Contract: Drowner

Ciri exhaled heavily, her sword held outwards, the tip pointing towards the Drowner stalking her. She matched its movements, making a large circle around the overgrown, muddy swamp that the Drowners had made home.

She was careful to keep her footing on as solid ground as she could find; a trip here could be fatal. She stepped over a corpse of one of the monsters she had already killed. There had been more than she had expected, so many more. The swamp was littered with scaly bodies and Drowner limbs as proof of that.

She had been foolish, arrogant. She could hear Vesimer's voice in her head scolding her for being so unprepared. What she thought was only a small group of roving Drowners turned out to be a nest nearly two dozen strong.

She winced as she felt her boot slide too deeply into the thick mud that seemed to cover all of this forsaken swamp. A sharp pain shot up her side as she quickly freed her foot before it anchored her to the earth.

One of the Drowners had clipped her before she had managed to take its head. Its claws had been sharp enough to make a deep gash along her side of her hip, running down her leather corset and pants. It wasn’t life-threatening but she was bleeding enough that her shirt was beginning to stain red and the wound itself throbbed every time she moved.

'What was another scar?' She thought to herself as she did her best to ignore the pain and focus on the last remaining monster.

"You better be the last," She muttered to herself. The Drowner narrowed its eyes at her, not understanding.

Ciri inched forward and the drowner took two steps back while making a gurgling growl.

"Stupid fish!" Ciri growled back angrily at the humanoid creature. It stood slightly shorter than herself, crouched over and covered in small scales. It had a large bulbous head and its eyes were large, chalky white and soulless. It’s arms were longer than a human's, making it difficult to judge the striking distance of its clawed, webbed hands.

Ciri paused and waited for it to make a move. She was exhausted and had killed more than a dozen of these creatures already. She needed to end this now before the overcast sky turned to rain and the Sun set.

The Drowner didn't move.

Ciri grunted in frustration. She wasn't going to be outplayed by something barely smarter than a dog.

"Come on, all your friends had no problem running at my blade," She taunted towards the creature. She lifted her sword and watched as the monster's eyes followed it. She moved forward and it flinched, but then stood its ground and lowered its stance. The creature's arms spread wide as if it was about to attack.

Ciri stepped forward, making sure to move within striking distance and the Drowner took the bait. She could see the muscles of its legs flex as it started to lurch forward, then a gurgling cry ran out from its fang-lined mouth as it jumped towards her.

Ciri pulled back, bringing her sword closer to her body before stepping to the side, gracefully dodging the attack. The Drowner leaped forward, missing her completely, driving its claws into the wet marshy grass. Ciri grinned wide and raised her sword for the killing blow but, as soon as she shifted her weight, she knew she had made a mistake.

Her rear leg sank up to her knee into the muck and, suddenly, Ciri was falling.

"Fuck!" Ciri cried out as she landed on her ass, splashing into a pool of water deep enough to cover her waist. Her sword fell across her body and she immediately pulled on her leg to free it from the mud.

The Drowner turned to face Ciri and Ciri froze for moment before quickly tugging on her foot. Her leg wouldn't move. She tugged it again and her bare foot slipped free of her boot just as the Drowner leaped towards her.

Too late.

The Drowner landed on Ciri with a thud, throwing her back into the muck. Its clawed hand came down but Ciri was able to shift her head to dodge the blow and grab onto its wrist.

The creature growled, its mouth opening wide as it reached down to bite at Ciri's face. Ciri's free arm reached up, grabbing it by its neck to hold it back. The Drowner reeked of **** and rot as its spit and saliva dripped from its fanged mouth onto Ciri's face. She twisted her head away as it lurched forward. Its own hand grabbed onto hers as it tried in vain to bite at her. Its body crushed down against hers, pinning her sword between them.

Ciri squirmed underneath the creature and felt herself sink deeper into the mud. ****, she dug her nails into the creature's neck, causing it to cry out in pain. She tried to roll but could barely move in the mud. She squeezed tighter around the monster's neck, causing it to rear back; seeing her chance, she let go of its neck and with all the strength she could must drove her elbow into the beast's lower stomach.

The Drowner grunted in pain as it was thrown back just enough to let Ciri grab her sword. With one hand on the blade and the other on the handle, Ciri thrusted it upwards but the Drowner was able to jump off her. Freed from its weight, Ciri grabbed the sword properly and swung it wildly forward in a large arc, forcing the Drowner back as she attempted to get up.

The sword felt heavier than it had ever felt in her hands. Ciri swung again, keeping the drowner at bay as she managed to prop herself on one knee. Her back was caked in mud and her shirt was soaked. The fabric clung tightly to her skin, restricting her movement and weighing her down.

The sky cracked with thunder and the clouds released themselves onto the earth sending down torrents of rain.

"Shit," Ciri muttered. More water was not what Ciri needed.

Ciri swung again to try to **** the Drowner to keep its distance but, as she went to stand, the Drowner lunged at her. She had been too predictable and the Drowner too fast. The creature lunged at Cir just as she had finished her swing, and for a moment she didn't think she would be quick enough to dodge his blow. All she could do was deflect it.

With no other choice, Ciri dropped her sword and threw herself backwards. The Drowner's claws missed Ciri's chest, instead sinking into the leather corset she wore around her waist. The thick leather did its job, blocking the Drowner's attack, but the creature's claws sank into the tan hide as it pulled down. In a flash, the garment was torn off Ciri's body.

Ciri crawled back and watched as the Drowner threw its claws back, sending her corset flying a few feet behind it. She looked down at her sword, which now lay closer to the creature then herself. The Drowner seemed to sense this as well. Ciri was breathing heavily now, her mouth agape to suck in air. Without her corset her thin white shirt clung awkwardly to her alabaster skin, revealing all.

'Pathetic,' Ciri thought to herself. She was losing a fight with a god damn Drowner!

Ciri backed up and looked around for anything she could use as a weapon. The Drowner leaped at her and she rolled, grabbing a large log before turning back towards the Drowner. She lifted the heavy waterlogged weapon and swung it wildly at the beast.

She missed.

Ciri's miss had thrown her off balance and, before she knew it, the Drowner was on top of her once again. She fell back this time under the weight of the creature, the soft muddy ground cushioning her fall. She gasped as she hit the ground and the full **** of the Drowner landed on top of her.

As if it was mimicking her earlier strategy, the Drowner wrapped both hands around Ciri's neck and squeezed. Ciri could feel her head go hazy as the creature's grip tightened around her throat and the points of its claws pinched painfully against her flesh.

In a panic, Ciri grabbed at the beast's hands, knowing that if she lost consciousness she would never wake up. The creature ignored her, itself much stronger than Ciri. The Witcheress's legs kicked up and out trying to unbalance the creature that was mounting her chest. She threw punches at everything she could, landing a hard blow against the Drowner's stomach. The Drowner let out a grunt and loosened its grip slightly so Ciri attacked again, this time her blow landing even lower. Another grunt, more loosening, and Ciri, not knowing what else to do, struck again. This time, her blow landed even lower.

The gurgling howl the Drowner let out was different than before and the Drowner immediately let her neck go and pulled away.

Ciri gasped as she sucked in air. She twisted and pushed the creature off her. She rolled to her side then onto her stomach getting on all fours to get up but the Drowner had recovered.

Ciri crawled forward, hoping to put enough distance between her and the monster so she could stand. But, before she had done so, she felt its claw dig into her lower back. Arching her back away from the creature, Ciri threw herself forward. She felt the claws rake across her back before catching on her leather pants.

While her skin was safe, Ciri's pants were not so lucky. The pants tore as she launched herself forward and away from the attack. She landed face first in a puddle of water and quickly turned over, staring down at her ruined pants. The Drowner's claws had torn her pants all the way down to one knee, leaving them flapping down and Ciri's parts completely exposed.

Ciri looked up, surprised that the Drowner wasn't immediately attacking. It was hunched over staring at her but its stance was different. No longer in an attack position, it was now on all fours and somehow looked even more animalistic. Then Ciri noticed one of its hands was cradling itself between its legs. There was no doubt about it. The Drowner was not an "it," it was a "he."