86 The Prey of the Griffin

In the city's sewers, footsteps echo and reverberate. Footsteps accompanied by voices. The voices are distinct from each other. One is annoyed and loud, while the other is quiet and annoyed.

"Why are you making us go through the sewers? We had plenty of alternatives to going through those damn rat-infested and mostly smelly tunnels. I'm a witch, I remind you!" Lyndis' voice rises higher and higher as she says this.

"I know, but it was the quickest and most trouble-free solution that resulted. Not the most pleasant I grant you, but the most practical and simple at the time." retorts Saibus.

"You think so, but no, you could have used your magic to put him to sleep, stun him for a minute while we slip away. I could have even used the Axii sign to tell him to leave without remembering meeting us," Lyndis replied in a much calmer but vindictive voice.

"We could have done all that but we didn't. So you're going to stop complaining about it. You're a witch like you said. A witch doesn't complain about wading through mud or shit to accomplish her contracts. When you have to navigate a swamp to slay a Sepulchral Guenaude or to take down a Zeugle that serves as a human dumping ground." Saibus finished the conversation when he arrived at a mouth closed by a metal gate.

Behind the gate, the two saw a young zeugle eating the city's rubbish.

"Look at a zeugle. You're not going to kill it?" asked Saibus with a sly smile.

"No, this zeugle is useful to the city, and he is not used as a prisoner, beggar, or orphan," Lyndis replied as they continued towards one of the sewer exits.

Saibus and Lyndis continue to discuss what they have just discovered, the possible monsters that can do this. Saibus also intends that the bodies can be killed by a man who then makes up the corpses as a monster attack. Lyndis retorts that this is twisted and possibly probable, but Saibus replies that the man is a monster in the same way as ghouls or vampires. Man can be even crueler than a specter and more twisted than a katakan.

"A wizard has to see the good in humans and protect them from monsters. That is why you will carry two swords, one for the monsters and the other for the men who attack you. This is even more true for you, Lyndis. You who abide by the code and are a knight like all your Griffin ancestors."

"Whereas we Assassins, we see the evil in all Men. Our blades are forged for the sole purpose of taking the lives of those who walk this Earth."

With this thought, the two emerge from the sewers late at night. From the moon's movement, the two can estimate that it is close to 2:30 in the evening.

"Well, now that we have some information about what we're up against, let's scour the slums to try and find him in action."

"Yes, that's our only lead at the moment. Let's look for drunks near the taverns. From what you smelled, there was a strong smell of alcohol left on his body." continued Saibus.

Lyndis and Saibus went to the working-class areas of Cintra. During their inspections, the two discuss their experiences, lives, and codes...

It is during the evocation of their respective creeds that Lyndis' medallion starts to vibrate. The two look at each other, Lyndis looking around, concentrating on her hearing and her sense of smell to feel the slightest noise, the slightest suspicious smell. In comparison, Saibus casts detection spells to discern the magical trace or monster that makes the witch's medallion react.

Both the Assassin and the sorceress discern different things. Lyndis hears the faint echo of a very muffled scream with a smell mixed with alcohol and citrus. Meanwhile, Saibus locates the source of this vibration. About twenty meters from them in the inner courtyard of a dilapidated house.

The two run towards the house. The area is deserted. There are no guards patrolling and no braziers to light and warm the people. There are no taverns in the area, no brothels or lonely prostitutes. Only old, run-down houses. A perfect place to kill your prey.

Saibus and Lyndis enter the backyard, and they can hear moaning, gurgling, and pleading. Before them lies a macabre sight for mortals but nothing extravagant for the Griffin Witch and Assassin.

A brown woman with sickly skin and long black hair. She has long nails and sharp teeth. She is crouched down from behind, her head nestled in the neck of a young man. Blood flows from her neck, there are tears on her torso, and her face is disfigured by a clawed hand.

(Female image)

The young man, who cannot be more than twenty years old, looks Saibus and Lyndis in the eye. Blood flows from his mouth, he tries to articulate, to shout for help, but nothing comes out except his own blood, which is slowly choking him. He begs Saibus and Lyndis to help him. Fear is in his soul, fear of death, fear of the monster that consumes his blood as a tasty snack, and groans at this.

All of this can be seen in the young man's eyes, all of this in the space of less than a second. A second that lasts an eternity for him but a bird's beat for Saibus and Lyndis.

A flutter that allows the brouxe to stop her tasting and to turn towards the people who are interrupting her dinner. Lyndis draws her silver sword and pounces on the monster. At the same time, Saibus takes out Excalibur and moves to the side to be in the monster's line of sight.

The monster throws the young man at Lyndis and roars, fully exposing those sharp white teeth with a red stain. Lyndis catches the man and makes a quick Quen sign to protect herself from the woman's incoming attack. The woman delivers a series of violent clawing blows to Lyndis's shield, which eventually explodes on impact. The shield explodes, sending the woman flying. The woman on the ground lets out a sonic howl. The howl destabilizes Saibus and Lyndis, who are forced to protect their sensitive ears. The woman exploits the weakness of her attackers. She jumps on Lyndis.

"YOU INTERRUPT MY MEAL. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE." a voice echoes loudly in Lyndis' head.

"No, you get out of this town, you damned Brouxe," retorts Lyndis in her mind. Lyndis reels in her silver sword, which slashes the arms of the brouxe as it tries to protect itself—the brouxe retreats, disadvantaged by the witch's sword technique. The brouxe and Lyndis are concentrated on their fight, not paying attention to their surroundings.

Lyndis then performs a feint that achieves its objective. She delivers a thrust into the belly of the grunting brouxe. With her sword piercing through the brouxe, Lyndis throws a tongue of fire into the brouxe's face with her left hand. Fire is one of the brouxe's weaknesses. The tongue of fire spreads across the face of the lower vampire, charring it. She roars in pain and hits Lyndis with everything she has. Within range and unable to dodge effectively, Lyndis receives a deep cut to her torso and left shoulder.

Quickly, the brouxe stops attacking Lyndis. Unlike the higher vampires, her face is melted and has no regeneration. The brouxe is dead in excruciating pain. Lyndis withdraws her sword from the body of the monster, which collapses to the ground. She sighs and turns to look at Saibus and the young man.

The young man lies on the ground where Lyndis left him, dead. Saibus, on the other hand, is nowhere in sight. Lyndis quickly looks around the courtyard but finds no clues about where he is. There is no one in the courtyard but her, the man's corpse, and the inert body of the bargirl. The fight lasted no more than five minutes. The time of screams and blood has been replaced by silence and death.

Lyndis comes out of the courtyard to look out into the street and can see Saibus. As she passes through the wooden gate that has fallen to the ground, her medallion begins to vibrate. Startled, Lyndis stands guard and looks around. She closes her eyes and concentrates on her hearing and sense of smell, abandoning her sight in favor of these two other senses. Calm and focused, she steadies her breathing, slowing it down little by little. 80 beats...60 beats...50 beats...30 beats...

WHOOSH

BOOM

Lyndis' silver sword splits the air. A heavy thing falls to the ground. In front of Lyndis, a plucker. The weakest of the lower vampires. Weak and easy to kill, he is no danger when alone. But he is never alone. Many other plumbers always accompanied him. And Lyndis knows it and feels it. Her medallion continues to vibrate.

CRAC

Lyndis immediately turns around to see another barbuda above the body of the first. Behind the brouxe, on the roof of the house, a dozen plumbers await the command of their mistresses.

The barracuda bends down and takes the body of her fellow barracuda in her arms. "You killed my little sister. It's time for you to die as well, witch", the low but icy voice of the brouxe whistles in the air.

At these words, the plumbers take flight and rush to Lyndis to get the first piece of their dinner. Lyndis makes the sign of Quen to protect herself. The plumbers crash into the shield. The early arrivals are pressed under the weight of the others. The shield is cracked, but Lyndis maintains the sign by channeling her magic. She doesn't stay put and backs out into the street to try and find a narrow alley to limit the influx of smokers. But the shield eventually collapses in a shockwave that knocks the plumbers over. Lyndis runs for cover.

Her run takes her to the corner of a small alleyway where she runs into. The alley can only be used by one person at a time, thus limiting the number of plumbers involved in the fight.

Lyndis prepares to shoot the first of the ten plumbers who arrive. She didn't have to wait more than five seconds for the first plumber to appear before her. A sword movement, and he lost his torso. The second received a thrust that pierced her head. The third, too fast, hit the wall's corner and crashed to the ground. Others came from above. Lyndis takes several steps backward, reeling in her sword. This action kills several plumbers coming from the sky.

Two come from the opposite direction. Lyndis then performs the Aard sign, which throws the feathers at each other and the house behind them.

'Aah'

A groan of pain comes from Lyndis' mouth. A featherer manages to surprise her and attack her back. Too bad for him, his fangs did not penetrate deeply into Lyndis' flesh. The latter then undertakes a rapid rotation and cuts off the head of this last featherbrain.

The bodies of the plumbers surround Lyndis. She escapes from the alley and returns to the abandoned courtyard. There she finds the young man's body, but not the two scramblers or Saibus. Her medallion no longer vibrates. Having a moment's respite, Lyndis looks at the wounds inflicted on her by the brouxes and the plucker. She has a gash on her left shoulder and abdomen and a slight bite on her back. She takes some bandages out of her saddlebag to dress her wounds, so she doesn't get an infection.

While she is applying first aid, Lyndis hears running noises coming closer. Out of the door comes Saibus, covered in blood. With a sword in hand, he enters the courtyard.

"Well, it looks like we don't have a monster on our hands."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a temple in Melitelè, a man and a woman were cared for by a priestess. The room they are in is simple. A window overlooking the cloister, a door leading to the corridor outside. A wardrobe and two beds laid side by side with a three-meter gap between them. At the foot of each bed is a small chest for storing the patients' personal belongings.

The priestess of Melitélé is a middle-aged woman with long black hair with a few white streaks. Her hair is plaited in a long braid. She has delicate facial features and hazel eyes. She is wearing a simple long blue dress without any ornamentation or decoration. The priestess is at the corner of the woman's bed. She prepares remedies and nails on a table to heal the woman's wound.

"I want to thank you, witch and young man, for protecting the city and killing its monsters. But I would like you to be more careful in the future. It's not safe to fight all those monsters with the two of you. You must take care of yourself despite your dangerous and laborious work." The priestess, in a soft, soothing voice, begins the conversation with her wounded.

"We know this priestess, but hunting monsters can prove fatal to even the best and most prepared wizard. Surviving inferior vampires are no easy task. Nevertheless, I will keep your advice and prepare accordingly for my next hunt." Lyndis, lying in bed, tries to reassure the militia priestess.

"Yes, sister, now that the monster has been killed and we have collected the reward, we can rest and have Lyndis' wounds healed," Saibus states from his bed.

"I hope so, young man. You were lucky. Unlike your friend, you only got scratches, nothing too alarming. You won't have a trace of her scrapes by the end of the day. But my advice is no less valid. Every life is important. Even if your mission is to kill a monster to protect the population, your life is worth as much as theirs. Don't let these abomination stories about wizards get to you." The priestess lectures Lyndis and Saibus with a motherly, stern tone. She sounds like a mother scolding her child for playing with her friends and getting hurt.

"Yes, ma'am." Lyndis and Saibus respond favorably to the priestess, who continues to provide care. She removes the bandages from Lyndis' torso and shoulder, making her bare-chested. She gently applied the ointment to the wound on her chest and left shoulder. She then places more new bandages around the witch's shoulder and chest.

"Good; now you're going to lie down for the rest of the week while your wound heals. And know that I won't take no for an answer." Settling Lyndis comfortably in bed, the priestess stepped back and returned to the table.

"Well, it's not like we're in a hurry now you're free," Saibus said, looking out the window at the cloister.

"But we have to take a ship to Kovir and Pontis." retorts Lyndis.

"No, no journey for you. You will only leave this temple with my permission. And you will get that right when you are healed, not before." The priestess looks at Lyndis with a brutal look, showing that there is no room for discussion. And if there is one thing the population knows, and even more so, travelers like wizards, you should never anger a Militadelic priestess about the condition of her patients. Their sacred duty is to heal those in need.

"Well, drink this medicine, and the pain you feel when you breathe and move should begin to weaken." The priestess puts a small bowl to the edge of Lyndis' mouth. Lyndis drinks the contents of the bowl with the priestess's delicate assistance.

"Good, now rest. You are forbidden to leave this bed for the next two days, so take the opportunity to sleep and regain your strength." The priestess gives a final instruction to the sorceress before slipping out of the room after greeting Saibus and Lyndis.

The room becomes silent. The sound of the wind passing through the cloister thickets can be heard through the open window. A calm and comforting silence after the restless night the witch and the Assassin spent. A calm atmosphere that Lyndis broke.

"As much as I'd like to follow the priestess' orders, we can't afford it. There is still a brouxe loose in the city, and we don't know if there are more plumbers with her or other lower vampires." Lyndis states firmly.

"Why?" retorts Saibus.

"What do you mean why?" Lyndis was confused by Saibus' question.

"Why can't you take a moment to heal yourself and come back to kill the brouxe later? It's not like you're in any shape to fight properly with your injuries. If you go now, you'll get killed by the brouxe easily enough." says Saibus.

"Not necessarily, because I'd go prepared with vampire oils and hopefully some black blood," says Lyndis confidently.

"Yes, it's possible. Equipped, you have a 30% chance of survival against 0 without equipment. But it doesn't solve the handicap injuries that will get you killed by the brouxe or something else if there is something else with it." saibus expresses his thoughts without restrictions.

Lyndis says nothing to contradict Saibus' words, silently affirming that he is right.

"Look how I see it. You or we have two routes out of this. The first route, we wait for you to recover over the week while I search the city for information. At the end of the week, with the clues we have found, either we try a trap at the brouxe, or if we have found his place during the day, we storm it."

"Second solution, the simplest solution. You killed a brouxe with plumbers and got your freedom with some gold coins. You have fulfilled your part of the contract and the magister his. No one knows there's another barbarian in the city, so let's take a boat to the ruins of Kaer Seren and do what we must do without wasting time. Either way, the guard or another wizard will deal with the brouxe eventually." Saibus lists the two solutions at their disposal.

Lyndis turns to Saibus with a flabbergasted and angry look on her face.

"You are willing to abandon the citizens of this city to a monster! Are you an Assassin? Where are your values? I thought Assassins would protect the innocent from evil! It seems I was wrong and that you are just mercenaries." Lyndis is outraged and enraged.

"Maybe or maybe not. I won't let an innocent man die but know that you are also part of this world and in your innocent way. I am a mercenary, or you are a sorceress with a heart far too noble for this profession and this world. Griffins are knights at heart, but that doesn't mean they have to be stupid and run into danger with a certain chance of death. We Assassins protect the innocent, but not from the monsters you hunt, but likewise. We protect them from the abominations that claim to be human and are worse than the monsters. Like people under the guise of magic and progress experiments on human beings. Or how people under the guise of a prophecy announcing a catastrophic event kill and exterminate races." Saibus replies calmly to Lyndis. However, his calmness breaks down momentarily at the end of his words.

The two of them say no more, causing an awkward and uncomfortable silence to fall between them.

Saibus stands up, opens the door, and stops in the doorway. "Know, Lyndis, that having a noble heart is one of the worst curses you can carry in this world. However, I respect the Griffins for their beliefs. It will only lead you to your doom. You have to know when to retreat and come back later. Rest and let me do my job as an Assassin."

AN:

I thank ArtoriasPendragon for allowing me to use his creation, Lyndis, in my story.