The dusty road stretched endlessly before the Romeld Company as they approached the modest town of Ivalo after five days of steady travel through Temerian countryside. Their magnificent steeds, though weary from the journey, maintained their proud bearing as they clip-clopped through the town's cobblestone streets. The afternoon sun cast long shadows between timber-framed buildings, and the air carried the familiar scents of wood smoke, fresh bread, and the underlying tension that seemed to permeate every settlement in these troubled times.
Ivalo was a typical frontier town—large enough to support several inns, a blacksmith, and a modest market square, but small enough that the arrival of seven well-armed strangers on exceptional horses drew immediate attention. Merchants paused in their haggling, children peeked around their mothers' skirts, and more than one hand drifted toward concealed weapons before the townspeople recognized the disciplined bearing and quality equipment that marked professional mercenaries rather than brigands.
As they guided their mounts toward the town's central square, Geralt's keen eyes immediately spotted what they had learned to look for in every settlement—the community notice board where desperate people posted pleas for help that local authorities either couldn't or wouldn't address. The weathered wooden board was covered with the usual collection of merchant announcements, tax notices, and calls for laborers, but three particular notices stood out like blood on snow.
Mila Thornwood, age 16, disappeared three days past while gathering herbs in the highland forests. Last seen wearing blue dress and carrying wicker basket. Reward of 25 orens for information leading to her safe return.
Jorik and Hendrik Ironwright, stonemasons, vanished while quarrying stone in the northern highlands. Tools and cart found abandoned. Reward of 30 orens for their return or definitive word of their fate.
Creatures of unknown nature terrorizing the forested highlands. Three confirmed attacks, multiple disappearances. Mayor Aldrich offers 100 orens for elimination of the threat. Inquire at the Prancing Pony Inn.
Visenna dismounted gracefully from Morningstar, her healer's instincts immediately engaged by the human tragedy these simple notices represented. "Missing persons and monster attacks in the same area," she murmured to Geralt. "The connection seems obvious."
Geralt nodded grimly as he swung down from Shadowdancer's saddle. "One hundred orens suggests they're dealing with something more dangerous than wolves or common necrophages. Let's gather information before we make any commitments."
The Prancing Pony Inn proved to be exactly what they expected—a sturdy two-story building with a common room thick with pipe smoke and nervous conversation. The moment they entered, conversations quieted as patrons assessed the newcomers. Their reputation had not yet reached this remote corner of Temeria, but their professional appearance and confident bearing marked them as capable individuals in a town desperate for solutions.
The innkeeper, a portly man with graying hair and worried eyes, introduced himself as Aldwin Forrester. "You're here about the bounty," he said without preamble. "I can see it in your eyes—you've got the look of hunters. Please, tell me you can succeed where others have failed."
Dick's charm proved invaluable in loosening tongues and gathering crucial details. Over mugs of surprisingly good ale, they learned that the disappearances had begun nearly two weeks ago. The pattern was consistent—people venturing into the forested highlands beyond the town simply vanished without trace, leaving behind only scattered belongings and, in some cases, signs of violent struggle.
"The first was old Henrik the herbalist," explained a local farmer named Garrett, his hands shaking slightly as he clutched his drink. "Found his gathering sack torn to pieces, scattered herbs everywhere, but no blood, no body, nothing. Then the Ironwright brothers disappeared while quarrying stone. Their cart was overturned, tools scattered, but again—no bodies."
A grizzled hunter named Tomek provided more ominous details. "I went tracking three days back, looking for signs. Found tracks unlike anything I've seen in forty years of hunting these forests. Big as dinner plates, clawed, but not bear or wolf. And the smell..." He shuddered. "Like carrion and musk mixed with something fouler."
Visenna leaned forward, her medical knowledge engaged. "Were there any survivors? Anyone who saw these creatures and lived to describe them?"
Tomek nodded reluctantly. "Young Willem, the blacksmith's apprentice. He was with the Ironwright brothers when they were attacked. Came running back to town, babbling about 'giant monsters with many eyes' and 'beasts that moved like shadows.' We thought he was mad with fear until we found the abandoned cart."
That evening, the Romeld Company made their preparations with the methodical thoroughness that had served them well in previous encounters. Visenna brewed specialized potions—Cat for enhanced night vision, Swallow for rapid healing, and Thunderbolt to boost their reflexes and strength. The descriptions provided by witnesses suggested they were dealing with creatures that relied on stealth and ambush tactics, making enhanced senses crucial for survival.
Geralt studied his bestiary notes by lamplight, cross-referencing the reported characteristics with known monster types. Large tracks, multiple eyes, carrion scent, preference for forested terrain, and the ability to completely devour human victims without leaving remains pointed toward one particular category of creature.
"Fiends," he announced to his companions. "Large relict creatures, highly intelligent, capable of both stealth and overwhelming physical assault. They typically hunt alone, but if we're dealing with multiple disappearances in such a short timeframe..."
"Multiple fiends," Eskel concluded grimly. "That's a significant threat level. These aren't mindless nekkers or even common griffins we're discussing."
At dawn, properly equipped and prepared, the company rode toward the forested highlands. Their horses, sensing their riders' tension, moved with alert wariness as they followed the rough track that led into increasingly wild country. The forest closed around them gradually—first scattered copses, then thicker groves, finally dense woodland where ancient oaks and towering pines created a canopy so thick that midday seemed like twilight.
The tracks were easy to follow once they knew what to look for. Three sets of massive paw prints, each the size of a serving platter, led deeper into the forest along what had once been a deer trail. The fiends were confident in their territory, making no effort to conceal their passage.
Jacob's keen eyes spotted additional signs—claw marks on tree trunks at shoulder height, indicating creatures of substantial size, and the lingering musk scent that Tomek had described. Scattered throughout the area were smaller traces of the fiends' victims—torn clothing, broken tools, and bones picked clean and scattered by scavengers.
"They're using the old quarry as a feeding ground," Vicky observed quietly, pointing toward a cleared area where stone had been cut from natural outcroppings. "Plenty of open space for ambush, with thick cover all around."
The First Encounter
The attack came without warning, as Geralt had expected from creatures renowned for their stealth. One moment they were carefully examining claw marks on a massive oak tree; the next, the forest erupted in chaos as the first fiend burst from concealment barely twenty feet away.
The creature was even more formidable than Geralt's bestiary had prepared him for—nearly eight feet tall at the shoulder, covered in coarse brown fur marked with ritualistic scars, and possessing a third eye in the center of its forehead that glowed with malevolent intelligence. Its massive claws, each as long as a sword blade, gleamed wickedly as it charged with surprising speed for such a large creature.
Geralt rolled aside, his enhanced reflexes allowing him to avoid the fiend's initial rush, and came up with both steel and silver swords drawn. The creature's momentum carried it past him, and he managed to score a deep cut along its flank with his silver blade, drawing a spray of dark blood and an ear-splitting roar of pain and rage.
The fiend's response was immediate and devastating. Its third eye flared with eldritch energy, and Geralt felt his mind suddenly fogged with confusion and disorientation. The creature's hypnotic gaze was attempting to stun him, leaving him helpless for the killing blow that would surely follow.
But Geralt's training served him well. He snapped his eyes shut and relied on his other enhanced senses, hearing the fiend's heavy breathing and feeling the vibrations of its approach through the forest floor. A perfectly timed Quen sign absorbed the worst of the creature's claw swipe, though the impact still sent him staggering backward.
The Pack Revealed
The first fiend's attack was merely the opening move in a coordinated assault. Even as Geralt struggled against the hypnotic effects, the second and third fiends emerged from concealment on opposite flanks, attempting to encircle and overwhelm their prey through superior numbers and positioning.
Eskel and Jacob moved to intercept the second fiend, a slightly smaller but more aggressive specimen that launched itself at them with reckless fury. Eskel's massive two-handed sword met the creature's charge head-on, the blade biting deep into the fiend's shoulder while Jacob's crossbow bolts found gaps in its thick hide.
The third fiend, the largest of the group and clearly the pack leader, advanced more cautiously toward where Dick, Vicky, and Visenna had formed a defensive triangle. This creature bore extensive scarring and moved with the calculated precision of a veteran predator that had survived countless battles.
Dick's blade work was poetry in motion as he danced around the massive creature's attacks, his lighter weapons unable to penetrate the fiend's thick hide but serving to distract and misdirect its attention. Vicky's signs provided crucial support—Yrden traps slowed the creature's movements while Igni blasts singed its fur and filled the air with the stench of burning hair.
The battle's momentum shifted when Geralt finally overcame the first fiend's hypnotic influence and launched a devastating counterattack. His silver sword, enhanced with specter dust that Visenna had prepared specifically for relict creatures, carved deep wounds across the fiend's chest and legs. Each cut blazed with silver fire that caused the creature to howl in agony.
A perfectly executed Aard blast sent the wounded fiend crashing into a massive tree trunk with bone-crushing force. Before it could recover, Geralt followed up with a precise thrust that found the gap between the creature's ribs, piercing its heart with silver-enhanced steel.
The first fiend's death cry echoed through the forest, a sound of such primal rage and pain that birds fled from trees hundreds of yards away. But rather than demoralizing the remaining creatures, it seemed to drive them into even greater fury.
Eskel and Jacob's battle against the second fiend had become a brutal contest of endurance. The creature's thick hide had absorbed multiple wounds without slowing its assault, and its claws had scored several hits despite their defensive positioning. Jacob's crossbow was nearly empty of bolts, and Eskel's heavy blade was notched from repeated impacts against the fiend's massive claws.
The breakthrough came when Jacob managed to score a critical hit with one of his specialized monster-hunting bolts. The projectile, tipped with dimeritium and coated with specter dust, punched through the fiend's third eye and penetrated deep into its brain. The creature staggered, its hypnotic abilities disrupted and its coordination severely compromised.
Eskel seized the opportunity with ruthless efficiency. His two-handed sword, wielded with all the strength of his enhanced physique, cleaved completely through the fiend's neck in a single mighty stroke. The creature's massive head rolled across the forest floor, its remaining eyes staring sightlessly at the canopy above.
The pack leader, witnessing the deaths of its companions, abandoned all pretense of strategy and launched itself at the remaining members of the company with suicidal fury. This was no longer a hunt for food but a battle for territorial dominance, and the ancient creature would not yield its domain without extracting maximum carnage from the intruders.
The alpha fiend's assault was a masterclass in predatory violence. Its massive frame moved with impossible speed, claws carving deep gouges in tree trunks and stone as it pursued its targets. Its third eye blazed with hypnotic energy so intense that even looking in its general direction caused disorientation and nausea.
Dick found himself the primary target of the creature's rage, his earlier harassment having marked him as a particularly irritating threat. His speed and agility were pushed to their absolute limits as he dodged between trees, using the forest terrain to break the fiend's line of sight and disrupt its hypnotic gaze.
Vicky's tactical brilliance proved crucial in the final moments. While the alpha fiend was focused on pursuing Dick, he managed to place a series of Yrden traps directly in the creature's path. The magical snares slowed the fiend's movement just enough for Visenna to score a critical hit with a crossbow bolt loaded with one of her most potent toxins.
The poison, specifically formulated to target the nervous systems of large relict creatures, took effect within seconds. The alpha fiend's coordination faltered, its third eye dimmed, and its massive frame stumbled as the toxin spread through its bloodstream.
Geralt delivered the killing blow with characteristic precision—a silver-enhanced thrust that found the gap between the creature's shoulder blades and pierced its heart from behind. The alpha fiend collapsed with a sound like a falling tree, its reign of terror over the highland forests finally ended.
With the immediate threat eliminated, the company set about the systematic harvesting of materials that made monster hunting profitable beyond simple bounty collection. Fiend parts were valuable to alchemists, craftsmen, and researchers throughout the northern kingdoms, and proper harvesting required both knowledge and skill.Geralt and Others worked together to extract the creatures' third eyes, carefully preserving the unique organs in specially prepared alchemical solutions. These hypnotic eyes were essential components in several advanced potions and could command prices of fifty crowns or more from the right buyers.
The fiends' claws, each as long as a dagger and harder than steel, were carefully removed and wrapped for transport. Master weaponsmiths could forge these into arrowheads and sword guards that would never dull or break, making them highly sought after by professional soldiers and hunters.
Eskel and Jacob focused on harvesting the creatures' blood, using specialized equipment to drain and preserve the vital fluid that served as a crucial ingredient in several witcher mutagens and enhancement potions. Fiend blood was particularly potent, requiring careful handling to prevent coagulation and contamination.
Dick and Vicky collected samples of the creatures' fur and hide, materials that could be crafted into armor and clothing that provided natural resistance to hypnotic effects and mental influence. The thick pelts would also serve as valuable trade goods in northern climates where warmth was a constant concern.
The systematic harvesting took several hours, but the results were impressive. Beyond the materials with immediate alchemical and crafting applications, they discovered a substantial cache of belongings from the fiends' victims hidden in a cave system near the quarry. Coins, jewelry, weapons, and tools represented both monetary value and closure for the families of the disappeared.
Most importantly, they found evidence that several victims had initially survived their encounters with the fiends, only to be kept alive as a food source. While this knowledge was grim, it confirmed that their intervention had prevented additional deaths and suffering.
The return journey to Ivalo was triumphant, with the company leading pack horses loaded with proof of their success. The mayor's promised bounty of one hundred orens was paid immediately, but the real value lay in the harvested materials and recovered goods, which totaled nearly 5 hundred crowns in estimated value.
The grateful townspeople offered additional rewards and services—free lodging, equipment repairs, and most valuably, detailed information about opportunities and threats in the surrounding regions. Their reputation as effective monster hunters spread quickly through local merchant networks, ensuring future contracts and commissions.
As they prepared to continue their journey deeper into Temeria, Geralt reflected on how their exile from Novigrad continued to transform into unexpected opportunity. Each successful contract built their reputation, filled their coffers, and demonstrated that the Path offered more than mere survival—it provided purpose, profit, and the satisfaction of protecting innocent lives from the monsters that lurked in the world's darker corners.
The fiend hunt had proven once again that the Romeld Company possessed the skills, coordination, and determination necessary to face whatever challenges the Continent might offer. With their horses rested, their equipment maintained, and their purses heavy with earned coin, they rode south toward whatever adventures awaited in the broader world beyond Novigrad's familiar streets.