The moment Seb and Ciri crossed the threshold of the entrance to the cavern, it got dark and silent, Ciri slowed her steps almost immediately.
Her eyes adjusted as best they could, but the darkness pressed in from all sides, the faint light from outside barely reached past the entrance, and within a few steps, it was gone entirely.
"…I hate caves," she muttered under her breath, her voice echoing faintly against the stone walls.
Sebastian didn't respond right away. To him, the darkness wasn't nearly as bad as the earlier fog. His gaze moved through the cavern with far more clarity, picking out the uneven ground, the walls, the narrow passages branching deeper within. The ceiling stretched high in some places, with sharp rock formations hanging like teeth ready to fall.
"This place hasn't been empty for a long time," he said quietly.
Ciri glanced around, then reached toward a wooden torch fixed into the wall near the entrance. She pulled it free, holding it up before looking at him expectantly.
"Light it."
Sebastian looked at her. there was a pause, brief but very clear, one word was written all over his face, 'really?'
Then, without a word, he raised his hand.
Flame bloomed instantly, wrapping around his palm and fingers, steady and bright, casting a strong, flickering glow across the cavern walls. The light it produced was far stronger than any torch, pushing back the darkness in a wide radius.
"How about this instead?" he said.
Ciri blinked once, then let out a small breath, lowering the torch slightly.
"…Or you can do that, yeah," she admitted.
The firelight danced across the stone, revealing more of the cavern's interior. The ground was uneven, scattered with loose rocks and old debris. Deeper in, the passage widened.
He stepped forward slowly, his senses stretching outward.
"There's definitely something living here," he said.
Ciri followed close behind, her grip tightening around her sword.
"It has to be him," she replied. "Old Speartip, Geralt mentioned him… a cyclops."
Sebastian gave a small nod, though his focus didn't waver.
"I know," he said. "I'm just confirming to you that he's here."
"If he's asleep," Sebastian continued, his voice lowering slightly, "we don't wake him, is that clear?"
Ciri glanced at him. "He can't harm you anyway."
Sebastian stopped walking for a second, and looked at Ciri.
Then he continued walking.
"I'm not worried about me."
That was enough, Ciri didn't respond to that. The meaning was obvious enough, and she fell silent, following just a step closer than before.
They moved deeper into the cavern, their footsteps careful now, barely making a sound except of dripping water that echoed faintly from somewhere unseen.
Eventually, the path narrowed and ended abruptly in a wall of collapsed stone. Large rocks blocked the way entirely, sealing off whatever passage had once been there.
Ciri stepped forward, examining it briefly.
"We can break through this with your signs, use Aard." she said, already shifting her stance slightly.
"No."
Sebastian's answer came immediately.
Ciri glanced back at him.
"If he's asleep, any kind of disturbance will wake him," he explained. "Sound carries differently in caves."
His eyes moved toward the deeper tunnels.
"And something like that?" he added. "That would wake up a hibernating vampire, the bastard's an experienced killer. Better not announce ourselves."
Ciri exhaled, then gave a small nod. "Alright… we go around."
They turned, choosing another path, one that sloped slightly downward into deeper darkness.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then Ciri broke the silence, "I might not be strong enough to kill a cyclops right now," she said, her gaze fixed ahead. "But I'll come back one day."
Her grip tightened.
"And when I do… I'll make him pay. For every boy he killed in this place."
Sebastian walked in silence for a few steps, the firelight from his hand casting shifting shadows across his face.
"I'd like to say I'm not bothered by all of that," he said finally.
A faint exhale followed.
"But that would be a lie."
His eyes hardened slightly.
"I feel the same way." his tone turned colder now.
"To the point that I want to kill him right now."
Ciri turned her head toward him, a spark lighting in her eyes.
"Then why not?" she said, a grin forming despite the situation. "Let's do it!"
She stepped a little ahead of him now, energy creeping back into her voice.
"Geralt and the others will be expecting us to sneak through, avoid him, complete the trial the old-fashioned way…" she continued, a small laugh slipping out. "Instead, we gut the bastard and walk out."
Sebastian looked at her, he was considering.
For a moment, just a moment, it almost sounded tempting.
Then he shook his head slightly.
"Too dangerous," he said.
Ciri frowned. "For you?"
"For you," he corrected.
That stopped her.
"Monsters aren't stupid," he continued. "They know who the weaker target is. He'll go for you first."
His voice remained calm,
"Cyclopses are slow compared to some things… but they're still fast enough. Strong enough to kill heavily armored knights with one hit."
Ciri stepped closer before he could continue.
Her hand reached out and grabbed his.
It wasn't forceful, but it wasn't hesitant either.
"I know damn it!" she said.
Her voice softened, but didn't lose its resolve.
"I know I'll be the target. I know I'm not as strong as you yet!"
She held his gaze.
"But that's exactly why I want to try."
There was no arrogance in her tone.
"Not because I think it'll be easy," she added quietly. "But because I don't want to keep running from things like this."
"Not anymore."
Sebastian looked at her for a long moment.
Then he exhaled.
"…Fine. Damn it."
Ciri's grip tightened slightly, just for a second.
"But you must stay sharp and remember why we are doing this," he added, his tone hardening again. "One mistake you'll make, and we fall back. No arguing."
Ciri nodded immediately. "Deal."
He pulled his hand free gently and turned, his focus shifting deeper into the cavern.
"Let's find him first," he said. "I can hear breathing… this way."
Ciri frowned slightly as she followed behind him.
"I don't hear anything," she admitted. "Just your fire crackling."
Sebastian didn't look back.
"You will in a minute considering the way he is... snoring," he said.
The deeper they went, the quieter their steps became, until even the faint scrape of leather against stone felt too loud. The cavern narrowed, then opened again into something far larger, the ceiling rising high above them into darkness that even Sebastian's flame struggled to fully reach. The air here was warmer in a strange way.
It was Rot.
Sebastian stopped without a word.
His hand lowered slightly, the flames dimming just enough to keep the light contained. Then he crouched, slowly, his gaze fixed ahead.
Ciri mirrored him instantly, dropping into a crouch beside him, her breath instinctively held as she followed his line of sight.
At first, she saw nothing but shadows.
Then her eyes adjusted.
And she heard it.
A deep, rumbling sound that seemed to vibrate through the cavern itself.
The sound of snoring.
Her eyes widened slightly as she leaned forward just a fraction, careful not to disturb even a pebble beneath her.
"…I get what you meant now.." she whispered, her voice barely audible. "He's… loud."
Ciri's gaze shifted again, focusing deeper into the chamber.
And then she saw him.
Old Speartip.
The cyclops lay sprawled across the cavern floor, his enormous frame stretched out carelessly, his single eye was shut, his massive chest rising and falling with each breath. One arm lay across his torso, the other slack against the ground, fingers the size of short swords curled loosely into the dirt.
He looked… comfortable.
Ciri swallowed slightly, then her gaze drifted outward, past him.
"…Look at that," she murmured.
Bones.
Scattered across the cavern floor in uneven piles, some crushed, others left almost intact. Smaller ones. Larger ones. Too many to count at a glance.
Her voice dropped further.
"Could that be…"
Sebastian's eyes moved over them.
"No…Not all of them," he said quietly. "They're not old enough."
He shifted slightly, his tone steady despite the sight.
"Some might belong to the boys though," he admitted. "But most of these… animals. Deer, wolves… things he dragged in from outside."
"He's been feeding well."
Ciri didn't look convinced, but she didn't argue either. Her gaze lingered on the bones for another moment before returning to the cyclops.
The way he lay there, unbothered and unchallenged.
As if the lives lost here meant nothing.
Her grip on her sword tightened slowly.
"We should kill him now," she whispered, her voice sharper than before. "Before he wakes up."
Sebastian's eyes remained fixed on the creature, studying it.
A sleeping monster was still a monster.
But it was also… vulnerable.
"Of course," he said after a moment of calculating the best possible approach.
"If we do this, we do it clean and my way," he continued. "Is that clear?"
His gaze shifted briefly toward her.
Ciri nodded, her expression hardening,
"I'll follow your lead," she whispered.
/-\
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