The Witcher: Darkness Falls

Leon followed Jeraka into the village.

However, this was different from any village they had ever seen. The whole village was quiet and there were few people.

They came to a wooden house, and before they got close, they saw the gate in front of them was open. A cart was parked in the yard, and a skinny horse was eating the grass in the yard with its head down.

The door of the house was also open, but no one was seen.

There were several shocking scratches on the log wall.

The two men tied the horses at the door and walked in. The yellow mangy dog ​​lying at the door came over, wagging its tail and licking Jeraka.

"Hahaha, get out of here, you scabby dog, get out of here now!" Jeraka shouted in disgust while blocking with his hands.

Suddenly, he noticed two scratches on the dog's back that were so deep that the bone was visible, but they had already hardened and formed scabs.

So he immediately asked, "What happened? Who is so cruel? This almost broke your spine!"

The mangy dog ​​lay on the ground, shaking his butt, and looked up at Jeraka with a flattering face.

Leon squatted down and asked Jeraka to help hold the dog down.

"What's wrong?" Jelaka asked.

Leon reached out and touched the scar on its back, frowned slightly and said, “It’s not man-made, it’s a claw mark.”

Jeraka opened his eyes wide, feeling somewhat unbelievable as he looked at the wound on the mangy dog's back that was thicker than two of his fingers.

"Claw marks? What creature has such big claws?" he exclaimed, while reaching out to touch the scar.

"It's a monster!"

A tired voice came from inside the house.

The two looked up and saw a middle-aged man walking out holding a bunch of sundries.

"Jeraka, what are you doing here?" The man was a little surprised to see the dwarf coming over.

When he turned his gaze to the witcher next to the dwarf, he was almost frightened and dropped the things on the ground.

"Damn it, you brought a monster here?!" the man screamed.

"Show some respect, he's not a monster, he's my friend Leon. Have you heard of demon hunters? Leon is a demon hunter master!" Jeraka shouted in dissatisfaction, "He's here to help!"

The man looked at Leon suspiciously, constantly recalling memories related to the witcher.

Although he had never seen a demon hunter, after Jekara's reminder, he realized that the other party was exactly the same as the demon hunter he had heard of.

White hair, snake-like eyes, and two swords.

"Monster Hunter!" The man was extremely surprised, and no longer looked panicked at all.

He put down what he was holding and immediately stepped forward and said, "Hello, my name is John Griffin, you can just call me John, your name is..."

"Leon, Jeraka introduced you," Leon said.

On the way here, Jelaka had already explained John's situation.

He is a bachelor and his family has lived here for generations. His identity as a miner was inherited from his father, and his father's identity was inherited from his grandfather.

A few years ago, a mine collapsed and John's father was buried inside and has not been dug out to this day.

The village they live in is called Rhodonite Village, named after the mineral behind the village.

The entire village is located under the mine. Most of the men in the village are miners, and almost all activities here revolve around mining.

A monster attacked the mine, but Dan Rowan's soldiers were unable to kill the monster, so the mine was shut down and more and more people were forced to leave because they lost their jobs.

Now, there are only a few people left in the village, and John is one of them.

"Um... Master Demon Hunter, I haven't had a decent job for several months. I used all the florins I had on renting a house in the west of the city. Now I have no money at all... So, how do you charge for the missions?" John asked cautiously.

The demon hunters couldn't work for them for free, just like they couldn't work for the city lord for free.

It is only natural to get paid for work.

John looked at Leon nervously, fearing that Leon would quote a price he couldn't afford.

Jeraka smiled and said, "Don't worry, someone has already paid for you. You just need to provide some clues."

Hearing this, John breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he cheered up and invited them to come in and sit down.

"I'm really sorry, I've been so busy these days. I've been working in the mines since I was ten years old, which means I've been a miner for more than 20 years.

This damn monster showed up out of nowhere, without warning, and I've been out of work for seven months.

I looked for odd jobs everywhere, but after deducting food, there was almost nothing left.

I just found a job as a miner in the west of town yesterday, and I've spent all my remaining savings, which I was saving for my wife.

I plan to move all my things over there, so if you come later you won’t be able to see me.” John said.

He pulled over a few wooden stools, wiped the dust off them with his sleeves, and invited the two to sit down.

John said with a frustrated look: "I really wish you could come earlier. I have nothing but these things now."

Jeraka comforted him, "Don't worry, you'll be able to move your things back soon, or maybe you won't even have to go there."

John smiled bitterly, looked at Leon and asked, "Master Demon Hunter, what do you want to ask?"

Leon said: "About that monster, have you seen it with your own eyes?"

When John mentioned the monster, fear appeared in his eyes.

"Yes... yes, but not very clearly," John stammered.

"Come, have a drink and talk slowly." Jeraka took out the wine bag and handed it to John.

John took it without hesitation and took a sip. A blush appeared on his face, and he was not so scared anymore.

"Thank you!" John handed the wine bag back and began to reminisce.

“It was a week ago, and I came back to my room exhausted like I always do.

I don’t know why, but I locked the door in advance when I got home that night. Maybe I was too tired that day.

In the middle of the night, I was awakened by Toby's screaming.

It kept barking, which made me annoyed, so I got up and tried to make it quiet down.

But as soon as I reached the door, I heard its shrill scream.

I was frightened and didn't open the door.

After a while Toby stopped barking. I lay down carefully in front of the door and looked out through the crack.

It was too dark outside and I couldn't see anything clearly, but I remember that we had a pair of creepy green eyes, just like a wolf!

He didn't make a sound, but he seemed to sense me and began to scratch my wall and bang on my door frantically.

I lost all desire to sleep and held the door tightly to prevent it from succeeding.

I don't know how much time passed, I felt like I was going to die here, but finally it gave up and ran away.

The next morning I left here with Toby who survived.

I didn’t come back until today, and I came back to pack my things.”

After listening to John's narration, Leon still had no clue.

If it only had a pair of green eyes, this would be impossible to guess, because many monsters' eyes turn green at night.

He looked at Toby, the mangy dog, who was wagging his tail and looking at them.

Strangely enough, it didn't die.

Even monsters will eat their prey or take it away after killing it.

It's incredible that the dog survived.

Leon asked: "Besides this, is there anything else?"

John thought hard for a moment and said, "It's hunched over, it seems like this, and it's standing on two legs. I can't see clearly, but it seems to be in human form."

Leon began to think.

There are indeed many records about monsters in the notes left by Sikori, but there are so many human-shaped ones that it is impossible to compare them.

Moreover, he had only been a witcher for six years, either killing water ghosts or clearing out carrion demons. It was only in recent months that his life as a witcher was enriched.

For example, he killed a poisonous horned lizard, four zombies, and a dozen monsters from another world.

His experience was really insufficient, and he couldn't determine the type of monster from this little information.

"Woof! Woof!" Toby shouted loudly outside the door.

John stood up with a start and looked out the door, but there was nothing.

He said hurriedly: "Well, it will be dark in more than two hours, I...I have to leave.

Let's go together, I think it's too dangerous here."

Jeraka trusted Leon immensely and said with a big laugh, "No need, Leon is a demon hunter, the nemesis of monsters! Don't worry!"

Seeing that John was still nervous, Jeraka said, "Your horse is skinny and it won't be able to reach Dane Rowan in two hours with your stuff. What if you encounter a monster on the road?

Stay, at least we are still here! Right Leon! "

Leon nodded.

John took a deep breath, moved his lips, and finally accepted the dwarf's suggestion.

They sat together, ate a simple meal, and waited for night to fall.