43 Ch. 43 Ciri’s Path pt. 1

(Had to divide the chapter. it hit 18'000 words.)

Introducing Enkidu to everyone was easy enough thanks to my peerage being very welcoming.

Of course beyond Musashi, Diana and Scáthach wanting to have a fight with it, and Da Vinci and Medea wanting to study it, they were all fine with the new addition.

It was decided that Enkidu was going to be treated as a peerage member even though he was closer to an independent type sacred gear.

And as a result of Enkidu becoming my 'official' sacred gear for all intents and purposes, I started a new training regiment with it, or should I say him because I asked and he said he mainly identifies as male. I was certain that by the end of my training with him and by the time he finished essentially evolving, we would be more than a match for anyone below those two dragons.

He was also introduced to Sera and her peerage, who were quite surprised at who Enkidu was and his abilities. Evangeline joined Medea and Da Vinci in the wanting to study him club, meanwhile Elsa and Perseus were cordial and polite which meshed well with Enkidu's personality.

Little Moka, who was now almost six, thought he was pretty, something Enkidu thanked her for. Turns out he was quite comfortable with children as he carried her around a bit while she played with his hair and some small chains he made appear. He would later become a part-time babysitter when Sera or myself were unavailable.

Too bad for him I am still the favorite uncle, even if the attachment was partially because of my blood, and Moka came to her favorite seat soon enough, my lap.

The little silver haired dhampir was likely one of the most loved individuals in the house thanks to her cuteness. She was also beginning to display purposeful usage of her inborn powers: some shadow manipulation to get a toy, making a bat her pet, making some mist appear when playing hide and seek. Little things which were rather cute in our household of god-slayers, Satan-classes and overpowered people.

Due to her age, Moka had begun going to school/daycare in order for her to learn how to socialize properly and make some friends her own age. It allowed Evangeline to fulfill her duties as Sera's queen, especially now that she was freed of her vulnerability to the sun and could actually do things during the day alongside her very loved daughter. The little girl was also beginning to be trained in how to use and control her powers in the form of games because she had already begun using them.

From what Evangeline told us regarding young vampires/dhampirs, she should soon awaken her family trait, which in this case is the Cain ability to enhance themselves physically using ambient mana and negative energy. This is something we made sure we to have a handle on due to the trait possibly making her physical strength suddenly skyrocket and Moka possibly breaking some things, hurting herself or even others by accident. I was told that it didn't help that the 'pure human' blood she had essentially been raised on, made her far stronger body and magic wise for her age.

I had to make sure Scáthach wouldn't try to train her to early for her own good. She looked at little Moka a bit too enthusiastically from time to time, but even I had to admit that the girl had a lot of potential. Her mother was likely one of the most powerful vampires ever and from Evangeline's stories about Moka's father, he was a powerful magician and warrior, so mixed with my own blood, the very likely freeing of my little satandaughter's talents and the highest grade training available, Moka will be one hell of a powerhouse should she choose to become a combatant.

But for now she is the little treasure of the house.

So with this latest thing done, time moved forward as I continued to train myself and my peerage, all while managing my lands and several massive projects I was planning to see through during the next century or so.

All until over a month later I suddenly felt the enraged sorrow filled cry of my precious little student ripple through time and space, only recognizing it due to how familiar I was with her.

"Scáthach, I will be out. Something happened to Ciri." I quickly said to my queen and lover.

"Punish those who harmed our disciple beloved." She replied with a stern look as I nodded and vanished from my office.

-Skellige, Ciri POV some time before her cry.

(Warning that this next bit will be a modified Ciri journey from the Witcher 3. I will try to basically power through it and making some adjustments to show Ciri did grow under Lith. There will be minimal descriptions and no dialogue since I do want to move on with the time periods after this.)

Coming back to my own world was sort of weird this time.

After spending nearly five years with everyone in Azura, having fun, getting stronger, feeling safe and cared for, it felt like home as well.

And I could understand why Lith said my world was kind of depressing compared to what he has.

We lost so much due to all our fighting and the fear in magic when we could have done so many great things with it. But instead we have things like the Eternal Fire and Witch Hunters, people spitting and mobbing those who keep the monsters at bay, the destruction of anything people don't even try to understand, with my own so-called father stamping out anything in his path now as well.

Compared to what we had done with magic, new ideas and the mixing of races, Lith had all but achieved a Damn miracle with the wonders i got to see and experience. I mean, flying ships capable of blasting mountains, means for even peasants to teleport, helping lands heal and the managing the sky, crafting a city of crystal and having grand spectacles of magic, all compared to the shite covered roads and war torn lands we have.

I wondered a lot if I should just bring everyone back to Azura with me. We wouldn't have to worry about just living. Geralt and Yen could live together, the wolf school could do their jobs without being spat on, Triss and Yen would love the magic academies, Dandelion would fit right into Leviat and love all the beautiful women, and it would all be so much better. Leaving the world to sort itself out, especially after I stopped this damnable White Frost and the Wild Hunt.

But putting those thoughts aside, Avallac'h and I made our way back there to do exactly that.

The Elf Sage had been rather adamant about returning even through the temptations of the magical knowledge Lith's academies had to offer, something which made me a bit suspicious, but I am pretty sure that's Lith's opinion on Aen Elle rubbing off on me.

We actually appeared on one of the Skellige's Isles, not knowing exactly which one as soon as we got there, but I could recognize Skellige's air. I had spent quite some time here back in the day.

I wondered how Hjalmar, Cerys and the gang were going once a wave of nostalgia hit me.

But then things started to get annoying.

The Wild Hunt apparently only partially learnt its lesson about messing with me because the started swarming the place with everything they had after having felt my arrival.

Dozens of portals opened as armor clad Aen Elle rushed forward, with Imlerith's bulking figure in the lead. I even saw Eredin and Carenthir in the back, likely waiting to see how things would go.

Unfortunately for them, I was much stronger and better trained than two years ago, using what Lith, Scáthach and Musashi taught me to begin reaping their lives.

What sucked was that they were using their avatars, like the cowards they were, but their recklessness from this fact did not help them as I not only accelerated my own time, I also blinked through the battlefield using my spatial awareness while channeling [Space] through Swallow to effortlessly cut through everyone of them like they were fruit.

They were all moving so slowly for me and before anyone could realize, I had killed over thirty Wild Hunt members and was making my way towards Eredin so I could at least punch his stupid avatar's face.

Seeing my rapid approach, Imlerith came between myself and his boss. The lumbering oaf was clearly underestimating me when he attacked with a one handed over head swing of his mace. Too bad for him that Scáthach and Musashi made sure I was a lot stronger than I looked and my blade was a lot sharper.

So just to show off I stopped his mace with one hand, sliced through his shield with Swallow, and then kicked him away towards his boss.

It was really satisfying to see those two whoresons rolling on the ground, but my enjoyment was interrupted abruptly when I felt an approaching blast of malicious magic, forcing me to dodge. But a moment later I realized I wasn't the real target when I heard Avallac'h cried out in pain from behind me.

I couldn't believe I made such a rookie mistake by forgetting about him fighting as well. His magic signature was too similar to the other Aen Elle and Caranthir, so he blended in too much and it didn't register to my senses that he was specifically behind me when I dodged.

Noticing that the magic was corruptive, I unleashed a large blast of [Space] magic to destabilize theirs, blinked to Avallac'h and teleported us out of there while he used his own magic to take something from Carenthir. The teleportation had to be a bit random because I hadn't really had a chance to map out my own world with my new understanding of [Space], but my target was the Northern Kingdoms to at least get close enough to Kaer Morhen.

Winter was coming soon judging by how cold Skellige felt and that meant the wolf school was going to gather there soon. And with Avallac'h now struck by some kind of curse, it doubled my reasons to find Geralt and Yen.

Too bad for me, we somehow ended up in the ass end of nowhere.

Even worst were the three witches who knew I had the elder blood showed up and started fantasizing about how tasty I would be alongside an Aen Elle. As much as I wanted to kill them and rid the world of an obvious evil, I first needed to get Avallac'h to safety, so I got us out of there.

Those witches tried to stop me using some kind of connection they have to the forest, but they overestimated their abilities to influence my own and I got us out without much trouble.

For some reason however, things just weren't going my way when I came face to face with an abandoned child named Gretka, surrounded by wolves and a werewolf leading the pack. It wasn't hard to kill them all, but I couldn't just leave the child alone, luckily a villager I had coincidentally saved from the werewolf talked about the local Baron and his place in Crow's Perch. Taking a small break, Avallac'h was able to use some supplies he had on his person, some herbs we were able to gather, parts of the wolves and werewolf, to mix himself a potion which slowed down the effects of his new curse. It gave us time to head towards this Crow's Perch, where we could hopefully get some information on what has been going on since our departure, maybe also a lead on Witcher sightings to find Geralt and hopefully find somewhere for Gretka.

On our way I managed to save a peasant woman who knew the proper way to Crow's Perch and guided us in thanks.

The place was… lackluster compared to what I was used to. Even the villages in under Lith are infinitely better than than the home of a so-called Baron. It wasn't exactly a surprise and at least the place was modestly defensible for obviously being a relatively new construct. The fact that most homes had straw roofing and that the place I assumed was the baron's home was mainly wood spoke to this fact, as well as the wooden defenses over stone.

Surprisingly however, the nicknamed 'Bloody Baron' was incredibly welcoming to us, even with an elf on our party and directly offered Gretka a place to live in exchange for helping in the kitchen once he heard our stories.

To repay his kindness and tolerance of Avallac'h, who isn't the easiest to get along with on the best of days if you aren't an Aen Elle, I went along their hunt and caught a boar and a doe which made me one of the boys. The Baron couldn't stop celebrating the catches and the men were much more welcoming.

We even had a horse race, which is less exhilarating than the Wyvern Cup Jeanne created in Lith's lands, but it was fun and nostalgic to ride like that. But for some reason my rather horrible luck meant we stumbled into the territory of a bloody Basilisk which was none too pleased, deciding to take its ire on us. The Baron was rather brave, or maybe a bit foolish, to not take my warning and let me handle things as he drew his blade and fought the beast. I was just about to finish it too before its instincts made it flee, but not without taking the Baron for a flight as it headed towards it nest.

I was trying not to use my powers so the Wild Hunt couldn't track me down yet, thus I chased after the two.

And of course the bloody mix between a chicken and a proper Wyvern made its nest at the top of an abandoned tower. So I climbed up swiftly, finally reaching the Baron desperately avoiding the wounded and exhausted basilisk's snapping beak. I didn't want my gracious host to die in front of me so I leapt onto the distracted draconid and lopped off its head with one smooth swing of my blade.

Feeling rather satisfied, I was dismayed at the sight of the Baron stumbling off the tower due to the shock of the beast dying, the shacking it caused from its body collapsing, some loose flooring, his tripping over clutter on the floor and the man's own exhaustion. Cursing my luck for the umpteenth time in the last few days, I blinked to the man and then blinked the two of us to solid ground.

The Baron quickly emptied his stomach from his first experience with space magic, something most people experience especially when they are base humans with no magic. But after that he thanked me profusely even though I used magic.

I quickly told him I had to leave or the Wild Hunt would appear here. It usually was harder to accurately triangulate my location from smaller usage of my powers, but they would certainly scout the area at the very least.

The man was a bit skeptical, but he was understanding enough to know if something was annoying someone like me, who was easily handling a basilisk and could use magic, then it was likely a serious enough threat. Thus we raced back to Crow's Perch so I could quickly get Avallac'h and we could go.

We were only here to get out feet on the ground and for Avallac'h to stabilize his condition enough, along with finding a place for Gretka, and now that we had and the Wild Hunt was likely on the way, it was time to go.

The Baron and his men did their best to ready two horses for us, which was very appreciated. He also gave us passes for the new war time border established between Radovid's northern army and Nilfgaard's, with some news regarding people I had asked him if he had heard off, stating that word of the poet Dandelion being in Novigrad as of late which was an excellent start. If anyone knew more regarding Geralt or pretty much anyone, it was Dadelion.

With thanks, we quickly rode out before we could attract trouble to the people here.

At the current border I made sure to use a concealing tool Lith and Sera gave me last time I went out to save Geralt, mainly so I wasn't risking getting arrested there. This was only for the border since I was looking for Geralt and I knew that if he caught some rumor about me being back he would look for me. It also meant that some other unsavory people would likely hear about me, but pretty much anything beside the likes of Djinns and Higher Vampires would be easy enough to handle now.

Obviously I wasn't going to get overconfident. Scáthach would give me a hell of a beating if she learnt I got another scar for something stupid and she won't be tricked even if I healed it completely. The woman can tell by just looking at you and I was not going to tempt fate. I learnt my lesson when I tried to be a brat a few times and couldn't sit down without wincing for a few days on top of the extra sadistic training.

In the end crossing the border was an easy affair. But I couldn't help fell guilty over the fact that my own 'father' was responsible for all the people I saw suffering on the way through.

Sure there were many other factors to take into consideration, but in the end it was the empire which was trying to conquer the Northern Kingdoms, pushing things to this point.

I could only offer a bit of money here and there to help these people, knowing that giving too much would also cause them problems and not being able to reveal the supplies I had without painting a target on my back for Witch Hunters and the likes. I wasn't afraid of them, but needlessly killing so many wouldn't be good and it would result in a bounty on my head.

Moving on, we made a stop at Oxenfurt for alchemical supplies and to see if anyone magical was still in the city and could help Avallac'h. He had revealed that his curse came from something he called a Phylactery, which he had managed to get from Carenthir before I teleported us in the hopes of identifying his curse and beating it, but it was heavily damaged after being used and my own magic messing with it, meaning we needed help to fix it first, thus our looking for scholarly and magical help. We were one for two as the elf managed to get some things to hamper the progress of his curse but anyone skilled in magic had fled the city, been imprisoned or already executed. It was so bad that pretty much all non-human races were forced out and the Academy was under heavy pressure from Radovid due to him not liking any form of 'opposition'.

We made sure to avoid any trouble before continuing on our way.

It took us some time to reach Novigrad due to a few factors. For one Avallac'h needed to be careful and have a steady supply of ingredients to suppress his curse. Second was to avoid unnecessary troubles with the Northern army. But third was my own fault since I couldn't just look away when people were suffering because of some monsters brought on by the war.

Reaching the city was a shock though.

Not the good kind like Azura was, but a shock of mild horror as the Temple of the Eternal Fire had started burning not only sorceresses and the likes alive, but also dopplers and elves. This prosecution forced any non-human races to vacate the city and form slums and ghettos outside of it, having to do what they could to make ends meet.

There was even an inspection at the gates to keep out people deemed undesirable and refuges. Turns out the concealment tool was useful once again to get Avallac'h through and our clothing and weapons certainly didn't make us look like penniless refugees, so we were let through with little delay.

Having reached our first goal, I asked around to find the places with the best reputations for poetry and songs, which took us to the Kingfisher Inn, Novigrad's largest tavern. We booked a room and I asked about Dandelion, learning that he and a female performer nicknamed Callonetta, would be performing tomorrow evening.

Knowing that he would show unless he did something stupid and got in over his head again, the best course of action was to wait for the man.

During our wait Avallac'h went out to hopefully secure himself a source for ingredients in case we would need to stay in the city for a while and I was going to get a proper feel for the city. Mana taught me more than just wilderness survival, she also showed me how to blend into cities, find the shady spots where coin is the only language accepted, locate the factions at play, knowing who was useful for information, judging characters and identifying opportunities. Everything necessary to not look like easy pray and know what I was doing when I'm foreign territory. All stuff quite useful for a Witcher really.

It helped that Lith taught me how to properly use my innate spatial awareness, allowing me to feel and learn much more than I would by simply walking the streets and using my eyes. This way I could avoid obvious thugs and the more unsavory individuals I would probably have to kill, saw the unseen network of informants that the beggars were, witnessed the real state of things as Priests of the Eternal Fire and Witch Hunters ran amok. Of course I couldn't see or handle nearly as much as Lith could, that's why I still had to walk around the city to 'see' more instead of being able to sit in my inn room and learning everything I could about Novigrad.

By the end of our first day I managed to get quite a lot of information about the current state of the city. The most important being that although it looks like the Eternal Fire and the Witch Hunters are the most powerful force in the city, it's actually been carved up by the most powerful gangs. I found four big ones so far, but the most interesting was this King of Beggars due to some rumors that he has been helping the currently prosecuted, which could mean he knew the whereabouts of some mages or witches. The rest were pretty much what you would expect from gangs, but there seems to have also been some recent waves caused by the war between them as the Cutups had been getting more aggressive and challenging the Crownsplitters.

I returned to the Kingfisher Inn with a better grasp of things, but that wasn't enough. I would need to see the information dealers for the recent happenings in the city and go exchange some of the gold and jewels Sera and Lith gave me for usable coins.

For tonight though, I was able to relax a bit with some food, music and a proper bath.

The next day I went off to do exactly as I had planned. Keeping my head low and making liberal use of my concealment tool, I exchanged some gold and jewels with some craftsmen and bankers in the city, making sure to not be stupid and draw attention to myself.

A few people tried to tail me, but they were quickly lost.

Next up I resumed my scouting of the so-called 'free city', getting a better idea of everything. It was demoralizing to walk near the Witch Hunter outpost, feeling a lot of people in their dungeons. I would see if I could help them before leaving Novigrad. But overall, it was more of the same as yesterday.

So it was time to find some information from the seedier side of things.

I changed my appearance to a less eye-catching one, equipped myself with strategically placed knives and 'concealed' my sword just enough to look like I was trying to hide my weapons but done so experienced individuals would know a hard to mess with mark once they noticed, put on some less distinguishable clothings with a cloak and I was off.

Knowing this kind of stuff is incredibly useful for not looking like an easy to con idiot, something which still surprises me was that Mana, the woman who enjoys music and taking care of orphans, was the one most familiar with the criminal underworld out of everyone in Azura. She knew how to be subtly intimidating and how to give off the right feel for the proper situation, something she told me I would develop more in time, but she imparted quite a lot of her century's worth of experience on the matter to help me along. It really felt like she was a weird mix of Geralt, Yen and Triss sometimes.

Anyway, I found the right kind of hidden watering hole easy enough, getting in just needed a password I was easily able to overhear. The place was like you'd expect, dingy, dark and quiet, with hooded figures quietly sipping on their drinks. I didn't immediately try to get information but sat down away from people and ordered a drink and some food first. Couldn't look desperate or like I 'needed' the information, so looking calm and relaxed was a good way to not get me ripped off as bad as they could. It also gave me a better chance at knowing how the place properly works so I don't trigger some suspicions.

I wasn't foolish enough to look around with my eyes while getting a feel for the place. Doing that would out me as someone who wasn't used to these kinds of scenes, so I just used my awareness and a bit of magic to enhance my senses. This way I could track everything happening while not looking like it.

While doing so, I heard quite a few rumors regarding one Whoreson Junior being rather aggressive lately, which explains the conflicts between the Cutups and Crownsplitters I spotted yesterday. Some stuff about a Brothel called the Rosemary and Thyme getting closed due to new ownership. The only useful thing being that some halflings nervously talking about going to the King of Beggars for help getting out of the city which made the man rise up on my list of people to find for information on possible mages.

Some time later, I began understanding the system this establishment used to request information. One simply placed a payment with a note on the subject one desires to know about, sits down at one of the tables, then an employee brings over a drink with information worth the payment. It was based on trust that the establishment would be ruined if it screwed over its clients. Pretty simple compared to some of the convoluted ones Mana told me about in the supernatural world, but it worked. No questions asked, just a clean transaction.

It was easy to do the same once I felt comfortable enough, requesting about the changes since this new war started first. Turns out that there was indeed some tensions between gangs right now, but the gangs were also making sure no outside influences could come in and mess with their own slices of the cake that is Novigrad. Some murders have been happening lately, with most targets being prostitutes and some others no one seemed to really care about, thus nothing had really been done yet. A few things which sounded like possible Witcher contracts like a haunted home, some kind of magical thief, rumors of deadly beasts not too far from the city. News of a guerrilla force of Temerian soldiers attacking Radovid's army, the clashes making it difficult to travel even when the scores of bandits weren't accounted for.

Next I requested much more expensive information, news on mages, witches and Witchers. It took three payments to get something worthwhile..

On Witchers there has been some news of a few spotted in the north. Only sporadic sightings with exaggerated descriptions, but none have been near Novigrad since the war due to soldiers usually driving most monsters away and the Eternal Fire not being particularly welcoming to 'mutant freaks'. For those of the magical nature however, there has been news of some still being in the city and offering their services for cheap, likely to make some form of a living or to buy their way out without being burnt alive. The only other piece I could get was to find the King of Beggars.

Knowing I couldn't stay any longer or risk some form of altercation, I quietly left and moved through the city skillfully while changing my appearance to lose any eyes on me before returning to the Inn to wait for Dandelion to show up.

Fortunately I didn't have to wait until dinner hours due to the man showing up to check 'his stage' in advance and to likely prepare things to 'his standards'. He can be narcissistic at times, but it was good to see him again.

He was truly shocked when he saw me standing in front of him, then he burst out in joyous laughter as we hugged. The man immediately began asking about me, where I've been all this time, had I seen Geralt, why I was here during these dangerous times and the likes. So we began talking and I told him about being able to find a safe place during these last few years with Lith. I told him about the wonders I saw and experienced over there, managing to make him jealous over how advanced their fields of theatrics, art and music were before he began boasting over his own skills and saying he could take on any of them with the right opportunity. But I could tell he was happy for me that I was able to find such a place to be safe and happy.

Dandelion began telling me of what happened while I was gone and what everyone had been up to after I managed to rescue Geralt from the Wild Hunt's grasp. Mainly how things devolved into a 3rd Northern War, the Lodge of Sorceresses, that Geralt had lost his memories and gotten into quite some trouble due to forming a love triangle with Yen and Triss because of it, and all the plots upon plots occurring.

He surprised me by saying he was currently planing to settle down in Novigrad due to receiving ownership of the same brother I had heard was being shut down. Dandelion was planing to transform it into a tavern and cabaret with Zoltan, who I was delighted to hear was also in the city.

Finally when it came down to why I was here, I told him about Avallac'h's curse and the need for someone well versed in magic, and my desire to see everyone now that I had grown strong enough to fight off the Wild Hunt myself, but I also told him that I returned to deal with Ithlinne's Prophecy of the White Frost. Dandelion was a bit skeptical about the second due to Geralt and Yen's tales of the Hunt, but proof would come later as he still promised to reach out to his numerous 'friends' and contacts for word of the famous/infamous White Wolf. Dandelion even went so far as to vow his assistance in helping find someone to help fix the Phylactery, with his usual dramatic flare for good measure.

I did tell him I already had a good lead to reach some mages, which he was excited about, but soon he had to perform.

It was once he reached the stage with his fellow performer, Callonetta, that I realized that the famous wandering bard might have more reasons to stay in Novigrad than his newly inherited building. His eyes looked a bit like Lith's did when he was with Sera and Yasaka.

I kind of wondered from time to time if he ever, I don't know, looked at me like that.

I mean, Scáthach gets those looks too now that they started getting closer with Sera's encouragement, we have a close relationship after 5 years and that I don't look too bad. I might not have the ridiculous breasts most of the others have but my arse and legs have gotten me quite a few heated looks.

Wait a minute. These thoughts… do I have a crush on Lith?

He did help me out a lot. He doesn't care about the Elder Blood. And basically got me my sword. He's a great teacher and fun to be around. I felt really hot when I saw him shirtless during his training, his eyes are entrancing, I could just listen to him talk for hours and… oh my god. I really have a crush on him.

Everyone's going to tease me forever if they learn about it. They still tease me about my past crushes on older/married men and even joked about me being so close to Geralt at times. And now i have a crush on a century old Devil who already as two wives/lovers with another one building up and a fiancé. Damn. If I say anything to Sera she's probably going to just push me to go for it and i don't even know how I could talk about this to Yen or Triss. Shite, if just Geralt finds out Lith is technically a Devil I think they'll believe I'm possessed or under some kind of spell.

I was so into my own thoughts that I didn't realize Dandelion was done performing and he came over to introduce the woman he had done so with, whose real name was Priscilla. He did startle me a bit, but I quickly put my thoughts away and got to know her.

Meanwhile Dandelion went to get Zoltan and all of us celebrated my 'return' merrily. Not like we were going to immediately get serious.

The next morning was one of hangovers for most as I sneakily took one of those cures the others in Azura didn't tell me existed until after I had gotten over my first hangover. Dandelion and Zoltan had moved our fun over to the Rosemary and Thyme last night, offering Avallac'h and I a free place to stay without having to be too careful.

I thanked them for that and passed Zoltan some hard stuff from Azura, which he tried to deny until he got a whiff and damn near downed the first bottle right there. After that he put the rest of it in an actual safe claiming it was a treasure and asking where I'd gotten the stuff, only to be disappointed that it came from another world. For Dandelion I got him some poetry and song books, and since he was going to be trying to renovate this place, I also passed him some jewels as an 'investment' since Sera had given me way too many anyway and I knew the man wasn't exactly great with coin and likely had a few debts too. He did try quite hard to reject the jewels, but when I showed him the amount Sera had given because she worried with a slightly smug smile, the man relented as he commented on her being a bit too wealthy if she gave that much so easily. Dandelion did promise that it was all going to go to the renovations and Zoltan was going to make sure of it.

After present time was over, the two agreed to help me look for help while I followed my own lead with the King of Beggars. Dandelion had many connections in higher places due to his fame and… promiscuity, while Zoltan was going to check on some gambling buddies, dwarves and more hard-headed individuals.

Finding the so-called king wasn't exactly difficult for someone who could follow others from out of sight to trail the proper gang member or beggar. I ended up, rather predictably, in the Bits, the slums of Novigrad, following the trail of beggars and goons steadily flowing, but surprisingly this wasn't the proper spot as some of the more important thugs and other beggars went to another location. Following them, I found myself beyond the Bits and into Glory Lane.

That's when my senses picked up a strong magical presence, for this world, aligned with fire, with a number of much weaker presences. This combined with the King of Beggar's men meant that he was indeed linked to the mages and likely helping them to a certain degree. No chance he didn't know about them. The only question being why he was doing so. If it was in exchange for coin then this should be straight forward. If It was so he could blackmail them into doing what he wanted then things were going to get messy.

Getting close to the place I could feel the mages, I made myself seen to the people keeping an eye on things and approached the gate barring entry to where I could feel magic.

Some kind of guard asked for a password or coin to allow entry, seeing that it was an easy fix I obviously picked coin, asking if the King of Beggars was in, which was confirmed and that he was discussing things with the leader of this gathering of mages and the likes. He pointed me to a house and I passed him a few coins in thanks.

Reaching the place I could feel the fiery magic signature inside with a normal man. The two were borderline arguing, but when I heard the magical person's voice I froze before almost bursting in.

Inside was a bald middle aged man and a beautiful red haired woman, confirming that it was indeed Triss I heard from outside.

The two turned to me due to the abrupt interruption, but Triss recognized me immediately moments before the two of us ran up and hugged each other fiercely.

Seeing that, the man tactfully waited.

After Triss checked me over everywhere she could and asking dozens of questions at once, she let me get a word in and that I would tell her everything later. Introductions followed and the man was apparently the King of Beggars, Francis Bedlam. Of course we didn't say who exactly I was, only that we were essentially family and hadn't seen each other in years.

Afterwards Triss brought me to where she was staying so we could catch up.

I learnt that Triss was the leader of the Mage underground in Novigrad and the King of Beggars was the one helping them with safe places and navigating people to her, but this came at a price of 80% of the profits they make from whatever jobs they manage to get now. She told me how bad things have been for mages and witches and even for sorceresses like herself since the Lodge fell apart and the war began, about her goal of gathering enough money to get everyone out of the city and head to calmer waters like Kovir. She also talked about Geralt's time as an amnesiac after I saved him, but stayed away from the romantic relationship for pretty easy to guess reasons.

In return I began my own tale of escaping the Wild Hunt after the Rivian Pogrom, finding a safe haven with Lith, learning and training, how I saved Geralt, continuing my training, and finally why I returned and was looking for someone to help with Avallac'h's curse.

She couldn't believe the things I told her about, that I witnessed and experienced, and found it a bit doubtful that I could kick the Wild Hunt's arse now. But she had a serious look on her face when I told her about the approaching Conjuction of Spheres and the White Frost.

Triss had a conflicting expression due to being torn between her responsibility towards the mages and wanting to help me, but since a major part of her problem was with coin, I could give quite a lot of help in that department. She went wide eyed when I plopped a bag of gold, coins and jewels in front of her, which I was realizing how helpful the ridiculous amount Sera had given me was. Of course this wasn't all that was needed to get out, but it had been the hardest step so far. Now Triss would only need to secure a proper ship and get her people on it. The last thing being the most dangerous step, but I wasn't going to not help and I was certain Zoltan would join in. After that talk, she promised that as soon she set up her people in Kovir she would return as quickly as possible, but until then she was going to help as much as she could.

Afterwards I got her to Rosemary and Thyme, which got me a look before I told her about Dandelion and Zoltan owning the place and their plan to renovate. Triss became quite happy and surprised when that was the case since another familiar was most welcomed. Introductions between her and Avallac'h were tense due to Triss not exactly liking him for his desire to essentially breed me with a 'proper' Aen Elle and his rather condescending attitude towards human magicals, while Triss had her own pride clashing against his.

At least the two didn't come to blows, mainly due to the elf not being in any condition to even do so. After what was essentially a magic wielder pissing contest, we could begin properly working on the curse.

While the two were working on things, Dandelion and Zoltan returned, with Dandelion having a possible lead, but he put that on hold as he obviously noticed Triss being here already and the two caught up with one another.

The rest of the day went rather well as Avallac'h and Triss worked on the Phylactery while Dandelion, Zoltan and I began talking business regarding this tavern/cabaret I had now become a major investor in. By the end of it the two knowledgeable magicals decided on a plan of approach regarding the Phylactery and that bringing in some of the others currently under Triss' wing would help due to her having alchemists, artificiers and other professionals practicing things deemed 'magic' hence against the Eternal Fire.

Unfortunately Triss couldn't stay the night, but she promised to try to contact some of the sorceresses she could for information on Geralt or Yen, I wasn't going to force her to talk to Yen while the three of them were having issues, so no one mentioned her to not receive a fireball or glare.

Now that I think about it, I should probably decide on how it would feel to be accepted by my newly identified crush when he is already with multiple women. I could talk to someone in Azura for advice regarding that triangle and about my own feelings. But my thoughts were broken by Dandelion saying he sent out some kind of code for Geralt that his friends/associates would hang on bulletin boards so he would know about an important matter in Novigrad.

I thanked them both before we all called it a night.

For next week we all kept busy on our respective tasks. Avallac'h and Triss were making great progress on the Phylactery and containing the curse itself. It was apparently a curse to trap a person into their own horrendously mutated body with little intelligence, quite horrible for a Aen Elle like Avallac'h, and the Phylactery had been damaged due to its initial use followed by my own magic and immediate teleportation. At the same time, Triss managed to strike some deals using what I had given to her to secure passage on a ship to Kovir leaving at the start of the month, which was both good and a bit sad. Dandelion, Zoltan, myself and even Priscilla were making great progress in transforming the Rosemary and Thyme since having enough coin always makes these matters easier.

But the greatest news for me was that one famous White Wolf had been spotted in Temeria and Redenia, meaning he should have noticed, or will soon notice, Dandelion's notices and come to Novigrad. He would probably still be dragged into some troubles or take care of a few monsters along the way, but he should be coming.

During the wait things were going quite well for everyone. The Phylactery was fixed and now only needed to be recharged at various points of power to cure Avallac'h. The renovations were nearly finished, with the place now sporting the name 'Chameleon' to signify how it changed 'colors' and the arts according to Dandelion, who has been looking quite amusing as he tried to somehow enter a serious relationship with Priscilla but kept stumbling around. I helped Triss and her mage underground stay safe by guiding people and securing their escape route through the sewers with her and Zoltan. I also took some time to try and help non-humans get out of the city, or take care of some problems here and there with even a bit of Witcher work when I found a Godling and Sorceress in a 'haunted' house and helped the pair.

But everything came to a halt when a grizzly man with white hair, gruff beard, large scar over his left cat-like eye, carrying two swords on his back, donning customized armor and with a wolf medallion walked into the Chameleon. I immediately hugged the man, not caring that he wasn't the cleanest in the least as Geralt finally came, with him return said hug in a daze before I felt the familiar warmth of the Witcher I had missed.

He couldn't believe that I was really there and started asking about the Wild Hunt and where I had been this whole time, which did lead to another retelling while I obviously omitted things like everyone being devils and my crush, but at the end the man I considered my only real father was just glad that I was safe and certainly not worst for wear.

What came next was a very tense meeting between Triss and Geralt, which had so many issues that I was not getting involved in it. Geralt then sent out a missive to Yen who had been apparently been trying to find me for some time, but had attracted the attention of the Wild Hunt in her efforts, forcing her to come under my 'father', Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, to continue her search and later involving Geralt after they had found out my return, with the two then beginning to trace my steps to Novigrad. Yen had gone to Skellige because of the magic I had used over there leaving quite a few traces, while Geralt followed my trail in Velen and had been making his way along when he saw Dandelion's notice, deducing that with my reported return, it was very likely that the important matter was about me, he rushed here while dealing with some problems along the way as I predicted.

By the end of the day we had just talked the entire time about our lives and adventures. Like the others, he couldn't even imagine the things I had seen nor believe my boasts regarding my current strength. I had to goad the man into having a spar with me, which ended with everyone stunned that I beat the century old Witcher handedly without using the Elder Blood. He looked at me with a mixture of pride and nostalgia after that and admitted that I could take care of myself properly once he heard how I saved him from the Wild Hunt, took them on again in Skellige, found Triss and helped her underground, was doing a bit of Witcher work and helped others in the city on top of my control over the Elder Blood and my current skills. The grumpy man was just having a hard time moving past the fact that I had grown up a lot over the last few years and I both loved him for it and found him a big worrier.

A big softy he is.

For a few days after he arrived, Geralt spent some time doing a few odd-jobs, travelled to a few nearby points of power he knew of with Avellac'h to charge the Phylactery and even got roped into helping Triss get some noble woman's alchemy enthusiastic son out before those witch hunters and fanatics ignored her bribes and burnt him alive. In exchange she would further facilitate the mage underground's departure in a couple of days.

Those two came back even more sexually charged than before. They really needed to get in a room and figure things out. With a proper shagging if necessary.

It certainly didn't help that Yen showed up the next day, hugged the daylights out of me before going into worry mode for a while as I told her my tale. After confirming my safety and well-being, she turned her attention to Geralt and Triss as the three rose the tension even further, making the rest of us vacate the premises before the two sorceresses began tearing each other apart with a Witcher in the middle. Dandelion was fretting over his establishment, but his life was more important than stopping those two lionesses.

Luckily they just got huffy at each other and Geralt in the end. It probably helped that Triss was leaving soon for a while, but Geralt being indecisive was not helping matters. I could kind of get why those three were having such a hard time, but I think my views on relationships got a bit skewed by Lith and Sera since I just kept thinking that the three of them could be fine together, even if it would be a bit weird to have Triss, who is like an elder sister to me, be together with my father figure. I mean, both are rather independent and likely wouldn't always be home anyway, while Geralt will find it pretty hard to just settle down, so why not gradually work things out so everyone can be happy together?

Anyway, in between bickering, we actually began talking about some serious topics now that Avallac'h's curse was nearly ready to be cured and the people I trusted and cared for the most where almost all here.

This topic was the coming Conjunction of Spheres and the White Frost alongside the Wild Hunt.

I was extremely confident in my ability to at least stop the White Frost during this conjunction. The next, if any happened again, would be in centuries, so it would fall on someone else if I wasn't somehow still alive and knew about it. The real issue was making sure the Wild Hunt wouldn't interrupt my efforts since I would need to use the full power Elder Blood at my disposal and wouldn't be able to defend myself while handling the conjunction.

Many suggestions were floated around, such as luring the Wild Hunt to Kaer Morhen, but Avallac'h countered that they would simply send avatars in their place like usual.

Ultimately Avallac'h suggested using an elven artifact known as the Sunstone to force the Wild Hunt's true selves to appear aboard their fabled ship the Naglfar, then cut off their escape with a group of powerful sorceresses and mages. This ended up being the most likely to work, but would need extensive preparations to work, with the need to track down many magicals to help, finding a proper place for the conflict and assistance in taking on the Hunt itself.

Triss and Yen suggested gathering the Lodge, as they had kept in contact with some members and had leads on others.

Geralt received some very pointed glares when he revealed that he knew the location of Keira Metz. Yen said Fringilla Vigo was currently Emhyr's prisoner. While Triss had heard that Margarita Laux-Antille and her students being recently captured and subsequently periodically burnt alive by witch hunters in Oxenfurt. The others were either contactable via megascope or dead. The only currently unaccounted for members were Philippa Eilhart and Síle de Tansarville, both of which would be welcomed even if we had to be weary of them.

So for now we divided our tasks.

Geralt would get Keira alongside some people he had met on his travels, old allies and the wolf school ready for the coming battle. Yen would go to Emhyr in order to secure Fringilla and his possible support. Avallac'h would finish getting rid of his curse while calculating the main location for the Conjunction of Spheres and research the location of the Sunstone. Dandelion and Zoltan would try to contact some old friends as well. And since Triss would leave soon and Margarita was in Oxenfurt's jail, I would go with her to break the Sorceress out since I could use my abilities without drawing the Wild Hunt to our true location and Triss would be long gone with Margarita before anyone could properly Hunt the escapee down.

Of course Yen and Geralt were worried, but I could easily get this done before the Wild Hunt showed up, then teleport to a nearby location where Triss could portal us away. The Hunt would have far too many issues getting into Oxenfurt while Radovid himself was near it, so that even added another layer of protection while they could even serve as a distraction if things took longer than expected. I don't want it to come to that, but it could ultimately help. It did reassure them that I was strong and skilled now, with backup they trusted even if Triss and Yen were having a spat.

So with everyone's jobs decided, we all headed off. I even gave them bracelets we could use to communicate to each other from anywhere so we could keep track of everyone before leaving. Geralt just raised and eyebrow, grunted and accepted it after a quick explanation and demonstration, but the sorceresses asked a lot of questions I had no answers for then looked rather intensely at them.

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EXTRA AUTHOR NOTES:

So… the main point of my planned chapter with Ciri going through the events of Witcher 3 : The Wild Hunt, but with her being better at everything and it being her story over Geralt's, actually comes in the next chapter.

But.

It still gives people a chance to see that Ciri has changed from how she was in the game and has a great amount of control and is much more mature than her canon counterpart.

She is not just confident, but knows what she wants to do and how to achieve it. Isn't constantly on the run from everything and can certainly fight back against pretty much any threat in her world.

And yes, she likes Lith.

I was actually surprised that the game canon Lesbian had a streak as a mature/married man lover. Since beside Hjalmar, her next crushes were an older married man and later the now deceased king of the Aen Elle, while she does have a close relationship with Geralt. So her actually liking a strong, mature figure, which intimately guided through her teenage years, showed care for her and didn't care for the Elder Blood, doesn't sound really far fetched. Lith's only missing a solid beard to hit all her sweat spots basically.

Anyway, sorry if people are finding too wordy, with not enough dialogue, setting stuff or descriptions. Also sorry if this is too much like the game for those who played it or most of this is going over the heads of those who haven't.

But I still hope you can enjoy.

Next chapter will be the last one before I can make the time skip happen. Finally.