Chapter 232: End of a Curse
As night fell upon the land, the three witchers made their way to Old Vizima. The night was chilly, and the air was muddied with dust. Beyond the bridge stood the old city, lights flickering in the night. The palace was abandoned and destroyed. Ruins were strewn across the city. A dilapidated fence made out of decaying wood stood as the only line of defense. Within the great hall slept an uneven stone slab. A flight of stairs leading into darkness stood underneath it. Beyond the stairs was a tomb. There was a big coffin fit for two corpses sitting there. It was the one where Adda and her mother were buried.
However, the skeletal remains were nowhere to be found. Instead, a monster had turned this coffin into its home. Tents stood around the palace haphazardly, and mountains of refuse towered around them. Those were the homes of the homeless, but because of the monster’s sudden appearance, the knights had chased the people here to the temple area.
There was nothing in this place now. Nothing but silence. The witchers went into a rickety wooden house beside the palace, calmly and meticulously making their preparations beside the dirty table in the house. According to the sorcerer, the striga would not leave its coffin until midnight. They still had time to prepare for the battle.
Roy placed the bag of alchemical supplies on the table and took a bunch of black bottles out. He took one of them, and his companions took two each. They unsheathed the blade strapped behind them and greased it with some kind of lotion. They kept smearing the blades until they were covered in the liquid, then they flicked their wrists. The house was filled with the blades’ gleam right away.
Roy muttered an incantation under his breath and downed the potion he took out. His companions did the same as well.
The witchers covered themselves with their cloaks and sat on the floor. Their eyes were closed, and they did not even move a muscle. Their breathing was starting to change. It became faster, as if they were hyperventilating. Thanks to the decoction, their faces started to contort, and all color was drained from them. Their veins were dyed purplish-black, and their pupils filled their whole eyes. The witchers’ gaze tore through the darkness, and their eyes gleamed.
***
A quiet little screech whispered in the hall. It was little more than a buzz, but the witchers heard it. That was the sound of something pushing the coffin’s lid open. A few moments later, the stone slab blocking the entrance to the tomb was flung away as well, and out came a grotesque monster that fitted Foltest’s description to a T.
A disproportionately large head was attached to a stubby neck. It was covered in red feathers, and its eyes shone red, just like a beast’s would. Unlike her human form, Adda looked like a muscular humanoid beast in her striga form, though it still retained some of her human traits, such as her breasts that were protruding from her chest.
‘Striga
Age: Nineteen years old
Gender: Female
Staus: Princess, Cursed One (Ostrit’s curse took effect the second time, turning the princess into the cruel and powerful striga)
HP: 300
Strength: 8 → 20
Dexterity: 9 → 20
Constitution: 8 → 20
Perception: 7
Will: 5 → 6
Charm: 7 → 3
Spirit: 5
Skills:
One-handed Mastery Level 3…
Dagger Mastery Level 2…
Bow Mastery Level 2…
***
There were about three hours until dawn, and Foltest’s royal consultants finally came. They were shocked to see the towering monster standing before them, wrapped in layers of silver chains.
“I guess there’s a reason for your reputation, witchers from the south.” Triss looked at the witchers for a while, and she confirmed that they were not hurt. At most, they were just sweating.
Keira was looking at Auckes and Serrit in a new light. She had no idea the stupid witchers were even better in combat than they were in bed. “Look at it. They managed to turn this big, ugly monster into some docile creature.” Her palms were starting to sweat, and for some reason, she was coming up with an image in her head. It was a dark night, and two men were tying up a woman on an empty field. That woman was her, of course. Hm, I wonder how it’d feel if he was the one in chains? Or if I was the one they were chaining up? She clamped her legs shut at the thought of that.
Fercart stopped her train of thought. “Thank you, witchers. We’ll handle the rest.”
The sorcerers started casting a spell at the weakened striga. They used the blood on the ground as paint and drew runes on the striga’s head. The incantations filled its face, and even the chains were covered in Elder Speech. There was also Ellylon and some other languages on it as well.
About half an hour later, the sorcerers summoned the elements and infused them into the runes. As the magic started taking place, the striga started calming down, and its breathing was no longer ragged. A moment later, its chest started heaving, and it fell asleep. The sorcerers heaved a sigh of relief. They too were sweating.
“You’ll have to take her back to the tomb now, witchers.”
The witchers obliged.
The tomb under the palace was about the size of a palace’s bedroom, but there was nothing aside from the uncovered coffin in the middle. Even the candelabras and sconces were gone. The sorcerers created some sconces with magic and illuminated the whole tomb. The witchers then stuffed the bound Adda into the coffin. To their surprise, there was enough space to stuff her and the chains.
Roy went inside and lay beside it as well. The monster was incredibly tall, so all Roy could see was its chest. I’d rather face its chest than its head. Someone then closed the lid, and darkness engulfed Roy. There was only a small crack enough for some air to come in.
“Hey, Roy!” Auckes said. “That’s Temeria’s princess right beside you! Don’t do anything stupid! I don’t wanna see you executed!”
“Fuck off! Why don’t you come in here then? I’d like to see you do anything stupid.”
“Ahem.” Fercart interrupted the conversation. He handed an oil lamp and an hourglass into the coffin. “Sorry for having you do this, Master Roy. Stay with the strig… I mean the princess until the third dawn, and the curse will be forever lifted. Don’t worry. My spell will keep her asleep until she returns to her human form. There will be someone standing guard outside as well.”
Triss said, “Roy, His Majesty said you can leave if you’re in danger. He won’t get mad at you. Take care of yourself.”
“Got it.” Roy held the hourglass up. The coffin was too dark, and even he could only see its silhouette, but that was more than enough.
Roy had hidden Gryphon somewhere in the wilds. He could teleport away if he was in any danger. Three days, huh? Well, guess I’ll meditate then. Roy looked at the striga again. He felt its breath, and eventually, he closed his eyes to meditate.
***
All the sand in the hourglass had fallen into the lower part when he woke up from his fourth meditation. The third dawn had arrived. Roy was not in a hurry to move. He closed his eyes and listened closely. What he heard was the sound of breathing. It was calm and quiet. When he turned around, the monster was no longer a monster. Instead, a fully naked woman was lying beside him.
Her dark-red hair covered most of her face, and her lips were white and dry. The chains covered most of her body. All Roy could see was the top side of her breasts.
Adda felt the witcher stir, and she said, “Roy?”
“It’s me.” Roy lit the light up with a mini Igni. He saw Adda mumbling and rubbing her eyes.
“I just woke up. What is this place? Where am I?”
“Did you forget, princess?” Roy took off his armor with difficulty and handed it to her. “Your curse grasped you once more, but it is over now. You are no longer bound to it. Let’s go,” he said softly. “Time to go home.”
***
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