick then said he had been busy. "Derrick you never been really about the rules. What has changed?" She the began to think about why she was back. "I came back to see master. Then I came across you and I thought we could catch up, but you changed so much. Is the past really gone? What use to be not there?" She then thought back to when she was younger training with the other Witchers. Derrick was a full Witcher at that time. She wanted to know what happed to her masters in the time she was gone. Part of her did not want to find out, but the other did. She then brushed the hair out of her face. "I wanted to see master, but sense I been back no one noticed me. You know my past or the stories of it I guess. You do not know what it is like." As far as she knew Derrick had a family he did not have to go through the pain she did. She lost her family at a young age. Sure she was lucky to get to become a Witcher, but part of her wondered what would have happened with her family if they were alive. She knew Derrick longer then most, but she was not sure what he could do. Witchers could only do so much and he was just one person. She did not know what else to say.



Ethan's pov:



The group that ran the inn said he could get some sleep. He could stay in the chair if he wanted. There was some sort of main room off through some doors. The inn people then went on about food and of course paying for it. He did not have much money. Lucky his family in the bag he had put some food in it. Despite not eating most of the day he was not that hungry. "I do not want any food, but thanks for the offer."

 

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Veera rolled her eyes at the silly creature and then whistled, her face giving no room to disobey. The animal came to her and stood at her side, carefully avoiding eye contact as she mounted, turning in her saddle to face Aaron. "We should be there soon (Like within the next post soon because Magick just wants to get going on the story). Are you prepared for what must be done?" She was ready to start when they got there, but other things needed to be taken care of. A place to hide that Veceslav wouldn't find them, and a plan of attack. Where they would start. She relayed these thoughts to Aaron before turning her horse to face him.

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Suddenly, Vyle realised, as he was fluttering away, that Teliana was possibly still in danger from the wolf. He wasn't sure how well the potion would work. On the other hand Vyle really wanted to get away from there, he hated werewolves. They weren't necessarily a challenge to him, he was after all a high vampire, but they irritated him. Not only were they savage beasts but they hid in society, coming out every so often to wreak havoc and chaos, until they were eventually killed by a witcher, or by Vyle. Turning suddenly Vyle flew back to the village and saw the werewolf barely holding onto his control and Teliana fearing for her life. This werewolf had remarkable control, for a mongrel beast. When it seemed as though the beast couldn't hold on any further Vyle pounced out of invisibility and swooped down between Teliana and the beast. "Run" He told Teliana, brandishing a pair of knives and standing protectively in front of her, no doubt his presence would anger the wolf but at least it would save the mage "FLEE, GIRL!" he shouted again, to get the point across.

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Willow had never intended to stay in disguise this long and her story was falling apart, she had to make something up quick "I... I don't know" she whispered, fake tears welling in her eyes "Bad people killed my parents and I... I didn't know where to go... I don't think they followed me but... I'm scared" how pitiful, how degrading that she had to act like this "Can I... can I please sleep somewhere? I'm so tired" to emphasise the point she yawned. Hopefully her target would give up the interrogation and she could be left on her own, she wanted to make this quick so she could move on to other jobs.

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Solomon had been following and eavesdropping on the two witchers on their journey from Kaer Morhen for some time now. Their plan was impressive to say the least, and certainly intriguing to the necromancer. Just thinking about the sheer devastation and death made him excited and gleeful. It took a moment to catch up but soon Solomon was hidden in the shadows near where the witchers had stopped. Well, Solomon would certainly like to be a part of this plan. Skipping out of his hiding place Solomon approached the witchers "Good evening there, ah, you must be the famous Veera of Velen!" In truth Solomon had barely heard of this witcher, but he picked up her name from their conversation he'd be listening in on "A pleasure to meet you, certainly, where are you headed on this fine day? A grand adventure? A mission to slay some great monster? You know I greatly respect the witchers and their work" he lied "anything I can help with at all?"

 

Yana stood above her minion. The flames had been snuffed out by the lack of oxygen, and while Yana had been almost prepared to let things slide before, a spark of rage flared up inside the young witch. Annabelle had tried to suffocate herself before her magical strength had given out. She'd tried to end her suffering and take the easy way out, the coward's way out. How was she going to kill others if she herself was dead? Not only that, she'd forgotten that Yana had necromancy powers, so she was also proving how unintelligent she was and how little she listened. Yana pulled up the sleeves of her top and a shimmer appeared in her eyes as she opened her mouth and spoke. "Oh, i'm not going to punish you" she stated.

Quickly, Yana bent down and held up the dress she had been carrying for Annabelle. "Come on, put on the dress, you have to look nice for your trial" that heinous ***** said, forcibly putting the dress onto her minion. She then opened a portal that opened up deep within an alleyway in Novigrad. Acting swiftly, Yana began running towards a large group of people, screaming hysterically. She forced tears to come running down her cheeks as she allowed herself to fall forward in front of the group of people. "Help! Please! She's coming! The witch! Sh-she said she was going to kill everyone if I didn't help her, but I got away and...oh god she's here!" Yana stammered, her words slightly muffled through tears. Damn she was a good actress.

Right as she finished that statement was when Annabelle stepped through the portal. Immediately Yana got up and turned around to face the little girl. "P-please don't hurt me y-your greatness. I swear I didn't tell them anything. I didn't I didn't I didn't I promise, please let me live. Please..." she whimpered, tears increasing in frequency. Now was the time to truly sell the point. Using as much power as she could possibly muster, Yana began using every bit of fire magic in her body, causing her entire self to become alight with black flames as she released a bloodcurdling scream; she'd heard more than enough of them to mimic it perfectly. This continued for a good ten seconds, lasting long enough to burn all her clothes to the point they were merely tiny bits of fabric on her, covering next to nothing, as well as leave her skin tinged slightly which was impressive given the witch's resistance to flames. "I'm...s-sorry...please.." she said once more, before giving everything she had in one last final burst of sobbing and tears, falling onto the ground in a crumpled up heap of sorrow.


Zach took one wiff of the blossoms and immediately felt his strength leaving him, at the same time that he completely lost control over the werewolf body. With a terrifyingly fast lunge, the wolf pounced forward and plunged straight into Teriana. His claws weren't out, but the force behind the shove was tremendous. Not enough to kill the girl, likely it wouldn't even break her back or any bones, but she'd have a sore back for a while if she didn't do something to break her fall. Once that was done, still charging towards her the werewolf body fell to the ground, consciousness slipping away.


As the finger jabbed into Callum, he lost his balance and quickly fell off of the roof just as Tessa yelled she didn't have names. That was a blatant lie, everyone had someone they wanted to kill, didn't they? Immediately after that, Seth gave three names. Three, no two, fake names. He knew the names of each guard in Novigrad, and even the names of a couple of their wives after....adventures, and while he had never heard of the first two, the third was an actual person. Ugh, Meg Griffin was disgusting. He'd only been with her to piss off her husband, and he had loathed every minute of it.

"Bull you don't have names. Everyone has names. Hell I could come up with a list in minutes if anyone asked me, so how can you not want someone dead? There has to be someone. Anyone will do. How about the guy giving fake names? He'd be easy, and that'll be one name off the list and one name closer to both of our freedom"​

 

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Veera grabbed the reins firmly as her horse pranced, nervous at the sight of the mage. "Evening." She addressed Solomon evenly. "We're on witcher business, I'm afraid it can't be discussed." She looked the man up and down, frowning slightly. He was too charming, and something about him was...off. But perhaps just a little bit off was what she needed. "Ser, do you know of a place to stay in Oxenfurt? One that might not be....obvious to the trained eye? We need a place to hide from a certain....acquaintance. Someone persistent and smart. I would be in your debt if you could provide such a place." She gave the most sparing of details, determined to keep as much as possible from the man. As little information as could get back to Veceslav as possible. She also made sure that Aaron wasn't included on the debt. He was an accomplice, but to a point. She was also his superior, in a sense, and despite her intense desires to massacre and murder, she couldn't help but feel a little responsible for his safety. Probably as close to mothering instincts as she would ever get.

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Teliana braced herself for the impact just as Vyle came flying back down in front of her. Huh? For a moment, her slightly higher then average intellect was stunned by the vampire's sudden appearance. The first time he told her to go didn't penetrate the cloud of surprise that enveloped her brain. The second time, however, she grabbed her skirts and ran, not daring to look back. It wasn't really in her nature, but she needed time to regroup. Time to do...this. Smacking her palms together with enough force to make a loud clapping noise, she reached for the fire, speaking the words of old as the ball of flames grew in her hand. Sorry Zach, I promise that I'll make you enough burn cream to fix you up. She turned to toss the fireball. She would be damned if she left a friend, or newfound ally, to die.

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Tessa blinked when Callum tumbled off the roof, but otherwise gave no indication she was minorly, minorly concerned she had actually hurt him. You can't hurt witchers, silly. She scolded herself, focusing on Seth's words. "I guess this is the closest to a special that we have." She grabbed a clean mug and stuck it under the spout of a barrel, turning the spigot in order to let the ale flow into the glass. After it was full, she set it down in front of Seth before going back to her busy work. "I guess it's Bryce's bar, but he lets me run it and stay here. I don't like sleeping in Sanctuary. Too much pain." She paused, a twist in her lips making her face grimace into a smile. "Welcome to the Bumblebee."

Grabbing a second mug, she filled it with the same ale and shoved it on the bar in front of Callum. "Not everyone has fucking people to kill." She snapped, dangerously close to grabbing the knife she kept as security underneath the table and attempting to stab Callum with it. "Especially me."
She turned back to Seth. "Do you like it?" She asked, motioning towards the liquor. She hadn't had any complaints, but fresh perspective was always good.

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Zack had left the underworld of Sanctuary, somehow, and was making his way around Oxenfurt curiously. Despite his pounding headache, the sights and sounds here were so much better then underneath. It was stale there, crowded, and hopeless. Here there was light, and laughter. He loved it. He paused at a merchant stall, inspecting the goods. He could really use a new shirt.

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Kruez was silent as he listened to Tatiana describe her brother, using his foot to rock himself back and forth. Aaron's admiration towards witchers reminded Kruez of how he admired his father and how he wanted to learn the same magic that his father used. fortunately he managed to do so, it has gotten him out of a few tight spots every now and then. The protective and caring side of Aaron he could see, well in regards to Tatiana. That much seemed to still be the same, other than that there wasn't much that he could judge accurate or not.

The rocking in the chair had come to a stop as Kruez became content with the answer to his first question. He could've stopped their conversation right then and there, but there was something else that he was curious about. "Why were you attacked by a Doppler?"

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While Zephyr did continue to wash the dishes like the was told to do, he overheard the conversation between Sarah and Terra and listened in to it. Having both your parents killed and not being sure whether or not you were followed. That was horrible for someone to have to experience. Zephyr was unsure how to respond to what he had overheard, thus he remained silent and put up another recently dried dish before moving on the the next one.

As he placed the dish into the water Terra had taken Sarah to her room, briefly leaving him in silence before returning. She'd picked up a towel with the intention of helping him. "Thanks." Zephyr may not have mind doing this all by himself since that's what he offered to do, but that didn't mean that he would turn down an offer to help him. "I'll be fine, it wouldn't be the first time I've been in potential danger. Besides, it wouldn't sit right with me if I left knowing that something might befall this place."

 

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If Kruez was going to be completely honest, he was expecting something more along the lines of she was walking back home and was attacked in an alley or something. Her being attacked at the brothel wasn't had in mind, but that wasn't up to him at all. Kruez continued listen silently, noting the fact that Tatiana had started shaking. Her reaction was an understandable one given her experience and Kruez had figured something like that would happen. At the end of her tale, Kruez had place his hand on his chin as if he was contemplating something. "So he basically did all that just because he could, well I can understand why the old drunk would want to kill him." Albeit their reasoning likely being different, people like that were a pet peeve of Kruez and he enjoyed knocking them down to size. Thus running into him would be interesting to say the least.

 

Veceslav Furst, en route to Novigrad

He had been pushing his horse to it's limits, it was a purebred Zerrikanian cavalry horse, he had gotten his hands on it by doing a contract for a nobleman and he invoked the Law of Surprise this time however he didn't get a child or anything more usual out of it and he was glad. Hawk had served him well, they had made many a journey and harrowing escape together. He was however roused from his train of thought by the distant sound of screeching. He knew what it was and cursed, he really couldn't use this right now. He rode on, but the screeching only got louder, the monster would soon be upon him. He halted at the road side and sent Hawk into the woods at the side, not too far away, but still far enough to keep him out of harms way and waited, soon he heard the flapping of the wings and he drew his silver sword, drinking a tawny owl and swallow potion he readied himself for the coming fight with an abomination. Over the trees flew the Cockatrice that had been following him, probably more coincidence than anything but there was no going back now.

Raymond Mercator, Oxenfurt

He had wandered through the city of Oxenfurt for quite a while now, looking left and right at market stalls to see what wares merchants were selling. Nothing he could afford or really needed in the first place so he wandered on and time went by reasonably fast. He planned on heading back home again when he saw a sign near the door of a building. "The Bumblebee" it read showing an example of one as well. He figured a drink or two couldn't hurt, maybe they had something from back home but he didn't think they would. An Aldersbergen Bitter would be lovely. He decided to go in, maybe he could get to know some folks around here as well which would still be better than to be alone. He walked in bearing witness to a rather odd unexplainable scene. All he knew was that it wasn't his problem. He decided to go and sit at the other end of the bar and waited for the bar maid to come over. It was rather obvious he was a man who may have seen a little bit too much and the leg sure wasn't helping. He looked at the assortment of beers they had and he had been right in assuming there wasn't an Aldersbergen Bitter, there was however Rivian Kriek and while he wasn't from Rivia that was some rather good beer.

 

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The werewolf was clearly no longer conscious, luckily. He had been worried that he'd have to wait until the morning. Vyle also noticed that Teliana had no run "You should have run, I could have taken the wolf on my own. But... I appreciate that you stayed behind. That was a selfless gesture" Vyle turned back to the wolf and gazed at it intensely, making sure his silver daggers were ready "You should go back inside, unlike me you need to sleep. I'll keep watch of the werewolf for the night in case this lull in activity is only temporary" He looked up and down the street, he hoped no peasants had noticed the commotion "I'll try to make sure nobody, including him, comes to any harm"

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As soon as Terra left and she was left alone Willow sighed and rolled her eyes, this act was getting demeaning. From under the folds of her rags she brought out the dagger, almost as if checking it was still there. This job was going to take a while she could just tell. Getting changed she crept into the small bed set out for her, perhaps she could learn something from her roommate? She couldn't go into this without knowing the supposedly harmless orphanage owner's true capabilities. Carefully hiding the dagger away she sat and waited. Patience. Patience was her true virtue, one of the things that distinguished her from other assassins. She once sat upon a rooftop for three whole days in winter just to get a job done, but once it was complete it was executed perfectly. And nobody complained about how long these things took, as long as they were done well. She would kill Terra Mace, and it would be glorious.

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"Indubitably!" exclaimed Solomon as they asked him for a place to stay "Yes, indeed I do know of such a place! Extremely well hidden if I do say so myself!" This was just perfect, inside Solomon was laughing with glee "a dilapidated abandoned inn, buried deep within a cluster of cramped buildings and hidden by the inevitable growth of the metropolis, the only sunlight that permeates through the haze is lackluster and dull. From the main road left at a rusted lampost then first right, there you'll discover a small passage that doesn't seem like a path, it winds between two grime encrusted lower class establishments, but trust me it leads on to a rusted and locked gate. I'm sure you're agile enough to climb over the blackened bars where you'll find a dirty enclosed area, ignored and surrounded by urban structures. From there open a long forgotten soot-coated window and pass through the remains of a dirty and unused house, continuing to hop off the western balcony and..." Solomon paused "Perhaps it's best if I just lead you there. You will eventually find a faded and abandoned shop front, forgotten for decades, the goats-head inn. Perfect hiding place trust me, I'm sure not even your "persistant and smart" friend could find you there. And best of all, it's got beds and you don't have to pay anything to stay there! I've often used it myself as a hideaway" Though his manner and voice remained calm inside he was envisioning the chaos that he could cause. It was glorious.

 

Kara's pov: (in a changed form)

Maybe she would head to Sanctuary (she should know about it being a dopler) but the she would have to deal with other doplers, and there always a strange bunch. For now she would stay out of sight and continue to walk around in the new apparnce the note told her to have, although right now she decided to stay in her hiding spot, somewere in Novigrad.

Darick's pov:

He continued to watch as new people came into Oxenfurt. Hopefully soon one of them would seek his help. If not evencally he would need to find something to do. Or someone to talk to.

Evan's pov:

He woke up taller then normal, he noticed as he stood up. (He is older he just doesn't know he is) He then looked out a window to see what way he should go now that he was rested. He was unsure what to do after last night (and it still being night) and that horrible water he had found and destroyed. For now he would wait in this house and walk around later after he had some thought on what he would do. Prehaps he would get more rest as it was still dark.

 

"I'll happily get out of here and do the whole adventuring thing, just need to get a couple of things sorted out here first. Can't leave two strangers in the Kaer." Derrick replied. She was quick to point out that he hadn't really been about the rules. That was true enough, he supposed. He was pretty lax about them. He looked into the room, at Tatiana. Crippled, unable to go anywhere. It would be irresponsible to just leave her here though. Then she went on. He held his hands out in protest. "Hey now, you're overreacting a little. I haven't changed that much, I just haven't felt as if I had something to be responsible for. I'll meet you in Oxenfurt or something once this issue at the Kaer has been dealt with. Alright?" He exhaled. Sometimes, she really did overthink things. She seemed to have taken this whole thing that a sign that he wasn't the same person. Of course he was. He'd just feel bad about leaving a crippled woman in here with nobody to take care of her because it was quite a distance from the wider world.
"It's not that we haven't noticed you, you came back at a bad time. There's been a lot of unfamiliar faces around and more than a few people who shouldn't be here passing through. That's all. Don't get too worried about it, alright?" Derrick said, trying to be reassuring. She always falls back on the blinking "You don't know what it was like, I lost my parents!" thing. It gets really, really annoying after a while. Not that he let those thoughts show on his face of course. That would be rude.




"Very well, get some rest whenever you feel like it." Delaine replied. Clearly there was nothing else she could do for him, and Ellyn didn't seem to want anything. For now, she just returned to doing her job, serving drinks to the others patrons while Corwyn cooked. Hopefully the strange customer wouldn't be any more bothersome than he already was. And maybe he learned a thing or two about how business actually worked so he didn't waste anyone else's time in the future.
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Olivia's pov:



Derrick said that he would be happy to go on an adventure with her. That would be nice. What was he like out there? She had no idea. Derrick seemed to be a stay in one place type of person. So it would be interesting to see him out there fighting. Derrick then said that he would meet her in Oxenfurt. She let out a sigh. "You better or I will personally hunt you down." She was not sure if she was joking or not she could not say. 'You came back at a bad time. Don't get too worried about it' "A bad time! A bad time! I came to see the masters, but most of all..." Her voice trialed off. She had come back to see them. All that they did was ignore her. She came back to see everyone, but she could not tell Derrick that it would be show him some sort of weakness or something. After loosing her first family to the monster and everything elce she did not think she could put up with losing the Witchers. Part of the reason she let herself become a witcher was too protect people so that they did not have to go though what she did. To grow up with out a family she could not think about it. "There are other Witchers here." She then turned to leave. "If I do not see you in a few days I am going to come back and kill you." She said jokingly. "I.." She did not know what to say. She worried about the Witchers and Derrick being by himself. Again she would not tell him that. It seem like a bad idea just to leave him. Witchers can die and Derrick was no different. She decide to stay long enough for him to respond then headed out the door to the stables.

 

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Kruez soon went back to casually rocking back and forth in the chair when the silence had returned. Well he'd briefly managed to fix his boredom, of course in the process Tatiana had started to cry hence why he wasn't asking her anything else. Eventually stopped rocking and went to just leaning back into the chair. That and using his index finger, he started to trace numbers in the air. Roman numerals to be exact. Why? Both as a form of practice for his magic as well as a way to entertain himself.

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"I'm positive." Zephyr answered, washing another dish. It was the least he could do, that's how he saw it. He was being allowed to stay here and eat. That may have been in exchange for him helping out, but nothing said that he couldn't do other things to help.

Zephyr noticed the sadness in Terra's voice as she spoke about her husband and people not knowing about her. In a way he could understand what she went through. Though in his case, he was perfectly fine with people helping his sister over him. It gave him one less thing to worry about while he was on his journey.

 

Ethan's pov:



He continued to sit in the chair. The inn did not seem that busy, but what did he know. He looked at the inn keeper walk away after telling him he could get rest whenever he felt like it. He got up from the chair and walked into the nearest bathroom taking his backpack with him. It was empty for now. He wanted to go to a open shop, but the nearest one was a days tip or so. Going now would not be a good idea. He just payed for a night here so it would be like throwing out money that could be used elsewhere. He just keep on thinking. I want to go to a open shop. Get some new clothes. That was when something strange happened. A purple hole opened up in the bathroom. It was strange in a way. One minute it was not there and the next there was a purple swirling thing there. It was inviting in a way. Well nothing ventured nothing gained. He stepped through the portal. He found himself in an alleyway right next to a shop that was open. Ask and you shale receive or something like that. Not far off from where he was, was a sign that said welcome to Novigrad. How he got here was beyond him. The portal was still open so he could probably get back before someone notice he was gone. He walked into the shop and started looking at the various clothing that was there. He soon found something that he liked and bought it. He brought several things. He left the shop and back to the alleyway putting his newly bought clothing in his backpack. If he walked back into the inn with new clothing in might rise some eyes. He stepped back though the portal and found himself back in the bathroom. It was still empty so that was a good thing. He walked back to the chair he was sitting in before and took a seat.