Of Monsters and Men

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"Good luck, Carrak." Bryce nodded to Alanna, before pulling up his hood and striding off down the street. His birds had told him of a very interesting person, but the time to get to his person was limited. Similar to the one he wished to capture near the fountain. Well, that's why he was going after a second one. Well, this mage had been the first target, and the woman had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It didn't have to mean misfortune for her, but that would be her choice.

The streets were nearly empty this time of night as he made his way towards the intended target. It made it easier to navigate, and hopefully easier to catch. He heard the sounds of battle long before he reached the site of his intended plan. The mage was not alone.

Two of them were doing battle. One raised skeletons from the ground, while another fought them. Bryce turned and leapt onto a nearby roof, clambering up until he could peer over the edge, and watch without getting in the way. There was a time and a place to strike, and Bryce was not desperate enough to get in the middle of a magic battle.

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Teliana looked up at the girl. "Ah, it's not my first time. Just been many years. I'm far more used to Novigrad then I am to Oxenfurt." She looked back down at the fountain. "It is rather pretty, isn't it? I was just marveling at the plumbing. Living in a small town for so long makes you forget such things like this exist. But they do. The world goes on even as we fade from existence."

She hesitated. It wasn't a particularly good idea to mention Vyle, but he was bound to come back at some point. And startling people was no way to get about this city safely. They needed to keep a low profile, look for Solomon. "Um, I think my companion is more familiar with this place then I am. I'm simply waiting for him to return from his business." Another pause. "Do you live here?" She withdrew her hands and folded them in her lap, more of an effort to warm herself in the cold night air then to appear demure.

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Veera nodded to herself. "I didn't expect to meet the leader of the dopplers himself, but here he was. I think he was on his way to meet someone. He's already gathering support, stirring up people, getting them weapons. He wouldn't have proposed such a plan if he wasn't ready. So we need to be too."

She sighed. "We have another day. We should both meditate, regain some of our strength. Then we can go find out if the others have come to aid us." If Veceslav has come to aid us. "We will do the best we can, but our hands are in the fates of the gods now."

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Tessa nodded, and offered Seth a smile. "I'm getting better." She spoke slowly, carefully moving her lips in order to keep from chattering. "It was a stupid idea. But I wanted to survive. I wanted to show that I could keep myself alive too. And find Bryce without being babysat. I can take care of myself too." She said before finishing the rest of the juice before setting the cup down.

"He can't be a bad witcher if he saved me. He could have left me to drown. And he didn't. We should be nice to him too."

 

Veceslav listened carefully to the words of Seth, the way the man spoke was odd, he made it seem as if she had ran away from Seth. Losing the charge he was supposed to keep failing miserably at that. "She is safe and sound as you can clearly see." He said in regards to Seth's remark being glad he had found Tessa. What the girl had said told him more than they knew. She was being watched over closely left no freedom as if she were only a child, maybe she was, maybe not. Seth seemed to be getting very nervous now, acting more like a cornered animal than a person. Only monsters were this nervous, that left out the option of him being a mage. And while it didn't exactly damn the girl as well he doubted she was any different seeing this man was supposed to watch over her.

The girl's state seemed to be improving as she started to get more talkative, she had just wanted to prove herself, she clearly hadn't been allowed to do so. "You can keep a songbird in a golden cage, but it's in her nature to fly and you shouldn't be surprised that she flies away, when the door is left open. She wants to fly, no matter how well you treat her, it's in her nature. You can't deny them that freedom. Same goes for people, you may care for them, but keeping a tight leash on them to keep them safe isn't the answer. Life is about falling and getting back up, those who aren't taking risks aren't living right." Veceslav used her on purpose so he could still deny talking about Tessa if he so desired. He then turned to the young girl. "Proving you can take care of yourself isn't a bad thing, but always be careful. Had I not been here today you would have learned a harsh lesson. One you didn't deserve." He now turned back to Seth "You really seem to be itching to get away from me, I have been wondering why that is for I do not believe your reasoning of wanting to get her home. Sure it might be the reason for leaving, but I am getting the funny little feeling you're scared of me. Now why would that be? I have shown no ill-intent or caused any harm to you or your friend." He asked, carefully picking his words, moving his pieces around, he already had him, but he allowed the man the chance to come clean himself, if he didn't say anything he'd use his Axii sign, while not quite the Axii god that was Derrick, he had enough experience with the sign that he felt confident to get him to talk.

He listened to the young girl reasoned with Seth that he had been nice to her not letting her drown. She even wondered if the man had met him. He might have met the master somewhere along the travels but if he did it wasn't memorable it was more likely he had heard of the ever growing legend of the Crow. "I had nearly forgotten, I know your name." He looked at Seth, then back to Tessa "He called you Michael, but I doubt that is your name, if I may ask I would like to know the name of the person I just saved, but before that I am Veceslav Furst, as you correctly figured, Witcher." He kept an eye on Seth's reaction to the mentioning of his name, simply gauging his response.

Raymond Mercator:

Raymond had kept rather quiet as the Witcher's spoke apparantly there was a war going on now. Witchers on one side, but who were on the other? Monsters? Weren't those like animals not building armies and societies to wage war upon mankind? Then she mentioned a certain Veceslav, no not a certain Veceslav there was only one. The Legendary Crow was coming here? He felt honoured if the man would even come to his home. Then Veera turned to him "I am no, Master, I am a mere peasant. If it hadn't been you bringing the trouble to my doorstep it would have been the monsters or the lords of these lands. There is no peasant's life without trouble." Raymond said with a sad undertone. "Now I atleast get a pick as to what trouble I bring to my doorstep. You mentioned a war? I wish my leg weren't so bad or I would gladly lend you my sword to fight alongside thee. But why would another master witcher wish to kill his fellows?" He asked curiously it seemed so out of place to say "I mean there ain't a lot of you left now are there? Why thin the herd yourselves when you already have so many enemies?"

 

"I'm going to try and track down my friend. She should be in the city. She did set out before me." Derrick said as he led Tatiana inside by the hand. He kept a firm grip so that she couldn't be pulled away, as he knew that there were people after her. That, and he didn't feel like taking any chances with her dodgy balance. If she was going to fall, he had to be ready to catch her or pull her up. He pushed open the door with the woman in tow, making straight for the bar counter. The room was hot and there were a variety of people strewn about the room. Workmen and accountants drinking with wives and girlfriend, strumpets flashing their assets for the men to see and perhaps attract them for a night of respite. Normally, he wouldn't be adverse to trying some of the clientele himself, but at the moment he was on business. Not pleasure. Not yet at least. Perhaps if all of this kicked up enough stress he'd go distract himself with one of these women though there had to be better places in town. He knew the Passiflora in Novigrad was pretty good, not so much about Oxenfurt though.
"Barkeep. I'm looking for Witchers. Heard of any 'round here?" He asked bluntly. "And you got any work while you're at it?"




"It is amazing. I've been gone a little while too. It's changed a bit, hasn't it?" Alanna agreed, looking around. It seemed that she was in fact, waiting for someone. She was certain that it was definitely her target. Now, they just needed an opportunity. Perhaps if she could distract her, Adolin could make a move. Yes, that would do well enough. First, she had an alternative plan. "Yeah, I live here. I've got a house not far from here. Do you have a place to stay? You and your companion that is? I've got rooms to spare for the two of you if you need it. My friend Carrak and I only take one. Saves you having to pay the extortionate prices for a room around here. At least, assuming that at least, has stayed the same." She chuckled, remembering the prices around here got silly. At least, if you wanted somewhere decent. ​

 

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Veceslav chuckled Seth had taken it personally "Clearly not a reader or thinker, I never said you were the one keeping the songbird in the cage. I had figured out it had been Bryce from what both of you had said. It was merely an observation, not an accusation. If you want to help her so much then why return to Bryce at all? He doesn't know where either of you are at the moment or atleast that's what I'm getting from what you are saying. So right now it is up to you and her of course." Veceslav said calmly

He had listened to what the lad said. He was a wanderer, someone on the road no place to call home. He could understand how the man felt, after all the thing closest to a home was the Kaer and he only stuck around in winter, there hadn't been new scions in a long time otherwise he had been training them, teaching them all they needed to know to set out on the Path. "If I had wanted to kill you, your blood would be soaking the dirt this very moment and I would be on my way. Yes I kill monsters for pay. Drowners, Griffins, Foglets, Cockatrices, Alps, Bruxa, Basilisks, Ghouls, Chorts, Arachnamorphs, Endrega, Graveirs, Leshen, Kikimores, Devourers, Forktails, Wraiths, Hyms, the list goes on and on. However all the monsters I just mentioned have one thing in common. Do you know what that is?" Veceslav went on to explain, not really meaning it as a question "They're all dangerous to humans, no smarter than other animals. They behave like animals. They will be killed because of the danger they pose. You however are one of very few exceptions. Dopplers, Higher Vampires and Succubi. These are exceptions because they don't mean always harm and just try to live their lives, there are vampires who have renounced their drinking of human blood, for they do not have to feed. Dopplers just try to make a living of their own among the humans. Succubi are peaceful by nature, doesn't mean they don't pose any danger it's just that these things are making it impossible to look as black and white as one would at say a drowner. You have given me no reason to kill you, therefor I won't."

Veceslav threw some more wood on the fire to get it going some more. "But enough about the ethics of monster slaying, like yourself I am a wanderer, travelled to many distant places, seen a lot of the world. Certainly not all of it, but I have been from Nilfgaard to Kovirand from Lyria to Skellige. One place I would like to see before I leave this world would be Ofir. What about yourself Seth? Any places you would want to see before dying? Been anywhere interesting recently? I'm asking this as a fellow wanderer, whom I am sharing my fire with." Veceslav asked the man. He kept the thought in the back of his mind that this might be the one that had set Veera off on genocidal campaign against dopplers, there was however one saving grace. The girl, she would most likely object to him killing this Seth and she was innocent atleast as far as he knew. Which as he said complicated this sort of thing, if this one turned out to be the one in question, then maybe a deal could be struck.

 

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"Oh, that's generous of you, but I don't think my companion or I will be staying that long." She hoped, anyway. "Just a quick trip to pay a visit to his friend. He hasn't seen him in so long, and I felt...obliged." Ana replied to Alanna with a small smile. "He doesn't need much sleep, besides." A small sigh escaped her as she remembered the last time she had slept. It had been...too long. Perhaps Vyle would be obliged after this stop to let her rest her eyes for a little. Not only because her body, well, needed it, but her magic needed time and rest to replenish. The fire inside of her was already dangerously low, with the opening of the portals. Something she definitely needed to work on.

Then something struck her. "I thought you said you hadn't been here for a while. But you have a house. You must be rich to afford such things." She commented, her hands resting on the stone wall. Why, in fact, had this girl come to talk to her? Walking around in the middle of the night? Not many women did that, women of good reputation, anyway.

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Tessa watched Seth and Veceslav interact back and forth, before curling up as close to the fire as she could. Veceslav had asked her name, but....for some reason, she didn't want to give it. And Seth seemed to be handling the man fine on his own. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just rest her eyes for a little bit. Resting her hand on her head, she let her eyelids flutter shut. "I thought you said you could wrap witchers around your little finger, Seth." She murmured sleepily. "He doesn't look like he's very....wrapped." Her sentence was paused by a yawn.

 

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Solomon laughed as one of the mages portalled away. Coward. "Well this was fun but now it's getting boring. Ooh is this an orphanage?" Solomon pointed to the adjacent building, noting the sign "he he he, ta ta for now!" Solomon shifted back into the shadows and as he left so did the undead and the shadowy illusions. Slowly the necromancer approached the door of the building and opened the door with a creak. With slow footsteps he entered and looked around. "Helooo little kiddies!" he hissed "Your mistress has abandoned you, but don't worry, Mr Solomon will take care of you!" he chuckled slightly as he wandered the building.

Curses! Damn and blast it! Portals were just too convenient! If she'd just been slightly quicker... Oh well it couldn't be changed now. The moment Willow lost her chance to assassinate Terra in that alley she fled. Jumping across rooftops she eventually arrived at a secluded area where she could calm down and rethink her plans. Terra could be anywhere, but a bleeding woman showing up out of nowhere tended to cause a bit of commotion and intrigue so she had hope yet. She would return to Sanctuary, and wait. Soon enough, news of the mage's whereabouts would reach her ears. She would not give up this easily.

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"Miss Fisher, it is courteous to bow to your king" Archon intoned "How good is your magic? What can you do? What skills do you have?" he interrogated her with an intimidating voice. Archon was not good with children.

 

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This had turned into one hell of a day. First he met a man, who was housing his enemies. Then said enemies had attacked his base, his Sanctuary. After, he had run into a woman who had an interesting and powerful friend, and who seemed to be a mage herself. Finally, he had found his quarry, under the attack of yet another, and obviously more powerful mage. The only thing more surprising would be the gods walking through the streets or a dragon falling from the sky.

Please gods, not at night.He prayed, hoping they didn't think his thoughts were a sign of temptation. Finally, the battle appeared to be over. Or at least, stale mated. As the second mage disappeared, Bryce made a mental note of his direction; while this information could be useful, it would also be helpful in making sure he didn't run into the fellow while going down that particular dark alley.

Now was the time to strike, while his quarry was weak. Bryce hopped down, off the ledge, and crept up behind the fellow. "Some battle, eh?" Bryce commented with a small smile. "I suppose you're tired." His hand slipped into his back pocket, where the cloth the alchemist had given him was stowed. "Let me help you." With that, the doppler grabbed the mage's neck, forcing his face forward as his other hand grabbed the cloth and covered the mage's nose and mouth. He had done this hundreds of times, and the ease of practice gave him a little more security. Most took one big breath while they were surprised, inhaling the chemical composition quickly. Some took a little longer to fall under the sleep of the herbs.

Regardless, Bryce held the mage down, counting down the five minutes in his head. No one would be able to hold their breath longer then that. After he was done, he let Zephyr's body drop to the ground, stowing the cloth away with a sigh before slinging the man's body over his shoulder, as his own body morphed into a slightly larger version of himself. Really, the witcher he had killed had been a big man, and Bryce used that strength to tow Zephyr down the streets, into a small, dilapidated house. It had once been an apartment of sorts, for a doppler.

Now it held cages, three. Zephyr went into the first one, none too gently, before his ankle was shackled to the ground, and the door locked behind him. Bryce watched him for a while, before turning to wait by the door. Now, he just needed Alodin and Alanna to deliver their part. Then, he would be ready. Then he could prepare to bring down the witchers, once and for all.

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Zack waited outside, hiding in one of the alleyways. He had seen Bryce, leaving with the man hung over his back like the carcass of a deer. It wouldn't be unlike Bryce to help a drunken or hurt man get help, or home, but just as Zack had nearly walked up to him, Bryce's form began to change. It wasn't someone he recognized, but the yellow eyes made Zack jump back, into the safety of the shadows. Bryce had forbid the mimicry of a witcher, so why was he doing it now? Something felt hollow in the pit of Zack's stomach, and he resigned himself to silently follow Bryce, watching as the doppler he trusted tossed the unconscious man into a cell, shackling him to prevent escape, before settling to wait.

Zack crouched on the balls of his feet, and waited. Something wasn't right, and he would see exactly what it was.

 

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Solomon burst out laughing "HA! That's rich! You.. you" he panted with laughter "You think you can scare me? HA!" He suddenly stopped laughing and looked at the children with a grim smile "I AM FEAR" The lights in the room were suddenly extinguished and the room seemed to lurch and creak. Floorboards bent, windows smashed and the wind howled like a banshee. A skeletal hand burst from the wooden floor and gripped onto the girl's leg, more creatures rose up, barely human abominations of bone and rotting flesh which crawled across the floor and walls. The grotesque creations surrounded the children, and several entered the rooms of the still sleeping orphans. "There is no point in resisting, death is inevitable" Solomon's voice was deep and echoing "Accept your fates and give up your souls to me" in the darkness Solomon's eyes glowed with intense hatred. He hummed a tune, deep and eerie melody, as the slaughter begun.

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"Hmm, I suppose it's a start" Suddenly there was a change in the demeanor of Archon "Sorry for questioning you like a common prisoner. My name is King Archon Dragoncrest, you can just call me Archon" he should treat this child nicely, he supposed, if they were going to be his heir "There's no point keeping you in the dark, I will explain why you're here" he sat down awkwardly on one of the chairs, it was far too small so the tall man was slightly hunched "In simple terms, I need an heir, and this is not entirely simple. You see, I'm like you, I'm a mage, and nobody outside this palace knows. Obviously mages can't reproduce like humans. I needed a child mage to act as my child, and to take over my kingdom when I'm gone. Can you take on this responsibility Anna? Will you be my pretty little princess?"

 

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It wasn't all that surprising that the trip to Oxenfurt was quiet as hell, since it wasn't exactly the most chatty group that was doing the traveling. A vampire had appeared at some point, but Kreuz didn't really pay much attention to what was being said between him and Derrick. All he got was that he was looking for some mage named Solomon, beyond that that didn't matter to him. Arriving in Oxenfurt, Kruez did the one thing that he could think of doing while Derrick looked for whoever it was that he was trying to find and that was buy something to drink. So the mage walked up to the bar and did just that.

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Needless to say (much to MoK's enjoyment) Zephyr was in a fowl mood. Not because he was left alone in the alley after Terra had fled, but at the fact that there was absolutely nothing he could've done to stop it. Zephyr hated being unable to do anything, being helpless. It was too close to how he felt back home where just about everyone was shunning him. Byakko soon vanished and he was the last person in the alley. "Dammit, still can't do shit." It was clear that he was beating himself up pretty harshly over this.

Zephyr had taken a few steps out of the alley when he heard someone's voice. Well he wasn't in the mood to be dealing with other people, so he ignored the voice and continued walking in the opposite direction. Having felt something going around his neck, Zephyr was going to show whoever it was why it was a bad idea to mess with him while he's pissed, but some sort of cloth was placed over his nose and mouth.

One surprised breath was all it took for him to start to feel weak, followed by his vision blurring. Soon afterward after went black for the young mage as he collapsed. When he came too he found himself in a cage, ankles chained to the ground with someone else on the other side of the cage. Well this certainly wasn't helping with his mood. "I take it you're the one who put me here." Zephyr said with some clear hostility in his voice.

Still walking through WhiteOrchid, cause I'm pretty sure that's where i had placed him, Sweallow walked along the streets minding his own business. Least until a growing pool of blood and the source of said pool. An injured woman laid in the middle of the streets, bleeding out. It certainly was good for her that he had found her, though he didn't really have any means to treat to her wounds right now. He probably had something back at his home, but he needed to get her there before he could use them. Judging form the amount she was losing blood, there wasn't much time for him to waste. Moving as fast and as carefully as he could, Sweallow picked up the bleeding mage and carried her off to his home for treatment.

 

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Archon smiled understandingly "But you have something she does not, you are one of us, the superior race" he stated "But you do make a good point... here, let me show you something" Archon pointed at his face, it was a pretty normal face all things considered. Suddenly he waved his hand across it and the glamour was lifted, he revealed horrific burns covering parts of his face, and blood red eyes "We can use magic to cover up the worst parts of our appearance. When we need to go out and show ourselves to the people, I can always cover up those ugly scars, without them you'd be beautiful" he complimented, and re-applied the glamour to cover up the burns.

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As the chaos and horror filled the orphanage, Solomon wandered the building, his footsteps silent, his eerie melody harmonising with the screams and sounds of death. "There is a kind of... purity... in death" Solomon pondered "In one's final moments we see who they truly are, when one knows they will die they hold nothing back. It is the one time we do see a person's unbridled self. In life we all wear masks, we pretend to be things we aren't. But when our soul is moments from escaping, we lose all sense of self-consciousness" Solomon continued to wander the halls ans circled the pile of dead bodies. He was the puppetmaster here, every act the undead did, every horrible murder, was Solomon's wishes "Death comes for us all, why are you all so surprised? Death, it's the one thing we all know will happen yet none of us prepare, and by the time death does come... it's too late" a scream echoed around the building as he said this. Slowly he took out the locket and stared at the picture of his former partner "We weren't prepared, my love, we weren't. But now I am. When death comes for me, I will smile, I will greet it as a familiar friend whom I'm well acquainted with, our paths have crossed many times. But, I will not let it take me" Abruptly Solomon turned. Fourteen. Fourteen souls. They called out to him, they were unprepared for death, they were scared. Solomon held up the locket, dark tendrils came out of it and reached towards the pile of bodies. There was an audible tearing sound as the tendrils grasped the souls of the dead and ripped them from their bodies. The souls struggled against the clasp of Solomon's dark energy, but in the end it was futile as they were each pulled into the locket. Solomon closed the locket and returned it to its position amongst his robes. Waving a hand, the bodies of the orphans began to shift, one by one they stood and gazed at him with forlorn eyes. Fresh bodies. The freshest were always the best, the rotting corpses he'd summoned from underground served a purpose, but they were weak. These undead children though would prove a mightier army. Another wave of a hand and the skeletons he'd used to slaughter the children conjoined together to create a throne of bones. "It begins"

 

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The Doppler seemed to have atleast a grain of honour in his being, not extremely surprising. However that did contradict what he had said before about wanting to help Tessa. He merely showed a small smile at this contradiction and his desire of not wanting to get caught in such a mess normally. If he really had no desire he would have avoided it at all costs and not ended up where he is.

He then went on about how he had been to Vizima and how there wasn't too much there. Saying he had to keep on travelling. And that while he didn't travel far away from familiar lands because of not wanting to get caught unguarded in the open without food. "Understandable, though really one could always fish or hunt." Then Tessa yawned as if going to sleep and said something very interesting indeed. Wrapping a witcher 'round his finger? He looked at Seth his eyes had narrowed. Tessa had just damned this one. He gripped the hilt of his silver sword and stood up drawing the blade. The Viper school style blade glinted in the light of the fire. "So... you're the one responsible for my scions going astray..... Does she know what you did to that girl in Novigrad?" He asked Seth nodding towards Tessa. "Oh of course she doesn't...." His tone was sharp, it had to be the one that Veera had met in Novigrad. Maybe the girl had been running from him all along, his next victim. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He decided to hear the man out despite deep down knowing he really shouldn't and just get it over with.

 

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The sound of a sword being drawn forced Tessa's senses into hyper alert mode. By the time she had sat up, it was clear the words she had spoken in her half conscious state had caused a storm to break. "Girl? What girl?" Tessa asked, looking from Veceslav to Seth. "Seth, what's he talking about?"

She stood, wavering on her feet, cloak clutched around her body with one hand. "Seth is innocent, he wouldn't hurt anyone!" She protested, stepping towards the tense pair with the intention of getting in between them, calming them down. Clearly this was just a misunderstanding, Seth would never do anything wrong. And the witcher had been nice so far, saving her and then caring for her further.

That was when Seth bolted, jumping into the river before she could open her mouth to scream. It wasn't until he had reached the far bank that she stumbled to the edge of the river, dropping to her knees as the water lapped at her still wet clothing. "SETH!" She screamed, the force of the sound tearing at her throat as she stared at the far bank, tears joining the water of the river. "Please don't leave me!" She begged, even as the figure got further away. Please don't leave me like my parents did.

But he had, and he continued to run further away, until she lost sight of his figure in the darkness. Tessa's knees began to ache, and then go numb, and her legs started to tingle, the nerves protesting the strange angle, but she couldn't find the strength to move, hoping that with each passing second he would come back, laughing, saying it was all a joke. And each passing second, turning into minutes, only brought her more heartache. Seth hadn't died, the way her parents had died, but he had left her behind just as much as they had. Just as alone.

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The mage was awake, and speaking. Bryce looked over at him with disdain, running a cleaning cloth over his prized silver sword. "That would be the obvious assumption, wouldn't it?" He replied, turning his gaze back down to the sword. One cut wouldn't kill him, but a slice across the wrist, or the right vein, would be problematic.

He didn't speak until he was done, before sheathing the sword and tossing the cloth onto a small table. "I wouldn't take it personally. Could have been anyone that my birds told me about. But it was just the god's own luck that it was you." He leaned back against the doorway, eyes lowering. "You might want to prepare yourself, lad. Get some more sleep. You probably won't be getting any of that, or the other necessities. For a while. If you decide to be unhelpful, and I have to give you to the witch hunters, that is."

This was a new development, really. If the two failed to bring him Teliana, then he would have a hard time trying to get the witch hunters to let him keep Zephyr. But he had only promised them one captive. To be fair, he hadn't even promised a mage. Just a subject, ready for torture, to provide information. He could think of a number of people that could supply those needs. But only a handful he could get before dawn. All the same, if this mage wanted to be useful, and would help him demolish the witchers, he was fairly sure he could bargain with the witch hunters.

Depending on what happened with the woman.

 

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Instead of being reasonable and atleast answer the question the man just stammered and then of course he bolted. The bloke was clearly hiding something and sure to be fair a witcher with a sword drawn was quite the unnerving presence even for a human. Running away only damned him further. The bloke decided the river was his only option and jumped in. "WAIT!" He shouted with a commanding tone in his voice but he knew it was in vain. Tessa had said Seth was innocent and while he couldn't prove it definitely had been Seth that had been that particular doppler to have pulled that, him running away had damned him only further. He wasn't going after him, it would be irresponsible to leave someone, as sheltered as Tessa had been, alone.

She had screamed out the man's name and knelt on the waterline. She still hadn't recovered from the previous adventure in the cold waters and this was a little bit worrying for the Crow. She was crying, the tears flowing down her cheeks. He put the silver sword back in it's sheath on his back. He watched her for a moment and while she wasn't exactly a child any more, maybe the lessons of taking care of all the children and training them would help here. He had been very hard on them sometimes, to push them further beyond their limits. But when they needed it he showed a softer side of himself. Aaron had been one of the last to have seen it in recent years. He walked over to the girl and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry about your friend..." He knelt next to her looking her right in the eyes. "You should sit down by the fire, you'll die if you stay like this..." He said, his voice had lost all the venom and sharpness it had held earlier when speaking with Seth instead being replaced with kindness. He gently put an arm around her, intent on guiding her back towards the fire after all he hadn't fished her out of the water if he had been intent on letting her die.

 

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With a determined nod Gordon agreed to accompany Ellyn, and she returned the nod in a sign of respect for the boy. “Thank you Gordon, you are right in saying that Matilda will be more inclined to come home if you're there to talk to her. And don't worry, this isn't so much a rescue mission as it is a...” she searched for the right words to finish her sentence, but couldn't find them. “Well, won't be a difficult mission. I just want to avoid having to bundle your sister in a sack if she refuses to come.” The gentle but serious tone in which she said this last part didn't seem to give the impression that she was being humorous.
“Before we ride off into the sunset, however,” she continued, “I'll speak to your father first, and make sure he is alright with me taking you along. I wouldn't want him to be worrying about both his children being abducted.” Without waiting for a response from Gordon, Ellyn set off across the field, striding resolutely towards Dave.

“Good morning sir, my name is Ellyn,” she began abruptly, getting straight to the point. She didn't want to spend more time than was necessary before setting off to find Matilda before... anything bad happened, but she forced herself to be polite. She was partially doing this for Dave anyway.
“Gordon has told me about Matilda, and I've decided to go find her, but I'd like to take Gordon with me, to show me the way and identify your daughter, as well as help convince her to come with me.” She looked the farmer hard in the eyes, wordlessly conveying the idea that she seriously recommended that he acquiesced. “Please say yes,” she added gently but pointedly, in the event that this subtlety was lost on him.

 

With the permission of Al himself I may try and forge something that resembles a post.

"No, no, you misunderstand." Alanna chuckled, she gave a very subtle gesture to Adolin for him to move closer to their target. Adolin had noticed and began moving, slowly but surely. Now it was up to her to make sure he wasn't noticed and went on with the conversation hoping to distract the girl "You see, this house was given to me. I spent my younger years in this city, living and learning with my teacher. She taught me an aweful lot and for that I'm grateful, though all good things come to an end as they say. My teacher left for Kovir, but before doing so she left the house to me so it wouldn't go to waste." She said, not really elaborating on what was or the fact she was a sorceress. She had taken note of the curious oddities about this friend the girl mentioned and the smile she gave when she said she obliged to help her friend out, she understood that more than she let on. "This friend of yours sounds like an interesting person, would you mind telling me some more about him? What is he like? And hey your friend might not need sleep but you look pretty tired yourself are you sure you don't want to stay if only for a little while longer?"​