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The Witcher was even bigger than I had imagined him to be. He was a huge man packed in leather and knives. The sword on his back was not the scariest thing about him, it was his aura: He was emotionless, made dangerously slow movements and had very terrifying eyes. You could tell they had seen a lot and not everything must have been pleasant.
Rok, the owner of the tavern and a dear friend of mine, told me about the Queen's job for the slayer when I came back from the market. Everybody in the room was whispering about the two strangers who had just returned from the woods. The Witcher seemed annoyed, and I assumed he did not find what he was looking for. He would be foolish to think he would catch the beast right away, especially by daylight.
The Witcher was known around here, the tales were just as famous as the rumours that surrounded the man. Absurd stories about him drinking child-blood at night for strength or selling his soul to the devil to gain immortality.
He was joined by a young man who asked Rok for two beers. Although you could tell by his bright blue clothing, his clean hair and the lute over his shoulder that he was a bard, everybody knew who he was anyways. Jaskier had been travelling with the Witcher for quite a while now and the songs he had already written about him were known around here.
The only question is why he was traveling with the Witcher, his adventures were dangerous, and the bard did not look like a trained fighter. It was odd to see them sit across from each other; they were complete opposites. But that was maybe why their weird work-relationship was working so well.
Rok served them two beers without saying anything. He was afraid of the Witcher, just like most of the people around the world. The citizens of Elio were scared because they heard he slaughters humans when he is bored or angry, so they decided to avoid him like Rok did. Me sitting at the counter with my beer across of him made him feel a bit safer - He had seen me fight in the streets, I was not the person to pick a battle with.
There were others of course, men who had a big mouth, who spoke first and thought later. A few of them sat behind me at a table, not far away where the Witcher and the bard were drinking their beers in peace.
"Any luck, butcher?" One asked, his voice dripping with malicious joy.
"Nah, he would have brought the head right to the Queen!" Another one laughed.
"He can not find the beast, I told you everything about him is a lie! I bet the story with this witch is not true either, who would fall for an emotionless chunk of meat!" A third one said and the whole table started laughing like it was the funniest thing they heard in a long time.
I rolled my eyes and took another sip from my cup. They were not the brightest people in town, but they made damn good ale. Maybe they should stick to that and stop talking, it would only bring them trouble.
The first one got up and took a few steps closer to the travellers. "Is it true, butcher? You can not feel human emotions?" The other men followed the first one and were eventually standing near the stranger's table, with mischievous grins on their faces.
The only reply they got from the huge man was a "Hmm." It was an annoyed sound, and I was pretty sure the Witcher would not have a problem to behead these men within a second.
"Ignore them, they are all idiots," I spoke out loud, throwing a sharp look at the men. "They are not even brave enough to leave their house at night to shit!"
They immediately looked to the ground and backed off, knowing the truth I spoke. Besides, this was not the time nor the place for a fight.
"So, bravery equals stupidity in your mind?" His voice was as dark as the forest at night. The Witcher did not even look at me. His friend did not as well, he was writing something down on his papers, concentrated on his words. Was I not worth being noticed by them?
I took my beer, got up, walked over to them and sat next to the bard, looking at the Witcher. "If you are not brave enough to do such a thing, how can you protect your loved ones?" My words managed to catch his attention and he lifted his head to look at me. "No luck in the woods, Witcher?"
"Nope, but we will catch it tomorrow!" The bard laid down his feather and paper to drink his beer.
I raised my left eyebrow at him. "Do you even know what it is?"
"A beast," The bard shrugged. "And a quite savage one, if I might add - so many people are already dead because of it."
"So, the Queen thinks a Witcher can solve our problem without even knowing what the beast is?"
"I will find out tomorrow night."
I turned back to the Witcher. "Tomorrow night is a full moon. Do you always run straight into death without thinking? I thought you were brave, not stupid, Witcher."
It felt like I just imagined it within a blink, but the white-haired stranger just raised the corners of his mouth a bit. A smile looked different, but it was a start. I bet he did not smile often, what should a being who is programmed to kill the evil of the world have to smile about?
"Geralt of Rivia," He introduced himself, drank from his beer again and then nodded to the bard next to me. "This is Jaskier."
"Davina."
"Have you seen the beast, Davina?" Jaskier asked, arranging his papers, ready to write down anything important I could tell him.
Unfortunately, I had to disappoint him. "No. I have never seen it, I only hear the screams from the people when it comes around."
"Does somebody know how it looks like?"
"They describe it as a huge wolf, very fast, angry and dangerous."
"Hmm ... That is not much information," Geralt mumbled. "And everybody is sure, it is a monster? Or an animal? Not a human?"
"Would you ... kill a human as well?" I was really concerned about this question, it popped right into my head as I saw the huge sword on Geralt's back as he walked in. I could not imagine how it would be to die through such a blade ...
"He only hunts monsters, not humans."
"But are we not all monsters?"
"Probably." Geralt chugged down the rest of his drink and got up. "We should get some sleep, Jaskier."
I got up as well. "I can get you a room here in the tavern for a little money, if you want."
Jaskier raised his eyebrows and laughed in surprise. "That - that would be great! Thanks, Da-"
"Why are you doing this?" Geralt cut him off, staring down at me. "There is no need for you to interact with us."
I took a step closer to him and stared right into his soul. Or at least I tried to. The Witcher would not let me through. My heart pumped more blood and beat faster to give the magic even more power. His eyes lit up and he tried the same thing with me, but I blocked it as well. Our magic was standing between us, pushing against each other, but nothing moved.
"Your magic does not work on me," He told me eventually. "Yellow eyes? Have not seen that before. What are you?"
"A child of Elio. Witches are more common here, than Witchers." I said, not backing away under the intensity of his golden eyes. "And I'm doing this so the town can finally be free from all the terrors. Looks like you are our best chance to regain peace."
Jaskier laid one hand on Geralt's shoulder and the other one on mine to break up our little battle. "Alright, you both have magic powers, which is great! Davina, it would be great if you could get us a room so we can get some rest before investigating where the beast is."
"Rok? Would you please get these gentlemen a room?" I called out loud, still looking at Geralt. My eyes were back to their normal brown colour, but my heart was still racing. There was something in his eyes, something very dark that wanted to lure me in. It was scary and welcoming at the same time. And it told me that us meeting had not been just a coincidence. "I vouch for them."
