Geralt walked through the woods with his sword in hand. The silver blade was glowing in the rays of the sun, he could hear howling in the far distance. He was dealing with a werewolf, there was no doubt. But he didn't know how aggressive it would be. The witcher gripped his blade even tighter, the woods were almost silent, aside from the chirping off birds and the snapping of twigs. It only added to the tension, but Geralt had done this enough times to never show fear.
The sun was slowly rising, as he got close enough to the howling, but as the witcher got closer he realized it wasn't a werewolf howling, it was a man crying. The man had black hair and scars all over his body, he was completely naked, he was curled into a ball sobbing. Geralt held his silver sword tightly, he had seen more convincing tricks, the man stunk to high heaven, "Don't move, Werewolf!"
The man looked at Geralt, there were still tears streaming down his face, he looked more sad than afraid. He focused on his yellow cat-like eyes, "A witcher? The village has finally had enough, have they? Very well. Strike me down, I only ask you end my suffering quickly."
The witcher stared at the man, his job was to strike him down, but something in his gut was telling him to investigate, "Your suffering? You terrorized a village, you almost ate a boy, you have the gall to speak as though your own suffering is worse than others." The man shook his head, "No master witcher, I...I-I," Geralt interrupted, "Out with it man."
The man nodded, "I was cursed many months ago, I have an unbearable hunger, and the only thing that can sate it is...is..." The witcher finished his sentence, "Human flesh." The man nodded, "The last time I turned was my worst night, I smelled something, something different, it smelled delicious. I went looking for it, but I only ended up finding that boy...I was so hungry I almost killed him. But I regained control in the last moment. But I cannot risk it again, I wish not to worry about any children, or my wife, I love her more than myself. So I please ask you to end it."
Geralt paused for a long time, he wanted to kill him, that was the only way he could ensure the man wouldn't turn back to his other form and hurt anyone. But something inside of him was just telling him not to, he couldn't explain the sensation, "What if I know of a way to help you?"
The cursed one, stood up, "You can take this damned curse away? Yes! Please! I'll give you anything." Geralt bit the inside of his cheek, he wanted to ask for a fair amount of gold, that way he would get paid twice, once for helping the man, and another for getting rid of the werewolf. Geralt looked at the man, as he slowly sheathed his weapon, "Anything?"
The man nodded, he didn't even think about it, of course he wouldn't hand over his wife if that was asked of him, but he would give him anything else, his home, his possessions, his clothes, if he had a pair. Geralt didn't think about what he said next, it just sort of came out of his mouth, "You will give me the first thing that comes to greet you at your home, yet you did not expect." As soon as he said it the witcher clenched his fists, and thought, 'Fuck. What the fuck was I thinking?'
The man smiled, but shook his head, he was familiar enough with the custom he was requesting, "I do not expect? M-master. I would happily give you a child, b-but my wife and I...we're unable to have children, we've been trying for years with no luck, I'd be happy to give you something else." Geralt sighed, he wanted to just call the whole thing off, and ask for gold, but something kept telling him not to, something powerful, "We'll worry about that when the curse is lifted."
That's when the men left the forest, and headed back to the man's house, Geralt wanted to try something, it was unlikely to work, but he had to try. The man was dressed in a spare black jacket Geralt had, he was walking shamefully, and slowly, as if he wanted the whole village to be ashamed off him, to mock him. Geralt waited for the man to point his wife out, the man looked at his house there was a woman waiting there expectiantly, her blonde hair was tied up in a bun, she was truly beautiful. The man's brightened up, "Viana!!!" The man ran to his wife making sure to keep the jacket closed. Viana smiled, but she seemed a bit surprised by his lack of clothes, "Syphren, why are you naked? Who is this man?" The woman looked at Geralt.
Syphren sighed, he looked terrified, yet hopeful, "Darling, I haven't been honest with you...I...I need to tell you something." Viana stared at her husband, but she seemed to smile, "No, darling, I have something to tell you."
The cursed man sighed, "No, darling...I-I'm cursed." His wife's smile faded, "Cursed? Gods how bad is it? Are you alright? What is it?" The man looked at Geralt, "Yes...it's bad...the werewolf that's been terrorizing the village...it's me." Viana went silent, as Syphren turned to Geralt, "This man, he's a witcher...he says there's a way to lift it." Viana looked scared, "Syphren...you...you're the one who killed all those animals...by the gods." The man nodded, he seemed unhappy, but relieved he had told his wife, "I know...I'm sorry for not telling you sooner." The man leaned forward and kissed his wife, Viana waited for a moment, but then kissed back, Geralt felt a large pulse, and suddenly the man grabbed his chest and roared in pain, "Ahhh my chest, I feel as though...as though..." Geralt smiled, he hadn't even needed to do anything, he knew instantly it had worked, it was a simple solution, "As though somethings disappeared?" The man nodded and writhed on the ground for a little, his wife looked at him and then at Geralt, "What have you done to him, mutant?"
Geralt's expression turned neutral, "No, it's you who did this, true loves kiss breaks any curse." Syphren took a deep breath, "The curse is broken? But I-I-I kissed my wife many a time, witcher." Geralt nodded, "I've no doubt, but have you done it when you haven't felt guilt about lying to her? When you've felt no shame of being a monster?" The man slowly considered this, and got off the ground, he was about to respond, but then he felt it, he wasn't hungry, he was stuffed, he felt as though he wouldn't need to eat for years, "I'm cured! Viana, I'm cured!" The man hugged his wife who still seemed a bit shocked, she remained silent. The last few moments having been very, curious. She still looked as though she wished to say something, "Witcher, I thank you! How can I ever repay you?"
Geralt nodded, with how his work usually went, this was easy, "I believe we discussed that when we first met. What you find at home yet don't expect." Viana's face went pale, she looked at her husband, "Syphren..." she whispered, but he shushed her, his hand was still wrapped around her waist, "I see, I regret to say, I do not have anything to give that I did not expect, my wife is without child, I have no sudden gain of wealth, a new crop, or anything of the matter. But I shall pay you whatever sum of gold you demand, within reason of course."
Geralt sighed, he was both relieved and disappointed, on one hand he had felt so certain that there would be something there, but on the other what he had been expecting would have led him to Kaer Mohren, "100 crowns and I'll consider your debt paid." Syphren was about to respond but Viana spoke up, "Syphren! I-I adopted a boy from the orphanage...merely an hour ago." The mans face went pale, Geralt went silent, "What?" The woman looked at the door to their home, "This morning, I decided I wanted a child...and I was tired of waiting, I-I wanted to surprise you, so...I went to the orphanage and took a boy..." Syphren slowly looked at the witcher, "Something which you did not expect."
Viana turned to the door, even before she spoke, Geralt had an idea of what she would say, "Come out here, please, dear boy, there's a man here for you."
Syphren was shocked and muttered one word, "Destiny." Geralt shook his head, this wasn't destiny, it couldn't be, this was just chance, families adopted boys all the time. But then the door to the house opened and the small boy walked out, as soon as the witcher saw the young boy he felt the same pull to him, he sighed slightly, knowing he couldn't escape, "Hello, (F/N)."
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(F/N) sighed as Nosfer trotted after Roach, Geralt had just finished chewing him out for lying to him and not telling him he had seen Ciri. The young witcher felt a bit weak as he rode into the large valley, Geralt's yelling was legendary. He had been on the receiving end enough times when he was younger, but he never got used to it. The sun was slowly rising, as the two witchers rode to their destination. The tall grass rustled peacefully, in the distance wolves casually dug into a deer carcass. Geralt looked at (F/N), he still had a cold expression on his face, "Alright, we're getting close, I assume you read up on Velen. What do we need to know."
(F/N) nodded, his strength was slowly returning to him, "Well, Velen is pretty wild land, it's mainly swamp, so we'll have to deal with necrophages, along the road." Geralt nodded, "Alright, what royalty do we need to concern ourselves with?"
(F/N) had an answer for that to, "Nilfgaard controls the region, but since their are so many monsters, they've temporarily designated control to a former Temerian officer, Phillip Strenger, so that's something, we need to watch out for, he calls himself the Bloody Baron." Geralt seemed a bit surprised by the last part but nodded, "Alright, good work." Neither of them exchanged any other words. Neither of them needed to.
The two witchers calmly made their way towards the inn at the crossroads, as instructed by Lady Yennefer. The wind was softly howling, as (F/N) dismounted, this was a wild land, he could sense it in his bones, he wished he had a witchers medallion, there could be a leshen watching him and Geralt, or a pack of ghouls getting ready to pounce.
The young witcher shook his head, he was paranoid, but being paranoid had kept him alive, he liked to prepare when he could. (F/N) walked after Geralt, the witcher was excited, Ciri, the woman he had grown up with, he was finally on a path to finding her, and he had Geralt and Yennefer to help him, although he could do without the sorceress.
(F/N) tried to look big as he walked into the inn, it was almost empty, but he made sure to make himself look bigger, true he normally wouldn't care, but he was in Velen. Velen, was a hard unforgiving land, full of monsters, thieves, disease. (F/N) leaned on the counter, trying to keep his facade up, as Geralt looked at the Inkeep, "Looking for a man. Goes by Hendrik."
(F/N) heard the Inkeep's heart flutter, but he tried to stay calm, and nonchalant, so he kept cleaning a mug in his hand, "What you want with 'im?" (F/N) leaned on the bar, "We wanna talk to him, about something rather important." The Inkeep was about to respond, but suddenly the sound of muffled hoof beats could be heard outside the inn. Immediately, the in-keep got hesitant, the other people in the inn quickly finished their drinks and left. Geralt and (F/N) shared a knowing look, "Who would that be?" The older witcher asked, the sound of a group of men talking could be heard.
The inn-keep shook his head, "The both of ya have gotta go. I'll open the back way for ye both!"
(F/N) shook his head, more in a testing tone than anything, "I haven't, even gotten soused yet." Geralt smiled, "I think you've got an idea there. Why don't you give us both something strong."
The inn-keeper sighed but set two glasses down and poured some vodka in them, (F/N) wrinkled his nose under his mask, the smell was amplified because of his heightened senses. Geralt downed the drink like it was water, he was a more experienced drinker and a witcher, so it probably was the equivalent of drinking water. (F/N) bent down to pull his mask down, he settled on sipping the vodka, it was strong, but his mutations made it so the drink merely settled his nerves. Suddenly, the door to the inn flew open, a group of soldiers walked in, "Innkeep! Vodka!"
(F/N) continued sipping his drink, with his back to the men, but he could feel their eyes on them. He sensed Geralt tense up, (F/N) quickly down the rest of his drink and pulled his mask back on, both witchers silently prayed this wouldn't end up like the last time they were in an inn, without Vesemir things were going to get much more dirty.
One of the soldiers looked at the two witchers and made an incredibly polite remark, "Who're these whoresons?" (F/N) tried to turn around, but Geralt grabbed his arm lightly, the soldiers all had armor and weapons, they were wearing a crest, so they were probably part of a much larger group. The men laughed at the young witcher turning, "Oh a couple of brave warriors, I see, one freaks got a mask to cover his face, and the other's got two swords on his back." (F/N) sighed, he wished he was used to being called a freak, and to some degree he was. He was only half human, so that made it so most humans had no desire to be around him, and being a witcher turned the other half of humans against him, and all non-humans against him.
(F/N) folded his arms and sighed, as he waited for Geralt to instruct him on what to do, but his master merely showed the soldiers his back. The men wouldn't let up, "Oi, gray boy! What's the point of havin' two swords?"
(F/N) went to say something but, Geralt increased his grip on his arm, he felt his anger fade, the soldiers laughed as he turned back around, " I wonder where the other one's sword is? Maybe he just has another prick in his trousers." (F/N) clenched his fists, he really didn't deserve this, no one did, he couldn't control what he was, and they had no right to mock him for it. (F/N) licked his lips, suddenly he felt very thirsty. He looked down at his finger-less gloves his fingernails were starting to get sharper, he tried to have them retract but he couldn't control them.
(F/N) prayed that the soldiers would just shut their mouths, but they just wouldn't, "Oi, are you both deaf? You gonna say who you are, or do I need to loosen your tongues with my knife." (F/N) was about to bang his fist against the counter but Geralt finally spoke up, "We're witchers. I heard you wondering about my swords. Well one's for monsters, the other - for humans."
(F/N) looked at his hand, his fingernails slowly dulled and became normal again, "Mine works on both, only got one prick though, women seem more than satisfied." Geralt smacked him upside the head but the witcher smiled and chuckled a bit. The soldiers recoiled in horror, one of them looked disgusted, "Don't touch 'em. Don't even look at 'em. Worse than lepers, that lot." One of the soldiers looked at the witchers as they looked down, "Saw one in action once. Killed half a dozen, blood everywhere-freak didn't even drop a sweat."
The men all gathered around a table, talking about how horrible and disgusting witchers were. The Inkeep, let out a sigh of relief, "If either of you want a rest, come with me. I've a bench you can use."
(F/N) smiled, and stood up straight, Geralt followed the men, he had that neutral expression on his face, he was still thinking about Ciri, that's probably what stopped him from attacking. When the men were a reasonable distance away from the soldiers, the Inkeeper smiled, "Thanks for not startin' a row with those swine."
Geralt shrugged, "Witchers don't poke their noses in others peoples business." (F/N) looked at the man as if he was joking, the ward could scarcely remember a time when he wasn't poking his nose in other people's business. (F/N) cleared his throat, and repeated what he and Geralt were looking for, "We're looking for Hendrik."
The Inkeep nodded, "Man lives in Heatherton." Geralt shook his head, "Don't know where that is." The man nodded again, "Other side of the hill. Looked thataway this morn and saw a strange glow. Imperials on the raid, perhaps but who knows." (F/N) and Geralt shared a look, both of them knew that really wasn't a good sign. Geralt made his way to the door without thanking the Inkeep, (F/N) nodded at him as he followed suite.
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(F/N)'s eye widened when the two witchers actually rode to the village, it was worse than he could have imagined. The imperials hadn't attacked the village, that was made apparent by the snow that covered the cabins, and the ground. (F/N) sighed, there were dead bodies all over the place, multiple cottages had been burned down, and the ground had been trampled, they were too late, "Fuck." That was all the young witcher could say, they had just lost their only lead in Velen.
(F/N) sighed, as he stood over a pair of dead children, this was the Wild Hunt, it had to be. The witcher muttered to himself, "All for just one man." Geralt just looked at one hut, he closed his eyes and tried to listen for something. (F/N) turned to the man, "There's no one alive here, I already checked." Geralt opened his eyes, "That's not what I was looking for, "There's a body in that house over there."
The young witcher turned to the house, it looked inconspicuous enough, it was small, made of a fair quality of wood, and looked as though it had been made recently, "Yeah? So, I bet a lot of the houses here have a lot more bodies in them." Geralt walked to the house, "Then why is this the only home that wasn't burned down?"
(F/N) looked around, sure enough some of the wooden houses had been reduced to ash, some looked like they were ready to collapse, but the house Geralt was walking to looked like it hadn't been touched by the flame. (F/N) walked after his master, he knew what he would fine before he walked into the house, he could tell by the smell. Geralt was kneeling over the body, (F/N) felt his lips water, the floor was covered in blood, Hendrik's body was covered in burns, cuts, and all other sorts of wounds, he had died in pure agony that much was clear. Geralt sighed, "They tortured him." (F/N) sighed as well, he knelt down alongside Geralt, "What are we gonna do now? We basically have nothing."
The older witcher gave his ward a look that suggested he was being stupid, which he probably was, "Well maybe the Hunt missed something." (F/N) shrugged, "That's a possibility, I'll check his boots." Geralt nodded and started patting Hendrik's body to see if anything stuck out, while (F/N) took the man's shoes off. He felt like he had been frozen stiff, the hunt must have wanted Ciri badly, they were massacring people just for leads on where she might be. (F/N) tipped one of Hendrik's shoes upside down, sure enough a key fell out and hit the wooden floor. (F/N) smiled, he held the key up to Geralt, "Looks like we have something." The older witcher took the key and looked at his ward, "What does this go to? Tell me."
(F/N) frowned at his master like he was crazy, did he know something? What was he missing? That's when the young witcher heard it, the sound of rats squeaking, it was faint but it was there. (F/N) looked in the direction that he heard the sound, while Geralt waited, they weren't on the floor, and they couldn't be above him, that's when it hit him, "Hendrik has a hidden cellar."
Geralt smiled and stood up, "Good." (F/N) watched as Geralt walked over to a goat skin rug and kicked it so the rug revealed the trap door, "How long did you know that was there?" The older witcher looked back at him, as he knelt down and used the key to unlock it, "Long enough." (F/N) shook his head, being around Geralt made him regret taking a break from his training. Geralt threw open the trap door and jumped down, the young witcher heard his master hit the ground, so he didn't hesitate to jump right after him.
(F/N) hit the ground almost instantly, right away he could sense something was close, the room looked completely normal and unscathed, Geralt had already made his way to a nearby desk. The witcher was going through what looked to be Hendrik's notes, but by the look on his face he wasn't finding much. (F/N) looked around, he was drawn to a couple wanted posters, he saw that both of them were women, and not just any woman, there last names peaked his curiosity, 'Strenger.' "The Barons wife and daughter." (F/N) mumbled to himself, they must be missing, or taken. The young witcher didn't think to much about them, people vanished every day, he was looking for someone he actually cared about. (F/N) waited for Geralt to say something to him, but he just kept going through Hendrik's notes on his desk. The young witcher doubted Hendrik would keep something related to Ciri this out in the open, all the Wild Hunt would have had to do was accidentally break the floor and they would know whatever was down here.
(F/N) leaned against a candle holder on the wall, as he waited patiently, but he suddenly snapped to attention when the candle holder twisted, (F/N) quickly caught himself on the wall, and went to fix what he had broken, but suddenly their was a large click. Geralt looked at (F/N), "What did you do?"
The young witcher was about to explain but suddenly a large bookshelf swung open as if it was a door. (F/N)'s jaw dropped, there was an open chest sitting there with what looked to be a large book inside. He smiled at Geralt, "I knew that would happen." Geralt grunted as they walked over to the chest, he quickly took the book, and opened it, "Alright...it looks like it's his ledger, he was keeping track of coin he owed and was owed, he was masquerading as a merchant." Geralt nodded, "Anything about Ciri?"
(F/N) squinted a bit, but then nodded, "Yeah, I think so. He put notes off to the side so they didn't look important, clever. He refers to her as 'subject'." (F/N) cleared his throat, this was getting more disturbing, he tried to stay focused as he read one of the sections, "Subject appeared in Skellige. Also sighted in Novigrad. Appearance unchanged. Ashen hair. Scar on her face. Keeps to herself."
(F/N)'s heart beat in his chest, they were getting close, maybe they wouldn't have to go far, maybe Ciri was in Velen, he started the next section, Geralt was as eager as him, "So-called baron, hosted subject at his castle, or should I say, illegally appropriated fort, reason unknown, talk to baron at Crow's Perch." Geralt nodded, "Then that's where we're headed next." (F/N) raised a hand, "Wait there's further entries."
The young witcher was shaking as he read the next note, he was getting more and more excited, "Subject landed in swamp, encountered a witch. Conflict ensued. Cause unknown. Find the witch. Talk to the peasantry - village of Midcopse." (F/N) looked at Geralt, "That sounds like it's worth checking out." Geralt nodded and looked at the ledger, "Anything else in there?"
(F/N) looked through any more notes that might have been there, any other clue could help. But unfortunately the young witcher shook his head, "Nothing about Ciri." Geralt clenched his fists, "Damn, we're too late. Our only leads are the baron and the witch."
(F/N) sighed, "Well we'll have to investigate each of them, as quickly as we can." Geralt nodded and rubbed his whiskers, "You're right, you ride to Midcopse, I'll head to Crows Perch." (F/N) froze, you mean you're trusting me to go off on my own on this?"
Geralt nodded, "It seems like, we don't have a choice...but," he trailed off, and rubed his whiskers, "you're gonna need help," the witcher turned away from his ward and headed back the way they had came, "Follow me." (F/N) raised an eyebrow. What did his master mean by help? The young witcher followed, his curiosity was getting the better of him, as the two witchers made their way back upstairs (F/N) had to ask, "Do you think Ciri is in Velen?"
Geralt shrugged as he walked out of Hendrik's house, "I don't know, she was here though, but we'll find her, even if we have to go to the edge of the world." (F/N) smiled under his mask, "I can't wait." The ward waited patiently for Geralt to pull a weapon off of Roache's saddle and toss it to him, but instead he pulled a small bag off. Geralt gave (F/N) a serious look, "Catch," he threw the bag at him. The young witcher caught it, "What is it?" Geralt slowly started climbing on Roach, "It belonged to an old friend, when we find Ciri, I want it back."
(F/N) touched what was in the bag, and instantly felt a slight burn, the witcher pulled his hand away, "What the?" But then he slowly realized what it was, (F/N) dumped the contents of the bag into his gloved hand, carefully making sure it didn't touch his skin. His mouth dropped, it was a witcher medallion, but it wasn't from the school of the wolf, it was from the school of the viper. (F/N) slowly held the medallion up, "Is this..." Geralt finished his thought, "Lethos? Yeah, I didn't want anyone else to have it." (F/N) slipped his hood off, a few strands of white hair fell from his head, the chain burned a bit as he put the medallion on, but he managed to find a spot for it. The medallion rested on his chest, perfectly still, the viper looked as though it had been tangled around the chain, it shined in the sun, as if it had found it's home. (F/N) looked at Geralt as he pulled his hood back up, "I won't let you down."
Geralt looked at (F/N) for a long time, as if he wanted to say something, before he kicked Roach in the sides and started riding off, the young witcher swore he heard him say, "I know you won't." (F/N) took a deep breath, Letho's medallion rested on his chest, he had waited for this moment for a long time. The young witcher slowly climbed up on Nosfer, and snapped his reigns. The two witchers started riding in opposite directions. Both wanting to find Ciri more than anything.