100: A Witchers Job
Oblivion looked at the map in front of him as it stretched over the desk in his room. The two pieces of the small map were set off to the side. Sasa looked up at the desk as he considered where the two pieces could have been pointing him to. The corner piece he had in his possession had shown him the way to the second piece and the piece he had was an interior piece that was connected to the first by a small margin.
“Any ideas of where the next piece is?” Sasa asked as she looked over the table at him.
“At the moment I am not sure. The language obscures a fair amount of the map itself. Some parts of the map are obscured by the writing. The writing itself is faint in places and then sharper in others. I am not sure if it meant to be that way or if it is due to age.” He admitted.
“Hmm.” Sasa made a noise in reply as he unfolded the second map piece and set it down where he thought it fit in the larger map.
He gave a quiet sigh as he leaned back on his heels and looked away from the map for a moment. “The first one led me to the second so it goes to assume that the second will lead me to another.”
“That would make sense.” Sasa agreed.
“The issue is making it through the writing to see what is under the writing to see where the general area is for the piece.” He went on.
“So is there a way for you to ignore the…” Sasa started and then her voice trailed off.
“What?”
“I have an idea.” She said to him.
“Oh?”
“Yes hold up the piece and try to illuminate it from behind.” She explained. “That might allow you to easily see the designs of the map without the letters.”
He nearly slapped his claws to his face as she spoke and he realized that her idea should have been obvious to him. He chose to ignore the sense of stupidity that rolled over him and raised the small piece in his magic. He conjured a bright sconce of light underneath it and held it over the light to see what was under it. His magic also superimposed the tiny piece onto the larger map to allow him to show what was on the piece and temporarily engrave it onto the map.
“Very clever.” Sasa praised.
He looked at the small piece as the image began to become clearer to him. He watched as the thicker writing began to fade away and only the lighter writing and the map itself remained. Sasa chirped a noise in surprise as it faded and he looked at her as her eyes were wide.
“What just happened?” She asked him.
“I think we just passed a test.” He said back to her.
“What test?”
“Proving that we aren’t idiots.” He admitted, his tone bitter.
She growled quietly and rumbled a sound in her throat. It died before it reached her mouth but the sound was there nonetheless as she sounded out her disapproval of being tested. “That’s rude.”
“It might be but it would go to assume that whoever left these behind would make them less than simple to handle. The first one was easy the next ones aren’t.” He reasoned to her.
“I hate being tested.” She argued. “It’s foolish.”
“I agree.” He said to her as he looked at the map as pieces of it cleared and were placed on the larger piece of the map he was handling. “But now we have the answer of where to go now.”
“We do?”
“Yes. Look.”
He looked up at the map and his magic held it steady as he took a claw and pointed out the location on the map to her. The feline looked at where he was pointing and she nodded with a low purr in the back of her throat. It showed a dot on the map that showed him where they needed to go. He said nothing as Sasa grumbled.
“The Everfree. Of course.” She grumbled.
“The fringes of it.” He corrected. “Looks like it’s either the beginning of it or the end, depending on how you look at it.”
Sasa simply looked at him as he corrected her and he found himself on the receiving end of a glare from her.
Oblivion said nothing as his teleport faded and he called on Sasa. The cat purred for a moment before she began to look around them. “Here we are.” He whispered as he took a cautious step forward.
“Indeed.” Sasa replied. “Now do you have any idea where we go from here?”
“No idea.” He replied quickly and he heard her stumble.
“What?”
“I am not sure where we go from here.” He replied, clarifying. “I suppose we look round and see what jumps out.”
“Great. I hate it when you do this.” She admitted with a huff of breath.
He didn’t say anything back to her as he moved forward. His ears flicked as he moved along the fringe of the Everfree. He walked within the confines of the forest but he was just close enough to the edge to know where it was. Sasa plodded loudly behind him, as she almost stomped in annoyance at him. He thought about saying for her to act her age but chose not to say it. One thing he had learned in his life was to never mention or ask for the age of any female. He had seen what happened to Lambert when he asked Triss what her age was. It had been ugly and he had learned from the experience of the other.
Time ticked past as Oblivion compared where they were relative to the map he had with them. He knew that they were close to the dot on the map and he kept his pace steady as Sasa seemed to have gotten over her anger with him and was now walking quietly behind him.
“Anything?” She asked, her tone tired and he could hear the boredom in her voice.
“Not really.” He admitted. “So far we are close to the dot on the map if not directly under it but nothing stands out.”
“Beautiful.” She griped. “So should we try to range out a bit from the dot?”
“I am thinking we will need to due to… Wait.” He said to her as something seemed out of place and he stopped in his tracks.
“What?” She asked him as she drew up next to him. “I don’t see why you are freezing in place and… Wait a minute.”
He gave a slight nod as she saw what he was looking at. Ahead of them, the grasses had been trampled in various lines. Paths shot off in various directions and the Witcher said nothing as he looked at each one. He cast a glance from the grass to the trees and several of them had been gouged. Branches were scattered around the ground under them and he kept his ears moving as he took a tentative step into the small clearing.
“Easy Chosen.” Sasa cautioned as she stayed at his hip.
“Hmm.” He made a noise in reply to her words but said nothing further.
His hooves were silent on the trampled grasses as he moved into the clearing. He paused after several steps and let his ears flick to listen as he scanned the edges of the clearing. His eyes narrowed as he searched for anything that stood out among the trees. When nothing lunged out of the trees he took several more steps as Sasa bumped his hip gently. His legs were steady under him and his claws flexed in the grass as he unfurled them. His wings clenched against his sides under their illusion and he found himself tempted to let them unfurl as well. Depending on what they found he would worry about them being seen later.
“Chosen?”
“Hmm?”
“Anything?”
“No.”
Sasa said nothing further as he gave her short replies. His nerves were on edge as he strained to listen and see everything around them. He had no intention of missing anything as he began to walk into the middle of the clearing. Depending on what was around them that was the most dangerous spot. A winged monster would have the most time to reach them while he would be forced to go from a dead stop to a run to get away from them. He turned his eyes up and he saw Sasa continue to look around them as he scanned the skies. Nothing went in front of the sun and he didn’t see anything silhouetted against the blue sky.
“Nothing above us.” He whispered.
“That’s good to hear at least.” Sasa replied.
He looked back down to the grass and began to scan each of the trails to find out which was the newest. “Start looking through each of these to see if anything stands out.”
“Like what?” She asked.
“Something not normal for a trail, a track, or a scent that seems out of place for this place.” He responded.
Sasa said nothing as he walked toward the right side of the clearing and she ranged toward the left. He lowered his head as he neared the edge and his nose scented for anything that was either familiar or abnormal for the area.
“Chosen.” Sasa called out to him and he raised his head to see her across the clearing from him. “I think this is out of place.”
“What is it?”
“A tuft of fur.” She replied.
He almost scolded her when he stopped and turned to walk toward her. “What kind of fur?” He asked as he moved to join her.
“It does not fit within anything in the Everfree.” She explained as he drew up behind her. “Here it is.”
He leaned his head down to see the fur as she pointed her nose at it. The scent wafted over his nose and he nearly snorted at the smell. He knew that scent but at the moment nothing came to mind. He drew his head back up to his height as he considered what could have left the fur behind. He looked at the gnarled tuft and the scent continued to waft over his nose as he inhaled its foul smell.
“I know what that is.” He said to her. “But I can’t think of it.”
“I trust you will think hard to find out what it is?” She asked him.
“Let’s follow this trail and see what shakes loose for us.” He said to her as he moved to follow the broken trail.
“Oh sure since that’s a good idea.” Sasa replied, sarcasm in her tone as he cast a glance over his shoulder at her.
The Elder Witcher said nothing in reply to her as he led her down the growth path. It was a wide trail considering that he was used to small game trails. He was not used to seeing such a wide trail in among the game trails. It reminded him of a trail used by some monsters as they hunted. His mind went over the scent that had come from the fur and his mind whirred as he thought over what it could be. He suddenly stopped in his tracks as a wall of stone came up in front of them. His mind slammed into place as the scent grew stronger and he knew what it was.
“Oh, hells.” He cursed under his breath. “It’s a Fiend.”
“Are you sure?” Sasa asked him. “Whats a Fiend?”
“Nothing good.” He said to her as he moved around the side of the wall that they had come upon.
He found the edge of the wall and he carefully looked around the side to see if there was more to the wall or if it ended. He saw a large mound of brown fur off to the side and he nearly broke out into cursing as he saw the sleeping Fiend. He could not see how big it was exactly but from his experience, they were never small. Even the little ones were equal to the size of a small house in his experience, weighing easily as much as a couple of grown cows. He was able to look around the wall further and he could see that the Fiend had been using the ruin as a home for quite some time. The fact that it remained unknown to ponies and others was pure luck so far as he was concerned.
“Pure luck.” He muttered. “Not sure if it is lucky for them that I am here or unlucky for me.”
“What are you mumbling about?” Sasa asked him as she drew up next to him and her eyes went wide at the large monster. “Oh my.”
“That is a Fiend.” He said to her, his voice low to avoid waking the slumbering monster.
“Okay.” She said as she leaned back on her haunches. “So how do we go about avoiding it?”
“Are you sure we should?” He asked her.
“Oh?”
“Should we kill it or leave it alone?” He asked her.
“Hmm. I hate that you make a point without saying more than you need to.” She groused. “If we leave it and somepony dies then we are a couple of fools and assholes.”
“Pretty much.” He said back to her.
“What do you need to fight it?”
“Relict oil is a start.” He said to her as he pulled the oil from his saddlebags.
She sat down quietly as he began to pour the oil over the weapon and it drank in the liquid as if it were thirsty for it. She stared at the weapon as it gave off a slightly off-color glow for a few moments before the glow of the runes began to shine once more. She said nothing as he looked around the wall once more to make sure the monster had taken no notice of them.
“So how do we fight it?” She asked him. “Aside from very carefully.”
“You will be harrying it from behind.” He informed her. “Avoid getting caught in its sight. That third eye can hypnotize those caught in its line of sight.”
“How do we combat that then?”
“We can interrupt its focus by using bombs or my signs.” He explained.
“What bomb? Do you have any?” She asked.
“I might have one or two in my saddlebags.” He replied to her.
“Hesitant to use one of them?” She asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
“Might be.” He admitted. “I should use it but at the same time I have no way of making more.”
“Chosen.”
“Yes.”
“Use the damned bomb.” She growled at him. “Trying to keep a hold of items in the wings is not going to help you or me right now.”
He chuckled and he had to admit she was right. “Let me see if I have one.” He said to her as he reached into his saddlebag and thought over what he wanted. “If I don’t have one then this argument is moot.”
“How long will it disable the third eye?”
“Permanently.” He responded. “I would normally use the Cat Potion for this but that won’t protect you from it.”
“That potion will do what?”
“Make me immune to its influence.”
“Oh.” She replied. “I appreciate you using the bomb for me.”
A Samum bomb appeared in his magic and he pulled it free of the saddlebag. Sasa looked at the item and she reached out to sniff it absently. The bomb was fairly plain in its appearance but he knew that it was well suited to its purpose. He set it down on the ground by her paws and reached back to see if he had one more in the wings. He was pleased when another appeared at his request, he set it back into the saddlebag and gripped the one of the ground in his hoof.
“Well how are you going to use it?” She asked him.
“Carefully.” He admitted to her. “I can leave it here and summon it when I need it or hold it in my magic and hope it does not get nicked in combat.”
“How do you usually carry them?”
“Usually on a belt.”
“And you fight them with bombs on your belt with the chance of them getting hit and them blowing up on your hip?”
“When you put it that way it does seem foolish.” He said as he looked at her.
“Yeah. Stupid is the word I was looking for.” She commented.
He gave her a sidelong look and she simply looked at the bomb in his hoof. He set it down on the ground by the wall and she nodded in silent agreement. He moved aside from the wall and more out into the open, allowing him to get a good look at the surrounding area they had to work in.
Sasa remained by the bomb and simply stared at him as he moved. “Are you trying to get charged?” She asked him.
“It’s asleep.” He thought back to her, switching from speaking aloud to using their connection.
“For now.” She replied. “Don’t push your luck.”
He said nothing in reply to her and simply stared at the monster as it slept. He contemplated how to get its focus to keeping switching between the pair of them. If he could get it to focus on her and then him then he might be able to get it to not use its hypnosis. Time was not on his side if he wanted the fight to be fairly short. He was trying to avoid it getting out of his hoof and he lost control of the fight. The longer they waited the more chance of the light fading and the monster having more of an advantage based on the dying light.
“Chosen?” Sasa questioned him from her hiding place. “What are we waiting for?”
He said nothing in reply as he summoned one of the crystal blades into his magic and took a short step toward the monster. The azure flame danced over the blade as it hovered in his magic. Sasa said nothing further as she moved away from the wall and kept her eyes on him. He took a short stance and his magic reached out to pick up a large rock and he leveled it in his aura. He slung it at the monster and it awoke with a startling roar. It lumbered to its hooves and it spun to see him waiting for it.
Sasa moved away from the wall and came to stand just off to the side. The monster stamped its forelimbs onto the ground and the ground gave a slight shake at the impacts. It lowered its massive rack of horns and charged almost blindly forward as it went after the armed Witcher. Oblivion said nothing as it charged forward and he collapsed his legs to the side and rolled away from the monster's reach. It lunged one side of its horns to try to gore him and he evaded the rack fairly easily as his blade scored across the beast's shoulder.
“Harry the back Sasa!” He shouted at her.
The cat roared and charged into combat as well and her claws began to tear at the Fiend's hamstrings. The monster spun to try to swipe its claws at the feline and she dodged away from it and Oblivion sunk his blade into its side. It roared in pain as it swung at him and he backflipped away from the creature. He leaped around to land behind it once more as his blade tore into its back and hips. The monster seemed to decide that being close to them was ill-advised as it lowered its horns and charged away from them.
“Interesting.” He admitted aloud. “They never run.”
“So why did it run?”
“I am not sure.” He replied to her quickly as he gave chase. “Stay with it.”
The monster whirled around to face them and Oblivion stopped in place as the Fiend squared up and the ground began to quiver under his hooves. He knew that sign and his magic lashed out to grab the Samum bomb that rested off to the side. The third eye opened wide and Sasa yowled at the sight of it and he saw her close her eyes out of the corner of his eye.
“That won’t stop it.” He shouted at her as his magic hurled the bomb at the creature.
The bomb’s fuse was already lit as it collided with the monster's face and exploded on impact. A bright flash of fire and light was accompanied by a sound that vibrated the air. The monster roared in pain as the third eye was torn apart by the explosion as it pawed at its face in rage and pain as the embers of the bomb still burned. Oblivion set Quen into place as he knew that now the fight would begin in earnest. Sasa roared in reply to the monster's challenge as she squared up to face it as well.
“Same fight just be quick about it.” He advised the feline beside him.
She said nothing in reply as she moved off to the side to allow her to fight without getting under his hooves. The Fiend lowered its horns and charged the pair of them and Sasa leaped off to the side while Oblivion rolled to the side and got back to his hooves after a moment's delay. ‘Might avoid rolling for the next time.’ He managed to think to himself as he moved to chase the monster with Sasa. The Fiend came to a stop and started to spin to face them when Sasa leaped into its line of sight to keep its focus on her as it swung its arms to strike her.
“Get it Chosen!” She yelled to him as she dodged out from under the monster's claws.
He quickly knew what she was doing and he moved his blade into position as he came upon it. His hooves danced as he moved and his blade tore at the monster's hips and back. He called on the second blade as he moved and the Fiend lost focus on the cat and spun to face him. He deflected the claws with the second blade as he moved. He moved easily as Sasa tore at the monster's hide from behind it.
“Get its attention if you can.” He called out to her.
“Not sure I can.” She admitted as she leaped onto the monster's hip and dug her claws and then her front fangs into the monster's back.
The Fiend roared as it arched its back at the sudden weight and pain that came from the feline. Oblivion drove his one weapon into the monster's abdomen and his own claws cut into it as well. It roared again as it swung its arms down on the Elder Witcher and Quen exploded on impact. Oblivion back flipped to get distance and he readied his remaining sword as a scream sounded out behind him.
“What the?!” Sasa shouted in his mind.
Oblivion flicked an ear back to listen as the newly arrived pony screamed again as the monster caught sight of it. He took a chance and spun to look back. A young stallion in hiking gear stood twenty feet behind them. The black stallion said nothing as Sasa yowled a warning and he turned to look at the now charging Fiend. He thought about jumping out of the way when it lowered its horns. He spun on his heel and took off for the pony as he knew where the Fiend was going.
“Get him Chosen!” Sasa shouted. “It’s coming. It’s right on your tail!”
Oblivion dug his claws into the ground as he gained on the stunned pony. He reached him a bare second later and he put one foreleg up as he close-lined the pony and threw him off to the side. The Fiend charged behind him with Sasa on its heels, having removed her teeth from its body and jumped off its back. The pony remained where it had been thrown and the Fiend was now staring almost blankly at the fact that it had not gored the small pony or the charging stallion.
“Stay down!” Oblivion shouted and the pony remained hidden where he had been thrown.
Sasa said nothing as she leaped back into its immediate sight as Oblivion's magic gripped the blade in its back and twisted. It arched its back once more and Oblivion put the second blade into place, twisting it deeper into its body. The Fiend began to flag as its insides were torn and ripped within its body. The Fiend began to thrash wildly as it slowly died. Sasa leaped onto it once more and dug her front fangs into its body.
“Kill it Chosen!” She screeched at him as he pulled both weapons out of the monster's body.
He turned around and pulled up both his hind legs and bucked the monster to the ground as Sasa leaped clear. The monster fell to the ground and he leaped its body to bring his weapons down on the monster's head. He brought both weapons down and together they slowly began to cleave through the monster's thick neck. As he brought them down a third time a resounding crack went through the air as the monster fell to the ground, its head severed. Sasa panted off to the side of him as he pulled the twin blades from the ground and the monster's thick hide. A low breath escaped him as he closed his eyes to allow his body to start to come down from the fight. Behind him, he heard a sharp intake of breath. His ears flicked to listen behind him as the pony they had saved came forward.
“What in the hell is that thing?” He asked.
“It was a Fiend,” Oblivion said to him.
“Emphasis on the… Was.” Sasa said merrily as she began to lick her front fangs free of blood and gore.
“What was it doing here? I’ve never heard of such a monster.” The pony stammered.
Oblivion turned to look at the pony and was greeted with a pony that was a deep orange almost red in color with a blonde mane and tail. He said nothing for several seconds as he looked at the pony who occasionally shivered at the sight of the beheaded monster. Oblivion had to give him credit for not vomiting at the sight.
“It’s not common for the area. I have fought them before and this one had not gotten close enough to ponies to be considered an issue so it was not brought to my attention previously.”
“Why would you have been notified?”
“I am a Witcher and hunting monsters is what I am made for.” He replied easily.
“I’ve never heard of such a pony.” He said his eyes darting from the armed Witcher to the dead monster behind them. “But that being said I am glad to know about you now.”
Oblivion said nothing as he turned his head to look at the dead Fiend. His magic flared as he reached into the body and split it open to find the ingredients that were within the creature’s body. His magic searched easily for them as he instructed them what to look for. Sasa said nothing as he watched as a sphere of magic was removed from the body, blood dripping heavily from it as he sent the pieces to his saddlebags. A sound in front of him caught his attention as the pony was holding his breath as the color drained from his face.
“Oh no.” Sasa said as she went to the pony and shoved him toward the bushes.
Oblivion was not able to stop the perplexed look from crossing his face for a few moments as the sound of retching came to his ears. “Oh.” He said as the feline looked at him, her eyes narrowed.
“You’re one of the smartest ponies I know, but sometimes you’re an idiot.” She said to him.
He said nothing for a moment as the sounds faded, leaving only the sound of heavy panting. “I suppose I deserve that.”
She said nothing as she simply shook her head at him. The pony in the bushes said nothing as he gathered himself and Oblivion’s magic began to eat through the corpse. He tried to ensure that the smell did not make things worse and he created a wind to blow the smell in the opposite direction. By the time the pony came out of the bushes the body was gone and the short wind had been reduced to nothing. He wiped his mouth and looked shocked as a glass of water appeared in front of him.
“Thank you.” He said as he took the offered glass and washed his mouth out. When he finished the glass vanished with a small flash of magic.
Oblivion said nothing as Sasa shook her head again and he saw her look up at the heavens for a moment before she huffed a sigh. “Tell him you’re sorry about that.”
“Why?” She gave him a withering look and he managed not to roll his eyes. “My apologies for that.”
“It’s fine.” He quickly replied. “What were you doing anyway?”
“That Fiend has parts within it that I can use for other things.” He explained simply.
“Like what?” He asked as disgust rolled across his face.
“Potions, Decoctions, and a few different Sword oils.” He said.
“I’m going to assume those things are useful to you.” He said back as he looked at where the monster had once been. “What happened to it?”
“I destroyed the body.” The Elder Witcher explained. “Leaving it to the carrion birds is an option but I have found that destroying it is for the better if possible.”
“Okay.” He said as he shuffled his hooves for a moment. “So you were out here for what reason?”
Oblivion said nothing in reply as Sasa purred. “What do you tell him?”
“I am searching for an item that looks much like this,” Oblivion admitted as his magic showed off the two silver tubes that he had in his possession.
“Why?”
“They were placed by a Unicorn many years ago and I am trying to see what purpose they hold or what is at the end of the map they hold,” Oblivion explained. “I was drawn to this place by the map from this one.”
His magic unfurled the map and he held it up to allow the stallion to look at it. He held it in a way that the dot on the map showed easily through the magic he was holding it in.
“Oh. I think I know where that is.” He replied.
“Do you? I searched and all I found was the Fiend.” Oblivion admitted.
“There is a small old house that stands off in the woods. It’s not used anymore but there used to be an old mare that lived there. She died a few years back, her family chose not to keep the house and they gave it back to the Everfree. They all thought she was crazy for living in it anyway.” He explained.
“Can you lead me there?” Oblivion asked him.
“Sure. I can do that.” He said and held out his hoof. “I’m Dash.”
“Oblivion.” He replied and gripped the other ponies' hoof just firm enough to have a grip for a few moments before he released it.
“Follow me,” Dash said to him as he spun on his heel and broke into a trot to lead them in the opposite direction.
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Man she got demonic for a second there XD idk if the text is supposed to be red but it is pretty funny either way
And another great chapter definitely glad i stayed up late tonight ngl anyway it would be wise to save your savings due to current world circumstances happening lately better to be prepared and not need it then need it and have it
One of the blue text lines is currently red
great chapter
Yay new chapter
Wait, that's mean Equestria still hasn't been freed from the monster problem that came from Oblivion's home world? Or is it has been going on for sometime but nopony know about it?
11277305
Their around but most ponies avoid the areas where they are going to turn up. Most of the time.
11276674
Fixed. Not sure how that happened lol.
11277305
It just be a monster that was missed. Or as a worst case scenario this could be a precursor to a conjunction of the spheres.