MLTO C3, P14

This is the fourteenth and penultimate Part of "MLIV:TO" 's third Chapter.
It was released on 23.01.2023.
== Plot ==
Having defeated the evil Dimon and saved the world once more, Geralt finds himself unexpectedly separated from his allies. With the help of Emela and Jett, he manages to find an empty vessel and attempt to sail toward the other side of the river, in the hopes of finding where they went.
In their struggles against the rising current, they stumble upon Dillon- Dimon's second-in-command, who is infuriated by his employer's demise and wants to get his revenge on the heroes who caused his demise. Dealing with this vengeful man will not be easy and fighting while attempting to avoid drowning will be even harder.
Will the little goldfish shine once more? Or will it be plunged into the depths of the ocean, never to return again?
== Story ==
As the boat slowly rows toward the other side of the river, Emela looks around and sighs.
"You know, I never thought that I would get to use an aquatic vessel. I've never been much of a sailor and it shows."- She says- "Usually, my companions were the ones who took care of that. Mardek was great of keeping the vessel afloat and Deugan was good at keeping monsters out of it. All that time, I was just... sitting there. Assisting them whenever I could. And yet, I never knew that the feeling of doing something like this would be so... so... "
Geralt raises his eyebrow.
"Exhilarating?"
Emela nods.
"Yes! That's right!"- She exclaims- "It's such a wondeful experience. And if I had it my way, I would leave my guardianship to someone else and become a pirate."
Jett looks at her.
"But aren't pirates supposed to be bad people?"- He asks- "I've heard stories about those freaks. They pillage innocent settlements and take away their rightful belongings. Sometimes, they even dare to kill people, to make some sort of an example that I cannot explain myself."
Emela raises her eyebrow.
"How do you know so much about them, child?"
Jett sighs.
"When I was younger, my father made a deal with a large group of them. Those shady individuals were known far and wide as the 'Black Skull Alliance' and they were a group you definitely shouldn't annoy. We had some good trades with 'em. They gave us food and valuables, in exchange for a fine sum of gold, which I was forced to wrench out of my dear daddy, since he always loved money more than anything else. In fact, I don't know if he ever truly loved me at all."- He says- "Anyway, those covetous moneymakers were our main source of valuables for quite a while. The way they pillaged other settlements without any remorse disturbed me greatly. I begged my father to find an alternative way to obtain what he wants, but he never listened. So, I was forced to carefully devise a plan to safely eliminate them."
He looks up and sighs.
"One night, I spent several hours writing a fake letter to those vagabonds. Since we had no other way to communicate with each other from afar, we used this simplistic system. Somehow, I managed to imitate my father's handwriting and even included his seal of office. It was one of my most eventful and dangerous feats, and my father never knew the truth."- He says- "When the message was sent to its target, the pirates were infuriated. They attempted to blackmail my father into giving them an apology and he didn't know why his plan backfired so badly. As I said earlier, he never came to know the truth, so the pirates kept blackmailing him, until they were discovered by the riverside militia and were captured by them. Many years passed and we never heard a thing from this notorious, hostile gang. End of the story."
Emela raises her eyebrow.
"Wow, Jett."- She says to him- "It sounds like you had a pretty eventful childhood."
Jett shrugs.
"I just wanted to help those unfortunate people and stop my father's criminalism."- He says- "But now, I guess that only the sweet taste of demise was able to make him repent for his sins."
Geralt sighs.
"If only I had a childhood like yours... "
Jett shakes his head.
"Trust me, you wouldn't want any of this stuff in your life."- He says- "I would never wish it to anyone, even the worst of my enemies. It's horrible."
Emela nods.
"Jett's right, dear."- She says to Geralt- "Living your life in safety and comfort is much better than worrying about your family all the time."
Jett sighs.
"In fact, I wish I had a life like yours."- He admits- "You're always in the spotlight when it comes to heroic deeds. Even from here, I can feel that everyone's talking about know. In the future, children will read comics dedicated to you. Adults will read newspapers with articles about the young Kaos who saved the world so many times and wish they had people like him in their lives. You're going to be a living legend. And me? I'll just be the eternal outcast, cursed to walk alone for as long as he lives."
Geralt shakes his head.
"No, my friend. You will not remain unnoticed forever. I will make sure of that."- He says to him- "When I saw you for the first time, I immedately noted that you are a good person. You have a heart of gold hidden behind a veil of shadows, torn between helping people and harming them. But with the right guidance, you were capable to stop your father's legacy. You cleansed yourself of all villainy inside of your heart and you became a good, helpful person. And someday, you will become as popular as this little man."
Jett smiles.
"It would be a great honor."- He says- "But I'm happy just to help others, not to be praised by them."
Geralt smiles back.
"Then we are truly cut from the same cloth."
Emela stares at something in the distance. While the two boys talk, she notices something rather interesting and starts sailing further. When she gets a good look at it, she immediately recognizes what it is- land.
"Children, look!"- She exclaims- "I see land! We're almost there!"
Geralt and Jett take a look themselves. It does not take long for them to recognize it, as well.
"Perfect!"- Geralt exclaims- "Sail on and don't look back! The shining horizon is within our sight!"
Emela salutes him.
"Yes, sir!"
As the vessel sails toward its intended destination, the trio hears some rustling from the bushes ahead. At first, they think that its just some kind of wildlife. However, it soon becomes clear that the random chittering is actually angry muttering. Human speech.
Too late, they come face to face with the one who made those sounds- Dillon the Centaur. Apparently, the creature heard about his master's demise and ran away from the scene, only to return for some obscure reason.
"There you are, human scum!"- He yells and raises his bow- "In the name of our noble kind, I will destroy you!"
Then, without another warning, Dillon starts to shoot flaming arrows in the trio's direction, striking them with unerring accuracy and nearly shattering their boat.
"Woah, Nelly!"- Emela exclaims- "This is something that I didn't expect!"
Geralt stands up and stares at the angry centaur, in an attempt to find out what is going on.
"Why are you angry at us?!"- He asks- "What have we done to hurt you like this?!"
Before he can get a proper response, however, Jett gets up and stands between him and Dillon.
"Screw this!"- He exclaims- "I'm not letting this madman take us down like this!"
Having picked up a few rocks before fleeing from the burning forest, Jett picks up the largest of them and hurls it at the centaur. He manages to hit him in the head, sending him back into the bushes from which he emerges so unexpectedly.
"Sail away from here as fast as you can!"- He yells- "We need to find a new landing spot! Now!"
As the boat quickly sails away, Dillon gets up from the bushes, bloodied and battered. He is holding his cheek with a trembling hand while glaring at the fleeing vessel, dreaming of tearing it down with his own two hands.
"You might run from me, but you'll never escape."- He says- "I've marked you. And now that you're in my sights, there's no turning back."
The trio stops the boat after a while, laying back to rest after this eventful encounter.
"Well! That was... something else!"- Emela exclaims- "How are you doing, children? Any injuries? Or are you just a little scared?"
Jett shakes his head.
"I just can't believe that he dared to disrespect us like this. Trying to kill us while we're still in the water is something that no honorable warrior would ever do, even to their worst enemy."- He says- "But yes, it was a little scary. I thought that we were done for, but this was not the case."
Geralt smiles sadly.
"Scarier than the time you fooled those pirates?"
Jett sighs.
"Almost as much as that."
Emela hears something rustling nearby.
"Watch out, my dears."- She says- "The fight is not over yet. Get ready."
Suddenly, Dillon emerges again. This time, he is armed with a staff, a long and slender piece of wood with a large ruby inserted on top of it. As he prepares to cast a spell, the crystal on top of the staff starts to glow, as if granting its power to the centaur.
"Wait!"- Emela exclaims- "He can cast magic?!"
Geralt and Jett gasp.
"Whatever that magic is, it must be very dangerous!"- Geralt yells- "Do not let it hurt you!"
As Dillon casts a powerful fire spell, the trio manages to row the boat a few feet away from him. The blast manages to hit the water, sending out a huge wave that the trio is barely able to avoid.
Dillon continues to cast his spells at them. He hurls fireballs mercilessly, launching them left and right, until he is forced to cool down for a bit.
"This is a sign that he is not a very competent spellcaster!"- Geralt exclaims- "Keep sailing away, everyone! I know that we can get away!"
Dillon shakes his head.
"Oh no, you won't get away!"- He exclaims- "I'll take you down first!"
After five minutes of vicious struggle, rising currents and bloodcurling screams from both sides of the battle, Dillon lets out a furious yell as he finally realizes that the trio is too good for him. He angrily throws his staff at them, but they successfully avoid it.
"Well, it sounds like this one's over."- Emela says- "Come on, everyone. Let's leave this freak alo-- "
Suddenly, the ruby on top of the staff discharges its energy. Then, much to everyone's surprise, it explodes. The force of the impact is strong enough to create a massive wave that hits our trio's boat, sending all three of them flying into the depths of the river, which turns out to be deeper than it seems to be.
Geralt grabs both of his companions and attempts to sail toward the surface. However, the weight that he is carrying prevents him from swimming higher, making him wonder how to save his entire team from drowning.
"Don't worry about us."- Emela mumbles- "Just let us go. It's not worth it!"
Geralt shakes his head.
"I am not leaving anyone behind!"
Emela sighs.
"You have no choice. The three of us won't make it up there."- She mumbles- "Now do as I say and don't delay. Every second you spend down here is a waste of life."
As Geralt continues to wonder how to get out with his companions, he sees someone's hand reaching out to them. He tries to focus on the person who is trying to help them, but has no luck.
"Come on!"- He hears Dillon yell- "Grab my hand!"
Geralt raises his eyebrow.
"What?!"
Dillon shakes his head.
"Are you deaf?!"- He yells- "Grab my hand! Now!"
Having no other choice, Geralt willingly grabs Dillon's hand. Both him and his companions are pulled up and taken away from the roaring river.
Now safely away from this source of danger, the three of them look up at their savior, barely believing what they are seeing. It is Dillon- the same centaur who tried to kill them minutes ago. Apparently, he decided to stop attacking them for some reason and rushed forward to save them.
"Hmm. It seems like you're all fine now."- He says- "The water couldn't claim more souls. That's good."
Geralt looks at him.
"Umm, thank you for helping us out. I suppose."- He says- "But why did you do that? We are supposed to be enemies, not friends."
Dillon sighs.
"Seeing you drown like that triggered an old memory inside of me. A really painful one."- He says- "When I was younger, me and my father sailed in the great seas to the west of here. We were always so happy, so carefree. We enjoyed our free time together, like a true father and his beloved son. That was until the sea took him away from me. While trying to save me from a vicious kraken, my father fell overboard. I was very young back then, but I still tried to save him. I did my best to save the man who brought so much joy in my life, but all I managed to do was to turn it all into sadness. He drowned not long later and I... I was never the same person. Until now."
Emela raises her eyebrow.
"So, you're implying that your guilt over your father's demise made you rebel against humanity?"
Dillon sighs.
"Human fishermen hunt down innocent animals in the sea, but they never dare to attack more dangerous prey. Thus, the seas were filled with all kinds of powerful beasts, never to be undestimated by anyone."- He says- "I turned on humanity's warriors because I wanted to teach them a lesson. I used my knowledge in many ways, some of them harmful to more than just my enemies. And yet, I never knew that the one who truly needed a lesson... was me."
Geralt nods.
"And what did you learn from this battle?"
Dillon smiles.
"That I don't have to die for a villain who mistreated me so much. Even though I advised him for so long, he still treated me as nothing more than an expendable, untrustworthy unit. And I can't take it anymore. This madness needs to stop... and I will make it stop. Not just for myself, but also for everyone else."- He says- "All this time, I was angry. I let my rage take over my very being and did everything with violence instead of diplomacy. I was always so vengeful, so desperate. I was trying to grab a rope that was close to snapping. And I... I feel like it's time to open a new chapter in my life. A more peaceful one. I want to experience the feelings that were taken away from me, the benefactors that blessed me with their presence. I want them all back."
He looks up at the sky.
"Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of being a sailor. Being a wiseman has always been a hard job for me and I never had a chance to swap it for something better."- He says- "Maybe now, I can finally accomplish what I couldn't do for my poor father."
Geralt sighs.
"We are very sorry about what happened to your father. Losing a parent in way that you did is very painful and I would not wish it to anyone else. But his sacrifice was not in vain, he saved you from that kraken, just like you saved us from those cold waters."- He says- "Just by taking a look at your eyes, I can see that there was a good person hiding behind that maniac. You always treated us as your enemies, but I truly hope that we can be your friends, instead. We have a lot in common."
Dillon nods.
"That's exactly what my father wanted. To make friends with the right people, not those who want to become bloodthirsty villains."- He says- "Yes. I hope so, too."
He turns around.
"But I can't stay here. Not yet."- He adds- "For now, I must venture elsewhere, in the hopes of finding out what I truly want to be."
Geralt looks at him,
"Will we meet again?"
Dillon looks back at Geralt.
"Perhaps."- He says- "Nobody knows what destiny has in store for us."
He salutes the trio.
"Until then, I wish you a very good and profitable hunting."- He says- "I know that you're trying to stop a certain villain. I hope that you succeed, in the name of all the innocent people in this world."
He smiles.
"Thank you for giving me another chance."
Having said that, Dillon grabs his belongings and walks away peacefully, eager to open a new chapter in his life- a chapter of wisdom and kindness.
"That... was truly heartwarming. A man whose father died in such a horrible way and joined the dark side, surrendering himself to the shadows, now strives to reach the light once more."- Emela says and wipes a tear from her left eye- "I wish more villains were like him."
Jett sighs.
"If only all of them were so wise."
Geralt smiles.
"It was nice to see someone whose heart can still be mended, even after being broken so many times."- He says- "I wish him a good journey and hope that we can convince the rest of those villains to be like him."
Emela smiles, as well.
"A worthy goal, my dear Geralt."- She says- "Perhaps not all of Redmark's allies are bloodthirsty and hostile. Maybe some of them can be saved."
Geralt nods.
"Then we shall fight to save them all, no matter what it takes."