Light from the cave entrance faded quickly, replaced by an uneven glow where cracks in the stone let in thin strands of grey daylight. The air grew colder the deeper they went.
Their boots scraped against rock instead of snow now. The path sloped upward, winding through narrow bends and jagged outcroppings.
Sebastian noticed it first.
"We're climbing," he said quietly.
Geralt gave a faint grunt. "Not a burrow."
Eskel glanced up at the slanted ceiling. "Makes sense. Forktails like height, and this means we are not off trail."
The further they went, the clearer the signs became.
Bones, piled up.
Deer. Wolves. Smaller things, half-chewed and splintered. Some fresh. Some old enough to have turned brittle and pale.
The smell thickened of rot, blood and damp stone.
Sebastian's nose twitched slightly.
Geralt slowed.
"Careful," he said, voice low.
Eskel's hand drifted to his blade. "We're not alone."
Sebastian didn't look back.
"I know."
A pause.
"I hear them."
Another step.
"I smell them."
The words had barely left his mouth,
A shriek tore through the cave.
Shapes burst from the shadows.
Small. Fast. Twisted.
Claws first, Geralt's sword flashed.
"Nekkers."
Eskel exhaled through his nose. "Lovely."
They came in numbers.
Five, no, more.
Scrambling along walls, leaping from ledges, teeth bared in jagged grins.
The first one lunged for Sebastian.
He didn't step back, he stepped in.
His blade rose in a tight arc, clean, controlled taking the creature across the throat before it could even land. blood sprayed against stone.
Another came from the side.
Seb pivoted, foot sliding just enough to shift his weight parry, twist, counter.
Silver cracked bone.
The creature dropped.
Behind him, Geralt moved like a storm in human shape.
One strike. One kill.
No hesitation.
A nekker leapt, Aard burst from Geralt's hand, sending it smashing into the cave wall with a sickening crack.
Eskel laughed as he waded into two at once, blade carving wide, brutal arcs.
"Come on then!"
One tried to circle him.
He caught it mid-step, drove his sword straight through its chest and kicked it off the blade.
Sebastian ducked as claws swept where his head had been.
Too slow, his elbow snapped up into the creature's jaw then his sword followed through, splitting it clean.
Another leapt.
Fire flickered across his blade for a split second, not Igni.
A fire far hotter, more pure.
The nekker hit the ground already burning.
The fight ended as quickly as it began.
Silence rushed back in.
Broken only by the drip of blood and the fading echoes of movement.
Sebastian exhaled slowly.
His stance relaxed, but not fully he was still alert.
Eskel wiped his blade on a scrap of fur and glanced over.
"Good job, kid."
Seb didn't look at him. "They were sloppy."
Geralt stepped past a corpse, scanning the deeper tunnel.
"A Forktail is no nekker," he said evenly. "Keep your eyes open."
Sebastian's jaw tightened slightly.
"I know," he said. "You don't have to keep telling me that."
"I've already proved I can hold my own."
Geralt stopped walking.
Turned.
His gaze settled on Sebastian, no harsh look.
"For a teen?" he said calmly. "Absolutely."
Seb held his stare.
"You could cut down the strongest human knight without much effort."
A pause.
"But you're still young."
The words landed heavier than they sounded.
"Give it a few more years," Geralt continued. "When your body finishes growing, when your experience catches up.."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then you'll be truly dangerous."
Silence.
"This," he added, gesturing faintly to the cave around them, "is learning."
Sebastian exhaled sharply.
"Look at me."
Before either of them could respond, his hand ignited.
Flame erupted along his fingers, shifting, consuming.
Not burning him but rather becoming him.
The fire climbed his arm, flickering with unnatural intensity.
"I'm intangible," Seb said, voice steady. "These things can't touch me."
The flame pulsed once.
"With the training I've had over the years on top of that… I'm almost invincible."
Eskel raised a brow.
Geralt turned and started walking again.
"But you're not."
Sebastian frowned, lowering his hand slightly.
"We've already confirmed it," Geralt continued without looking back. "Magic. Silver."
A pause.
"Those can hurt you, just like a regular monster."
Seb followed, fire fading back into skin.
"I can avoid those," he said. "With enough training..."
He stopped, realizing what he just said.
"…shit."
Geralt's voice came back, dry as ever.
"Exactly."
Eskel barked out a laugh, clapping Sebastian once on the shoulder as he passed.
"Don't worry," he said. "You'll get there."
His grin widened.
"Just not today."
Seb exhaled, shaking his head faintly.
The cave narrowed further ahead.
A low, distant sound echoed from above.
Eskel's expression shifted.
"Enough bullying the kid," he muttered, hand tightening on his sword.
His eyes lifted toward the exit above.
"The forktail's close."
****
The wind howled across the rocky heights, colder than it had any right to be even this early in the day. Snow clung to the edges of the cliffside, half-melted, treacherous footing for anything that wasn't used to this.
The cave had opened behind them, and now they stood above it, on a jagged rise overlooking the forest below.
And there it was.
A nest.
Twisted branches, bones, scraps of fur and torn flesh all woven together into something crude but unmistakably territorial. The remains of deer, wolves, even something that might have once been a man, lay scattered around it.
Geralt crouched near the edge of it, gloved fingers brushing against a half-gnawed femur. He examined it briefly, then rose.
"Out hunting."
Eskel rolled his shoulders, glancing toward the skies as if expecting something to dive down at any moment.
"Course it is. Would've been too easy otherwise."
Sebastian stepped closer to the nest, his golden eyes scanning every detail. The wind carried scents.
His hand moved to the pouch at his side.
"I already prepared something."
Eskel glanced at him, brow slightly raised.
"That so?"
Sebastian pulled out a small vial, thick with a dark, oily substance. He uncorked it carefully, the smell hitting the air almost instantly foul, pungent, irresistible to something that hunted by scent.
"It's not a live bait," Seb admitted, holding it out. "But it should draw it in. Strong enough to mimic fresh prey."
Eskel took the vial, sniffed once, then let out a low whistle.
"Damn. That'll do more than draw it, it'll piss it off."
There was a hint of approval in his tone as he began applying it to a chunk of torn carcass near the nest, smearing it deliberately.
"You really thought this through."
Sebastian shrugged lightly,
"Just trying to prove myself."
Eskel snorted softly, finishing his work before tossing the vial back.
"You already did that a while ago, kid."
Sebastian caught it cleanly.
Eskel straightened, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I'm not Vesemir." A small grin tugged at his scarred face. "I can admit it when I see it. You're a one-of-a-kind prodigy."
Sebastian didn't respond immediately.
The words lingered.
Eskel continued, voice dropping just slightly.
"The old man knows it too. He just doesn't like what comes with it."
Geralt, standing a few steps away, spoke without turning.
"Power like that gets people killed."
His tone was calm.
"Especially when they start believing it makes them untouchable."
Sebastian exhaled faintly, eyes drifting toward the horizon.
"I get it."
A pause.
Then Eskel added, almost as an afterthought
"Now with what Geralt mentioned to us about Ciri too… it's only getting worse."
Sebastian huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking his head.
"You guys really do have a habit of attracting disasters to Kaer Morhen."
He gestured lazily between himself and the distant Kaer Morhen.
"First me, now her. What's next?"
Eskel barked a short laugh.
"Don't tempt fate, kid. It's already listening."
Geralt smiled.
Eskel crossed his arms, glancing between them.
"Miss the old days sometimes. Just contracts, monsters, coin… no mysterious children, no destiny hanging over our heads."
Sebastian smirked slightly.
"Sounds boring."
Eskel pointed at him.
"See? That's exactly the problem."
Geralt finally turned, his eyes scanning the skies again.
"Enough talking."
His voice sharpened just slightly.
"It'll come."
The three of them settled into position around the nest.
Weapons ready.
The wind carried the scent outward, into the vast forest below.
And for a moment…
There was nothing.
Just silence.
Then, a distant screech split the sky.
Sebastian's eyes snapped upward instantly, pupils narrowing.
Geralt's hand tightened around his sword.
Eskel grinned, rolling his neck once.
"Well," he muttered.
"Here it comes."
/-\
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