Empires and Lions

Lamp Light

"Are these mountains creeping you out too? Because I'm freaked the hell out."

"Arkelia"

"Sorry, Geralt, why are we this far south again?" Geralt huffs, wishing his student wasn't so inquisitive. "There's either a monster to kill or coin to be had, that..."

"That's the life, I know, but why are we helping Nilfgaard?" Roach huffs, shaking her head, and Griffon responds in kind "I don't ask too many questions." She speaks quietly to her horse, and Geralt responds patronizingly "I thought you were pretty friendly with Nilfgaard, especially after Foltest's gala." Arkelia's face reddens as Geralt increases Roach's pace, leaving Arkelia in the dust. She mumbles under her breath to Griffon before rushing to catch up. "You didn't have to bring that up. Anyways, Witchers don't take sides, right?" Geralt 'hmm's as they enter the town, Nilfgaardian flags lining the street as they head to the mayor's home. Two soldiers stop them a few yards short of the building. "What's your business here?" Geralt speaks with practiced grace "The mayor called for a Witcher, here we are." The soldier was about to retort when a tall woman approached from the house, long grey robes flowing around her. "Stand aside, we've been expecting them."

The soldier closest to Arkelia nods and reaches for Griffon's reins, she recoils and neighs "I wouldn't suggest touching her, she gets testy around strangers." The man huffs and walks away as Geralt and Arkelia dismount, the woman leading them to a stable nearby. "I promise, your horses will be safe here."

"Why did you..." Geralt gives the woman a suspicious glance

"I can tell you do not trust us little one." The woman ignores Geralt, brushing his comment aside. She turns to Arkelia, the ghost of a smile on her lips. "This way, we'll tell you of your quarry." The woman leads Arkelia and Geralt toward the house, the tall spires and intricate stonework a stark contrast to the wooden shacks she's used to seeing. Arkelia decides to pry a bit "You haven't told us who you are." The woman keeps a warm look in her eyes "My name is Fringilla, I'm a mage employed by Imperator Emhyr of Nilfgaard, I'm currently serving as the advisor to his Knight. And who are you little one?"

"Well, you already know I'm a Witcher, but my name's Arkelia. I'm this crotchety old man's student." Geralt glares down at Arkelia and she recoils slightly. Fringilla laughs warmly as they enter the house, the inside even more exquisite than the outside, dark oak and stone lining the walls and floor, with a large black flag hanging from the second story. Fringilla leads them upstairs and into a small library, there are a few people wandering around, all various stages of morose and melancholy. She leads them toward the center of the library, to a large oak desk.

A tall brunette man sits behind it, icy blue eyes scanning the pages of a large book, as they approach, his eyes meet Fringilla, who stands in front of him. "The Witchers we sent for are here, Geralt of Rivia and Arkelia of..." She trails off, and Arkelia racks her brain for a moment before Geralt interjects "We're here for whatever so-called monster is in your way, not for pleasantries and titles." The man's eyes bore into Geralt for a moment before looking over the pair with newfound interest. "The beast is real, none of my men have been able to injure it, and I'm growing tired of losing men in a fruitless endeavor." He stands from behind the desk, eyes boring into Geralt's. "I do not doubt your ability to fight the monster, but I do doubt if I can trust you." His eyes return to Arkelia and she feels her heart lurch into her throat. Fringilla steps forward "We can trust them Cahir, they've proven themselves in the past, if what I've heard is true, they'll have no problem dealing with the Kikimora, will you?" She turns at the last statement to Geralt, who looks extremely annoyed with how everything has turned out.

Cahir looks from Geralt to Fringilla for a second then turns to Arkelia, "Where are you from?" It seemed more of a command than a request, and Arkelia paused for a moment, she never really had a home, sure she was born in the slaver colonies in Kovir, but Kaedwen had always felt like home. Geralt snaps almost instantly "Her homeland is none of your concern." Cahir was about to respond when Arkelia cuts in "Kovir, I was born in Kovir" Geralt gives Arkelia a look that screamed shut the hell up. Cahir looks to Arkelia "Thank you, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Geralt gives Cahir an annoyed glance before Fringilla starts speaking again. "The Kikimora lives in the mountains, it attacks anyone who goes too close to its lair, or if there is a large group."

"Like your army, or any group you send to kill it." Geralt 'hmm's and looks Cahir in the eyes. "Five-hundred orens, after we return"

"Of course, it won't be hard to find, especially for a seasoned Witcher like yourself." Cahir sits down and Fringilla gestures back towards the entrance to the library. As the pair turns to leave, Arkelia can feel Cahir's icy eyes burning into the back of her neck. She's never really felt self-conscious of her scars, but somehow those ice-colored eyes made her feel timid and fragile. Her hand unconsciously rubs the brand on her neck, bringing horrid memories back to the forefront of her mind. Fringilla leads them outside to their horses and gives them one final warning. "Be wary of the Kikimora's den, the ground isn't stable this time of year, and the caves under the mountains can be treacherous."

Arkelia nods and they follow the trail back into the mountains, following the few signs of a Kikimora's presence. Roach and Griffon start becoming more alert and skittish the further they ride from the trail. "Well, at least I know why these mountains were creeping the hell out of me earlier..." Arkelia smiles to brighten the mood a bit, but Geralt huffs and turns to her, anger burning in his golden eyes. "You need to have a bit more discretion when talking to people, there's a reason Witchers had the conditioning we do, it kept us safe, and kept us from making stupid decisions based on our feelings." His voice raises as he speaks. Geralt stops Roach and dismounts. "We're here." He turns from her and walks away towards an opening between the mountaintops, leaving Roach tied to a small tree. Arkelia stops and stares for a moment, she knows she's not the same as him, nothing like him in fact, but for the last few weeks, he's become much more harsh about it. Arkelia drops down from Griffon's back and ties her next to Roach, walking slowly behind Geralt, racking her brain for how she always finds some way to ruin a situation.

Arkelia follows Geralt between the mountaintops and peers around a corner across from him, a tall Kikimora pacing in the center of a small vale. The pacing creature hissing and clicking as if it's guarding something. Geralt gives her a knowing glance and takes a vial of black potion, drinking it quickly while Arkelia moves out of the shadows around the vale quickly and quietly, moving to the other side of the creature. Suddenly, Geralt moves from his hiding place, both swords drawn and ready as the creature notices him and roars, a horrible screeching sound piercing Arkelia's eardrums. It leaps to attack and Geralt begins the fight, his eyes transitioned to an inky black, he parries each blow from the creature's legs as Arkelia moves to flank it, She reaches the creature and manages to cause a few injuries. 

The Kikimora stomps the ground and the dry earth cracks under its claws. Arkelia crouches down, watching the ground crack and separate as the creature stomps more and starts running toward the next vale, Geralt close behind "Keep up Arkelia!" He growls over his shoulder as he disappears around the mountaintop. "Gods damn it all..." Arkelia tries to launch herself forward, but the ground starts to crack under her weight, and the dirt begins to fall, dragging her down with it. She frantically starts grabbing at any stable ground, but it all starts slipping away. She yells for Geralt, but he's too far away to hear her fall. Arkelia loses her grip on the solid ground, and plummets past the ground, cold air rushing to embrace her as her head strikes a rock, the last thing she sees as darkness engulfs her sight is the bright sun setting above her, heralding another night.

*Whooo I wrote this all in one day and I'm low-key proud of myself for it! Just a heads-up, I will be messing around with some of the timelines, I'm kinda confusing myself with my own timeline 😂*