18+ The Monster Slayers (Witcher RP)

The Nilfguardian Empire has reigned attacks on the northern kingdoms once again, betraying their treaties of peace. The war becomes known as the Great War, nearly stretching across the entire continent.

Monsters and demons roam freely, claiming the roads and forests between the kingdoms. A great plague has returned, thought to have been caused by the war itself, with flesh eating corpses terrorizing anything they come across.

The witchers, trained monster slayers, have become a thing of legend. Those few who still walk among these lands as witchers all have taken their own paths in life. Some fight for kings in the war, to whichever side pays them most, others travel the world as mercenaries, while even some have retired their title and seek peace even in these dark times.

1515. Kovir coast. North Sea.


"All hands on deck, lads," Dalious shouted. He held firmly onto the ship's wheel, turning it ever so slightly to inch closer to their prey. White massive waves struck the sides of the boat and splashed over the crew as they struggled to get to where they needed to be. "We only have one shot at this!"

In the distance, barely seen at the surface of the ocean, was a massive werofish. Large as a shark and as fierce as a Griffon. The creature was terrorizing the locals and making the trade routes impossible to get by. Once the beast tasted human flesh, it could not stop.

Dalious Durendail, a witcher known for belonging to the open seas and to having golden hair upon the right setting of the sun, had been tasked in taking out the sea menace. He had studied about the werofish in the local library for three days, and upon going after it, he hired a crew of fishermen and sailors to aid him in this event.

"Man the squivels, if you shoot me or my boat I will skin you alive," he commanded, then took off his ragged shirt and mounted the plank. A sailor handed him a great oak bow, and gave him a long, silver coated, arrow that had a light chain attached to it. The witcher nocked and pulled back, carefully aiming at the distant target. "Now!"

Barrels of flesh were released into the water, a smell the creature could not resist being this close. It began to move toward the ship, only being detected by the swirving ripples it caused at the surface. Dalious released his silver arrow, and it struck directly one inch under where he had intended, still striking into the werofish's lower throat. The chain caught and immediately the creature tried to swim away, realizing the threat. Dalious motioned with his hand and the squivels were fired, bringing the beast to a halt.

A red ring of blood became noticed as soon after, the dead sea creature rose to the surface. The crew cheered in joy, as Dalious smiled at the thought of the coin he'd receive from this. Enough to patch his ship up, perhaps. Definitely enough for ale and a whore, which was at least something.

Turned out he was wrong, as he argued with the meister at the docks over price. The crew had raised the large werofish up by its tail for all the locals to see, a nice trophy for the crew's recognition. After the crew had been payed their share, it left Dalious with next to nothing.

"A fish that size is at least worth double this!!" Dalious pleaded with the well dressed townsman, who wouldn't have it.

"It is not my fault you hired a crew for this particular job, witcher," the wrinkled man spoke, pushing his glasses back up his nose bridge. "We thank you for your service, but the pay is fair."

The man walked off. Dalious spat in disapproval. "Old Wanker! How's a man to get rich in these times with such cheapness!?"

He sunk his coin purse into his pocket and headed to the local tavern. It was a lively place this night, with whores about, fights in the lower levels, arm wrestling, bards playing music, as well as some card games and dice. He sat alone, drinking in misery even though he had slain the creature. His hood was over his head as he continued to drink, thinking about what his next odd job would be.

Then he heard the horns. A few armored soldiers had entered the tavern space, decked in the gold and white crest colors of the northern kingdom of Kovir. One man opened up a long sheet of paper with the king's notes on it, while the other read in a loud voice.

"Attention would be warriors, bounty hunters, mercenaries, soldiers of any kind, the King of Kovir has a message for you all. Whilst the king's guard and his honored men of his watch fight in the lower lands and the Great War, his grace's lands have become riddled in filth. There is no one to fend off these creatures of unspeakable names that now taint our soil. The king invites you to his Halls for a feast, and will pay handsomely to those who destroy the menace to his kingdom. 10,000 orens to each man that helps in this, slaying the monsters that invade us. Another 5,000 for each kill until the land is free again. Tomorrow's morn, the king will greet any who accept these terms in his Halls. Though, you have to survive in order to receive payment. Good day to you all!"

Dalious almost spit out his ale once he heard the pricings. Looks like he was heading to the King of Kovir's Halls tomorrow, but until then, he intended fully on getting wasted drunk.

The bug crawling across the wooden floor was more interesting than her mother's lecture. It scurried to the left before pausing and then moving back to the right again. What an odd little indecisive creature. As it moved out of her view she twisted in her chair maneuvering to her knees as she held onto the back and watched it intently. It stopped, turned to face her, and for a moment she wondered if it knew that she'd been watching.

That's when it collapsed and shortly after began to convulse. Small hands gripping the chair, she leaned forward with a wide eyed morbid curiosity. The legs torn apart from it's body by an invisible force, it's innards poured out of it's mouth. Gasping the girl fell down in her seat turning to face the hardened stare of her mother.

“And what have you learned?” she demanded harshly.

“You killed it,” the girl complained. Crossing her arms she pouted with a discontented huff. “Maybe we are evil.”

Frowning at the child, the woman gave a defeated sigh. Resting her elbows on the table, she massaged her temples. “No,” she curtly responded, lips pursed taught together in annoyance. “Magic does not make us evil. The King is not called evil though the blood of his tyrannical forefathers flows through his veins.” A sneer of loathing and disgust making it's way on the woman's face at mention of the man, the little girl lowered her head and remained silent. It was better not to interrupt lest she end up on the receiving end of her mother's wrath. This was a lesson she had learned the hard way. “One cannot control whether or not they have the ability to possess magic, but one can control how they use it. We have been blessed by the Gods-”

“Cursed you mean,” the girl spoke. The woman stared at her daughter, hazel eyes glistening in confusion which prompted her to further explain. Straightening her posture as if she were sitting with the other children in the schoolhouse, she began to proudly recite the lessons they had been taught. “The Malignant, also known as the magi, are beings created by the union of the Gods."

While she had much more to say that her instructor had told them, her mother cut her off before she'd gotten a chance to properly begin, completely outraged.

“These are the lies they teach our youth?” she shrieked. The ground shook with her rage.

“Ma,” the girl whimpered, glancing fearfully towards the door. Magic was something to be feared. It was godly power that no mere mortal should have possessed and therefore anyone who did was a danger. All magi were to be eliminated. It was for the good of mankind. To save themselves from inevitable corruption as much as to save others from their predisposed ways. While it wasn't magic the little girl feared, it was the possibility of the royal army finding them and prosecuting them as Malignant. There weren't many things the child was afraid of, but the threat of death and loneliness was among them.

Realizing her mistake, everything became still. The woman stood, wrapping the child within her arms as they both listened for the clomping sound of footsteps they were both so certain would soon follow. When it didn't the woman relaxed, letting her arms fall. While her body may have been at ease, the girl could see the anxiety in her mother's facade, hidden behind her eyes.

“Off to bed with you,” her mother ordered. “Your lessons are done for the evening.”

Hopping down from the chair, the girl glanced over her shoulder at her mother before she shuffled off to bed.

Had she known that would have been the last time she'd ever seen her, she would have said good night.

Present Day

Ardenelle looked over the horizon of her balcony. The sorceress felt the presence of the messenger as he came to her keep's doorsteps, hearing the man shuffle through the dodo birds she had roaming about. He left a note at her door, a message from a king she knew. Though she tended to live her life in secrecy, she was also well known for her magical abilities. Having saved her hometown from many odd occurrences, she became a name to know.

She laughed as she read the note, which stated Kovir was in need for help. The money offered meant nothing to her, though the act itself was intriguing. She was always wanting to push her powers to their limits, and whether through that fact or boredom, she decided to at least attend the king's council.

The road to the king was long and tedious. The sun baked over Dalious as he trotted along the pathway, he was tired and deeply hungover. The last thing he remembered from the night before was ploughing some red haired whore in the brothel, sure enough the wank took his entire coin purse while he slept instead of what was owed to her. He made no fuss about it, as he was already in the state of mind for his next job. Whatever the king wanted, save his daughter, fight some demons, it didn't matter. As long as the coin was there.

He had heard the news of the war coming from the south. Niilfguard had overcome Timeria and a few of the other northern kingdoms, and they weren't stopping on their path to rule the world. Not to mention the many monsters that lurked around every corner of the lands, and the undead horde that was brewing from the northeast. It definitely wasn't a world of peace anymore, if it had ever been.

He also heard news from one of his former masters, Geralt of Rivia, the white wolf. The legendary monster hunter was further down in the south, looking for another witcher named Ciri. The wild hunt was after her, and the fate of the world rested on whether or not Geralt would find her or not. He was the best, though, and if any could do it, it was him. Dalious strayed down a less honorable path in life, one that was for coin and wenches. Maybe his fellow witchers would look down on him now, seeing how he was all these years after the training school days, but he didn't care. He wanted no part of the war, unless money came into play. He wanted to disappear rich, maybe somewhere along a coastline as he loved the open seas. He wanted to fix his ship and sail, to who cares where. Just be free. He had to get the money first.

The towers of the great castle could be seen as he moved along closer. High golden banisters with blood red lining outlining them to show the city's colors, though the town itself was bare and nearly empty. All had gone to war, but whatever urgent task the king had, clearly it was of some importance. For the king to offer out a bounty while at war, it meant it was something dear to him.

There were a few guards still at the long bridge leading into the castle. They halted the witcher and gave warning.

"I'm here for the bounty," Dalious said.

"Aren't you all," the guardsman spoke, un-interested by the sounds of it. "Everyone is to turn back and go home, except for experienced warriors. Are you experienced?"

"I once killed a man with a needle, if that counts," said the witcher.

They didn't laugh, nor get the humor. The other guard noticed Dalious' hair and eyes, and then moved aside.

"This here is a witcher," he said. "Less my eyes deceive me. Let him through."

And so he passed. There were others within the halls of the king as he entered, others looking for the bounty. They all stood around, a mean looking bunch, and observed the decorations within. The ceiling was as high as he had ever seen before, though he never really stayed in many castles for that matter.

Dalious went over to the group of warriors and joined in on the observing. He knew that if this many people were set out to get the reward, most likely some of them would become his enemies and try to kill him. Though, for the time, he decided to give them all the benefit of the doubt.

"Fancy place," he said to no one in particular.