36


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Now then, what should we call you?” I nk out


    <span style="font-weight:400">Forgot to prepare a name. Think. I have a fake witcher ne. Witcher. Witch hunter. Ludwig? Maria?


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Just call me Gehrman.” I blurted out.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Was a logger and a hunter beforeing here” Continue to make up things on the go.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Ludwig scoffs at thetter mention.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You? A hunter?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Never said I was sessful one.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You never said that.” He repeats. Raised my eyebrows in confusion. Ludwig seems like those people who take things too literally.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Then does this ne of yours keep shaking whenever it detects magic?” The Inquisitor now asks. I frowned at my ne.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah, I think so.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Ludwig is a shaman, does that mean the ne won’t stop shaking if he’s nearby?” Maria asked.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Seems so.” My frown deepened. Started to think that making this ne is not a good idea. If it keeps shaking on minute traces of magic I would get many false positives.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Will it not be useless then? I heard there are many wizards in Middenheim.” Alright this thing is useless based on what Maria said. Wasted 4 souls. Can I even refund this in soulforge or perhaps upgrade it to be more specific?


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Most wizards are dispatched outside to help the surrounding viges along with the witch hunters. There are only a handful of Hierophants in Middenheim. That ne of yours might prove useful.” the Inquisitor added


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I sure hope so.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I believe we have enough pleasantries.” The Inquisitor finally starts the briefing.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You all know what happened. Cases of mutations have grown significantly after the golden light a few nights ago. But even then, adults suddenly and instantaneously turn into chaos spawns are unprecedented. Previous records suggest that this is only possible with the use of a chaos artifact. Four cases such as these happened yesterday.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">She shuffled through some reports


    <span style="font-weight:400">“All of you are personally involved in one, one within the temple district near the refuge area bordering the slums, one near the town square, and thest one is a knight panther. My men are… busy dealing with the knights. The situation there is pretty vtile. So I will leave the investigation on the town square and the temple district to the three of you. I suggest you start with the town square. One of my men will be there waiting for your help.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What about you?” Ludwig ask


    <span style="font-weight:400">“My presence is required to handle the knights.” Then he just nod


    <span style="font-weight:400">With nothing left to ask we exit the building and back within the alleyways


    <span style="font-weight:400">“So, does anyone remember the way out of this?” Ludwig confidently walks without a word. Maria smiles as she follows. Guess that means yes and I follow them for now.


    <span style="font-weight:400">____


    <span style="font-weight:400">Back within the building


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Keep an eye on the three of them. You are allowed to kill them if they prove suspicious”


    <span style="font-weight:400">____


    <span style="font-weight:400">I followed the couple a distance away so that my ne does not shake like crazy. Ludwig led us outside the alleyways quickly enough. The couple are whispering to each other and keep looking back at me. Unfortunately they are too far away to be heard properly this time even with my mutations They don’t see through me right? Is one of them either the Changeling or the Masque? Can’t be both of them at the same time right? Thinking about it again, both working together is quite unlikely. The Changeling is part of the reason the Masque cursed if I remember correctly.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Then the ne started shaking wildly again. I saw Maria slowing down to walk beside me


    <span style="font-weight:400">“This ne of yours, does it keep shaking like that if it detects magic?” she ask with some concern.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Seems so.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I didn''t see you wear it yesterday.” She probe


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I pocket it. It never shook this wildly before so I don’t bother wearing it. Why? You can do magic too?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, though I didn’t enroll in those magic universities so my practice was not… eptable.” So that’s what it is. Still suspicious though. A very convenient excuse too. The witch hunters did brand anyone using magic without enrolling to those universities as witches and servants of dark gods. Even then they still watch the wizards with suspicion.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Can you not tell the witch hunter we are meeting that I can do magic?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">I just nod. She smiled in response. Seemingly happy with just that.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Our walk to the town square is quick. There are still fewer pedestrians than they are before. Also there is a burning pyre in the middle of the square. Near it is a witch hunter carrying a torch in one hand. Other than that, he has the standard weaponry of a witch hunter. A rapier and a repeater pistol sheathed and holstered on his belt. Not Middenheim local it seems as he cleanly shaved his mustache and beard unlike everyone I have seen so far.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Judging by how confidently you approach me, you must be the help I was promised. Rest assured everything here is taken care of.” he spoke with level tone


    <span style="font-weight:400">“How? By burning everything?” I asked


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yes.” He answered a matter of factly


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What have you uncovered so far?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Enough.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Well, we have promised that we would help,” Maria stepped into the conversation. “So we will help in any way we can Mr…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Gerald Kostner.” He answered Maria and start to think


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Hmmm. With most busy dealing with the knights problem I guess I can hire the three of you as temporary bodyguards.” Maria looked back at Ludwig who just shrugged and at me who just raised my eyebrow.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Seems like there is no objection from us.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“And what of that foul contraption?” He point at my ne


    <span style="font-weight:400">“My ne detects magic.” I said. “It has never been this active before.” Then I add


    <span style="font-weight:400">Kostner hums as he thinks.


    <span style="font-weight:400">I am now at the very front of the group. The rest are very behind to the point that my ne is not shaking anymore. Now I am the canary of the party. Being the first one into danger and letting them know if my ne detects magic.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Don’t worry! We are right behind you!” Maria yelled in assurance from the back


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Now turn left!” Kostner yells


    <span style="font-weight:400">I turn left. The buildings start to get more and more rundown. I start to think about this sudden mutations. This must be either the Changeling’s or the Masque’s doing. Could be both as all 4 cases are in different locations. Since this happened yesterday, Ludwig and Maria are not both. Kostner might be the Changeling or the Masque. In fact, anyone could be one of those two daemons. Not to mention I still need to find Taal and Rhya.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Still deep in thought, I step on something soft. Stopping to look down, I stepped on a woman’s corpse. Looking around, there are many more corpses. Dozens. With many body parts and innards strewn around. Kostner walks towards the scene of carnage. But then he looks at my face instead and hums.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What? What are you doing?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Nothing.” He then walks forward, careful to not slip or step on the bodies.


    <span style="font-weight:400">I looked back confused and saw a simr confused expression from Maria. Then it dawns on me that he is judging my reaction to this carnage. And I did not react!. A blunder on my part. Though judging by Maria’s face, he did the same to her and Ludwig.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Did that ne of yours react, Gehrman?” Kostner ask as I catch up to him


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Then the trace is already cold.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What happened here?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“That.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">He points at a chaos spawn with multiple wolf heads grown haphazardly all over its body. Swords still sticking to its corpse and the body riddled with bullet holes.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Was a former priest of Ulric. He was supposed to lead the newest batch of refugees. Instead he turned into that and maul everyone here.


    <span style="font-weight:400">A deep growles from Ludwig seeing the chaos spawn. Visibly shaking with rage.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“How is this killed?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“The guards hire some mercenaries to help police the increased number of refugees.” I saw plenty of corpses with mismatched armor parts. These must be whatever is left of the mercenaries.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Any survivors?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Just one. A nervous female mercenary who somehow gets out unschated.” He said with a tinge of suspicion


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Now start piling those bodies!” He said to me and Ludwig“I have a corpse to dissect.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">I want to check the chaos spawn corpse too. But I am already suspicious enough as it is. As I pick one of the bodies strewn into an alley I look back. Making sure Ludwig and Maria is a far enough. The ne started shaking.