𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕸𝖔𝖓𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝕭𝖊𝖆𝖚𝖈𝖑𝖆𝖎𝖗
To Whom It May Concern
A fortnight ago, the Monster of Beauclair returned to terrorize the good citizens of our city. This creature has only been seen from afar and any attempts to slay this beast have resulted in death. Sorcerer, druid or witcher preferred.
Speak to Maffick for more information.
"She- no, it is a vile creature!" Maffick asserted when Geralt asked more about the so-called monster, "It lures people in, I tells 'ya! Listen, boy, I was there when she- it first appeared. Horrible screaming, from the graveyard, 'n when we went to look, all we found was a pit filled with corpses. 'n we's hear gruntin', further down the graveyard, 'n we sees it. A naked woman- no, a monster with six arms!"
Geralt had seen a lot of things, especially in his line of work (if you could even call it that), but a woman with six arms wasn't a sight you'd see every day, even as a witcher.
He had heard his fair share of rumors about the Monster of Beauclair. She had torn an entire patrol to shreds and eaten them all in one story, leaving only their decaying corpses. In another one, she lured men into her refuge to kill them. But this was the first time he'd seen a witcher contract out for her.
Still, he was intrigued. So when he asked Maffick about her whereabouts, he gave him a location to start: Orlémurs Cemetery, which happened to be a place he visited early, and if she was there, he didn't see her - which was highly unlikely. But maybe he could find a trace of her.
His instinct told him to thoroughly investigate Dr Moreau's lab again. The laboratory's location being the same place where the woman was first sighted was too big to be a coincidence.
However, as much as he thought he wouldn't find anything, he was surprised to see the laboratory even messier than before. The small library in the corner stood out to him in particular, where books had been thrown off their shelves. One book, in particular, was now resting on a potion table, with a chapter on transfiguration left open.
Whatever this woman was now, she wanted to be something else, Geralt noted. Still, he felt like he was missing a part of the story and needed to know the complete picture to understand what was happening.
At this point, he assumed the stranger got what she wanted and wouldn't return, so all he could hope for was tracks or maybe another sighting.
As luck would have it, he didn't have to wait much longer, as that night, he heard a patrol of guards shouting.
"It's her! The Monster!"
He had just been walking towards the city to find an inn to stay in for the night when the shouts came from just outside the city walls. Geralt immediately jumped on Roach's back and followed the sounds.
In the distance, he saw a cloaked figure disappear behind the trees as he approached the group of guards. Without hesitation, he urged Roach to gallop faster. Slowly but surely, he caught up with the stranger. To stop her, he jumped off Roach right in front of her.
The woman gasped, and Geralt could see how the instinct to flee hadn't left her body yet. Despite that, Geralt refused to draw his sword.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The woman's upper face was covered by her cloak, but the lower part was visible, so he could see her open her mouth to try and reply.
Hesitantly, she lifted the hood off her face, and the first thing Geralt noticed was the discoloration in her skin. Instead of a human color, he was met with a pale purple. As she lifted her hood, she revealed dark raven hair less curly than Yennefer's, but the color was the same. On her forehead were three extra eyes, all pitch black, just like her normal ones. In addition, two sets of pincers protruded from her cheeks. Indeed, like the rumors claimed, she also had three sets of arms.
But most of all, he could see who she used to be. The blonde-haired woman with green eyes, one of his brothers had fallen for like he had with Yennefer.
"Delphi?" Geralt breathed out.
There was no emotion on her face as she looked at him. "Geralt." she nodded.
"You're..." A mutant. "... Alive?"
"It seems I am."
"We all thought you were dead," he said, his eyes narrowed.
At the mention of her staged death, she looked almost ashamed. "It was better that way," she claimed, "Was it not? Better to think me dead than... This."
"What happened to you?" Geralt asked, to which Delphi grunted: "Don't pretend you don't know. I saw you at the cemetery."
Fair point, Geralt thought, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't know everything.
"I want to hear it from you," he insisted, "What did Dr Moreau do to you?"
Delphi gulped audibly, before she finally spoke again: "He used to be my mentor, and when he needed a witcher, he saw me with Arnen and wanted to use me as bait. I... I fought back, and he shoved me into this... Iron maiden. I woke up in a pile of corpses. Everything hurt. My skin burned, my head ached - I became a monster."
"Arnen went to your house, your cabin," said Geralt, "He found you dead."
Delphi looked away, "A simple illusion. I was picking up essentials when he arrived. I... I couldn't let him see me like this."
"He thought you were dead."
"It was better that way!"
"Was it?"
That caught her off guard.
"Do you really think he could stand the sight of me? Of what I've become?" Delphi whispered, "After I made him believe I died?"
"You seem to underestimate how he feels about you," Geralt replied, "You could set the world on fire, and he'd be by your side to keep you safe."
Delphi chuckled, but it seemed like she had begun to cry despite that. "I can't let him see me like this."
"Maybe he should be the judge of that?" he suggested, "Come back to Kaer Morhen. If not for him, then do it for Ciri."
Delphi raised her head at the mention of Ciri. Back when Ciri was younger, Delphi would try her best to stay away - she didn't hate children, she just never knew what to do with them - yet Ciri was determined to befriend her.
"What happened?" she asked, "Is she alright?"
"It's the Wild Hunt," Geralt confessed, "We could use your help. So if you don't want to see Arnen, sure, but you can't keep pretending you're dead."
She seemed to think about his words. Somewhere, Geralt hoped he got through to her. But, of course, as a witcher, he didn't experience emotions like ordinary people did. Still, he did feel some kind of protectiveness when it came to his fellow witchers - his brothers - especially Yennefer and Ciri.
"Fine." She finally said, "If I can flee Toussaint without being hunted, I will ride to Kaer Morhen."
"I will escort you," Geralt promised, "You won't have to worry about any guards."
The courtyard of Kaer Morhen was empty when they arrived. Geralt suspected most were either out doing a contract or eating their lunch. However, Geralt noticed how antsy Delphi had become as the gates closed behind them as if she'd run or open a portal at any moment.
"Ciri is probably in her room if you'd like to see her," he said, choosing not to mention Arnen in case it might cause her to flee.
Something else caught her eye just as Delphi turned to him to reply. Following her gaze, Geralt saw someone in the distance at the entrance of Kaer Morhen. He'd recognize that flaming orange hair anywhere.
Arnen.
From where he stood, it was unlikely he could even recognize Delphi, but when he saw Geralt, he waved. Geralt waved back.
"If we go through a side entrance, you can-" Geralt explained, but Delphi interrupted him, "It's okay. You were right. I have to face him sooner or later."
Geralt nodded at her out of respect. In a way, he admired her for finally confronting her fears.
Arnen was waiting for them at the top of the large staircase. Geralt, who walked faster than Delphi, greeted him first.
"Arnen," he said, "There's someone I'd like you to meet."
Delphi stepped out from behind him, but instead of looking at Arnen, she looked at the ground.
"Oh, uh, hello, miss…?" Arnen began introducing himself, not realizing who was right before him.
Finally, Delphi met his eyes, and despite her change in appearance, he recognized her instantly.
"D-Delphi?" he choked out as Geralt took a step back to give them a moment, "You… You're…"
Delphi let out a deep breath, "Hello, Arnen."
Arnen shut his mouth. Instead of saying anything else, he quickly engulfed her in a hug, which surprised her. Yet, slowly, she began to hug back.
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