Chapter 24: Crookback Bog

As the sun shines on the depressing land called Velen, a group of witch hunters were traveling through the rough roads of the land, slowly traversing the muddy grounds below.

Mikael was among them, and he was riding his horse besides the baron's daughter, Tamara. He looked at her, her face looked sullen and tense as they got closer and closer to the bog.

"You alright?" questioned Mikael.

Tamara turned to him, and nodded weakly. "I'm alright, just… I left her… alone in that bog for so long…"

"Not your fault." Mikael stated. "You couldn't do anything."

"I could." she refuted. "If only I had just chased her–"

"There's no point in fighting a monster." Mikael cut her off. "You'd be dead if you tried."

Tamara sighed, and clenched her fist tightly, looking hatefully at the lands around her. "If only… if only that deadbeat of a father didn't drive us away from him, didn't do the things he did to us… mother would still be safe now, and my childhood wouldn't be ruined."

Mikael looked at her, her face filled with rage. "That bad huh?"

"Worse than you think." she said. "All the screams at night… the bruises mum has after a fight… it was hell incarnate."

"Must be tough for you…" said Mikael sadly. "What's the last straw, if I may ask?"

Tamara looked at the sky above her, and explained to him. "That night… mother got into a fight with father… At that point, I'm used to the shouting and furniture breaking… but, that night it turned to so much more… Father pushed mum from the stairs, she was pregnant at that time, and that act alone made her misscariage."

"That must be tough for her…"

Tamara shook her head. "Later that night, she said to me that she's better off without the baby… she didn't want to bore any more seed from that vile man… I was shocked… I don't know if she meant it or not, or she's just clenching into her last bit of sanity…"

"Damn…"

"Which brings us to now…" she continued. "We devised a plan, and ran off. On the way, as you heard, we were attacked by a beast, taking my mother away from me."

She took a deep breath, and her expression looked firm. "Now, I'm going to take her back."

—

They have now arrived at the Crookback Bog. The witch hunters are now preparing to traverse the untamed land, sharpening their swords and axes, readying themselves. They're resting first in a village nearby, Mikael saw that the witch hunters hanged a couple of men for heresy for some reason, Mikael was here for a job however, he didn't have the right to intervene.

Shortly after, they finally moved towards the bog, with Mikael leading upfront, alongside Graden.

The smell of the bog was nasty. The smell of excrement, corpses, and a mix of a smell that Mikaael didn't recognise were permeating around the place. The water was murky, muddy, and the bog had a thick fog, making visibility hard.

"Cursed land…" murmured Graden as he tried to move his boots from the mud. "Definitely where witches would hide themselves."

Mikael hummed as he heard sounds from his surroundings. He unsheathed his Ofieri curved sword, and warned the others. "Watch out for drowners. They're around us."

Graden frowned, and also unsheathed his sword. The others did the same, and finally, the drowners approached them.

"Get in formation men!" Graden shouted.

Mikael quickly covered Graden's mouth, and shot an annoyed look at him. "Are you mental? You want to bring more monsters to us by shouting?"

Graden coughed in embarrassment. "Right… pardon me."

Mikael then stepped up, he saw about three drowners. He held his curved sword tightly in his left hand, and approached the drowners aggressively.

Mikael slashed one in half as he neared them, and the other two drowners rushed at him. He rolled to the side as the drowners were close to him, making the two drowners slammed against each other, and after that, he stabbed both of them at once, killing the smelly drowners instantly.

Mikael turned to the witch hunters, and cleaned the blood on his sword. "Right, let's continue."

The witch hunters just nodded meekly as he said that.

All of them then quickly went through the bog, killing drowners along the way. As they got close to the orphanage, Mikael saw that it was overrun by Drowners and Hags. Tamara frowned as she saw that, and looked at Mikael.

"That doesn't look good."

"Doesn't look good indeed," said Graden. "Let's clear the area first."

All the witch hunters nodded, and they all quickly rushed towards the drowners, killing them one by one.

It was quite a lot, the drowners were easy to deal with, but the hags were not. Some witch hunters got hurt by the mud that the hags threw at them, throwing them away and disarming them.

Mikael however, quickly gets rid of them. The hags' heads were all over the place, decapitated by Mikael quickly once he saw one of the witch hunters almost got killed.

"Damn, are the witch hunters really that unreliable?" said Mikael sarcastically.

"Watch your mouth cripple." warned Graden. "Or the Eternal fire shall burn your tongue until it turns to ash."

Mikael just rolled his eyes, and said. "Whatever."

Soon enough, another group suddenly rushed towards the orphanage, helping the witch hunters kill the monsters nearby. It was the baron's men, dressed in brown armor, and among them, is a witcher, Geralt of Rivia.

"Witcher?! Change your mind?! How much did my father pay you?" Tamara sneered as she sheathed her sword, and the place has been cleansed from monsters.

"Don't think you have anything to fear, brought your new friends with you." said Geralt, approaching Tamara.

"I have no fear, for the Eternal fire protects me!" she answered.

"Tamara!" shouted a fat man wearing red armor. "You're with their kind now!? I thought you've returned! But bringing these witch hunters?!"

"Stay away from me!" she roared towards the man. "I've come for my mother. Unlike you, I would not see her rot in this swamp."

"Why the hell do you think I'm here?" the man gruffed. "To take her home."

"Oh you'll do no such things, you'll not lay a finger—"

As the two bickered loudly, Mikael approached the biggest house in the orphanage, Geralt saw what he was doing, and approached him.

"You think this is it?" questioned Geralt.

Mikael shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

He then approached the door, and roughly kicked the door open, making the hinges go out of place. The others turned to him, curious about what he's doing.

"Let's go." Mikael said to Geralt.

The two then entered the room. It was dark, and smelled horribly, Mikael took an unlit torch near him, and gestured at Geralt.

Geralt noticed the gesture, he rolled his eyes, and used an Agni sign to the torch.

The fire lit the entire room, revealing what's inside it. There was a painting of three witches in the middle of the room, and beside it, a strange looking hag, groaning painfully on the ground.

As Mikael entered the room, the hag stood up, her saggy tits dangling nastily as she did that, revealing a hideous face.

Behind Mikael and Geralt, Tamara suddenly pushed them away, and she took a look at the monster, before dropping to the ground, not knowing what to make of it.

"Witcher… A-Are you saying this is mother?" she stuttered.

"I… don't know." Geralt said. "But from the looks of it, it is…"

Tamara just stared at the hag, the hands of the hags trying to reach Tamara, groaning in pain. Tamara just cried softly as she stared at what became of her mother. The fat man did the same, he leaned his head against the wall, crying quietly.

Mikael just looked at the corner, and noticed that there is a trapdoor there. He elbowed Geralt, and pointed at it.

Geralt frowned, and both of them approached the trapdoor, opening it.

"What's in there?" suddenly questioned Graden.

"Dunno." answered Mikael. "Let's check."

The three of them then entered the trap door. And below them, they saw an altar, along with 5 bloody dolls on it.

"By the Eternal fire… never seen this many before." commented Graden.

"What's all this?" questioned Geralt.

"The trappings of a black magic ritual." Graden explained. "Witches weave human hair through dolls they first curse. They gain a grasp on individuals' souls this way."

"And how do you know all this?" questioned Mikael. "Or are you secretly a witch, Graden?"

"From tomes on black magic." snorted Graden. "Recently, we decided it might be wise to read them first rather than burn them."

"Careful, might corrupt you." said Mikael sarcastically. "Anyways, I'm assuming these items woven into the dolls mean something."

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"It's supposed to symbolizes the individuals that was cursed." continued Graden. "These feathers and flowers represent them."

"So, we take one of them?"

"I'll not risk it." Graden said. "If you pick the wrong doll, it might do worse to Anna than now."

"You know her, Geralt?" questioned Mikael.

"Know a couple of stuff from the baron." he said, putting his hands on the altar.

He looked at a doll that has a doll on it, and hummed. "This is interesting."

"That's just a flower?"

"Not just any flower." Geralt commented. "A violet hollyhock. Baron once told me it was Anna's favorite flower."

"Perhaps it's that then." Mikael said. "Then take it."

Geralt nodded. "I'm sure it is. Taking it." Geralt then took the doll with the flower from the table.

Then, from upstairs, they could hear a painful howl and shriek, making Graden panic. "Quick! Upstairs!"

The three then went upstairs, where Tamara was now crying in front of her now normal mother as she massaged her forehead.

"Mum! You're back." Tamara sobbed. "All will be well, you're going to be fine."

The mother shook her head meekly. "No Tammy… I'm dying…"

"You're not well, ravin', doesn't know what's happening." the fatman suddenly said in the corner, approaching them. "You're weak, you must rest."

The mother shook her head desperately. "No, listen to me… the crones… I was to be their beast to the end… forever… you broke their spell, but now I must go…"

"Wh-What's she talking about witcher? What've you done?!" Tamara questioned Geralt as he approached.

Geralt frowned. "Hmm… it was rigged from the start. Their curse is a death sentence… looks like there's no way to lift it, at least not in the way that Anna would live. We broke their spell temporarily, but as she said…"

"-She was to be their beast forever." continued Mikael. "And now that she's not a beast anymore, she'll die."

"W-What?! Witcher, surely you could fix that?!" Tamara pleaded.

Geralt shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but there was no way."

The mother then looked at the fatman and Tamara. "It's good… to see you together…" she smiled warmly at them, making Tamara hug her tightly.

The fat man then hugged them too. "I'm sorry Annie… for everything… I'm sorry…"

As they separated, the mother caressed Tamara's cheeks and smiled. "Tammy… Please… remember me like I used to… not like this…"

As she said that, the mother fell to the ground, devoid of life, making Tamara shriek in sadness.

Meanwhile, the others gave them space, walking away from them.

"I thank you," said Graden. "They had a chance to say goodbye, that was your doing."

"I honestly don't know how to think of this." Mikael said. "Geralt, did you tell her something when you met her before?"

"What are you saying?" questioned Geralt.

"I'm saying that she might be like that because of your choice." Mikael answered.

Geralt thought of it a little, and frowned. "Did something to save the children, away from the Crones…"

"That must be it then." nodded Graden. "In the end, she sacrificed her life for the children of this cursed place."

Geralt just looked at the crying Tamara calmly, sighing deeply.

Mikael patted his back. "I honestly think you made the right choice." Mikael said. "Those children deserve to live."

"I'm a witcher Mikael." Geralt said. "I'm used to making tough choices. You don't need to comfort me."

Mikael hummed. "Just trying to be nice mate… just trying to be nice…"

But then, suddenly, the entire place turned foggy, weird voices started to come out from the swamp, making the others alert.

"W-What was that?" Tamara questioned, still sobbing.

"The crones probably sensed us." Geralt commented as he unsheathed his silver. "Ready your swords."

Mikael then unsheathed his curved sword, holding it tightly in his left hand.

As they got ready, monsters from the swamp suddenly approached the orphanage in numbers. Drowners, Hags, and worst of all…

"There's a fiend." said Geralt.

"What's a fiend?" questioned Tamara.

"Dangerous and huge creature." Geralt took a stance, looking around the area. "It can hypnotize you, be careful. And make loud noises, they hate 'em."

The witch hunters gulped and nodded. Soon enough, a large fiend suddenly appeared from the swamp. Its head is of the bone of a moose, and the body of an unknown beast. It roared at them, so loud that it made Tamara's ears bleed.

"Watch out!" Geralt shouted. The fiend charged at them, using its horns as a means of a weapon.

All of them dodged, rolling around the swampy terrain. The witch hunters then focused on the small drowners and hags, while Mikael and Geralt faced the fiend.

They circled the beast, it was growling to the two, as it tried to think on who killed first.

The beast then turned to Mikael, and it opened its third eye at him.

"Wrong target." said Mikael as he rushed at him, its hypnosis didn't work, and Mikael stabbed its third eye using a silver dagger that he had on his waist.

The beast shrieked in pain as Mikael inserted a small amount of rot in the wound. He pulled the dagger, the eye stuck at the knife.

He then stepped back, grabbing the sword once again, side-stepped, before slashing the throat of the fiend.

It was useless however, Mikael's sword isn't strong enough, and the sword bent as it touched the thick skin of the fiend.

Mikael clicked his tongue, and dodged the claw of the beast, and threw the sword away.

"Geralt! Give me your steel!" he demanded.

"What!? No way! You broke your own sword!"

"It was standard grade!" he refuted. "Come on, just give me yours!"

Geralt cursed under his breath, and charged at the beast. He used his silver to slash the back leg of the Fiend, making it turn to him.

There was a small window between all that. Geralt threw his steel in the air, the sword floating in the air for a few moments above the beast, and Mikael took the opportunity.

He jumped, using the body of the fiend as a head start, and grabbed Geralt's steel. He quickly unsheathed it, threw away the leather, and gracefully landed on the Fiend's head, before stabbing it with the sword.

The sword didn't break, it impaled the fiend's head, killing it instantly.

The beast whimpered on its dying breath as the fog around them dispersed, the illusion ending. The drowners and hags ran away from them, effectively ending the battle.

"That was intense…" Mikael said as he rested his body on the fiend.

"Fortunately, my sword is not broken." Geralt gruffed as he pulled out his sword from the head.

"You're welcome." Mikael rolled his eyes.

Graden then walked up to them, his eyes narrowed. "That was an incredible feat," he said. "It's almost like you are more than human."

"I know your trick witch hunter, you want to burn me alive because you don't want to pay me." scoffed Mikael.

Graden frowned even more. "We are not oathbreakers, a deal's a deal."

"Then I'm glad that the witch hunters aren't entirely corrupt." Mikael smiled innocently as he jumped from the fiend.

After that, Mikael got his money, Geralt traveled back to Crow's perch to get his pay with the baron, and Mikael went to Oxenfurt, ending the job.

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