The Song of Seraphine

Beasts and Bounties

The tavern was bustling with conversation, laughter, and the occasional curse. Seraphine sat in the back corner of the tavern by herself but her gaze was set on a pair of men at the table next to her playing a round gwent. She knew very little of the game, never having the time or want to play. But she would admit, watching the two men play was entertainment at its finest due to the crude insults they would say to one another. Each time the tavern door opened Seraphine would be alert and move her gaze from the game of gwent to whomever had entered the tavern. This time, when the door opened, she watched as an older man came sauntering inside looking disheveled. He sat down at the first table he came to and almost immediately and ale was placed in front of him. The men that had been playing gwent stopped their game and turned to the newcomer. "Angus? What happened to you?" one of them asked.

     The man, called Angus, gulped down his mug of ale and another was placed in front of him by the barmaid. "Went on a hunt with Metri. Thought we'd be safe in broad daylight, but that blast griffin... The damn thing got Metri. Told me to run while he shot at it... so I did. We never thought that damned thing would be out in the middle of the day..." he stopped talking and took another swig of his ale. Seraphine could see that the man was haunted by what he had seen and that the townsfolk were terrified of the monster hat had been terrorizing them for gods knew how long.

     "I could take care of the griffin for you," she stood from her chair with all eyes on her. Several men choked on their drink while others laughed in her face. She ignored their outbursts and went straight to Angus. "Where did you see the creature last?" she asked.

     He looked up at her and scoffed. "What do you think you're goin' to do lass? Ask it nicely to leave us all alone?" he would have laughed too if his spirits weren't previously broken. "It's suicide, girl. Leave the job for a real hunter."

     She was the one to laugh then. "A real hunter? Like you? Last I checked you left your friend to be mutilated by the beast. I've killed griffins before and know what I am doing. You shouldn't have gone out there in broad daylight anyways, that's when they are most active you oaf," she told Angus and the others in the pub silenced themselves. She left out the part where every griffin she had killed was sleeping on her arrival and that she had planned it that way. It was beside the point. "Listen, I'll make a deal," this got everyone interested. "I kill the griffin, bring back its head and I get a reward."

     The pub owner laughed this time from behind the bar. "You'll die out there, girl!" he said and more laughed with him.

     She laughed with them playing it off as some kind of farce then her features became serious again and she dropped the laugh. "I'm serious. If I do die, you'd have nothing to lose. But if I don't and I come back with a griffin's head strapped to my saddle, you have a griffin off your hands," she said and the crowd was silent in thought. Seraphine figured they all were about to shoot down the deal, not wanting to put any faith in a woman they didn't know. It was a common theme whenever she would offer her amateur skills to rid a village of their monsters but she was persistent.

     "Head straight west, towards the mountains, about a half a days' ride from here. You'll come across some old ruins. That's where I saw it last... that's where I left Metri." She nodded and began to head for the door. "Girl," he said to get her attention. She turned back to Angus as he took the crossbow off his back and held it out to her. "It's not much, but it just might save your life. Come back and we owe you 200 coin. "

     Seraphine took the crossbow and nodded her thanks then headed for the door. She mounted her white horse with the crossbow strapped to her back despite having a regular bow already strapped behind her saddle. "Let's go, Vega," she said giving her a slight kick. That was all it took for the horse to begin galloping along the direction Seraphine guided her, west. As she rode she rifled through her things searching for a potion she bought from an alchemist in Ellander. It was made to boost stamina even for a human such as herself. She had tried many potions, the ones that were safe for human consumption at least, and she found that they all had one thing in common... they tasted like shit. The awful taste had actually been worth it when they had saved her life a time or two. She took a mental note to gulp this one down before she reached the ruins.