The water exploded as the drowners charged. Sebastian moved first a blur of black leather and silver steel, he moved sideways, drawing the first drowner's attention, letting its momentum carry it past him. His sword flashed, catching the torchlight, and the creature's arm separated from its shoulder in a spray of blood, it screeched, stumbling, and Sebastian finished it with a downward stroke that split its skull.
Lambert was already moving in the opposite direction, two drowners came at him simultaneously, their claws extended, their mouths gaping. Lambert dropped into a low crouch, letting the first one's swing pass harmlessly over his head, then rose with his sword extended. The blade punched through the creature's chest, he kicked it off, spun, and decapitated the second with a single fluid swing.
They had sparred together before. Not often Lambert was a loner even in Kaer Morhen, and Sebastian was new to the Path, but there was something instinctual about it. The way they moved around each other, covering each other's blind spots, anticipating each other's strikes. It was like watching a dance, a bloody, brutal, beautiful dance.
Sebastian ducked under a drowner's swing and drove his shoulder into its midsection, sending it crashing into the wall. Before it could recover, Lambert was there, his sword finding the gap between its ribs. The creature slumped, its claws scraping against the stone as it fell.
Two drowners remained. They had circled around, trying to flank the witchers, but Lambert and Sebastian were already turning to meet them. Sebastian feinted left, drawing the creature's attention, while Lambert came from the right. Their swords crossed in the air, a fleeting moment of synchronicity, and the two drowners collapsed in near-perfect unison.
Then came the rottfiends.
The first one shambled forward, its bloated belly swaying, its split back pulsing with that sickly glow. Sebastian knew what would happen if that thing exploded, a rottfiend blast it was not something he wanted to experience firsthand.
"Lambert," Sebastian called.
"Already on it."
Lambert broke away from Sebastian and circled wide, drawing the rottfiend's attention. The creature turned toward him, its hollow eyes fixed on the witcher who was moving too fast to be caught. Sebastian took advantage of the opening, sprinting forward, his sword aimed at the creature's spine.
The rottfiend exploded before he reached it.
Lambert had anticipated the blast he was already diving away, rolling through the foul water, coming up with his sword still in hand. Sebastian had been ready too, throwing himself to the side, feeling the heat of the explosion wash over him like a wave.
The second rottfiend shambled through the carnage, its claws extended, its belly already beginning to swell. Sebastian met it head-on, his sword flashing, carving through the creature's torso in a spray of blood. It collapsed before it could detonate, its body deflating like a punctured bladder.
The water settled, the torchlight flickered, and the bodies of the dead monsters floated in the murky current, their ichor staining the water a deep red.
Cyprian Wiley and his men stood frozen at a safe distance. Their torches trembled in their hands, their mouths wide open. The bald giant had dropped his cudgel and forgotten to pick it up.
Cyprian was the first to speak.
"Bloody hell," he said, his voice a mixture of awe and disbelief. "That's what I call a professional." He shook his head slowly. "We needed to do this a long time ago. Sadly, no witcher appeared."
Sebastian wiped his sword on a scrap of cloth and sheathed it with a calm expression.
"Yeah," Sebastian said. "This place is a mess, I can smell more of them."
Cyprian approached him, his earlier caution forgotten. He clapped a hand on Sebastian's shoulder a gesture of camaraderie, of congratulation.
"Won't be a problem for you!" Cyprian said, his grin wide and genuine.
Sebastian was silent for a moment, He looked at Cyprian's hand on his shoulder, then he stepped away, turning his shoulder just enough to dislodge the grip.
"Let's move forward," Sebastian said. His voice was flat.
Cyprian's grin faltered, just slightly, but he recovered quickly. "Right. Yes, forward."
Lambert had not sheathed his sword. He stood there staring into a side passage that led deeper into the darkness, his medallion was trembling.
"Let's split up," Lambert said. "I'll go this way, it's better like this, I'll regroup with you later."
"I'm hearing something ahead," Lambert said. His voice was low, "Possible lesser vampire, they like these sorts of places." He gestured back the way they had come. "One of the corpses we passed by, the fresh one, had bite marks that fit an ekimmara, probably." He paused. "I could be wrong, but we don't want vampires on our backs."
Cyprian's face went pale. "Fucking what now?" he demanded. "Vampires?!"
Lambert ignored him. He was already moving toward the side passage, his silver sword held ready.
Sebastian nodded. "Good call."
Lambert paused at the entrance to the passage. He looked back at Sebastian, his yellow eyes unreadable, then he muttered something under his breath. Sebastian caught it. Something that made his lips twitch.
Lambert disappeared into the darkness.
Sebastian turned to Cyprian and his men.
"Okay," Sebastian said. "Let's get moving."
They walked deeper into the tunnels, leaving the chamber of dead drowners behind. The water grew deeper here, up to their knees in places and the smell grew worse. Cyprian's men had recovered some of their composure, but they still huddled close together, their eyes darting at every shadow.
Sebastian led the way, his medallion was vibrating against his chest.
The passage opened into a vast chamber. It was enormous, fifty feet across, maybe more, with a ceiling that soared overhead in a vault of ancient stone. Pillars lined the walls.
Yet here bodies were everywhere. Dozens of them, they lay in heaps, in rows, in positions that suggested they had been fleeing when they died. Their clothes were torn, their flesh decayed, their faces frozen in expressions of terror, some still clutched weapons. Others had clearly been unarmed.
Cyprian's men recognized some of them.
"Bastard," one of them muttered, kneeling beside a body with a shattered skull. "Poor bastard.."
"Anders," another said, pointing at a corpse near the far wall. "That's Anders, he was with the first group who came here."
"Jesper, the one who always talked too much.."
"Rolan... Fucking Rolan, I thought he escaped Novigrad!"
They whispered the names and Sebastian did not interrupt. He let them have their moment.
But he did not relax, the chamber was wrong. He could feel it in his bones, his medallion was trembling so hard it was almost vibrating.
"Keep your eyes open," Sebastian said. "The place is full of.."
He stopped.
Something was moving at the far end of the chamber, something fast and it was coming toward them on all fours, its body low to the ground.
Sebastian's hand went to his silver sword.
"A ghoul?" he murmured. "No..."
The thing came closer, he could see it now a hulking shape, muscled and sleek, its skin the color of frost. Its eyes burned with a pale blue light. Its claws scraped against the stone floor, leaving gouges in the rock.
"What is coming?" one of Cyprian's men demanded, his voice cracking. "What the fuck is that?!"
Sebastian's eyes widened.
"Hound of the Wild Hunt," he breathed.
The creature charged.
Sebastian met it with his silver sword, the clash of steel against claw rang out through the chamber, a sound like thunder. The beast was fast, faster than anything its size had any right to be but Sebastian was faster. He parried, dodged, spun, his blade finding the creature's hide again and again. The hound snarled, its jaws snapping at his throat, but Sebastian was already moving, his sword carving a deep gash along its flank.
"What is a monster like this doing here?" Sebastian muttered to himself. He ducked under a swipe and drove his shoulder into the creature's chest, staggering it. His mind raced. 'Does this mean the Wild Hunt have been here? Is it separated from them?'
The hound howled.
The temperature plummeted, Sebastian saw his breath mist in the air, the ground beneath his feet turned white with frost, and spikes of ice erupted from the stone, sharp and deadly.
Sebastian danced between them, he leaped, spun, and came down with his sword pointed at the creature's skull. The blade punched through, and the hound collapsed.
Sebastian stood over the corpse, and sheathed his sword.
Cyprian and his men stared at him, their torches had gone out, extinguished by the sudden cold and they were shivering in the dark.
"What the fuck was that?!" Cyprian demanded. "That wasn't like anything I've ever seen!"
Sebastian turned to face them, his expression was calm, but there was something guarded in his eyes.
"Just..." he said slowly. "Some different monster... that's all."
/-\
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