(F/N) took a breath as he stood in front of the fire he and Calypso had set up, he opened his eyes and held his bandaged hands out. He leaned back as he took another breath, he slowly moved forward smoothly pirouetting without his blade. Calypso watched as the witcher punched the air in front of him, then kicked it before spinning. He thrust his hand forward as he cast a sign, then he grabbed his blade which he had stuck in the ground.
He let out a yell as he swung it around himself, easily avoiding cutting himself. The woman watched as he lunged forward repeatedly, his blade moving so fast that it was a blur of light. He would only stop to change his fighting style. Some of them she was able to recognize, some of them she had never even seen. The witcher yelled out as he rolled across the ground and backed up, while slicing at an invisible foe. Calypso leaned forward intrigued, as she watched him make smooth yet powerful cuts to the air. The sword whistled as it cut down non-existent enemies. (F/N) yelled as he turned into a mist and vanished. The witcher reappeared a short distance away and threw his sword at a tree. The blade embedded itself into the wood, Calypso whistled as she tossed him the shield they had grabbed.
(F/N) grabbed it in midair and stared at the reflective surface. He kicked behind him, and shut his eyes as he bashed at the non-existent enemy. The witcher spun around as quickly as he could before he threw the shield as hard as he could. The shield struck the same tree right under his sword. He slowly came to rest and took a deep breath. (F/N) grabbed one of his hands in pain, "Fuck," he said as he squeezed it. Calypso raised a brow, "What's wrong?"
The witcher looked at his hand, one of the soars had torn open, both his hands were shacking, "It's been happening more often. My hands aren't doing so great. I can't make a fist some of the time and a lot of the time it's hard to move it at all. The witcher's knuckles started swelling as he grabbed a bottle of swallow, "This should help."
Calypso watched as he drank the red liquid, "I've seen your condition. It occurs in those of us that live long enough to see white hairs."
The witcher laughed, as he flexed his finger, "I'm cursed. My bodies slowly shutting down. My hands are already going," he took a breath as his hands throbbed for a bit, he clenched his fists and they slowly stopped shaking, "That's better. I'm ready to go."
Calypso sighed as she grabbed her quiver full of arrows, "What's our plan? We have to prepare for Medusa's slaves."
(F/N) nodded and rubbed his forehead, "Our best bet is to get as many of them away from her as possible."
"How do we do that?"
The witcher sighed, as he held his jacket out to Calypso, "You go off in the distance and cause a distraction and I..."
"No!" the woman snapped, "I'm not leaving you, witcher. She'll kill you or enslave you."
"Then you have my permission to kill me if I am turned into stone. But this is the best way. We have to keep the fight between just me and her. It's the only way."
Calypso sighed as she took his jacket, "Why are you giving me this?"
(F/N) gestured to the jacket, "If I can't beat Medusa, I'll try to weaken her as much as I can, then you have to kill her. I know you don't owe me anything and we hardly know each other but...please...find the other ingredients." Calypso looked down at his jacket, "How would I even get a golden apple?"
(F/N) patted one of the pockets, "Eat one part of the golden mold. It'll take you there." Calypso nodded, "All of this for your Ciri?"
The witcher nodded, "Yes."
The Queen nodded, the fact he was willing to give his life was admirable, particularly for a man, "Very well. I give you my word. Should you fall, it shall be done."
The pair grabbed each other's arms, Calypso smiled, "You are either the most honorable or pig-headed man I have ever met."
(F/N) sighed as he walked over to the tree and grabbed his weapons, "I'm both."
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(F/N) paced nervously, his doublet made of Nilfgaardian silk was too tight. Geralt's fit him much better, that's probably why he seemed so much more casual, he was sitting on the stairs resting his eyes. The sound of loud conversation and music could be heard inside the courtroom of the manor.
Finally, the younger witcher had to speak, something had been gnawing on him, "Was the Duchess flirting with me back there?"
Geralt sighed as he hit the back of his head on a nearby building, "Why do you care?"
"Well, if her Illustrious Grace is interested, I have to think about a way to turn her down. I am spoken for."
The older witcher suppressed a laugh, "It's just flirting. It's not like you're engaged to be married."
"This is the same woman who wanted to kill Dandelion because she caught him cheating."
"I don't care about what you do with your love life. Just don't get killed, that's all that matters."
(F/N) sighed as he kept pacing, his leather gloves which disguised his hands were even tighter. He almost cried out in relief when the duchess approached. She was wearing an elegant gown, that was donned with many colors. Her hair was pulled back into a simple bun. And the mask she wore over her face was white with yellow highlights.
When she saw the two witchers her eyes widened, "Well, well...I did not expect you to have such a sense of style."
Her Grace's smile grew when she saw (F/N), "My, my, (F/N)...you look dashing as well. That doublet," she reached out and put a hand on his chest, "Quite attractive."
(F/N) smiled and nodded, but he failed to say anything. The duchess laughed at his expression, "I've gathered the masks you'll need," she held them out for the two witchers. The young witcher finally found his voice and nodded, "Thank you, Your Grace."
His mask was black, it looked like it had been drizzled with red paint. Geralt's was black and had elegant paintbrush strokes of yellow paint. (F/N) laughed as he gestured to the mask he wore over his eyes, "Why do they wear these?"
Anna blushed ever so slightly, "Likely because they imagine it is oh so very romantic and mysterious. The truth is far simpler - this way no one can tell which drunken aristocrats are pinching the performers. Or which hunter is kissing a beautiful woman," she glanced at (F/N), he suspected it was to solely make him uncomfortable.
Geralt, fortunately got him out of the situation, "Let's go, soirée's started.
The duchess smiled, but held out her hands, "(F/N), would you be so kind?"
The young witcher nodded as he held his arm out, "Of course, Your Grace." Geralt gave his ward a look but didn't say anything. He watched as the Duchess wrapped her hands around his arm, almost like she was feelin his bicep.
As they approached the gate, the sound of music playing echoed beyond the walls. The sound of laughter and lively conversation was nearly dulled out. There were a line of guests waiting to get in. The trio stopped right before they were in earshot, "How do we find the Cintrian? Have you a plan?" Her Grace asked.
"The key is not to spook him," Geralt added, "Need to ask for his partner, Cecilia, first. Less likely to raise suspicions. Soon as we find her, we find him."
"Right you are. We must proceed with caution," the Duchess added, "Come it's our turn." She practically lead (F/N) forward, squeezing his hand. Geralt followed shortly after. The doorman smiled when he saw what he believed were ordinary guests, "Madame, monsieur's, it's an extraordinary pleasure to welcome you to The Mandragora's soirée. Tonight I particularly recommend you direct your attention to the performances prepared by artists of our community."
(F/N) raised a brow, "Really? Well we were hoping to meet Cecilia Bellante."
"You are admirers, I surmise? I'm certain you will have ample opportunity to converse with her."
The duchess squeezed the young witchers arm, "It cannot be easy to identify anyone in this crowd. Perhaps you could help us find her?"
"Hmm. I don't know where she is now, but I can give you a clue."
This time the older witcher seemed curious, "Let's hear it."
"Seek the Koviri orchid," the attendant said with a smile.
"Meaning?"
"Cecilia wears one in her hair. You shall recognize her easily by the orchid."
(F/N) smiled and gestured to the door, "Thank you, good sir. May we?"
The attendant smiled as he walked over to the door and held it for the 'guests'. As soon as he walked in he was assaulted by the smell of vanilla and dew, he turned his nose up into the air, there was another vampire nearby. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Geralt speak, "Well, well...Dandelion's always complaining about artists being as poor as temple mice."
The young witcher turned and groaned when he realized what the troubadours definition of poor meant. The courtyard was packed with guests who wore extravagant and colorful robes. There were servants serving expensive wines and food. There was even a mage performing breathtaking illusions with the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. The buildings the guests occupied were even more incredible, the architecture looked as though it had been made with the finest materials with builders that the duchess would use herself.
"Dandelion was always one for embellishment," (F/N) added.
Anna scoffed, "The residence belongs to none of them. They are guests here," she gestured to a woman standing on a balcony who was drinking a goblet filled with wine, "Orianna, she owns this. Woman in the black dress. There, on the balcony." (F/N) frowned, his eyes slowly widened, as his fist clenched, "Is everything alright, (F/N)?" The duchess asked.
The young witcher took a deep breath, he knew Geralt was giving him a look, "He's fine, he just doesn't do well at social gatherings like this."
Her Grace clearly didn't buy the excuse, but chose not to press him, "My apologies, you will just have to stay close to me."
(F/N) chuckled slightly as he turned his attention back to the mission, "Right. The Koviri Orchid. We need to look for it."
Geralt nodded, "If we find Cecilia, we'll find the Cintrian."
The witcher nodded, "We should split up, I can go alone and..."
The duchess interrupted him, "(F/N), it would look quite odd, if a young dashing man left the side of his illustrious acquaintance. Would I be mistaken?"
He laughed as he glanced at Geralt, "No, I suppose you wouldn't."
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(F/N) peered over the hillside, right at the cave. Medusa knew they were waiting for them. Her enslaved victims were waiting. There was a small army of Calypso's former amazons, animals, marooned people, and Odysseus. All of them standing around with a blank expression on their faces. The young witcher took a breath, Calypso's distraction would come any minute. He looked at his weapons, all he had was his silver sword and the shield he had taken, he was fucked.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a horrid hissing sound. The witcher saw there was a smoke emerging from the trees in the distance, then there was a loud bang. Odysseus hissed loudly and pointed toward the explosion. The stone creatures started marching towards the spot, weaving through the trees like they were mindless drones. (F/N) let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding before he jumped out and ran to the cave. He needed to hurry, it wouldn't be long before Medusa's minions realized they had been tricked.
The witcher charged the entrance, waiting for a bit to give Calypso time, "Hey!" He quickly turned around and held the shield up so he could see behind him, "I'm still alive, bitch! And I'm not stone!" When he heard the hiss his skin crawled. He took a breath when he saw the familiar green glow coming from the cave. The witcher gritted his teeth as he gripped his sword tightly, "Come out here! Let's finish this."
He took a breath as he watched the monster walk out of the cave, she hissed loudly as her head swayed from side to side as if she was a slithering snake. (F/N) looked at the reflection, she hissed as the glow from her eyes grew brighter and brighter. The witcher let out a yell as he turned and charged forward. The monster charged back.
(F/N) lunged forward his blade impaling the air. Medusa slithered out of the way hissing as she went for his neck. The witcher barely had time to turn into mist, before the monster's jaw clamped down. The witcher reemerged right beside her, he focused on the shield as his hand shot out from behind. He watched his shield as the beast dodged the column of flame. Then he saw her body glow a powerful green, her body crackled with energy.
(F/N) yelled as he quickly spun around and threw his shield as hard as he could. Medusa hissed loudly and raised her hands, a bolt of energy shot out vaporizing the shield instantly. (F/N) leapt out of the way, as the bolt of energy his the ground sending bits of petrified grass and dirt everywhere. Then he heard it, the sound of multiple screams and hisses. Medusa's army was coming back. (F/N) was breathing heavily as he saw the stone creatures charging through the woods, Odysseus was leading them. Petrified arrows were landing with a thud all over the ground, they were too heavy to hit him, yet.
(F/N) didn't bother closing his eyes, in a few moments he would either be dead or enslaved, hopefully Calypso had gotten away. He slammed his fist to the ground, purple glyphs appeared all around. Medusa hissed as she swayed side to side. (F/N) blinked, the monster stared looking like Ciri. He slowly felt his resistance sapping away, "(F/N), please," said Ciri's voice.
The witcher tried grabbing at his jacket pocket, but he had lost the drawing quite long ago. (F/N) shook his head, "No." He saw 'Ciri' was walking closer, "(F/N)." Her voice sounded like a whisper. The witcher was standing right in front of the love of his life, he wanted to look at her one last time. (F/N) slowly looked up, the green light grew brighter, but then the image flickered.
The witcher frowned, instead of Ciri he saw Medusa's armor, and instead of her soft sweet voice he heard an ugly hiss. (F/N)'s eyes widened, but it was too late, Medusa grabbed him by the neck and forced him to look her in the eyes. (F/N) felt his legs stiffen, he gipped his sword tighter and swung it as hard as he could, this was the last thing he would ever do. He let out a yell as he stabbed the blade into the monster's shoulder making her screech. The witcher felt his chest and shoulders start to grow hard. He quickly extended his claws and sent his arm flying. Medusa tried to push him away, but it was too late.
His claws hit there mark. Both the monster and the witcher stared at each other to see which of them would last longer. (F/N)'s arm was frozen in an awkward position while his eyes were starting to turn grey. But Medusa grabbed at her slashed throat and fell to her knees, as blood shot out of her neck.
Odysseus who's blade was cocked back and ready to strike the witcher in the back froze. The green glow in his eyes faded. The army of stone all froze, right about to attack him. Medusa collapsed onto the floor, grabbing at her bleeding neck, awkwardly twitching until she went still. For a moment, everything went still. Until, there was a large gasp. (F/N) blinked rapidly as the stone around him faded and he slowly regained the ability to move. He fell onto the ground, desperately grabbing at the vial in his pocket. He held it up to the monsters gashing wound. He didn't even check to see if it was full, he barely had time to cork it before everything went dark.
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(F/N) had to admit, he did have a certain fondness for this 'soirée', although he did find it annoying that people kept coming up to him and congratulating him for being so bold to 'show the duality between man and beast' whatever that meant he didn't know. The duchess didn't seem to be focused on finding Cecilia, she kept yanking aside to show him an exquisite painting or have him participate in some other form of entertainment. If he wasn't dealing with royalty he would have moved her along quicker, but he had to settle for entertaining her.
Although having a beautiful woman on his arm made it much more tolerable. And he suspected the duchess was trying to pull him into a more romantic situation. She practically ordered him to use on of his 'witcher charms' to light flying lanterns and send them into the air. He was going to say that would blow their cover, but when he looked into her eyes he already found himself forming the Ignii sign. But despite all this they kept examining any woman they could find for a Koviri orchid.
But when the mage started conjuring illusions out of the water he knew he would have to step up his game. While the Duchess was smiling and laughing at a dolphin made out of water splashing around, (F/N) leaned in and rubbed her hand, "Your Grace?"
Anna turned and raised a brow, (F/N) smiled slightly, he didn't know what to say, but she spoke for him, "Right, you are, witcher, let's be on our way." He nodded and led Her Grace to a nearby room. It was nearly empty apart from a man in elegant robes painting a nude model. The witcher went to turn Anna away, but the painter had already heard them, as soon as he turned around his eyes bulged out of his head, "Do not disturb! Shoo! Shoo!"
(F/N) was about to do just that, but then he saw that the nude model had a Koviri orchid tucked into her short blonde hair. The young witcher and the Duchess shared a look, "That's a nice looking flower."
"Of course it is!" the painter cried, "A Koviri orchid lends just the right contrast to her complexion." He gestured to her with a smile.
The witcher smiled and looked at the woman trying not to look at her breasts, "It absolutely does, may we talk to your model? It'll only take a few moments."
The model raised her head, "To me...?"
"Lie still! You may speak, but for love's sake, do not move!"
The witcher nodded, "Thank you..." he paused when he saw the nude portrait, but he shook his head and pushed on as he looked at the other woman, "Right. We need to talk to you."
The model raised a brow, "Whatever for?"
"The Cintrian Noble you came here with - we wanted to ask you about him?"
"Cintrian Noble...?" The model moved her head up, "Ahh, you must think I'm Cecille!"
"I told you not to move!"
(F/N) and the Duchess shared a look, "The orchid confused us."
The model nodded before getting back into her regular position, "As she concluded her performance, Cecilia tossed the flower into the crowd, I caught it...but I did see the nobleman."
"We'd really like to talk to him. What did he look like?"
The model smiled faintly, "Like many here. Tall, dark, masked."
(F/N) sighed, it was never that easy, "Did you see where he went?"
"He went to the building across the courtyard, Cecilia seemed..."
The painter set his paintbrush down, "Excuse me - madame, monsieur, I cannot work like this. You must leave. Now."
(F/N) put his hands up, "Fair enough, Anna, shall we?"
The young witcher saw the duchess' cheeks light up when he used her first name, she took his arm again, "Lets."
As soon as they were outside, (F/N) waved Geralt down. The old witcher had found out his own information, "I know where they are. The guests saw Cintrian give Cecilia perfume. I can smell it in the air. It lead to..."
(F/N) interrupted by pointing at the building, "Over there?"
Geralt smiled and nodded, "Let's go."
The trio made their way over to the building quickly. The smell of vanilla and dew was getting stronger. (F/N) was hoping Oriana couldn't smell him or sense his presence.
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Calypso coughed as she ran to where the stone soldiers had ran to, as soon as those monsters had seen her they charged her. But they hadn't even touched her. They ran halfway, stopped, then turned and ran, their master was summoning them. Calypso cursed when she saw that the stone soldiers had turned into statues. Moments of pure rage forever plastered on their faces. It nearly brought her to tears when she saw her sisters. There bows were aimed at an enemy that was no longer there, they had only been saved from slavery, but not the stone, "Witcher!"
She heard a soft mumbling. Calypso ran through the statues, trying her best not to touch them. She saw Odysseus frozen in place ready to run someone through. That's when she saw it Medusa, the monster was dead. The snakes that covered her hair laid their lifeless. Her eyes shut. Calypso glared at the monster, she spat on the body, that's when she heard another groan, "(F/N)," she said happily as she leaned down examining the nearly unconscious man.
The young witcher was laying on the ground clutching a vial of blood in his hands. Calyspo sighed as she took the vial out of his hand and tucked it in his jacket. She had never heard of any mortal making it this far. Calypso pulled the man off of the ground and threw him over her shoulder, she grabbed his sword. The witcher had saved her and her sisters lives. She owed him more than leaving him there.
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"Sorry, only in The Mandragora allowed," the guard at the door said, glaring them down.
Geralt and (F/N) shared a look, trying to figure out who would knock him out and who would hide him. But the Duchess chose to speak, grabbing (F/N)'s hand, "Come, we must consider what to do." As Anna began pulling him away, the guard frowned, his eyes widened, "I...I'd recognize that voice anywhere!" The duchess paused as she let go of the young witchers hand, "You...you must be mistaking me for someone else."
"I served fifteen years in the palace." The guard said as he bowed, and removed his own mask, "Your Grace, I'd not mistake you for anyone."
The duchess turned around and shushed him, "Not so loud. We are here incognito. On state business."
The guard nodded as he stood at attention, "Yes, Your Grace! How may I serve?"
Geralt nodded, "I hope we can count on your discretion..."
"Of course! I shall be silent as the grave!"
(F/N) smiled, "Alright, in that case, we're looking for Cecilia Bellante. Have you seen her?"
The guard nodded as he turned to the door and gestured to it, "She's in her dressing room. Where she went in with a nobleman. They clearly...were drawn to each other."
"What'd he look like?"
"Tall, broad shouldered. A black beard peeping out from under his mask. And he spoke with a foreign accent, a drawl of sorts."
The duchess gestured between the two witchers, "That must be him," she turned back to the guard, "We must get to the dressing room. Quickly."
The Guard nodded as he quickly opened the door he had been guarding, "Yes, Your Grace! I'll take you."
Before he turned, Geralt spoke, "No, stay here. If anyone tries to flee, you stop them."
The guard nodded and stepped aside, the Duchess ran as quickly as she could in her dress up the stairs. (F/N) fought the urge to turn into mist and fly through the cracks in the floor. When they actually made it to the top floor. The Duchess immediately froze in shock. (F/N) sighed and shook his head, "Fuck."
Geralt on the other hand was more composed, when they saw Cecilia's dead body on the ground. Her throat was cut from ear to ear. The duchess' was shaking slightly as she stared at the body, "That...that must be Cecilia."
Geralt sighed as he got closer, "There's no pulse. We're too late."
(F/N) noticed Anna had tears in her eyes, he walked over to her as she spoke, "He...he slit her throat. The brute..." The young witcher took her hand, "Would you like to go outside, Your Grace?"
The Duchess nodded as she looked back at him, "Yes. I shall alert Orianna. She should bring her soirée to a close."
(F/N) nodded, "Would you like me to come with you?"
She shook her head, "I shall manage. Both of you, go after that rouge. I shall fetch help."
The pair of witchers watched as the Duchess left. As soon as she was out of earshot, (F/N) turned to Geralt, "He has to be up here. The only way out of this room is out the door, the guard would have seen him."
The older witcher nodded, "I was thinking the same," he glanced at the floor and pointed to Cecilia's body, "There's a bloody footprint, it points to the balcony."
(F/N) nodded, as he walked over to the balcony, he gestured to a bloody hand print that was on the nearby wall, "That's too big to be Cecilia's so it must be his."
Geralt nodded as he walked out onto the balcony with his former ward, he nodded, "Now there's something. He tore out the door so he could make a bridge to the other balcony."
(F/N) whistled as he teleported to the other side while Geralt climbed onto the door, "This Cintrian must be pretty strong."
The older witcher hopped off of the door, "You think he might be a vampire?"
(F/N) shook his head, "No. I'd be able to smell him from here."
The young witcher pushed open the door to the other room. His eyes widened slightly. There were things thrown about the room, the wall was smashed up, it looked as though there had been a fight. He scoffed as he looked around, "Looks like he ran into someone else." (F/N) whistled as he looked around, Geralt rubbed his chin, "Who do you think ended up winning?"
The young witcher walked over to the broken mirror and picked up a hunting knife that was on the ground. He examined the unique hilt as he spoke, "Hopefully, our target. We need to find him." (F/N) sighed as Geralt walked over to the other side of the room and pointed to a window, the shudder was broken, "It looks like someone was pushed out of this." (F/N) nodded, as he looked around for why the Cintrian had to get into a fight, when he saw it, there was a large jewel resting on the floor with a bloody fingerprint on it. The witcher picked it up, "I think I know why he got into a fight." (F/N) tossed his former master the jewel, "The chains snapped off like it was torn off of someone's neck."
Geralt shook his head, "The chain would be longer if it was torn off of a person's neck, this looks like they both tried taking it from the other. And they were both willing to kill for it."
(F/N) nodded as he pointed to the window with the broken shudder, "Whoever lost went right out there. The fall would have killed them. But the jewels here...so that means it must have been the Cintrian."
Geralt nodded and was about to reply when the door flew open, two guards walked in, there eyes focused on the witchers. (F/N) felt like a fight was about to happen, but the men stepped aside, revealing the Duchess and Lady Oriana, neither of them wore masks. The young witcher immediately turned away as the faint sent of vanilla and dew flooded into the room, "So these are the trackers...witchers, yes?"
For once (F/N) was glad he had a mask on, the voice was identical to the one he had heard when he was a child. The same one that had sang to him a long time ago. Geralt gave (F/N) an odd look as the duchess spoke for them, "Indeed. We found the body together. Then they set off in pursuit of the killer."
The young witcher felt Oriana's gaze on him, he reluctantly turned and looked at the floor, there was no way she hadn't recognized him. Geralt certainly didn't seem to realize what was going on, as he removed his mask, "And we ended up here, but we've only found evidence of a fight...Seems the Cintrian's killed his last, finally failed this time. Shame it happened too late for Cecilia."
Oriana sighed as she walked past the two witchers, she was wearing the same dress when she had tried to take (F/N) all those years ago, "Poor girl...Always told her she chose her males badly...But I never suspected she would arrive with a murderer."
"Appearances can be deceiving," the young witcher said coldly.
Oriana nodded, as she looked at (F/N)'s red eyes, a look of true sorrow appeared on her face, "I'll alert the staff, have them see to her body at once...Meanwhile, we should sit. I will tell you everything. In full detail."
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(F/N) coughed as he woke up in a dark room, he felt like the life had been drained out of him, he just sat on the warm stone floor, breathing. Someone had lit incents, it smelled like a nice forest. The witcher grabbed his gut as he sat up, his whole body stung, "Hello?"
When there was no reply, the witcher slowly stood up, he took the next moment to breath, "I am (F/N) (L/N). I am a witcher. I kill monsters for money. A drop of blood will never again go down my throat. How am I alive? Why am I alive?"
His jacket had been hung up on the door as well as his swords. He quickly got dressed and noticed the note on the door, 'In the throne room. We need to talk.'
(F/N) grabbed at his jacket pocket and let out a relaxed sigh when he felt the three vials there was only one ingredient left. But he paused, the mold was gone, "No!" The witcher said angrily as he opened his pocket, if he didn't have it, he couldn't get to the underworld. (F/N) sighed as he slowly realized what was going on, Calypso had the mold, she had to have had it.
The witcher opened the door to the nearly empty castle and made his way to the throne room. There were no soldiers in the hall, he knew they would all be with their Queen. (F/N) bit his lip when he walked into the room, Calypso was sitting on her throne, her remaining soldiers were all watching him, all of them gripping their bows, she smiled when she saw him, "Witcher, what a welcome surprise. I swore Medusa had turned your soul to stone."
(F/N) walked forward, his expression darkened, "I'm full of surprises. The golden mold. Where is it?"
Calypso gestured to one of her soldiers, who held it out, "It's here, but we must talk first."
The witcher went to grab the mold, but before he even made it half way there, multiple spears were pressed into his neck, "I'm not here to talk. I killed Medusa, and I got her blood. We both benefited from our arrangement."
Calypso nodded as she stood and walked towards him, her armor clinked together, she smiled as she took the two pieces of mold. She moved it around in her fingers, "Indeed. Yet...my sisters and your friend remain stone. And you have a cure that can bring them back."
(F/N) tensed up, seeing where this was going, "I don't have an apple. So there's no cure yet."
The Queen took one of her braids and twisted it, "Indeed. But I wonder why I should allow you to use the cure on your lover and not on my fallen sisters? Could you perhaps give me a reason?"
The witcher noticed Calypso's soldiers where watching him, "Where's Ciri?"
"Close."
"That's what I am to smashing the vials of blood. No blood, no cure. Bring me Ciri, now."
Calypso and (F/N) locked eyes, both of them egging the other to bark. The Queen finally sighed, she wasn't willing to lose the one thing that would save her sisters, she raised a hand signaling her troops to stand down, she barked an order and two soldiers left the throne room.
(F/N) licked his lips, "Look. I just need enough of the cure to heal Ciri. You can have the rest."
Calypso laughed, a smiled slowly spread across her lips, her eyes were desperate, "You truly don't understand. Do you?"
"Understand what?"
"The cure of the gods isn't some medicine that heals any ailment. It makes the consumer a god."
"A god?"
"Well...not in the sense you're thinking of. They will be healed of their mortal bounds, unable to die, unable to age, that type of power isn't something that can just be given out."
"What?"
The door opened the guards carried out the witcheress on a small bed, "Ciri!"
(F/N) ran over to her and grabbed her face, she was ice cold, for a moment it appeared as though she was dead, but then he felt it, a faint thump in her chest. The young witcher shut his eyes and leaned forward, burying his face into her chest, "I'm almost there," he whispered. Calypso walked closer, "Her soul will soon be with Hades there is a peace in that. Or you could choose to doom the life of an innocent..."
The witcher shook his head as he turned around, "I...will do everything in my power to save your sisters. But I need that apple...I can't live without Ciri...I just can't."
Calypso sighed, she knew she couldn't go through with this, she couldn't be that coldhearted, she slowly held the mold out to him. She could sense the good within him, "Very well...You have earned the right to get the apple. You must travel there, alone. Your Ciri will not make it through another day."
(F/N) sighed as he squeezed Ciri's ice cold hands, "Swallow," he whispered. She gave no response. The witcher nodded as he stood up and took the golden mold, "I'm ready."
Calypso nodded, as she beckoned for him to follow, "Then you must prepare to sleep the sleep of the dead." (F/N) sighed as he picked up Ciri, he refused to leave her side again, he needed to hurry. He carried her bridal style as he followed Calypso. The Queen sighed, "The only place I've heard of this is in legend, I know not what the underworld holds or what the beast you must fight will look like."
(F/N) sighed again, "Where do I even find the apples?"
"In the Elysian Fields. The souls of those who await judgement reside there. The tree is in the very center. You will be guided there."
The witcher sighed hoping that he wouldn't run into anyone who would want a second chance at taking his life, "Sounds easy enough."
Calypso opened a large door revealing a small bed chamber, "I've no notion of how you will bring the apple back. But if you survive that will be but an afterthought."
The young witcher sighed as he walked to the bed and set Ciri down, brushing her ashen hair to the side, "Do you think I'll survive?"
"No."
"Thanks for being honest."
(F/N) pulled out the two pieces of mold and slowly laid next to the bed, Calypso watched as he brought a piece of the golden mold to his lips, "Good luck, witcher. It's been an honor to fight with you."
The witcher nodded, this may be the last conversation they ever have, "Likewise." He brought the piece of mold to his lips and put it in his mouth. As he chewed it, he felt a horrid feeling travel through his body. He gritted his teeth as his vision darkened. Calypso rushed to catch him, right before he fell. His veins darkened and he started breathing faster than she thought possible. Calypso watched as his eyes flickered erratically he started twitching, and then he was still. The Queen brought her hand up to his neck, there was no thump, nor warmth. He was dead, almost instantly. Calypso looked at the other piece of mold in his hands, "May all but one god watch over you."