[h2][center]Geralt of Rivia[/center][/h2]
[center]The Maw- The Depths[/center]
[center]Lvl 7 (84/70) -> Lvl 8 (85/70) [/center]
[center]Word Count:  words[/center]

That climb was [i]exhausting.[/i] By the end of it, Geralt's breath was coming heavily, though he did his damndest to regulate his breathing so that it was smooth and quiet rather than ragged and loud like many others'. It wasn't a perfect effort by any means, owing to the aforementioned exhaustion, but Geralt was used to exerting himself. Even if his stamina was lower, the techniques still worked. 

The smell of the 'meats' admittedly distracted him for a moment as he wrinkled his nose and tried not to gag at the odor. What that meant was that Geralt could not see Bella go from animated and talkative one moment, to faux-unconscious the next, and when he followed Mirage's prompting, his blood ran cold. All he saw was an unmoving Bella, though something about Sakura's wailing was...off. It could be smoke inhalation causing delirium, but something in Geralt's gut told him that this was different. 

Unfortunately, he didn't get time to ruminate on that gut instinct as Mirage theorized that the girls' captor wouldn't sand to let his meat go bad, and would take Bella off the rope to cut into her right away. Nodding, Geralt agreed. "Smoke can damage meats, especially inhaled or overexposed on the flesh. If he only sees them as food, he wouldn't want to risk spoiling it." The plan he came up with wasn't a bad one, either. "Hmm, that should work. A bad hit to a fleshy spot will take down even the largest of Fiends." Biting could work as well. It might depend on how sturdy the chef's garments were, but he doubted a profession based on standing near fire had overly heavy workwear, simply as a matter of efficiency. It wouldn't do to get heat stroke while preparing a meal, after all. 

Their planning was interrupted by yet another commotion downstairs. This one related to both Antoine shouting, and some kind of explosion. Mirage hurriedly gave a plan B in case Larry went off to investigate, and Geralt nodded in agreement. "Can't risk them falling into open flames, yes." 

That would be pretty bad if they came this far only to botch it and immolate their friends, wouldn't it?