[center][h2]Geralt of Rivia [/h2]
Frozen Highlands- Krat Zoo
Lvl 15 Geralt (202/140) +3 Collab XP -> (207/140) 200% OL Charged (Lvl 1)
Word count: 770 words [/center]



Geralt only had to tread water in the freezing-cold pool for a few scant moments before Ace arrived gallantly, offering a hand to each so that he could keep them up with his water-walking rigging. As Blazermate once again took to the air, Geralt simply leaned against his fellow monster hunter, letting out a long sigh. “F-f-fuck, that’s cold. Thanks for the s-save.” His teeth were chattering and his bones were already starting to hurt from the bitter cold that had seeped into them. As he guided the pair back to land, Geralt pointed back to where Mokou was beginning to reform, grunting for Ace to turn his head. “T-There. The girl’s fine. Just…came back from whatever she did.” He wasn’t sure if it was anything like Ishmael’s Identities or if she simply had abilities like phoenixes were mythologized to in his world. 

Once they were back on relatively stable footing, Geralt released his hold on the Ace and shook himself off, splashing some ice-cold water on his rescuer before giving the man a sheepish grimace. “Sorry. Just…so damned cold.” He complained, before transforming into Ardor Blossom for a brief respite from his wet armor. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he began the walk forward to where the stagecoach had gone, though the relief provided by his transformation would only last a brief thirty seconds.

Once they caught up with the rest of the Seekers, Geralt wasted no time in trying to find a warm spot to recover. As he did, Mokou approached him with an offer of a tiny flame that he could magically guide with his own hands. Nodding at the newest addition to their party, he raised his hand to take the fiery feather. “Appreciate it.” While he warmed himself, he took a moment to perform the armory incantation to send the hexabarrel repeater he’d gotten from Eryk to the armory. While Edward or Sandalphon might have been able to make use of it, he just wanted it off his hands. They seemed to be armed with higher-quality gear as it was. If they needed a sidearm, they could check later.

His eyes travelled to the greenhouse, into which no obvious entrance presented itself. As Sandalphon announced both the inevitable arrival of stew (to which Geralt had nothing to add) and her intent to begin exploring the building adjacent to the warm-looking area, he sighed. Best to go in a group, which meant he had less time to warm up before moving again. While it was certainly wise not to sit and wait to freeze to death, unnecessary expenditure of energy also hastened the chill of hypothermia, so he’d been hoping to sit with Mokou’s flamefeather a bit longer. 

Still, he rose to join the group entering the botanical garden, letting the little flame drift off and snuff itself out against the group as he began moving. 

The warm, humid air of the botanical garden was a blessing and a curse. While the higher temperature was certainly welcome, the humidity meant that the chilled water still stuck to Geralt’s armor and clothing wouldn’t readily evaporate. The sheer variety of plants around them had Geralt’s interest piqued, though he doubted many of them would be useful for alchemy. The existence of a “bomb spore plant” made him rethink that assumption, but he wasn’t willing to mess with potentially-volatile plant spores to discover just how useful it might be, though he joined Ace in gathering from the less-explosive botanicals within the garden. 

It seemed the only danger present were the humanoid figures roaming the area, metallic in form and patrolling for intruders. Thankfully, their fairly predictable patterns and gleaming bodies made it a fairly simple matter for the Seekers to evade detection through keeping their distance and only moving when they turned away. When they reached the raised perimeter, evading the patrolling puppets became all but impossible, but they proved little match for the assembled Seekers.

While the ruckus caused by the fighting did attract a few further-off Puppets, each was dispatched with such haste that they never got the opportunity to gather in a group and put their more advanced tactics to the test. Between Geralt, Ace, and Sandalphon, they had all three range categories easily covered, while any others who joined merely added to their ability to carve through any comers. 

“Let us know what you find.” Geralt answered the Ace, turning to give Sandalphon a nod. “Gonna go with him once he finds a way in, but for now I’ll keep by you. Not keen on running around and getting lost in all these plants.”