Monsters and Men; The Remake

Lumen once more nodded at Vecelav's words before finishing his drink, words that were conveniently timed due to the sudden noise that he as well had heard. The older witcher had already gone off to investigate whatever it was that had before he could response to the words of luck he had been given. A small amount of time had passed before Lumen had headed out as well, filled with curiosity as to what was going on and if this was what the Path had in store for him.

The noise and subsequent panic outside was much more evident once he had stepped foot outside of the tavern. People were running away from the same direction, some in fact shouting something about a monster. Things had started to become clearer after hearing that, but the picture wasn't complete quite yet. For that he would have to venture there to see this for himself. Lumen took in a quick breath of the cold air before heading to where the people were running from.

 

Veceslav ran through the winding streets of the city making his way towards the docks weaving his path through the city and the people within it's streets who were coming toward him. He did so skillfully, a different application from the endless training he had received in the art of movement and his footwork and his superior reflexes, it was just a small convenience also given by their abilities and training. He made good progress through the city and eventually wound up at the docks, his medallion vibrating heavily. The Medallion however wasn't necessary to find the monster this time around as it was pretty much impossible to miss. However something else caught his eye it was a man he knew, a man with brown hair and a plantlike pattern upon his arm, twin swords, it all fit the bill of one man he knew, sure he could be wrong but it was a very sound conclusion he knew who that was. It was none other than Derrick of Kaedwen, who unbeknownst to the crow muttered something about weird things happening as the older witcher approached the scene. As he approached the scene he also noted that his other student was also present.

The scene in front of him with a werewolf trying to claw a sea serpent through it's scaled hide as a sorceress hurled fire balls at it and Aaron being unsurprisingly reckless in an attempt to attak the beast was utterly bizarre. The great beast reminded him of a contract years ago, during the contract the King who was supposed to pay him didn't pay him for services rendered and then wanted to start waging a war on the ocean dwellers, who if left alone wouldn't harm anyone. A siren who the king was interested in, had helped him explain why it was an extremely stupid idea to fight these ocean dwellers, sure on the land mankind had carved out it's domain by fire and sword, but the oceans were no place for men, this being a prime example of why that was.

Veceslav stood away from Derrick and the Sorceress and saw the woman in the water, the woman from earlier at the tavern, with a serpent underwater trying to get the werewolf off, it wasn't a good place to be. He borrowed a length of rope from the dock and tossed it over to her so he could quickly drag her to safety. "Grab on." Veceslav shouted over the racket at the docks, ready to drag her onto solid ground. He left the pleasantries for Derrick and Aaron for later after this situation would be taken care off, they'd understand.​

 

Derrick felt a surge of anticipation as the beast sunk below the waves in an attempt to shake off the werewolf that ripped at its scales. His run brought him near to Miss Secret, waiting at the edge of the dock for his moment to strike. But the moment didn't come. The beast remained submerged, and the Medallion's vibration slowed. Where did it go? His instincts suggested that it wasn't gone. Perhaps it was retreating to deal with the werewolf properly. Where would it go next? He scanned the docks, and saw Aaron on the boat.
"Aaron, get over here!" The Witcher barked at his junior. He needed to get his fellow Witcher off the water for now. An idea formed in his mind. "But don't get off the boat! Just get ready to jump to the dock as soon as your medallion starts vibrating hard!" He turned to Miss Secret.
"Listen, Miss Secret I have a plan. Aaron should make his way over here, that serpent is probably going to go for him. He's an easy target in the water. When it attacks, he should jump to the docks. As soon as it lunges for him, can you ram a blast of fire down the thing's throat?" Derrick explained hurriedly, apprehensively watching the waters around Aaron. The boy was just that - A boy - And even though he was a Witcher, it would be too cruel for his career to end so soon. ​

 

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The scene moved as quickly as any battlefield that Teliana had ever been a part of. She felt Lysander leave her side, either to heed her warning or run away. As she cast her spells, feeling her magic sap at her strength, a freaking werewolf ran past her and latched onto the sea serpent. Teliana had to blink and make sure she wasn't hallucinating before simply accepting it had happened and continuing her focus, lest she set someone on fire by accident. That was when another well armed figure entered her vision; this man ran towards the docks where Alyse had jumped over, tossing rope towards what Teliana assumed was the swimming form of her sister.

At this point, the sea serpent plunged itself beneath the waves, causing it and the werewolf atop to disappear from view. Derrick was running back towards her, yelling at Aaron to get into position. Teliana turned, looking for the bard only to see him curled up against the wall. So he ran. With a sigh, she dug in her pouch for the sharp smelling arnica. Crumbling some of the leaves between her fingers, she held her hand in front of Lysander's nose. "You need to breathe. Deep and strong." She instructed in a soft voice. "And if you're that afraid, you need to get further away. I can't protect you and fight." A part of her wondered if she was the cause of his clear terror. She was used to the stigma that came from the ability to manipulate fire, but there was a giant snake that was swimming around. Either way, if he couldn't help, he would only get in the way. "Here." She pulled more of the leaves and placed them on the ground in front of him. "It'll help with the shock."

Turning back as Derrick spoke her name, she pulled a length of string out of the pouch and began to braid her hair before tying it back as she listened to him. She was quiet for a moment, before holding up her hand and calling fire to it once more, a small grin curving her lips as her eyes sparked. "Miss Secret is too long. Teli." The fireball grew in her hand, giving her face an odd glow. This was where she belonged. This was where she felt most alive. "I'm ready when you are." Why had she ever given this up?

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So. Fucking. Cold. Alyse propelled herself through the water slowly, dragging the shocked fisherman behind her. She only paused, a thrill of fear going through her stomach, when the sea serpent dove beneath the waves. She thought she saw something furry on top, but didn't look long enough before moving more quickly towards shore.

Because you just have to be the freaking hero Alyse. You just had to save the nice man with a pole and now you're going to be lunch. Gasping, her legs going numb, movement caught her eye. A man was standing at the edge of the dock, tossing rope towards her. It landed in the water just in front and she risked letting go of the civilian to grab it, before holding her breath. Disappearing beneath the waves for a moment, she wrapped the rope around his rather chubby waist (weren't they all supposed to be starving?!) and tied it in a knot before resurfacing. "P-pull him up f-f-first." She spat through chattering teeth, treading water with her dangerously numb arms. The sea serpent can even use your mace to pick its teeth with you when its done. And she wondered why bad things happened to her. Sucking in her breath, she followed in its path, waiting for the man to pull up the fisherman, trying not to consider the monster that was lurking beneath her feet. You totally deserve it if that thing decides you're food.

 

The old Crow listened in on the plan the Derrick had while keeping his eyes on the two floundering people in the water. He watched as the woman dived in letting the rope slide through his gauntlets, when she came back up he followed her instruction and started reel in the line pulling the bloke who to his surprise was a bit heavier than anticipated, probably one of the higher ups in town only looking after themselves, or some owner of a granary, intent to make a huge profit out of this entire situation. The witcher pulled the bloke onto dry land and rolled him a bit away from the waters edge and then reached down to pull the woman out of the water. He clasped her wrists and helped her ashore. He knew they weren't entirely safe just yet. The danger of hypothermia was still a very real thing, he gathered some empty wooden barrels and smashed them into bits, the brewery they belonged to be damned.

Away from the waters edge he stacked some of the planks and lit them with an igni sign starting a small fire, he then dragged the rather chubby guy over to the fire and turned to Alyse "Stick close to the fire, it'll do you good." Veceslav said to the woman he had fished out of the water. He joined Derrick and co. standing on the opposite side of Teliana "I wish we'd be re-united under more pleasant circumstances but alas." The old witcher said keeping his eyes on the murky grey waters for a sign of where the serpent was, if it focused on the sorceress and Derrick was going to attack it from one side, then he could mirror Derrick's move for maximum effectiveness, if not he'd have to improvise, plans were fine and all but you couldn't fully predict an animal or monster, it's something he reminded his students off time and time again. While keeping his eyes on the water he wondered what had gotten into the head of the werewolf that had been dragged beneath the surface.​

 

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Lysander continued to huddle to the side until the flashbacks left. His breath came in short quick breaths, and the world spun slightly. Suddenly Miss Secret approached, and Lysander scrambled backwards slightly, looking at her warily. She gave him advice, but he wasn't really listening. "It's not the monster that scares me" he said, staring at her hands. As she left he hesitated, before picking up the leaves from the ground and stuffing them in a pocket.

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Thorvald narrowed his eyes and looked out across the bay. There was a boy in a boat... a witcher. Perfect. Raising the stone once again, he issued more mental commands. The serpent moved. The werewolf was still attached, but that was unimportant for now. The serpent burst forth in the water between the witcher on the boat and the shore. It faced the young witcher, and then lowered its head against the boat, then swam. Rapidly, the boat was pushed out towards sea, and towards the mists.

 

Derrick gave Miss Secret a quick smile when she revealed her name.
"Alright then Teli, watch the water. We'll only have a couple of seconds." The Witcher's eyes were scanning the waves for only a little bit when a familiar voice came from seemingly nowhere. Looking up, he saw the familiar dark clothes and matching long hair of Veceslav Forst, his teacher. And a better Witcher than he probably. But there was hardly time for pleasantries. "We're dealing with a sea serpent here, possibly magical. See if you can land a bomb when it comes out the water." He relayed a much abridged version of the plan, confident that his mentor would be able to catch on to the rest. He returned to his vigil over the ocean, watching the magical mist set in. Something was wrong about this whole situation, he couldn't quite place it yet but it was there, gnawing at the back of his mind.

There was a gout of water as the serpent reared its ugly head again, going for Aaron as anticipated but not in the way that he imagined. It started to push the boat away, and Aaron with it.
"Teli, hit it!" Derrick barked, looking around for anything. They didn't have much time. The boat was leaving the docks fast, out towards the sea and... The Skellige ships. He frowned. That sense of unease rose again, but now it had a target. Why would a monster go to the trouble of pushing the boat out to sea? Conventional wisdom suggested that it would just go for him, he was an easy target. It hadn't seen them, had it? "Why's it taking the boat out to sea? Something isn't right here!" He weighed up their options. They couldn't leave Aaron to die out there. Either the serpent or the pirates would have him, neither were preferable. But their pursuit options were... Fishing boats and hitting it with fire. Maybe a bomb if Vec had a very, very good throwing arm.
"Ideas Vec, Teli?" It was a long shot but maybe Veceslav had something that he didn't know. The old crow was a cunning one. He might have a plan for them. He guessed that Teli was an experienced sorceress, perhaps she had an idea. He looked back towards the nearest fishing boat. It was very, very dangerous. They would all be in the same situation as Aaron. ​

 

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Alyse's teeth chattered as she treaded water, muttering every curse word that she could imagine under her breath. It seemed to take an eternity for the man to pull up the fisherman before reaching down for her. Pausing in her rotary movement, she reached up and grasped his wrist with her much smaller hand. A shiver racked her body that wasn't entirely attributed to the cold as she looked up into the yellow eyes of a witcher, before being hoisted up onto shore. The witcher strolled away to casually break some barrels, leaving Alyse's eyes to wander. She spotted Teliana easily enough; the witcher she had introduced before at her side. Another was in a boat, rowing towards the monster. That doesn't seem like the brightest idea. But then she could hardly talk, jumping into the water after some random civilian. When it comes down to it, you have a soft heart after all. And it'll get you murdered in a back alley with a sword of silver in your gut. The thoughts vanished from her head as Veceslav used his witcher magic to start the barrels on fire. "Stick close to the fire, it'll do you good." He told her before walking away. The fisherman, coming out of his catatonic state just long enough to roll closer to the fire, made Alyse raise an eyebrow.

She watched the witchers confer, and Teliana begin to conjure more of her magic. The man whose hand she had grabbed wasn't by her side anymore....biting her lip, she cursed as her teeth bit through, causing a wave of blood to wash over her tongue. Grimacing, she wrung out her hair, proceeding to give the same treatment to her close, when the movement of the snake bursting from the water caught her attention. Every muscle tensed, as the monster faced the boat the witcher was in, and then proceeded to push him out to sea. And on his back.....Alyse's eyes widened, and she stepped away from the fire. He wouldn't be that stupid, would he? Her mind tried to grapple with the chance of another werewolf being in Novigrad and being idiotic enough to change in front of witchers, and her sister. Nothing came to the forefront, and so she jogged towards Teliana, planning to tell the fire mage to hold back, when the back of her neck prickled. Unbidden, she turned her eyes, narrowing as she scanned. Everything is not as it seems. But her sister came first above all else, and so Alyse turned away from the call of the hunt and rested a hand on Teliana's shoulder, unafraid of the fire. "Don't exhaust yourself." She said, her eyes on the snake, analyzing the scenario before turning to the witchers. The only thing she could do right now, would be to jump back into the freezing waters and swim to the boat. That didn't sound enticing in any sort of way.

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Teliana glanced as an older witcher greeted Derrick before joining the fray. She tried to forget what Lysander had muttered, though it still stung. Why bother trying to be normal? People like him will always treat you with fear and disgust. She hadn't wanted to know why he had been afraid, hadn't even asked.....and still he threw it in her face. Humans. The fire in her hand sputtered and then roared, feeding off her negative emotions. She took a deep breath to calm the spell. There wasn't much time before the snake rose from the water, its back to them as it fixated on Aaron. Teliana heard Derrick yell, but she didn't need a signal, and curved her hand before whispering into the flames. They spiraled up towards the sky, growing in volume to the size of her own person before leaping off her hand, and racing through the frigid air. The fire took a form similar to her own, leaping across the water and hurling itself at the snake, wrapping around it in a ring of fire that tightened. While Teliana was aware of the werewolf, she couldn't afford to spend energy on control when the distance was already taxing her strength as the fire pressed into the scales, up until the snake dove back into the water.

Unable to hold the spell, Teliana released it, her legs feeling weak. She took a few breaths, her eyes narrowed as the snake made its way with the boat carrying Aaron out to open water. But it wasn't quite open...was it? Unbidden, the fire returned to her hand, hungry for more. A touch at her shoulder made her relax as a familiar voice whispered in her ear. Alyse was okay. As the mist rolled in, Teliana's gaze focused on a ship, out in the bay. Why hadn't the snake attacked that one before coming to the docks? And why was it now pushing Aaron's boat out that way? "You're right about the magic, Derrick." Teliana forewent all formalities in the face of time as a necessity. "That snake is playing fetch for someone, it looks like." The fire roared in her hand, sensing her desire, but Alyse still didn't back down. The girl didn't have any kind of healthy fear when it came to magic, perhaps because....

Feeding her own fear, her sadness and anger and frustration into the magic, Teliana stepped forward as it encircled her, saving Alyse from much worse than a burnt hand. Raising her arms, it spun into the sky, creating a column of fire that paused, for a moment, before arcing down to blast into the ship. For any innocents that might get hurt, Teliana offered a quick prayer to the goddess as she severed the link to the magic, watching as it careened down. Sometimes though, there had to be sacrifice. She sagged back against Alyse, perspiring in spite of the cold. "I am out of practice." She admitted to her sister, waiting for the quivering of her legs to subside before she tried to stand on her own again. Distance always made things much harder than they needed to be.

 

Veceslav hadn't at all expected this course of action and it tore into him when he watched the serpent take the boat holding Aaron.
A student of his that he had sunk several years of his own life into the training of, was appearing to be brutally ripped away after only just graduating. Damn it he had taught Aaron better than that why did the idiot get on that accursed boat. The fog that had rolled in was quite bothersome too. Veceslav was starting to think of any plans even considering going full on frogman and downing a killer whale and swimming after, until he heard something about it seemingly being magicly controlled. That gave him an idea but he needed a bow for it. "Derrick, I got a plan, you gotta trust me I'll be right back." Veceslav rushed through the city streets looking for the red uniforms of the temple guard, he looked and looked for a specific weapon they carried, it took him quite a while to actually find it. "Would you borrow me your longbow?" The guard looked at him "Your kind don't belong in a proper place like Novigrad, what makes you think I would give a you a weapon of the guard?" Veceslav sighed always the same bloody thing in the cities. He made the sign with his hand convincing the guard he could take the longbow and arrows from the guard, then immediately running back and getting back to the docks he started tying a bomb to an arrow in preparation for his probably insane plan which might not even work but it might provide Aaron with a chance.
​

 

On his way to the docks Lumen didn't fully know what to expects beyond some sort of monster. People would have the same reaction to a monster of any caliber that had appeared before them, so the lack of them shouting what it actually was wasn't helpful at all.

The actually arrival did help to give an idea of what it was he would be faced up against and that was because of the giant the sea that had just risen from the sea when he had arrived. His medallion was vibrating like crazy which wasn't all necessary cause he could still see it.

A variety of thought s had gone through his head, the prominent of which was to how he was supposed to handle this situation, the second was that the girl by the fire was the one he saw back at the tavern. Perhaps she would be able to shed some light on all this. "Mind cluing me in as to what's going on?" Was what he asked upon approaching her.

 

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Lysander calmed his breathing and slowly inhaled and exhaled. From his quick glances he could see that, for the most part, everybody was fine. The giant sea monster was going away, that was good. He closed his eyes, focusing on how he was going to re-tell this story. What was a good title? The mage, the witcher, and the Sea Serpent? No, there were multiple witchers... and a werewolf. This was far too packed to be believable, he needed to alter some facts. Maybe omit the drowning werewolf from the final version, but he definitely had to keep in when that woman had jumped into the water to rescue the fisherman, classic tale of human bravery and compassion.

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The mists roiled around the bay in an unnatural manner, as Thorvald turned away from the scene before him and faced his crew. He barked a few quick commands, and before long the ship began to move. A few other nearby ships took his lead and performed their pre-arranged maneuver, their ships sailing out and turning slightly. They now had a semi-circle of ships, which was beginning to close in to become a full circle as the serpent approached. Suddenly, without warning, Thorvald's ship was struck by a line of fire. The conflagration ripped through one of the sails and splashed down onto the deck, scorching several of his crew and starting a few fires. Fortunately the cold and the sodden deck mitigated a complete inferno, but this was still an issue. Thorvald eyed the fires, and let himself grow angry. He clenched his fists, that fire mage bitch had ruined his boat, he would deal with after he was done with this. The weather reacted to his anger, clouds becoming grey, droplets of water beginning to fall from the sky. The droplets became a mild rainfall, then a torrent, then a deluge, as a sudden unexpected rainstorm hit the city of Novigrad. The storm extinguished any residual flames, and would hopefully mitigate any further damage the fire mage could do.
Meanwhile, the serpent drove itself forward, pushing the tiny boat into the circle of Skellige raiders. It was tiring and had taken much damage, but it only needed to hold on for a moment longer. It didn't have much choice in the matter.

 

The old Crow finished up his work on the arrows walked as close to the edge of the docks as possible. The mist was making it hard to really see his target, even changing the size of irises hardly helped.
He nocked the arrow to the bowstring, took aim, partially trying to see and partially making an educated guess. Used igni to light the extended fuse, drew the bowstring back, compensated a little for the wind when the tiny droplets started coming down from the sky. He released immediately as the rain started to intensify hoping that the fuse would remain lit throughout it's flight toward his target, the sea serpent. With the rain intensifying there was no point in making more of the arrows he had just used, a bodkin with a dimeritium bomb attached to it. The old witcher was uncertain what the next course of action would be. He wasn't going to pretend he had a plan to follow it up, as the rain intensified, Veceslav pulled his heavy black cloak tighter around him, but he didn't put the hood up. "So what's the plan now?" The old witcher asked both the unknown fire mage and Derrick.​

 

Derrick could do nothing but watch, standing at the dock with sword in hand as Aaron was pulled away. Despite Teli raining fire upon the beast and one of the ships, it persisted, pushing Aaron away. He searched his head for a plan, but none were particularly forthcoming. He was considering his odds. Perhaps a boat would do it. If they could get a boat going, then maybe they could mount a rescue. However, the weather turned suddenly. Clouds gathered from seemingly nowhere and a rainstorm that should never have formed as quickly as it did appeared. The heavens opened and the Witcher was doused. Between the mists and the heavy rainfall, even his unnatural eyes found it difficult to perceive the serpent and Aaron's boat.
"Shit." Derrick cursed. The ships formed up around his comrade. "They wanted a Witcher. They got one." His mouth was set in a hard line.
"The sea serpent we could kill if we go out there. We won't survive the ships. With this weather, your fire won't be as effective Teli, and we're hardly sailors. Combined with their sheer numbers, and whatever magical force is calling in that mist and controlling the serpent... Goddammit." Derrick sighed as rain trickled down his brow, over his cheeks and got caught in his beard. The life of a Witcher was a miserable lot, going from village to village, helping out for paltry sums of coin, risking life and limb with every contract. Combined with the fear of the Witcher, the occasional insult or idiots attempting to get the better of the fabled monster slayer, it was hardly the best life. Aaron hadn't even got started on all that yet and he was screwed over. He glanced over to his teacher. "I'll be honest old crow I've got nothing. Unless he jumps into the water, takes a risk and swims like the Wild Hunt itself is on his ass then he's gone." It was unfortunate to lose Aaron, but it was the way of life. It was just a shame it caught up to him so soon. He doubted that Aaron would survive whatever they wanted with him. Since Veceslav was here, the two of them could mourn him together.
"Anything, Teli?" His voice flat. He didn't expect any plans that wouldn't get them all killed that would actually help at this point. But she did seem to be an experienced sorceress, even if she was looking a little out of practice right now. ​

 

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Teliana felt her lips twist in frustration as the column of flame was promptly put out by an incoming storm. Magic. Of course there would be magic. Veceslav had disappeared and returned with a weapon, which he proceeded to load as Derrick contemplated the fate of his fellow witcher, now out of sight. Teliana ran her fingers through her sopping hair, the water steaming as it hit her neck and collarbone. "If what they wanted was a witcher, your friend seems to have sealed his own fate." Fire wrapped itself in ringlets around her arms, burning away her coat. She had a spare at her home, anyway. "I will attempt to aid you in whatever manner I can, but there is a fellow sorcerer, or sorceress on that ship. What I can do from this distance is limited in both scope and scale, and I will not risk the life of my sister in order to aid your student...however undeserving of his fate he may be." She didn't say the words unkindly, but she was firm. The boy had acted stupidly, and without a thought to the consequences. She had known plenty of people who had died for less than that.

She let the fire fade in an effort to conserve her strength as the downpour showed no signs of letting up. "I can only suggest offering yourselves up as bait in an effort to get a larger force to join your comrade."

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Alyse worriedly watched her sister push herself to the limit. Teliana had reserves of strength that only hundreds of years of practice could help attain, but she was out of practice of using it. Alyse couldn't even remember the last time she had seen Teliana use more than a simple spell to light firewood, or keep a blaze going for lack of fuel. The rain wasn't a welcome reprieve from the flames that encircled her sister's skin, and Alyse shivered, unprotected by magic. "Mind cluing me in as to what's going on?" The voice of the stranger didn't lighten her mood, as she turned with narrowed eyes to see the second witcher from the tavern come strolling up. "Do you really need notes?" She asked acidly, raising an eyebrow before pointing out at the ocean. "Snake. Boats. Witcher. Other Witchers helping that witcher." She spoke slowly as she pointed, irritation clear in her voice.

"No wonder witchers have such short life spans, didn't your parents ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" Her hands moved back to her hair, wringing the water from the strands to try and create less of a burden on her body to keep warm. She was tense, ready to grab her weapon in case the witcher decided to take issue with her tone. That was okay; she could use something that would bleed to a target.