Hello everyone,

Writing is hard, but... It could've been worse.

WARNING! ADULT THEMES INSIDE!

The Witcher 3 - Silver For Monsters


She swiftly dropped onto the floor below. Her fluffy feet came in handy, not letting out any sound as she landed. The doe used her free paw to hold down the sheathed sword while the other was holding a small torch. If not for its flame, Judy would be completely blind in these corridors. That would mean feeling her way through the ruins and she wasn't too keen on that idea. Especially that she's already seen a scorpion and a few snakes during her visit. The bunny preferred not to imagine how stepping on them would end. Her blessing wasn't a one to protect from poison.

Proceeding through the ruined corridor, Judy watched her step, stopping from time to time to observe the walls. To a degree, the bunny was familiar with the layout of this temple. The days she spent on looking up information at the local library were paying off.

"Aand this way…" she muttered to herself, turning left at a crossing.

Her journey led her to a huge chamber with a vast, open space. There were a few columns supporting the ceiling somewhere up in the darkness, while many of them have collapsed to the floor. This was it.

Her eyes betrayed a glint of excitement as she pressed on, right towards the center of the chamber. She knew precisely what should be awaiting her there. The old manuscripts have given her enough hints to deduce that it should be stored right in this place. Now, if she could obtain it, the discovery would greatly benefit their village.

As Judy walked past another set of columns, her torch-reliant eyesight missed a shadow detach itself from one of them.

The doe finally saw what she was looking for. It was identical to the icons in the manuscript. Failing to contain her thrill, Judy lunged forward with a small squeal of triumph, running up the few stairs that lead to a small elevated platform in the very middle of this chamber. On it, resided a stone altar, now half-crumbled and covered in rubble. Yet, a small metal container was still there, gathering dust of the passing decades.

She was about to reach for her prize when she froze. A certain memory made the doe slap her own forehead with an open palm. "Shoot! I almost forgot!"

Judy reached to her belt and her paw returned, holding a thin dagger. She then proceeded with caution, getting herself as far from the container as possible, while wedging the tip of the blade under the metal lid. It was supposed to be an item used in public ceremonies, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. After all, being incautious could bring an opposite effect.

Focusing on the task, the doe hasn't registered when a silhouette loomed ten feet behind her. A spike-like shape slid out of an outline of a sleeve.

The bunny applied pressure and, after rust put up some resistance, the lid popped open. With a a happy squeal, Judy peered inside.

There it was.

With precision in mind and trembling fingers in reality, the bunny slowly took out the object from the container. She couldn't hold a sigh of admiration. The glass chalice was truly breathtaking.

Judy held it higher, admiring the intricate decoration. As she did so, the shadow behind her reached the steps.

The bunny was beaming with pride. Her smile was so big that it almost grew wider than her face. Completely engrossed in looking at the object in her paws, Judy vaguely remembered that she was still holding the knife. The doe put it away with one paw, using the other to hol-

The chalice slipped out of her fingers, crashing on the floor into a thousand glittering pieces.

Her jaw dropped and she soon followed, falling to her knees. It took a painfully silent second before she slapped her face with an open paw. "Gaaah! Sweet cheese and crackers, I'm such an idiooot!"

Something shuffled behind her, making the doe's ears fling up.

Judy spun around, paw ready on her sword. She saw a robe covered figure stumble backwards, clutching its head with both paws. The doe unsheathed the sword about an inch, observing the situation. A faintest trace of purple light surrounded her armed paw. Meanwhile, the robed mammal hit a column with its back, sliding slowly to the ground, not letting go of the head.

The bunny watched the scene with a twitching nose, tilting her head a bit to the side. Many questions raced through her head, though one dominated by far.

"Who are you?"

The hood of the figure turned slightly towards her, allowing her to see a tip of a slender muzzle. Few more seconds passed in silence, allowing Judy to understand that she won't get an answer.

Still, she tried again. "What are you doing here?" Judy said, picking up the torch from the altar and cautiously moving a little closer.

No answer, no change in posture.

"Do… do you live here?" She eyed his clothing more carefully. The robe has definitely seen better times. The original color faded into rugged brown, while the fabric was immensely worn down.

The figure slowly lowered its paws and turned its head around, as if inspecting the temple. When the action was done, the hood moved back towards her without a word. That seemed to be it.

"... Okay." She bit her lip, unsure how to proceed. "Do you have a name?"

This question caused another lengthy pause. But eventually, the figure decided to reach out on the ground. Extending one of its claws, the robed mammal began scratching the cracked stone tiles. It took a while, during which Judy slowly tiptoed few steps closer, but not letting go of her sword.

Eventually, the paw withdrew, leaving a series of lines on the floor.

Judy moved the torch nearer and stretched her neck to see better.

"... Nick?"

.

.

Judy sneaked a peek inside through the window to her room. It was peacefully dark and quiet. The doe would bet any money on her ears, so she was confident that everyone was asleep.

She mastered opening all of the windows from outside a long time ago. It didn't take much skill, you just needed to know a certain trick. The doe sighed internally at the sorry state of her family house.

Gracefully leaping inside, Judy beckoned her companion to follow. Nick wasn't as swift as her and he, once again, made a series of metal clinking noises. It only fueled her imagination as to what kind of armor he could be wearing under his ragged robe.

Putting those speculations aside, Judy was about to unbuckle her belt with the sword, when a scream tore the night.

The doe immediately was on full alert, her ears erect and scanning for the source of the voice. It wasn't too complicated, as more noise quickly followed. Pulling her window open, Judy thrust her head outside to be almost instantly hit with one word.

"BANDITS!"

Muttering vegetable curses under her nose, the bunny catapulted herself out of the building. She had enough sense to hold onto the window frame and turn to Nick. "Stay here!" Her nose twitched furiously. "Please… If I won't be back soon…" She swallowed. "Take my family somewhere safe." Giving him one last look, Judy darted in the direction of the uproar.

.

.

This door wasn't meant for sieges and few kicks tore it open.

"Hellooooo! Anybody home?" A mocking voice roared to the cracking of fire and screams outside.

Bonnie hugged her daughters closer and hurried towards the master bedroom, where she gathered the rest of the youngest of her family.

But the intruder was faster.

The doe matron felt a painful jolt, when a paw grabbed her shoulder, pulling her violently back to the main room. "Well, well, well…" A scarred weasel grinned at the three does. His paw moved, demonstrating a bloodied blade right in front Bonnie's face.

Her eyes grew wide and she tightened the hold on her daughters. They also cuddled closer to her side.

"Now, yer all comin' quietly, or are ye gonna scream and give me some fun?" The bandit licked his teeth while raising his knife-holding arm.

He froze.

His arm wouldn't move due a paw clenched around his wrist.

"Ohhohoo!" He sniggered and looked up. "We got a hero he-" No more words left his throat as he laid eyes on the mammal before him

.

.

The crash of broken glass sounded sharply, even among the roaring fire of the burning houses. After flying out of the window the weasel hit the dirt and stayed there, motionless.

Several other bandits got drawn to the noise and rushed to see the source of the commotion. It didn't take a genius to figure out that someone has thrown their companion out of a house. And they didn't have to wait long to see who did it.

A figure walked out through the door, standing before a half dozen armed predators. The flames bathed the robed mammal in orange light, making some of the bandits cringe.

A face out of nightmare turned to them, but didn't look. Its upper half was wrapped with dilapidated bandages, blocking any vision. It moved towards a young wolf, who couldn't help but wince at the sight of the stitches. The mammal's entire mouth was sewn shut with a black thread.

But they didn't get to stare.

The robed mammal shrugged his right shoulder and a metal spike fell out of his sleeve. A spike on a chain. With a flick of the wrist, the creepy figure snatched the metal links with a paw and began making circles with it. Briefly after, the metal was spinning in a blur.

"What the fuck are you lot doing?!" A commanding voice roared behind the bandits. "Kill that thing!"

This was enough to break the initial hesitation. Four bandits jumped in first, ready to slice their enemy into pieces.

The first one's skull exploded into a blood and brain fountain a moment later, spattering the others. This turn of events created a momentary distraction, which was enough for the spike to pierce the air, along with the chest of a jackal. The other two bandits backed away in a hurried manner. Which simply meant that one of them didn't see the incoming loop of chain falling down and around his neck. He was yanked back with great force and landed on his back at the feet of the creepy mammal. It took just one more second to split his head open with the spike.

In all this activity, the robed mammal's only body part that moved was his arm. He never moved from the spot in front of the door and now was whirling the chain in a circle again.

At that point, the bandits have realized that this wasn't going to be a normal raid.