The Path: A witcher's tale

Chapter 30

It took all day, but I was able to find a boat to Skellige, on a cargo ship. The captain was an interesting man, to say the least. He was bearded and large, and he spoke with a sort of drawl just like how one would imagine a sea-faring pirate. I caught him at the tavern right before the ship left a sunset. He said that he never sailed sober, because that way, the sea rocks one way, he rocks the other way and it balances out. I was just glad that I had a way to get to Skellige, so I kept my trap shut and got on the boat.
     When the boat left the port from Novigrad, I decided not to hang around the deck, the trip would seem shorter if I just slept through it. But of course, it never fails that whenever I'm traveling to the isles, something happens. Usually it's a storm, rough seas, or pirates. But not this time. On this voyage, it was a combination of all three. A freak storm hit the ship around midnight, then the sea started getting agitated and furious. The storm rocked me out of the monotonous half-slumber that I lay in and I climbed out onto the deck. I fastened my swords to my back and ran outside to help the crew. The cold rain soaked my hair and the salty spray of the sea landed in my face. The crew was struggling to keep the rigging of the ship together and the captain was maintaining a rather impressive hold on the helm. Then I saw ominous sails on the horizon through the rain and darkness. "Pirates!" I yelled to alert the crew members, "I'll try to hold them off best I can!" I drew my steel and stood at the ready. When the pirates threw their hooks to board the ship, I slowed my pulse and saw everything unfold in slow motion. As soon as the first pirate put his hand on the ship, he lost it and fell into the see with blood gushing from where his wrist used to be. But that did not discourage nor slow down the others. They were all of a similar build: large, burly, and bearded. The first one swung an axe at my head, but he was too slow. I ducked out of the way, swung my blade from the hip and used the momentum to lacerate deeply into his side. Blood sprayed from the open wound, but he still stood there before me. He bellowed in fury and another pirate behind me did the same. I rolled to the side and stood on my guard. The pirate that was behind me held a sword and shield and the one I struck in the side had a white knuckle grip on his axe. "So that's the way it's going to be eh?" I mumbled under my breath. They came at me at the same time, but a sudden rock of the boat threw the shielded man off while the axe wielding pirate swung again at my abdomen. I jumped just out of range and then spun towards him as he was recovering from the swing. I looked him in the eyes as I lopped off his leg at the knee and then decapitated him in one fluid movement. The shielded man, now back on his feet rushed at me, with the shield covering his body and his sword ready to hit me. With a nimble half turn I disrupted his rhythm and kicked him in his left knee. A pain-stricken groan escaped his lips. Now behind him, I ran my blade through his back and I saw the point of my sword exit through his chest. As he slid off my sword, I heard someone yell, "ROOOOOCK!" I looked to see what he meant and then I saw it. The ship was reduced to splinters as it smashed against the lone rock jutting out from the sea. A large, heavy plank of wood caught me straight in the forehead. I lost consciousness. Darkness enveloped me, my limbs were numb and I heard a voice beckoning to me from the darkness. "Try not to get killed witcher," it was Karadine's voice. Then I did not hear, feel or see anything. Only a numbing cold.
     Luck must've been on my side that night. The light blinded me at first. The cold wind chilled me to the bone. I felt grains of sand in my mouth. I sat up, narrowed my pupils into their usual vertical slits and spat the sand out of mouth and took a look around. I was on a beach, with remains of the ship all around me. The sun wasn't that high above the horizon and was still in the east, so I couldn't have been lying there for more than a few hours. The icy water soaked my clothes and left me cold. I then noticed my hand, still gripping my sword. Just to make sure, I instinctively reached over my shoulder and felt another familiar sword hilt and pommel. "Seems it's true what they say, 'a witcher may forget to eat, to drink, to breathe even. But a witcher never forgets to take care of his blade. Never.'" I stood up and looked behind me. Mountains rose out from the small beach I was on. On one of the mountains sat a castle, seemingly carved into the rock face. Kaer Trolde, I was on Ard Skellig. The most sensible decision was to ride there, get my bearings, and from there go to Kaer Muire. I sheathed my steel and brushed off my silver studded jacket and began the trek to Kaer Trolde. By the time I arrived at the harbor near the keep, the sun was at its zenith, so my clothes dried and I warmed up. I stopped at the New Port inn, where a kind soul gave me directions to Kaer Muire. As I rode past the scenic fields of Ard Skellig I thought to myself, "I wouldn't mind retiring here, building a little cabin here where I could spend the rest of my days with Karadine, but that's a matter for another time." As dusk started approaching, I found the walls that defended Kaer Muire and it's neighboring port. The shield maidens standing close by looked at me with a sort of disgust. As to why, I did not know. When I reached the gate, I dismounted and exchanged a few words with them.
     "Greetings! I'm Andre-"
     The most experienced shiel maiden cut me off. "Aye, we know who ye are," she spoke in a voice that suggested she had seen more than her fair share of battles. She had brown hair that flowed from under her helmet. Her face was stony and angry. There was a scar that looked like a cut from a sword that ran from her lip to her chin  "We know yer mum too. That bitch."
     "Excuse me? You got a problem with me, or a problem with my mother?"
     "We got a problem with the both of youse," she drawled, "Ye shouldn't exist, us shield maidens take a vow of chastity. Yer mum let 'erself get knocked up by that wizard, who went an' left the day after you were taken. When ye were born, she couldn't fight anymore. Once you were taken by that witcher, we thought she would fight again, we were bloody wrong. She died to the Black Ones. We put her grave by the sea, on the coast away from the harbor. She betrayed us, she deserved her fate. It's a pity you look so much like her, same black hair and white streak."
     "So what's the problem you got with me? I disappeared, you didn't have to worry about me anymore."
     "Aye, at first we were happy, but yer mum cried, she had gone soft because of you. You caused her death. The Black Ones merely carried it out. Come to think of it, yer probably as soft as she was," she laughed.
     "You want to test my mettle, don't you? I know how capable you shield maidens are. You can easily best any wimp from the continent. But know this, I'm not completely from the bloody continent. I've got skelligan blood in me, and apart from that, I'm also a witcher. You want to fight, very well. Just name a time and place."
     "How 'bout right here, right now?" She asked, "Ye fight me one on one, I use my shield an' short sword, ye use yer witcher's razor. No man's ever bested me, an' you won't be the first."
     "We'll have to see about that." I replied, while drawing my steel and assuming a fighting stance.
     She bore a simple, circular, and wooden shield, which had a steel dome in the center and steel along the edge of the circle. Her short sword was no longer than her forearm. Her eyes blazed with a will for retribution and deep-seated anger. She let out a cry of anger as she rushed towards me, looking to bang me with her shield. I jumped out of the way and stayed on the defensive. She raised her shield, so I aimed for her hip. Then I heard the sharp clang of steel against steel. She parried my blow with a nimble movement of her short sword. But it was too slow. While parrying she let her guard down, but only for a split second. A split second was all I needed. I rapidly spun and knocked her in the side of the head with the flat of my blade, disorienting her. I forced her to drop her shield by knocking it out of her hands. I swept her off her feet and she fell to the ground like a stone. I stood over her, my foot on the wrist of her sword wielding hand and the tip of my sword at her throat.
     "Go ahead, do it witchman. Let me join my ancestors. Kill me."
     "No."
     "What? Are you weak? Just like you're mum."
     "Listen, I saw your eyes before you fought me. There was vengeance in that look. I can only assume that my mother was the only one who could best you in a fight, and you wanted to exact you vengeance on her by defeating me."
     "Aye, yer right. I knew you had yer mum's blood in ye."
     "Now get up." I said as I offered my hand to her. "If it makes you feel any better, you still haven't lost to a man, you lost to a witcher, no shame in that."
     "Nonsense." She said while she grabbed my hand and stood up. "If ye got bollocks then yer a man. Simple as that. Now, let's go see yer mum's grave, it's time I ask for her forgiveness."