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You gently kick Calanthe into moving again and she trots down the hill, her hooves sinking into the mud with each step while making fairly revolving SPLORT sounds with each movement.
You breathe in the air deeply and breathe it out, enjoying the morning for as long as you can before something ruins it.

You don't have to wait long; your medallion begins to lightly tremble on your chest, you look up from the welcoming sight of the village, eyes dilating in the morning light to see as much as possible as you softly removing your right hand from the reigns so it can reach for your sword if need be, flexing your cold, gloved fingers to get warmth back into them and carefully scan the area.
You see nothing at first, then the ground beneath Calanthe's hooves crunches instead of splashes.

You pull her back and stop her, looking down at the muddy ground, dismounting and standing next to her, your boots crunching the ground right next to her.

You kneel down and feel the ground.

"Frost?" you mutter in confusion at the thick white and black crust of unbroken ice and mud on the patch of hill you and your faithful steed are standing on.

>WDYD?

>[Check the circumfrance of the anomaly.]

>[Search for anything else unusual. Bodies, specifically, but who knows?]

>>43560909
>[Search for anything else unusual. Bodies, specifically, but who knows?]

Search for anything else unusual. Bodies, specifically, but who knows?

>>43560909
> Check the circumference of the anomaly
Let's try getting a sense of the magnitude of the threat.

>>43560909
>>[Check the circumfrance of the anomaly.]

>>43560909
>>[Search for anything else unusual. Bodies, specifically, but who knows?]

"This again huh?" you mutter to yourself as you begin looking around for anything else, boots crunching on frosty ground that is far too hard and cold for the rainy night you had the night before, the slits of your eyes narrowing as you more closely focus your senses, tasting the air and smelling the early morning fog.

This is the third time in two weeks you've seen this phenomena, but for all of your education on occult matters and training you have no idea what it actually is.
The first time you saw it was near a village in the Mahakam foothills, and there was an armored arachas (your first time seeing such a creature out of a textbook) menacing the little mining colony where the dwarves swore there was none before.
You simply assumed the dwarves weren't aware of it or that it migrated up from Sodden where monsters are more common for food reasons, perhaps influenced by the war or territory or something or other.
Later you encountered another such anomaly farther east of here near a tiny hamlet who's name you never even found out because everyone in it had been slaughtered before you even got there by something big and strong that you never saw as you passed through the area.

You keep walking as you pace around the frost ring, which is around 2.8 meters wide and basically perfectly circular where it wasn't broken by Calanthe's hooves.

"Perfect circles do not occur in nature," you mutter, as your hand goes up to your still gently-trembling medallion, and you stop as you see and smell a large lump nearby on the hill a few meters away from the circle itself.
You move slightly faster and arrive at it, your senses confirm what you're looking at as you kneel down; a human corpse.

"Looks like we might be working after all, girl," you say to Calanthe, habitually talking to yourself.

>WDYD?

>[Check for injuries, give a rough guesstimate of what killed him or her.]

>[Try to pin time of death by checking tissue decay and bloating.]

>[Look for signs of beings nearby.]

>>43561237
>>[Look for signs of beings nearby.]

>>43561237
>>[Try to pin time of death by checking tissue decay and bloating.]

>>43561237
>>[Check for injuries, give a rough guesstimate of what killed him or her.]

>>43561411
This, then
>>43561353
This.

>>43561353
You turn the body over and frown.
"Female. Age difficult to determine, but I'd guess late teens by height and weight. Decay in tissues is inconsistent; the cold from the nearby anomaly and the frost seems to have partially preserved the body. No bloating despite heavy rainfall the last few days and a damp environment nearby. Anywhere between a week and yesterday, I'd guess," you mutter to yourself, displeased with the wide possible time frame.

A lot can happen in a week, and whatever did this might be gone.
>>43561411
You look at the body closer, gently prodding it.
"Jaw dislocated, heavy blunt force trauma. Claw marks on face, superficial but given the attacker's probably strength, could have been fatal if they were any deeper. A glancing blow, maybe?" you say, turning her dirty and mud-covered blonde head to the right, her ruined jaw with teeth missing hanging limply.

"Wound on right shoulder. Claw marks again, this time deeper. Shoulder dislocated. Getting a grip, maybe?" you say as your eyes trail up her grayed skin, and you see something that answers a few questions.

"So that's why everything's frozen and you aren't as black as coal...," you say, eyes narrowing on the heavy bite marks on her neck and shoulder by something with lots of very sharp, very nasty teeth. "No blood in you when your body froze, huh?"
>>43561292
You stand up and look around.
"Only one set of tracks. Not even signs of someone else having been here before you, before or after you died. No tracks this close to a village? Locals don't like climbing the hill, maybe."

Your eyes follow the tracks as they go in the direction of the village and stop where she died.
"You walked up alone...turned," you say, turning where her tracks show she did, directly in the direction of the frost circle.

"And then...fell. Saw something that scared you? Or something scary saw you and tackled you?" you say, recreating the scene in your head.

"Both, I think," you decide after a moment, exhaling steam into the morning air, now aware how it's even colder up on this hill then usual this time of year.

You climb back up on Calanthe and kick her back into a trot down the hill towards the village, whistling "There Once Was A Maid from Vicovaro".

Your purse was getting light anyway.

>WDYD?

>[See if there's an inn. You're cold, tired, hungry, and your horse wants oats.]

>[Good check out their notice board.]

>[Ask for the village hetman or elder and alert them of the corpse.]

>>43561677
>>[Ask for the village hetman or elder and alert them of the corpse.]

>>43561677

>[Ask for the village hetman or elder and alert them of the corpse.]
Then:
>[See if there's an inn. You're cold, tired, hungry, and your horse wants oats.]

we can check the notice board later.

>>43561677
>[Ask for the village hetman or elder and alert them of the corpse.]

>>43561677
>>[Ask for the village hetman or elder and alert them of the corpse.]

>>43561725
This. Let them make a job offer, if they need. Otherwise, get ourselves comfortable.

The hamlet at the bottom of the hill isn't large but it's likely a hub for the local population in general since the road to Gors Velen is nearby despite the wooded terrain.
As Calanthe and you ride into the town a woman outside doing what appears to be airing out laundry looks at you in surprise, wondering at your swords and unusual garb but saying nothing beyond backing away from the road a bit.

You pass by a single sign on the pathside into the village and read it;
>SVANN
"Swan, huh?" you say, looking around and thinking it a curious name for a place that appears to have no swans whatsoever, nor even a pond or lake for them to land.

"Madam," you say without looking at the woman, and she jumps a bit at your soft tones as you look back at her. "Do you have a village hetman or elder?"
She nods wordlessly, and then points down the road to a house near a larger building with simple stables that you assume must be the local watering hole.
You nod in response and ride towards it in silence.

Dismounting as you reach it, you walk up you knock on the door firmly, and are surprised as it opens very quickly and a brown-haired man with a beard in his 40's speaks as he opens it without seeing you first.
"I TOLD you 'Belle, you can't go-" he begins in a half-annoyed, half-angry tons and then stops as he sees you.
You raise an eyebrow and he hastily straightens his shirt, calling himself an idiot and looking back up to you.

"You from the Baron, then?" he asks, which raises your eyebrow further.
With one hand you grip your silver medallion and show it to him, shaking your head of black hair.

"Coen of Cintra. Witcher," you introduce.

"Oh! Uh...Herman Carver, Master Witcher....haven't seen one of your folk here since...my grandfather's time, I think?" he notes, his voice hesitant, nervous.

"Why are ye here?"

"There's a corpse around two miles outside of town, near the hill the road goes over," you explain. "Anywhere between a day or a week old, killed by something strong and with claws. Are you missing anyone?"

He blinks and then his eyes dart around the village for a second. Curious.

"We're...not missing anyone that I know of, Master Witcher. Not many around Swann I'm afraid, someone would've noticed, aye?"

You shrug.
"I dunno. Would someone have noticed?" you ask dryly, not particularly interested in mincing words, especially since this is increasingly looking like there's no work here for you, at least until they realize there's a monster in the area.

"Uh..aye, they would, Sir!"

>WDYS?

>"How about in the surrounding area?"

>"Seen anything strange lately? Like around the hill for instance?"

>"The local lord put up any notices?"

>>43562193
>>"The local lord put up any notices?"
>"Seen anything strange lately? Like around the hill for instance?"

>>43562193
>>"The local lord put up any notices?"

Can't remember, are there such things as Strigoi in the witcher, been a while since I read the books.

>>43562228
>Strigoi
Striga at least are a thing, and in facy were featured in the very first Witcher story ever written.

It's a sort of curse, transforming a woman into a monster at night that preys on human beings.

>>43562258
Yeah, I vaguely remembered that, that's why I was asking.

He needed to save that lordlings daughter so he slept in her coffin till morning.

All we know then is that it's some sort of vampiric creature.

>>43562193
>>"The local lord put up any notices?"
Hey Sage just woke up for your thread!

"How about the local lord. He put up any notices back there?" you ask, pointing a thumb behind you in the way of the notice board.

"The Baron? No, none. We're a peaceful town, even through the war Sir!" he says, shaking his head firmly.

"How about the hill?" you ask, sighing. You get the strong feeling you know where this questioning ends up anyway.

"Uh...what? No, Sir! That place is cursed anyway! None of us ever go there, it's not right for righteous gods-fearing folk!" he says fearfully.

"Someone certainly did. That's where I found the bodys Cursed how? Any chance you need help with it?" you ask hopefully.

"Well...it's just...cursed, ye know? All evil stories and old tales surrounding Widow's Hill, aye! Everyone knows it's unhallowed ground!" he says firmly.

So, folk tales and superstition. Nothing substantial. Great.

You sigh again, turning around and leading your mount towards the inn, talking to the elder.

"Well, I'll be at the inn. I'll probably still be here when you find the next body," you say with a shrug.

"Don't...don't ya mean 'if'?" he asks, clearly even more nervous now that he knows you're staying.

"Pretty sure I didn't."

You tie Calanthe up outside the inn and take a look at yourself in the drinking basin for the horses, frowning at your reflection.

Predictably, you look like shit.
Your jet-black hair is tied back into a neck-length pony tail, and your face (visibly somewhere in it's 20's) is covered by thin black hairs since you haven't shaved since you passed through the last village. Your eyes mark you for what you are, and your face features no deformities that sometimes happen when boys go through the Change, thank the stars for that.

Trebort had died during his Trial of the Grasses, the mutagen cocktail deforming his heart and sending him into cardiac arrest before Edgar could stabilize his transformation. He had been screaming right up until his heart stopped, and you recall how terrified you were as you watched the whole thing happen.
Then it was your turn.

You shake the memory off and straighten your hardened leather jack, trying to look less the bum off the road you technically are and head inside.

It's much warmer inside the inn thanks to what appears to be an actual stone fireplace in the far corner, and it's mostly empty at this hour except for a snoring man with a cloak on him as a blanket sleeping on a bench and an older woman in her 40's cleaning up the counter, giving a tired, early-morning smile as you walk in.

"Morning, Sir. Welcome to Swann. Can I get you anything?" she asks, eying you up and down, trying to decide what you are as she sees your swords and eyes.

>WDYS?

>"Breakfast would be nice.

>"Something alcoholic would suit me just as well."

>"Nothing for now. Any news in the area?"

>>43562671
>>"Breakfast would be nice."

>>43562671
>"Something alcoholic would suit me just as well."

>>43562671
>>"Breakfast would be nice.

>>43562671
>"Something alcoholic would suit me just as well."

>>43562671
>>"Breakfast would be nice.

Nice. Glad to catch this thread. Love the Witcher. Pretty pumped for the P&P CDP wants to make I hope It'll be gud.

Do you have a twitter for your Quests?

Also like the decision to make it Episodic and self contained. I like the short stories best of the books.

>>43562824
Is it possible to make twitter pop ups on your desktop or some other notification? Or do people just check their twitter page often?

>>43562824
>Do you have a twitter for your Quests?

Look up Wordsmith@Braylock100 on Twitter, my phone won't link it for some reason.

>Also like the decision to make it Episodic and self contained. I like the short stories best of the books.

Me too, actually.
The sardonic sense of humor and whimsy of the writing stands out better in shorter bits of fiction in my opinion.

I'll definitely be mimicking the style for this quest, and people keeping an eye open will find any number of pop culture references.

>>43562671
>>"Breakfast would be nice.

>>43562824
Also: some music for the tread if anyone wants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7RLBXpQm0g&index=1&list=PL7E208B456441183E

First for trying to tame a monster
First for being a unorthodox witcher
First for Silver Axe

>>43562881
I'm pretty sure Win8+ has some app for Twitter in the store, and those apps can make notifications so maybe you could try it.
But I just check Twitter every now and then and read what I've missed.

>>43562671
>"Breakfast would be nice.

Hang on a tick, paying for lumchz

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"Breakfast if you've got something of it," you say, taking out a few pieces of silver and laying it down for payment.

"Aye, we've eggs and cow's milk to be had with a rasher of bacon?" she offers.
"Thanks," you say with a nod and a small attempted smile at the handsome woman, glancing over at the snoring man on the far bench who's snores grow in intensity as you speak.

"Pay no mind him, Sir. He's some sort of knight, or so he says. Mostly he's just been drinking himself blind each night," she apologizes for her guest.

You shake your head as a way of saying you don't mind and find a table, sitting on the bench and drawing your steel examining the blade and beginning to take care of it as the refreshing smell of bacon and eggs behind to waft through the inn as you sharpen it and test how well it's holding up, the dark meteoric iron alloy of the blade broken apart only by twisting symbols of Mahakam runes that glint a faint carmine when the light catches them in just the right way, the pommel capped by a silver griffin's head matching the one on your silver.

Good GODS but that guy can snore.....

"He's a howler, ain't he?" says a young and pretty voice attached to a younger and prettier woman carrying a platter with the eggs and bacon on it as well as a jug of the milk.

You stare for a second.
She's wearing much the same that the older woman was, only much more flattering and she fills it out even better, and her nut brown hair is artfully fallen over her left shoulder as an easy smile crosses her face.

Also, her bodice is fairly...open.

"Yup, he is. It's okay. I've heard worse howls," you admit, smiling and feeling a little self-conscious all of a sudden, taking the food.
Surprisingly she sits across from you and leans over a bit, putting her chin into her hands, which gives you a pretty fantastic view all things considered.

You dig in hungrily, the first hot food you've had in over a week and grunt in satisfaction at the meal.

"Enjoy eggs much then Master Witcher?" she asks.

"You know how it is when you're starving," you say as you swallow a mouthful of pork and eggs, downing it with the milk. "Everything tastes good."

>WDYS?

>"Never said I was a Witcher." [Barmaid]

>"Get a lot of travelers here? Any news around this place?" [Rumors/News]

>>43563540
>>"Never said I was a Witcher." [Barmaid]

>>43563540

>"Never said I was a Witcher." [Barmaid]
I get the feeling she will be more informative, plus, hot barmaid.

>>43563540
>>"Get a lot of travelers here? Any news around this place?" [Rumors/News]

>>43563540
>>"Never said I was a Witcher." [Barmaid]
Then we can go into
>>"Get a lot of travelers here? Any news around this place?" [Rumors/News]

>>43563540
>>"Never said I was a Witcher." [Barmaid]

>>43563540
>>"Never said I was a Witcher." [Barmaid]

>>43563540
>"Get a lot of travelers here? Any news around this place?" [Rumors/News]

>>43563540
>"Get a lot of travelers here? Any news around this place?" [Rumors/News]
Someone being a Witcher should be obvious

>>43563540
>"Get a lot of travelers here? Any news around this place?" [Rumors/News]

>>43563592
>Someone being a Witcher should be obvious

You'd think, but the level of ignorance in the Northern Kingdoms is truly staggering. Half of the peasants Geralt meets aren't aware of what he is until he introduces himself as such.
It doesn't help that information only travels as fast as word of mouth and foot can go.

>>43563540
>>"Never said I was a Witcher." [Barmaid]
>>"Get a lot of travelers here? Any news around this place?" [Rumors/News]
Why not both?

"Never claimed to be a Witcher," you note, putting your sword back in it's scabbard and lying it next to you as you fork food into your face.

"Cat eyes, two swords, silver amulet. What else would ye be?" she points out.

"Huh. Fair enough," you say, thinking and holding your medallion. Interesting.
She leans forward, as if to tell you a secret, but says nothing and just gives you a better view.

Who is this, the village tart or something?

"So, can ye do magic? I heard Witchers do magic," she asks coinspiratorially. "With their fingers, like," she says, smiling at the last part a bit more.

Yup. Definitely the village tart.
Or at least a LOT flirtier then most country girls you've met.

You say nothing in response, but take out a golden oren and make it dance between your fingers and vanish in your hands before reaching and pulling it out from behind her ear.

"Oh, not THAT kind!" she giggles. "The real kind!"
"I can do Signs, yes. Not proper sorcery, though," you admit, putting the oren back into your wallet.
"Can you show me?" she whispers, obviously trying not to be heard.
"I could, but you seem like a nice girl and I wouldn't do that to you," you say dryly, continuing before she can puzzle that response out.
"You know why we have these?" you say, smiling and leaning in, lifting up the medallion by it's chain.
"Because silver protects?" she asks, leaning in again.
"Sure, there's that. It also shows us what school we were trained at. I'm from the School of the Griffin, for example. Another thing it does is vibrate in the front of magic or monsters."
"Huh...really?" she asks, sounding interested.
"Yup. Feel," letting her touch it and feel the slight vibrations that started ever since she walked up with the food.
You sit back and fold your arms, the wry smirk never leaving your face

She sits back a bit, looking like she's thinking of scurrying away.

>WDYS?

>"So, want to go through the introductions again? For real this time?" [Humorous]

>"So? Which one are you?" [Vaguely Threatening]

>>43563917
>"So, want to go through the introductions again? For real this time?" [Humorous]

>>43563917
>"So, want to go through the introductions again? For real this time?" [Humorous]

>>43563917
>>"So, want to go through the introductions again? For real this time?" [Humorous]
Maybe she will try running if we are threatening. No point in rousing her I think.

>>43563881
>"So? Which one are you?" [Vaguely Threatening]

>>43563917
>>"So, want to go through the introductions again? For real this time?" [Humorous]

>>43563917
>>"So, want to go through the introductions again? For real this time?" [Humorous]

Doppel?

"So, let's try this again; I'm Coen of Cintra, Witcher of the School of the Griffin," you say, nodding at her cautiously, but with a smile on your face to let her know you don't mean her any immediate harm.

"I...I'm Isabelle Carver," she says, suddenly much more reserved and cautious, seeming a bit embarrassed by her undone blouse, blushing a bit.
You guess the flirty fearless act was just that.

"Go on," you say, making a wheel motion with your finger, still smiling.

"And...I guess I'm sort of a witch?" she admits quietly.

"Define 'sort of' for me," you ask. You've met four different "witches" in your brief career as a Witcher and exactly ons of them actually was magical. Two were simply cunning women who knew herbs and folk medicine, and the third was an old lady who was an exceptionally talented charletan.

"I...I can't do magic, REAL magic I mean, like the girls who go to Aretuza learn," she admits, pushing back her hair over her ears, trying to appear more modest then before. "But I...I can hear what folk's are thinking sometimes. I know what they're feeling too, if I'm close up. And sometimes I feel funny things down near my gut when something strange is happening or is nearby."

"Hmm. You're psychic then. You're a low-level Talent, just not capable of harnessing the Power," you say.
You don't really know the details but some Talents aren't really gifted at using sorcery, even stuff like the crude Signs taught to you but have minor mental powers instead. Most Sorcerers and Sorceresses develop this ability during their formalized training at some point.

"Psychic? A lady taking a girl to Gors Velen for training at Aretuza used that word when I asked her to find out what was wrong with me...she told me that's what I was, but I don't know what it means...," she admits.

"Means you're basically harmless," you say, going back to your food. "Just keep it to yourself and the village folk won't burn you at the stake or anything."

>>43564393
>"Means you're basically harmless," you say, going back to your food. "Just keep it to yourself and the village folk won't burn you at the stake or anything."
"Unless you make a habit of consorting with witchers and other strange folk."

"But you know better than to mix with their sort, i'm sure."

"Wait....burn me?!" she says in some alarm, looking even more nervous.

Whoops. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say?

"Forget it," you say, brushing it off with a wave of your hand. "So what's with the act then?"

"What act?" she asks, confused now.
"The whole...," you say, making a gesture towards her open blouse, which she hastily covers up and buttons together (which still looks pretty fetching) and she blushes furiously again.

"I...mother told me a Witcher had come to eat and I was to be polite!" she tries to explain.
"I'm not following you here."
"I...wanted you to think I was...I...I read a lot!" she stammers out.

There's a pause as you finish the milk.

"...yeah, still not getting it."

"You hear stories about Witchers and their....and Sorceresses and how...," she says, her voice trailing off.

"Wait. You read trashy romance novels, don't you? The ones with witchers and vampires and Sorceresses and all they do all the time is screw each other and cry about stuff?" you say with a smile, amused.

"That's not ALL they do!" she protests. "There's romance and adventure! And love and-"

"BELLE!" the lady at the counter shouts as she comes back from the back room of the inn, clearly cross with her, rag in her hand and fists in her hip.
She wears a stern expression on her face.

"Your mother's calling," you say dryly as you pick up the last piece of egg and pop it into your mouth with a smile.

"Coming, coming!" she gets up and hurriedly runs off.

You'd laugh a bit, but you hear horses outside. Armor and weapons too.

>WDYD?

>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]

>[Head out to meet these folks who almost certainly are here for you. Also to get closer to Calanthe in case you need to run.]

>>43564733
>>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]

>>43564733
>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]

>>43564733
>>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]
Trashy romance novels a best

>>43564733
>>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]

Had me a nice giggle during this part.

>>43564733
>>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]

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>>43564733
>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]
We need to eat our five dozen eggs, so that we're roughly the size of a barge.

>>43564733
>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]

>>43564733
>>[Finish your breakfast, act casual.]

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As you finish a satisfying breakfast, two armed men come in wearing gambesons with steel cuirasses covering their torsos and swords strapped to their side, both looking like fighters who've seen their share of battles wearing some lord's livery you haven't seen on their clothes, an azure field with a golden moon and matching stars above and below.

They spot you immediately and cover the distance in two strides as you turn in your chair and put one elbow on the table, which puts your arm convieniently near your steel if necessary.

One steps forward...and surprisingly, bows a bit.

"Master Witcher Coen of Cintra?" he inquires, surprisingly well-informed about you for all that you got here less then thirty minutes ago.

"Yes?"

"The Baron Lavarette of Black Mirror, Lord of Hemlock and Swann, Hero of the Battle of Sodden Hill wishes an audience with thee, begging your pardon. He has an offer to make that falls within your profession. We are your escort to take you to the Castle where you're to speak with him, if it please ye."

You pause for a second, leaving your expression blank.

"Sure. I'm done with breakfast anyway," you say with a shrug and get up from your seat and head past them to where Calanthe is tied.

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The ride through the foggy morning leads through the woods outside of Swann until it comes upon a clearing that looks to be an area marking private lands, all of it done in relative silence as you approach the old manorial-style castle on the hill, a fairly fine-looking structure that strikes you as mildly omninous when surrounded by trees in the early morning light.

"Not sure what I was expecting when you called the castle 'Black Mirror'," you admit with a shrug.

"Eh? Sorry?" the knight says, having heard you as your horse trots along a path that now has cobblestones.

>WDYS?

>"I said your lord's house is creepy."

>"Nice morning, isn't it?"

>>43565331
>"Nice morning, isn't it?"

Don't go jinxing shit boy. Should know better.

>>43565331
>"Nice morning, isn't it?"

>>43565331
>>"Nice morning, isn't it?"
Though so tempted to be snarky asshole

>>43565331
>"Nice morning, isn't it?"

>>43565331
>"Nice morning, isn't it?"

>>43565391
>Though so tempted to be snarky asshole

It's kind of a Witcher's default setting I think.
Turns out teaching them to do nothing but hunt and kill monsters doesn't do much for their manners or tact.

>>43565480
But it turns out even monsters can appreciate sarcasm, so it's win/win.

"I said 'sure is nice scenery out here in Hemlock'," you say more loudly. "Like a painting, but in the colors of nature, highlighted by the lovely architecture of the manor grounds."

"Think so?" the knight asks, a frown on his face. He's a heavy man with a barrel chest and burly arms crowned by a bald head and a thick jaw, and you'd guess he'd be stronger then you from sheer mass, mutations or no. He's not much taller then you but his bulky muscle and fat seem suited to a much taller physique, turning him into a sawed-off oak trunk of a man. "I think it looks a bit ominous myself, but to each his own."

Well, he's honest at least. Not a common trait you've found since you left Dethwein.

"You get any new around here?" you ask, deciding to ward off the gloom of the castle with polite conversation as your horses' hooves clop across what is now a cobbled path.

"Some. Seems odd to say, but ever since the Black Ones took over Temeria's looked better then it has since Foltest died. I guess Constable Natalis makes as good a king as he did a commander at Brenna," he says, nodding in approval. "Still feels queer to see the Sun hanging over the Lilies, but the Black Ones have been helping out with reconstruction, so I hear. Can't even claim they caused most of it; that was Kimbolt and Maravel's fighting over who got to squat on Foltest's corpse before it was even cold."
He spits at the mention of their names.

"Hmm. I've passed through Aedirn;" you admit. "They're not too bad off there either. Demavand's son Stennis is King now, and he swore allegiance to Nilfgaard to keep his throne he fought Hensalt for."

"Huh. Well at least Radovid is dead. Truth be told I'd sooner be a Black One myself before I live in a land ruled by that madman," he says nodding firmly.

"As one of the sort Radovid was so intent on burning, I can't but agree," you nod back.

"Wot, he burned witchers too?"

"No, but he was going to get around to it, I'm sure."

>>43566227
Myself, I favour Radovid because Vesemir believes in him. And Nilfgaard murdering Foltest was a real dick move. Foltest was bro tier. Really bummed me out when he died, to the extent that I didn't finish the game.

>>43566330
>And Nilfgaard murdering Foltest was a real dick move.

Foltest is probably the second-nicest of the Northern Kings, but he made plenty of mistakes that got plenty of people killed.
Mostly mistakes he made with his dick, really.

And Vesemir was on the side of the Northern Realms, which to be precise did not exist anymore because Radovid was never going to let them go (and his ending shows he in fact does not) because he was a barking mad loony who wasn't a particularly good king.

Vesemir's just an old guy who doesn't like new stuff.

>>43566401
You know there's a witcher in the lore named Coen, right QM? Just checking.

>>43566330
Why? He's basically Redanian Hitler.

>>43566401
>Foltest is probably the second-nicest of the Northern Kings, but he made plenty of mistakes that got plenty of people killed.Mostly mistakes he made with his dick, really.

Pretty much this. You see him in the second game storming the battlements and being a bro, but only because he had a fight with his mistress that escalated into an armed conflict. Same thing happens in the original short story, he gets his sister pregnant and someone turns the kid into a striga, causing god knows how many deaths.

>>43566456
I do, in fact. It will be explained, but there is indeed a relation, though it's not the same man, obviously.

>>43566479
Kinda figured. I haven't played the third game, but I have the first and second, but I don't remember details that'd help us tell when we are. Nice integration into the plot, though.

>>43566456
He's wolf school though. And dead

>>43566506
We're after the third game if I'm not mistaken.

File: Baron Lavarette.jpg (170 KB, 669x900)

170 KB JPG

After experiencing the novel sensation of having your horse escorted away by a groom, you walk into the spacious foyer through large and expensive-looking double-doors of Black Mirror.
A younger man in tastefully expensive but casual-looking clothes walks up, with dark brown hair and an easy smile across his face, a scar the single thing marring his brow.

"Greetings, Master Witcher," he says, not bowing but smiling broadly. "I am Baron Lavarette, Lord of this Manor, and you are most welcome in my home. No relation to the La Valettes, I assure you."

"Oh. Okay," you say lamely, not knowing who the La Valettes are anyway. Some noble family you guess. "Coen of Cintra, School of the Griffin. A witcher, as you surmised."

He's a lot younger then you thought he'd be.

"I assume you're curious as to why I invited you? And come, follow me to my study, it's dreadful chilly in this foyer, isn't it?"

>WDYS?

>"More interested in how you even knew I was here." [Make Conversation]

>"The question crossed my mind yes." [Business]

>>43566625
>"More interested in how you even knew I was here." [Make Conversation]

>>43566625
>"More interested in how you even knew I was here." [Make Conversation]

>>43566506
>>43566535
We are precisely one year and 11 months after the third game ends.
Though it wasn't necessary given the episodic format I'm using, I chose this time period deliberately because CPR mentioned that they're done with the Witcher games for quite some time, which I think is fair because Geralt very much deserves a happy ending after all the horseshit he goes through in life.

>>43566625
> More interested in how you knew I was here.

And then when he gets to it blow his mind that we already know what it is. Maybe.

>>43566625

>"More interested in how you even knew I was here." [Make Conversation]

>>43566625
"The question had crossed my mind, yes, but to be frank i'm more interested in how you even knew I was here."

>>43566625
>"More interested in how you even knew I was here." [Make Conversation]

>>43566663
What ending are we following? Obviously Nilfgard won and Radovid was assassinated, but what's happening with Ciri and the rest of the threads?

>>43566703
>but what's happening with Ciri and the rest of the threads?
Does it matter?

>>43566703
Sort of a combined ending. Nilfaard won, Radovid dies, Novigrad is still part of Nilfgaard but is dubbed a Free City in terms of it's provincial status. John Natalis reappears with Anais La Valette and is King of Temperia under Emhyr, Vernon Roche is knighted and ennobled and made the Marshal for Temeria, Prince Stennis from Witcher III is now King Stennis and still a dickless wonder but more alive then Hensalt at least and Emhyr is alive and in charge of Nilfgaard dealing with internal politics.

This is all Coen knows so it's all you know, but Geralt and his love interest of choice are far, far away enjoying their goddamn happy ending finally away from all the crap they've been put through.

Ciri....well, you'll see

>>43566401
>Foltest is probably the second-nicest of the Northern Kings
Wait, second? Who's the first?

>>43566856
>Prince Stennis from Witcher III is now King Stennis and still a dickless wonder
What about Saskia?

>>43566823
Not really, I'm just curious.

>>43566856
Nice, I get the feeling he's going to run into Ciri at some point

>>43566879
The dude from Kovir, he's not in the games at all I don't think but in the books he's probably the best monarch you see. Maybe tied with the Queen of Lyria/Rivia

>>43566929
>I get the feeling he's going to run into Ciri at some point

And we won't get to fuck her, either. Just like we didn't get the chance in the game.

>>43566929
Oh, Tancred? Yeah, he's cool. Not in the bro way Foltest was, but cool.

>>43566951
>someone tries to bang Ciri

>Geralt willingly teleports in from across the globe to slap their shit in

No thanks.

>>43566879
Estred Thyssen of Kovir-and-Poviss, the nation Triss smuggled the mages out of Novigrad too.
Kovir is absurdly wealthy, peaceful, neutral, accepting of all species and not as prejudiced against magic, and is ruled by an intelligent and wise guy who's basically a fucking Saint from a line of saints.
>>43566904
>What about Saskia?
Nowhere to be found, as is Iorveth.
>>43566929
> Maybe tied with the Queen of Lyria/Rivia

Queen Maeve IS pretty boss, leading her nation's war from the front and all that. Plus, she knighted Geralt, which was pretty cool.

>>43566967
Please. He might want to slap their shit in, but he'd only do it months and months after the fact after desperately tracking them across 90% of the known world.

>>43566966
Not Tancred. Estryed Thyresen I think.

>>43566951
>>43566967
She's basically lesbian anyway.
Confirmed bisexual but STRONGLY leaning towards women.

>>43566997
>Confirmed bisexual but STRONGLY leaning towards women.
Maybe we can talk her into a three-way with Calanthe.

>>43567019
Shadman pls go

>>43566994
Well, since he is dead by the time the time of the Third Nilgaardian Invasion, i supposed it was Tancred, since he was the king of Kovir that was helping Triss. (Was he? I don't really remember now)

>>43567060
Yeah you right. I just checked the wiki

"Thought crossed my mind, but was sorta more curious how you even knew I here seeing as I only got here less then an hour ago," you ask as you walk up the stairs and follow him through his admittedly pretty nice house.

"My little birds told me," he says cheekily, smiling again.
"Should I make a joke about eunuch spymasters now?" you quip back.

"No, but seriously, a rider saw you talking to the hetman of Swann and rushed up to alert my men here at the castle. I think he thought you brought trouble with you and wanted me to do something about it," he admits as you come into a large room with really nice mahogany furniture and lots and lots and lots of books. He sits down a plush velvet chair and offers you another next to him. You awkwardly remove your weapons and do so, feeling conspicuous and out-of-place, something you'd think you'd be used to but is mostly unfamiliar.

"Witchers don't bring problems, we solve them," you clarify.

"Just so. So, you hail from Cintra? Been there once, I found it lovely," he says as a servant brings over a bottle of wine and he pops it open to let it breathe a bit.

"Actually, no," you admit, shaking your head. "When you're trained as a Witcher you don't have a name at first. Most of us pick them at random. The birthplace part is just added to make us more relatable because 'Name from Nowhere In Particular' sounds odd."

"Oh. So is Coen even your proper name?" he asks, quirking a head to one side. This guy's awfully inquisitive about Witchers...or maybe he just likes to talk.

"No, it is. The one I choose anyway. I got it from another witcher from a different school who once wintered at the place where I was trained. I picked Cintra because it was alliterative," you shrug.

Calanthe's name you picked from some historical Cintran queen, but he didn't ask about your horse.

"Well, that's as good a way as any of picking it. The rest of us are born with our names, no chance to have a say in it," he says, waving the silent servant away (he was making you a bit uncomfortable anyway) and pouring the wine himself.
"Ervaluce from Toussaint?" he offers, and you nod, taking the pewter goblet and letting him pour, mildly suspicious that this nobleman is offering you what is as far the finest red wine in the Continent and even pours it for you himself.

"Kinda surprised the goblets aren't silver just to top it off....," you mutter, once again feeling out of place surrounded by the rich furnishings and opulence of this home compared to your lack of one entirely.

"Oh, we have those too," he admits with a shrug. "I just don't drink out of the silver or gold ones. Reds tarnish silver horribly, and I feel a little guilty using such an item of value just to have a drink with a guest."

"Ah," you say, sipping the wine and letting the awkward pause go on.

"Soooo..." you begin and Lavarette interrupts you.

"To business then?"
"Yeaaah," you agree with a slow nod.

"Master Witcher....," he pauses before continuing, both hands on his goblet. "I must ask you to treat this matter with discretion, as it has potential political consequences. Firstly, know that I believe there is a monster killing my people on these lands."

>WDYS?

>"Yeah, I know already." [Truth]

>"You don't say." [Lie]

>>43567658
>>"Yeah, I know already." [Truth]

>>43567658
>"You don't say." [Lie]
Let him come to us.

>>43567658
>>"Yeah, I know already." [Truth]

>>43567658
"How much are you offering, and what do you know?" [Fuck this smalltalk business]

>>43567658
> "Big guy, bigger teeth, pointy ears, not big on smalltalk? Yeah, pretty expensive job, but I can handle it." [Jew it]

>>43567658
>>"Yeah, I know already." [Truth]

>>43567677
>>43567708
>>43567869
What are you doing? Don't act so eager, he's going to rip us off so bad.

>>43567957
That's not eager anon, it's cutting through his bullshit.

>>43568039
Yes, but the implication is "I've already looked into it, I know what the problem is, I know how to solve the problem and I'm just here to find out about the payment.", which is not how you want to seem if you're getting paid for your time. He sees this, decides it's less work he needs to pay us for and halves the reward.

"I know," you admit, taking another sip, and he coughs into his goblet at that in surprise.

"Sorry?"

"I ran into a relatively fresh corpse on the hill just outside of town. Beaten up a little and drained of blood by whatever attacked her. Given the size of the wounds and condition of the body there's a solid probability of it being a vampire but that's impossible to be certain of right now as vampires are not the only monster that drinks blood," you clinically explain. "Also, you invited a witcher into your house just after he showed up. Why else WOULD I be her if not a monsters on your land?"

"I...sorry, a vampire? On...the hill just outside of town, you say?"

"I said it MIGHT be a vampire," you clarify. "I didn't see what caused the attack, after all. Could also be a sylust or wrogen or a lamia, though the last seems unlikely."

"I....huh," he says, briefly at a loss for words since the first time you saw him.

"Huh?" you echo back. "What 'huh'?"

"Nothing, I just thought....well, that it would be something else. Shouldn't we be up to our necks in vampires then? Why hasn't the body returned to unlife?" he asks.

"Vampires don't work that way. They also spend most of their time hiding since they look so inhuman," you clarify. "It'd be impossible to mistake a fleeder or a garkain or ekkhimara for anything other then a monster; they're all hideous."

"Oh, well, what now?"

"Tell me what you know about the attacks," you say, sipping your wine lightly so you can have your wits about you.

>From Dusk Till Dawn
So... When do the mexican vampires and the vampire strippers show up?

"Well, I wouldn't call them 'attacks' per say," he admits. "People keep vanishing. Bodies are never found, but though the woods have wolves they aren't particularly aggressive, and wolves don't exactly take entire bodies away, do they?"

"The peasantry might disagree."

"The peasantry think flies are born from rotting meat when it was definitively proven decades ago that they come from maggots that lay eggs," he says dismissively. "I know wolves, and they do not make entire bodies disappear."

"Why would you know wolves?" you inquire, curious.

"Hunted them since I was a boy, don't change the subject witcher," he says with some mild annoyance now. "It's not wolves and there was damage to the homes of the vanished on one occasion. No, this is something else. What's worse, this was almost certainly deliberate and planned," he claims darkly.

"How's that?" you ask, enjoying this wine.
Guy can spin a good yarn at least, though it's clearly half sales pitch.

"Cuilleannains," he says, practically spitting the name."

"Bless you."

"I'd not jest if I were you witcher,"

>WDYS?

>"Okay I'll bite; who are the Cuilleannains?"

>"Go back; where exactly is the house where there's evidence of the monster attack?"

>>43568328
>"Go back; where exactly is the house where there's evidence of the monster attack?"

Rest doesn't matter, just here to do the job.

>>43568328
>"Go back; where exactly is the house where there's evidence of the monster attack?"

>>43568328
>"Okay I'll bite; who are the Cuilleannains?"
Seems like better pay.

>>43568328
>>"Go back; where exactly is the house where there's evidence of the monster attack?"

"I assume the Cuilleannains are some sort of rival family?" you say, sipping the wine.

"Rival?! Why, rivalry isn't a strong enough word for wha-" he begins, but you cut him off.

"Yeah, I don't actually care," you admit. "If they did it I'll find out and then you can petition to the King to have them killed or something. It's always easy to tell when a monster attack is deliberate; monsters are messy and people make mistakes. What I need to know is where is the hut with the evidence of the monster attack? I'll be able to get a better picture of what I'm looking for once I see the scene myself."

He's a little aghast that you interrupted him, but continues on anyway.

"A hut near the far edge of Hemlock Wood, visible from Swann," he explains.

>WDYD?

>[Bid him farewell; it's time to work for you meal]

>"Now there's the matter of my fee..." [Bargain]

>>43568599
>"Now there's the matter of my fee..." [Bargain]

>>43568599
>[Bid him farewell; it's time to work for you meal]

>>43568599
>>"Now there's the matter of my fee..." [Bargain]

"Okay, I'll start there," you say, draining the last of the goblet.

"I see. I wish you luck Master Witcher," he says as he gets up, but you shake your head.

"We're not done quite yet. There's the matter of my fee...,"

"Oh! Uh, of course. I am prepared to pay 100 Nilfgaardian florins upon proof that the monster is deceased," he says with a nod.

>WDYS?

>"One-fifty."

>"Two hundred."

>"One hundred's fair."

>>43568823
>>"One-fifty."

>>43568823
>"One-fifty."

>>43568823
>"One-fifty."

>>43568823
>"One-fifty."

"Not enough," you say shaking your head. "One hundred and fifty would be my price for a vampire, especially if it's a strong one."

"One hundred and FIFTY? Surely you jest!" he protests.

"My sense of humor is much drier. One-fifty."

"A hundred and twenty-five," he counters.

>"One fifty."

>"One thirty."

>"I'll take that."

>>43568823
>"One-fifty."
"That's very generous considering I'm just treating this as a localized monster. If I uncover something bigger I'm still obligated to take care of it at the same price. And if as you suspect your rivals are afoul in this for you I can think of no better investment."

>>43569016
>>43569017
oops wrong link

>>43569017
I like it

>>43569016
>>43569017
This

"One fifty," you repeat. "And since you're apparently asking me to get involved in a political matter while slaying the monster, I think the added expense is fair."

"One thirty-five!" he counters.

"One-fifty. I'm not bargaining here; you can hope another Witcher shows up, because I won't hunt a vampire AND potentially get involved in a noble's squabble for less then that."

"You DO know that florins are going for 1:3 for Novigrad crowns don't you?" he points out accusatorily.

"What do I look like, a banker? We're in Temeria which is a province of Nilfgaard which uses Nilfgaardian florins. One-fifty."

"Oh fine!" he says, throwing up his hands and giving in.

"Well done Baron," you say nodding at him and gathering your weapons, "You shall have your monster dead."

"Are all witchers so parsimonious with their effort before pay is agreed upon?" he asks as you strap them on and head for the door.

"Sure. Our houses aren't nearly as nice as this," you point out as you leave without turning around.

>WDYD?

>[Head back to Swann, ask around the village to get a ground-eye view of the vanishings.]

>[Go looking for that hut Lavalette mentioned.]

>[Go see if that barmaid is willing to talk about this, she might have some info.]

>>43569255
>[Go looking for that hut Lavalette mentioned.]

>>43569255
>[Head back to Swann, ask around the village to get a ground-eye view of the vanishings.]

>[Go looking for that hut Lavalette mentioned.]

>[Go see if that barmaid is willing to talk about this, she might have some info.]

Cant hurt to be thorough

>>43569339
It's just the order you go them in you're voting on, which one first; each of these is going to be something he can do, and depending on which he does he will be given more option for investigation later.

>>43569255
>[Go looking for that hut Lavalette mentioned.]

>>43569255
>>[Go looking for that hut Lavalette mentioned.]

>>43569363
Will we be able to go back to something?

>>43569255
>[Go looking for that hut Lavalette mentioned.]

>>43569409
If you find evidence indicating that you missed something, then yes of course.
Most information you collect will be tied into other relevant information if there's a tie to make just as soon as Coen is able to make the connection, so it USUALLY won't be necessary.

>>43569255
>[Go see if that barmaid is willing to talk about this, she might have some info.]

>>43569475
Okay cool.

Somdid Ciri die in your game of witcher 3?

>>43569255
>[Go looking for that hut Lavalette mentioned.]

>>43569515
Nope, I got lucky.
Lost her to Emhyr though.

>>43569547
I actually got to keep her. Of course I thought she died before the epilogue showed her.

>>43569672
Hold on a sec, dinner

>>43569801
Alright, I have to stop for tonight but would like to pick this up tomorrow.
Apologies but Comcast is being....Comcast.

Not sure if I should archive it or leave it up for tomorrow, no idea how fast the board moves.

>>43570374
As long as someone keeps it bumped it'll be fine, Archiving doesn't sage the thread though so you might as well.

>>43570400
Will do.

bump

now posting, bump 2: bump harder

Bump 3: Bump Hard With A Vengeance

>>43573653
Bump 4: Live Free, Bump Hard

friendly bump

Just woke up, after properly showering and dressing myself I shall continue.

An update will also be put on the Twitter.

File: image.jpg (72 KB, 736x416)

72 KB JPG

You ride out of the woods on Calanthe, pondering the meeting and glad to be finally working again, even if you're hunting for something you aren't fully aware of what it is yet.
You're also glad he didn't ask how many vampires you killed, because you'd be forced to answer "none"; you've never even seen one before.
After all, you completed your training and were sent out on the Path barely a year ago, and don't yet have the decades of experience other Witchers do. They still taught you everything you needed to know at Dethwein, but you are painfully aware how unusual young witchers actually are, though most folks don't even seem to care about it.
You heard that the Wolf School has been destroyed decades ago, and the Cat School followed shortly after. Of the remaining Schools that you know of on the Continent only the Bear School somewhere in Skellige exists (you heard it got rebuilt recently on Ard Skellige buy it's new Queen), and the Viper School which is somewhere south of the Yaruga in Nilfgaard....though you guess everything is in Nilfgaard now, excepting places like Zerrikania, Haakland and Ofir far outside the knowledge of anyone you know.

Following the loose directions you see the little woodsman's cabin right on the edge of Hemlock, with Widow's Hill off in the distance and the smokestacks of Swann distantly visible between the trees.

The lingering odor of charcoal catches your sensitive nostrils from the cabin; this must have been a charcoal-burners hut.

>WDYD?

>[Scout the are around the cabin first, look for signs of....whatever.]

>[Head inside and start investigating.]

>[Better safe then sorry; make sure you're fully equipped and choose your gear.]

>>43576930
>>[Better safe then sorry; make sure you're fully equipped and choose your gear.]

>>43576930
>>[Scout the are around the cabin first, look for signs of....whatever.]

>>43576930
>>[Scout the are around the cabin first, look for signs of....whatever.]

>>43576930
> Better safe than sorry

> Better safe than sorry

Heh, it's always a tie with you guys, isn't it?

File: 1314225394388s.jpg (9 KB, 251x245)

9 KB JPG

>>43577138

You dismount and check your gear and your saddlebags.
Your primary weapons are your swords of course; your silver Griffin-pommeled swords even have names (though you never told anyone at Deithwein that).
The steel of blended meteoric and dark iron is a Mahakaman sihil you named Black Unicorn (because of it's color), and the alchemically hardened and forged silver is Loathen.
You find it ironic that despite riding around improvised all the time the two swords you carry are both worth a small fortune from the complexity of their craftsmanship and the materials they're made out of.

You're relatively sparse on other stuff in your saddlebags; you three bombs, one Zerrikanian sun (also called Samum), one Grapeshot, and one Dancing Star.
You have three potions as well; one Thunderbolt, one Cat, and one Swallow.

>WDYD?

>You make take any two bombs and any two potions with you out of your saddlebags, but no more.

>>43576930
>[Scout the are around the cabin first, look for signs of....whatever.]

>>43577288
one Grapeshot, and one Dancing Star.
one Thunderbolt, one Cat

>>43577138
They do it on purpose.

>>43577288
>Grapeshot
>Thunderbolt
>Dancing star
>Cat

>We named our weapons

That's adorable, we're just a big softy.
A big murderous softy.

>>43577379
>That's adorable, we're just a big softy.
I've noticed that witchers don't really do all THAT much maturing as they get older.
I mean in W3 one of the quests is getting shit-faced blackout drunk with your buddies and dressing up in women's clothing so you can use your girlfriend's magical telephone to "summon the bitches".

>>43577371
No way this is the true legend...


>>43577288
This>>43577379
Maybe we should bring the swallow too?

>>43577443
I had never played any Witcher games before 3 and that scene alone was worth the buy.

You take the three explosives and the potion and clip them to your belt, ready for use.

>[Scout the area around the cabin.]

>[Investigate the cabin interior.]

>>43577675
>[Scout the area around the cabin.]

>>43577675
>[Scout the area around the cabin.]

>>43577675
>>[Scout the area around the cabin.]

>>43577675
>>[Scout the area around the cabin.]

>>43568161
>they're all hideous."
Hey, don't talk about Regis like that! He's top bro-tier.
:°3

You slowly pace the area, keeping your eyes and ears open while looking for anything suspicious.

Your initial summary was correct; whoever lived here was a charcoal burner, and there was very little foot traffic to and from his cabin, and nearly all of it from a person of the same approximate height and weight, so you're guessing he had few visitors.

Your search appears fruitless, but then you happen upon an area near the Hemlock Wood where you find something curious; a very large splatter of blood staining the grass, surrounded by a large amount of ravaged flesh.
Kneeling down you take in all the evidence.

"There enough blood around here to kill a fair-sized man if he lost that much, but there's no body. The flesh appears to be skin, and lots of it in bloody, rotting chunks everywhere. The flesh is all epidermal with no muscle or bones anywhere, and there's so much of it that anyone loosing this much skin would be completely flayed alive. Splatter pattern suggests it just was...torn apart, like some great force tore it all away and splattered it everywhere around here."

You see a single set of tracks going away from the blood splatter into the woods.

>WDYS?

>[Follow the tracks.]

>[Investigate the cabin.]

>>43578458
>[Investigate the cabin.]

>>43578458
>[Investigate the cabin.]
The tracks aren't going anywhere

>>43578458

Epidermis only indicates that this person transformed violently into something else.

Be ready for combat.

>>43578458
>>[Investigate the cabin.]

>>43578458
>[Investigate the cabin.]

>>43578458
>[Investigate the cabin.]

Following on my way home from class. Posting on my phone is suffering with this street sign captcha. Will participate when I get home.

>>43578786
>Posting on my phone is suffering with this street sign captcha.

Fucking RIGHT?
I'm ALWAYS doing this from my phone too.

>>43578458
>>[Follow the tracks.]
>>43578510

Reminds me of how werewolves change

"So, what exactly happened in here," you say, walking up to the hut, frowning.

The front door of the thing is knocked aside, partially torn off it's hinges. You take a closer look at it, scratching your unshaven chin covered in black stubble.

"Forced open...something strong," you say, following the angle of the break above the door. "And tall...," you continue, touching the deep scores near the top of the hut. "With claws...."

Humanoid then? The monster on the hill likely was humanoid, but the site near the ring of frost didn't suggest a creature nearly so large, and these claw marks also look deeper, stronger.

You head inside the simple hut, seeing blood splattered upon the bed, likely arterial spray from a fatal injury, but no corpse. There's a crossbow on the floor, empty of a quiver.

"Hmm...," you say, taking the weapon. "Not a hunter's weapon at all. Military. Not an arbalest, but still nothing to snuff at either, could put a bolt through mail or cheap munitions plate," you say as you scan the room while kneeling and holding the weapon. You spot hanging above the bed a sword.
"A soldier once upon a time then? Explains the crossbow at least...," you conclude, turning towards the ruined doorway and looking again at the empty crossbow.

"You saw whatever got you, didn't you? You even hit with your first shot? Not bad. Someone else might have panicked, but you armed yourself and fired, even nailed the beast. That must have pissed it off. Even without silver crossbows hurt like a bastard on anything but the toughest beasts....you'd need more then one shot though...," you analyze, looking around the room, prodding jars and plants around.

"An herbalist too? Wolfsbane, holly, garlic oil, monkshood, hemlock, Corinne's blooms and....juniper?" you mutter, smelling the scents as you pass them by.

"Four are poisons...three are folklore.....you were already paranoid of being attacked by something, weren't you? Is that why you lived alone? Worried that someone or something was coming for you?" you wonder.

You freeze, turning your head slightly.
Someone's outside, trying to sneak up on the cabin, and isn't that bad at attempting stealth...

>WDYD?

>[Draw your sword, lie in wait for them]

>[Walk out unarmed, see what you're up against.]

>[Draw your sword and walk out.]

>>43579174
>[Draw your sword, lie in wait for them]

>>43579174
>>[Draw your sword, lie in wait for them]

>>43579174
>>[Draw your sword, lie in wait for them]

>>43579174
>[Draw your sword, lie in wait for them]

>>43579174
>[Draw your sword, lie in wait for them]

>[Draw your sword, lie in wait for them]

You draw your steel sword and wait near the door just behind the frame, deciding that the physical profile of the shadow sneaking up on you suggests a human being, not a monster.

You wait, feeling a bit impatient as he approaches; you've always have has a hard time with waiting just BEFORE a fight, and you feel yourself tense up. You mentally control your metabolism as you force yourself to calm down, gripping the sword in both hands and bringing it near your right shoulder as the stalker approaches.

Soon you see a shadow, then the tip of a steel weapon, and you reach out with a free hand as you spin out and grab the stalker!

"Fuck!" he swears, and you move to disarm by bringing your sword up to his, but he's fast and clearly expected something like this, and headbutts you! Your quick reflexes is all that stops you from your nose being broken and he hits your jaw instead!

You yank him down as hard as you can, weapons locked together and your left hand locker around his right wrist and spin to flip him over onto the ground!
He lands with an "OOF!", but doesn't stop and kicks out, knocking you over onto your face as he hits your left leg upon impact!

You get up at the same time he does and throw a punch (both of you now disarmed) which he catches inside his armpit before sending a vicious punch into your kidneys, making you exhale and wince as he grabs you by the throat and lifts you up as mightily as possible and THROWS you like ragdoll against the end of the bed, breaking some of the wood.

"AaaaRRRGH!" he says, charging at you!
You end the contest by making the Sign of Aard as he does so, a low thunderclap and a flash of white light sending him off his feet and sprawling out the door he came in on, landing hard onto his back!

"Fucking prick! Killed..Bowen!" he grunts, getting up and staggering over to his horse as you get up, grab his sword and yours, striding out to meet him as he retrieves a HUGE flambérge that you do not like the looks of.

>WDYD?

>[Knock his ass down with Aard again as he charges and then pin him; it'll be hard for him to get off his back hauling that big bastard around.]

>"I don't even know who Bowen IS!"

>[Let him come to you, see if you can dodge or parry the next blow!]

>>43579676
>"I don't even know who Bowen IS!"

>>43579676
>[Let him come to you, see if you can dodge or parry the next blow!]

>>43579676
>"I don't even know who Bowen IS!"

>>43579676
>>[Knock his ass down with Aard again as he charges and then pin him; it'll be hard for him to get off his back hauling that big bastard around.]
>>"I don't even know who Bowen IS!"

New anon, reporting for duty.
>>43579676
>"I don't even know who Bowen IS!"

>>43579643
>>"I don't even know who Bowen IS!"
"You're fighting a witcher, you moron!"

>>43579676
>>[Let him come to you, see if you can dodge or parry the next blow!]

"Who the hell is Bowen?!" you say to him in confusion.
"You didn't even learn his name and you murdered him ANYWAY?!" he says, charging at you with his flambérge at his shoulder!

Oops.
Maybe that was the wrong thing to say.

He brings the heavy weapon around in a side slash that you have to leap back from and bat aside with the borrowed blade, dropping it from your hand as you do so and swinchinf up to a proper grip on your sword, moving in to strike but leaping back as he brings the great sword back up again with another heavy slash, showing extreme strength in his limbs!
You move close after he brings the blade up, trying to lock swords again, but he quickly pushes you off and brings his flambérge down atop you!
You don't have time to dodge or parry, so you cast Quen and let the arcane energy soak the brunt of the impact! Unfortunately Quen is made to stop small or fast-moving objects flying at you, and the full weight and mass of the flambérge and his swing crashes and shatters the shield, smacking you down to the ground!
You grunt and kick at his midsection, knocking him back as you screw up his center of balance...and then he promptly bends over and vomits all over your boots.

"UUUUUGH!" he grunts as a stream of puke falls from his face and you give a futile "AAWW, NAW!" as you scoot away in more panic then the swordfight gave you.

You get up hastily, checking your feet as he empties the contents of his stomach all over the muddy ground, and you lower your sword and grimace, smelling the familiar stench of regurgitated alcohol.
You recognize him now; he was that man with the sword sleeping off his drink at this inn earlier this morning.

>WDYD!?

>"Hey uh...are...you okay?"

>[Knock him down while he's vomiting.]

>>43580452
>>"Hey uh...are...you okay?"

"I'm a witcher, I was sent to investigate this attack."

>>43580452
>>[Knock him down while he's vomiting.]
Talk under better conditions, when he's not hostile, pumped of adrenaline and full of booze.

>>43580452
>"Hey uh...are...you okay?"

Listen I'm investigating for the duke. Never met Bowen.

>>43580452
>"Hey uh...are...you okay?"

Hang on a tick, my phone's connection is being weird for some reason.

>>43580452
>[Knock him down while he's vomiting.]

>>43580452
>"Hey uh...are...you okay?"

"Uuuuh...," you say awkwardly.
"HUUUUUURGH!" he responds.
"Are...are you....?"
"HUUUURGH!"
"Are you okay, man?"

He raises up one finger as he vomits one final time, then stands there bent over, panting before wiping his face.

"Okay...right, I think I'm good. Sorry," he apologizes, still panting.
"No no, take your time," you say with an awkward nod. "Man's gotta do what he's gotta do and all that."
"Aye, that he does," he agrees with a nod. "Didn't getcha there did I?"
"Little bit," you admit with a wince.
"Aw, shame that. Sorry mate, 'twernt my intention," he apologizes.
"Yeah, I figured. No worries."

There's a pause and he blinks and takes a closer look at you,

"Hang on a tick, you're a Witcher ain't cha?" he says in surprise.

"Yyyeeep. Last I checked," you confirm with a nod.
"The fuck's a witcher killin' a man makes 'is living as a charcoal burner for?" he asks in confusion.
"I didn't kill him, actually. I only found out he was dead a few minutes before you got here. I was hired by the lord of the manor to hunt and slay whatever did this," you explain, putting away your sword, assuming the fight is done.

"Awww...plough it mate, I wasn't thinking...saw a horse from afar and a man with swords, figured you'd come back to the scene of the crime. Couldn't rightly imagine why anyone else would come here," he explains, scratching the back of his head.

>WDYS?

>"Who are you anyway?

>"You knew this guy?"

>>43581828
>>"Who are you anyway?

>>43581828
>>"Who are you anyway?

>>43581828
>"Who are you anyway?

>>43581828
>>"Who are you anyway?

>>43581828
>"You knew this guy?"

>>43581828
> You knew this guy?

>>43560759
Hate to be that guy Wulin, but is there an link to the last Wulin Quest thread? I missed it and can't find it. Also YAY new Witcher quest

>>43582348
Check his twitter?

File: image.png (30 KB, 300x360)

30 KB PNG

"Yeah, no worries," you say, brushing it off as best you can. He seems genuinely remorseful, albeit a bit of an idiot about it. "Who are you anyway?"

"Sorry, where my manners?"
"On the ground with the other contents of your stomach?"
"Hah!" he laughs, seeming to hold no grudge over the jest. "I am Sulima Czarny, Order of the White Rose, faithful of Kreve, called the 'Iron Wolf'."
He bows low in introduction, steadying himself on his flambérge stuck point-first into the dirt.
"Coen of Cintra, Witcher," you say back, giving a simple nod. "You're actually a knight?"
"Aye, and you don't need to sound so surprised!" he says, perhaps a little miffed. "Knights can puke as well as any man you know."
"Just sort of wondering what a knight is doing out here in Hemlock, really," you say with a shrug.
"It is the duty of the most esteemed Order of the White Rose to fight evil wherever it turns up, no matter where and how remote, Master Witcher," he clarifies.
You pause, looking around at the woodland and the puddle of vomit, which he shifts slightly to step out of.
"So you're....fighting evil, then?" you ask, a bit non-plussed.
"Ah...well...," he begins, scratching the back of his black haired head again.

He's got a beard much thicker then yours and shoulders like a rock troll and brawny arms to match. No wonder he was able to physically overpower you.

"I mean, there were other reasons, yeah. On my way to Gors Velen and thought I'd stop by and see," he begins, but is cut off by a mournful howling from the wood, deeper and stronger then a wolf's call.

"Shit...," you say, drawing your silver, scarlet runes glinting along it's edge in the early morning light as a fog begins to rise, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Kreve! What the ploughing hell-?" he begins, shifting his grip on his sword.

>WDYD?

>[Fight with him, back to back]

>[Tell him to run]

>>43582504
>[Fight with him, back to back]

>>43582504
>[Fight with him, back to back]

>>43582504
>[Fight with him, back to back]

>>43582504
Fight with him
"silver would be ideal, but after experiencing it first hand, I'm confident that flamberg will do."

He backs away and you put his back to yours as you grip Loathen in your hand, eyes dilating to cut through the fog.

"That was no wolf, Master Witcher," he points out, raising up his flambérge, bracing it for a swing.
"No...no it wasn't," you agree.
"What are we facing here?" he asks, glancing around. Can't see shit in this fucking fog!"
"A werewolf, I think," you say, but you're not sure yet. A lot of stuff isn't adding up.
"Dammit...I've no silver here, only steel!" he says, worried but apparently unafraid; his heart rate is only a little bit elevated.
"It's okay. Silver hurts werewolves more then other monsters but they aren't invulnerable. It'll be like hitting a man in full armor, but I get the feeling you've done that before," you explain.
"Aye. What else?"
"Stay away from it. It's bigger and stronger then both of us, and it's got so much mass that that cuirass you're wearing won't do anything. Like being hit by a mace, only with claws atop it."
"Cheery. So, what's the plan then?"
"I'll keep it focused on me. It'll be fast, but I can keep out of it's way and harrow it. When it's distracted, hit it as hard as you can with that big bastard you got and back off as quickly as possible."
"Right," he says with a nod.

Then you see shapes coming at you through the fog.

http://youtu.be/CiSeoX_4nzU

Wolves, six of them charge at you, slavering drool and madness in their eyes!

>WDYD?

>[IGNI!]

>[Kill the first few that get close then move to protect Sulima's back!]

>[YRDEN!]

>>43583017
>[IGNI!]

>>43583017
>[IGNI!]

>>43583017
>[Kill the first few that get close then move to protect Sulima's back!]

Oh, to clarify; Yrden for the purposes of this quest has the features of Yrden in the stories and the Polish RPG, rather then the games where it's functionality kept changing.
Yrden is a defensive Sign that puts up an invulnerable force field in a circle around the caster or things he can get to stay still long enough.
The downside is since this invulnerable ward goes both ways a Witcher inside of it can't attack or cast Signs until he drops the spell, meaning he's pretty much stuck in place and can't counterattack at all. This also makes it an effective trap...if you can get a monster to stand still long enough.

Among the other Signs the game left out that Coen has access to is Heliotrope, which is a defensive spell that is specifically used to protect against offensive magic and curses rather then physical offenses like Quen and Yrden are.

>>43583202
Good to know. Are all the other ones more or less the same?

>>>>43583017
Igni
The increased temperature might lighten the fog a bit.

>>43583235
Pretty much, yes.
Quen is usually used to defend yourself against fast-moving projectiles though; it works for weapons but since they have more mass they shatter the field instantly, and it's also a good explanation as to why despite being protected from harm heavy impacts like larger monster charges in Witcher III still stun Geralt; Quen isn't really meant to block hits like that.

>>43583309
How are signs "invented" anyway?

You'd think someone would try to figure one out for tanking stuff they simply can't avoid like that.

>>43583333
I think they were invented by the rogue mages that created the witchers in the first place. And then they were passed down by the instructors to other witchers, although I could be wrong.

>>43583390
But wait, aren't The Witchers from the Griffin School supposed to know more Signs? Or being better at using them, or something like that?

>>43583333
>>43583390
Signs are basically really shitty spells.
You know how proper mages in the games use hand-signs and Magic words when casting magic and they can do a whole bunch of stuff with it?
Well Signs are basically spells cut down to a single syllable and performed using just hand-symbols so that you can get them off faster, though their power and utility is vastly decreased.
Most witchers (with a few exceptions) don't have enough Talent to use the Power to cast more then the most basic of spells (Signs) since their ability to cast at all comes from the process used to mutate them in the first place.

A normal person who's Talented but hasn't undergone any mutations could learn to cast Signs too, like Ciri showed, though Ciri's raw power as a Source meant she had a lot of difficulty controlling her magic at all.

>>43583484
There's no actual information on the Griffin School at all beyond that it exists and barely any information on the other schools in general as they were created via a throw away line to show what a badass Leo Bonhart was in the novels.

I picked the Griffin School specifically because very little can be reasonably guessed about them beyond that one is a long-winded reference to Saint George, so I can make up everything about them and not be wrong.

>>43583484
I don't know, the other schools aren't really discussed in the books and the game doesn't really go into their backstory either. The Griffin armor set buffs signs but apart from that I don't really know where you're getting that from.

The Cat school is gone into a little further though. The cats are mostly part elf and they basically became hired assassins at some point. Their school got destroyed around the time of the third game according to the witcher in Where the Cat and Wolf Play. Plus the other witchers in Lambert's quest are all cat school I think.

>>43583561
The Cat School has more information about it then any School except the Wolf at this point, having been detailed a bit in the Polish Witcher comic series, where they directly led to the destruction of the Wolf School through their bullshit.
This basically characterized them as the assholes you hear about and see in the Witcher III.

>>43583594
Wait, they lead to the massacre at Kaer Morhen? Those cocksuckers!

Alright, so dinner has come up and I won't be able to continue tonight.
Since we're so near the bump limit of this thread, we can let this one die.

I'll be starting up again tomorrow as well.
Though I might be ending earlier as it's my birthday.

>>43583663
thanks for running, Happy Birthday!

>>43583544
>>43583561
>>43583594
Well, fair enough. I thought that, since we don't know much about them, their armor being sign focus was something. Whatever.

The Cats are outright said on Season of Storm to be psychopats. Or that they tend to have psychopats on their ranks, i don't remember. But hey, Gaetan from Wild Hunt was a pretty cool guy. And according to Lambert, Aiden was one of his best friends. I guess those were the only two cool guys on the Cat school.

I wish we knew more about the Griffin School (or the Bear, even though i don't remember them in the books). Thank you Leo Bonhart.

>>43583663
Oh shit, happy birthday man!
Thanks for running.

>>43583663
>killing werewolves on your bday
The best birthday gifts arent material.

>>43583689
I think the psyopathic behavior might actually be a side effect of their mutations and whatever they used to make them.
The process was never exactly clean and painless (and probably unique to each school), and for some Witchers it leads to physical deformities that can be pretty nasty.

Maybe Cat School got the physical deformities out of the way but they affected the brain instead.

>>43583689
The bear school aren't in the books iirc. They only show up in Wild Hunt as part of a witcher's gear quest. There's not much information about them other than they were probably based in skellige and one of them was being hunted by knights from the mainland.

I really want to know more about the Viper school. They have some cool backstory as experts on the wild hunt and I think they weren't allowed into Nilfgardian cities by law or something. It would be pretty cool to see the school back before it became a Nilfgardian commando squad.

>>43583821
>They have some cool backstory as experts on the wild hunt and I think they weren't allowed into Nilfgardian cities by law or something.

The implications are a bit different.
Nilfgaard is REALLY peaceful internally and REALLY stable, to the point where Nilfgaardians basically consider Witchers and monsters half-mythical at best.
The Viper School basically is erroneous there (and as suggested by Letho) sort of turned towards bounty hunting (which Bonhart showed was a fairly lucrative business) on occasion because monsters just aren't common enough to make a solid living down in Nilfgaard.

Combine that with Emhyr and Emhyr's father's, let's say "centralist viewpoint", and you have a land with strict laws and now legal employment for the types of stuff witchers are for who can't get employed any other way.

>>43583916
For people curious about the cultural stiff behind Nilfgaard/Northern Realms, you have to go way back; Nilfgaard is strongly politically reminiscent of the Holy Roman Empire (lots of federated territories and a single central ruler with variable power dependent upon the individual), and the colors they use are obviously reminiscent of the Knights Teuton.

The Northern Kingdoms are basically the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth lands (Redania even borrows it's flag almost completely), which historically had a LOT more pagan adherents well after Europe had Christianized ages ago, until the 1200's more or less, just as the Northern Kingdoms has many gods (Kreve is very Odin-like and Freya is..well, she's Freya) while Nilfgaard has the Cult of the Golden Sun, which is a state-sponsored faith that all of Nilfgaars follows.

>>43583967
That would be, by the way, why all Nilfgaardians have varying degrees of German accent...though weirdly the language they speak as their native tongue is pretty obviously inspired by Welsh.

>>43583990
it's also weird that nilfgardian knights look a lot like flying hussars