"Triss must have sensed it too," Geralt thought to himself. His witcher medallion twitched against his chest — some kind of magic nearby, or a creature from another sphere. Either one meant trouble. So why hadn't she said anything? "We're here! And not a moment too soon — my saddle sores were on the verge of revolt." Dandelion always aired his complaints in his performing voice, making sure they carried to the cheap seats.
This time his griping seemed especially loud, as though aimed at something in the dark. Perhaps the cave's residents were his intended audience. Once a profitable gold mine, the caverns had spent decades as a gloomy, monster-ridden place. Villagers who strayed too close vanished without a trace.
Lately, though, the gloom had pulled back, and no one had gone missing in months. The village elders knew someone who knew Geralt and had offered him a fat purse to gather a party and investigate. They claimed the sudden calm had upset the village's status quo. Yarpen stroked his beard and muttered to himself; he'd suspected from the outset that the elders were holding something back. Yet he'd come along anyway. Why? And Triss — why would a court sorceress abandon her post for a romp through an old mine? What made this cave so special? The moment they plunged into the darkness, Geralt knew the answer would have to wait — the hungry stares of the ghouls crawling out of the void promised to keep him occupied for a while.