Witchers of Camelot

A Test of Fortitude

Ciri grinned. Seeing the fear in the demon's eyes seemed to have renewed her strength. She flipped over the demon's oncoming strikes followed by a sword thrust of her own. The blade made a cut. It was shallow, but seeing how the demon staggered, Ciri knew it was working. She gave the demon another thrust before doing a pirouette and landing a few steps away from the Black Dog. 

'That didn't take long', she said, her blade held tightly in front of her. 

The Black Dog snarled back. 'Foolish little girl. I'll rip you apart and feast on your heart'. The demon lunged at her but she somersaulted before it's sharp claws could reach her. She landed beside it, giving it a flurry of strikes. The demon yelped, then finally managing to kick her with its hind legs. 

Ciri  flew, crashing a few feet away from the knight, Arthur. The man quickly ran to her, helping her stand up while still managing to fend off the attacking wolves. 

'My lady, this quest is lost. We must escape', he said.

Ciri shook her head. 'Not yet. If we stop now, the demon escapes and the little boy dies. We have to stop it here and now'. Ciri held her stomach, feeling the damage, before finally taking her stance. She moved steadily, remembering the stances Geralt had taught her. Legs firm, shoulders tight. The strength of every move comes from center. She took a deep breath and ran to the demon. 

She slid under the demon's furious strikes, sliding under the creature and slashing its belly. The Black Dog roared, smashing underneath it, but Ciri was already far away. 

'Annoying little worm. Your soul will scream from my torments'. The demon snapped at her with its maws, biting empty air. 

Finally, Ciri saw her chance. She dropped down plunging her blade underneath the demon's massive head. Her blade cut deep, running its way out from the demon's skull.  The demon writhed in agony, the blade now stuck in its head. It leapt like a wild horse, trampling everything around it.

Suddenly, the beast charged, throwing Ciri with its massive body. It headed for the empty clearing, its wild strides quickly pushing it to freedom. 

Ciri yelled. 'The totems. Now'.

Upon her orders, Arthur, Tristan, Lancelot and Merlin took their totems and ran it to the ground. The magic activated, unleashing a storm of warm bright light that enveloped the Black Dog. The demon screamed, its menacing roar now an earie mix of the countless screams of all its tormented victims. 

Seeing that the magic won't be able to hold for long, Ciri jumped towards the creature and landing on its back. She held on as tightly as she could as the demon savagely tried to throw her off. Slowly, the magic that trapped it was slowly breaking away. 

As the last of the magic broke, Ciri jumped towards the beast's head, her hands managing to grip the handle of her blade. With all her strength, the witcher pulled, splitting the demon's head in two. 

With its remaining strenght, the demon bellowed a piercing scream. It moved frantically, trying to keep its balance before finally falling to the ground. 

Ciri stood in front of it, calm but not letting go of her guard. At any moment, the Black Dog could still give her one last strike. Instead, the demon laughed. 'Your fate is sealed, Princess Cirilla var Emhrys. The Wild Hunt comes ever closer and they have so much in store for you. Jumping to my maws would have been a kinder fate'. 

Ciri gulped. With the last of its breath, the shadow that enveloped the demon slowly dispersed, leaving behind a skinless carcass of rotting flesh. Ciri looked around her. The knights began to surround her as the wolves began heading back to their own dens.

'So, it is done?', asked Arthur.

'It's done'. Ciri gave them all a warm gentle smile. With the adrenaline finally flowing out of her, her legs gave. Galahad caught her, his arms wrapping around her waist. 

'Let's go home', she said at last. 

As morning broke, Lady Guinevere watched as the huntress gave her coin purse to the mother and child. 

'Here', she heard her say. 'It's not much but it should be enough to get you started on a new life'.

The woman cried, gratitude filling her gaze. 'Thank you, milady. We'll never forget your kindness. My child will know the story of his saviour'. The mother enveloped her in a hug with the child doing the same. 

'And here'. Lady Cirilla reached out her hand and placed a necklace around the woman's neck. 'For as long as you wear this, nothing bad will ever come across you or this child again'.

For a few moments, Guinevere thought she had just seen the woman glow. She watched as the mother and child rode on the caravan, finally leaving these horror behind them. 

'Well. Another quest complete'. Ciri stood in front of here grinning as she looked at the band of knights. 

'Your compassion knows no bounds, Lady Cirilla. And your bravery in spite of the horrors you face. You're father and mother would be proud'.

Ciri laughed at that. 

'Is there something wrong with what I said, my lady'.

Ciri looked at her. 'No, it's just that. If they see me now, Geralt and Yen would probably be mad at me'.

'But why? You fought off a demon. You saved a family. What more could they ask for?' Guinevere looked back at her, perplexed at the strangeness of her words. 

'Oh no. They'd be proud of me for that. But I'm pretty sure Geralt would be annoyed at how I just gave good coin to strangers. And Yen's probably still mad I chose to be a witcher in the first place'. She gave her another hearty laugh, her arms wrapping around the lady's shoulders.

Suddenly, Galahad called out to the two. 'My ladies. The carriage is set. It's best we head out before the day is over'. 

Guinevere looked at Ciri again. 'My lady, would you give me the pleasure of accompanying us for the remainder of this trip?'

'Of course. You did hire me, after all'. With that the group headed out. 

Ever since that huntress and her bastard knights came back from their night hunt, Herod felt that he was being watched. He closed down his inn for the night, making sure to lock the doors and keep the windows shut. The barkeeper looked around, ensuring no one was left to see him, before opening the secret entrance to the basement. He shut the door behind him, then light the nearby candles one by one until he reached a small altar on the other end of the room. 

The man knelt in front of a large wolf's skull. His own blood still on it, now dried up and turning brown. He ran his fingers over the skull then began chanting. But nothing. He didn't feel the power flow through him as it once did. Instead, a piercing cold entered the room. Suddenly, the candles died one by one as dark mist creeped its way towards him. 

'What's this?' he yelled, trying to keep the fear from his voice, and failing.

His question was answered a deep low growl. The last few candles died and nothing emanated the room but two red glowing eyes.