3 Old Story 2

Wedding - Afternoon

Mikael was walking casually to the village of Brunwich as he took in the sight of eastern Velen. It was a normal sight, trees everywhere, the occasional flowers here and there, and birds chirping on the twig of an old dead tree.

He was wearing a semi-formal red robe, he had bought it this morning rather quickly so he wouldn't embarrass Shani with his clothing, and he didn't bring any weapons at all, he's here to enjoy, not to fight. His right arm cloth was dangling, waving uncontrollably as the wind blew through his body.

He had also shaved his beard and hair, making him look more proper and less of a homeless man.

As he neared the farm, he noticed Shani was already waiting for him near a dead tree, leaning against a wooden fence. She was wearing her usual dress, a simple white shirt beneath a green loose doublet that matches her hair and eyes, but now, she wore a nice red skirt, along with white stockings and a red ribbon to decorate it.

As Shani saw Mikael, she was surprised by his appearance and chuckled in amusement. "Why don't you look dashing?"

Mikael shrugged. "Hey, I tried, I don't want to embarrass you in front of your friends by showing up like a vagabond, well, I am a vagabond… but you get the point.."

"That's sweet of you." she smiled. "But honestly though, I like it, you're more handsome this way."

"Thanks," he said. "Now let's talk about you, give me a spin."

Shani stood up and giggled in amusement, before swirling, showing off her clothing to Mikael while also getting closer to him. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful." Mikael said honestly. "I like the red skirt, it makes you look girly."

"And I'm not girly before?" she questioned, not offended but amused.

"Well, in my three days of experience, usually, you're covered in blood, or locking yourself up in your lab."

"True." she hummed. "Listen, we will talk to the bride and groom first, just don't say anything rude to them, yeah?"

"Of course." said Mikael, rolling his eyes. "Basic courtesy."

"Good." she smiled. She took up his arm, and dragged him to the farm. "Then let's go."

As they entered the farm, it was decorated with a bunch of flowers, people talking everywhere, and the smell of good food was permeating from the kitchen. It was a lovely place, almost enough to make you forget about the cruel reality outside.

"Never been to a wedding before." Mikael murmured as he and Shani stopped in front of the farm. "I've been to birthday parties though, sneaking to the party to get some food so I won't have to spend coins for the day."

"That's… worrying…" Shani nervously chuckled. "Is the life of a wandering traveler that harsh?"

Mikael just shrugged. "Not really, I just want free food to be honest."

Shani shook her head in amusement, and the two continued to walk towards the newlyweds.

When they were in the middle of the farm, Shani saw a tree, a rowan tree, and stopped for a while.

"Oh, what a lovely Rowan! I remember making necklaces of the fruit when I was a child." she said fondly as she smelled the rowan blossom in the tree.

Mikael walked to it, and took a Rowan blossom out from the tree, before putting it behind Shani's left ear. "You look nice in these." he commented casually.

Shani blushed at his action, she fixed her hair a little and rearranged the flower a bit. "That's sweet of you." She then turned around, and saw the newlyweds welcoming guests. "Let's go."

Mikael and Shani then walked up to them, queuing in line to greet the newlyweds.

One by one they congratulated them, the line was getting thinner and thinner, before finally, it was Shani;s and Mikael's time.

"Our turn." Shani whispered to Mikael, walking up to the newlyweds.

Shani smiled at them, and started to talk. "My dear friend Aldona, and her chosen, Johnus."

"May you live happily ever after together…" said Mikael awkwardly, making Shani elbow him.

"This is… Mikael… a friend of mine…" Shani continued, trying to not make it awkward.

"Err… yes, name's Mikael, I've heard a lot about the bride, and say that you're Shani's sister-in-arms."

"Wouldn't say that…." Aldona giggled. "But yes, we work together back at the academy."

Mikael nodded, and turned to the groom. "You've got good tastes mate, a hardworking woman is the best woman you'll ever fall in love with."

"I know I do." said the man proudly. "Thank you! Enjoy the feast."

Mikael then turned to Shani, who was looking at him with amusement. As he saw her gaze, he just shrugged.

"Right…" Shani chuckled slowly. "Anyway, congratulations Aldona."

The two then separated from the newlyweds, walking towards the feast.

"So… I actually don't know what we're doing after greeting them." said Mikael. "What are we doing?"

Shani just laughed at his antiques. "Just enjoy yourself Mikael, plenty of entertainment around, and lovely maidens to flirt with."

"Hey, I'm with you, not going to flirt with other women." said Mikael, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, then, let's see that over there." she said, pointing at a pig's pen around the corner.

"Pig's pen?"

"Just come on…"

Mikael and Shani just walked up to the pig's pen, and they saw people scaring the pigs, running around the muddy pen.

"What's this?" Mikael asked the man beside the gate.

"Lads're racin' to be King o' the Swinehers. And win the prize that comes with it for their wench – um, lady meanin'"

"Just chase the pig to the pen?" Mikael stated, looking at the man who's trying right now.

"Aye, any man can try his luck."

Mikael looked at Shani, who shrugged at his gaze. "What's the prize?" he asked again to the man guarding the pen.

"A crown for the king o' course." answered the man. "And some trifles for the lasses."

"Trifles?"

"Yes! Lovely, every last one of em', pretty as a painting, win and see for yourself!"

"What do you say?" Mikael asked Shani. "Wanna get those 'trifles'?"

"You sound like you already have it." chuckled Shani.

"I mean, quite easy to chase those pigs to the pen." shrugged Mikael.

Shani just rolled her eyes. "Alright, let's see if you can follow up on your words."

"Then I want to try," said Mikael to the man.

"Great! Let the armless man try!" he shouted, opening the gate of the pig pen.

Mikael then walked in, his boots dirtied with pig shite, and started to work.

He then saw a pig with yellow paint on his back, looking at him with an innocent look, chewing whatever that was in his/her mouth.

Mikael smiled at the pig. "Come on pig, go to the pen."

The pig weirdly nodded, and turned his/her back from Mikael, before walking towards the pen while Mikael was walking behind him/her, as if chasing the pig.

As the pig arrived at the pen, he turned around, only to see Shani, looking at him weirdly, but amused nonetheless. Mikael just shrugged at her, before continuing to do all of the yellow painted pigs.

As he finished, the crowd cheered as he jumped around the gate, with Shani crossing her arms, giving Mikael an amused look. "How'd you do that?"

"Just a natural." said Mikael. "Pigs love me."

Shani laughed at his words. "Clearly."

"Well… I guess you won… the crown's goin' to you." the man then gave a crown to Mikael, it was not a crown really, more of a wooden mask.

"And the king's chosen maid deserves a fitting favor. Here." said another man to Shani. He gave her a stuffed pig, she smiled as she took them, clearly happy at the reward.

—

Mikael and Shani were now sitting on a bench, overlooking the entire feast area. They were quite remote from the others, and they were all alone.

"So, how do you like the stuffed pig?" questioned Mikael casually.

Shani sighed. "This thing? It's lovely, I've always dreamed of owning one." she said sarcastically.

"Then I'm glad." Mikael smiled at her, which made her blush a little, and smiled back.

"Well, what do you want to do now?" questioned Mikael again.

"Do you want to go there?" Shani questioned, pointing at a pond nearby.

"What's that?"

"Dunno, let's check it out."

The two then stood up, and walked up the pond. It was quite crowded, with many women sitting on the platform near the pond, looking gloomily at it.

As they neared it, they could hear couples arguing about slippers again and again, which was quite funny.

Shani gasped as she knew what they're doing. "They're playing 'Slip in for a slipper.'! Never heard of it?"

Mikael shrugged. "Nope. Are you supposed to get slippers from the pond?"

"Aye." said a woman nearby. "Maid tosses a shoe in the water, her man's got to dive in an' fish it out."

"That sounds like fun." said Mikael, he turned towards Shani. "What's the prize?"

"Nothin', I suppose your maid'll be happy about it, and saw you as awfully handy…"

"That's it, not even a kiss or something?"

"Up to the maid that one."

Mikael turned to Shani, who was sighing a bit. "What do you say?"

"Giving you a kiss in exchange for retrieving my shoe that I threw myself?" she asked back, amused.

"I mean, we could just play the game, don't have to give me a kiss or anything…"

"Alright." she said, her eyebrows raised,

"Splendid."

Mikael then stepped up. He took of his robes, his six pack clearly shown, making a couple of women whistled as they saw him undressed.

"Oh my… you might be missin' an arm, but youse packin'." said a woman.

Mikael just shook his head in amusement, and turned to Shani. "Your shoe, my lady?"

Shani just chuckled, she bent down, and took off her shoe, before throwing it to the pond.

"Well, you're about to see a one-armed man swimming." said Mikael, before diving to the water.

Shani just sighed, and sat down, waiting for Mikael to get out.

A couple minutes later, Mikael jumped from the lake, landing perfectly on the platform, body all wet, and shoe in hand.

His soaked state made him look way more handsome, even Shani gulped at his appearance. He smiled at her, and kneel in front of her, putting her shoe back in place.

"There." he said. "Quite an easy game."

Shani rolled her eyes. "Everything's easy for you." she said, standing. "Right, dress up, don't want these maidens to see you naked anymore."

"Jealous?" Mikael teased as he wore his robe quickly.

"Hardly." she scoffed.

As he finished dressing up, the two left the pond, sitting down again, side by side, alone from everybody else.

"That was quite fun." Mikael commented. "Hardly ever swam anymore."

"Your wound will be dirty again." she said, a bit worried. "I'll clean it once we get back to the clinic."

"Honestly Shani, you don't have to worry about that, I can do that myself."

Shani sighed, she looked at his icy blue eyes deeply. "Almost forgot." she said.

"What?" he turned at her, but then, a warm sensation touched his lips, it was Shani, kissing him gently.

"Your reward." she said as she separated. "Haven't given one yet."

Mikael just chuckled, and she smiled at him, her cheeks flushed.

This is a good day.

Wedding - Night

As the sun disappeared from the west, and the sky started to get dark, loud music started to come out from the barn, Shani and Mikael were now inside of it, sitting on a round table, drinking some rye.

The music echoed through the barn, a merry atmosphere was created as the guests danced, drank, and sang to their heart's content.

"Want to dance?" questioned Shani suddenly, making Mikael choke on his drink.

He coughed a bit. "W-What? I prefer not to dance… I have one arm Shani."

Shani rolled her eyes. "That's not a problem at all… and I saw you dancing in the sewers days ago."

"That's different," he stated nervously. "That's KILLING, not DANCING."

"But you moved like you're a dancer your whole life." she refuted as she stood up. She offered her hand to him, and made a gesture to him to take it. "Come on."

Mikael just sighed, and relented. He took her hand, and she quickly dragged him towards the dancing floor, giggling all the way.

As they arrived, Shani took his hand, and put her other hand on his shoulder. She stared at his icy blue eyes, as they danced around the dance floor, not caring about the other guests.

They jumped around like children, laughing and giggling as they did so. Shani didn't care if Mikael was missing an arm or not, she just enjoyed her time with him, dancing merrily in the night as the music went on loudly.

Shani then separated from Mikael. She clapped her thighs, and high five his only hand, and repeated the same thing over and over again, before she took his hand again, dancing close to him, circling the floor.

"I didn't know you're a dancer." said Mikael as the music turned into a melancholic song, making them dance more slowly.

"I'm not." she said, her head on his shoulder. "Mother taught me when I was little."

"Sounds like you have a great mother."

"She is." she said. "But she's quite unbearable sometimes…"

"Really?"

Mikael then spun her around, making her giggle to be treated that way.

"Yeah." she said, still giggling a bit from the spinning. "When I brought boys to her, she often said that they're not good enough. She thought I should marry someone rich or well settled… but I always found those men to be… boring. It's getting quite annoying, so I just gave up entirely."

"Sounds like you've been in a lot of relationships." stated Mikael.

"Not really, I just brought friends to my mother, but she thought that they're my lover or something."

"Are they?"

"Of course not." she scoffed. She then separated from him, and dragged him away from the dance floor.

"Where are we going?" questioned Mikael, still dragged by Shani.

"I'm tired… let's just do something outside." she said. "Gwent?"

"Really?" chuckled Mikael. "In the middle of a wedding?"

"Well, we'll go back after a couple of rounds." she shrugged. She took her deck of gwent from her pocket, and waved it in front of Mikael. "So, what do you say?"

"Let's make a bet." Mikael said. "Whoever loses has to wear something until the wedding is over."

"Wear what?" she questioned, interested in the proposal.

"I don't know," said Mikael casually. "We'll find something."

"Oh! I know." she said. She quickly rummaged through her pouch, and found a red ribbon. "If you lose, you have to wear this for the rest of the night."

"And if you lose?" questioned Mikael in amusement.

Shani thought about it a little, and snapped her fingers. "I'll give you my necklace." she said, showing her hermes's staff necklace to him.

"Are you sure? That's like a 'you' thing you know… don't want to take it from you…"

"It sounds like you already won." Shani spoke in amusement. "Confident, are we?"

"Oh, ho ho, I'll beat you." said Mikael as the two sat down outside.

—

As time went on, the two had finished their Gwent match. It was intense, even some gnomes started to gather around them, watching their match heatedly.

"And… I won." said Mikael, smirking at the scowling Shani.

"Urggghh, what's that now? 17-1?" she said in annoyance.

"Well, you'll get on my level eventually." Mikael shrugged proudly.

"Asshole." scoffed Shani. She took off her necklace, and gave it to him. "Here, as promised."

"Are you sure? I don't really want to–"

"I insist." she said. "A deal's a deal."

Mikael sighed. "Alright."

He took the necklace, and wore it in front of Shani. He looked at her, and saw her smiling at him warmly. "How do I look?" he asked.

"Dashing." she smirked.

As she said that, the sky above started to rain. Water poured from above, soaking all that is below it.

They both quickly ran towards the barn, seeking shelter from it.

"Well, there goes the outside…" murmured Shani.

"It's fine, still has the barn." said Mikael.

She looked at the sky above them, and cursed. "Rats. It's almost midnight. Listen, I'll leave you alone for a few, as a bridesmaid I need to be there for the capping."

"What's a capping?"

"It's a ceremony for the bride." she said. "Anyway, you could just watch the ceremony, see you later."

"Alright."

Shani then quickly kissed Mikael's cheek as she ran towards the inside, rushing towards the bride.

—

A man stood in the platform of the barn, smacking a metal plate with a spoon, he looked around, and the guests got quiet.

"The midnight chime has struck, the capping time's a-come!" he announced. "What thoughts in young hearts prance, what dreams make young blood run?"

He then threw away the spoon and plate, and the bridesmaid started to gather in the middle, where a chair rests, and on top of the chair, the bride.

Shani saw Mikael in the corner of the room, leaning casually against a wall. She smiled at him, and he threw a smirk at her.

"Be they nice, be they vice, of jesterly or lordly stance!" continued the man on the platform. "Out they'll come in this hour's dance!"

The bridesmaid then started dancing. They circled around the bride, and sang a song that was foreign to Mikael.

♪Toast the lovely couple, then give 'em a few weeks,

And we'll toast their lovely bairn with its pale and puffy cheeks♪

Shani then followed the other bridesmaids to dance, jumping around the bride as the song continued.

♪Don't you mind our song, we don't sing to be unkind.

We sing so we can empty yet another stein.♪

The mother then entered the circle, bringing a white cap towards the bride. She took the garland that is on the bride's head, put it on her lap, and put the white cap on her head.

♪Bride's sworn love eternal, bridegroom best beware,

Or she'll make you a cuckold in the comin' year!♪

The mother then kissed her daughter, and whispered something to her, before exiting the circle, letting the bridesmaids dance to their heart's content as they sang.

♪What's the groom a-thinkin', a storm upon his brow.

Must be second guessin' if he'll get that cow!♪

The other guests then shouted something along the line of 'Garland! Garland! Garland' as the song continued, and the bridesmaid still circling around, dancing and singing.

♪You'll get the cow, lad, the bull, the calf, the hay.

So drink and be merry, 'tis your wedding day!♪

The bride then threw the garland on her lap to the back of her, and the garland landed on top of Shani's head, the guests clapped, cheered, and whistled, before the mother spoke again.

"As hallowed tradition holds, whoever caught the garland shall be next to wed!" she announced, pointing at Shani.

The crowd continued to cheer as Shani stood there in embarrassment. She looked at Mikael, who was also clapping along with the crowd, and chuckled at him warmly, before shrugging, as she didn't know what to do.

Mikael just shrugged too, as he didn't know how to interpret the tradition.

—

Mikael was not sitting with Shani once again, this time, Shani was leaning on his shoulder, her garland still on her head, sitting tiredly as the bride and groom danced on the floor. Mikael was looking at them, smiling as he did so.

Shani notices it, and questions it. "You alright?"

"Hm? Just… happy, is all."

"About what?"

"All of this," he said. "In my travels, I never really had fun like this, all I saw was just death, famine, monsters… it's just nice to just be relaxed like this and forget about my troubles. Thanks… for bringing me here."

Shani smiled at him, and elbowed him softly. "It's alright." she said as she sat up, drinking another mead from her mug.

She looked at the bride and groom dancing, and pondered too. "Mikael…"

"Yeah?"

"You think I could get married?" she questioned.

Mikael scoffed. "Is that even a question, of course you can."

"You think so?"

"I know so." he said. "You're beautiful Shani, you could choose all the men you want."

Shani just chuckled at Mikael's words, and went back drinking. "It's just that… the years're flying by, yet all I ever do is study, pump stomachs, and reattach limbs… all alone."

Mikael sighed at her. "I mean… you got me."

"Do I?" she said. "No offense Mikael, but I met you only half a week ago, I barely know you… and I don't even know when I will be called upon by the army again… don't get me wrong Mikael, you're sweet, the sweetest person I've ever met, but… my life… it's uncertain, I really want to get to know you… but, I fear that I will just be called upon by the army again, and separate from you, making me start all over again."

Mikael hummed. "I get it, but why don't you just refuse the call? It's not like it's mandatory, is it?"

"I don't know… probably?" she said.

"Probably?"

"I never asked… but, it sounded mandatory…"

"Wait, so you mean, you never asked if you could refuse?"

"Well…" Shani chuckled nervously. "But it's not like I could refuse… they need my help Mikael, thousands of men are dying out there."

"And many more will die, Shani." he answered. "It's useless to support an army for war, you're just going to prolong it. It's better to just stay in a village, or a town that has minimal medic, and take care of them, that way, you're saving families, instead of supporting an army that kills families.".

"We're defending from an invasion Mikael." Shani rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but the point still stands," he said. "If you can just refuse, then refuse. It's as easy as that."

"And then what?"

"Then you'll get to know many people freely," he said. "Instead of just sticking with a one-armed one like me."

"Come on Mikael, have some faith in yourself." scoffed Shani as she rested her head on his shoulder once again. "You're sweet, many women will like you."

"You think so?"

"I know so." she giggled. "I mean, I like you, a lot of women probably will too."

"Well that's great news."

"Just don't stick your rod to other women freely like Geralt…" she joked.

Mikael laughed. "Will do my sweet Rowan, will do."

Moonlit Lake

As Mikael and Shani were walking out of the barn, the latter a little bit tipsy as she had too much to drink, Shani suddenly held Mikael's hand, holding it tightly as Mikael escorted her back to Oxenfurt.

"Did you… enjoy the wedding?" she asked curiously.

He scoffed. "Are you kidding? Best thing that ever happened to me in this world."

"Yeah?" she smiled.

"Yeah, I mean, dancing, swimming, chasing pigs." he said the things he did one by one. "Not to mention a kiss from a fair maiden."

Shani giggled. "True, it's your reward for being the most gallant beau I've ever met… by taking my shoe from the pond."

Mikael laughed at her words, and continued walking. They then encountered the bride's daughter and the groom talking to each other.

"You needn't worry about our finances, sir," said the groom. "My workshop? Business is boomin'."

"Good." the father sighed in relief. "I'm relieved to hear it. See, coin's tight at our end, but don't tell the old battleax. She'd be furious if she learnt I let it slip."

"Never you worry sir," said the groom calmly. "My lips're sealed as the grave. Us menfolk need to stick together."

"'Sir', 'sir', Hah! Enough o' that! I'm Vassy, but you can call me 'da'."

"Ohhh thank you, da. I feel honored. Let's drink on it!"

As the two father and son-in-low chatted, Mikael and Shani continued to walk, chuckling, amused by what they just heard.

"The family's bonding." said Mikael.

"That's a relief." Shani sighed. "I was afraid the wedding wouldn't happen at all."

"Money? Status?"

"Both." Shani answered. "John's family didn't like the fact that Aldona's family is poor."

"They clearly love each other though." stated Mikael. "But… When do parents care about that? Am I right?"

Shani chuckled sadly. "Yes… unfortunately… my mother would've probably thought that something's wrong with me right about now…"

"What makes you think that?"

"I mean… I'm twenty two, and I still have yet to find a partner in life…"

Mikael chuckled. "That's bullshit, you don't have to marry your whole life if you want to. Shani, you've got a doctorate, your own clinic, and a bloody war medic. You're a good person, you don't need a husband to complete your life, not a thing is wrong with you.."

Shani smiled. "Really think so?"

"It's the truth," he said. "You live in the age where women could freely learn. If that's what you want to do, then do it, I'm sure your mother will be proud of you."

Shani chuckled in embarrassment. "Thanks…" she murmured. "But… I really do want to get married someday… What about you?"

"Me?" Mikael laughed as he heard that. They both walked towards the port of a lake, and glanced at the sight. "I don't know to be honest, I still need to think about what I will do in the future."

"Alright, fair enough." she said. She then looked around, and saw a rowing boat just sitting idly on the shore. "Say… want to row for a little bit?"

Mikael just chuckled. "Sure, I'll push it."

Shani then looked around again, and saw a bottle of wine, practically full on the edge of the deck. "Oohh, wine, it's full too. Let's take it."

—

As Mikael was rowing the boat gently with his only arm, Shani was admiring the full moon shining on the sky. The light was reflected on the lake, making it look like the moon was inside the lake itself.

"Row me to the moon~" she sang, taking a sip from the wine bottle in hand.

"Knew a song like that." Mikael commented. "Except it's 'fly me to the moon'."

"Yeah? Care to tell me the song?" she said, interested in the topic.

"Nah, can't sing." shrugged Mikael. "Besides, we're on top of the moon already." Mikael commented as he touched the water below him, the moon reflection was below the boat, shining the water faintly.

"Well you look at that." Shani giggled, drinking another sip of wine. "You have a strong hand, able to bring me to the moon like this. Using only one arm I might add."

"I have peculiar talents." Mikael chuckled.

"So…" Shani passed the wine bottle to Mikael. "Even though you don't know the future yet… you could at least tell me your plans for the next month, right?"

"For the next month?" Mikael hummed as he sipped the wine. "I'll probably just find jobs around Oxenfurt until I have enough money to buy a horse."

"Then?"

"Dunno." Mikael shrugged. "I suppose I'll get to know you more while I plan out the future…"

Shani chuckled as she blushed. "You sure you want to get to know me more?"

"You're certainly the most interesting person to be around so far," said Mikael calmly. "But that's not much though… as I really ever knew Vesemir, Geralt, and you."

"Wow, you have a lot of acquaintances." she rolled her eyes.

"I know right?" Mikael laughed self-mockingly. "I really need to make friends…"

"Well I'm sure you'll get to know many people in the future." she smiled, taking the bottle from Mikael and sipping it. "Some might know 'more' about you."

Mikael chuckled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." she giggled. "You said to me that I could pick any man I want. Well, you're the same, you could probably pick any woman you want and they'll happily hop to your bed."

"Well, I don't know… knowing a woman like you will probably make my tastes unrealistic," he said casually.

She scoffed. "What's so great about me?"

"Well, you play gwent. That is enough to make me put you on the top of my list." Mikael laughed, making Shani kick him jokingly, fake-annoyed by it.

"Seriously though, what do you like about me?" she questioned.

Mikael just looked at her Hazel eyes gently. "Well, for starters, you're nice to me, so that's always a plus…"

Shani just rolled her eyes. "That's the bare minimum."

Mikael chuckled. "Well, I just like your ideals… your perseverance in helping people, you don't see it based on their skin or race or gender or nationality, that's what I like about you. Today you'll help Redanians, and tomorrow, you could help Nilfgaardians, your loyalty isn't to a banner or anything else, your loyalty is to living beings. A dangerous and naive ideal in this world, but that's what I like about you, you stick to it, yet you know the world is against you. I couldn't possibly be like that."

"Well, I wouldn't say that my loyalty is to living beings…" she murmured, her cheeks flushed. "I just… don't like to see people suffering. And if I could help them, why shouldn't I?"

Mikael smiled. "Exactly. That's why I like you. If possible, I would like to protect that, but if not, I understand… we have different circumstances after all…"

Shani was a little bit surprised at Mikael's words. She stared at his icy blue eyes as she noticed that he looked… serious, unlike she had ever seen.

"I–"

"Let's go back." Mikael smiled, pushing the row backwards towards the port once more. The trip towards the trip was silent, Shani was staring at him, trying to read his icy blue eyes carefully.

—

As they landed on the shore, Mikael helped Shani get off the boat without making her boots wet. It was quite awkward, but Mikael looked like he was not bothered at all.

"I'll walk you to your clinic." he said, but Shani didn't move, she just stared at him deeply.

"I– do you– are you serious?" she said, didn't really think of what to say.

"About what?" he questioned.

"What you said, a couple minutes ago." she continued.

"I mean…"

"Mikael… we just met." she said calmly. "I know we spent practically the whole night and day together, but still, we just met."

"Hey, I'm often a good judge of character." he shrugged. "Look, if you don't want to take my words seriously, then don't."

"Are you serious?" she chuckled dangerously. "You just don't say something like that suddenly and expect me to treat it like a joke."

Mikael sighed. "Look, maybe I said something out of bounds a little bit–"

"A little bit?"

"Well– Okay, what do you want me to say?" he asked. "The point is, I just wanted to know you better… I think you're a charming, smart, and beautiful girl, and I was hoping that this could be much more…"

He sighed, and he rubbed the back of his neck, confused on what he wanted to say. "I'm not good at this…"

"Clearly." she said, rolling her eyes.

"So… Can I get a second date?" Mikael chuckled nervously.

Shani stared calmly at his icy blue eyes, and sighed. "I'll think about it."

"A-Alright, that's enough for me." he smiled.

The two then walked away from the port, but then Shani stopped.

"You okay?" questioned Mikael.

"I forgot something." she murmured, her cheeks flushed a little bit. "You go on… I'll go home alone tonight."

"Are you sure? The road's kind of–"

"It's fine Mikael." she said. "I'm a big girl, I can protect myself."

Mikael sighed. "Okay, just stay safe."

Shani hummed, and walked away from Mikael, walking to the barn once again.

Mikael watched as Shani walked away from him, and cursed.

"Fuck."

—

Shani ran to the barn, scouring every corner of the place. "Shit… where is it?" she cursed. She looked around some more, and remembered that she had sat in the corner of the barn with Mikael earlier. She ran towards the spot, and saw the bench she sat on.

As she looked at the bench, she sighed in relief as she walked up to it. "Thank the gods it's still here…" she murmured. She took something from the bench, a simple stuffed pig. It looks dirty, probably got soaked by the rain, but it's fine for her.

She hugged the stuffed pig tightly, and exited the barn once more, going home to her clinic.

Family Matters

A cloaked man riding a young mare was approaching the gates of Oxenfurt. He wore a pitch black cloak, his face hidden beneath the cloth, but he couldn't hide those white hair of his, if any man or woman looked closely, they could see his catlike eyes, a wolf medallion dangling around his neck.

As he arrived at the Redanian checkpoint, he was stopped by a a redanian guard, blocking his way.

"Halt!" said the guard. "Permit?"

The man hummed roughly, as he dismounted his horse. He took off his hood, and his face was on full display. A couple of peasants that were waiting in line gasped in horror as they saw who he is… or rather, what he is.

"A witcher." sneered the guard. "You've a permit, freak? You don't have it? Sod off."

The witcher then opened his horse's pouch, and took out a scroll, before giving it to the guard.

The guard roughly snatched it from the witcher's hand, and read the content of it.

As the guard read the scroll, he scoffed, before giving it back to the witcher. "We'll be watching ye, mutant."

The witcher once again hummed roughly, and quickly mounted his horse once again, entering Oxenfurt casually as peasants and guards alike spit at him.

The witcher then slowly traveled through the streets of Oxenfurt, the hoofs of his mare echoed, and the pedestrians moved away from him.

Then, he arrived at a tavern in Oxenfurt. He put his mare in the stable, and entered the tavern calmly.

As he entered, the activities of the tavern stopped, and looked at the Witcher in unison.

Some sneered, some spat, some just looked away, but the witcher could tell that the place was quite hostile.

The witcher just gruffed, and walked to the corner of the room, sitting alone by himself. He then opened a map, it was the map of Oxenfurt, and he scanned it.

But then, a man suddenly approached him, knocking the table to get his attention. "What do you want?" the man asked.

"Give me rye." the Witcher said, without seeing the man. "But I must say… from an inhuman swordsman to a waiter in a tavern? How far you have fallen."

The man scoffed as he sat in front of the witcher. "Not a waiter idiot, I'm just buying you something."

"Then pardon me for my misunderstanding." the witcher said sarcastically.

"Whatever." continued the man, rolling his eyes. He stood up, and quickly got two mugs of mead and brought it to the Witcher's table.

"I said Rye." the Witcher reminded.

"Rye's empty," said the man. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I thought you're clairvoyant?"

"You want to know the answer to that?"

"Honestly, I don't wanna know." the witcher said as he drank the mead. "I'm looking for a girl, Tamara, a baron's daughter."

The man hummed. "Don't know her."

"Really useful, Mikael." the witcher rolled his eyes.

Mikael just shrugged. "Just being honest, Geralt."

Geralt just sighed, and put down his mug. "You know someone who might know?"

"I do." answered Mikael, Geralt taking a sip of his mead again. "You know her, Shani."

Geralt choked on his drink as he heard the name. "Shani's here?"

"She lives here." scoffed Mikael. "The academy, remember?"

"Right…" coughed Geralt. "You know her place?"

"You don't?"

"Well…"

"Of course you don't." sighed Mikaael. "How many times have you fucked her Geralt? Yet you still don't know her clinic."

"She has a clinic?"

"Know what? Nevermind…" Mikael stood up as he walked away from Geralt. But then, he stopped as Geralt was just sitting there. He turned again, and asked the witcher. "You coming or what?"

Geralt just sighed, and stood up, before following Mikael outside the tavern.

—

As they neared Shani's clinic, Mikael stopped Geralt for a second. "Now Geralt, a few ground rules before I knock on that door."

"What rules?"

"Well… a week ago, me and Shani had a somewhat awkward parting, and I barely talked to her afterwards… so, I appreciate it if you don't flirt with her or insinuate things other than your… task…"

"You're interested in Shani?" chuckled Geralt.

"Well, it's complicated." sighed Mikael. "Anyway, promise me Geralt, otherwise I'll have to use my compulsion on you…"

Geralt frowned. "Fine, not planning on it anyway."

"Splendid." smiled Mikael innocently as he walked to Shani's clinic once again. He knocked on the door.

Couple seconds of waiting, there was no answer.

Mikael knocked again, still, no answer.

"What happened with you and Shani?" questioned Geralt curiously. "Feels like she doesn't want to open the door because of you."

"No, that's not true." scoffed Mikael. "It's probably you."

"I did nothing wrong." Geralt snorted.

"What about Vizima?" smirked Mikael, making Geralt surprised a bit.

"How do you–"

Before Geralt could say anything, the door opened, revealing Shani, her hair a little bit messy, probably just woke up, and she was frowning.

"Hi." said Mikael nervously, chuckling to not make it awkward.

"Really? You disappeared for a week and just appeared out of nowhere now?" she raised her eyebrow at Mikael.

"I thought you needed some time… to think about it…" murmured Mikael.

"Well, thinking about it while worrying about you doesn't help." she rolled her eyes. She then turned to the man beside Mikael, and was surprised to see a man she knew long ago.

"Geralt?"

Geralt smiled, or at least tried. "Nice to see you, Shani."

Arm

As the three entered the clinic once again, Shani quickly went to her room, changing her clothes to a more proper one, while Mikael and Geralt sat down in the living room, Geralt looking around, quite curious about the place.

Not a minute later, Shani came out of her room in her usual attire, minus the necklace of course. Shani looked at Mikael, to his missing arm, and frowned. "How long since you cleaned that?" she asked sternly.

"Err… A while?"

Shani groaned as she quickly gathered a bottle of spirit and some cloth, while cursing about men and their hygiene.

Shani just looked at him, and told him to sit down. She opened his bandages, and started cleaning.

"So, what brings you here Geralt?" asked Shani as she cleaned Mikael's eternal wound.

Geralt, clearly amused by the sight, paused a little, then answered her question. "I'm looking for a woman."

"Surprise, surprise," said Shani sarcastically.

Geralt coughed in embarrassment. "The name's Tamara, she should be living around here somewhere."

"Tamara? I know her." she said, a bit surprised about the statement.

"Mind telling me her address then?" Geralt asked.

"What for?" Shani asked, She cleaned Mikael's wound too roughly and made him flinch. "Calm down, don't be such a baby." she scoffed.

"Well, her father's looking for her." Geralt continued, soaking the entertainment that is Mikael under the mercy of Shani.

"That beast of a father?" Shani snorted. "No way I'm giving her to him."

"I just want to know her condition." Geralt continued. "I won't force her to go back."

"Well, if it's just her condition, she's fine." Shani answered, she dropped the cloth to a bowl as she finished, and wrapped Mikael's eternal wound with bandages again.. "Anything else, Geralt?"

Geralt sighed. "Listen Shani, I need to talk to her, I need to know her mother's location."

Shani just stood up calmly, and put the bowl away. "Fine… but you need to promise me that you won't harm her."

"I promise," said Geralt flatly. "Like I said, I need to find her mother."

"I'll write the address for you." Shani then walked up to her desk, and started to search for paper and some ink.

Meanwhile, Mikael stood up, and looked around as Geralt and Shani talked about the address. Then, he spotted something, it was a 'thing' that was covered in dirty cloth, as long as an arm, but there was no way of telling what it was at all. Mikael approached the thing, and wanted to take a peek.

"What's this? Never seen this one before" he asked Shani loudly.

As Shani turned to him, her face writhed with panic a bit. She practically ran to him, and grabbed the 'thing' quickly, away from Mikael. "Oookayyy… you're not supposed to see that."

"Well, what's that?"

"It's for later." Shani said vaguely, quickly hiding it in her lab. "Anyway, you need something else Geralt?"

Geralt was leaning against the wall, clearly amused by the two's antiques.

"Well, I would love to have a chat for a while." he said. "But, a certain someone has… forbid me to do so." Geralt continued as he looked at Mikael.

Shani raised her eyebrow in amusement to Mikael, and chuckled. "Anyway, it's nice to see you Geralt. If you want, you could come here tonight. Me and Mikael will cook dinner."

"We are?" questioned Mikael.

"We'll talk after this." Shani whispered to him and kissed his cheek quickly. "In the meantime, you can do whatever you're doing with Tamara."

"Sure." Geralt chuckled in amusement. "Enjoy your time you two."

Geralt then quietly got out of the place, leaving Mikael and Shani alone.

Shani then turned around, and looked at Mikael, arms crossed. "So, Mister Mikael the gallant, mind explaining why you never contact me for a week?"

Mikael sighed. "Like I said, you said you needed to think, so I gave you space." he said, sitting on the chair. "Besides, I need money, I worked my arse off this past week, just barely have enough money for a horse."

Shani frowned. "So you're leaving?"

"What? Why?"

"You said you'll leave after you have a horse." she commented calmly.

"Well, not really, I'll probably just go to Novigrad, not ready to move to another kingdom to be honest."

"Then that's good…" Shani sighed in relief. "Because you owe me a second date."

Mikael smiled warmly at her as he heard that. "Sure, where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking… Novigrad."

"Well that's quite far away, but alright." shrugged Mikael. "Anyway, what's that thing that you hide just now?"

Shani sighed. "Should've hidden it better to be honest…" she murmured as she retrieved the item that she hid from the lab, and took it to Mikael.

She took off the cloth, revealing a prosthetic right hand, made of leather. It was quite a cheap looking prosthetic, rushly made, but it looked functional nonetheless.

"I asked a friend of mine if he could make a prosthetic arm quickly… and this is the result…" she chuckled nervously.

Mikael took it, and tried it on. He quickly tied the prosthetic into his missing right arm, and felt comfortable with it.

Shani looked at the arm worriedly. "Look, I know it doesn't look good at all, I could probably ask him to add somethings to make it more nicer, but it'll take–"

"This must be expensive, Shani." Mikael commented. "How much is it? Let me–"

"Stop right there Mikael." she said, her eyebrows raised. "It's a gift, you don't have to pay for anything."

"But–"

"Accept the gift for once, would you?" she said, clearly annoyed.

Mikael stared at her beautiful hazel eyes, before leaning for a kiss. His lips met hers gently as Shani was surprised by his sudden action, but a welcome surprise nonetheless.

They kissed gently for a few seconds, before separating with a smile. "Thank you… Shani, truly."

Shani was still a bit shocked, and blushing a little. "Y-Yeah… it's fine really…"

Mikael then inspected the fake arm, he felt something, like it was supposed to be like this.

He frowned as he felt tingles in his Eternal wound. That tingle sensation spread to the rest of the fake arm.

"That's weird," he commented.

"What's weird? Anything wrong with it?" questioned Shani worriedly.

"Nothing, it's great, wonderful… it's just…" then, when he thought of moving the arm, it actually moves, like an actual arm.

"Ookayyy…." Shani was a bit scared at the display. "Prosthetics don't usually move… right?'

"Well, yeah…"

"That's…. Weird…"

"I can move the arm itself." he said, moving the prosthetic like a normal arm.

"Okay, stop it, that's creepy." she said, grabbing the prosthetic. But then she felt something, she felt like her skin had touched rot.

"Oh rats." she cursed.

"Rot?" he questioned, he grabbed her hand, and absorbed the rot. He looked at the prosthetic, more specifically, the inside of it.

There, he saw some kind of small branches, connecting his flesh to the prosthetic. "Huh… the rot makes this some kind of branch? Veins? I don't really know… but it makes me able to control the arm… well, just the arm, can't control the hand, cause it's a fixed shape."

"That's interesting." Shani commented, also observing curiously. "You should study this curse/gift of yours more later."

"Will do. But… need your help obviously… if you want though."

Shani just smiled. "I'll be happy to help."

Tamara

As Geralt approached a small house near the Oxenfurt house, he saw that the house was quite tidy and proper. There were flowers outside the window, furniture seemed new, and the paint was quite fresh to look at.

He knocked on the door softly, baiting for a response. He could smell a man inside, smoking a tobacco as he watched the door in front of him.

Geralt gruffed, and knocked again, trying to get a reaction from the man.

Again, the man just puffed his tobacco, and watched the door.

"I know you're in there." said Geralt in annoyance. "Open the door."

The man didn't move whatsoever, instead, he puffed on his tobacco again, watching the door closely.

Geralt was about to knock again, but then, someone touched him on his shoulder, making him turn around.

"Not gonna work mate." said the man, it was Mikael, now wearing a prosthetic in his right arm, so people won't judge him for having only an arm.

"When did you get that?" questioned Geralt.

"Just now," he said casually as he walked to the door. He knocked it, and this time, spoke. "Voytek sends us, we're here to meet with the bloody baron's daughter."

Finally, the man stood up, and opened the door. He examined the two men, one's a witcher, and one's a cripple, a peculiar duo.

"Voytek send you, sir?" he repeated again.

"Said we'll find Tamara here." answered Mikael.

The man nodded, "Wait a moment. I'll fetch her straight away."

The man then walked upstairs, fetching the woman.

"Who's Voytek?" questioned Geralt curiously.

Mikael shrugged. "How should I know?"

Geralt just looked at him weirdly, and the two entered the place, sitting besides the table.

On the table, there was a tabby cat, sitting lazily on it. Geralt then sat as he stared intensely at the cat, cat-eyes meets cat-eyes, and they waited for Tamara.

Mikael was watching the scene in amusement as Geralt's eyes narrowed at the cats, but then, Tamara came down the stairs, wearing a leather coat.

"You're looking for me?" she questioned as she came down the stairs. "And who might you be? My father send you?"

As she arrived downstairs, she saw Mikael sitting casually on the chair, and commented. "You're the one who killed the beast in the sewer?"

"Know about me?" Mikael was surprised.

"Of course. The witch hunters are talking about you, saying the incredible feat you've done as a human."

"Right…"

Tamara then turned to Geralt once again. "So? My father send you?"

"Yeah, he sent me to check if you are alive or not, I'm Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher."

"Well, as you can see Geralt of Rivia the Witcher, I'm quite alive and extraordinarily well, better than I've ever been in this rotten life of mine. And now that you've seen me, I bid you farewell."

"Wait–"

"We've nothing more to talk about." insisted Tamara.

"Listen Tamara. I don't blame you, your father's a vile man, and you're angry."

"Why do you help him then? Why did you take his job?" she questioned.

"He knows something about someone dear to me. Promised me to tell her where she is if I found you and your mother." Geralt answered.

"A witcher? Has someone been very dear to him?" sneered the woman. "But I get it, blackmail, just his style. You've found me now, go tell him I'm alive and never coming back."

Geralt sighed. "Alright…" he murmured. "But… Can you tell me more about your mother?"

Tamara turned sad at the mention of her mother. "We… were riding towards the river. Suddenly, mum cried out, bent over, almost fell off her horse… I rode up to her and saw something strange, her hands were on fire."

"On fire?"

"Yes! And then that creature leapt out of nowhere! I don't know what it was, but it roared so fierce my nose bled. I saw it topple trees! I've never been so scared in my life! That… that thing grabbed mum and disappeared into the woods, I wanted to turn back! I really do! But the horse panicked! Now I don't even know if she's alive…"

Mikael then turned to Geralt, and the witcher felt his gaze and directed the gaze towards him. "Know anything?"

"Sounds like a magical contract if you ask me." shrugged Mikael. "Hands on fire, a creature forcefully captured her… signs are clear…"

"True…" he murmured. Geralt turned to Tamara again. "Have your mother contacted any magical beings?"

"Not that I know of…" she murmured. "Wait… magical contract? What are you talking about?"

"Well, she might've asked something from a magical being, and in return, she'll serve them." answered Geralt. "That's how it usually goes."

"Well, there's one time that she traveled south towards the crookback bog…"

Geralt sighed. "The Ladies of the Wood…" he murmured.

"The what?"

"Three old Witches lived in the Crookback bog. There's an orphanage there ran by an old woman, that's probably your mother… though there is only one way to prove it."

"What?! She lives?!" Tamara exclaimed. "I must go there at once and get her out!"

"Wouldn't recommend venturing into the swamp," said Geralt.

"No, I won't let anyone talk me out of it." she insisted.

"You realize that won't be so easy, right?"

"Don't worry, I'm not daft." she said. "I've got powerful friends, they'll help me."

"Witch hunters?" Mikael added. "Your clothing's a dead giveaway."

"Yes." she turned to him.

"What about your father?" questioned Geralt.

"He can go fuck himself as far as I'm concern." she scoffed.

A man then suddenly entered the house. He wore witch hunter clothing, with a high ranking badge in full display on his chestpiece.

"A witcher?" chuckled the man. "Never thought the baron would stoop so low to hire a monster slayer to find his daughter. Though I heard you're good at tracking things."

"And you are?" Geralt questioned.

"Graden." the witch hunter answered. "Witch hunter in the service of his royal majesty Radovid of Redania. I'm certain you've heard of us."

"Of course, I couldn't exactly miss the burning pyres outside the town," said Geralt casually.

Graden sighed. "If the bloody baron sent you to fetch his daughter, you'd best give up, you will fail on your task."

"I appreciate your concern, but Tamara can make her own decisions, and she already decided." Geralt gruffed.

Graden was a bit surprised. "Hmm… noble of you. A killer for hire abandoning his bounty for the good of another. The hunters and the church of the eternal fire thank you."

Geralt hummed. "Where are you gonna take her?"

"She must rest. Let the warmth of the Eternal fire recover her. After that, we shall see to it that we will find her mother."

"Alright." Geralt nodded. "Then, I'll be taking my leave."

Geralt and Mikael stood up, and exited the place.

"Wait!" shouted Graden, and the two turned once again. "You, Mikael the one-armed, I had some business with you."

Mikael raised his eyebrow. "What about?"

"Well, seeing we're on the topic, we're gathering a team to track Tamara's mother." continued Graden. "Now the hunters are a bit short-staffed as of now because of some… cleansing back in Novigrad."

"And?"

"I want to offer you a job," said Graden. "Seeing that you've proven yourself as a capable human monster hunter, I want to hire you to join the team."

"To track Tamara's mother? But she's already been found." said Mikael innocently.

"What?" Graden turned to Tamara, and she just nodded. "Crookback bog." said Tamara.

"W-Well, that's a marvelous revelation, then I want you to join the extraction team," he continued. "Surely a place would be filled with dangerous creatures other than drowners and hags."

"You're hunters, I thought you're a capable organization?"

"As I said, we're a bit short-handed right now…"

Mikael just sighed. "I'll think about it."

"That's good enough for me." nodded Graden. "We will find you again once the time comes, so think thoroughly about it."

"Sure, whatever." shrugged Mikael, and walked away with Geralt from the house.

They walked through the Oxenfurt port, didn't talk to another, and they were walking towards the tavern.

"You're going to our dinner tonight?" questioned Mikael.

"Nah, it's fine." Geralt said. "I'll leave you two alone. Seems like she's happy with you, I know what she's looking for in a man, and I'm not one of them, not going to approach her, rest assured."

"Yeah… she wants a guy who can settle down…" said Mikael. "I still don't know about settling down, but I'll think about it."

Geralt hummed. As the two entered a tavern. Both of them sat down in the corner of the room, and ordered Rye.

"So, what've you been doing since white orchard? Vesemir's doing alright?" Geralt questioned curiously.

"Don't know about Vesemir, I split off with him in Tretogor, as for me, I'm doing fine, done a couple of jobs here and there, almost enough to buy a horse."

"Wait, you don't have a horse?"

"Of course I don't." scoffed Mikael.

"You could just steal one, you know."

"You? Recommending me to steal?" chuckled Mikael.

"Well, sometimes if you're desperate…"

The two then catch up with each other in the empty corner of the tavern, drink in hand. They talked, joked, and laughed, like good ol' friends do.

Witch Hunters

Another week has passed since Geralt arrived in Oxenfurt, and as soon as he found Tamara, he quickly traveled back to Velen to report on the baron.

Meanwhile, Mikael bought a horse, a black young mare he named Ebony. She has a strong gallop, Mikael could barely hold on as she ran.

Right now though, it was the middle of the night, Mikael was now in Shani's clinic as he usually is now. Outside, it was raining heavily. A thick fog surrounded the streets of Oxenfurt, and a chill wind sipped through the window of the clinic.

Mikael and Shani were sitting in front of a chimney, looking for warmth as the fire crackled, producing smoke that exited through the chimney.

In the shadows, Shani's face was close to Mikael, her sitting on his lap, he could smell her unique herbly fragrance of her hands as she ran them through his red hair, her sweet tongue inside his mouth. In all truth, Mikael didn't expect this, he was just staring at her, admiring her hazel eyes, her short red hair, her flushed cheeks, but he didn't consider that Shani suddenly hopped on his lap, plunged her tongue into his mouth, kissing him deeply as she touched every corner of his body.

Shani slowly unbuttoned his white shirt, and she touched his chest, his stomach, admiring the curves of the abs fully. As Mikael kissed her back, she blossomed like a flower, her hips grinding on his lap, and Mikael's one arm around her perky bottom.

Mikael then suddenly carried her, and slammed her body to the sofa that they were sitting on. Shani felt a sense of helplessness, laying on the sofa as Mikael was on top of her, yielding to his warmth as Mikael unbuttoned her doublet slowly.

Mikael then parted his lips from hers, sending wild tremors along Shani's nerves, evoking a sense of longing and frustration that she never felt before.

"What's wrong?" she questioned in worry.

"You sure? Are you drunk right now?" questioned Mikael.

Shani rolled her eyes in amusement. "No Mikael, I'm not drunk, I'm horny, it doesn't help that you're staring at me the whole night…"

Mikael just chuckled at her words, and he leaned towards her face once again. Shani felt a sense of giddiness spun her around as she kissed him back, grabbing his cheeks to make them closer than ever.

Shani then felt a cold sensation on her stomach, it was Mikael's hand, running down from her stomach. As Mikael's hand entered her white trousers, towards her flower, she moaned as she felt his fingers in her vagina, and she instinctively trapped his hand between her thighs as she sucked his finger deep inside her.

But then, a loud bang was suddenly heard from the door outside, it was a rough knock, either full of desperation, or full of annoyance.

"W-Wait–" Shani gasped, trying to hold her moans. "S-Someone m-might need h-help."

Mikael then separated from her, his fingers pulled out from her. Shani, again, felt a sense of frustration, but she threw it off and sat up.

"Would you check who it is? I- I'll need to calm myself down…" she murmured, her cheeks as red as it could be.

"Sure..." Mikael said as he stood up. He hid his boner by arranging it in his pants, before walking to the door.

The door banged loudly again as Mikael approached. "Wait!" he shouted, so the man behind the door won't knock again.

He then quickly opened the door, revealing a witch hunter, standing in front of the door. Soaking wet from the rain.

Mikael then grumbled. "What do you want?"

"Knew you'd be here." said the witch hunter, it was Graden. "Been looking everywhere for you, listen, have you decided?"

"Decided what?"

"The job." continued Graden. "We're quite desperate right now, so we really need your help."

Mikael sighed. "When's the job?"

"Tomorrow morning." answered Graden.

"Tomorrow?!" exclaimed Mikael. "And you tell me now?! In the middle of the night, it's bloody raining right now hunter!"

"Well it's hard to find you, cripple!" Graden refuted in annoyance. "I've been looking everywhere for you today, if I didn't find you in this place, I would've given up."

Mikael sighed. "Look, just wait for me at the gate tomorrow morning, if I don't show up, then I'm not taking the job."

"Fine." grumbled Graden. "But if you decide to come, don't be late, early morning."

"Great." smiled Mikael. "Now fuck off."

Mikael then slammed the door in front of the witch hunter's face, and sighed in annoyance.

Mikael just walked back to Shani, who was making some tea for them.

"Who's that?" she questioned.

"Witch hunter." scoffed Mikael as he sat down.

"In the middle of the night?"

Mikael snorted. "You tell me."

Shani then brought some tea to them, she put it on a table beside them, and sat down on the sofa once again.

Shani gave a cup to him, before taking one herself.

"What do they want?" she questioned.

"Offering me a job." Mikael answered, staring at the crackling fire in front of them.

"You want to take it?"

"Don't know yet." shrugged Mikael. "It's in the Crookback Bog, no doubt will involve Geralt in it."

Shani hummed. "I mean, if the pay's good… you should take it."

"You think?"

"Sure. i don't want you to crash in my clinic every night." teased Shani.

"You asked me to stay." scoffed Mikael. "But fine, I'll find a place for myself."

"Hey, I was joking." Shani rolled her eyes. "Don't find a place just yet."

Mikael hummed. "Fine, I think I'll take the job," he said. "Probably be out of town for two, three days."

Shani smiled. "Then be careful, don't want to see you full of wounds the next time…."

—

Mikael was now riding his horse, Ebony, towards the gate of Oxenfurt. There, he saw a small team of Witch Hunters gathering around the gate, waiting for something.

As Graden saw Mikael approaching, he sighed in relief, and approached him. "It's good that you chose to take the job."

"Nothing else to do really." shrugged Mikael as he dismounted Ebony. "Ready?"

"We're gathering supplies a bit, then we'll depart."

Mikael nodded, and leaned on the gate wall, waiting for the others to finish their duties.

Once all is said and done, Mikael and the other witch hunters mounted their horses, before traveling to Velen, to Crookback Bog.

Crookback Bog

As the sun shines on the depressing land called Velen, a group of witch hunters were traveling through the rough roads of the land, slowly traversing the muddy grounds below.

Mikael was among them, and he was riding his horse besides the baron's daughter, Tamara. He looked at her, her face looked sullen and tense as they got closer and closer to the bog.

"You alright?" questioned Mikael.

Tamara turned to him, and nodded weakly. "I'm alright, just… I left her… alone in that bog for so long…"

"Not your fault." Mikael stated. "You couldn't do anything."

"I could." she refuted. "If only I had just chased her–"

"There's no point in fighting a monster." Mikael cut her off. "You'd be dead if you tried."

Tamara sighed, and clenched her fist tightly, looking hatefully at the lands around her. "If only… if only that deadbeat of a father didn't drive us away from him, didn't do the things he did to us… mother would still be safe now, and my childhood wouldn't be ruined."

Mikael looked at her, her face filled with rage. "That bad huh?"

"Worse than you think." she said. "All the screams at night… the bruises mum has after a fight… it was hell incarnate."

"Must be tough for you…" said Mikael sadly. "What's the last straw, if I may ask?"

Tamara looked at the sky above her, and explained to him. "That night… mother got into a fight with father… At that point, I'm used to the shouting and furniture breaking… but, that night it turned to so much more… Father pushed mum from the stairs, she was pregnant at that time, and that act alone made her misscariage."

"That must be tough for her…"

Tamara shook her head. "Later that night, she said to me that she's better off without the baby… she didn't want to bore any more seed from that vile man… I was shocked… I don't know if she meant it or not, or she's just clenching into her last bit of sanity…"

"Damn…"

"Which brings us to now…" she continued. "We devised a plan, and ran off. On the way, as you heard, we were attacked by a beast, taking my mother away from me."

She took a deep breath, and her expression looked firm. "Now, I'm going to take her back."

—

They have now arrived at the Crookback Bog. The witch hunters are now preparing to traverse the untamed land, sharpening their swords and axes, readying themselves. They're resting first in a village nearby, Mikael saw that the witch hunters hanged a couple of men for heresy for some reason, Mikael was here for a job however, he didn't have the right to intervene.

Shortly after, they finally moved towards the bog, with Mikael leading upfront, alongside Graden.

The smell of the bog was nasty. The smell of excrement, corpses, and a mix of a smell that Mikaael didn't recognise were permeating around the place. The water was murky, muddy, and the bog had a thick fog, making visibility hard.

"Cursed land…" murmured Graden as he tried to move his boots from the mud. "Definitely where witches would hide themselves."

Mikael hummed as he heard sounds from his surroundings. He unsheathed his Ofieri curved sword, and warned the others. "Watch out for drowners. They're around us."

Graden frowned, and also unsheathed his sword. The others did the same, and finally, the drowners approached them.

"Get in formation men!" Graden shouted.

Mikael quickly covered Graden's mouth, and shot an annoyed look at him. "Are you mental? You want to bring more monsters to us by shouting?"

Graden coughed in embarrassment. "Right… pardon me."

Mikael then stepped up, he saw about three drowners. He held his curved sword tightly in his left hand, and approached the drowners aggressively.

Mikael slashed one in half as he neared them, and the other two drowners rushed at him. He rolled to the side as the drowners were close to him, making the two drowners slammed against each other, and after that, he stabbed both of them at once, killing the smelly drowners instantly.

Mikael turned to the witch hunters, and cleaned the blood on his sword. "Right, let's continue."

The witch hunters just nodded meekly as he said that.

All of them then quickly went through the bog, killing drowners along the way. As they got close to the orphanage, Mikael saw that it was overrun by Drowners and Hags. Tamara frowned as she saw that, and looked at Mikael.

"That doesn't look good."

"Doesn't look good indeed," said Graden. "Let's clear the area first."

All the witch hunters nodded, and they all quickly rushed towards the drowners, killing them one by one.

It was quite a lot, the drowners were easy to deal with, but the hags were not. Some witch hunters got hurt by the mud that the hags threw at them, throwing them away and disarming them.

Mikael however, quickly gets rid of them. The hags' heads were all over the place, decapitated by Mikael quickly once he saw one of the witch hunters almost got killed.

"Damn, are the witch hunters really that unreliable?" said Mikael sarcastically.

"Watch your mouth cripple." warned Graden. "Or the Eternal fire shall burn your tongue until it turns to ash."

Mikael just rolled his eyes, and said. "Whatever."

Soon enough, another group suddenly rushed towards the orphanage, helping the witch hunters kill the monsters nearby. It was the baron's men, dressed in brown armor, and among them, is a witcher, Geralt of Rivia.

"Witcher?! Change your mind?! How much did my father pay you?" Tamara sneered as she sheathed her sword, and the place has been cleansed from monsters.

"Don't think you have anything to fear, brought your new friends with you." said Geralt, approaching Tamara.

"I have no fear, for the Eternal fire protects me!" she answered.

"Tamara!" shouted a fat man wearing red armor. "You're with their kind now!? I thought you've returned! But bringing these witch hunters?!"

"Stay away from me!" she roared towards the man. "I've come for my mother. Unlike you, I would not see her rot in this swamp."

"Why the hell do you think I'm here?" the man gruffed. "To take her home."

"Oh you'll do no such things, you'll not lay a finger—"

As the two bickered loudly, Mikael approached the biggest house in the orphanage, Geralt saw what he was doing, and approached him.

"You think this is it?" questioned Geralt.

Mikael shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

He then approached the door, and roughly kicked the door open, making the hinges go out of place. The others turned to him, curious about what he's doing.

"Let's go." Mikael said to Geralt.

The two then entered the room. It was dark, and smelled horribly, Mikael took an unlit torch near him, and gestured at Geralt.

Geralt noticed the gesture, he rolled his eyes, and used an Agni sign to the torch.

The fire lit the entire room, revealing what's inside it. There was a painting of three witches in the middle of the room, and beside it, a strange looking hag, groaning painfully on the ground.

As Mikael entered the room, the hag stood up, her saggy tits dangling nastily as she did that, revealing a hideous face.

Behind Mikael and Geralt, Tamara suddenly pushed them away, and she took a look at the monster, before dropping to the ground, not knowing what to make of it.

"Witcher… A-Are you saying this is mother?" she stuttered.

"I… don't know." Geralt said. "But from the looks of it, it is…"

Tamara just stared at the hag, the hands of the hags trying to reach Tamara, groaning in pain. Tamara just cried softly as she stared at what became of her mother. The fat man did the same, he leaned his head against the wall, crying quietly.

Mikael just looked at the corner, and noticed that there is a trapdoor there. He elbowed Geralt, and pointed at it.

Geralt frowned, and both of them approached the trapdoor, opening it.

"What's in there?" suddenly questioned Graden.

"Dunno." answered Mikael. "Let's check."

The three of them then entered the trap door. And below them, they saw an altar, along with 5 bloody dolls on it.

"By the Eternal fire… never seen this many before." commented Graden.

"What's all this?" questioned Geralt.

"The trappings of a black magic ritual." Graden explained. "Witches weave human hair through dolls they first curse. They gain a grasp on individuals' souls this way."

"And how do you know all this?" questioned Mikael. "Or are you secretly a witch, Graden?"

"From tomes on black magic." snorted Graden. "Recently, we decided it might be wise to read them first rather than burn them."

"Careful, might corrupt you." said Mikael sarcastically. "Anyways, I'm assuming these items woven into the dolls mean something."

"It's supposed to symbolizes the individuals that was cursed." continued Graden. "These feathers and flowers represent them."

"So, we take one of them?"

"I'll not risk it." Graden said. "If you pick the wrong doll, it might do worse to Anna than now."

"You know her, Geralt?" questioned Mikael.

"Know a couple of stuff from the baron." he said, putting his hands on the altar.

He looked at a doll that has a doll on it, and hummed. "This is interesting."

"That's just a flower?"

"Not just any flower." Geralt commented. "A violet hollyhock. Baron once told me it was Anna's favorite flower."

"Perhaps it's that then." Mikael said. "Then take it."

Geralt nodded. "I'm sure it is. Taking it." Geralt then took the doll with the flower from the table.

Then, from upstairs, they could hear a painful howl and shriek, making Graden panic. "Quick! Upstairs!"

The three then went upstairs, where Tamara was now crying in front of her now normal mother as she massaged her forehead.

"Mum! You're back." Tamara sobbed. "All will be well, you're going to be fine."

The mother shook her head meekly. "No Tammy… I'm dying…"

"You're not well, ravin', doesn't know what's happening." the fatman suddenly said in the corner, approaching them. "You're weak, you must rest."

The mother shook her head desperately. "No, listen to me… the crones… I was to be their beast to the end… forever… you broke their spell, but now I must go…"

"Wh-What's she talking about witcher? What've you done?!" Tamara questioned Geralt as he approached.

Geralt frowned. "Hmm… it was rigged from the start. Their curse is a death sentence… looks like there's no way to lift it, at least not in the way that Anna would live. We broke their spell temporarily, but as she said…"

"-She was to be their beast forever." continued Mikael. "And now that she's not a beast anymore, she'll die."

"W-What?! Witcher, surely you could fix that?!" Tamara pleaded.

Geralt shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but there was no way."

The mother then looked at the fatman and Tamara. "It's good… to see you together…" she smiled warmly at them, making Tamara hug her tightly.

The fat man then hugged them too. "I'm sorry Annie… for everything… I'm sorry…"

As they separated, the mother caressed Tamara's cheeks and smiled. "Tammy… Please… remember me like I used to… not like this…"

As she said that, the mother fell to the ground, devoid of life, making Tamara shriek in sadness.

Meanwhile, the others gave them space, walking away from them.

"I thank you," said Graden. "They had a chance to say goodbye, that was your doing."

"I honestly don't know how to think of this." Mikael said. "Geralt, did you tell her something when you met her before?"

"What are you saying?" questioned Geralt.

"I'm saying that she might be like that because of your choice." Mikael answered.

Geralt thought of it a little, and frowned. "Did something to save the children, away from the Crones…"

"That must be it then." nodded Graden. "In the end, she sacrificed her life for the children of this cursed place."

Geralt just looked at the crying Tamara calmly, sighing deeply.

Mikael patted his back. "I honestly think you made the right choice." Mikael said. "Those children deserve to live."

"I'm a witcher Mikael." Geralt said. "I'm used to making tough choices. You don't need to comfort me."

Mikael hummed. "Just trying to be nice mate… just trying to be nice…"

But then, suddenly, the entire place turned foggy, weird voices started to come out from the swamp, making the others alert.

"W-What was that?" Tamara questioned, still sobbing.

"The crones probably sensed us." Geralt commented as he unsheathed his silver. "Ready your swords."

Mikael then unsheathed his curved sword, holding it tightly in his left hand.

As they got ready, monsters from the swamp suddenly approached the orphanage in numbers. Drowners, Hags, and worst of all…

"There's a fiend." said Geralt.

"What's a fiend?" questioned Tamara.

"Dangerous and huge creature." Geralt took a stance, looking around the area. "It can hypnotize you, be careful. And make loud noises, they hate 'em."

The witch hunters gulped and nodded. Soon enough, a large fiend suddenly appeared from the swamp. Its head is of the bone of a moose, and the body of an unknown beast. It roared at them, so loud that it made Tamara's ears bleed.

"Watch out!" Geralt shouted. The fiend charged at them, using its horns as a means of a weapon.

All of them dodged, rolling around the swampy terrain. The witch hunters then focused on the small drowners and hags, while Mikael and Geralt faced the fiend.

They circled the beast, it was growling to the two, as it tried to think on who killed first.

The beast then turned to Mikael, and it opened its third eye at him.

"Wrong target." said Mikael as he rushed at him, its hypnosis didn't work, and Mikael stabbed its third eye using a silver dagger that he had on his waist.

The beast shrieked in pain as Mikael inserted a small amount of rot in the wound. He pulled the dagger, the eye stuck at the knife.

He then stepped back, grabbing the sword once again, side-stepped, before slashing the throat of the fiend.

It was useless however, Mikael's sword isn't strong enough, and the sword bent as it touched the thick skin of the fiend.

Mikael clicked his tongue, and dodged the claw of the beast, and threw the sword away.

"Geralt! Give me your steel!" he demanded.

"What!? No way! You broke your own sword!"

"It was standard grade!" he refuted. "Come on, just give me yours!"

Geralt cursed under his breath, and charged at the beast. He used his silver to slash the back leg of the Fiend, making it turn to him.

There was a small window between all that. Geralt threw his steel in the air, the sword floating in the air for a few moments above the beast, and Mikael took the opportunity.

He jumped, using the body of the fiend as a head start, and grabbed Geralt's steel. He quickly unsheathed it, threw away the leather, and gracefully landed on the Fiend's head, before stabbing it with the sword.

The sword didn't break, it impaled the fiend's head, killing it instantly.

The beast whimpered on its dying breath as the fog around them dispersed, the illusion ending. The drowners and hags ran away from them, effectively ending the battle.

"That was intense…" Mikael said as he rested his body on the fiend.

"Fortunately, my sword is not broken." Geralt gruffed as he pulled out his sword from the head.

"You're welcome." Mikael rolled his eyes.

Graden then walked up to them, his eyes narrowed. "That was an incredible feat," he said. "It's almost like you are more than human."

"I know your trick witch hunter, you want to burn me alive because you don't want to pay me." scoffed Mikael.

Graden frowned even more. "We are not oathbreakers, a deal's a deal."

"Then I'm glad that the witch hunters aren't entirely corrupt." Mikael smiled innocently as he jumped from the fiend.

After that, Mikael got his money, Geralt traveled back to Crow's perch to get his pay with the baron, and Mikael went to Oxenfurt, ending the job.

Novigrad

In the roads leading to Novigrad, a man and a woman were seen riding a black mare calmly as they soaked in the sighed of the land of Velen. The shine was shining brightly on the sky, the birds were flying in pairs, and the flowers bloomed around them as the sound of horse's steps echoed around them.

The man and the woman were of course Shani and Mikael. They were riding towards Novigrad, as they both had business here.

"Honestly, you have a clinic, but don't have a horse?" Mikael questioned in annoyance.

"What? Don't like me riding with you?" snorted Shani.

"Don't get me wrong. It's romantic." said Mikael. "But uncomfortable… very uncomfortable… not to mention… poor Ebony carrying two people on her back…"

"Are you saying I'm fat?" frowned Shani.

Mikael rolled his eyes. "It's two people Shani, me plus you on her back equals heavy."

Shani huffs. "Fine, I'll buy a horse after this trip. Honestly, you're such a babe, it's just a few hours ride…"

The two then finally saw the sight of the free city of Novigrad. They could see smoke rising from the city, the walls standing toughly, ships coming and going from the port, and the smell of piss and shite could already be smelled in that distance.

"A charming city." Mikael commented.

"A good city to trade." added Shani. "But not to live."

The two then slowly approached the gate of Novigrad, where again, lines of refugees were long, as the war was still going strong.

Mikael and Shani went pass through the line, earning frowns and curses by the refugees.

"Has it always been like this when you passed those gates?" murmured Shani to Mikael's ear.

"Just ignore them, Shani, they're desperate…" Mikael answered. "Although, I don't know why people would go to this city to seek refuge."

Mikael and Shani then arrived at the checkpoint. He dismounted, leaving Shani on the horse, and walked to the guards.

"You've got a pass?" questioned the guard.

"Here." he said, giving his and Shani's pass, all stamped by the department of civil defense.

"You've come from Oxenfurt?" the guard asked.

"Yeah, something wrong with that?"

The guard shook his head. "What's your business 'ere?"

"She's a medic." said Mikael, pointing at Shani. "She needs to buy some supplies."

"And you?"

"I heard there's a master blacksmith in the city." he answered, pointing at his right prosthetic arm.

The guard hummed, and turned around. "Let them in!"

Mikael then hopped onto Ebony again, Shani's arms wrapped around his waist, and they continued to the inside of the city.

Once inside, they arrived at the square of the Novigrad, where they could see burnt pyres in the middle, corpses of burnt men and women were on the pyres.

Shani frowned, and looked at the pyres sadly. "I do not like this city one bit."

"Me neither." Mikael said calmly. "Let's just go."

They continued as Ebony walked through the 'rich' area of Novigrad, they passed around people that were wearing cloaks, see beggars sitting around the corner, and rats running around.

Then, they arrived at an inn, it was the Kingfisher inn. Mikael tied Ebony in front, and helped Shani get off of her.

"Where's this supplier you're talking about?" questioned Mikael as both of them entered the inn, opening the door.

"He's in the slums.name's Klugh." she whispered to him.

"What are you buying anyway?" questioned Mikael.

"Some rare herbs that mages used.." Shani said casually. "I want to study their property, who knows, might react to your rot."

"Herbs that mages used?" Mikael frowned. "Shani, if you get caught–"

"Don't worry about me Mikael, I'm used to this." Shani rolled her eyes. "I used to do this all the time."

Mikael sighed. "Just be careful."

The two then walked towards the innkeeper, who was cleaning some mugs on the bar. The innkeeper turned to them, and questioned. "Need anything?"

"Two bedrooms please." ordered Mikael, but that earned an elbow from Shani.

Shani just smiled. "Actually, one will do." she said, making Mikael look at her in confusion.

The innkeeper raised an eyebrow, and hummed. "How long?"

"A week or so." she continued.

"That'll be 300."

Shani took a pouch of crowns from her bag, and put it on the bar.

The innkeeper took the pouch, and threw Shani a key. "It's up the stairs, first door to the right."

"Thank you." Shani said, before turning around and grabbed Mikael's hand.

"One room?" questioned Mikael.

"Saves coins." she stated.

"Where will I be sleeping then?"

Shani groaned. "On the bed. Where else?" she answered. "It's not like you've not touched me Mikael."

The one-armed man just chuckled. "Just making sure Shani, just making sure."

Both of them then walked up the stairs, entering the room they rented.

They looked around. It was a cozy room, carpets on the floor, some cupboards, perfect for the price.

"This looks nice." hummed Shani as both of them dropped off their things. "Anyway, I'll go ahead now."

"I'll come with you."

Shani rolled her eyes. "I can go by myself Mikael, besides, you've got to find someone right?"

"It's Novigrad Shani, thugs're everywhere."

"Nope, Like I said, I can go by myself." Shani insisted.

Mikael sighed. "Fine."

Of Arms and Dumplings

Near the busy port of Novigrad, there was a dumpling shop, run by an elf. It was a humble place, only one table upfront, and a normal kitchen inside.

The door was opened from outside, and Mikael could easily enter the place. He looked around, the table was quite messy, dough and meat everywhere, dried herbs were hanging on the wall, and the smell of dumplings was definitely tempting.

He entered the place, no need to knock, as the owner of the place was already in the kitchen, cutting some vegetables as water was boiling on the stove.

"You sell dumplings?" questioned Mikael casually.

"Right you are." said the elf, not turning to Mikael. "Redanian dumplings, speciality of the house! Heartily recommended!"

The elf then turned to Mikael, knife still in hand as he smiled at Mikael.

"Then I'll have a couple." hummed Mikael as he sat on the stairs beside him, waiting for the elf to cook.

"Coming right up!" the elf said. But, as he turned, he noticed something from Mikael's waist.

"Is that an Ofieri blade?" questioned the elf in surprise. "That looks like the standard grade of the army! You came from Ofir?"

"No, I stole it off a corpse." said Mikael, shrugging.

"Oh…" the elf chuckled nervously. "A rare one to see here, how long is that? 40 inches?"

"Never checked to be honest…" Mikael murmured. "Maybe?"

"Hmm… maybe longer…"

"Are you a sword expert?" questioned Mikael casually.

"Ah, indeed I am." he said proudly. "Eibhear Hattori, at your service."

"Mikael." the one-armed man introduced himself. "If you're a sword expert, why make dumplings?"

Hattori laughed a bit as he heard that. "Believe it or not, friend, making dumplings is more profitable than blacksmithing here, and besides, food vendors rarely disappear or end up as cripples… er… no offense."

"Well that's unfortunate." sighed Mikael. "Someone's controlling the smithing market?"

"Not officially, no… although, all supplies go through Ernst Van Hoorn, and they say he plays cards with Cleaver… frequently."

"Don't know 'em." shrugged Mikael. "Why don't you just move then? Go to Oxenfurt… or everywhere else for that matter."

"The coin's tight on my end." chuckled hattori. "Haven't got a coin to move. If I could, I would."

"Okay… then maybe negotiating?" Mikael said. Hattori then came with his dumplings, he placed it on the table near Mikael, and Mikael took one, eating it. "Damn, this is good…" murmured Mikael as he quickly finished that one dumpling.

"Van Hoorn is a heartless bastard." scoffed Hattori. "I either will play by his rules, which is often full of trickery, or not get it at all."

"How about for someone else?" Mikael continued. "Not a local… so don't really know if there's any crime boss in this area." he lied.

"Those rats control all of the sources. Unless…" he then turned to Mikael, hope in his eyes. "Would you be able to help me?"

"Me?" Mikael raised his eyebrow. "What makes you think I could help you?"

"Ofieri soldiers are no joke," he said. "If you could kill them, surely you could beat a couple of thugs. Just come to a meeting, as my bodyguard, It'll bolster my confidence. Truth be told, not so long ago, I tried negotiating some iron deliveries with one of the king of beggars' men."

"Again, don't know them." shrugged Mikael.

"He's another crime boss in this area… it's just, he demanded a stupid large share of the profits. I thought you might help me negotiate… not for free of course, I'm certain we can agree on a fee."

"A fee?" hummed Mikael as he ate another dumpling. He looked at his leather prosthetic arm, and asked. "Could you make prosthetic arms?"

"Prosthetic?" Hattori questioned. "Sure I could do something, perhaps I'll add a little bit more to it too."

Mikael sighed as he stood up. "Alright, I'll help you, I don't know why you would trust a stranger like me… but, a job's a job, the pay's good anyway."

Hattori smiled. "Splendid. Meet me after dusk, near the crane at the dock."

—

As the sky turned dark and the night had come, Mikael was now walking through the now empty Novigrad dock. It was raining heavily, thunder lit up the night sky occasionally as Mikael walked through the now empty dock of Novigrad. He was wearing a black cloak, preventing his body from the rain that was pouring, and as he neared the crane, he saw the elf, waiting for him nervously below it.

As Hattori saw Mikael approaching, he sighed in relief, he probably had thought Mikael had abandoned him.

"Greetings Mikael. It's nearby, ready?" he questioned.

Mikael nodded. "Lead the way."

The two then walked together through the dock, and then turned around to an alley beside a warehouse. The whole way, Hattori looked nervous, his hands shaking a bit.

"Calm down." Mikael said. "It'll be fine, what do you know about the guy?"

Hattori peaked at Mikael, before looking straight again. "Not much, his name is Tinboy, he's quick to anger, so be careful. We need him more than he needs us."

Hattori then opened a door at the very end of the alley, towards an empty and small street, where a group of men were waiting.

They walked up to them, Hattori still nervous.

"I thought you were to come alone, elf?" Tinboy questioned Hattori. He then turned to Mikael. "Who're you?"

"A friend." said Mikael vaguely.

"Eh, fine. Here's how we see things. The boss're not friendly with Cleaver, so there's gotta be a pay-off. We've got an offer, and it's not negotiable."

"Just say the offer."

Tinboy frowned as Mikael said that. "A steady supply of iron in exchange for fifty percent of your profits."

"You mental?" scoffed Mikael. "twenty percent."

"Who are you to dictate anythin' to the king of beggars? Thirty-five's as low as we'll go."

Mikael sighed. He then smiled, Tinboy's eyes seemed dull for a second, before coughing weirdly in front of Mikael.

"Not gonna happen." Mikael said. "Twenty. Plus bodyguards. This guy's a genius if you haven't noticed."

Tinboy gulped weirdly. "Twenty plus bodyguards? I-"

"Yes or no?" Mikael cut him off.

"W-We don't have a lot of men…" he murmured.

"Then find a merc or something for Hattori." Mikael rolled his eyes. "He'll pay for them."

"I– oh alright… if you say so…" murmured Tinboy, earning confused looks from his comrades.

"Tinboy, wha' are you doin'?" said a man.

"It's fine, he's right, the guy's a genius." Tinboy answered. "We could make a lot of money from his product alone."

Mikael then offered his left hand to Tinboy. "Deal?"

"D-Deal…" Tinboy murmured weirdly.

"Then we're done here." nodded Mikael as he turned towards Hattori, who was surprised by the outcome of the negotiation. "What?" he questioned.

"I do not want to know how you did that…"

"Didn't do anything." shrugged Mikael.

But then, the door behind them suddenly opened. And a group of dwarfs wearing red clothing entered the street.

"Oh, Tinboy, too much drink. It's softened your bloody mind. This 'ere's Cleaver's territory ye prick-whitler!"

The dwarfs then ready their axes, and so Tinboy and his men. Hattori cowered in fear as he saw that a battle was about to ensue.

The dwarfs then screamed on the top of their lungs, before lunging themselves at the men in front of them.

Mikael grabbed one of their axes as one of them ran towards him, stopping the dwarf in place, before kicking the wide and short dwarf to the wall, making cracks on it.

As the axe was still in his hand, Mikael threw the axe to another dwarf. The axe then was buried deep to a dwarf's skull, killing him instantly.

He then ran towards the now dead dwarf, retrieving the axe quickly, before rushing towards another dwarf.

The dwarf screamed like a berserker, bracing himself on what was about to happen. As Mikael raised his axe to the sky, he then slammed the axe to the dwarf, the dwarf tried to block it, but his weapon quickly broke as it got in contact with the full force of the axe, and once again, his head was split open by the sheer force of Mikael's axe.

Mikael then pulled the axe from the dead dwarf's skill roughly, the dwarf's brain coming out like liquid, and he stared at the rest of the dwarfs, seemingly terrified with him.

"M-Monster!" the dwarf shouted. Some of them ran towards Mikael, for one last fight, while others ran away from him, trying to stay alive.

Mikael sighed. He dropped the axe, and unsheated his sword. He jumped towards the dwarf, his body seemingly floating for a good second, he launched at the dwarfs, swinging and dancing away, avoiding the axes, and hitting the dwarfs in the vital spots.

He danced majestically with his sword as the rain was pouring, the dwarfs quickly fell one by one, their bodies minced to pieces, blood was flowing on the street, the smell of death permeating around the place.

Hattori was seeing all of this. He had never seen such a thing in his entire life. It was like a dance of death, the wails and screams of the dwarfs echoed inside Hattori's mind. To him, Mikael was like the grim reaper, and as he watched his movements, he made a note about what weapons that could be suitable for him.

As Mikael finished, the rain was pouring heavily from above. His red hair was dripping water mixed with the blood of the dwarfs, around him were corpses, cut to pieces, the road was soaked with blood, and the sword in his hand broken.

He then turned to Tinboy, who was also afraid about what he had just seen, and said. "Don't forget about the deal."

"I-I'll not forget it." stuttered Tinboy. "T-The bodyguards will be sent soon."

Mikael just smiled. "Good." he turned to Hattori, and gestured at him to follow him. "Let's go Hattori."

The elf nodded and followed him. He walked beside him, looking at Mikael with curiosity.

"If you want to say something then just say." Mikael stated.

"N-No.. I just– thank you." Hattori said. "I definitely wouldn't have done this without you."

"You probably could." shrugged Mikael.

Hattori just chuckled, and said. "Come to my place next week, your prosthetic arm and sword will be finished."

"But I didn't ask for a sword?"

"But I wanted to make one," he said. "For you. It'll be an honor to make a sword worthy of your skill."

Mikael just smiled at him. "Then I shan't refuse."

Meanwhile, with Shani…

Several hours before the slaughter of Cleaver's men, Shani was walking through the streets of Novigrad, she was wearing a dark red cloak, as many people wore here.

She was now at the square again, only just exited the Kingfisher inn, the smell of burning hit her nostrils instantly, making her frowned instantly. She walked to the square, there was a new victim this time, a young woman, or at least she looked young, who knows, a sorceress could change their appearances…

Shani watched as the sorceress was burned to death in front of a large crowd. The commander of the temple guard, Caleb Menge, was present, burning the pyre himself.

Shani just watched solemnly as the young woman wailed in pain as the crimson fire kissed her skin, burning her body.

She wondered, what if one of her acquaintances was burned at the stake like that woman… Geralt, as he's a witcher, a mutant as northman called it… Mikael, she loathed at the thought, she knew that he wasn't exactly a normal human… or Triss Merigold? Well… honestly, she wouldn't mind if it's her…

Shani just sighed as she walked away from the crowd, ignoring the wailing of the young woman at the stake. She ventured away from the square, the ground was now muddy dirt instead of stone blocks, and the smell of excrement hit her nostrils.

She walked through a small bridge, officially entering the slums of the city, she looked around, and turned left, towards a side river alley.

As she turned, she could already notice that some people followed her. She clicked her tongue, and quickly walked towards a building at the edge of the alley. She entered the place, it was her connection's place, Klugh.

She was greeted by the guy, who looked like he was afraid all the time.

"Hello Klugh, you have my things?" she questioned.

"Y-Yes…" he stuttered. "Quite hard to get this one. you see, I was walking through–"

"Honestly Klugh, got no time for your stories." said Shani. "There are thugs following me around it seems."

"Thugs?" Klugh's face paled. "And you entered this place while you were being followed? Do you want me to get killed?!"

"It's fine Klugh, it's just thugs, not the temple guards…" Shani tried to calm the man down.

"But— what if—" Klugh then continued to blabber about his safety to Shani, which made her roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Klugh, need to go quickly, stay safe." she said as she threw the pouch of money to the guy, and grabbed her things. She quickly exited the door, and walked away from the house.

Again, she noticed that several people were following her, but she also noticed that a woman was also following her, which was strange.

She continued to walk to the 'rich' area of the city, but her path was quickly blocked by a couple of thugs. She turned to the left, to an empty alleyway. She knew it was a bad idea, but there was no other way, perhaps she could jump around the fence of the alleyway? Worst case scenario, she had to fight, she needed to use her basic combat knowledge that she learned in her war medic days…

As she was cornered, she sighed. She cursed at herself, should've accepted Mikael's offer, but what's done is done, and she needed to to fight, or at least jump around the fence.

She got ready to sprint towards the tall fence, and ran towards it. She almost made the jump, she grabbed the edge of the fence, only for her leg to be grabbed by someone, a thug. She turned to look, it was a man, lust filled his eyes. Shani then kicked his face as she tried to get away, and it made him release her leg.

"This bitch!" the man cursed as he massaged his face. Shani then kicked his ball, making him fall in agony to the ground, wailing in pain.

She quickly ran away from the man, passing through a couple of thugs. At some point, her cloak was grabbed by a thug, untying it from her body, her redhead visible.

But she was stopped when her path was blocked once again. She cursed in her mind, and stepped back a little.

At this point, she was thinking of just rushing it, pushing the thugs away from her way and making a run for it. She almost did that, but then, a ball of fire suddenly attacked the two thugs in front of her, knocking them down.

"The slums aren't safe to travel alone for a young alchemist like you." said a feminime voice, somehow, Shani felt the voice was familiar, but before she could think of it, the thug behind her caught up, and was about to attack her.

Shani just dodged as the thug tried to bear hug her. Again, she kicked the thug's balls as she dodged, making the man wail in pain.

From behind her, there was another thug, but another fireball attacked the man, knocking him away from her.

Shani sighed in relief for a second, she turned around, only for her face to sour as she saw who had 'saved' her.

"You?" said Shani with contempt.

A woman walked towards her, she wore a simple hood, and she unhooded herself, so Shani could see her.

"Shani?" said the woman, also in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same to you, Merigold." refuted Shani. "This place isn't exactly friendly of sorceresses."

"What are you doing in Klugh's house?" questioned Merigold. "You didn't delve into magic… did you?"

"No." scoffed Shani. "I was curious."

"Well…" Merigold coughed awkwardly. "Just… be careful around Novigrad…"

Shani frowned. "Let's pretend this conversation never happened." she said. "But I suppose I should say thank you…"

"You're welcome." smiled Merigold bitterly.

Shani then grabbed her cloak back, and walked away from Merigold, who quickly hoods herself again, and walked away from the scene.