Of Monsters and Men

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Ana felt Vyle's grip on her arm tighten as Solomon appeared, but she reacted very little except to hold his hand tightly in hers; that way if he did decide to fly at the mage, she'd be dragged along with. It would be a little more difficult to keep from setting her lover on fire, but she had enough faith in her talents that she could accomplish that task. As Solomon spoke, Ana listened without saying a word, her eyes narrowing as he mentioned them, though she didn't turn to Vyle at any point for reassurance. She had to be strong on her own, just as he did. That way they would be stronger together.

"What witchers do we know?" She murmured quietly, hoping Vyle's enhanced senses would hear her voice. Her mind immediately went to Derrick, whom they hadn't seen since after the portal disaster. But a mage...The only two she cared about, she knew were not in his clutches. Who could it be?

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Veera watched Kruez with narrowed eyes, her mind racing through the possibilities as she watched him summon his magic. While it would have its uses, she wasn't sure it would be helpful in this current situation. They could possibly hurt Solomon, yes, but that wouldn't get them out of the cage, and she had better plans then to be eaten alive by zombies as their master bled out on the floor. No, Solomon deserved something much more personal, given what he had done. And she planned to make that happen, whether by her own hand, Kruez's or someone else. Her yellow eyes turned away from the mage to examine the space around them, the room in which they were kept.

"Any chance you can use your magic to get the lock off the door?" She asked the mage, pursing her lips as she peered through the darkness, looking for guards, alive or otherwise.

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Zack leaned his head against the walls of his captivity, listening to the sound of the wheels underneath as they creaked along the road, the noises of the animals that were puling the closed in cage; probably horses or ox. He had no idea where they were taking him, or why, and he had been given no clues as to how he had even been captured. They must have come up from behind me. Or else used magic to make me forget their faces. Zack had always thought it ironic that dopplers were the ones who were feared, but mages carried far more power in their little pinky then dopplers did in their entire body. It was one thing to shift form, but another to create earth quakes and fire storms at a single whim.

Ultimately, his thoughts turned to Tessa. What was she doing? Who was she with? Was she safe? Was she starving? He should put her out of his mind, it was unlikely they would see one another ever again, but a life time spent looking after her was a habit that he couldn't simply get rid of, it seemed.

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Tessa halted as they arrived, her lips pressing together in a thin line as she spotted Matilda in Sigmund's doorway. The mage let her in, either ignoring them or not seeing them. She wouldn't be surprised if it was the former, since none of them had time to announce their presence before he scurried off again. However, she was less then thrilled that Matilda had shown up. The fury she had felt earlier at the girl began to rise again, and she lowered her eyes to the ground, trying to calm herself before glancing back at the two of them.

"I guess I'll do it." She said with an exasperated sigh, seeing neither man move. They always act so independent, until something actually needs to be done that doesn't involve fighting and sex. Stepping towards the door, she rapped on it with her fist, her cheeks flushed from both the effort of not snapping at her companions, and the cold.

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Alyse walked through the town, uncaring if anyone followed. Her breath puffed out in small clouds as she made her way to the tavern, only to pause when footsteps sounded behind her. Turning, she noticed Sweallow, and her facial features relaxed, slightly. "Maybe you're a little more intelligent then I first admitted." She said, as close to an apology as she would get with a stranger. She turned, her blonde hair flying over her shoulder slightly as she opened the door to the tavern and strode in. Almost immediately, she tensed, the hair along her arms and the back of her neck rising. Something was off, someone was off. Turning her eyes scanned the room, but there were too many people to immediately be able to tell exactly who it was. But it was someone here.

"Sweallow, I want you to stay close to me." She didn't turn to look at him, but instead walked to the bar, and sat down as the man gave her the usual drink. "You can put whatever he wants on my tab." She told the man, shoving down the growl that rose up in her throat as the off feeling continued to grow.

 

"You could say the same about here. Just a bunch of hills and fields with a bunch of really angry people running around. But it's still home." He replied in a light tone. The Witcher untied the horses and mounted his own. He saw Treasa looking hesitantly at Veceslav's mount and he rolled his eyes. he picked up the reins and held them up. "Mount up, or are you planning on walking to Kaer Morhen?" He threw her the reins and prepared to ride out.
"You got family back there? Skellige I mean. Something to go home to?"



Apparently Tessa seemed to take offence to the fact that they didn't handle the door. Well, what was he supposed to do? He wasn't sure which house it was, and it would seem remiss for a total stranger to knock on his door. However, now that she had knocked he approached and stood there, waiting for an answer .Hopefully this Sigmund would be of use to them.



"Leave the concerns about my soldiers to me. If it makes you feel any better, I assure you that they are ready. These men are professionals." General Godyvron responded. A few minutes later and a rider appeared.
"Sir, the castle is in sight." The general nodded.
"Tell the men to form up, get some of the general staff to cut down these trees so we can get the trebuchets in position, unpack man-portable rams too. Assemble them as soon as possible. I'm going to get a look at this castle myself. Coming Witcher?" He rode out along the line with his bodyguard of Nilfgaardian Knights with him. The column was separating as his orders were delivered. He rode down the path with his party some ways, and examined the situation. It seemed that there were a few people here already, and they were a mixed party. He'd have a group of his soldiers get them out of his way or joining in the assault shortly. The castle was a dilapidated mess by the looks of it and the trebuchets should get through the walls. It'd take a little bit of time to set up in which they could try some infantry assaults but this would be over in a matter of hours at least. "Recognise any of the people down there?"​

 

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Kruez eyes's narrowed at the lock as he pondered Veera's question. There probably was something that his magic could do about the lock before them, but he didn't know which exact one would do the trick here. "I say the chances are pretty good." That was what he had told Veera before searching his brain for the information regarding his magic. It certainly was nice that he remembered everything that he read from his father's journals. Since we need to unlock the lock, Emperor should work here. If not I can just shoot it off. The latter being not the most quiet of options, but it should still to the trick.

It didn't take long for Sweallow to catch up to Alyse before she had entered the tavern. She had turned to say what Sweallow would assume was an apology of sorts before following behind her. "I suppose so." Sweallow replied. His eyes occasionally glanced glanced around him as Alyse spoke to him once more. He grew curious as to why she would say something like that, but did as such and simply ordered a beer upon sitting down at the bar.

 

A duo of new guests walked in. Alastar only cast a brief glance as they entered through the door, then turning his attention back to the conversation with the merchant. He told the story of his first contract on a few drowners and the anger he felt later when talking to a Royal huntsman about the prices of drowner heads. He felt his medallion vibrate, he didn't exactly expect monsters this close during the day unless it was one of the bigger bastards, like a griffin, but then he'd hear it's wings. No this meant mage...What were they doing in a shithole like this?​

 

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Veera slanted her gaze to Kruez, and then away. "Well then, I think we should wait until Solomon is a little more distracted, don't you?" She murmured, her eyes on the flickering lights as they swayed to and fro in the darkness. Vaguely, she wondered what time it was. What was going on elsewhere in the world, as it carried on without knowing of her and Kruez stuck inside this box. It was something to pass the time, anyway. "We don't want him to come back in the middle of all this, now do we?" she asked, somewhat to herself as a rhetorical question while she waited.

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Treasa caught the reins with a scowl, patting the horse on the nose a little nervously. "Not all of us were given sixty years to perfect our riding skills." She muttered, getting on the horse as slowly as possible before following Derrick out cautiously. "No family besides Uncle Alastar. Nothing left there. Might as well have been a witcher." She commented with a little smirk, looking at the road. It would be a long ride ahead of them.

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Alyse swallowed her drink quickly, trying to let the bitterness and rage she felt go down with the alcohol. Some days it worked better then others, but today was not one of those. Glancing at the mage at her side, and then the witcher behind them, she sighed and shook her head. Her instincts had never been wrong before, but this was an odd combination she felt. She wished Ana would have been there, that she could have asked and they could have researched and discovered what it was her body instinctually knew, but her mind couldn't comprehend.

"The human body is a such a strange thing, isn't it?" She commented, staring at the opposite wall as she sipped.

 

Prince Vyle Blackwing, the Night Hunter​

Vyle snarled as Solomon taunted them "He might be lying" He said under his breath to her "But if he's not, it doesn't matter who he has, we can't let him kill them" Vyle looked up at his enemy. The mage looked bedraggled and exhausted under his mask and hat, though still held onto a sinister smile. "Let them go Solomon! Or I'll kill you myself!"

Solomon, the Deathbringer​

"If you're trying to scare me, you're doing a terrible job. There are, what, four of you? Against my army? Somehow I don't think any attempt to fight would go well, it's just too unfair for you" Solomon sighed "Which is why I propose a new plan! If you can beat my guardian then you win! Congratulations! If you lose you die! Oh how tragic!" Solomon cackled as he jumped off the battlements and retreated back further into the castle. In the courtyard, the ground began to rumble and shake. Dirt was pushed upwards with force as a horrific abomination pushed itself up through the ground. Constructed from a pile of corpses, the abomination was a patchwork of undead flesh. Arms stuck off from it in odd directions, there were many faces covering it's horrible body. Each of its limbs were constructed of multiple bodies, it's fingers were made from arms and legs. It's head was three different faces stuck together, eyes glowing red, mouths contorted into expressions of agony. As this shambling monster pulled itself from the ground, its gaze turned to Vyle and Ana with hatred, as it prepared to attack.

King Archon I, Supreme Ruler of Redania​

"A king who fights in too many wars ends up losing his head to the enemy. Of course, that's good enough for idiot rulers who have no other skills, but surely an intelligent monarch would be a vital part of the strategic process, instead of leaving that to advisors. As for having the respect of the people, well, what good is respect if you're dead? The people of course must respect you, but you don't need to enter the battlefield to do that"

Willow Duskstrider, The Widowmaker​

Willow watched Zephyr carefully as they hid away. She could quite easily capture him right now. She had anti-magic grenades, and plenty of weaponry. She could take him back to that beast Milosh and never have to deal with the horrible man ever again. After all that's what she'd been hired to do. She reached for a grenade slowly and cautiously, but hesitated upon the arrival of Solomon. Zephyr was a juicy target... but Solomon. She was being paid to capture Zephyr, she had no feelings either way towards him. But Solomon... she hated Solomon. A mage, abusing his abilities ardently to oppress those he considered weaker. She hated him with a passion and she was reminded once more why she had entered the assassination business, to get rid of tyrants like this. Fuck capturing Zephyr, she wanted to eviscerate this aberrant necromancer. As Solomon left and summoned his creation Willow came charging in, still under the guise of Selene. Pulling out her silver sword she stood near Vyle and Ana. Her eyes widened as the creature pulled itself out of the dirt, she'd seen nothing like this before in her life. She was looking forward to finding out how to kill it.

Zavarius Boldhorn, The Monster Slayer​

Zavarius listened to the man. He seemed quite civilised for a man who called ghouls his children. Zavarius was caught. He wanted to kill this man and mount his head as a trophy on his will. He wanted to slay every revolting ghoul and necrophage in the city. He was a monster hunter, it was literally his job. Then he looked into the misty city. The man had dark magic on his side. While he was certain he himself would be able to navigate the mist, he was not so sure about his soldiers. They were not smart men, they were not trained to fight enemies who were hiding. If his army entered the city, it was quite possible they'd all be killed. Not to mention the consequences if he went back to Archon with another failure. He'd been charged with clearing the city, there was no need for bloodshed.
"Very well. We will pull back, allowing you to flee back to your swamps, or anywhere, as long as it's not another Redanian settlement. We will not attack" Zavarius turned and yelled an order, a captain saluted and yelled some more orders, the army slowly began to shift. "If you are looking for another city to live in, go to one of the Nilfgaardian ones!" Zavarius said with humour to the man who spoke for the creatures.

 

Tobias' crows watched the Army shift it's position. "I shall lead my children away from the Redanians, maybe the Nilfgaardians with their more sophisitcated and enlightened minds could see the advantage of a man to keep the Necrophages in check. Or the advantage of Necrophages under control." Tobias said as he had word spread amongst his children that they were to move out. He still didn't trust his foe and this is why he wouldn't remove the mist until they reached a more favourable terrain for them and knew they weren't followed. If this man weren't true to his word than he would personally see to the price Redania would pay. But where to go.... Maybe there still was usable map in this ruined city. But towards the Nilfgaardians didn't sound like a bad idea. He wouldn't remove his flower patch after all this man had asked him to leave immediately.

Sigmund had gathered his things and instructed his servants to let Mathilda out when she was done, something he didn't imagine taking a terribly long time. As he wanted to leave his home and head for the Kaer there was a knock on the door, since traveling meant leaving the house and there wasn't any difference by leaving through the front door he decided to get it before leaving. Surprised to find Tessa on his doorstep now, Seth standing back with a bloke he didn't know. "Is there something you need or did you just want to be let into the house again?" The old mage asked, hoping to get going soon as to not keep his old friend waiting.

 

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Zephyr had practically forgotten that Willow was with him up until she had gone charging off towards where Ana and Vyle were standing. This had done well to relieve the discomfort as a result of her being there, but what it didn't help with his lack of desire to head towards the castle. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't be so apprehensive about this, but normal went out the window the moment Solomon showed up at the orphanage. Since then it's been a series of unfortunate events. With that in mind his newfound apprehension had some more ground to it.

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"Sounds like a plan." Kruez said with a short nod of agreement. The more distracted Solomon was the better their chances at escaping this castle. For the time being Kruez sat back in the cage and listen to what was going on. It certainly sounded like there was quite the commotion going on. With any luck, that commotion would be the distraction that they would need.

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What was an originally a plan to go to the tavern turned to Xross opting to leave in search of something to catch his interest.

In the time it had taken his beer to arrive, Sweallow had started to look around the tavern. Not surprisingly there were people of various different characters here, some of which probably weren't the most trustworthy of people. He thought back to what Alyse had told him when they had first walked in and took another glance around. Just what exactly was caused her to say that. The sound of glass hitting the table brought his attention to the glass of beer that he had ordered. Probably for the best, thinking about this wouldn't give any answers.

"I suppose so." That was the best that Sweallow could offer as a response to Alyse before drinking some of his beer

 

Alastar still wasn't entirely sure whether or not the person was a monster or not. She could have easily been a Bruxa or an Alp, perfect disguise. Didn't matter whether or not it was day, he knew that he wasn't at the top of his game, not because of the alcohol he had had, he could stomach that better than any of the people present, but it didn't matter at the moment. Not even a higher vampire was impossible, then there were the Lycanthropes, of course he could be wrong and she was just a mage, but he couldn't take the risk. And well it would provide distraction. Alastar wrapped things up with the merchant . He went over to the newcomers just as the woman uttered the words that the human body was such a strange thing. "Indeed, you can drink water all you want and well eventually it'll go wrong but if it goes down the other pipe yer screwed. I am Alastar, do you mind if I join you for a drink?" The witcher asked, the vibration of the medallion was stronger so he had been right other of them was the source, perhaps even both.​

 

Adolin took this as his cue to step forward in front of Tessa and Seth.
"I take it you're the one named Sigmund. You know what we are. We need help getting out of the city. And as many of our kind as possible. They seem to think you might be able to help." The Doppler narrowed his eyes at the sorcerer. "Can you?"




"I'm not sixty! Actually, how old am I now? I stopped counting really. Last I checked I must be... About thirty nine or forty." He started to lead them out of the city, urging his horse to move at a fast trot. They couldn't exactly gallop through the streets, there were too many people around for that and he didn't want to find an issue with a guard about irresponsible riding or something. "I don't envy you in that case. It's a miserable life, but it is a life I suppose. Find something better to do some time though. Unless you have a death wish, the monster slaying life isn't the best one."




"Hmph, in that case... Oh." The general watched as the abomination formed at the castle ahead of them. He couldn't tell much from a distance, but it looked like a giant pile of corpses. And it must have been large, as even with the distance it held an impressive stature. He looked to a nearby officer. "Form up a small unit of Knights, the bravest ones! We might have to intervene down there! I'll be accompanying them personally! Lieutenant Oesterlen you have command in my absence!" Huge it may be, but could it withstand the many blows delivered by Nilfgaardian Cavalry?
"I assume you'll come Witcher?" The general wheeled his horse around to join the squad of ten knights and started to ride down with them, expecting the Witcher to follow. He put on a magnificent winged helmet with a large white plume, then drew a longsword from the sheath on his horse and a shield. The group rode hard to support the two figures facing it down. "It's been too long since I rode with the battle line..."​

 

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Teliana frowned to herself, though she kept a tight grip on Vyle. He was shaking underneath her fingers, as though he would vanish at the first chance he got. She would just have to limit his chances then. Staring up at the distant figure that was Solomon, she leaned in close to whisper to the vampire, "They might not even be friends. And even if they are, they have to fend for themselves. If he walks away from this, we'll all be in danger." She didn't add that if the witcher "friends" didn't, it wouldn't necessarily be the worst thing. She didn't have a deep love for any of the cat eyed people, given some of her previous experiences, and even more so because of her family.

"Vyle....I don't think we're alone." She murmured as the sounds of horses met her ears. Teliana turned, peering to look for the source of the sound. What her eyes met didn't make her any happier. "I know those colors." She hissed, letting go of Vyle's arm as fire gathered around her hands.

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Veera paused to look at Kruez, shaking her head at his words before turning to the door. And she had thought witchers were emotionless, this mage took the cake on that one. If she had ever seen Derrick again, she would have tried to get these two in a room. The thought made her lips barely twitch upwards in a smile as she bent down towards the lock, and whispered, "Igni." Sparks flew in a steady stream from her fingers, simmering around the metal in the hopes that it would possibly melt. She wouldn't put it past Solomon to have magical wards on the mechanisms keeping her and her companion from their freedom, but she also didn't want to stand around and wait for rescue.

Veera had never been that girl, and she would be damned if she would be that girl now. Not even a necromancer set on ruining the world, and his fanatical plans could change that. Not even the death of her family would.

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Treasa started to laugh, and then stopped herself at Derrick's monologue. "Another man, trying to tell me what to do. And I thought I couldn't be surprised. Except I'm not." She replied cynically, rubbing the horse's neck thoughtfully. In truth, it was just to give her an excuse to lean down and adjust the stirrups, which still felt far too long for her legs. Her body was sore as well, still recovering from the monster, and the procedure. As she did so, she caught the glimpse of a shadow, moving and disappearing along the alleyway. Her mouth turned grim, and she gently nudged her horse into a faster gait, catching up to Derrick easily.

Hopefully she made it look as effortless as the horse did. "I think we need to pick up the pace and get out of here." She murmured to the witcher, the back of her neck itching as she looked around. That wrong feeling had returned, more powerful then ever. It was possibly because of the crowded area they were in, the wonder at the size of the city turning to dismay, or it could be her instincts. Either way, she was happy to leave Novigrad behind.

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Tessa stepped back slightly as Adolin moved forward, saving her from having to respond. She wasn't sure what to say, anyway. She had never been the leader, the one to take command. Her moment of courage had failed her, and she nearly fell into Seth in her haste to get out of the way. "Sorry." She apologized, missing his foot by less then she would have liked before turning back to Sigmund and Adolin. "Safety. Which is what you promised us." She reminded him, though her voice was quiet and her demeanor gentle once more.

The fire would return in due time, but for now Tessa was content to let others handle the problem. She would sit back, and wait.

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Alyse turned to look at Sweallow as he replied, before finishing her first drink and ordering another. Heavy footfalls behind them triggered her sensitive ears, and she cringed as the tingling at the back of her neck grew stronger. Where was Ana when she needed her? Only the brunette could keep Aly out of the worst kinds of trouble she dragged herself into. Scaring off that bear? Ana would have taken care of it, hiding Alyse from harm. This man? Ana would have steered him away, or turned Alyse away from the bar. But she wasn't here. It was Alyse and Sweallow and this man, who was now asking to join them.

Unable to find a reason to say no, other then the racial prejudice Alyse had just enough pride to keep herself from submitting to, she tilted her head to the seat next to her, gritting her teeth as she did so. This couldn't get much worse, could it?

 

Prince Vyle Blackwing, The Night Hunter​

Vyle bared his teeth at the undead abomination and snarled. The creature was horrible, but he didn't have time to throw up. But things were getting worse. Vyle heard the cavalry approaching before Ana mentioned it, but as she pointed out the colours Vyle too recognised them. Vyle quickly dodged to the side as the undead hulk swung one necrotic fist towards him. As he landed, he looked back at Ana "Nilfgaardians... I'd worry more about the dead than the living right now, these knights look like they're helping" Vyle backflipped and skulked into the shadows. The abomination, having lost its target, turned and loomed over Ana. Just as it was about to strike Vyle appeared atop its head (or something close to a head) and stabbed it with his daggers. The beast stopped, but didn't seem to feel any pain, no blood seeped from that pale decomposing skin, for the first time Vyle had no idea how to beat his enemy.

Solomon, The Deathbringer​

Solomon watched with a smirk as the vampire fought his creation helplessly. However, his smirk widened as he spotted the approaching army "It appears we have a challenge on our hands, friends" Solomon chuckled to the wraiths gathered around him "Deal with them" he commanded, before turning and skipping away merrily. As he went back into the castle he arrived just in time to see the lock on the cage melted off. "FINALLY. We can have some fun around here!" Solomon gestured with his staff and the lifeless body of Aaron stepped forward, steel sword in hand, eyes filled with hatred. "He really hates you"

Meanwhile, ethereal figures floated down from the battlements and descended upon the approaching knights, gaining speed on them. As the group of six wraiths approached the army, lanterns raised, they drew ghostly swords and prepared to attack.

Willow Duskstrider, The Widowmaker​

Willow, still as Selene, ducked low and sliced the abomination across the leg with her silver sword. It didn't seem to do anything to the creature, no blood spilled, and the wound barely seemed to affect the creature. She dodged out of the way of a kick and cursed as more slashes were met with resistance. Ducking out of the creature's range she rifled among her gear to check if she had anything of any use, but found nothing. She wished the mages would actually help, blades were ineffective.

Zavarius Boldhorn, The Monster Slayer​

After the army were sated and the strange man seemed happy with the result, Zavarius slowly came in closer towards the city, out of earshot from his army. He personally didn't want to do this, but Archon had requested it "Now that was just for the benefit of the soldiers, they'd be livid if we joined forces. But King Archon told me before I left that if you were not hostile, we should invite you to join us. So... I'm just going to put the offer out there. We can give your... people... respite and home and... food. There are plenty of advantages, but Archon wants your power on our side"

 

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The metal didn't last long against the sparks that Veera had produced. It took some time, but eventually the spark ate through the metal, granting them a way out of the cage. There was a form of relief that was felt once Kruez was about to freely move his limbs about without the risk of hitting Veera, but that relief was short lived as Solomon had returned. So much for keeping him distracted. A quick gesture with his staff Aaron stood at the ready, this wasn't going to be fun.

Hearing the sounds of heavy footsteps, Sweallow looked up to see some man sitting with them. At first he took another sip of his drink before shooting another glance towards the man. A couple of thoughts circulated through Sweallow's head as he looked back to what was in front of him. One of which being that maybe this was just some random guy that anted to sit with them and nothing more. Certainly a possibility, but he didn't know for certain.

 

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Ana narrowed her eyes at the incoming knights, forgetting for one moment that she had other dangers to worry about. The Black Ones were no friends of mages or magical creatures. They abhorred anything that didn't fit in their diagrams of existing creatures. "I wouldn't turn your backs to them." she muttered before staring up at the monster as it loomed down upon her. The smell, a combination of mold, rot, blood and decaying flesh, was horrific enough on its own. But when her mind finally comprehended the horror that had turned its attention upon her, she felt her stomach twist. Vyle re-appeared from the shadows, she hadn't even notice his absence at her side, and stabbed into the monster. Ana turned and vomited to the side, the smell too much for her human nose. How Vyle was able to stand it, she didn't know. When her stomach was finished heaving, she turned and aimed her open palm at the monster, fire gathering and shooting out in a flaming ball, wiping her mouth with the other.

Hopefully Vyle could distract it long enough she could search for weaknesses. Or perhaps their new, temporary allies would serve as bait.

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Veera stepped out of the cage, her hand going to her steel sword as her eyes flipped from Solomon, who didn't at all seem put out, to Aaron. Poor, decrepid Aaron. She had done him so much wrong in his short life. Led him astray, and for what? To meet a lonely, cruel death at the hands of a madman, and then torture in the afterlife by the magic of a damaged soul. Was it even him in the face she knew? Or was it a vengeful spirit going under the guise of her former comrade? Even as a witcher, once spirits left his world, she couldn't pretend to understand what happened to them. Or really even want to know. But regardless of whether it really was Aaron, or another trapped soul, she had a duty. As a witcher, and a friend.

Drawing her sword, she positioned herself in front of the former witcher to draw his attention. "Well then we have something in common." She said to Solomon, before most of her focus was placed back on her opponent. She took a breath, and then cut from the right side down towards his hip, following it up with a quick hand gesture to summon Igni, which blasted from her hand in a small fireball before she spun and cut towards his chest.

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The newcomer spoke up first saying they needed help getting out of the city. "I am currently on my way out of the city, I guess I could take the extra step to get you out of the city as well." Tessa reminded him he had promised them safety. He didn't say anything about it, he knew what he had promised them and he may be old but not yet a forgetful man. "I need to prepare a little, allow me to focus, please and I shall get you out of this city. I actually wanted to walk the entire way but alas." With those words Sigmund went to work on making a portal, out of the city on the first little village on his way to Kaer Morhen

Within the house one of the maids saw Mathilda wandering through the halls of the house as if she had lost something. "Can I help you, madam? You look like you lost something." She said in a friendly tone, just trying to be helpful to the guest as she had seen Mathilda around before and knew for certain she wasn't a trespasser.

The girl didn't exactly respond to his question, so that meant she didn't have any objections. The lad didn't appear to have any objections either, so the Witcher sat down with the two people of interest. He sipped some of his drink, figuring he may be quite the imposing person, being a witcher left out of the picture, he was a pretty big bloke, looking rough, been on the road a while, all in all not the most pleasant fellow in the world, not to mention his axes. He looked them over and tried to smile which was more difficult in his situation, maybe some conversation would help. "What are your names, if I may ask and what brings you here?" He asked in a friendly tone, not to scare them away, though it may have already been too late.

Tobias had been gathering his people from across the city prepared to move out when the Commander came back. "Hunter Zavarius.... what a surprise." The man said, funny the leaders always keeping secrets from their populace. "An interesting offer you have there, Hunter. I will consider it but for now I shall evacuate the city as per our agreement." Tobias said. "You shall hear from me, Hunter, where would I be able to contact you? Or is this one of those one-time deals, agree or it's off the table forever?" The expression on his face showed a little smile of amusement. He was seriously considering joining forces, but he knew better than to trust humans who would set upon their allies if it meant getting something out of it. Then again, he had quite the bombshell in hands if the King tried anything. He had to be careful with what he did after all, it wouldn't be as easy as it went with Nikolai.