It was dark.
Darker in the woods than it should have been, the only sound filling the cold air was a deer rapidly licking at a pool of nearby water, a swamp, surrounded by dead twigs and ghastly trees. The fog weaving it's way around the looming tree branches made the swampland seem more mysterious and evil, and energy that couldn't quite be placed.
The deer stopped drinking, licking its lips with a liking to find fresher water, his eyes skimming the dirty waters surface, soon, a bubble rippled over the surface of the dark water, brief, but there. The deers head poked up at the sound, ears twitching as it chewed on the dead leaves on the ground. The deer, aware of the disturbance but not quite aware of the danger yet, crept closer to the waters edge, ears briefly pinning back.
All too suddenly, just as the swamp was seeming eerily still, a large splash sounded, a large black appendage shot out of the water, the deers back end reared up for a moment, then it ran, it's keen survival instincts saving it just in time before the appendage swiped at its feet.
Followed with this large black appendage, a leg of sorts, with talon like claws at the end was a man, not just any man, Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher.
Geralt held on, jaw set stubbornly as he linked one arm over the leg of the creature, hanging on for dear life as the creature reared up out of the water, his white hair soaked. His other hand held his sword and with a grunt, he swung the sword down, chopping off the leg of the creature, black ink like blood coating the metal of his Witcher's blade as he dropped back into the water below.
Geralt was fighting a Kikimora, a venomous, insectoid monster that lives in underground burrows and swamps, it resembles a large, spider-like creature. They are divided into castes, including industrious workers, protective warriors, and a central, procreating queen. More commonly known for the creature was it's glassy eyes, fangs and dry leathery skin.
Geralt wasted no time as soon as his feet his the ground, twisting around to the right and swinging his sword behind him aiming to cut off another one of the creatures legs, another short and deep growl leaving him as he did. He missed, his blood stained blade hitting nothing but the water as he now came face to face with the Kikimora. The front legs of the creature reared forward, striking at Geralt with it's short but sharp claws, Geralt doing his best to dodge them, and so far, successfully. The Kikimora swung down, Geralt blocking the blow with his sword, one arm pushing up on the handle to keep the claws from attacking, he managed to counter it, stabbing the Kikimora in the front of its body causing a loud awful screech to leave the creature, though it would take more than that to defeat it.
One of the legs soon came down, pushing down on Geralt's chest and pushing him down beneath the water. Geralt felt the sword slip from his hand, a brief and muffled clang heard as it his some stones at the bottom of the swamp. Geralt grunted as much as he could, holding his breath as he wrapped his hands around the top of the creatures legs, twisting his body from side to side trying to free himself. He looked to his right, seeing his blade laying beside him mere inches away though he could not reach it right now. A frustrated growl left him, looking up, eyes straining to stay open all he could see was the rippled and blurry face of the Kikimora above him, snarling down at him ready to attack.
The Kikimora attacked, swinging two of its other front legs at the Witcher, stabbing down into the water, thankfully all missing the Witcher. A bit of wiggle room became available and Geralt managed to lean his body to the side, he struggled to teach his blade, fingers briefly skimming the hilt before slipping away again, all while trying to not get injured. He succeeded in grabbing the hilt of his sword and grasped onto it tightly, a confirmation he actually had a hold of the trusted steel. He cut the Kikimora across the top of its legs, not enough to amputate the appendage, but enough so that the Kikimora lifted it's leg up and pulled Geralt up with it, allowing the Witcher to finally breathe again. The Kikimora let out a wail of pain, and he wasted no time in placing the tip of his blade into the mouth of the creature, pressing it against the root of its mouth before finally pushing upwards in one confident thrust.
Almost immediately the creatures wails faded to silence, the second the blade penetrated the head, its legs slumped down around it's small and ugly body, eyes rolling to the back of its head. Dead.
Geralt with a grunt pulled out his sword, a sick sloshing sound coming from the action. His eyes were pure black, skin white with black lines coming down on his skin around his eyes down to his cheeks. He let out a quick sigh of relief, of victory as he watched the mighty creature fall and crumble before him, ignoring the slight blood splatter across his forehead from the creature.
Geralt watched, making sure the creature would definitely not be back for a round two, waiting until it was half slumped under the water before deciding to call it a day. He dragged himself out of the swamp, feet heavy as his leather clothes were soaked and boots slightly filled with water. He came onto solid ground, seeing the deer from earlier, though it hadn't been as lucky as expected, a chunk of flesh ripped out near it's hind leg and Geralt tilted his head to the side slightly. "Today isn't your day, is it?" He asked, and almost slight tone of humour in his voice. He pressed his lips together, licked them briefly and sniffed up before stepping forward and lunging his sword at the small fragile creature, putting an end to its misery.