As Benedict no-nonsense bulldozed his way past Geralt's blatant distraction, the Witcher kept an ear out for the shuffling of the Seekers in the back room, knowing he'd need to keep this investigator distracted for a few minutes. It was somewhat unfortunate that he was also a somewhat older man, as he'd likely be well aware that many elderly folks exaggerated their mental state, and that Geralt was doing just that. No matter, he at least attempted to buy in to the charade, whether it be out of arrogance or unwillingness to make a move until he was certain wasn't of importance, as long as he allowed Geralt to keep it up.
When Benedict mentioned the safety of the public, Geralt nodded simply, before referring to his own armaments. "Well, as you can see, I'm rather safe myself, and my young companion is certainly safe by my side as well, between myself and his Pony." Not bothering to pretend to remember what Ponyta was called, he kept it simple. "Frankly, everybody in this store is likely as safe as it can be."
Benedict's rapid-fire questioning marked him quite easily as a lawman, if the rest of his attire, his choice in companions, and his own admission that he was here on the basis of public safety hadn't done the job already. Geralt decided to play ball, and answered each question in sequence. "No, we came in through the front," he lied easily, a somewhat bored expression on his face. "As for the owner, she's running an errand. I'm a friend of her father, you see, and she took advantage of our acquaintance to run said errand while I watched the store for her. No care that we have other places to be, though. You know how young folks can be, always needing to be somewhere else, without a care in the world."
Then Benedict threw out all pretense and asked who they were. Big mistake. "Well, for myself, that depends who you ask. To the uneducated and prejudiced, I'm a monster, but to the lovely folks in the Land of Adventure, I'm a renowned hunter and slayer of monsters. To the elves, I'm Gwynbleidd, white-haired. To others, I am the White Wolf, a feared slayer of man and beast. Though, most commonly, I'm called Geralt of Rivia. Sir if you'd prefer, though it's more an honorary knighthood than anything," Geralt chuckled. He left Bede to introduce himself, in whatever bombastic fashion he chose. "And you are?" Geralt bade Benedict introduce himself as well, before continuing. "Though, as I said, we were looking for something for his Pony companion when you came in, hoping to see if there was anything in the back for a moment while we watched the store."
Taking the opportunity to look at one of the shelves, Geralt plucked a few small balls, resembling the ones Bede and Junior used, from the shelf. "I'll admit, I've been interested in getting into rearing them myself..." Geralt half-mumbled, telling the full and honest truth for the first time since he'd walked up front. "And don't forget to grab some food, Bede," he added and took a bag of "high-quality Pokemon food" from the shelf as well, carrying them to the counter and bagging them. "She said to gather what we found together and let her handle the purchase when she returned," Geralt explained to Benedict, continuing to weave his story together.
Finally, however, he could hear nothing from the back. Taking a small breath, he slid the bag to the side and turned fully to Benedict, ensuring his bag was out of the blast zone, as well as Bede. "Well, sir, it has been a pleasure to meet you, though I must bid you good day, as Giovanna is just walking in behind you." He lied as easily as he breathed, and waiting only a moment to see if Benedict took the bait or not, made the Sign of Aard before himself, launching a conical blast of telekinetic force at Benedict and the G-Men with him, before turning to grab his bag in one arm and Bede in the other, hauling the young boy onto his shoulder and running to the back
"Complain later, kid, we gotta run!" He yelled, kicking open the back door and setting the boy down, catching a glimpse of the other Seekers and hauling ass after them. "Get on that Pony-thing's back, I can keep up!" He advised Bede, moving into a dead sprint towards the others. As they started to close the gap with the rest of the Seekers, he called out, "They're on to us, FUCKING MOVE!!!"
@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN I'd be down to do a little collab, if you're not opposed to the idea.
I'm not going to be around really at all today to collab, but tomorrow I shouldn't have any trouble making time. @Crimson Flame would you like to join the front distraction? If not, we can leave it as just a mention from Geralt, and I hope it wouldn't be too much trouble for Cloud to edit if so.
Geralt's eyes narrowed at the description of the G-Men, specifically the part where they could defeat you with a single touch, but elected not to press on that matter. Whether it was an accurate description or an embellishment, something else took Geralt's attention, something that Peach pointed out once they were brought to meet with the 'boss'- these people had been freed from Galeem's control.
Interesting. They were from Midgar, and had broken from the government when the previous mayor had resigned from his post. That meant they had knowledge of the inner workings of their next target, which would be helpful.
He followed along with the situation well enough, and though he had no idea what a 'chopper' was, he surmised that it was some kind of vehicle. There were plenty of strange things in this place, so he didn't even bother to imagine what it could be. He'd shot down a flying boat earlier in the day, after all. Nothing was normal here.
The G-men were being organized by a highly-trained, highly-skilled, high-ranking officer of the Investigators working for Midgar. And this person's presence meant that they were, for all intents and purposes, about to be caught in a trap.
So, Tuesday, then. Alright, they had this handled. A pair of runners volunteered to distract the G-Men in the back and draw them away. At the same time, they needed somebody up front to distract those coming in that way. Geralt nodded as they prepared to get moving. "I'll take the front. I'm old enough I can make something up and either play the doddering fool or the experienced warrior, whichever I figure will buy us more time. Might even swap between the two to play up the pity factor." Geralt smirked. Vesemir taught him something useful after all, it seemed.
With that being said, he headed to the front of the shop, greeting the Turk who entered with a nod. "Lovely day we're having, isn't it? Just stopping in for some pet food for our companion's Poke...things. Always slips my mind what they're called. Pony toes?" Geralt started with a simple enough excuse, but one with the truth behind it: he had no idea what that thing that walked up to Bede before was called, other than Pony-something. He remembered that the creatures were called Pokemon, for sure, but the rest escaped him completely.
"What brings you to this neck of the woods?" Geralt probed the bespectacled man.
As the Seekers split off into a few groups, some looking for transportation, some looking for specific things to help in their next goal, and the rest just looking around, Geralt found himself with the last group, exploring Gutsford and wondering just what the city had in store for them. The Land of Adventure had been remarkably close to home, and while Alcamoth was clearly out of place, Limsa Lominscuttle could have fit in Skellige if you chalked them up as strange locals. This place, however, was completely and utterly alien to him. Buildings made of stone and brick weren't the standard on the Continent, and yet here they not only had those aplenty, but some were clearly reinforced with great quantities of metal.
Raz asked about Organization XIII, and while Roxas answered with his own experiences, Geralt felt the need to chime in as well, "Between the weird...cube headed guy trying to murder us all and accidentally giving us a way to the Seaside for Blue Team, and that one lady telling us to sacrifice people to the Maw", something Geralt left out that he had considered doing, "I'm not entirely sure they have good intentions, myself. Whatever their goals are, they're not explicitly our allies. That much I can say for certain, even if another one stopped the guy who was trying to kill us."
The roads were paved with some kind of...extremely sturdy, black stone-like material, and this was clearly a city, based on how plentiful the people were. Even if the local worksmen appeared to be...not quite doing their jobs properly. Even Geralt could tell as much.
What was most disturbing, though, was the fact that they were all watching them. Sure, some of them tried to be subtle about it, but a few of the red-eyed workers made no attempt to conceal their surveillance of the Seekers, and it was making the hairs on the back of Geralt's neck stand on end. Soon enough, Peach tried leading them past their watchers, only for the G-Men, as they were apparently called, to follow after them, abandoning all pretenses and surrounding them in an alleyway. Raz's warnings had Geralt reaching for his steel sword, only for a door to open and a pair of strangers to usher them inside.
Following Raz's lead, Geralt monotoned a simple excuse. "Need to get some food for the dog..." He said as he went through the door, quickly making room between it and himself before turning to their rescuers.
"Inviting armed strangers into your shop while they're being pursued by the local law enforcement seems a good way to make the wrong kind of friends," Geralt half-heartedly commented. "Not that we don't appreciate it, but is there something we ought to know about what's going on here?"
Panther wasted no time in taking advantage of the opportunity he had opened, and rushed in, claws flashing and carving lines across Geralt's face, who reacted with a kick that Panther easily dodged. Small beads of blood pooled up along the cuts, though this was less than the full-on facial wound Panther was intending to create. He hummed curiously as Geralt ran in to lash out with his own claws again, blocking him at the arm and throwing a punch that the Witcher ducked.
Geralt followed up by drawing his knife and stabbing it into Panther's side quickly, a move that cost him another slash to the face, but succeeded in wounding the feline assassin, who hissed in pain and drew his blaster, trying to catch Geralt while he was distracted by pain.
What Panther didn't expect was Fizz's trident jabbing at his face, though he was able to dodge just barely in time to avoid being skewered. This gave Geralt, time, however, to draw his crossbow and line up his own shot, which pierced into Caruso's chest, puncturing the aptly-named Panther's lung and causing him to stop and cough up blood. "Ah...it seems I wasn't able to catch my prey..."
Fizz ended Panther's lament by stabbing him through the chest, and the cat faded into ash as the speedy trickster disappeared in the way Strikers did. Sighing, Geralt picked up the Spirit left behind and rushed to Roxas, scowling when he saw the cats trying to drag the boy away. "Scram!" He yelled, drawing his blade and slicing one in two, not even bothering to take the Spirit it left behind as the others scattered. Roughly hauling the unconscious teen onto his shoulder, Geralt stowed his sword and started running in the way he remembered Raz leading them. He had some trouble finding the way on account of having been split up from the others, but through a careful application of violence, he managed to reach the station, where he saw Pit providing covering fire and shouted up to the angelic warrior.
"Got ambushed! Kid's still out, but I need to get us in there before- DON'T YOU DARE!" Interrupted by a group of cats nipping at his heel, Geralt spun and unleashed Aard on them, launching the bunch back and dazing them. "Before that happens again." He finished, sighing.
He just needed to get up to that window and they'd be home free. Thankfully, Geralt had one more trick up his sleeve that he could use. "Judicator!" He called, the massive abomination appearing and kneeling while extending its neck towards the shattered window. It began its self-flagellation immediately, sealing the remnants of the cuts Panther had given him and putting a little more life back into Roxas as he carefully climbed up its back and jumped through the window, landing on the inside of the station with a grunt.
Once the Seekers boarded the Black Line train, Geralt dropped Roxas in a seat and reached inside himself for a Friend Heart, pushing it into the teen. "Welcome to the Seekers for real this time." He casually remarked, sighing as he sat down next to him. "You've got some catching up to do. Somebody else explain it, I had to lug his ass through the whole metro, I'm fucking tired."
With that, he closed his eyes as waited for their destination.
When they finally arrived, he stepped out of the train station and looked around warily, not expecting the nice, if somewhat busy, town on the other side. He could see three, three academies! Clearly this was a place that valued the highly-educated.
Still, if that looming city they found once they walked on a bit more was anything to go by, they had their work cut out for them.
A few people went after Geralt's introduction: Pit, the angel warrior that Geralt had sparred against. Claiming to be a direct subordinate of a goddess, with notable combat experience under his belt (specifically having saved a few worlds), Geralt nodded. He was no slouch in a fight, even if Geralt had given him a damn good fight before they wound up on the ground. With those magical arrows of his, and assuming he did actually have the backing of a sufficiently powerful being, he could see Pit having done some good work in his day.
Omori came after, the young boy who'd unfortunately slain somebody in their last battle and was receiving no shortness of grief over it from Junior and the troop. Geralt felt a bit of kinship with the boy, looked upon poorly for killing in a fight when others thought it unnecessary. Not to mention that he was also looking for somebody-dammit, he didn't mention Ciri earlier. He'd have to do that when they were getting food, if only a brief description to give people an idea to keep an eye out and let her know he was around and where he and Yen could be found.
Omori continued, explaining some...strange ability he had, to fight utilizing his emotions as a weapon. Very odd. But if they could alter one's capabilities in battle, it seemed rather useful. He was also growing a noticeable knife collection. Geralt might have to give the kid a few pointers if they got the opportunity.
Next was a woman that had joined Yellow Team after the split, calling herself Jesse Faden. Telekinesis and a weapon that never ran out of ammo. A potent combination all its own, though he got the feeling that there was more to its weapon, between its obviously magical nature and the ominous warning she gave about it. She had people she had to help, apparently in the far north, but it seemed that it was more of a stalemate that needed to be broken than a dire emergency, which was minorly relieving.
Finally, Bede, the arrogant Pokemon trainer. Geralt had no compunctions about that judgment, though he also had no doubts that this young man was the most experienced in Pokemon training amongst them. Their best answer would be Junior, who only had spent a few days to a week at most learning how to work with his companions, compared to what he assumed was a denizen of their natural world. He had to be good if he was the chosen successor of one of his area's combat instructors (at least, that was what his mind replaced what Bede said with). He wasn't sure what Fairy of Psychic referred to specifically, but it gave an impression of an even wider variety of natures than he'd already seen from the scant few Pokemon he'd encountered so far. They were almost like Strikers, in a vague sense, but you didn't have to kill something and bond with its Spirit to work with them. Hmmm.
After the introductions were done, the Seekers made their way up Market Street, some (Geralt being one of them) taking money from Peach to secure food for the group. Keeping in mind the extreme metabolism some of the Seekers had (himself only somewhat included in that), he got quite the array for them. He'd noticed the Troop clearing out a nearby store, though, so he made sure to hold back a little. Not point in getting too much and having it go to waste. Thankfully, dealing with Lefwee had also been taken out of his hands.
Once the group reconvened, Geralt used the fish he got from the recent battle to add to their food stores, hording his more long-lasting rations for another time, though he did eat one of his bananas during the picnic. He settled with a light ale and a pair of sandwiches to go with his banana, one using some of the fish he'd added to the mix. As the Seekers chatted and ate, Geralt kept mostly to himself, though he did ask a quick question to Bede about the nature of Pokemon, alongside Roxas. They seemed to be rather curious beasts, marginally intelligent and keen to battle, be it for fun or an actual fight.
When their destinations were determined, Geralt gave the members of the Purple Team a nod, wishing them good luck on their exploration and in hunting down the Guardian. It'd be odd, not having the boss and his troop alongside him going forward, but there was some splitting up a bit early on when they formed Red, Yellow, and Blue teams. Still, they'd come together again when they did their jobs and dealt with their respective issues and Guardians. No point dwelling too much on it now.
Geralt's first thought on entering the metro was that it was lively. Cats walking to and fro, hustling about to reach their trains, which were pulled by other, larger, cats. Not dwelling on that any more than it needed, Geralt looked around a moment before the group was interrupted by the loud, ominous announcement. 'But of wisdom, no clock can measure', huh? Geralt almost snorted, that sounded like something Vesemir might have said if he wasn't trying to lord his age over them. Otherwise, it'd be all about how much more experience he had than them and how he knew better.
What followed had him scowling, though. "Whoreson..." he muttered, the technical inaccuracy not on his mind. Nadia was right. That cat had just put a hit on them! Quickly casting the Sign of Quen to protect himself before their attackers appeared, Geralt followed after the kid who called out that he knew the direction to the Black Line, Raz if he remembered correctly. Roxas went along with him and Geralt joined the pair, occasionally blasting swarms of felines away with Aard, but otherwise maintaining his stamina for the run. His long legs and superhuman strength helped him keep up easily, though he didn't miss Roxas being attacked by a sniper, and quickly came to a halt. "Damn!"
Turning to see Roxas about to be executed, Geralt felt a surge of adrenaline course through him, and he grabbed his crossbow with blistering speed and lifted it, loosing a bolt at Panther, who dodged with ease. "Ah, not so fast, señor," the flirtatious assassin replied, "But I suppose two will do just as well," He smirked, firing his blaster at Geralt, who was already dodging to the side as he adjusted his aim, firing another bolt which was easily dodge.
"Dodge this!" Geralt yelled, leaping at the assassin with claws bared and forming the Sign of Igni, masking his final approach in scorching flames as he raked his claws along Caruso's side, causing a hiss from the cat. Thankfully, the swarms of cats weren't quite willing to risk getting as close to this fight, even if one or two tried their luck, a quick lashing kick was enough to scare them off when the magic or Panther's reputation didn't do the trick.
Still, Panther wouldn't be stopped by just a little scratch. He fired his blaster once, then twice, at Geralt in point-blank range, expecting the predictive dodges by the clearly-wizened fighter, before smirking and aiming his blaster at Roxas. Either suffer a crippling blow or let his ally be killed. Ruthless, but efficient.
Instead, Geralt merely gritted his teeth as the blaster shot hit him center-mass, Quen shattering and dissipating the force of the blow (it still stung like hell and left a radiating pain in Geralt's gut, but he'd survived worse), Panther's red eyes going wide as a clawed fist crashed into, and broke, his nose, blood pooling down his face and covering his lips. "Yuu'll regrut that!" He snarled, swinging his blaster like a knife at Geralt, who took the blow on the arm, punching Panther in the gut and kicking him back.
"You good, kid?" The moment of distraction was enough for Panther, though, and Geralt groaned loudly as a blaster shot landed against his shoulder, throwing him off-balance. Stupid! Geralt cursed himself, the concern for Roxas and anger at the situation having gotten the better of him. Oughta know better...
Lvl 9 (104/90) -> +24 from collabs, encounter xp, and friend hearts -> Lvl 9 (131/90)
Word Count: 2,235 words
With their pieces said, the Seekers set out, leaving behind the denizens of Port O' Panic as they made their way to Twilight Town about the Tinkerslug. He wondered what his friends would say if they saw him now, risking his life to spare others, advocating for nonviolent solutions. He imagined Djikstra would laugh and ask where the hell his nonviolent solution was when he put him to the blade, but Geralt would ask the same in return.
Still, they'd gotten out of that without slaughtering the people to the last, which...was a victory of sorts. The others seemed rather upset with the boy, Omori, but Geralt caught sight of Pit talking with him, and figured if they really needed to talk, it could be later. Part of him wondered how he felt himself, if that was the first life he'd taken. Pity it was somebody so seemingly well-liked. If the Spirits they had (which Geralt set about crushing the leftovers of when nobody claimed them) were anything to go by, they'd done plenty of killing today. Nadia and Peach had killed their own quarries as well. Was Junior right and Omori had killed when it wasn't strictly necessary? Had the boy overestimated his own ability to end the fight? The Witcher didn't, and likely would never, know. But he didn't care either. He wouldn't ostracize the boy for what happened, and when he passed him and Pit, talking, he gave them both a nod.
Soon enough, they arrived, and the Seekers piled out to greet their allies. It had been a while since they'd seen their allies, it felt. Especially for Blue Team, or at least those members who had endured the suffering of the Maw. They'd even lost some of those they set out with. Glenn, the Frog Prince, taken by the demonic denizens of the Maw. Mirage, who was still likely in Limsa. Though, he hadn't sought them out either. Perhaps he was content to keep things this way after seeing what their quest would be putting them up against. It was likely for the best. At least Link was merely staying behind for now. When they finally found Linkle, he didn't know how he could have broken that to her if he was really gone.
They didn't get long to talk among themselves, though, as Peach had a better idea: forcing them to take a moment to introduce themselves, one by one. Which, given the size of their group and the new faces (or the changed faces) he saw, was fair enough. He wondered how many would recognize him, or simply assume who he was based on his hair color and the fact that he still had his two swords. The Spirits he'd taken in had changed his appearance noticeably, after all.
First up was, of course, the Princess herself. He cocked an eyebrow when she mentioned her favorite sports, though he wondered how exactly 'gold' was a sport. Unless that was a joke. Royals...ugh.
After her came a large fellow who called himself Big Band. It sounded almost like a title, though he specifically called it his name. A lawman like the Houndmaster, forced from his duty and by circumstance and now fighting against the Skullgirl. He'd have to ask what he knew, given that they were trying to save Linkle from that very curse. And then he displayed exactly why he was called what he was, by causing a band's worth of instruments appear from his body and play. Huh. That...was very strange.
Tora and Poppi came after, each introducing themselves in their own way that felt nostalgically familiar to the old Witcher. Tora's constant excitement for the world, and his penchant for attractive women (which Geralt could hardly begrudge the little golem), and Poppi's serious demeanor. It was refreshing to see the two. He'd have to apologize to Tora for losing that weapon he made for him. It really did quite a good job for the time he had it.
Nadia followed, introducing herself to the others in her painfully punny way. Geralt rolled his eyes at the linguistic onslaught, but that was just who she was. Ace would have his hands full with her, that was for sure.
They were followed by two folks that Geralt didn't recognize: The first a kid who claimed himself to be a psychic warrior. It definitely seemed like a different sort than the telepathy he was used to from Yen, though, given that he required a physical device to use his powers. He wondered how useful that was in an actual fight, though he didn't say it. At least the kid supposedly had extensive training in acrobatics to keep himself safe.
The next was a brightly costumed man who named himself part of a world's defense force, though if they really were only one hundred in number, Geralt wasn't sure how they could handle an entire world. Presumably some sort of advanced technology or magic. Portals. Has to be portals, Geralt incorrectly assumed, his disdain for the magic coloring his thoughts. The man came off as perhaps overly earnest but dedicated.
Then came the ex-member of Organization XIII. Geralt felt his hands ball into fists, his claws digging lightly into his gauntlets, at the mention of those black-robed interlopers. From the dice-headed whoreson who'd tried to kill them to the fool who bid them enter the Maw, Geralt had a bone to pick with those folks. Kamek could claim they were trying to help all she liked, but Geralt wasn't sure he believed they didn't have their own shady goals. They'd likely have to be dealt with at some point. The boy himself, though, seemed a capable combatant. He knew looks weren't all that mattered, but he was curious as to how some of the others he'd seen so far would fare in a fight. With two magical 'blades' and actual magic, though, Roxas seemed like he'd fit right in.
Following him up was a dancer Geralt would admit to admiring perhaps a few moments longer than he should have (but never to Yen). Her outfit left some to the imagination, but much less than many others, and Geralt wondered if the agility offered by such light clothing was even remotely worth it. Unlikely, but it made for a pleasant sight. She stated that she would be able to enhance the magic of others, and invigorate them with her dancing, which Geralt assumed was merely an innuendo for a genuine magical talent. However, it was her final statement that caught Geralt's attention the most: the dark expression that crossed her face told Geralt of something deeper. What it was he had no idea, but few learned how to wield a dagger for fun.
Her companion who followed after her, however, was very succinct with his introduction. He was a thief of some talent, and able to get them where they shouldn't be without causing a disturbance like knocking a door open with Aard would. That could be useful, for sure.
Ace followed in their footsteps, his own monster puns earning a small sigh from the Witcher. He took it back, those two linguistic terrorists were perfect for each other.
He was followed by a floating creature, the nature of which gave Geralt pause. She was likely fused with Spirits, given the disparate nature of her attire, he body structure, and her magic, but what came from where he had no way of telling. She seemed almost vaguely familiar, but was likely a face he saw once at Alcamoth and never again at most. She introduced herself as the princess of Twilight, and Geralt sighed at yet another self-proclaimed royal being member of the Seekers, but based on the power she displayed, she was either telling the truth and had quite the bloodline, or she was a trickster trying to take a position of power. Either way, he saw no reason to challenge her or make an enemy. She at least wasn't as arrogant as Bowser.
Speaking of the big guy, he grabbed his little Troop and leaped to where they'd been introducing themselves, but not after critiquing Midna's style and saying he could do better. More bombastic, for sure. But better? Eh, Geralt wasn't sure he'd go that far. Vague claims with little to show he could back that up. Junior at least showed off his flying vehicle, indicating his engineering talent, as well as his Pokemon, who were decently powerful in their own right. Kamek, as always, was the most grounded of the three, dutifully listing her abilities and what she contributed to the Seekers. Rika closed the group's introduction, showing off her Shipgirl guns and explaining her more unique circumstances. Decent enough, all things considered.
Then came the robots. And the giant...bee...thing? He had no idea how to describe Sectonia, yet another royal. He rolled his eyes when she said she had command over time and space, though he watched with dread growing in his stomach as she displayed at least some level of control over those very things with magic. It at the very least seemed limited enough that she was less a master of time and space and more a talented sorceress who could manipulate the flow of time in an area, though what she did to the air above them...Geralt couldn't quite understand. But he knew it would be unpleasant to experience. Hmm. That...was disturbing.
Blazermate came next, and she demonstrated the invulnerability-granting energy that she collected from healing others with that weird weapon she had, among her other abilities including the zombie-creating. Though, he imagined others were as disturbed by that was he was. He'd mostly gotten used to it, but when he stopped to think about it...he tried not to think for very long.
Susie then introduced herself as the...owner...?...of a company that produced robotics and other advanced technology, none of which Geralt understood beyond something about harvesting. At least she had that giant suit to fight in. As much as money would benefit the Seekers, it wouldn't help them if she got killed because she couldn't defend herself.
Karin and Sakura followed after the cutesy robot, the former haughtily listing achievements as though this were some sort of interview for an apprenticeship, and the latter bumbling through an awkward introduction in her endearing and socially inept way.
When Sakura finished and the two Street Fighters cleared the table, Geralt raised his arm and quickly strode to the fore, his enhanced height making him readily apparent for all as he stepped onto the makeshift stage. He was different from how he looked when the teams went their separate ways. He was just over seven and a half feet tall now, his hair roughly unchanged in style but shaggier overall. Most noticeable, though, was the black conical horn protruding from his forehead. He seemed more gaunt than he had been, as though he spent a long period of time without food and hadn't been able to eat much since. His armor had transformed as well, now a suit of black plate instead of the leather-and-chain it had been earlier. His gambeson was longer, protruding further down, and was now colored in red and white striped. Finally, his arms were a bit longer, almost unnaturally so, and his nails had been replaced by claws which extended past and out his gauntlets, which had transformed to accommodate the natural weapons. All in all, he looked much more like the monsters he hunted than he had previously, even with his catlike eyes and scarred visage.
“I am Geralt of Rivia. Just call me Geralt, though. I am a Witcher, a monster hunter like Ace, though we hail from different worlds. I lack the raw physicality of hunters like him, but I make up for it with a near-century of experience. As for my…unpleasant appearance, that’s the work of some Spirits I absorbed, including that of one of Galeem’s Guardians, the Orphan of Kos. I am an expert tracker, I have knowledge of how to fight and slay a wide variety of beasts and monsters, though unfortunately I haven’t always been able to make use of that knowledge in this strange new world we’re in. I can also utilize a number of simple magical spells known as Signs.” Saying this, Geralt made the Sign of Igni with his hand outstretched and aimed upwards, a blast of fire exploding from the magical sigil.
“I’m a master in combat with swords, crossbows, and bows, though I can wield near about any weapon of war, given that it’s made for people who aren’t superhuman warriors like Ace,” he joked. “What you might find most interesting and strategically important, however, is this.” Geralt stepped down from the table, walked to the edge of the pier, and summoned the Breaching Bastion practically next to him. “The Breaching Bastion. A massive, waterbound cannon platform. With it, I can rival small armies, so long as we are adequately protected from vanguard units. It doesn’t repair itself, either, which means that I have to be very careful about where and when I use it.” Dismissing the Bastion, Geralt nodded. “If you’ve ever met Yennefer of Vengerburg in Alcamoth, she is my wife, hard as it may be to believe. That’s about it.”
Finished, Geralt made his way back into the crowd for the next person to speak.
Location: Sea of Serendipity Geralt’s @Multi_Media_Man and Rubick’s @Scarifar vs Hydroid Rakkam Word Count: 4,248 words [+5]
Meanwhile, Rakkam exploded from the water’s surface with a well-practiced bullet jump, shooting through the air toward Adrian. He aimed not for the ship itself, but for the Breaching Bastion that rose from the waves just in front of it, and the Witcher who stood atop with his massive armaments trained on the Raptor. Rakkam drew his third and final weapon, the intricate paired cutlass and dagger called Nami Skyla, and descended on Geralt with his blades extended like the claws of an osprey for a hapless fish. “Incoming!” Rubick called out in warning. He did not do so in ignorance of Rubick, however; when the sorcerer went to capitalize, he would find himself faced by the warframe’s tentacled sentinel, Scyph Diriga, which fixed its sea-green eye on Rubick to take a calculated shot with its built-in sniper rifle. Rubick quickly backpedaled, but was still caught off guard. Fortunately, his copied Quen shield was still up, which blocked the shot but shattered in the process. Determined to not give the Scyph Diriga a chance to follow up, Rubick then raised his staff and cast his Telekinesis spell on it, intending to launch it away and into the water. He succeeded, overpowering the sentinel’s flotation system to separate it from Rakkam for a precious moment.
The Bastion’s guns took time to move, so they hadn’t quite managed to catch Rakkam as he approached, and when he burst from the water, Geralt bit back a curse, but stared down the attacking Warframe, quickly making the sign of Aard to try and knock him off balance before moving in, silver singing as he drew his own blade and lifted his sword to meet his foe. The Witcher’s force blast actually succeeded in knocked Rakkam down, but no sooner did he hit the water than a Tidal Surge crashed against the Breaching Bastion, shifting it just enough to mess with Geralt’s footing as Rakkam vaulted back up, swords at the ready. Wielding the Carving Mantis stance, he attacked with a mix of cutlass slashes and dagger stabs while maintaining forward momentum in an attempt to push Geralt back.
Stumbling when the Bastion shifted, Geralt met Rakkam’s assault with his own aggression, silver blade lashing out to meet the cutlass, evading the dagger stabs as best he could and letting his armor catch what he missed. He did his best to keep Rakkam from pushing him back, though the fighter seemed to be quite adept at the strange dual-wielding fighting style he was employing. The bigger issue was that, while this foe lacked defense, any hits Geralt did land at the moment got absorbed by some kind of energy shield, allowing Rakkam to focus wholly on offense. Sensing that he couldn’t necessarily trust himself to meet the enemy blow for blow and survive, Geralt called upon Fizz to perform hit-and-run strikes and give him room to breathe.
The striker appeared with a lunging dive that struck Rakkam square in the chest, the triple prongs of his trident depleting a chunk of the Warframe’s shield. Rakkam swung both blades in a cross-slice to pay Fizz back, but the nimble fish vaulted on top of his weapon, then when the swords clanged against the polearm shaft flipped over with a smack to Rakkam’s back before timing out. Rakkem’s spinning slash cut nothing but air, and when he realized that he’d turned to strike the decoy he wheeled back to face Geralt again with disadvantage, his dagger upheld to try to parry.
With Rakkam distracted, even for but a moment, Geralt capitalized, sheathing his silver sword and taking a breath as his fist plunged into his own body, a spurt of blood heralding the Orphan’s Hateful Flesh, which Geralt swung brutally with a full-body lunge at the Warframe, hoping to overpower his parry and shield through pure force.
While the two fought, Rubick watched their battle unfold, waiting for his chance to slip in. The two exchanged fierce blows, but he could tell that Geralt was the one being pushed back. Finally, Geralt decided to make a big move, which Rubick saw as an opportunity. Thrusting his staff towards Rakkam, Rubick performed an instant cast of Tentacle Swarm, summoning a few tentacles to wrap around the warframe and hopefully immobilize him just long enough for Geralt to land a decisive blow. “A taste of your own medicine!” Rubick called out as he casted the ability.
Rubick’s tentacles worked just as he hoped, neutralizing Rakkam’s defense just as Geralt’s massive, fleshy cleaver struck home. His shields broke with a static effect as the Warframe stumbled back, but from there things took an unexpected turn. His shield’s gate effect prevented any of the excess damage leaking through to Rakkam himself and granted just over a second of immunity, allowing him to recover as he backed out onto the barrel of the Bastion’s main gun. Adopting a swashbuckler’s stance with his cutlass forward, cape billowing, Rakkam expended some more energy to call down a Tempest Barrage on Rubick, forcing the magus to run away and find cover while he contended with Geralt. His Diriga appeared over his shoulder as well, radiating electricity in a small area from its Arc Coil. The battle was on.
Hefting the Hateful Flesh, Geralt smirked as his free hand reached into the bulbous flesh that suffused the blade, pulling a cluster from it and tossing it Rakkam’s way before commanding the main gun to fire into the ocean, hoping to ruin his balance and use that opportunity to close the gap with an attack. Even if the gambit failed, he couldn’t wait forever for an opening. Luckily, Rakkam attempted to deflect the flesh bomb with his sword, which blew up in his face and pushed him back onto his tiptoes at the edge of the barrel. When the gun fired, he got bumped into the air and fell, only to grab the tentacles of his Diriga and swing around on them and fly Geralt’s way with a gutsy dropkick into his guard. In the moment that he dropped to the top of the Bastion, his sentinel released a short-range shock burst as well, closing the gap in Rakkam’s offense long enough for the warframe to get up with a double low swipe.
Geralt raised the Hateful Flesh’s blade to catch Rakkam’s kick on its side, and though he slid back with a grunt, Geralt avoided a boot to the gut. The shock burst had the Witcher step back, and as Rakkam swiped his blades low, Geralt jumped vertically, lashing out with a quick snap-kick while he was airborne, following with a swipe of his blade to follow it, before stepping back and grabbing another flesh bomb to toss at the Warframe to force him to keep on his feet.
The blow hit Rakkam right in the helmet -or was that his head?- but the heavy Hateful Flesh moved a little too slow. Rakkam sidestepped it, and rather than stick around to take another fleshburster the Warframe flipped off the Breaching Bastion. He changed his momentum midair with a bullet jump, whipping out the Akjagara to enter bullet time as he flew. A volley of sidearm fire at the Witcher, punctuated by a sniper shot from Diriga, accompanied his launch aboard the Adrian. Out of Geralt’s range for the moment, Rakkam ran along the railing on the edge of the deck, hopping over wrecked sections as he emptied his magazines into his target.
“Hmmm. Fuck.” Geralt cursed, stowing the Hateful flesh with a groan once the barrage ended, having hidden behind the fleshy weapon to avoid being punched full of holes. That thing was not pleasant to pull out, and with Rakkam wreaking havoc on the Adrian, he needed the mobility that came with not lugging around a giant cleaver of flesh and eldritch metal. Jumping to grab onto the ship, Geralt pulled himself up and quickly set about hunting his quarry. “Rubick!” He shouted. “Where’d the whoreson run off to?!”
Rubick had run towards a ship door, but got knocked down when a Tempest Barrage Projectile struck him in the back, sending him sprawling onto the floor. “Hh! That stings,” Rubick grunted as he pushed himself back up and finally made his way inside the ship, safe for the time being. The attack lasted for some time, which made Rubick decide to take stock of his inventory again. A few bits and bobs, some gold, and other miscellaneous items were still there. He activated his Magic Wand again, restoring a small sliver of health and energy. It wasn’t much, but anything would help at this point. “Oh, that’s right! I forgot I had this too!” Rubick said, pulling out a Ray Gun. He held it in both hands as he twirled it around, trying to remember how to use it. When Rubick pushed the red button on the handle, a bolt of energy shot out of it, leaving a black scorch mark on the ceiling. “Whoops! I hope no one saw that,” Rubick said, finally managing to hold the Ray Gun the way it was meant to be held.
Peeking outside, he noticed that the Tempest Barrage was finally over. He cautiously stepped out, and soon spotted Rakkam jumping onto the Adrian while firing downwards at something, presumably Geralt. Well, that simply wouldn’t do. “Bird’s eye view!” Rubick said as he casted Telekinesis on Rakkam, intending to lift him up into the air. When Geralt came up to the deck and called out to Rubick, he responded with, “Right here!” and forcefully dropped Rakkam just a short distance away from the witcher, the magical energy from the Telekinesis drop also stunning the warframe for a second.
When halted forcibly, Rakkam turned his eyeless gaze on Rubick, but took no other action other than to reload in a menacing fashion. The lack of incoming damage for a few seconds meant that his shields had also begun to regenerate, but by the time the Warframe took his speargun in hand he got splatted against the deck. This particular piece, undermined by cannonball fire from the Raptor earlier, broke beneath the impact and dropped Rakkam to the second deck. Before Rubick could celebrate, however, the tentacled Diriga arose from another hole behind him and unleashed a surge of electricity. Rubick leapt away, pointing the Ray Gun at the Diriga and firing off a successful shot, but that was all he could do before he was zapped by the electricity, and he fell to the ground in a heap, stunned for the time being.
Pausing to follow Rubick’s voice, Geralt nodded when the Warframe dropped unceremoniously from the magus’s telekinetic grab, drawing his silver blade and blinking when the aquatic enemy crashed through the deck. “Of course.” As the Diriga rose and targeted Rubick, Geralt dropped to the deck below, sword coming down in an overhead slash to take Rakkam as he stood up.
Narrowly the Warframe managed to handspring out of the way. He landed on an unstable section of the middle of the deck and flipped off before it could collapse beneath him, putting him at a distance from Geralt. A jagged gulf, the handiwork of the Abyssals and Thumpback down below, ran through the middle of the half-sunk ship all the way down to the water. As his damaged sentinel flew back to him, Rakkam flipped his speargun into a reverse grip and hurled it like a javelin at his opponent.
Geralt spun, pirouetting out of the way of the makeshift projectile and bringing his sword up in a guarded stance, slowly making his way around the gulf in the floor, his eyes on Rakkam. “Come on, just you and me. Let’s do this.”
The electricity hurt, but Rubick would live. After the Diriga left to rejoin its master, Rubick got back up and shook his head, then made his way over to the hole in the deck. He was just in time to see Rakkam throw his speargun at Geralt, who nimbly avoided the attack. An idea began to form in his mind, and he raised his staff. He casted Telekinesis again, but not against Rakkam or his Diriga. Instead, he targeted the thrown speargun. With careful manipulation, Rubick turned it towards Rakkam and launched it towards his head, canceling the spell so that it kept its momentum and allowed the projectile to deal damage.
Distracted by Geralt and surprised by the reversal of fortune, Rakkam had no time to think and could only go by instinct. He’d already pulled out the Akjagara to take advantage of the death sentence he’d sent the Witcher’s way, and couldn’t try to deflect the gunspear. Instead he threw himself upward in a bullet jump, but not fast enough to avoid the Carcinos Scourge’s area of effect, creating a magnetic field on his head that would attract any projectiles in his vicinity for a few seconds.
Watching the speargun fly back towards Rakkam, who tried to escape vertically, Geralt quickly swapped his sword for his new bow, quickly drawing and loosing a flurry of arrows at Rakkam. Thanks to the uncanny magnetic field all four hit, and the fourth added a nice extra bit of electrical damage, chaining to and hurting the Diriga sentinel as well. Rubick took the opportunity to fire off a few shots from his Ray Gun too. Despite a furious attempt to deflect the incoming shots with Nami Skyla, Rakkam quickly lost his shield and a huge chunk of health to the barrage. Knocked to his knees, the Warframe said nothing, but reached up and pulled the arrows from his biotech skin. He grabbed the Scourge again and flourished it, tranquil in his fury and ready for the next round.
It was at that moment that Cortez appeared, manifesting from the deck behind Rakkam to take care of the unwelcome visitor. “I’ll have yer guts for garters!” he roared as he swung with a broadsword, scimitar, saber, and hook. Rakkam began to move, maneuvering with a ninja’s agility around and between the furious blows. With each slide and flip he pelted Cortez with a burst of corrosive automatic fire, until after a few seconds he bullet jumped clear of a four-way slam to loom above the monstrosity’s head. At the apex he unleashed a charged Tentacle Swarm of his own. The distinctive noise heralded the arrival of the swarm, rising from puddles strewn around the area. Most began to tear the place apart, destroying the wood that Geralt and Rubick were standing on, but those near Cortez wrapped around his spine and four enormous limbs to tug him around like a skeletal marionette. “Yarrrgh, get off me!” the captain howled, but for the moment he -and those in range of his strikes- were at Rakkam’s mercy. The tentacles yanked his limbs around in a chaotic whirlwind that threatened to turn the others into fish food.
Geralt took a few potshots at Rakkam with his bow while he and Cortez fought, but when the summoned tentacles appeared and began destroying this section of the ship, he had to stow it and move to safety, leaving Cortez to be grabbed and manipulated by the writhing appendages and Rubick to fall to the second deck below. “Dammit!” He cursed, drawing his silver sword to parry while his free hand cast the Sign of Quen, protecting him from what blows he couldn’t stop from landing. He leaned into ‘fighting’ with Cortez, trying to buy Rubick time to get off an attack of his own. This was less like a fight and more like a natural disaster, however, so after the first couple weighty blows cracked the Quen shield it seemed like a better idea to fall back out of the flailing skeleton’s range. Rakkam, standing on top of Cortez’ skull, focused his spray of corrosive rounds on Rubick. If the mage so much as poked his head up to be a thorn in the Warframe’s side again, he would find that fancy getup full of painfully burning holes. The seconds ticked down on Tentacle Swarm; only half of the original twenty remained.
As Quen shattered, Geralt started falling back, careful not to let the flailing blows Cortez was letting off hit him as he moved. Rubick retreated behind him, putting away his Ray Gun and taking out his Loch Shield. He held it above himself while being equally careful to stay behind the cover Geralt was providing. Geralt reached into one of his pouches for a grapeshot bomb, quickly tossing it up at Rakkam to try and distract him from Rubick yet again, and if he was lucky, do a little damage himself. Rubick casted Telekinesis on Rakkam to force him onto the ground, trying to immobilize him to allow the bomb to deal its full damage. He also instacasted his own Tentacle Swarm in quick succession, attempting to further pin him down with a few well-placed tentacles.
The lack of communication between the two meant that when Rakkam pulled back Cortez’s head to shield himself from the worst of the grapeshot bomb, Rubick’s long range telekinesis caught the monster’s skull instead. As Rakkam fought to maintain his balance, a new swarm of tentacles erupted alongside his own around Cortez, stretched up around his bones in a single-minded bid to grab him. In doing so they also practically immobilized Cortez, and with his wild ride drawing to a close anyway, the Warframe bailed. He bullet jumped off and over toward his enemies, raining down a fully-automatic barrage of acid, then went into a plunge attack from directly overhead. Rakkam came down between Rubick and Geralt on the exposed starboard middle deck in a blast of seawater, poised to become a typhoon of alien steel.
“Fuck!” Geralt cursed as the acidic ammo pitted his armor and stung at his exposed flesh, moderately annoyed that the ploy hadn’t worked. Rubick fared somewhat better, his glass shield deflecting most of the acidic rounds. They still had the numbers to take him down, and Geralt pressed that advantage, sword flashing as he ran in to attack Rakkam with silver, attacking even more aggressively as his anger rose. The two traded blows in a blood rush, their duel messy, furious, and brutal. Meanwhile, Rubick walked backwards to gain some distance while continuing his efforts to hinder Rakkam’s movement, casting Telekinesis on him to lift him into the air and make it easier for Geralt to land a blow on him. In response the Warframe used Undertow, melting into a puddle of water that spread out across the deck beneath the fighters. A tentacle reached out to lash around Rubick and pull him into the ground, but Rakkam himself popped up behind Geralt. With the last of his Energy, he cast Tidal Surge once more, bulling into both foes atop a powerful wave. All three smashed through the side of the Adrian’s hull and out over the ocean, just a couple yards away from where the Breaching Bastion still resided on the right.
Rakkam bullet jumped backward to stab into and cling to the outside of the hull with his dagger, just above the hole. Rubick was not so fortunate, falling off the boat and crashing into the waters below. Fortunately, he was able to make his way back up to the surface and grab a piece of wood large and buoyant enough to hold his head up above the waves. Geralt managed to catch one of the Bastion’s cranes, and had it swing such that he could quickly dismount and get atop the gun platform again, staring Rakkam down threateningly, his sword in a defensive posture. “Come on, then!”
His opponent obliged. He launched off the Adrian’s hull and came down with a double-bladed plunging attack to knock Geralt back a touch, then went to work. Being proficient with two blades, his offensive style meant that his opponent couldn’t hold a block, or otherwise risk a wound from the other weapon, as the Witcher quickly found out. In his usual pragmatic way he made up for the weak spot with plentiful use of kicks, unafraid to stomp on feet or try to blow out a knee for the advantage, but whatever it was that constituted Rakkam was stern stuff. Geralt landed blow after blow, be they thrusts, slices, or hilt bashes, but the Warframe gave out even better than he got. As if his flexible metallic flesh felt no pain, he pushed through Geralt’s attacks to land twice as many of his own, and the war of attrition quickly turned in his favor. As Geralt sagged, cut and stabbed too many times, Rakkam went for the finisher. With a whirling strike he blew open his foe’s guard, pinwheeling backwards, then launched his hidden Parazon blade into Geralt’s heart. When he yanked it loose on its silken tether, the Witcher slumped down in apparent defeat. Rakkam took a moment to breathe and allow his tension to fade before switching Nami Skyla for his Akjagara to finish Rubick off.
For a moment, Geralt’s vision blackened, blood seeping out of the wound in his chest, turning to ash as his life faded. And, in a repeat of what had happened earlier with Pit, suddenly he felt revitalized, as if he hadn’t taken a single blow. Rather than slump over and succumb to his wounds, the Witcher exploded forth, a scream bellowing from his throat and lightning wreathing his blade. Rakkam attempted to parry the first blow with a hastily drawn cutlass, but the electricity from Geralt’s weapon caused him to delay just another moment, enough for the Witcher to force the Warframe’s weapon aside and slice across its throat with silver. Rakkam rallied after a moment, Nami Skyla flashing in a whirlwind of steel, but each time Geralt met the aquatic warrior’s weapons with his own, the electricity that ran through it and into him caused just a moment’s twinge of the musculature, giving Geralt the upper hand as he broke into Rakkam’s guard and tackled him to the ‘ground’, stabbing his blade lightly into the Warframe’s metallic flesh.
As Rakkam looked up at the foe who’d defeated him, he found a curious sight. The Witcher’s eyes were deep and sunken in, pupils narrow slits as he breathed heavily and intentionally, forcing the adrenaline in his blood to fade. This was not particularly odd, except perhaps the shape of his eyes, but what was truly odd was the fact that he was offering a hand to help him up. Grabbing for his dagger, Galeem’s curse still controlling him, Geralt sighed and blocked the hasty stab, shoving something into the Warframe and pulling him up with surprising strength. Suddenly, the will to fight left as Geralt spoke, the red fading from Rakkam’s eyes. “Not sure why you’re trying to kill us, but you need to listen to me. There’s a bigger problem at hand than your little ocean village. Just look at the floating ball of light and take a second to realize it’s not the sun if you don’t believe me.” Geralt’s explanation did not cover even the most basics of their goals just yet, but he was trying not to overwhelm his hopeful new ally. When Rakkam didn’t immediately try to kill him, he continued.
“To keep it short, that’s an extremely powerful being, to call it a god wouldn’t be incorrect, that has taken control of the minds of everybody in this world, forcing them into a complacent state where the slightest bit of conflict drives them to unceasing battle, only to stop when one party wins the fight, either by incapacitation, death, or some other predetermined criteria. We’re trying to kill it, and we take just about anybody who’s willing to join up. You in?”
For a moment Rakkam held his head, considering all the new information with appropriate gravitas. Briefly his gaze landed in the Raptor, where LeFwee and the pirates were wrapping up their ship’s repair, then on the shipgirls out at sea. He seemed to come to a decision, for he then bent to retrieve Nami Skyla, promptly sheathed the blades, and stood up straight with his fists together. The Warframe bowed to Geralt, took out the Carcinos Scourge speargun, and planted it on top of the Breaching Bastion as a token of gratitude before bullet jumping away into the water.
As Rakkam put the speargun down and jumped away, Geralt paused, watching him go, before remembering something important. “If their eyes are red, they won’t believe you! That’s the sign of his influence!” He shouted, cupping his hands to help his voice carry so Rakkam would hear him.
That done with, he walked over to the speargun and picked it up. “Hmm. It did something back there when Rubick tossed it back at him. Wonder if that’s from this thing or his magic…”
You have acquired: Carcinos Scourge A Scourge speargun re-engineered with a nautical flair. Its magazine size is 40, its average reload time 2.5 seconds. Its primary fire shoots corrosive projectiles at 40 m/s with a 2.6/s fire rate that explode in a 1.7 meter radius, dealing okay damage and have a 30% chance to lower defense by melting armor. When thrown like a javelin, it creates 2m Attractor Fields on the heads of enemies in the impact zone that last lasts for 5 seconds
As the Seekers embarked down the rapids on their white-water rafting expedition, Geralt found a spot at the rear of the pack, taking his time and enjoying the adrenaline-pumping ride. It was nice to get this kind of feeling without your life being on the line. A few salmon found their way into his face, though he was protected from much of the force of the impact by the shield Quen gave him, which itself barely took any strain from a high-velocity fish. The spell could shield him from a swing of a Fiend's arm, so this was nothing to it. Still, he guarded his face with raised arms, fish bouncing off them to either side of his boat as he bounced and was carried downstream. Part of him was tempted to try and catch one for food, but they couldn't be sure of when they'd get the chance to actually stop and deal with the damned thing, so he decided against it.
Nadia's own experiences with the fish managed to rouse the massive sleeping bear, which roared so loudly that it displaced the water near it, before chasing after the Feral Feline. Geralt watched with a raised eyebrow as the utterly titanic beast barreled through the obstacles in its path, destroying some entirely and knocking others over with its bulk. Geralt, for once having managed to avoid this kind of nonsense, did absolutely nothing. With some effort, yes, he might be able to make chase and engage the creature, but he'd prefer not to for at least half a dozen reasons. Were they on solid land or in open water he could possibly manage, with his normal combat skills and the Breaching Bastion, respectively, but they most certainly we not in either of those scenarios. Even then, he'd prefer to have had time to prepare to fight something this powerful and dangerous. No, he was going to avoid getting himself caught up in this, dodging the perils of the river was annoying enough as it was. Besides, Nadia and the others, despite appearances, were able to take even more punishment than he could, and he was a veteran warrior in extremely high-quality armor.
Eventually, his intuition proved fruitful, as Nadia managed to trick the Runebear and send it hurtling down a fork in the river that Geralt very consciously avoided. He even ended up shooting down a solid half-dozen of the pots along the way, scoring himself a good smattering of Rupees without wasting any of his arrows, each shot having been a solid hit. It was a pain to catch the Rupees that fell, though, and a good few landed in the river to be swept away by the current.
Soon enough, the Seekers began to drift back together, Nadia sans her boat, but Geralt chose not to antagonize her and left it alone. She was probably miserable enough as is without adding salt to the wound. After quite a drop, they found themselves in a large lake filled with massive trees whose roots went directly down into the water.
Geralt agreed with Nadia, that the ride was, overall, not a terribly negative experience, and he nodded along with her positivity. He was remarkably dry for the journey, though that was because Quen had actually deflected some of the higher-velocity water sprays from him in a fortunate display of magical utility.
Soon enough, Blazermate and Susie rejoined the group, alongside those members of the Troop whom had gone after the pair and helped them bring Cortez around. Geralt was actually somewhat surprised that they ended up doing that right now, though with Kamek's magical utility, he supposed it made sense. It even gave him an idea for if they found themselves attacked on the water between here and their destination.
Part of him was skeptical about the wisdom of unleashing Cortez, a self-described Pirate King, on the ocean large, but given that he was more along the lines of Bowser and his cohort than Eredin or Skelliger Raiders, he wasn't overly worried about it. They could always just deal with him later if it came down to it. He'd cleaned up his fair share of messes he was responsible for in the first place in his day.
As the Seekers set off, Geralt found rowing the boats to be a rather simple affair. Despite the unnatural agility they possessed, the learning curve to their use was practically non-existent. They seemed to glide over the water, with little regard for minor irregularities in the surface of the water, though they did still move with currents, Geralt noticed.
It was an eventful ride, for sure. When Sakura attempted to walk on the kelp which had entangled her boat, he sighed and shook his head, though he trusted the flying mage, who he'd noticed had taken a keen interest in the pair of Street Fighters, and the two themselves to make sure Sakura was okay. Unbeknownst to him, Karin was doing just that with a predatory creature that didn't dare approach when stared down by the haughty heiress. As he rode on, Rubick did his thing, pulling Sakura, who was now drenched, along and gave her a speed boost as they rejoined the larger group.
Geralt had found himself nearly pulled in by a cyclone as they moved through the kelp forest, but a careful application of Aard in the windstorm's direction shot him away from it, Geralt taking a moment to lazily drift along and observe their surroundings. The strange plant islands were quite the sight to behold, and he figured they were even more magnificent below the water, but now was hardly the time for sight-seeing.
They were continuing along, having managed to (mostly) avoid trouble with the cyclones and water geysers, when disaster nearly struck. A leviathan breached the surface damn near directly under Nadia, then began to float as if it were held aloft by magic, slowly ascending while the Koopa Troop began to open fire on the creature. Geralt, likewise, had summoned the Breaching Bastion underneath himself, being pushed above the water in his noticeably-smaller weapon platform (it appeared that his smaller stature also affected the aquatic weapons platform, which was a shame really). As the troop opened fire, Geralt got in a few shots with the auxiliary cannons, not wanting to risk a close-call friendly fire accident with the main gun. The sea beast was ultimately dispatched in short order thanks to the combined efforts of the troop and Junior's Pokemon companion.
As it dissolved into ash, Geralt dismissed the Bastion, his boat falling back into the water with a light splash, both unharmed. What a neat trick.
They continued on, not quite undaunted, but not shaken nearly enough to halt their journey, either. He gave the catgirl a single nod and a commiserating look, having had his fair share of close calls.
It wasn't long before they came upon another sight, though this was was much less alive than the others: a ship graveyard. "Mmm. Never a good thing when one of these are around." Experience told him that silver would likely be necessary, though whether this place would be even a fraction as infested as a ship graveyard back home would be, he doubted.
Docking near Nadia, Geralt stepped out of his boat to explore, and took with him a length of rope from a nearby boat, along with more than his fair share of food. He wasted no time in eating a banana, savoring the fleshy fruit, before frowning at the peel. He couldn't very well keep the thing on him, and it felt...almost wrong to simply discard it. Though, given that he was in an actual river and not the streets of Novigrad where the peel would rot in the street, he figured he'd find a spot alongside the river and get rid of it there.
As Blazermate and Susie were talking to Cortez, Geralt stumbled upon the group, his hand moving to his back before he even realized it. He stopped when he noticed the skeleton pirate was talking to them, and then he heard the pair offer their assistance, with Susie making him proud in refusing to work for free. Blazermate's trade was, of course, fair enough, assuming the pirate was actually capable of assisting them, but something about demanding cold hard cash for one's work was what got Geralt to give the robot girl a nod. "Can't guarantee I'll be much help, but we might be able to talk the Troop into it, assuming they haven't gone ahead already."
As the three left Cortez's ship, he looked at Blazermate and cocked an eyebrow. "So, any plan on how to get this guy out of here? Honestly, not even sure we should, him being a pirate and all." Geralt spoke low, so as not to attract Cortez's attention. "Though he's like as not to get himself killed if he tries anything with the folk from Limsa, against your advice."
Still, unless they planned to use the Breaching Bastion to lift the ship, and potentially risk destroying it entirely, Geralt knew he wouldn't be much help here. He found a spot away from the others and grabbed a broken but dry-looking piece of wood and lit it with a very weak flame from Igni, holding the lit plank like a candle and helping to dry some of the water on his armor. It didn't do much, especially with the wind still blowing, but it helped a bit to warm his old, cold bones.
Noticing some of the others moving on, he waved to Blazermate and Susie to indicate he was doing the same. They could come back and fish this guy out when the team was reunited.
Embarking on his boat once more, Geralt's brow furrowed as they approached the rapids, parking off to the side like Nadia. Magic boats or not, that did not look like fun. The salmon migration did make for a nice sight, however, and the pair of old friends they found made it even better. Geralt gave the pair a nod, listening in as they described what they were up to. He didn't blame Banjo for wanting to go home. Though he was glad to help the Seekers, his goal was, ultimately, the same: go home and be with his family. He had no doubts that he'd carry on with the Path, but he hardly wanted to leave them to do it.
He'd find a way. He usually managed to, after all.
Thoughts of the future aside, Geralt left the bears (and one bird) to their devices, getting back into his boat and going own the river, though not without casting Quen on himself to avoid any nasty bruises from high-velocity fish assault. He'd fallen a bit behind the others, but at the end of the rapids it seemed many of them had slowed down to wait for the rest of the group, for which he was thankful.
One length of rope (approx 30 feet), four bananas, six chunks of salted pork rations
Archmage MC
Forsythe