Welcome back, ! Shall we continue?
Yes, take me where we left off, please!
No, let's forget the whole thing and start over!
As you wish!
Hello, my friend, stay awhile and listen! My name is...
Deckard Cain?
Never heard of him. Is he a friend of yours?
No, actually...
Whatever! As I said, my name is...
Dandelion?
Of course not! Stop speaking nonsense!
... (say nothing)
My name is not important, but you can call me Agarth, if you please.
More relevant is how I should call you?
My name is .
The name you entered is longer than 16 characters. Please choose a shorter one!
I'm a story-weaver. Once my kind was quite popular on these lands, now few of us remain. We don't just tell a story, but let the audience tinker with the threads. This way, the shape of the story is always the same, but the size and pattern differs each time it is weaved.
How is that possible?
You will see, soon enough.
There is a story I want to tell you. They say it happened a long-long time ago...
... and in a land far-far away. Didn't you just make that up, old man?
Yes, I did, but the outline of the story is not determined by the colour of the thread you start weaving with. As I said the shape is always the same but the threads can be different. Maybe some less colourful material fits you more. So here it is.
Geralt, the witcher arrived in the...
What is a witcher?
A human enhanced by magic and mutation for the very purpose of fighting monsters. For further information, please refer to the books of Andrzej Sapkowski. Where were we?
We arrived in...
Yes, Geralt arrived in the village shortly before dusk. He had a long day's riding behind him that day, and his horse was as tired as he was. He had hoped to find some shelter for the night, or at least get some warm food. If someone was to offer him some work, even better, but he had almost given up on that. In the last two day's travelling, he couldn't not notice how peaceful this land was. Not a trace of wild monsters, bandits, anything.
That would have given me the creeps!
Geralt felt the same way.
He must have felt relieved when he reached the village.
Yeah, nothing's bad, everything's fine, and the people are always laughing, and dancing,
and making love. The girls were beautiful, and they only wore a little...
Is this going, where I think it is going?
No, because the village was deserted. Or, at least, it appeared so at first glance. Geralt could feel a thousand eyes fixated on him as he walked the streets, but no one showed their faces. The marketplace felt like it was crowded a moment ago, but everyone had just left in a hurry. Only a small man remained. He stood on the stairs of a - relatively - big building. Public Cultural Community Centre was written on its front with a red scythe on top. Geralt noticed something on the roof that looked like the tip of a bow. The man greeted the witcher as cold as he could, trying to hide the shaking of his hands.
"You are not welcomed here, monster! We do not need the likes of you in a decent village like ours! Leave immediately, and no one will get hurt."
Geralt had got used to mistrust but this was a bit extreme. How he replied, I wonder.
You wonder...
I do.
Aren't you the one telling the story?
No, I'm merely weaving it. It's up to you to choose the colours. So, how did he reply?
He used a trick to convince the man.
“My horse is tired as hell, so am I. It's been a long day's journey. All I ask for is a peaceful place to rest.” While speaking, the witcher's hand formed the sign of Axii. For a brief moment the short man eased up, but it didn't last.
"Well, that may be true. But we still cannot allow you to be here. I say for the last time, leave!"
He asked for work.
"Whoa, whoa! No need to be hostile. Maybe we can help each other out. Is there work for a witcher around here?"
"Sure there's no need to be hostile. Also there is no need for you to be here. We can take care of ourselves."
He left.
"As you wish."
"I was sure we could come to an agreement." said the mayor. "Leave now, and never return! Please."
Geralt turned to the road leading out of the village. The archers on the roofs followed him for a while, but he didn't care. He was lost in his thoughts. "What was this? Why this hostility?”
“And most of all, how could Axii not work? Was his mind that strong? Doubtful. He must have feared something gravely, but definitely not me."
“This is a strange country for sure, but is this only coincidence?”
Suddenly a voice woke him from his musing, though there was still no one to be seen. The road was already running in the fields. All the witcher could see was a small haystack nearby. Which proved to be most curious, i.e. it spoke. Again.
Oh, come on! A speaking haystack?!
Haystacks tend to produce weird noises from time to time, some of them even learn to speak. Though this condition appears to be only temporary.
... (let him continue)
"Master Witcher!" said it. "Master Witcher, over here! I know you've been treated harshly, but please don't bear a grudge. They try to handle the situation in the best way they can. Though they are mistaken. If you want some roof for the night, the village is not an option, but there is an abandoned mill near the river north from here. It's not much but it should be safer than the fields. It's a new moon tonight."
Geralt's face grew even darker. But how did he reply, I wonder.
I thought witchers weren't afraid of anything.
"Thanks for the advice, but it's better to stay close. Something's going to happen today. My medallion's been unusually heavy since I've entered the village. I don’t know what kind of danger is lurking here, but I want to be prepared for it. Trust me, I'm a witcher."
Why should he trust a speaking haystack?
"Yeah, sure. I am certain, that it is not haunted, and you aren't sending me there to clean the place for free. Why should I trust you?" asked Geralt.
"Because I'm the only one around here sane enough to realize your importance. You can help us, but only if you stay with us and learn the nature of the curse first."
"What kind of curse?"
"See? I got you!" giggled the haystack.
He thanked the advice and turned his feet north.
"Well, thanks, I guess. Let's hope this does not lead to anything disastrous."
Geralt pitched camp on the riverside, far enough form the village to be out of sight, but close enough to be able to observe as the peasants return to their neat houses for the night. Again, everything seemed so peaceful, but it was only the surface. Underneath there was something on the move. He could feel its presence more than ever before.
He sat down to meditate, hoping that by running through the phenomena again and digging in his memories he would find an answer. It was the answer, however, that found him first.
Soft noise of gentle steps stirred the night. It may have not woke someone else, but the witcher wasn't let down by his mutationally enhanced senses. The striking claws tore only soft soil where Geralt sat until few moments earlier. Angry growling accompanied the glowing red eyes in their search for the witcher, while the claws were getting ready for a new deadly move. But the victim was already prepared.
Silver glanced in the faint starlight and blood painted the black scales. Though the wound wasn't deep, the surprise broke the monster's march, leaving Geralt enough time to finally examine his foe. Skin covered by black scales, hands ending in long claws, razor-sharp teeth, and those eyes, somehow... Thinking always comes second in situations like this however: claws were again out on their way towards the witcher already.
Geralt rolled sideways to evade, but, as a sharp pain in his thigh indicated, not swift enough.
"This bastard is strong and fast. Too fast. This must end quickly."
The witcher reinforced his stand while his hand formed the sign of Aard. The upcoming shock wave disturbed the balance of the monster and created an opening in it's defence.
"Now!"
Noble metal pierced the dark heart. The red glow in the eyes faded slowly.
Somewhere in the field a small haystack started weeping silently.
Thank you!
And thank you for listening! But I have to confess something.
That's all? This wasn't much of a story!
I agree. What did you miss from it?
Never mind. Anything else?
Sex
You know, when I was young, we...
Drugs
Legal or illegal?
Rock 'n' Roll
And what is that?
Love
"Love is a smoke made with the fumes of sighs;
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;
Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears;
What is it else? A madness most discreet,
A choking gall, and a preserving sweet."
(...)
Well, it is good, you are not satisfied, for there is more to it.
Actually this did not happen at all!
What?! But you said...
It could have happened if Geralt had stayed on the fields, but even witchers aren’t as arrogant as you would think.
Will we start again from the beginning then?
We could, but we won’t, for there is no use for you to listen to the same part of the story again and again. We return to the point where Geralt spoke with the haystack.
He felt the dark presence, but knew that the time had not come to face it yet. The wise don't march into battle without preparation. Life thought him that.
After the short conversation with the haystack he wasn't idling but heading for the mill. He could clearly see an old building in the distance, he just hoped that the aforementioned facility is somewhere behind that pile of rubble.
Geralt arrived at the place soon after the last sunray disappeared from the crumbling walls. If I'd say the building was in a bad shape, I'd be generous. The roof was mostly missing, and the whole architecture looked like the next summer breeze would tear it apart. The water wheel had been resting on the bottom of the river for ages, and thick shrub occupied the surrounding ground. There was no sign of entry, as if there hadn’t been one for the last 100 years. The witcher cut his way through to the gate. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. He felt a disturbing aura around the hinges though. Something was inside that did not want to be disturbed. What did the witcher do? I wonder.
He forced the door open.
So you're the violent type then. Geralt gave up on being gentle with the gate. The shockwave of Aard hit the door with unrelenting force moments after he raised his hand forming the sign. Wood cracked, hinges cried in pain then yielded, what was left of the gate wings landed on the floor. He stepped through with a smile.
He climbed up and entered through the roof.
Try something tricky, huh? Well, it looked easy at first, but the stones displayed some unnatural slippery. Several failed attempt and even more cursing later he declared direct assault futile.
Three sides of the mill was neighboured by land, three sides proved to be the same. On the fourth side the river seemed to prevent any kind of intrusion, however, if someone looked close enough they could notice something strange about the remnants of waterwheel axle. It pointed somewhat upwards, which couldn't have happened if the shaft was still intact. Geralt conjured a rope from the saddlebag, and threw it on the axle.
It wasn't long before he stood there staring at a roundish hole on the wall. It couldn't be natural. He stepped through with an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but surely not what he had found. The inside of the mill looked like it totally forgot about time. The place was neat and tidy, everything felt new and the air was filled with the scent of fresh flour. Geralt walked to the window full of curiosity. Would the shrub still be there? That would mean this little anomaly only affects the mill. The shrub was nowhere to be found, as if it never existed. He looked out to a well-tended garden, which made him wonder.
"Do you like it?"
The voice came from right beside him. Instinct and long years of practice drove the witcher as he turned and stepped backwards while reaching for his sword. His hand grabbed empty air where his sword should have been. The young woman in front of him giggled and stepped closer.
God, she was beautiful! She was wearing only a small white dress, which appeared almost ethereal as the light shone through it, showing her curvy figure. I can almost feel her soft skin on my fingertips, oh, I could caress her for an eternity, slow and...
Hey!
Sorry I got carried away. Where were we?
Oh, yes, inside the mill. Geralt too fell almost instantly under her spell. He felt like he forgot something, but when she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, he was lost.
Witchers have a reputation of being great lovers, and Geralt certainly lived up to it, but nothing was enough for the girl. No matter how he pleased her, she always wanted more and more. After a while his stamina slowly started to run out.
Then he felt a refreshing cold flowing down on his body. He shivered with pleasure. The second wave, however, hit him right in the face, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a different lass standing over him as he was lying on the decayed wooden floor on the very spot he stepped in.
"Are you awake?" she asked and threw away the empty bucket after confirming that Geralt opened his eyes. "I think I owe you an apology. I thought a witcher could handle this, but..."
"A little warning wouldn't have hurt. If you had not come... well... I'm glad you did. I have to admit that there's something about this country that makes my senses a little dull."
"And that is exactly what I want to talk about, but not here. I'm sorry I got you into this mess. Come to the library later and I'll explain."
As Gearlt reached the village, he noticed that everybody was sleeping - or at least they pretended to be - therefore this time he did not encounter anyone at all. This felt a little strange compared to yesterday. He didn’t care too much, for this time he was summoned.
He left the mill alone.
You're not the curious type, are you? Neither was the witcher. He knew too well.
The shrub proved to be only moderately flammable, but an occasional Igni kept the fire alive. The night went by relatively uneventfully, but Geralt could sometimes swear he heard the mill snoring as he leant against its wall. He did not get much sleep though.
On that moonless night only the stars gave away light. That would have been no problem for the witcher's enhanced vision however. At least normally. Tonight was different. The stars were dim, though the sky was definitely clear of clouds. Geralt browsed through his collection of alchemical potions. Most of them he brew himself. He had a feeling those little phials will be more than useful in the near future. He was rotating a cat between is fingers only to put it back in the box after a short while.
What is a cat? (interrupt)
A cat is a mixture that temporarily boosts the production of rhodopsin in rods thus allowing better vision in low light conditions. It is mostly made of one part celandine and two parts verbena. Of course it has its side effects, thought nowhere near as poisonous as some other witcher potions. On non-mutated specimen experiments showed blindness (temporary on lower, permanent on higher doses), extreme nausea, emesis and gastralgia. By an overdose the cause of death was always oesophageal rupture as autopsies revealed.
... (let him continue)
Even that wouldn't have helped him now. The darkness was so dense, it felt like he could cut it with his sword if he wanted to.
Well, Geralt couldn't see, but apart from the snoring of the mill he couldn't hear much either. Though the night was full of unfamiliar noises, they were somehow distant, as if they were kept at bay by the shroud.
The rising sun found the witcher on the fields, walking on the same road, yesterday away from, now towards the village. He found the small haystack, but unfortunately its intelligence fell back to the level of an ordinary stack of hay, so they did not converse much. In the village Geralt expected the same reception as the day before, but now there weren't archers on the roofs. He felt almost disappointed.
"Where's everyone?" said he out loud, not expecting an answer. It came anyway, and it came from behind.
"They're sleeping."
Geralt turned, ready to draw his sword, but there was only a girl standing in front of him. She looked no more than 17, but her eyes told otherwise. Geralt encountered similar symptoms before, though this case felt different.
"Or at least they pretend to be. New moon was last night, and they don’t believe it's over yet." she said. "Come, we need to speak!" She grabbed him by his hand and leaded him towards the library.
The mentioned public institute occupied the majority of the second floor in the Public Cultural Community Centre. There were two tables for reading near the window, the only place bright enough. Apart from that the whole room was somewhat dark. The light just could not find its way into the thick forest of bookshelves full of books, old and new, ancient even.
"It is bigger than one would expect from a village like this" thought Geralt. As he walked past them his eyes were busy reading the titles. Half of the books were about agriculture, the other half about magical creatures, legends and curses, prophecies, scientific topics and superstitious blabbering. Real literature was scarce.
"If you want to borrow anything, just come to me." The girl brought two books from somewhere and put it on one of the desks. "Right now, we're only going to need these."
"Do you work here?" asked Geralt.
"Yes and no." The girl smiled. "In fact no one works here, but I am in charge of the library as well as the school. The books here aren't my property, but I've picked all of them."
"It's an... interesting selection."
"Do you think so? I think it's rather practical. We want to eat so we need to know the art of taming the soil. We want to live so we learn as much as we can about our enemy. Few read for pleasure, however everyone knows the letters by now, I made sure of that."
Geralt asked her about...
...her name.
"What is your name, my lady?"
"They call me Elaine now, for I am the one who brings light into their dark lives. Or so they say. Actually my true name is Lorena, but it brings back too many memories, so I don't like to use it anymore."
...her age.
It is impolite to ask a lady about her age.
...that place.
"What is this place?"
"A library, silly!" Her smile was of an angel. A sad angel. "The PCCC wasn't my idea, but I welcomed the effort. Apart from the library, the building actually houses the mayor's office and the school too, but the guard post is here in name only. There is a small locker room that functions as a weapon storage or 'armoury' as the mayor likes to call it. The village does not need actual guards, well, most of the time. Volunteers can practice with weapons if they want to, but only in front of the watchful eyes of the Captain. Captain of the Guard they call him, but he is nothing more than an old war veteran. His word is the law around here still, and though he carries a sword, he's never drawn it. You will meet him soon enough as well as the mayor and the others if you decide to linger."
...the villagers.
"Where did the villagers disappear to?"
"They did not. They are hiding. It was the moonless night, when the dark actually materializes on the fields. They simply wait for the sun to dissipate the remnants."
...the mill.
"About the mill..."
"Yes, it is an interesting phenomenon, but I couldn't figure it out yet. It is more like a force of nature, than a sentient being. The only thing I know is it somewhat struggles with the dark, weakens its power. It seems to me it's always been there. Villagers avoid the place, but I used to play there a lot as a kid. It does not harm the innocent. After I... well... now is a different story."
...the thing she wanted to discuss.
"You promised me an explanation."
"I promised, didn't I?" she said thoughtfully. "I tell you what I know. I once fell in love. He came from the next village to be our smith's apprentice. He was beautiful as a fairy tale. I knew it was fate. Now I'm not sure of that, but then I sincerely believed we were meant for each other. That is why it hurt so much. He never noticed me. After a while I became desperate and decided to visit the witch for advice. Not ours, she was only interested in healing potions, but the one in the Deep Forest. Though I had never been there before."
"Did you find her?"
"No I didn't. First I tried to follow the paths, but after a while each led back to where I started. They were no use. Then I left them. I wandered for hours and got deeper and deeper into the forest. By the time it got dark I knew it was a mistake. No one I knew found her in the forest. She was the one coming to the village every now and then. I should have waited for her, but I was impatient. Now I paid the price. The forest embraced me and I fell asleep never to wake up again."
"But you woke up eventually."
"How observant! It looks like I did, but I'm not so sure. In the forest I had a dream. I remember speaking to the Witch of the Deep Forest, but it was odd. As if I watched a theatre play of which I wrote all the lines. I was there and I was not at the same time. I woke up in my own bed just before dawn."
"Did she give you something?"
"In my dream, yes, a potion, but in reality I knew that I have to make it myself. I returned to the Forest and now I greeted it as an old acquaintance. As if I had always known every tree, every grass in there."
"I see. And what about your feelings for the lad?"
"What about them? By that time they had clearly turned into some kind of obsession, but the process must have started much earlier. I wouldn’t have thought about visiting the witch otherwise. I was so damn foolish..."
She was deep in her thoughts and stopped eventually. Geralt remained silent and waited. After a short while she continued.
"Well... in the forest I soon gathered all the necessary plants. The potion had to be made on a moonless night. So I waited. One week, two weeks, it did not matter now, all haste disappeared. I knew it was all set, there was no need to hurry. At midnight I brew the potion and drank half of it, as the witch instructed. The other half was meant for him. I found him in his bed. I kissed him then made him drink his part. After that we made love. Long. And many times. Dawn found us awake. He was still in me, hard, but his eyes, that had burned so bright in the dark, were dim and distant in the light."
"I'm sorry."
"Keep your sorry to yourself! I don’t need your pity."
"Finish your story, please."
"We set something loose that shouldn't even be allowed to exist. The dark force had left the forest that contained it, and started slowly, inch by inch grasping the land. A year passed and no one noticed it but me. I knew it. I felt it. And I couldn't do anything about it. At the anniversary of his funeral I ran away from the village."
"Where to?"
"It did not matter. Away. Away from the village, away from the memories, away from the guilt. But I did not get far. At night a group of about a dozen bandits attacked me. They raped me one after the other. I closed my eyes and gave all my thoughts to the dark. My body was there, but I was safe. I woke in thorn clothes among..."
"...dead bastards who totally deserved it. Don't blame yourself."
"But I felt responsible. And I was. I am. I soon realized that my body was somewhat poisonous. I could knock out anyone with a long kiss and my embrace was the deadliest pleasure. I even worked as a special assassin for a while. And from time to time I came to commit suicide, but nothing worked. I got killed one day, and next morning I woke up as if nothing happened. I decided to return here where it all began, to dedicate my life to this mystery, to undo what I've done. I want to end the suffering once and for all. Mine as well as the others. That was about a hundred years ago."
"So you're..."
"A few hundred years old, yes."
"I wonder..."
"How do I look like a young girl?" She gave him a faint smile. "This is how you see me and this is how children see me. This is how I looked when it all began and this is how I remember myself. However, everyone sees me as they want to. They can't cope with the truth, so - I think - their mind fools them to protect them. That is fortunate, because I don't need worshippers. I'm no goddess."
"I see. But actually I wondered what it is like to live that long with this condition."
"Now that you are here and I have a chance to end it... I think there will be a few things I'll miss." She looked through the window for a while lost in this thoughts, then turned back to Geralt. "But I'll be glad when it's over. Let's get to work." She opened the book on her left. Small dust particles emerged and started dancing in the light. "Here it says..."
"When did he come back?" interrupted Geralt. His voice revealed only professional curiosity. There was no impatience in it. "Your lover. Does he have a name?"
She closed her eyes, put the book aside and wiped off a teardrop. After a short while she found her voice. "His name is Sandor. Was Sandor. He died, and I buried him. The one here is a poor reflection. He was already here by the time I got back. He was the village smith. When I asked the villagers, they said he arrived here a couple of years ago, when the other smith left this world. They couldn't tell the name of the other though, and if you asked them now, they would give you the same answer." She looked away again. "Always the same... Nothing changes, except the dark grows thicker with every day..."
Geralt reached for her hand and held it gently but firm. That seemed to help her. She looked in his eyes once again.
Ask her about Sandor.
"Has Sandor made contact with you?"
"He doesn't even recognize me most of the time. He treats me every time as if he's never seen me before. However at especially dark nights he visits me in my house with the same fire burning in his eyes as back then. He knows everything, he listens to me, he comforts me, and we make love. He leaves with the first rays of the sun. He leaves me and forgets me once again. I can't bear to see him like this and I can't bear not to see him at all. That is the case usually, but not on the night of the New Moon."
"Like the one just behind us."
"Exactly. On those nights he does not visit me, but he roams the land as a... as a..." She looked away, "No one is safe out there. That is why it is so quiet here at nights."
"I noticed that." Geralt thought of the last couple of nights he spent under the sky. Now he knew why he felt so uneasy.
Ask her about previous attempts.
"Has anyone tried to, well, contain the situation?"
"You know, the villagers do not trust outsiders, so they drove away most of them. There was a wizard of some sort a while back, who was pretty much full of himself and assured us to get rid of this little annoyance, but all he could manage was to slow down the further spread. He left then and promised to return. We haven't heard of him since."
"Wizards are just like that." added Geralt. "And I'm sure there were self-proclaimed heroes..."
"Of course there were. Every now and then some hot headed fools try to free the village from Sandor's curse by chasing him away. It doesn’t matter, next day he will be in his workshop again. If they manage to kill him in the process, then the next day the one that delivered the final blow dies himself. And Sandor works as if nothing's ever happened. Sometimes they want to take their revenge on me as well. As I said, it is futile. I would have done it myself ages ago." Suddenly her eyes glimmered. "Once, they burned me as a witch. It was spectacular! I wish you could have seen it! I gave them a fabulous show they surely remembered for the rest of their lives. I was struggling against my bonds, screaming, cursing in a language I made up on the spot as flames consumed my body. Their satisfaction was written all over their faces. I haven't had so much fun in ages!"
There was something in her smile that disturbed Geralt. "Witchers?" he asked.
That pulled her back to reality.
"They usually know too much about these things, and don't take the risk. Those, who are convinced to stay and help, leave after a week or so as they learn enough." What she saw in Geralt's eyes made her smile again. "Don't give me that look, I've seen it too many times. I don't have illusions. You will most likely leave us as well, or die. But there is always a chance, and I'm not going to let it pass."
Ask her about possible solutions.
"Legends say true love is stronger than anything, but there's never been one here in the first place." he said and the girl's look grew dark. "At least not mutual." he added.
She did not answer immediately. "I guess that is true, but to say it out loud... It feels so rough..."
The witcher was watching her while counting his options. There weren't many. In fact, there were none. Finally he broke the silence.
"Look, Elaine..."
She interrupted.
"Call me Lorena. You are going to take my life after all, you can call me by my name. That is only fair."
He nodded and continued.
"Lorena. It started with you, it must end with you. You are not the source, but a conduit. Sandor is somewhat the same, only weaker. When..."
The witcher was watching her while counting his options. There weren't many. In fact, none. Finally he broke the silence.
"Look..." He paused, but continued shortly. "It started with you, it must end with you. You are not the source, but a conduit. Sandor is somewhat the same, only weaker. When..."
"...we are together, the effect is much stronger." finished she the sentence he started. "I was told so before. But it doesn't matter. If I left, he would still be here. He can't leave because he lost too much of himself. He died, for gods' sake! I killed him!" She realized she was shouting. She turned away and continued in a low voice, barely audible. "I killed him. It's all my fault."
"You give yourself too much credit." Geralt forced her to look in his eyes. "You are nothing more than a mere conduit. You've been played with. Do you think you caused this? This thing was here long before you were born. What did you think the forest witch was selling the villagers? Not mosquito repellents, that's for sure. Your innocence and strong feelings were the catalyst, yes, but everything was already in motion."
He won back her attention. "Let's get back to work again. All the solutions I know of require special ingredients most likely not available here. So they can’t be used. What have you got?"
She looked at the two books lying on the table. "The wizard left these..."
"Are they of any help?" asked the witcher.
"Actually," she started but her eyes glared strangely, "we can't even read them properly. It's mostly encrypted. The key..."
"I don't think I like the sound of this."
"And I haven't got started yet!" she smiled disturbingly. "The key is a powerful amulet, which has been broken into three pieces and buried with their guardians at three different locations. Each tomb has a strong magical seal, which can only be broken by a ritual that involves..."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Yes. In fact the key is a ring, that I... well... gave away. Sort of. Last year at the Festival of the Harvest there was a contest. Long story short, I was forced to give it to the wife of the merchant. Now she's holding it and does not want to give it back, no matter what I promise in return."
"Even better." stated Geralt. "And when I show up she will suddenly change her mind and give it to me?"
"I'm sure you can be very persuasive."
"Like I had a choice." He did have one, however, but he did not know that yet.
He asked her about the origin of the ring.
"Is there anything I should know about the ring?"
"There is nothing special about it. A plain golden ring I bought some time ago. Then the wizard put a spell on it so I could read the books when I was wearing it."
He asked her about the fate of the ring.
"How exactly did you lose that ring?"
"That's exactly what I'm not discussing with you now."
He asked her about the current owner of the ring.
"What should I know about this wife of the merchant?"
"Her name is Helen. She thinks of me as a rival in her pursue for everyone's attention. Now she's so proud of herself, she behaves like my ring were her one and only ring and she calls it her precious prize. She's a bit obsessed with it."
"And I just thought... never mind."
He said goodbye and set out for the ring.
"See you later then."
The girl did not reply. She was again lost in her thoughts. Geralt left her at the table. Will he be able to help her in the end? He wasn't sure.
By now the sun has already covered half the way to the zenith and the village seemed to slowly regain life.
Our witcher was wondering about visiting...
...the library.
He just left. He did not want to go back right away. Instead he went to...
...the inn.
...the merchant's house.
Duty comes first. Of course.
...the mayor's office.
It was still too early for anyone to be in the office and Geralt had no reason to stay there alone. He left for...
...the tourist information centre and asked for a map.
He could have if there was something like that. There was not. The inn had similar functionality though, so Geralt headed that way.
The inn was the main social meeting place in the village and therefore the best source of information. A good choice for anyone.
An old sign was hanging over the main door. The colours faded almost completely, but the persistent traveller could make out the words: The Wicked Boar. Despite its name the building gave off the aura of a sloth rather than a boar. On the wicked part Geralt did not want to decide too soon.
At that time of the day the inn was deserted. Almost. The only guest was an older man quietly sipping his morning beer at a table in the far end of the room. His figure suggested he was a warrior of some kind, but he did not wear any armour or weapon under his hooded cape. His eyes met with the witcher's. The man nodded. As a greeting or on confirming that Geralt has indeed come, only he could tell.
"Welcome to our humble place of refined social interactions. If you consider getting drunk together with a bunch of other people as such, of course." The innkeeper just stepped through the door leading to the kitchen and tossed the beer barrel he was carrying under the counter while speaking. "Can I get you anything?" he smiled at his new guest.
Geralt...
...asked for a beer.
"Just a mug of beer, thank you."
"My pleasure. The first one is on me, but any other should be paid up front. House policy. You wouldn't believe these folks around here." Geralt took the beer and approached the other guest's table, while the innkeeper continued, talking to himself now. "Yeah, you wouldn't want to owe you any one of them even the tiniest bit. It's all because..."
...approached the strange man.
"Not this time, thanks."
"Your loss, but any time you change your mind, just tell me." He continued his morning doing tasks as he continued talking, with Grealt leaving for the table, now for himself only. "It is the best in the neighbourhood. My son brews it. Yeah, and he is an artist when it comes to..."
...asked for a map.
"Do you have a map of the area?"
The innkeeper's eyes became all big and round. "A map? What are you, a tourist? There's nothing interesting around here. There is no map. I have beer though if you're interested, and after I'm finished opening shop there will be food available as well. What do you say?"
He insisted on having a map.
"I need to know my surroundings. It comes with the job. Just tell me about the points if interest... I mean... anything around here."
"Uhm. Yeah. There's this inn of course. My family has been running it for generations now."
He asked him to continue.
"Interesting. Anything else?"
"Well if you go out, there's the CCCP. Centre of Cultural Community of the People. A big pile of trash if you ask me. If something is the place of community here then it is this inn and nothing else."
He asked him to continue.
"I think it is called the PCCC, but never mind. Anything else?"
"There's a mill north from here that has been abandoned since time memorial. It could be cursed."
He asked him to continue.
"I've been there. It is. Anything else?"
"We have our very own vampire. But she's a secret, so hush, no more words about that."
He asked him to continue.
"Too bad. Anything else?"
"The Dark Forest of course. I don't know if it ever had any other name. We call it dark because literally no light can escape from it. Even the trees are wicked. You don't want to go near it."
He asked him to continue.
"We'll see. Anything else?"
"The magical tower up the hill in the forest. If you look close enough, you can see it from the village to the east. Rumour has it if you go there, you can speak with the wizard that owns the place, but the hunter says he's never met him. Maybe it's only a myth."
(...)
"Well, I may check it out, thanks. Anything else?"
"Nothing comes into my mind right now"
"In that case thank you for the information. Can I still have a beer though?"
"Sure. Here it is. Just call me if you need more. And if you excuse me now, I have an inn to run." With that he disappeared in the back. Geralt choose to join the man in the corner with his beer but still heard him talking to himself for a while. "Tourist. Not that he was the first one, however, rare is a new face around here these days. I can't even..."
He settled with the beer.
He had enough, he asked for a beer instead.
"Never mind. Just give me the beer."
"Here it is. And there's more if you want." Geralt took the beer with him and approached the hooded man's table. The innkeeper started to discuss the case with himself. "He wanted a map. Strange folks these days. It's almost like the time when my son and I..."
The rest was lost because the owner left through the back door, probably to bring in some more goods before the day starts. Not that the witcher really cared. He was more interested in what the man across the table had to say.
"So we meet. A witcher. I've met one of your kind a long time ago, when I was in the army. He did not speak much, but he was efficient and acted very professional when it came to killing monsters." said he while examining the witcher's equipment, his reinforced leather armour, the two swords on his back. "You seem capable yourself too."
Geralt asked him to identify himself.
"And you seem to be more than a peasant, yet you try to conceal it. Not pretty well, I'd say."
The man smiled.
"It is enough to avoid the attention of one particular short man, who likes to give me orders. I don't want to complicate this matter any more than necessary."
He continued in a chatty mood.
"Since there is no reason for you not to know, my name is Fearghall and my only duty around here seems to be posing as the captain of the guard. The mayor does not want a real guard here, saying it's too expensive, and he likes to state that under the current circumstances it is useless anyway. Despite that, I train some young folks in their free time. The mayor doesn't mind as long as it doesn't cost money and he can use them on the rare occasions a witcher needs to get driven away."
"That I noticed."
"So, Geralt of Rivia, shall we get down to business?"
Wait! Geralt did not introduce himself! How did he know his name?
Observant as always. He was pretty famous in the world. At least in some parts of it. Dandelion had a pretty good part in that however, he can make up the most colourful stories.
Now let's get back to our story, shall we?
Geralt asked him to continue.
"Go on", the witcher said.
"Normally if you would stay for the evening and listened to the people, you could gather this information fast enough, but I may want to save you the time and trouble."
"So generous of you."
"No need to be sarcastic. I'm doing this because of my friend. His name is Willard and he is the official hunter around here. He left for killing a bear in the woods a week ago and hasn't come back since. I want you to find him and help him."
"He may be dead." pointed out the witcher.
The man burst into laugh. "He? No, he's pretty much alive, he's just too stubborn. He says that if you can't solve a simple problem, you don't try hard enough. But this time the problem might not be as simple as he would think."
"I'd like to know what I'll face."
"He can give you the details."
"So where do I find your friend?"
"I can't give you the exact location, but I'm sure you will find him somewhere in the eastern part. There's a path going through there, along which you can get to the next village. Or at least you used to, before the beast appeared. Now it scares away anyone approaching. So far there's been no death, but some ended up with pretty nasty wounds from the attacks. You seem interested. Can I count on you?"
Geralt finished his beer before answering.
Geralt was thinking for a while before answering.
I think that falls into the professional description of a witcher.
"Sure, I'll check it out."
What's in it for the witcher?
"About my payment..."
"Don't worry. The mayor usually rewards generously the 'disposal of undesirable things' as he likes to put it. You can even split and you still end up well."
I think there's too much uncertainty in this.
"I can't promise anything."
Fearghall nodded. "Just go there and you won't regret it." With that he finished his beer, bid farewell to Geralt, threw some teasing words at the innkeeper and left through the back door.
There was no reason for the witcher to remain either. He enjoyed the caressing warmth as he stepped out into the sun.
He turned his feet towards...
On the streets there were still only few people to be seen and even those seemed to be in a hurry to disappear. Whether they had something to do or they just wanted to get out of the witcher's sight as soon as possible remained a mystery.
The merchant's house was built at the opposite end of the square and it was almost as big as the PCCC, but it was rather an evil twin. Unlike the public building which was painted plain white, this one wore a vivid constellation of colours on its walls and windows, doors and roof. It was obviously too much but still appealing in its own way.
Geralt stepped up to the door and knocked. An old man in a black suit opened the door. With his bent back, bald head and long pointy nose he looked like a mutant penguin.
"What can I do you for, sir?" asked the door-penguin.
"I'd like to speak with Helen."
"I'd like to speak with the lady of the house."
"I'm afraid the lady of the house does not see anyone. Certainly not the likes of you."
"We'll see about that." answered the witcher and gently but firmly pushed him aside.
After passing the hall Geralt found himself in a most exquisite living room. Not as flashy as in one of the big cities it would be but more than one would expect in this corner of the world. Everything in the room gave off the aura of a different foreign land. The miraculously appealing cacophony of colours that started outside now continued inside the house.
"It's rather rude to invade someone else's home, don't you think?" The bodiless female voice lacked any accusing tones, it sounded rather playful. A moment after the owner appeared in the doorway. "You deserve punishment. But first, Gill, please introduce us!"
The door-penguin appeared, introduced the lady of the house as Helen Gold and Geralt as a 'imprudent worm from the street', then disappeared again.
"I'll need a shorter name for you, I can't call you 'imprudent worm from the street' all the time, can I?"
"My name is Geralt, my lady." The witcher carried out a polite bow which made Helen smile.
"Please excuse me my outfit, Geralt, I wasn't expecting guests." She wore a black dress with long sleeves and a neckline that reached below her belly button allowing the eyes of the observer to wander about the sweet voluptuous landscape. Her lips were red as a cherry and her eyes blue as the sky on a summer day. Her hair matching the dress in colour fell freely around her shoulder and in her neck hanged a small ring on an almost invisible chain. The special fabric followed her figure perfectly as she sat down in one of the chairs. She fit in the room perfectly.
"I did not give you permission to drool over me." she frowned. "Stop it and state your business."
"Lor... I mean Elaine mentioned..." started Geralt, but got interrupted immediately.
"Oh, isn't she gorgeous? One day I'll definitely make her lick my... boots. Stop making funny faces."
"The librarian mentioned..." started Geralt, but got interrupted immediately.
"Oh, isn't she gorgeous, that girl? Cute little thing. One day I'll definitely make her lick my... boots. Stop making funny faces."
He restrained his facial muscles and continued where he left off. "...the ring you got from her."
A dark cloud covered Helen's eyes. She grabbed the ring hanging in her neck and started whispering to herself. "My precious. It was a birthday present. Yes. Won't give it away. Never!"
"My lady, you don't need to..."
The cloud faded and her eyes were clear again. "I can decide for myself what I need. You want the ring? What can you offer?"
"I'm a professional monster hunter. I have nothing to offer, but I... can..." Seeing Helen shortening the distance between them with a few delightful steps caused his tongue trip.
She eyed him with a rather lustful expression. "Oh you have more to offer than you think," said she, "but maybe later." She started moving around him checking from all the angles. "Monsters, you say? There's a monster I'd like you to take care of. The ring will be the reward for the job." She completed her circle and looked deeply into the witcher's eyes. "What do you think?" she asked.
"I'm... interested, my lady." gulped the witcher.
"Indeed you are." she nodded. "It's about my husband. He is under the spell of a wicked witch who's posing as a retired zerrikanian veteran. As if something like that would ever exist! It's just part of her scheme!" She started purring like a kitten. "I can't do anything about it by myself, I need your help. Will you help me?" She moved even closer. "Will you kill her for me?" Waiting for the answer her lips parted ready to be kissed.
He can't decide like that, he needs more information at least.
"Tell me more about this witch and her spell first!"
Helen hesitated. "If you must know, my husband and I were happy in this house before." She sighed. "I miss those days. Ever since that witch's appeared, thing's changed. He's barely home any more. I mean not even between business trips. Sometimes he spends the whole night out and afterwards he's like a walking ghost. I don't know what that which is doing to him but at this rate one day she might even kill him." She shed a tear. "So, with your strong arms, will you help me get rid of her for good?" A perfectly pictured damsel in distress stood before Geralt.
Sounds easy enough, I think, he accepted.
Sounds easy enough, I think, he accepted.
Sounds easy enough, I think, he accepted.
"With pleasure, my lady." replied the witcher.
"Good!"
No way! Declined.
No way! Declined.
No way! Declined.
"I only kill monsters, my lady." replied the witcher.
"I don't care, make sure I'll never see her again!" She was shouting, but then she realized she's drop out of her role and corrected herself. She closed her eyes and when opened them, they were full of tears again. "Please, help me, Geralt! She's a monster herself. I know it!"
With that she kissed him on his cheek. "Now go, my witcher!" she purred in his ear. "I'm sure you won't disappoint."
Geralt choose his next destination to be...
...the library.
No. He had no reason to go back just yet. Instead he choose...
...the mayor's office.
...the mayor's office.
Surprisingly the mayor left his office in the middle of the day. There was no one left there. The witcher had no reason to linger, he left for...
...the wizard's tower.
...the inn.
...the inn.
He had no intention to go back to the inn, so instead he choose...
...the merchant's house.
...Helen.
He could not gain anything from going back to Helen right then. Therefore he chose...
...Helen.
He knocked on the door but there was no answer from the door-penguin. He had no choice but to leave. He went to...
...the forest.
...the zerrikanian's house
...the zerrikanian's house
Fea was a dead end as long as she was alive. Instead the witcher went to...
She was a dead end as long as she was alive. Instead the witcher went to...
She was dead already. Geralt rather turned to...
Geralt found the mayor sitting behind a large desk in a chair way too big for his small figure.
"I thought I made it clear that we don't want you around here." His tone was as serious as yesterday, but this time he looked at the witcher with vast disgust. Whether the fear remained, it was hard to say.
"Usually they don't want me to be around either before or after they make use of my skills and expertise." answered Geralt.
"It's good you understand," said the mayor, "now make your leave! We get by pretty well by ourselves, we don't need anyone start killing any...thing." The emphasis on the last syllable spoke clearly.
Geralt swallowed his cumulating anger. A man like this was not worth it. He took a deep breath and...
...asked about the zerrikanian woman.
"What can you tell me about the warrior woman?"
"That lady is a model citizen. She pays her taxes, donates for charity, helps organising the cultural events if needed and is generally kind to anyone. Maybe this is the way she pays back society. I don't care. There are some rumours of course which is understandable in her position. Some claim she's not even human, but that is obvious nonsense. She's not harmed anyone and is a great asset to our community. Unlike some deviant elements who refuse to disappear even when they are told."
Geralt took another deep breath and...
...asked about the bear in the woods.
"What can you tell me about the monster in the woods?"
"That wild animal in the woods is being taken care of by the hunter. Though it seems to take a little longer for him than usual, there's nothing to worry about. Don't listen to the superstitious blabbering of the common folks. If there were magic involved, it would be as obvious as with the other monstrosities the wizards have unleashed upon us. Like witchers. The only real monster around here is one that recently arrived. You certainly know him, he has white hair."
Geralt took another deep breath and...
...left.
Geralt left the mayor's office with a bad taste in his mouth. This seemed to have been an utter useless encounter.
There were still distinct differences between the so called Dark Forest and the rest of the woods. This one looked rather friendly in the daylight, everything radiated with green life. If you judged by the picture, you would say, everything was in order and peace ruled the land. But as Geralt walked by the border of the trees looking for the path, he felt anxious again. He noticed the birds grow gradually more silent during his last week of travelling, and now he could barely notice the signs of normal animal life.
He eventually found the mentioned path and before entering the forest he looked back once more at the village thinking of its people who unconsciously refuse to suspect anything.
The path started off pretty narrow covered almost fully by the undergrowth as if it hadn't been used in ages, but after a few steps it transformed. It was wide and clear enough for one to ride a horse. Geralt somewhat regretted that he left his in the village, but he knew his loyal Roach deserved some rest for a change. He had everything he needed for a little hunt on him: both his swords and potions for enhancing his abilities. He brought one phial of White Raffard's decoction as well, just in case.
After an hour of uneventful walking he saw a lit campfire in the middle of the road. Two small rabbits were roasting on it, but there was no one to be seen around. Not a good sign in a place like this. He casually loosened both his swords in their sheaths and continued without the slightest break in his steps. Then he heard the unmistakeable sound of winding up a heavy crossbow, and knew that he needs not to look any further.
"Don't move!" yelled the man who just appeared from behind a tree. "State your business!"
"Your meal's going to burn at this rate."
"Don't state the obvious! Who are you?"
"My name is Geralt and you must be Willard. I'm here to offer you my help."
The man looked a bit confused at first, but then he lowered his crossbow.
"Well, I appreciate that, but I don't think you can solve the situation. Let me rescue those corpses over the flames and I'll explain."
He offered Geralt one of the rabbits which he gladly accepted. After finishing the meal the hunter finally started to speak.
"Two new moons ago the people started to tell tales about an animal in the forest."
"What kind of animal?"
"Don't interrupt me please! As I said, there were rumours. About a bear that sometimes followed the people on the road from a safe distance. It seemed strange, but harmless. Two weeks ago some drunkards armed with clubs and scythes decided to play hero and seek out the bear..."
"...to end it, but I assume they did not succeed."
"I said, don't interrupt! As I said, some self-proclaimed heroes came up against the beast. Some ended up only with bruises, some with broken bones, and there was one unfortunate enough to get in the way of the claws of the bear. He lives, but if it weren't for the old librarian lady in the village, he would have died the next day. She knows pretty much about healing. It must be because of the books."
Geralt allowed himself faint smile. The hunter did not notice, he was too busy telling the tale.
"Long story short, the bear did not survive the rendezvous. And this is where it starts to get interesting. Next day I came here to take care of the carrion, but I found nothing. I searched the premises but there were no traces, blood or otherwise. Two days later a woman tried to take this road but got chased away by a bear that looked disturbingly familiar to the previous one, except this one was aggressive. More and more reports came in as the time passed, and the mayor sent me to 'put an end to this nonsense'. And here am I still trying."
He shook his head, then sighed and shook his head again. It was Geralt's turn to speak.
He asked him about the appearance of the monster.
"Does this monster have any unusual traits?"
"It looked like a normal bear to me. Not that I've killed that many bears before, in these forests they're pretty rare."
He asked him about its comeback.
"Is it possible that the 'heroes' did not kill it?"
"It is, but ever since I've been here I've killed and buried it three times already. Last time yesterday. Overnight the dead one left its grave again, and a living one is ready for another round. It's exhausting and seems futile, but I don't want to go back like this. At least not yet."
He asked him about his suspicions.
"What do you think?"
"I think this is a really bad joke or a lesson from the gods for being so arrogant in my whole life. Or maybe it is something completely different. Does it really matter what I think?"
He asked him to show him the beast.
"Could you show me the beast?"
"I could, but you'd have to kill it. It is getting more and more pissed off. In the beginning if someone left its territory, it stopped following. Now I'm almost sure you won't get away without a fight."
Further on the path someone put marks on the ground. Probably the hunter. They marked the borderline of the realm of the bear but had not much significance now. Geralt wanted to see the beast with his own eyes, both alive and dead. He crossed the marked ground with firm steps while the hunter followed him reluctantly, considering each move, keeping his crossbow ready all the time.
The witcher decided on his meteorite sword. That was built stronger than the silver one, and the bear, touched by magic may have been, was of natural origin which mattered more. He stopped and slowly removed the sword from its sheath. The hunter did not understand yet. His human ears were too numb to sense the movement of the leaves, hear the sound of paws touching the forest floor. The bear wasn't far and it sensed their presence already.
Geralt signalled the hunter to fall behind and find a good place to shoot from whenever the chance presents itself. Meanwhile his free hand quickly formed the sign Quen creating a basic barrier just centimetres away from his skin. That always tickled him a little putting up. He heard the bear coming, faster and faster, until the bush in front of him finally burst with a deafening roar and the heavy beast rushed towards him.
The witcher was ready though, he broke most if the unthinkable momentum with a well-timed Aard, and danced out of the way with a pirouette, cutting the bear in the process. The Blizzard he's consumed just minutes ago helped him a lot in this situation enhancing his reflexes. Geralt felt the world moving in a slowed down pace, and he could easily distinguish the sound of the hunter's bolt leaving the string and piercing the chest of the beast even though in reality they were separated with less than the tenth of a second. The arrow failed to reach the heart, but before the bear had a chance to move again, the sword finished the job.
The witcher cleaned the blade and without waiting for the Blizzard to wear off, started examining the corpse. There were no visible signs of mutation on the outside. The hair colour, the teeth and claws, even the pupil seemed normal. The hunter opened up the beast with his knife. All the organs were in place, except there were small green tumours spread all over them.
"Is there any particular source of magic around here? I mean besides the Dark Forest." asked Geralt frowning.
"There is an empty tower nearby. It used to belong to a wizard they say, but that's just superstitious blabbering. I don't..." But seeing the witcher's expression he choked on the rest and quickly added "I'll take you there. Follow me."
He asked him whether there was magic involved.
"Rumour has it the bear bears magic. What do you know about that?"
"I'm a simple hunter, I don't know anything about magic. That's for superstitious folks, my grandma used to say. However this beast is surely a bizarre one, coming back all the time."
"Is there any source of magic around here? Strange stones, funny water? A cursed piece of land maybe, besides the Dark Forest I mean."
"If there were any, I would know. There is a long forgotten tower in the woods though. It is deserted now, and there's nothing special about it except that the fools forgot to put a door on it, so nobody can enter. I tried to climb it once, but the stones are too tightly fit, you can't find a decent grip. They say, a long time ago a wizard came here and built it in one night. Like I would believe such a story. These folks always..."
"Can you lead me to the tower?" interrupted the witcher when he started to lose his patience.
"There you are, interrupting a fine monologue once again. Sure I could lead you there, but then I couldn't be here, could I. My duty ties me to the beast. Next time I will kill it for sure. It is just..."
"So where's the tower?" interrupted he again.
"You are hopeless. It is not far from here. You must remember crossing a brook a little while back. It is called the Freshwater brook. At least the is how I like to call it. Some claim it's name is Quicksilver, but that doesn't make any sense. How..."
"The tower?"
"Don't be rude, let me explain. You follow it upstream until you get to a small waterfall. Which has no official name."
Geralt cleared his throat audibly. The hunter did not show any sing of noticing.
"It is a nice waterfall, yet maybe too small to name. One can easily climb the rocks near it. From there you should already see the base of the tower through the trees. Though it is no use to go there, if you ask me."
The witcher thanked the hunter for everything, but he was also happy to leave. He pitied the hunter a little though, because for someone who likes talking so much, one week in the forest alone must have been a tough experience.
The first strike came from above. Geralt hardly stepped through the door a zerrikanian blade swung down towards his head. He ducked, parried with the swords still sheathed on his back, then rolled away from the door.
The second strike wasn't lagging much behind, but he was already waiting for it standing with his sword drawn. Then it was time for him to attack, but that too met with resistance. His opponent was as fast as him and did not lack skill either. They danced back and forth in the house as if never getting tired of it.
"Is... this... how... you... greet... all... your... guests?" asked the witcher while dodging, attacking, parrying constantly, pressing out the words in between his moves.
"Only the special ones." answered she effortlessly.
Her eyes burned with fire as she begun a furious series of attacks Geralt could barely keep up with. He tried to manage a fair distance between him and his opponent, but that resulted him stepping backwards again and again.
"You're not bad actually," she complimented, "but how long do you think you can keep up?"
"Long enough." thought the witcher. He noticed already, that her attacks sacrificed ingenuity for speed, and that was his chance. He only needed to learn the patterns. He found that she aimed a bit higher when she breathed in. He started to follow her rhythm while tried to remain in a more open area to have space for the planned actions. Breathe out, breathe in. The blades danced ever so gracefully knowing nothing about the death they carried within themselves. Breathe out, breathe...
Geralt rolled left thus evading the upcoming attack and performed two small cuts in quick succession. The first one, a low cut reached the girl's thigh, the second cut, upwards, following almost instantly cut her right hand. In her surprise she fell to her knees looking unbelieving first at her unfaithful sword laying before her then at the witcher.
Geralt stepped to her and...
...finished her!
... pierced his sword through her heart.
"You know nothing, Geralt of Rivia." said she before falling to the ground.
...pulled her up.
... offered her his hand. "Come, we need to tend those wounds before we talk."
She accepted. "Thank you, but these are only scratches really."
They sat down at opposing sides of the table and started conversing. Which I don't quite remember, so I'll need you to help me directly on this one.
Geralt asked:
"What was this all about?"
"You mean the fight? Well, it's only natural for a girl to protect her property and herself from bad people."
"You overdid it a bit, don't you think?"
"Not everyone is as nice as you are, witcher. Besides, it was fun, wasn't it?"
"What's your name?"
"A girl like me has had so many names, she barely remembers the real one. You witchers are lucky to have only one, Geralt."
"Am I really that disturbingly famous?"
"I don't know about that. I've met you, well, no, actually I only saw you in Vizima once. And I heard Dandelion sing about a witcher with white hair. I assumed that's you."
"Since I am the only one, that must be me. So what do I call you, girl?"
"You can call me Fea, if you want. That's my name now."
"You fought pretty well."
"Thank you, I guess I have a talent for it. But I still lack experience."
"You're not really from Zerrikania, are you?"
"No, I'm not, and I'm no warrior either. This is just cosplay - or disguise, if you want. But I've been there, that's where I got my sword and learned a bit about fighting. It was a hard journey, but I've never regretted the decision."
"You're viciously fast. They say, you may not even be human."
"And they may not even be wrong about that."
"So, what's your story?"
"This might or might not surprise you, but I am a vampire."
"That explains a lot. For example why the husband..."
"Gerwyn. His name's Gerwyn."
"Then that explains why Gerwyn would show the symptoms of blood loss from time to time."
"Yes and I'm a bit embarrassed about that too. You know, I've never tolerated blood very well. I drink as rare as possible. But you probably know that feeling, when you are with someone and you burn in the flames of love, passion takes over and your only desire is to become one with each other. Well, at such moments it is really hard for me to restrain myself. Sometimes I can't, sometimes I just don't care."
"Do you get hangovers too?"
"You wouldn't believe."
"But if you are a vampire then - I know it is a lot to ask, but - could I stab you in the heart, please?"
"And why would you want to do that?"
"To make Helen happy."
"Not the good answer."
"It is for a greater good."
"Ideology is no excuse for evil."
"I need your help."
"Do you stab all those who help you?"
"It hurts, you know. A blade to run you through."
"I know, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
"Important to whom?"
"You could as well leave the village. I think that would suffice too. No one would know."
"It's not that simple."
"That's a small price to pay."
"I'm the one paying, so let me decide on that."
"I still don't understand a thing." she added.
"Helen promised me the wizard's ring."
"You should have started with that. I know nothing about rings, but the wizard has a tower in the forest. You only need to visit. I'm sure he has another one. That's how it is whit those folks. I can show the way, if you're interested."
"Your 'death' could help me obtain the only tool, a ring, with which we can put up a fight against the darkness in the forest."
"Your 'death' could help me obtain the only tool, a ring, with which we can put up a fight against the darkness in the forest."
"Your 'death' could help me obtain the only tool, a ring, with which we can put up a fight against the darkness in the forest."
"Your 'death' could help me obtain the only tool, a ring, with which we can put up a fight against the darkness in the forest."
She did not answer immediately. "You know, I always knew my good heart will kill me once. All right, do it! Do it, before I change my mind!"
"You're cute, but that's not enough for me to 'die' for you."
"You're cute, but that's not enough for me to 'die' for you."
"You did not convince me. Forget it, I'm not interested in 'dying' right now."
"Helen has something I need and only you stand between it and me."
"You couldn't be more cryptic, or could you?"
"Please tell me about Helen."
"On second thought, never mind."
"That's all I wanted to know, thanks."
"How would you describe her?"
"She's a beautiful control freak. Most of the time she behaves, but in the bedroom she's the perfect dominatrix."
"Why does she want you dead? Isn't that a bit too much?"
"She hates me. She believes I'm a witch and I use his husband for my incomprehensible evil magic. She thinks that he will only be safe if I disappeared from the world for good."
"How did you met her husband?"
"I met Gerwyn in the House of the Queen of the Night in Vizima. It started out as a business arrangement, but it soon got very complicated."
"How did you end up here?"
"Gerwyn was in the usual rescuing hero frenzy and I was thinking about leaving there anyway. He brought me here and made me his wife's maid to avoid suspicion, but that later proved to be less than a good idea."
"A zerrikanian warrior maid?"
"A zerrikanian warrior maid?"
"No, that would have been ridiculous. I chose to cosplay a ZW only after I got thrown out of the house. These folks do not seem to have long memories, some of them even think I'm authentic. Which comes in handy sometimes."
"Only a regular maid. I played along. I obeyed my masters, though sometimes it was hard to please them both. It was fun most of the time, but I'm not sure I miss those days now."
"How has it gone wrong?"
"How has it gone wrong?"
"How couldn't it have gone wrong? When you are the mistress of the husband and the plaything of the wife at the same time, interests clash."
"Why don't you just leave?"
"Silly it may sound, but I'm very fond of the guy. He's the first in a long while. I hope we can last. At least a little more."
"Have you tried to sort things out with her?"
"You've never asked that question and I've never heard it. It's better for both of us."
"Well, I guess we are at an impasse here."
"Your guess may be correct."
"I may get back to you."
"See you later then."
But they both knew that wouldn't happen.
The door-penguin didn't even wait for him to state his business, he just bowed, invited him in, then disappeared.
Geralt found Helen in the living room waiting, sipping a glass of wine. The dark red colour of the liquid matched her lips perfectly.
"I'm glad you changed your mind." said she when she noticed him enter. Then she put down the glass and walked over. A new kind of fire burned in her eyes as she stopped only inches away.
"So you kept your word. Good." said she when she noticed him enter. Then she put down the glass and walked over. A new kind of fire burned in her eyes as she stopped only inches away.
"You know" she ran one hand up on his arm "my husband" her other hand down on herself "has been neglecting me lately." She pressed her body against his. "I'm sure you have much to give." purred she in his ears. Geralt felt his body response accordingly while she continued: "Will you be a good boy and deliver?"
Yes!
"Your wish is my command, my lady!" said he lustfully.
"I see you know your place already. We're going to have so much fun together!"
The witcher only realised that he totally forgot about the ring when he finally stepped out to the street and heard the door lock behind him.
No way!
"I'm honoured, my lady." said he while his hands started exploring her body. "But there's something I need to do first." He grabbed the ring hanging in her neck.
He still heard her cursing long after leaving the house.
Now he could return to Lorena with the ring.
Now he could return to the girl with the ring.
And that he did.
When Geralt spotted the tower, mixed feelings stirred in his heart. The black wall with its tightly fit rectangular stones did indeed look like of magical origin, however it was nowhere near as spectacular as he expected. Most of the wizards liked to show off their power, but this tower seemed, though well made, rather insignificant. Normally he would rely on his medallion to detect the presence of magic, for it would react to a source, but the close vicinity of the Dark Forest made any such attempt futile.
The witcher saw no door or window when he walked around it, but on the second round he noticed a small bear-like animal engraved on a stone about five feet high from the ground. He wanted to touch it, but as soon as he reached out, all the world went black. He felt as if everything was turned upside down for a moment.
On clear days the tower could be seen from the village, if someone knew where to look. It didn't take long before they reached its base. It was an almost perfect hexagonal prism built from black stones that fit so tight together one could never find a grab to climb it. It was definitely built using magic, but it lacked the majesty of the usual wizard towers reaching only a few feet above the top of the trees.
"Here, this is it." heard Geralt Fea's voice. She was pointing at a stone with a shallow engraving of a bear. "Touch the stone. I hope it's still working though."
Geralt did as he was told, but little did he reach out for the bear in the stone, all the world went black.
Though the tower could indeed be seen from the village, one could have problems locating it, for once entering the forest, it was out of sight. The witcher had to rely on his instincts. The sheer thickness of the vegetation reminded him that of Brokilon, this one was of different origin however. Instead of the power of the trees the air was heavy of an other, darker one. Not that he hadn't got used to this kind of feeling in the past week of travel.
Geralt had to climb a rock wall to get up the hill, which was no easy task. In fact it was only possible near a small, but rather spectacular waterfall. He wondered whether the villagers even knew about it. They did not seem to dare into the forest these days.
As soon as he got on top he spotted the base of the tower among the trees but he stopped for a little while to enjoy the vista. The cliff reached only inches below the foliage in height so anyone standing there had a pretty good view over the country. The village seemed insignificantly small from this distance and the mill in the north was only a pinhead near the thin thread of the river.
The witcher had to hurry though, because he spent the majority of the day to find his way there.
The tower was smaller than he expected. It wasn't big enough to physically house any significant equipment of a wizard, he rather suspected a teleport node inside. That is, if there was any means of getting inside. The perfectly cut stone walls did not reveal any kind of entrance. There was one place though, where something was engraved into one of the stones. It looked like a small bear.
"That as well may be the door knocker." thought Geralt, but as soon as he reached out to touch it, the whole world went black around him and his stomach felt like he was pulled up and dropped down at least a hundred feet several times.
Then the light came back and he was still standing in the front of the wall, but the forest with all the trees in it was replaced by a meadow full of wild flowers. The sun had also jumped back to the eastern horizon.
Not far from Geralt and the tower on the grass there was a nice small roundish table with two chairs. On one of the chairs was sitting a handsome young man admiring the sunrise and sipping a drink. His clothes were made of a fine material and all of them were as yellow as his drink. When he noticed his guest, he waved him and invited him at his table.
"You can find some beer in that box, but if it wasn't enough just ask, and we will figure something out." smiled the lad.
In the box there were six small bottles each of them sealed. Geralt took one, sat down, broke the seal and drank to the health of his host. The beverage tasted a bit unfamiliar, but was genuine beer and he found it quite enjoyable.
"Geralt of Rivia, your fame precedes you." the host did not stop smiling.
"As long as it isn't my infamy, I can't have an objection." He returned the smile.
"I'm afraid, a bit both. So. They say, one of your hobbies is to break curses." The young lad took a sip from his glass. The liquid seemed to maintain its amount never dropping below a certain line. "Is that true?"
"You say hobby, I say work and duty."
"Yes, I always forget we made witchers that way." He let out a sigh. "Actually I'm glad you came. It's been a long time since there has been any progress. May I ask how did you find me?"
"A bear in the forest keeps coming back to life and is endangering the human population. I was looking for an answer and this tower looked like a good place to start."
"Then you just got lucky, I guess." The wizard let out a sigh. "It's a shame, really. The bear was an experiment of mine years ago. I wanted to create a species more intelligent than its natural variation and use it as a guard, pet, mount, etc. whenever I travel. But I ended up with a shy ball of fur with no extraordinary feature. It was tame but there are easier ways to achieve that. Now that you mention it, I haven't seen it around lately. It must have escaped. It comes back to life, you say? That sounds interesting. Maybe I should collect and examine it."
"Fea, the vampire led me here."
"I remember that one, yes. She found me a year ago when I accidentally left the tower open. She was nice. We were chatting a bit about this and that. She did not let me examine her though. What a pity!"
"By my curiosity and my instincts."
"Those two should not be underestimated for they lead us to the most peculiar revelations."
What was that place?
"Where am I?"
"You are in my personal space, at least your mind is. Your body is probably collapsed at the base of the tower unless someone came and piled you up. I've left that country for a while now, though I don't think it's been a century. Only half, or so. I left the tower behind in case anyone wants to make contact and now here you are." said he and raised his glass as if he'd just finished a toast.
About the case...
"You said something about being glad to see me..."
"Yes. I assume you spoke with the girl. Good. And I assume nothing has changed yet, because my simple tower couldn't have survived the blast. I thought so. Do you have the ring?"
"Well, I was out to get it, but..."
"Forget it, we have another option. The ring is only a focus as is this crystal ball." He stopped speaking and started murmuring something in a long forgotten language while waving his hands around an invisible ball. Soon a spherical object appeared in between his hands, starting small and growing rapidly. It had a light blue tint but apart from that it was almost completely transparent in the spectrum of the visible light. Geralt could have sworn that it emitted light itself from its core, but that as well may have been an illusion created by the rays of the morning sun.
The sphere suddenly fell and hit the ground with a gentle thud. The young lad was nowhere to be seen any more, instead an old man with grey hair barely able to move looked across the table. Only his eyes remained the same. They were still smiling even though their owner hadn't got the strength to smile with them.
"I always forget how hard it is to tap nature's powers directly and distil them into a visible form." He slowly reached for the sphere, picked it up and gave it to the witcher. His every move required hard work. "The ring is more refined in shape, but it has the same potential as this one. Actually this form may serve our cause better."
"Thanks, but what do I do with it?"
The old wizard shook his head. "I'm too exhausted, I need some rest. Find the girl. Find her, and she'll explain the rest." The next moment the world went black again.
When Geralt came to his senses, he found himself in the forest lying on the ground. He was holding something in his left hand. A faint light was coming from its core.
The night has fallen already. The moon was only a fine line, barely visible, but it was there. A small campfire lit the wall of the tower but it reflected next to nothing. A man was maintaining the flames. The witcher recognised him quickly.
"Willard..."
"It's good to have you back, Geralt, I was almost starting to get worried a little. I somehow felt responsible. Interesting thing you got there."
Geralt tried to force a smile with ambivalent results.
He told him about the bear.
"The good news is the owner of your favourite pet is now interested to remove it from these woods. That means it probably will disappear in the near future."
"I guess I should thank you, but please excuse me if I don't believe it until it's happened."
He asked him about the moonless night.
"You were out here yesterday too. Aren't you afraid of the night? The rest of the folks seem to be."
"We all are. But some of us are different than the others. Touched by the night if you will."
"Does that make you immune or something?"
"It doesn't but it lets us feel the flow of the darkness. We don't speak about it, besides we learn to repress it at a young age. Those not able to do so become insane."
"I'm not sure I understand it fully."
"The only thing I know is that every time I close my eyes I feel it. On nights like this I don't even need to close them and I can almost see the threads. That allows me to find relatively safe areas everywhere even in the thickest darkness. And that allows me to remain a hunter without being consumed eventually."
He remained silent.
The witcher was exhausted form the recent events. He watched the flames in silence and soon he fell into a black dreamless sleep.
He woke to the morning light growing over the night. The hunter sitting by the fire looked like as if he hadn't moved an inch. Whether he really had or hadn't the witcher did not care. The only thing on his mind now was to visit Lorena in the library and finally shed some light on this dark matter.
Geralt woke up in bed without clothes. It was dark outside already and only a candle illuminated the inside.
"With your late permission I removed your clothes and cleaned you up."
Fea was sitting at the table, reading something while with one hand playing with an orb. The faint light coming from its core was changing with every move. She looked up, right into the witcher's eyes.
The vampire girl was sitting at the table, reading something while with one hand playing with an orb. The faint light coming from its core was changing with every move. She looked up, right into the witcher's eyes.
"I just did not want to drop you on the floor and the sheets were clean so I had no choice. I hope you don't mind."
In her simple linen dress she looked like any other country girl. Her zerrikanian self seemed like a surreal dream now.
"What happened?" asked Geralt.
"Nothing, really." She shrugged. "You were out for most of the day. It's almost midnight now. The same happened to me when I touched the stone, except there were no one to carry me home. That and I did not receive gifts." She spun the orb and the light in it began to dance.
"In that case thank you."
"Anyone would have done it." she said.
With that she declared the case closed and blew out the candle. The witcher's pupils accommodated instantly. He saw clearly the girl take off her dress. She wore nothing beneath. She noticed his gaze.
"I'm sorry I did not want you to freak out when you wake up," said she climbing into bed, "but now I need to sleep too."
She kissed him goodnight on his cheek.
Then on his neck.
Then on his neck again, with a little tongue.
Then she barred her teeth and scratcher his skin. A drop of blood appeared which she readily licked off. She shivered with pleasure.
"You're delicious." she said. "But this is not the time nor place for this."
Geralt was lying in the bed awake long after Fea's breath became shallow and slow paced, and he woke with the first rays of light while she was still in the land of dreams. He put on his clothes and gathered his belongings in complete silence. He turned back from the door to whisper thanks and goodbye then he stepped out.
The morning light and fresh air filled him with new energy.
He turned his feet towards the...
...library.
Of course.
By the time Geralt finally opened his eyes in the real world the dawn was just about to tear open the horizon. He found himself in an uncomfortable pile on the ground, his limbs revolted against every move. He almost didn't notice the orb near him. A most curious orb that somehow gave off light from its core.
The witcher fought his way back to the village. It didn't take long, but he felt extremely exhausted anyway. The innkeeper acted like he's seen the dead walking when Geralt appeared in the morning at the inn and ordered a hot bath and meal.
It was already way past noon when he emerged from his room again and left...
...for the library.
Indeed.
Lorena was sitting at the table by the window, flipping through one of the two books she showed the witcher last time. She only looked up, when Geralt sat down at her table as well.
"Did you succeed?" she asked.
"I wouldn't have come otherwise. Here's your ring." said he and put the ring on the table. It looked nothing special lying there.
"Not with the ring, but I've met the wizard and he gave me this." He put the orb on the table. It illuminated its surroundings.
"I see." She looked down and fiddled with the bookmark for a bit before looking into the witcher's eyes again. "I must confess something. I wasn't completely honest with you."
"People seldom are." answered the witcher.
"Yes. I can imagine. And I apologise. I feared I would scare you away with the details."
"It is harder to scare me than you would think."
She nodded. "To make a clean breast out of things... Actually the wizard made the ring for me as a weapon. Its power is not in making books readable. Please don't get mad, but I could have easily got it back if I wanted to."
His lips curled into a wry smile. "And did I pass the test?"
"The first one, yes. The second one will be harder and it is not staged by me."
"Please try not to leave things out this time."
"The wizard told me to ask you about the details."
"I'll tell you what I know." said she and opened the book at a page illustrating a vortex-like phenomenon. "The darkness has no clear border and there are local fluctuations but it is clear that the density increases inwards, so it has to have some kind of centre. That is the source and if we want to deal with it, we need to get there first."
"I assume that isn't the worst part."
"No, but the hardest. Once you are there the wizard's artefact will take care of the rest by creating an explosion of light. At least that's how the wizard condensed it for me when I pointed out my lack of knowledge on magic. But there's no assurance that you would survive either the way there or the blast."
"Do you mean it is a suicide mission?" The witcher frowned.
"Not necessarily, but anywhere there's strong magic involved..." She stopped. "If I could do it, I would have done it already a long time ago. Do you know how frustrating it is to know the solution and at the same time be unable to do anything?"
Geralt did not answer.
"I have to wait for someone to help me." she continued. "The wizard won't do it because he's 'not suited for field work'. I can't do it, because it gives off a certain aura that supposed to protect the user by keeping the darkness at bay but I am made of that darkness, at least partly, so it is no use for me. On the contrary. Once, I tried to enter the forest with the ring on my finger. After a few steps already I felt like it was burning through my flesh. I had to turn back."
Silence fell on them, both were in deep thoughts. An hour or so passed like this before finally one of them spoke. It was the witcher who started.
"You said, there were witchers before me." he asked.
"There were indeed."
"But they did not succeed."
"They did not even try. When they heard what I ask of them, they left without exception. Will you leave too?" Her voice was neither worried nor curious, only rational.
"Breaking curses is my hobby, don't you know?" said Geralt as if that would answer anything.
The witcher and the librarian discussed every single detail from different aspects again and again, but nothing made him feel any more comfortable about the upcoming task. The sun set, the whole night passed, and he was convinced only one thing. That no rational mind would describe the plan other than madness.
Geralt and Lorena walking together near the village in the morning light could have been easily mistaken as lovers by a negligent observer, though love was the last thing on their mind now. Geralt planned to enter the Dark Forest as close to the core as possible, using the same path now that Lorena used in the past.
Where the meadow path disappeared among the trees the mayor waited for them in the company of about a dozen armed villagers. The captain of the guard wasn't there with them. They did not look like proper guard anyway, rather a bunch of unfortunates picked up whatever they found in the armoury to look more fearsome: one of them had a crossbow, one a small axe, two held longbows and the rest was armed with spears.
"I told you twice to stay away from my village. What part of that did you not understand?"
"You tourists just stroll in everywhere not caring about the locals or even the place itself really. And your ignorance will cost us dearly." said the mayor.
"And now I have to arrest you for murder." The little man was trembling. Fear or anger? Maybe both.
"I heard you solved our bear problem, but don't think that means anything. We could have done it ourselves. We don't need anyone to mess up things more than they already are around here. This forest is off limits for the very reason. I cannot allow you further." said the small man with all his resolve.
"I cannot allow you to continue from here. This forest is way too dangerous to play with. It pushes back when you're trying to push it, you know. As a mayor it is my duty to protect my people." said the small man with all his resolve.
"Surround them!" shouted he pointing his finger at the witcher and the girl. The 'guards' followed the order, though reluctantly, never allowing their eyes to stray away from the witcher's swords.
Lorena stepped forward in an instant, grabbed the mayor's head and stared deeply into his eyes before he could comprehend what's happening let alone cry out for help. All emotions flew from him immediately, his expression only reflected emptiness. "You are free to go. Please excuse us for this little interlude." said he in a lifeless tone like he was in a kind of trance then walked away towards the village. The 'guards' having lost their purpose followed him one by one. Whether they saw the witcher enter the forest I cannot say.
The ring on Geralt's finger shone ever more brightly as the darkness grew thicker and thicker to the extent at one point it almost seemed to emit light by itself. It indeed reflected an unknown source of light, but it did not come from the inside, or did it? That must have been an illusion.
The light coming from the orb in Geralt's hand became brighter and brighter as he advanced into the darkness, but despite that it could illuminate his surroundings less and less with each step.
He could see nothing. Perfect black emptiness surrounded him. He could hear nothing. The noise of his steps, the sound of his breath, even his heartbeats died and all that's left was utter silence. He could feel nothing. There was no breeze to caress his face, his boots did not stir up any dead leaves, there were no plants or trees to stand in his way. As if the whole world had dissolved.
The only thing that he could still confirm to exist was the wizards artefact. A faint ray of light connected it with something far ahead in the darkness. He knew that it pointed in the direction of his goal, but he had no idea how far it may be or even if he was moving towards or away from it. He wanted to go there, he forced himself to think about putting one foot in front of the other, and it seemed to work, but suddenly he found himself lying on his back, and all that felt like a dream.
He stood up and looked around. He still couldn't see anything beyond himself but he felt like he wasn't alone.
The ring became loose and it almost fell off the witcher's finger. He had to clench his hand into a fist to make sure it stays on.
The orb became heavy. He couldn't hold it with one hand any more. And it seemed more slippery than before as well.
"I could drop it." he thought. "I can't see in the darkness carrying a source of light. That makes me blind. There are people around. They could help me if I asked."
He felt hands around him. He knew they wanted to touch him, embrace him. "They can't because of the light. That is what hinders them. That is what hinders me."
He almost loosened his grip, but then he noticed that there was no ray of light coming from the orb any more. "No ray of light means you are trapped in an illusion." heard he Lorena's voice. Was it only his imagination? "As long as you don't give up the light you are safe." It was a memory played back. He heard himself saying: "Do I only need to cling to it?" The memory ended, but the answer was now obvious for him. He sat down, closed his eyes and tried to feel the light with all his nerve endings as it touched his body and ran through it. Soon he felt his legs moving. He was walking towards something in the distance. A ray of light showed him the way.
From that moment on he concentrated only on the ray. He imagined how he will become one with it and reach his goal in no time. However there wasn't even a concept of time in that darkness. He did not know how long he's been in there. It could have been minutes or years, he wouldn't have known the difference. His memory failed him. The only thing he was sure of was that he followed the light.
Geralt remembered that before he entered the forest Lorena wanted to say thank you and at the same time goodbye properly, though she didn't know how. If the witcher succeeded, she would simply cease to exist. If not, he wouldn't ever come back. They were destined to meet only once.
"Strange." she said when Geralt asked her how she felt about dying. "All those able to die fight to avoid it. I, unable, am seeking it."
Then the ray of light ended.
He was confused. He moved a little, it appeared again. Then he was happy to have found it and followed it, but it again ended. As if there was a point where he needed to go to. Would that be the case? He couldn't believe. If the meaning of your existence is going, then upon arrival you lose everything. Something however was still giving off light. Was it him? No it couldn't have been. It became stronger and stronger and he felt like someone put him into a box and put that box under a mountain. He felt the pressure crush every inch of his body as the light grew and blew him away. Then he felt no more.
When Geralt opened his eyes he saw a simple ceiling made of wood. In the room there was no other furniture than his bed though it would have been big enough for many. It looked like a storeroom rather than an actual room in a house.
The door opened and the mayor strolled in with a fast pace one would think he marched into battle.
"So you live. More importantly we live too. You did not have the right to put us all in jeopardy." said he looking at the witcher like at a bug he want to crush with his boots right away. "Had Fea not insisted I would have left you rot in the forest. Sadly it looks like she thinks of you as a hero and somehow other folks share that nonsense as well so I will have to reward you."
His facial expression reminded the witcher of someone just tasted an extremely sour lemon.
"Don't think I like it. We will do it in public as soon as you can walk, so that I don't need to see your face any longer than I have to. Our smith's disappeared and I can't find our librarian either, so I will hand you no medal or written thanks, only a bag of coins. Which you will accept gratefully and then you ride off into the sunset. Or whatever you hero types do on leaving. Understood? Good. Then we're done."
He strolled out with the same fast pace as coming in.
"You'd better get well fast." threw he back from the door.
Geralt had no other wish himself either.
A girl came in pulling a table on wheels behind her. She was dressed like one of the nurses of Melitele and she had a variety of herbs and potions brought with her.
"Hello, my name is Fea." she introduced herself. "How are you feeling today?"
The words did not come out easy. Each breath hurt and it was even worse when he tried to speak. "I live..."
"Yes, but barely." said she and reached out for a phial filled with a reddish-brown tincture. She sat on the side of the bed and administered a spoonful of it to the witcher. It was extremely bitter but he swallowed every drop. Soon he felt a little better, breathing became less a hassle.
"Are you a nurse?" asked he afterwards.
"You mean my outfit? Hell, no! This is only cosplay. I thought it would fit the situation. Our healer, Elaine disappeared, and I was the next one with the most medical experience on the list. We sent for a professional but she lives two villages away and is a bit too old for travel. I hope she can come though."
"How did I get here anyway?" asked he then, but the words came slow to him, the whole world was becoming a little dull.
"The hunter brought you in. I did not understand fully but he said something about feeling a wave run through him. He set out to find the source but only found you. That was two days ago. You were here ever since."
Geralt had many more questions but his body seemed to have failed him. He was struggling for a little while, but he had no chance. He heard Fea somewhere in the distance saying goodbye and promising to return again, but he was already on his way to the land of dreams.
"It worked!" heard Geralt. "It worked, and now you're awake! Please forgive me my behaviour, but I haven't been this excited in hundreds of years!" The voice belonged to a young lad dressed all in purple. He was sitting at a small table sipping beetroot juice from a glass. Geralt could have sworn he did not see him there a moment before.
"So, how was it? Was it scary? What did you feel? Do you remember the blast? That was something amazing to watch!"
And the questions started to flow continuously, it seemed they would never end. They came in fast succession, the witcher had no chance to answer them at all.
"You could have at least arrange some kind of rescue for yourself, in the end I had to drag you back here myself. No problem, really, you can thank me by answering all my questions. If not now, then later. You need some time to recover, so we will have opportunities plenty for discussion."
He noticed his audience's confusion.
"I made the ring, if that wasn't obvious by now. That's why I am so excited to have seen it work. Not that failure was an option, I prepared it for too long to be flawed. The explosion - I think that is the term that describes it best without going into magical details - cleared everything. All the affected specimen returned to their original form or disappeared if they were created by the phenomenon in the first place. That includes the girl and the boy too. Some folks developed sixth sense to feel the fluctuations in the darkness. That still works, now they can feel the absence of it. Which is good because I need more than one source of information if I want to confirm the facts properly. Which is unfortunately a longer process. Well, I need to get back to it now, you just rest and I'll return later to converse."
The next moment the wizard, his chair and table or his beverage was again nowhere to be seen.
Geralt felt the whole story absurd. He only knew one thing. He was alive and he would fight to stay that way for a little longer.
He felt the blade of a dagger push against his throat. He gulped unintentionally and a small drop of blood appeared at the tip.
"What should I do with you?" heard he a casual voice of lower tones. He could not turn to face the owner though.
"You screwed my wife." said the intruder but loosened his grip on the handle which allowed Geralt to answer.
"The husband..." groaned the witcher.
"Gerwyn..." groaned the witcher.
"I'm glad you recognise me." chatted the man. "But we were talking about my wife you screwed."
Normally Geralt would have disarmed him by now, but he was in no condition to perform any precise let alone fast moves. The only thing he could do was endure in silence and think up a plan for the worst case scenario while his guest continued.
"Did you satisfy her? Was she good? Oh, I hope her panties were worth it, because you hurt my beloved on the way getting inside them."
The witcher grunted.
"Yes I know she's hardly ever wore any, but that's not the point."
"The point is I found Fea lying on the floor in cold blood."
"I'm sorry..." whispered the witcher.
"She agreed to..." whispered the witcher.
"Who cares?" interrupted he harshly. "You could have at least put her into bed, or something. You left her... Oh, why am I even trying to explain."
"I didn't..."
"I apologise, it wasn't my intention to..."
"Yes, I know, you were too busy screwing Helen. Then when you realised you screwed up too busy finding another solution and then when you had found it eventually again too busy marching into the Dark Forest."
"How..." asked Geralt.
"Everyone knows about it. We have a wizard for ourselves running up and down the land and asking anyone he finds about you, the forest, the dark, the purge, some kind of blast and the questions have no end. Actually they have, but he's exhausting. I had the - start parenthesis - mis~ - end parenthesis - fortune of meeting him."
"About Fea..." started the witcher but the sentence ended up in a series of coughs.
"She's healed now, thank you for asking, but no thanks to you of course." said he then he realised he still held the blade on Geralt's throat. "Oh, I'm sorry, this was for the dramatic entrance only."
He put the knife away.
'Name's Gerwyn, by the way. Pleased to meet you.'
"Well, now that we've made things clear, you know, you being the hero and everything, it would be an honour for Fea and myself to have you for dinner some time you got better. Only if you want, no ties attached."
The witcher accepted the invitation gladly.
It was all slowly coming back to him.
Some time, he could not say how much, after the blast he felt someone lift him up and tie him to some kind of rack. He could not move his muscles, not even the tiny ones required to open his eyes. They remained tight shut. They ached like hell anyway as well as the rest of his body therefore he did not mind that too much. He just wanted to survive. Then he lost consciousness again.
Somewhat later, it could not have been too much, he felt the rack stop and heard someone looking for Elaine. The voice echoed painfully in his head again and again and again.
When the echoes died down and his mind cleared a little he could identify two distinct voices. One was the one from earlier, the other belonged to someone named Fea. Though how he knew that, remained a mystery, for he could not make out the words. He could not even identify the voices as male or female. He just knew they were conversing about him.
One was explaining how he was found in the Dark Forest which would deserve the name Bright Desert more now that some kind of wave front ran through the land cleansing, how it was only stubborn curiosity that lead to his discovery because no one would have ventured that far otherwise and how it was fate.
In the meantime, or after, it did not matter, the other was explaining, how Elaine disappeared too from this world affecting his chances of surviving badly, how whether he lives or dies is up to the gods and how this may have been his destiny all along.
Now, looking up at that wooden ceiling he knew he made it through. "But they are wrong." thought Geralt. "The fate or the gods have nothing to do with a witcher. And there's no such thing as destiny."
"I've carried your sorry ass back to the village two times already. You owe me." heard Geralt Fea's cheerful voice though he was too weak to answer yet. "This time it's not my house because my bed is only enough for two and, well, you would have been the extra."
"I've carried your sorry ass back to the village two times already. You owe me." heard Geralt girl's cheerful voice though he was too weak to answer yet. "This time it's not my house because my bed is only enough for two and, well, you would have been the extra."
Geralt gathered enough strength to turn his head towards her and maybe say hello but his surprise left him speechless. Near the bed stood no zerrikanian warrior but a perfect priest of Melitele. Seeing his expression Fea giggled.
Geralt gathered enough strength to turn his head towards her and maybe say hello but his surprise left him speechless. Near the bed stood no zerrikanian warrior but a perfect priest of Melitele. Seeing his expression she giggled.
"Do you like it?" she asked and turned around, posed a little then sat down at the side of the bed. She checked her dress to see if everything was in place and presented a proud smile. "I've just finished it. Gerwyn brought me some good material this time and I thought this would fit the situation perfectly."
"Elaine disappeared, so I'm the one taking care of you now." she explained.
"You know, you don't even deserve it. I welcomed you into my bed and you disappear without a word."
"I..." tried Geralt to speak but Fea's forefinger on his mouth stopped him.
"Just kidding. I heard that you entered the Dark Forest and just when I started to doubt that it was a good idea in the first place, - it had been a good while since you disappeared among the trees, - the darkness, and most of the forest with it, disappeared."
"Fearghall assembled a search party to look for you, however they had no chance against me. But," she stood up and adjusted her dress, "tales can wait. Now your task is to rest and get better. I've brought you some food and medicine. Are you feeling good enough to eat?"
Geralt wasn't feeling good at all. Despite that, he ate and drank everything that was given to him. Anything to get better. He had been lying in bed long enough.
Thank you for listening to this old man's tale. I hope you liked it.
To start a new adventure, just reload the page, and select the second option.
Please share your opinion back at the forum. There you can ask your questions, point out flaws, typos, grammatical errors etc. Any comment is much appreciated.
If you would like to contact the author personally, please send an email or a private message at the forums.
Author: David Bertalan
Contact: david dot bertalan at outlook dot com
© 2013 All rights reserved of course, so don't ever try to sell this story for money! But I can't stop you from sharing, can I? ;)
You have finished the story with clicks.
You have found of the 6 epilogues so far. The current one is labelled .
You achieved the tourist level of "" in this session. Your highest level has been "" so far.
paragraphs were shown in this session (up till "The End").
You have met (?) of the 11 characters so far.
You have unlocked of the achievements available.
Critic - You want to judge the whole tale, not only parts of it. You've discovered all the epilogues.
Cartographer - You draw maps wherever you go and never get lost again. You've discovered all the nodes in the graph.
Engineer - You check everything twice to make sure it works. You discovered all the loops on the main square.
Escort - You can't say no to a beautiful woman. You chose to have sex with Helen.
Journalist - You are obsessed with new information. You asked the mayor about both the bear and the zerrikanian woman in one game.
Ignorant - You don't want to get attached to others. You've met everyone in the village in one session, but didn't ask anyone's name.
Librarian - You recognise good literature when you see it. You found the Shakespearean quote.
Mechanic - You put theory into practice. You used the information about the magic bear to get to the wizard's tower without a fight.
Negotiator - You know what to say to get your way. You persuaded the vampire girl to sacrifice herself for your cause.
Networker - You believe in building social connections. You know all the characters.
Officer - You say that sobriety is the first step to a successful job. You did not accept alcoholic beverages.
Pathfinder - You know every shortcut. You reached the end in 25 or less clicks.
Soldier - You kill without giving second thought. You finished the zerrikanian witch after the fight.
Sportsman - You like to discover new games. You've finished the story once.
Spy - You listen to the rumours for they're a good source of intelligence. You used the information about the zerrikanian girl to reveal her vampire nature.
Tourist - You love to explore new locations. You've reached 'master' tourist level.
Agarth
Story-weaver
He's the old man who's weaved this story for you.
His profession once was most popular, but then less and less people had the time to sit down by the fire and listen to an unpredictably long story.
Beast
Sandor
A monster with disturbingly human eyes
Former smith apprentice
Village smith after his return
The librarian's love.
Geralt found it on the field. Or rather it found Geralt. He vanquished it, but that's not how our story went in the first place.
He died after he and the girl set the dark power loose. Later, as the power had grown, an imperfect copy of him appeared. When the nights were dark enough, he seemed to regain some of his memories and sought to unite with his love, but on every new moon he roamed the land as a beast.
The librarian girl
Lorena (Elaine)
Librarian
Teacher
Healer of the village
Former special assassin
But before the events only a girl who had desperately wanted to be loved
She entered the Deep Forest to seek out the dark witch, but she only found death.
She came back as a tool of the Dark and with her love together they broke the seal that restrained it.
Geralt met her in the village where she returned after hundreds of years to finally seek redemption.
In the end the witcher conquered the Darkness and set her free.
She chose to be the librarian and teacher of the village. That gave her an occupation, and it served as a raison d'être in the eyes of others.
She also fulfilled the position of the healer in the village. She purposely learned that trade and she was always improving herself. "It's the least..." she said.
The innkeeper
Owner of The Wicked Boar
He was an overall cheerful person and he liked to talk so much that sometimes he didn't even care if anyone listened at all.
He ran the inn together with his son.
He claimed that his family had been running the inn since anyone could remember. He inherited it from his father and he was confident that his son will take over the business one day.
He did not really care much about the thing that did not concern his business, still he knew all the rumours and he was a most valuable source of information if it came to the village and its surroundings.
Hooded man
Fearghall
Certainly not common folk.
Captain of the guard
War veteran
Geralt met him at the inn. As it turned out, he was a friend of the hunter's, who was apparently in need of the witcher's help.
He upheld the law in the village, but he and the mayor argued constantly about the possible use and organisation of an actual guard.
He approached Geralt with a request to help his friend, the hunter.
The mayor
Mayor of the village
He was a short man and he compensated for that in a number of ways but he always put the welfare of the village first and therefore he had been re-elected four times in a row.
He usually spent his time in his office and only left there when "something needed to be done". Which happened more often than he liked to admit.
Helen
Wife of the merchant
Beautiful control freak
Descendant of the richest family of the village
She possessed the ring that the witcher was after and she promised to give it to him upon killing the zerrikanian witch.
She considered herself the "Queen of the Village" and she was used to get anything she wanted. Including people.
A most sensual woman indeed she was, no wonder so hard it was to refuse her. Both men and women fell under her spell quickly.
The zerrikanian
Fea
Evil witch
Fearsome warrior
Lover of the merchant
Gerwyn's lover
Cosplay maniac
Amateur healer
Vampire
She attacked Geralt as soon as he entered her house. That was her last mistake.
She was a sword fighter to reckon with.
Although not professional, she was a sword fighter to reckon with.
She found love in a place where it is usually only sold. She wasn't going to give up on it easily.
There was not much that really tied her to the village but her lover. Although that was more than enough to stay.
Not once had she had to start a new life. Some of them forced her into specific roles, some of them came with the opportunity try out different ones. She realised that in certain situations the cowl actually does make the monk, so cosplaying soon became second nature to her.
She had never intended to be a doctor or a nurse, it just happened that whenever she travelled with a bigger company she ended up tending to the sick and wounded. Over the years she grew quite experienced in treating simpler cases and she even learned to make some medicines, however she lacked the knowledge of a real healer.
To be born a vampire could be a curse for few people looked past their infamy, though very few knew their true nature as well. The tales and legends about the vampires usually proved to be less than accurate.
She had never been able to refuse someone in need even if that meant putting herself in harms way.
Fea
Cosplay maniac
Amateur healer
She was dressed as a nurse of Melitele, but she claimed it was only a costume she made herself. It was so delicate though, it could have fooled anyone.
She took care of Geralt after he had been brought back from the forest.
The wizard
Magic expert
Researcher
After studying the dark power of the forest for more than a decade, he made the ring for the librarian girl. He lost interest after that and travelled somewhere else but left a communication tower behind, just in case.
He was the one responsible for the wild bear in the forest. "A failed experiment." her said. The wizard had totally forgot about it until Geralt pointed out its escape.
Willard
Hunter
Friend of Fearghall
Does not believe in magic
As the hunter of the village his duty covered practically everything that was related to the forest and wild animals: from hunting game, which was scarce unfortunately, to maintaining the paths to working with fur and leather.
He was too stubborn to admit that the solution of the bear problem is beyond him. He spent a week trying, and who knows how long he may have continued if the witcher didn't show up.
Gerwyn
Merchant
Helen's husband
Fea's lover
Travels a lot
He had married his wife for her money. His business soon became profitable and there had been a steady income ever since.
He and Fea met in the House of the Queen of the Night in Vizima. "Our relationship was strictly business at first," he said, "but soon I realised that it can be, and it is already, more than that."
One day he stepped up and rescued her from that life. At least that is how he told the story.
He only arrived home while Geralt was in the Dark Forest already.
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up
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Are you still there?
Are you okay? You seem a bit distant...
I'd call the ambulance, but you're probably brain dead by now.