Outside Oxenfurt, 1244
Jaskier gagged as Roach and Cricket carefully picked their way through the swampy ground on the way to Oxenfurt. "You and your infernal back roads, Geralt," he muttered. "Have you ever smelled anything so bad in your life?"
Robin wrinkled her nose in agreement as Geralt seriously answered Jaskier's question. "I've smelled worse, but not much. It is an unusual scent. Almost reminiscent of a..."
Before he could even speak the name, an enormous, bulbous creature rose partially from the depths of the sodden muck around them. Jaskier's first thought was that it resembled a rotten potato.
His second thought was panic as a thick, slimy tentacle wrapped around Robin's waist and lifted her right off of Roach.
"Geralt!" she shrieked.
She raised her arms to grab the dagger from her bodice or cast a spell, but another tentacle quickly pinned them to her sides.
Another erupted from the murky water to wrap around Jaskier, pinning his arms immediately. Clearly, this creature learned from its mistakes.
Jaskier howled as he was lifted into the air and turned upside down so he was pointed directly at the creature's gaping maw, which was filled with sharp, spiky teeth.
"Geralt! I think this thing is going to eat me!" he yelled urgently.
"Fuck," Geralt swore.
The next tentacle swung in his direction, as he knew it would. He reached up and grabbed it with one arm, drawing his silver sword with the other hand.
Robin struggled against the hold of the tentacles binding her, but each time she moved, they only grew tighter. She quickly went limp to see if it would make a difference.
It did. The tentacle holding Jaskier moved and the creature maneuvered her towards its mouth instead, assuming she was easier prey.
Geralt noticed and smirked. "Good girl," he grunted, swinging his legs up to squeeze them around the tentacle, squirming closer to Jaskier.
Robin's chest convulsed and she almost vomited as hot breath engulfed her, making her instantly damp. But she stayed still, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Geralt watched her, inching closer to Jaskier, who had gone silent when he'd realized they had a plan.
The tentacle pinning her arms unfurled, setting her partially free. Still, she waited, swallowing nervously when she felt her boots scrape the creature's teeth as it lowered her into its waiting mouth.
Once she was close enough, she moved fast, grabbing her dagger out of her bodice and sinking it deep into the creature's eye.
It shrieked, letting loose a foul burst of rank air, and its tentacles loosened. Jaskier slipped partially free, and Geralt leaned forward, grabbing his ankle and yanking him the rest of the way free, then using all of his strength to throw him clear of the creature and onto the road.
"Go get the city guard!" he called. "Tell them there's a zeugl in the swamp!"
"A what?" Jaskier called back.
"Zeugl!" Geralt roared. "Go! Now!"
Jaskier obeyed, scrambling away and running down the road as fast as he could so he didn't get caught again.
The other tentacle around Robin had also loosened as the creature thrashed, and she was perilously close to being swallowed.
"Geralt!" she squeaked.
She was only hanging on by the dagger, which was still stuck in the creature's eye, but it was slipping, each tiny movement releasing a gush of viscous fluid.
"Hang on, little mage," he growled.
He hefted his silver sword in his hand and started to hack at the tentacle he was still holding onto. The creature screamed and began to buck wildly, flicking its free tentacles, trying to get at Geralt.
Robin thrust her feet out, trying to balance them on the creature's teeth, but she kept slipping. She reached out with her free hand and tried to hang onto a tooth, but it was too smooth to get a grip on.
"Ow! Fuck!" she snapped as the point slid into her skin and pierced her.
She felt the creature's last tentacle wriggling free so that it could go after Geralt. If she had any kind of purchase at all, or if she could spare just the tiniest bit of concentration, she might have been able to cast a spell, but she was just too scattered for that.
"Geralt!" she cried. "I can't hold on!"
"I'm coming, Robin!" he assured her.
He hacked at the tentacle one last time and it fell from the creature's body. Geralt fell with it, grabbing another with his sword arm, the silver burning the thick, rubbery flesh as the blade pressed against it.
With his other arm, he reached out and grabbed Robin around the waist, pulling her up and away from the creature's mouth. The dagger came free with a wet squelch as the tentacle Geralt was holding onto let go and flung them into the swamp.
Robin's dress caught on several of the creature's teeth. The fabric ripped free violently, exposing her breasts as she and Geralt rolled into the mud.
"Stay back," he commanded. "Follow Jaskier if you can. I have to get rid of the tentacles before it's safe enough to move in for the kill."
He sprinted back towards the creature. Robin stayed where she was, too shocked to move for a moment.
Eventually, she stood, staring at Geralt. He spun, dodging tentacles, hacking when he could. As she watched, she understood why it was so important to remove the tentacles first. The creature seemed to have an insatiable need to drag its prey toward its mouth, and if he made even one wrong move and got snagged, it would be over.
She glanced at the one tentacle he had lopped off, lying inert on the ground between her and the creature.
It was dead. She could reanimate it. But it wouldn't do anything. It would just flop uselessly, like a fish pulled from a river and left to die slowly on the ground.
She licked her lips as a plan formed in her mind. Geralt knew how to kill a multitude of creatures using his skills and abilities, but she had methods he didn't.
And anything could choke to death.
She stood and extended her arm. The tentacle flared back to life, twitching and oozing where it had been torn from the creature's body.
She lifted it into the air and sent it flying, forcing it into the creature's throat. It roared and made a strangled sound as it tried to eject its own tentacle from its gullet, but it couldn't.
She used her magic to sink it deeper. The tentacle's frantic movements made it even harder to dislodge.
Geralt stopped and turned to look at her, stepping back as the creature heaved itself up out of the water in a last desperate attempt to save itself.
She held the tentacle in place, waiting as the creature flopped and wheezed, gouts of mucus erupting from its mouth as it struggled to breathe and couldn't.
Finally, it shuddered and slumped, all of its tentacles dropping as it stopped moving.
Robin took a deep breath and let her spells end just as Jaskier returned with the guard.
He stopped short, his eyes widening as he saw that his sister was partially naked. She looked down, her mouth opening slightly as she remembered, but it was Geralt who moved behind her and covered her breasts with his hands.
"Hello, gentlemen," he greeted the guard, a stern glare making them all immediately look up and away from Robin's still very visible cleavage. "There was a zeugl in your swamp."
"Aye," one of the men agreed. "It grew too large and escaped from the sewers about a week ago. We've been hoping a witcher would stop by."
"You do good work," another added, dismounting and warily poking at the creature with his foot. "Our court mage will pay well for the extract, I hear."
"He likely will," Geralt agreed. "I'll take anything useful from the corpse and then burn it for you."
"We'd be much obliged," the first man spoke again. "And we'll pay you, of course. Perhaps you'd also like a room for the night and, uh, another dress for the lady?"
"That would be ideal," Geralt responded. "Jaskier, could you retrieve my cloak, please?"
Jaskier nodded and scrambled back over to the horses. They had wandered away from the fray, but not very far. They were trained well.
"Is that what it's like when people are happy with you?" Robin muttered. "I don't think that's happened in all of our years together yet."
Geralt laughed. "It does occur, but only occasionally. They're being exceptionally grateful, but they had a very large problem. Literally."
Jaskier brought Geralt's large black cloak over. Geralt turned Robin to face him, then had Jaskier drape the cloak over her shoulders so he could clasp it in front of her and cover her up.
"Go with your brother and find us a place to stay for the night. I'll join you when I'm done with the zeugl," he told her.
"There's a nice space available at the inn," one of the soldiers chimed in. "A few of us can stay here and escort you there when you're done."
"Thank you. That would be lovely," Geralt decided.
"And thank you," he added, looking back down at Robin. "Perhaps I should bring you along on my hunts more often. Whenever you're here, the kills turn out to be much easier than usual."
"I've gotten lucky a few times," she protested.
"You were lucky the first time," he gave in. "But after that? It's all been skill."
He leaned in to kiss her forehead, but she pushed him back. "I'm gross, Geralt. That was literally the most disgusting thing we've ever done."
He chuckled. "Yes, it was. Have a bath waiting for me? Please?"
"I'll still be in mine, I'm sure. I'll refresh it and you can join me."
"Deal," he hummed, pulling her close and resting his forehead against hers. "I'll collect my kiss after."
"And much more," she agreed. "Should I leave Roach? I can ride on Cricket with Jaskier."
He shook his head. "No, take her. She deserves to be washed and fed too. I'll take what I need and walk back to the city."
"All right. Be careful."
"The dangerous part is over, I swear."
He squeezed her hand, watching as she went and mounted Roach. He came to grab what he needed, then patted Roach's flank, urging her on her way.
Jaskier pulled Cricket up beside Roach and glanced at Robin sideways. "That was awful," he observed.
Robin winked at him. "You should have seen what happened after you left."
"No, thanks. I'm already scarred for life because I saw your tits."
She rolled her eyes. "I know you've seen plenty of tits, Jaskier."
"True, but it's disturbing to see yours, especially when they're the most spectacular pair I've ever laid eyes on. That's hardly fair to me."
"Perhaps tonight you'll find some to outmatch mine."
"Multiple pairs that would equal yours, perhaps," Jaskier mused, starting to lose himself in fantasy. "That would be nice."
"Take a bath first," Robin advised him. "You smell awful."
"Likewise," Jaskier groaned. "I hope it comes out easily."
"Me too."
Jaskier looked back over his shoulder at Geralt. "It's always interesting with him, isn't it?"
Robin nodded. "It is."
They hadn't spoken of her feelings since the night he had held her while she cried. She tensed, waiting to see if he would renew the topic now.
But it had been a good day, so Jaskier decided to leave it alone for the moment. There would be plenty of other times to bring it up, after all. He knew that drama was far from over.
"Thank you, Jas," she sighed in relief.
"You're welcome, Robin."
She reached out for his hand. He took it and squeezed.
They stayed that way, keeping their fingers linked until they reached the inn and dismounted, both more than ready to spend a comfortable night inside.