Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-17114085-20160807152142/@comment-5583506-20160808131716

The guard barracks reminded her more of a dungeon than a place where the watchers of the law could relax after a days of hard work.

... or corruption, she thought.

"Hey, who the hell let the freak inside?" growled a sinewy man seated by a table.

"Your doorman", Catryn replied respectfully. "I am here to see your commander."

The sinewy guard eyed her from top to toe with a snort. "He's out back, probably giving someone a scolding or whatnot."

Catryn nodded to him and started to walk to the backroom. She could sense eyes staring at her from every direction. Stares of contempt, curiousity and even sympathy. It seemed as if the guards in Bruma had gotten to know Witchers in the past, for better or for worse. But she wasn't here to promote the image of her kin. She was her for a job, and she intended to carry it through.

She knocked on the backdoor leading to the officer's chamber. From the other side she could here a faint grumbling.

"Who's there?" muttered a weary voice. "Go away, I am hungover."

Typical...

"It's a Witcher", she said truthfully.

There was silence for a while, before a dampened growl could be heard and the door slid ajar. The captain was a burly man with a bushy moustache and eyebrows. His cheekbones were sharp as if hammered out with a chisel.

"What the hell do you want then?" he groaned and clutched a hand to his forehead, obviously in pain. He swayed back and forth slowly, but she chose not to comment on it. She doubted that he had even noticed it himself.

"The Northern chapel street", she said. "Third house from the left. Know anything about it?"

The captain let out a grunt and motioned for her to enter before he sat down behind an untidied desk with a sigh, clutching his hands hard to his head and breathed out slowly. It reeked inside his office, and she guessed that somewhere there was a bucket with fresh vomits hidden away.

"Yeah, we have had complaints", he murmured and rubbed his sockets. He signaled for her to sit down in front of him and she reluctantly did so. "Want anything to drink, Witcher?"

"I don't partake."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Pfft. Lightweight", the captain said with indifference. "No wonder your kin is so scarce."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"What were the complaints about?" asked Catryn, ignoring the captain's remark.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Oh, you know; the usual. Wailings, piercing shrieks and unnatural screams echoing in the dark of the night. I can't have my men mess around with unholy creatures when there are villains on the loose. And trust me. There are always villains on the loose. So the house remains ignored. Besides, there is no one who lives there anyway, so whatever monster that has made its home there is welcome to have it. Place has been abandoned for years."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Who used to live there before it went abandoned?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The captain sighed and rolled with his eyes, clearly not keen on discussing the topic. He just wanted to be left alone. "Some mage, I believe. Someone snuck into his home and cut his throat while he was asleep. Never found the culprit. Place has been empty ever since, because who with the right mind would want to sleep in a house like that? Not to mention that a mage once owned it."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Such a charmer...

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Then there is your answer", said Catryn. "And the answer to my question as well."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"What is?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"The monster that haunts the house is a wraith."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"How can you be sure?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Piercing shrieks in the night, not to mention that mages have a tendency to return from the dead as wraiths depending on the circumstances of their deaths. In this case the mage was murdered and no culprit was found."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Yeah, but that was years ago", shrugged the captain. "Why would the bastard return now?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Wraiths are magical in nature, created by the magic that flowed through their veins when they were alive. Magic is a powerful tool, yet needs to be replenished. I would say that once the mage's blood was spilled onto the ground of the place so did some of his magic. It needed the time to grow strong enough in order to manifest itself as this vengeful revenant."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I... see?" said the captain and squinted with his eyes, clearly not feeling well.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Are you going to be sick?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Maybe?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Should I back away from the desk?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">The captain shook his head slowly and shut his eyes hard as he breathed in. "So... I take it that you will go there and... remove the creature?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"That is my intention, yes."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Well, I guess I could throw in some coin your way, should you be successful. I know I'd be thankful, at least. That house has been gnawing at the back of my head for quite some time now, yet with so many other nightly activities here in Bruma, it's hard to find the manpower to do something about it."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I understand", said Catryn and rose up. "I will prepare myself then."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You do that", groaned the captain and leaned slightly forward, judging by his expression he was close now.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">As Catryn left his office she could hear him fumbling around for the bucket and let out a sickening roar as the final contents of his stomach left his gaping jaws.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Such a charmer...

<p style="font-weight:normal;">