Not Rats, but scum. Part 3. The End.
I took material form and began to search the room and loot. In the first bag I could find, I began to put everything useful I could get my hands on. A purse with money, scrolls, and so on. There was a loud bang on the door downstairs, and judging by the shouting, there was a fight between the Rats on one side and the Trappers and Nissirs on the other.
Due to time constraints, I wasn't paying attention to what Ciri was doing there, hoping that she was following my lead and searching for and bagging anything of value. But when I turned around, I wanted to press my palm into my face. Ciri was trying to wake Sweers.
- What are you doing?! We don't have time for him! We have to run! - I'm yelling at her.
- No! He's not a bad man, and he'll probably get killed by those bandits downstairs!
- To hell with him!
- No!- Ciri said with sheer stubbornness and continued her attempts to wake Sweers.
I felt like punching her in the neck, knocking her out and just taking her and running away. The noise of the battle below was beginning to fade, though you can still hear the clinking of metal and the screams of the dying. The Rats seem to have taken advantage of the surprise effect and have completely slaughtered most of the half-drunk enemies and are finishing off the rest. To make matters worse, I heard someone coming down the stairs, and rather quickly. Taking a knife, I stood near the door. Kicking the door open, Skomlik burst into the room with weapon in hand, followed by Remiz.
- Grab the girl and run through the window. - Skomlik pointed at Ciri and then at the window.
- And Sweers? - Remiz asked.
- Fuck Sweers. He's either already dead or he'll be slaughtered by the Rats! - with panic in his voice Scomlik shouted at his brother-in-law.
It was at that moment that my knife went into his ear. I quickly pulled out my knife and lunged at Remiz. Another blow, but instead of his ear, I hit him right in the neck. I don't have time to slit his throat before I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around and see Rats coming into the room.
- Wow. And we were wondering why those two ran in here. They wanted to protect their master..." The first to speak was a short-haired girl, dressed in bright and rather flamboyant clothing, in the best traditions of the Landsknechts, but when she saw me holding a bloody knife and a couple of dead Trappers, she stopped talking.
She must have had a lot of questions in her head, and she wanted to ask them, for the situation in front of her was quite unusual. A strange girl trying to wake up a strange man sleeping a deep sleep, and the cherry on top of the cake was me, a strange guy in strange clothes with a knife with blood dripping from his hand. Complete combo. But I didn't let her say anything.
- Get the fuck outta here, scum, I'm not interested in you. Pick up your stupid sidekick and go. - I calmly and confidently picked up the club that the dead Skomlik had dropped.
- Who did you call scum, you bastard... - the girl with the short haircut started to get agitated, but a broad-shouldered strong guy appeared behind her and put his hand on her shoulder and whispered something, making her cringe. - Okay. You're lucky, son of a bitch. Leave your things and you can go.
- Dream on, you little shit. If you keep interfering, you and that tough guy are gonna end up with broken bones or steel in your belly. Get the fuck out of here, or do I have to get that thought into your head by breaking it in first? -pointed her out with the knife and played with the baton in my other hand.
- You! - She was ready to lunge, but the big guy held her back, giving me a frown.
- If Kayleigh wasn't badly wounded, I'd have gutted you! - She spat at my feet and walked away, followed by the big guy, glaring at me, suggesting that he remembered me.
- That's a hell of a threat, you teenage degenerates. They should either be reeducated or shot in the head. Now, Ciri, grab a sword or whatever else you can get your hands on. And I'll get Sweers. - I didn't want to carry Sweers, but arguing with Ciri would have cost us precious time. - VJ, hop on my shoulder.
Throwing my bag behind me, in one hand I held the baton, and the other supporting Sweers, ordered Ciri to follow me. We quickly went downstairs and headed out of the inn. Leaving the inn, I walked us towards the stables. Except that there were Rats standing there, looking at the horses and ready to steal Sweers' horse. Damn bastards, this is ours, I'm dragging the owner for nothing?!
- Hey, I told you to get out of my way. Bring back that horse and the couple on the left - I threw Sweers and VJ off my shoulder as well as the bag with the goodies, told Ciri to go behind the corner and guard it, and started walking towards the Rats.
- Motherfucker! Well now I'm definitely going to kill you and drink Toussaint from your skull! - a short-haired juvenile brat threw herself at me with a loud scream.
- Stupid underage morons. - I sighed and rushed at them, only the Rats weren't as dumb as I wanted them to be. A couple of them cocked their crossbows and took aim at me, and another pair on horseback decided to surround me and keep me from escaping. There was another Rat, who I recognized as a Nissir prisoner, but his chest wound and bandaged arm made him a non-combatant. The most he could do was support his own with words. So it's five on one. It's not that bad. Especially with my unusual powers.
Taking my astral form, I lunged at the crossbow-wielding Rats who had been confused by my disappearance. Unfortunately, the baton fell out of my hands and I had to fight them hand-to-hand. I materialized behind one of the shooters and kicked him under the knee, making him fall. The crossbow in his hands fired a bolt upward out of the side. A fist punch to the temple sends him into a knockout. I go into astral form again and attack the last shooter. He was tougher, so in addition to the punch to the temple, I had to do a wrestling throw and stamp him into the ground.
As soon as I was done with the shooters, I saw the short-haired bastard run around the corner, and there I heard the clang of metal. Shit, clever bugger, decided to take a hostage or something. But here's the thing, Ciri learned to fence, instead of needlecraft, so she's going to get a surprised. Taking advantage of that, I rushed over to the mounted Rats. They were shaking their heads and swearing loudly. Materializing, I picked up the loaded crossbow that the last archer had dropped and shot one of the Rats' horses. The horse took a bolt in the side, reared up, almost throwing off its rider, and then sprinted away. There was one last rat left, which I just yanked off the horse. A punch to the head and the elf went to sleep. I wanted to finish her off by breaking her windpipe or neck, but Ciri's scream behind me made me drop the elf and run to help.
The last Rat was holding a blade to the throat of an unconscious Sweers, and a confused Ciri was standing in front of her.
- Surrender! And call off your fucking spirit, or I'll slit his throat! Now! - she was terrified, but she still held her sword in her shaking hands. - Hey! Iskra! Asse! Giselher! Answer me! Fuck! If something happened to them, I'll...
- I told you I'd break your bones or shove metal in your belly. - I said in a calm voice, materializing behind her back and without letting her finish, grabbing her hand with the sword firmly, twisting it until she dropped it to the ground. -You're lucky I don't have a knife in my hand right now. But trust me, even without it, you're in for a rough ride. - I kicked her legs and knocked her to the ground. I put my foot on her back, and then grab her arm, twisting it until I dislocated her shoulder with a faint pop. - And that's the last of it. Scum like you don't even deserve to be called rats. Scumbags. Murderers. Rapists. Thieves. You are the shit of the earth, not the salt of the earth you thought you were. Scum.
I step on the fingers of her other hand until a couple of fingers break with a loud crunch. Leaving Rat crying in pain, I walk over to Sweers and the bag. I put the bag on my shoulder, the sleeping knight on the other, and start walking towards the stables. After taking a couple steps, I turn around and see Ciri standing in confusion.
- Ciri. Let's go. We don't have much time. -I ordered her briefly, and to keep her from asking questions, I glared at her.
Quickly enough, we loaded Sweers onto his horse, and Ciri got on one of the free ones. Kayleigh wanted to do something, but the ease with which I'd dealt with his friends made him prudent, or maybe he was just shitting himself in fear, and decided not to draw any attention or disturb us.
Leading Sweers' horse and another spare, Ciri galloped quickly enough towards the exit of the village, while I with VJ on my shoulder was hovering near one of the spare horses. Already at the very borders of the village I saw the inn begin to burn and thanks to the fire, I could see six mounted men galloping towards the other exit of the village.
- Those rats are tough. Maybe they're called Rats for a reason. Resilient and as nasty as real rats. Well, fuck them. Not my problem. - I said, getting comfortable on my horse and stroking VJ. - I'll feed them to you if I have to.
VJ looks at me like I'm an idiot, saying he's a descendant of lions and tigers and won't eat such garbage. That makes me chuckle.
After riding all night, Ciri decided to take a break. Yes, not only her, but the horses as well. Having found a more or less secluded place in one of the forests, we set up camp there. Ciri was quite skillful for a small girl in setting up the camp. With my limited help, it took less than an hour. I thought that Ciri would rest now, but instead she demanded explanations from me and showed me that she was not going to wait any longer.
- Eh. All right, then. Then make yourself comfortable. The story will be very long and complicated, - sitting down near the fire where the porridge was cooking and with VJ on my lap, I began to tell her everything. Who I am. How I know Ciri. Pretty much everything. Even more, I told her a great deal about the future. No secrets or innuendos. I could have withheld something or made it look good, but I didn't want to lie to her. She's been through enough grief, and lies and deception will only make it worse.
Ciri asked. Ciri clarified. Ciri didn't believe. Ciri cried. Ciri raged. Ciri accused. Ciri calmed down. Ciri accepted the truth. She learned and experienced a lot in one day. By the time I finished my story, it was evening, and Ciri was only looking at the embers in the fire.
- It's very hard to believe, but you... Everything you say is true. After all, some things only I and a few people knew, and other things only I knew. It's all too hard to believe. - Ciri murmured, and I just smiled in response.
- Yes. It's hard to believe. - said Sweers, whom we'd forgotten about during my story, suddenly clearly and loudly. - But it's too wild and crazy even for the wildest bullshit.
- You don't say. But I'm used to it. You'll get used to it. So smile and wave, guys. Smile and wave. - my last words caused them to laugh lightly.
That's good. A little positivity wouldn't hurt.
P.S. This is the last chapter in the world of The Witcher. Now back to the good old shithole called Night City.