1515. Kovir coast. North Sea.
"All hands on deck, lads," Dalious shouted. He held firmly onto the ship's wheel, turning it ever so slightly to inch closer to their prey. White massive waves struck the sides of the boat and splashed over the crew as they struggled to get to where they needed to be. "We only have one shot at this!"
In the distance, barely seen at the surface of the ocean, was a massive werofish. Large as a shark and as fierce as a Griffon. The creature was terrorizing the locals and making the trade routes impossible to get by. Once the beast tasted human flesh, it could not stop.
Dalious Durendail, a witcher known for belonging to the open seas and to having golden hair upon the right setting of the sun, had been tasked in taking out the sea menace. He had studied about the werofish in the local library for three days, and upon going after it, he hired a crew of fishermen and sailors to aid him in this event.
"Man the squivels, if you shoot me or my boat I will skin you alive," he commanded, then took off his ragged shirt and mounted the plank. A sailor handed him a great oak bow, and gave him a long, silver coated, arrow that had a light chain attached to it. The witcher nocked and pulled back, carefully aiming at the distant target. "Now!"
Barrels of flesh were released into the water, a smell the creature could not resist being this close. It began to move toward the ship, only being detected by the swirving ripples it caused at the surface. Dalious released his silver arrow, and it struck directly one inch under where he had intended, still striking into the werofish's lower throat. The chain caught and immediately the creature tried to swim away, realizing the threat. Dalious motioned with his hand and the squivels were fired, bringing the beast to a halt.
A red ring of blood became noticed as soon after, the dead sea creature rose to the surface. The crew cheered in joy, as Dalious smiled at the thought of the coin he'd receive from this. Enough to patch his ship up, perhaps. Definitely enough for ale and a whore, which was at least something.
Turned out he was wrong, as he argued with the meister at the docks over price. The crew had raised the large werofish up by its tail for all the locals to see, a nice trophy for the crew's recognition. After the crew had been payed their share, it left Dalious with next to nothing.
"A fish that size is at least worth double this!!" Dalious pleaded with the well dressed townsman, who wouldn't have it.
"It is not my fault you hired a crew for this particular job, witcher," the wrinkled man spoke, pushing his glasses back up his nose bridge. "We thank you for your service, but the pay is fair."
The man walked off. Dalious spat in disapproval. "Old Wanker! How's a man to get rich in these times with such cheapness!?"
He sunk his coin purse into his pocket and headed to the local tavern. It was a lively place this night, with whores about, fights in the lower levels, arm wrestling, bards playing music, as well as some card games and dice. He sat alone, drinking in misery even though he had slain the creature. His hood was over his head as he continued to drink, thinking about what his next odd job would be.
Then he heard the horns. A few armored soldiers had entered the tavern space, decked in the gold and white crest colors of the northern kingdom of Kovir. One man opened up a long sheet of paper with the king's notes on it, while the other read in a loud voice.
"Attention would be warriors, bounty hunters, mercenaries, soldiers of any kind, the King of Kovir has a message for you all. Whilst the king's guard and his honored men of his watch fight in the lower lands and the Great War, his grace's lands have become riddled in filth. There is no one to fend off these creatures of unspeakable names that now taint our soil. The king invites you to his Halls for a feast, and will pay handsomely to those who destroy the menace to his kingdom. 10,000 orens to each man that helps in this, slaying the monsters that invade us. Another 5,000 for each kill until the land is free again. Tomorrow's morn, the king will greet any who accept these terms in his Halls. Though, you have to survive in order to receive payment. Good day to you all!"
Dalious almost spit out his ale once he heard the pricings. Looks like he was heading to the King of Kovir's Halls tomorrow, but until then, he intended fully on getting wasted drunk.