Chapter #74

Back at Rivia, a ghastly fog covered the entire capital reducing the visibility. Zeno, who was responsible for the fog, silently entered the city.

He knew the guards would probably have him interrogated but after meeting Gabriel, Zeno's desire to experience Rivia had diminished to nil.

So, he made a shit ton of fog, which tired him to his surprise and used it to sneak in. Once inside he quickly got paid by the fisherman who wanted the Foglets gone and left the city.

The only clue left from his visit was his signature move, leaving the money you earned!

No one had ever tried to take the money he left, fearing the Witcher's wrath but this was Rivia and they did shit differently here.

The first person that tried to take the money, surprisingly choked on air and died.

But it wasn't enough as people just thought he was too excited. The next person that tried was a worker that did painting jobs on houses.

He was set ablaze, no one could put the flames out. This event had discouraged many from taking the gold.

That was until the guards were ordered to take down the painting of the Witcher himself.

Many were stuck down in various and odd ways until the crown had ordered them to stop at the advice of their mages.

Zeno was unknowingly banned from Rivia for being an accomplice to the deaths of over twenty people.

"..." Destiny.

"..." Unicorns who were watching Zeno's actions.

_____

Zeno, who had no idea he had been killing people left and right because of a coin pouch, rode to Mahakam.

He was in a dilemma since Mahakam had strict rules on who can enter the mountain city.

One must either be a dwarf, gnome or visit during the Ale Festival or get invited by the Chief himself.

As it can be seen that the Mahakam takes its security seriously, who wouldn't if they had such rich mines.

Apart from the rich mines and breathtaking strongholds, the enclave is famous for its Ale Festival, which takes place every twenty-five years and attracts thousands of participants from every part of the world.

This is the only occasion where the gates of Mahakam are opened to everyone. When the festival has ended, no one can enter the enclave, except with the permission of the Elder-in-Chief, who usually gifts the visitor with the Leaden Ring, which allows him to stay in Mahakam as long as he desires.

Zeno didn't have a Leaden Ring nor was it time for the Ale Festival. That left him two choices, he could either nab a dwarf on the way and consume him or he could fly over the mountain since he didn't have business with them.

[*Jiii*] System stared at Zeno.

{*Jiii*} Ouryuu stares at Zeno.

<???> Dragon was confused why they were staring so intently.

'Fine! I will wait until I run into a dwarf corpse or get robbed by dwarfs. Fuck you two and your morality.' Zeno grumbled and urged Jean to go faster.

The two were stunned, they knew Zeno would spare a sentient monster as long as it was innocent but he wanted to kill a random dwarf so he can tour around Mount Carbon.

Soon the massive Langbridge made itself apparent and Zeno was forced to stop at the edges of it. He could see the fortresses surrounding the mountain range armed with the best dwarven and gnomish weaponry.

'Hoping to conquer this place before they collapse the mines is a fool's dream. No wonder no one attacked here during the war.' Zeno observed.

Determining that he was in a good place to transform and fly out, Zeno dismounted.

Jean looked at him wearily, she could sense something bad would befall on her.

She was right as Zeno's hand turned into biomass tentacles and sucked her into somewhere, Jean didn't want to know the details.

Once she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a cozy barn, the best hay of her life laid in front of her.

She figured she was dreaming...

"It's an illusion you know." She heard Ao talk.

Jean didn't bother, she didn't like thinking about the details and just ate her illusionary hay.

"..." Ao sighed and left the place with a Reverse Summon. He would rather go back to the clan and help them instead of being inside of his master.

Ao shuddered at the thought of someone misunderstanding his words, so he decided to keep it quiet.

Back with Zeno, he had a peculiar expression on his face. He figured he could store living beings inside him since Alex didn't look uncomfortable when he kidnapped Elizabeth.

'Fuck, it isn't comfortable at all. It feels like someone is sitting on my internal organs.' Zeno cursed.

Still, he didn't let Jean out but covered that part of his body in fog to create an illusion for her, he would rather carry her inside him than let her ride him when he transformed into a dragon.

'Thing I do because of my pride.' Zeno sighed as his form shifted.

Zeno took to the skies under his invisibility cloak, he certainly didn't need his Dragon identity to spread, though people would probably mistake him for a serpent.

_____

Mahakam no longer looked imposing and magnificent once he started flying. It might be because of his instincts but he even looked down on the races living there.

Knowing it was just arrogance, Zeno didn't dwell on these feelings and started scanning the mountains, looking for the Vila community.

To be honest Zeno has no idea how the hell these Vilas and Rusalkas are able to communicate.

They certainly had a way before, Zeno was betting that they knew something was going down within the Vila community and the Rusalkas were trying to help by sending him.

'Normally I should have asked for money but considering how many times I have slept with their entire adult population, I can do this for free.' Zeno sighed as he passed another peak.

It was inhabited by some Gnomes and Werebbubbs. The last was a weird species since they were not Lycanthropes or in other sense cursed.

They just looked ugly enough that they were put in the same group as cursed beings.

Zeno passed more peaks, filled with dwarfs, elves, and gnomes until he reached the parts of the mountains that were inhabited by monsters.

Soon he found the Vilas on the hills of another peak.

Vilas have long, usually light-colored hair which they adorn with wreaths of flowers. They often wear sheer, flowing robes but they can also appear completely nude. Though usually silent, they are able to sing beautifully.

As if to confirm the information he had, Zeno soon hears the melodious singing of the various beauties. Their song didn't have lyrics but it was filled with emotion nonetheless.

Zeno silently landed, he was already under invisibility cloak thus Vilas were unaware of his arrival.

Zeno waited until they stopped singing and decided to sing himself at a distance. He was a stranger and he didn't want to scare them.

Vilas were surprised to hear an unknown voice singing but the song made them lower their vigilance as they waited for the owner of the voice to approach them.

Zeno revealed himself to them soon enough, still singing. His appearance made some Vilas gasp and some tried to put on some robes noticing his gender.

'So it was just the Rusalkas back at Kaer Morhen shameless.' Zeno was dumbfounded seeing them cover themselves in hurry.

Still, none of them looked offended which was good for him, their expecting colorful eyes was the only permission he needed to come closer.

The song had ended by the time he was near them, the eldest of them stepped forward with others standing behind her.

The elder, as Zeno started calling her in his mind, was staring at his Dragon Crest. Zeno was somewhat relieved that his previous medallion got merged with his Crest, otherwise they might have misunderstood him.

"Hello, my name is Zeno. I am here on behalf of Megira, she wanted me to check up on you." Zeno introduced himself.

The elder looked right into his eyes before coming near him, Zeno was pretty sure that she was going to sniff him but she just straight up kissed him before turning away.

"..." Zeno.

"Indeed, I can pick up the Rusalka trace on your body. Fine I shall take your word for it, come Witcher sing us another song." The elder said.

Zeno wasn't surprised by her remark, he knew monsters have a secret way of communication and just because Rusalkas didn't get an answer doesn't mean Vilas didn't receive the news.

'A lone Witcher satisfying their whole tribe. There's no way those Rusalkas didn't brag about it.' Zeno thought to himself.

Then the possibility of Trolls knowing about his exploits came to his mind and how some trolls take tolls on some bridges.

"If witchery witcher want pass the troll bridge, you satisfy me... In bed!" Zeno imagined such a scene before turning that part of his brain into ashes.