Chapter 32:Every action has its consequences (1/5)

I know I said that I won't release another chapter, yet I do release another 2 the reason is simple. Something that I wrote made me very sad and I decided to share this sad feeing to others. Please enjoy, although this one is not the sad one. The next is.

But after reading the second one , be sad along my side ;(

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After a stressful and intense encounter, August stayed in his room and healed. While still not able to do a lot, he spent his time learning how to use signs. Practice was not an option at the moment, so he could spend his time on research and a bunch of books.

Slowly, he was getting there. With more and more time, his knowledge about signs increased, how to operate them, in which situation to apply and how significant they could be in particular situations.

Situations such as rain of arrows, gang of opponents, weakness of certain beasts and monsters to fire or magical traps.

There were 5 signs:

Aard: Creates a telekinetic wave that can throwback or stun the target.

Yrden: Creates a magical trap that will immobilize the opponent when they encounter it

Igni: Creates a wave of flame toward the sign's direction.

Quen: Creates an almost transparent shield around your body

Axii: Works as a compulsion to some insignificant acts can be repelled with strong enough willpower and magic mastery.

While August was studying, his friends visited him from time to time between their training and learning sessions.

Once, Nennke arrived with different healing mixtures to help August heal and to have a conversation.

She silently entered the room, hoping not to distract August from doing his thing, but was unsuccessful. August looked towards her, asking, "Nenneke, how can I help you?"

Nenneke smiled in response, replying, "I think it's me who can help you" she showed him a set of herbs continuing "I brought some healing herbs from the garden"

With little enthusiasm, August responded, "Thanks"

She took a chair and placed it right next to his bed. "Don't be so emotionless. Can we talk?"

With a nod from August and a quick reply, "Talk", Nenneke spoke

"August, Sir Vilgefortz, knowing that you are a source, offered help. He is willing to help you learn how to wield magic. I'm here to pass this massage, but also to offer a piece of advice".

August replied with a snort saying "I don't need help from him"

Nenneke pouted "Don't be so stubborn, he is a great man that has done a lot of good, not all sorcerers are bad, you know?"

"They are not bad at all," he paused before concluding, "But that is until their true intentions are to be revealed"

Nenneke reluctantly replied, "It is not true"

August replied with a frown, "It is true for me until I see the opposite"

With a sigh, Nenneke left August alone. She is not responsible for changing his world views. However, when she left, she told August "Maybe with time, you learn it is good to at least try to trust others" With that done, the door closed, leaving August alone in his room.

August muttered, "Trust someone? I can try to trust anyone but them".

...

Within a few weeks, August fully recovered and actively practiced how to apply signs. Compared to others that were struggling to learn the signs successfully, August got a hang on them pretty quickly, straight after August did that, Geralt succeeds as well.

But it was just a beginning. All of their skills were very weak, with little real application since it is required to have a lot of practice to learn how to use signs efficiently in their full power.

In the learning process, a few months passed before August took a break and walk the city, Ellander. The city is located nearby the Temple, so it didn't take him long to reach it.

Approaching the entrance, he was stopped by the guard asking, "What is your purpose here, freak?"

August didn't even share a glance towards the guard. Walking through the guards pushing them out of his way, he said, "None of your concern"

The guards didn't dare to provoke August, since all of them feared the consequences that their actions could bring. But it didn't stop them from throwing some hateful words and glances in his direction.

Once he made his way inside the city, they shouted towards his back, "Don't show up in front of me another time or my sword won't stay in sheaths, but will be happy to get a feeling of some blood of a monster"

August made his way inside the city, receiving a lot of disgusted looks from the normal folks. But it bothered him the least. He wanted to see the architecture of the city and how it is here.

Making his way through, August observed how normal folks live. Going from one place to another, carrying different things they owned, walking around the city with their kids, having smiles on their faces and enjoying overall life.

August showed a slight sad smile and made his way further without making a hell of a lot of problems for himself. He made his way through the main square when someone got a firm grip on his hand.

Looking to the side, August saw a small child with red puffed eyes and a shaking body. With all his power, the kid wanted to drag August somewhere. Squatting down next to the boy, August inquired, "What do you need, kid?"

The child replied with a shuttering voice, "A-a-r-re you a Witcher?"

August replied, "Yes, I am. But I don't think you have a enough money for me. So what do you need?"

The child pleaded with a desperate voice, with eyes full of tears. "Please, can you follow me? My mother needs help very urgently. Please, I have nobody to ask for help. I have no options, please I beg you, Mister Witcher. Can you help my mother?"

Looking into his eyes, August reluctantly agreed. He felt it on his skin, how it was to have nobody by his side. At least he could save a child from such a pitiful existence." Lead the way kid".

With a smile on his face, the kid quickly made his way through the narrow paths between the big and beautiful houses, leading August into the area where poor people lived, city slums.

They walked towards the somewhere open area where the kid suddenly shouted "I did it, I brought him here. Please release her now!"

From all the surrounding buildings, many people appeared. Surrounding August from all sides, all of them were wearing army attire, had quality equipment and coat of arms themself.

One man that was hiding responded to the child, "Don't worry, boy, she is in excellent hands."

The kid shouted at the man, "You promised to release her!"

The man replied with an ugly smirk on his face, "Duke changed his mind, so deal with it, kid"

There were 10 men here, 6 of them were with their cold weapons, while the rest were hiding in the distance with crossbows to shoot from afar.

The man that looked like their leader looked toward August with an ugly smirk and mocked him, "Looks like the bird flew right into the cage itself?"

"Cage?" Asked August, chuckling to himself, "No, it is you and your gang, just signed the contract for elimination".

The man replied with a smirk, "Don't be so full of yourself, freak! You and your brother freaks made the city lord unhappy. There are 0 chances that any of you will make it out alive from this region."

Before August could respond, the other man mocked August and his brothers, "Or you can sit in the temple as little scared rats forever! Would be so funny to watch how freaks are rotting in the temple forever".

With a click of his tongue, August unleashed his sword, reflecting 2 bolts flying his way.

"Tsk, nasty attacks. What else to expect from such rotten people like you?" said August, mocking the group back. Wasting no more time, August dashed to the closest man.

A man prepared to slash across August, but he was not a match for someone like him.

Dodging his slash, August moved behind the man and took him in his grasp, moving him in the trajectory of the bolts that others had just shot.

A bolt flew right into the chest of the man, making him suffocate from the blood inside his lungs. His eyes instantly widened in realization of what actually happen. Like a fish, he tried to speak, but no words escaped his mouth.

With a small smirk, August tossed his body to a side, mocking them again, "You are magnificent fighters, killing your own man!"

The man cursed at August with eyes full of anger, "Freak, I will kill you"

With relative ease, August engaged in a fight with 5 people at the same time. Dodging, parrying and slashing. But it didn't show the needed result. All of them had armour that didn't allow August to slash right through their flesh.

The only way to kill them was by aiming for the head or in the gaps between the armour. August went for the first option and tried to use his still not mastered, but already developed to a degree, sign.

With a quick move of his hand, he created a telekinetic push using Aard. Some man, not awaiting such a move, stumbled back and lost balance, making them fall to the ground.

Others, that were unaffected by the sign, saw that happening and got distracted.

With a fast movement of his sword, August beheaded one man and fatally injured another, inserting his blade right in the gap where his arm was located. The man fell to the ground, letting out an agonizing scream.

"3 are done," said August, as he looked at the rest of them that were still close to him. There were a total of 3 of them left.

The leader, witnessing all of that, shouted, "Retreat, we will get him later!"

But who is August to let them go free? Drawing his bow, he shot them all dead, but the leader of the gang, who was rewarded with an arrow that went right through his ankle.

Walking to the man, August lifted him by the hair and asked in a deep voice, "Where is the boy's mother?"

The man stayed silent, spatting right on August's face, which August successfully avoided. August inquired, expecting no answer. "Don't want to talk? Alright!"

Forcing the man's mouth open, August fed him with a lot of things that nobody would want in their mouth.

Deadly Nightshade, White snakeroot, Oleander.

Which is all deadly to any kind of man and woman. Little time passed before the effect showed. They were neither fast nor slow, just on the right spot. All of those are very good at providing a lot of pain and disgusting feelings.

The man rolled on the ground as he tried to extinguish non-existing fire all around his body. Not a lot of time passed before the man spoke. "She is the house that is located not so far from here towards the west. It is in a half-destroyed house without a roof. There is a basement. She is down there!"

The man released another agonizing scream and gritted his teeth from the pain that poison brought. August didn't stop there, and asked another question, completely ignoring the screams that were escaping the man's mouth, "And why is she there?"

With a suffocating look, he replied, one could tell just by looking at it, it was really hard for him to speak, but he still hoped for a fast end." Lord wished to get rid of her without a trace along with her kid because he has lord's blood flowing in him and lord doesn't want to ruin his reputation for having a bastard!"

"Why the hell did you drag me in this?" August completely lost a trace of hearing the man's words. Why the hell did they create such a mess and fought him along the way?

"Lord's orders," replied the man with heavy breaths. "Many people decline to go into the temple because you are there,", with tears forming in his eyes he pleaded, "End me already"

August replied with a fake smile on his face, "Thank you"

The man screamed towards August in between his screams, "Finish me, you bastard! Don't you dare to walk away like this! You promised!"

"Nah, you are alright this way. That is your Lord's command." said August, adding the last part to show him how it must have felt for a kid. August made his way in the direction where the kid hid himself.

August arrive close to the pile of garbage and said looking at the nasty smelling pile, "Come out kid"

Pile replied "There is nobody here"

With an annoyed voice, August said, "Do you take me for a troll? Come out right now!"

The kid's head showed out of the pile and he plunged to his knees in front of August. With a scared to death face, he pleaded, justifying his actions. "Sorry, I didn't wish to cause you trouble. All I wanted was to save my mother. They promised they will let her go after I bring you here. Please, I beg you to have mercy. I had no other choice"

August sighed. He might be a monster of some kind, but still killing children is not what he aimed at or ever wished for. He won't just kill the kid that had one thing in his mind, saving someone like his mother.

Despite that, there was slight frustration in August, for dragging him in this mess, so he gave a kid a punishment. Crossing his arms, August commanded, "You will polish my sword until it is clear as a mirror. Now lead the way to this house where your mother is supposed to be"

The kid lifted his head and looked at August from below, before thanking him for everything that August did 100 times.