Old Story 4

Heloiza

[Days before the bloom]

Princess Heloiza Thyssen of Kovir was the second daughter of Esterad Thyssen, the previous king before Tankred. She was the older sister of Tankred, and a younger sister for Gaudemunda, who was married to the Duke of Creyden. Until now, Holiza had been without a husband, which was strange for a Thyssen family, as they were famous for marrying their kin to the kingdoms all over the continent.

That was soon to change however, when her brother tasked her to get to Nilfgaard, to find some suitors. But, when she was barely on the way, her entourage was raided by foreigners, her ship was boarded, all of her guards killed, only her remained. Strangely, she was brought home again, but they didn't bring her to her home in Lan Exeter, but to the dragon mountains up north. To her surprise, as she arrived, she was greeted by Redanians, Temerians, Rivians, in other words, proper nordlings. They looked like they were nobles, wearing good clothing, eating good food, drinking good wine.

She didn't know what was going on, why did these nobles kidnap her?

As she was brought to a rather shabby room, a noble walked inside the place.

"How's the room, princess?" questioned that noble.

The princess just frowned, she didn't say that this room is far from comfortable, but instead, she asked another thing. "Why?"

"Why what?" the noble said innocently.

"I am the princess of Kovir! Why did you kidnap me? Do you realize what you have done?"

"Oh, I assure you Princess. We do." smiled the noble. "All for the good of the north."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"We have an offer to your brother," said the noble calmly. "Let's hope that he accepts it shall we? Otherwise…"

The princess chuckled at the noble's words. "You are making a mistake. This is Kovir, not Redania, not Temeria, not Nilfgaard. We do it differently here."

The noble hummed as he walked back towards the door. "We'll see about that princess."

As he exited the room, he closed the door, leaving Princess Heloiza alone, pondering what had just happened to her.

—

[minutes before the bloom]

As Heloiza was writing in a book the nobles had given her for entertainment, the door of her 'room' was slammed open, revealing a disgruntled noble that brought her here in the first place.

"Why? Why won't he come?!" shouted the noble as he rushed towards the princess, grabbing her collar. "Are you even worth anything to the king?!"

Heloiza smirked. "I told you, you are making a mistake. In the eyes of royalty, you are dead."

The noble then threw Heloiza to the bed roughly, making her wince in pain.

"Those black ones are traitorous as well! They told us they would support us! Yet nothing!"

"You… this isn't about the north…" murmured Heloiza. "You just wanted to take the kingdom for yourselves…"

"Of course this isn't about the north! The north is doomed!" roared the noble. "Redania is ruled by a madman, while Kaedwen was acting like the target practice of the Nilfgaardians!"

"You are refugees! Why don't you just be one?!"

"We may be a noble princess, but we have no money." the noble gritted his teeth. "The war sucked us dry, and we are just ordinary peasants in Kovir if we have no money."

Heloiza laughed in the noble's suffering. "So you want power after all…"

"Well it's all doomed now." said the noble coldly. "Tankred clearly has shown no interest in saving you. Might as well use you for my own pleasure."

"W-What?"

The noble walked slowly to Heloiza. He touched her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "You're quite old for a virgin princess… not married for so long…"

"Do not touch me." Heloiza slapped the noble's hand, which made the noble sneered.

"Oh how will I enjoy this… I will let out all my frustrations towards you…"

Heloiza looked at the noble with disgust as he slowly undressed himself in front of her. "There is nothing noble about you."

As the noble took one step forward, suddenly, he heard a shout from the outside.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The man turned around, and frowned. He rushed towards the door, accidentally dropping a keychain to the floor. The noble slammed the door, and rushed towards the entrance of their cavern.

Heloiza quickly grabbed the key, and rushed towards the door. It opened, he looked around, no one's there. But then, sounds of screams came from the entrance, which made her gulp.

"Run! A monster!" a voice echoed throughout the cavern. The wailing and screaming continued as it scared the princess. She goes back to her room, while locking herself up with the key she just got.

She could still hear the screams from her shabby room. People were shouting for help before being cut abruptly by something, and she could smell rotting from the place, which made her want to puke.

Suddenly, someone tried to open the door, to no avail, as the princess locked it.

"Princess! O-Open the door!" said someone desperately, banging the door. It was the noble from before.

The princess didn't say anything. She just sat against the door, covering her ears, trying to stop the screams from coming.

"P-Princess! OPEN THE DOOR! P-PLEASE!!!"the noble roared once more, sounding more and more desperate. The princess won't budge, she just sat there, did nothing.

"PRINCE—" the noble screamed once more, but it was cut abruptly by something, and it turned into wails of pain from the noble. The noble kept banging the door, but it got weaker and weaker, and finally, it stopped.

The wails and screams stopped. The princess opened her ears, and gulped. She slowly unlocked her door with trembling hands, and once she opened it, she saw something horrifying.

She made a loud shriek as a literal skeleton fell to her body. She quickly took a step back, and the skeleton dropped to the ground. She took a deep breath, trying to fight her fear, and looked around. She saw the stones have turned to something else in front of her, only her room and beyond wasn't touched, but her room was practically at the end of the cavern, so there's not much left.

She was half curious, half scared when she saw the scarlet moss that plagued the cavern. She wanted to step on it, but something in her heart tells her not to.

Soon, she saw the scarlet moss slowly retreating from the cavern, staining the previous gray rocks into yellowish rock that looked quite nasty.

"W-What is this…" she murmured to herself as the moss kept retreating. As the moss retreated, she saw skeletons laying around everywhere. Steel swords rusted as it touched the moss, wood simply rotted.

Against all sense, the princess followed the retreating moss. On the way, she found more skeletons, all unrecognizable, the smell of decay still lingers in the cavern, to the point that it was almost unbearable to her. As she saw a little bit of light from the outside, a reddish light, she gulped, what would she find outside? Her savior? Her killer? Or simply nothing at all?

She slowly sneaked to the entrance, and what she saw was a magnificent sight.

A strange scarlet blossom in the middle of the forest, its surroundings defestated, she used to see the green grass of Kovir, but now, only desolate waste of dirt, dead trees everywhere, skeletons of humans and animals littered the ground in front of her.

But what cougar her eyes the most is the fire barrier between the dead trees, who are practically untouched by whatever the blossom is. The blossom moved a bit, making Heloiza flinched. The scarlet moss finally came to the blossom once more, the rot vanished from the surroundings.

Then, the scarlet flower slowly turned into butterflies. It was a truly strange yet beautiful sight. Thousands of red, gray, and black winged butterflies flew away from the flower, and the flower slowly disappeared.

The flower then simply vanished, turned to the butterflies from before, and from the flower, came a man, a red haired man, kneeling, with his sword as his only support.

The man coughed blood, which the blood quickly turned to smoke.

"Fuck…" the man groaned. "Not pleasant at all…."

The fire barrier in the middle of the forest then quickly disappeared, and the ones inside it rushed towards the red haired man.

"What did you do?!" a man wearing Koviri armor shouted at the man, but a trace of fear in his expression. "What about the princess?!"

"The princess?" the red haired man chuckled as he laid himself on the ground. He then pointed at the princess, which made her flinch. "There she is…"

The big man realized that the princess was there. He knelt in front of her. "Princess! Are you fine?!"

"Y-Yes… I-I'm fine… are you… Guldalm?"

"Yes Princess, I am honored that you know my name." nodded Guldalm. "Then our mission is successful."

Another man walked towards them, he bowed politely to the princess, and offered a hand. "Please, let me check your condition Princess."

"No need…" murmured the princess. "But… is that man… alright?"

She looked at the lying red-haired man, who looked exhausted.

"He will be fine…" said the mage. "Probably…"

"Probably?"

"Well… we just knew him… so…"

"Ah…"

Meanwhile, the princess saw a red-haired woman, trying to touch the man.

"Let me heal you." she said in worry.

"Nope, don't touch me." said the man weakly. "I'm fine, I'll recover for a bit…"

The princess then looked at the knight and the mage again. "You're here to rescue me?"

"We were sent by the king." nodded the knight.

The mage then looked at the cavern, and frowned. "Forgive me princess, I'll leave you to Guldalm for a bit, I need to check cavern…"

It was a strange day for the princess, she had seen horror for a few minutes, and she never wanted to see it again. She stared at the red-haired man, and vowed to either stay away from him, or make him Kovir's ally in the future.

A Letter for the Lady

[Ban Gleán]

It was a rough day for the Kaedwenean army in the fortress of Ban Gleán. General Voorhis's army were relentless, attacking the almost impenetrable fortress day and night, but fortunately, they were pushed back, as the Nilfgaardian's army retreated from the fortress. For now.

But Shani cannot rest. She relentlessly worked as a medic these couple of days, she was always covered in blood as she reattached limbs, covering wounds, and covered the dead.

"Bring me more spirit." Shani yelled to her assistant as she used whatever medical supplies they had to heal the wounded soldiers.

"Miss… just end me already…" said a soldier in front of Shani, who was literally bleeding to death, as his hand was chopped off.

"You'll live." said Shani seriously, covering the soldier's wound, slowly trying to stop the bleeding. "Just be strong."

"No miss… please…"

"Just… stay calm…" Shani murmured, her face pale, trying to ignore the plea of her patient. "You can live soldier, you'll see your family once again…"

"M-My family…" the man murmured weakly. "Ma… Pa…"

"Yes, you'll see your ma and pa. Just stay strong."

"I-I'm sorry ma…" murmured the soldier as he closed his eyes. "You'll never see me get married…"

"Shit!" Shani cursed as she saw the man wasn't breathing again. She did a chest pump to the soldier, trying to make him breathe again.

"Come– on—" she tried again and again, but to no avail.

Another woman, older than Shani, suddenly touched her shoulder. "Shani… let him go… he's dead…"

"No, no I could still—"

"Stop." repeated the woman. "You're just being harsh to yourself."

Shani just stepped back at the now dead young soldier as the older woman covered the man with cloth. Shani just massaged her head, clearly a bit upset. "Fuck… I can never get used to this…"

"You should rest," said the older woman. "I'll take it from here, you've worked too hard these past couple of days."

"No, I can still work."

"I insist Shani," said the woman sternly. "Don't over exert yourself."

Shani just sat on a chair nearby, and sighed. "Fine…"

She then stood up once again, still massaging her head because of dizziness, and she quickly cleaned herself using water in the corner of the tent.

As she got out of the tent, there was a bit of ruckus at the entrance of the fortress, which made Shani curious.

"Let us pass!" shouted a voice from outside the gate. "We brought men and supplies! And we have a letter for someone inside!"

"Where have you come from!?" shouted the commander on top of the gates.

"Are you blind?!" shouted the man outside the gates. "Can't you see?! Kovir!"

"Kovir?" the commander frowned. "Why are you here?!"

"I told you! We brought men and supplies! I also have a letter to deliver!"

"To whom?"

"Err… Lady Shani!"

Shani was baffled. To her? The other soldiers turned to her, also curious about what was going on.

"The medic?!" shouted the commander. "From who?!"

"Our boss!" answered the man. "Will you let us in or not?!"

"Show us your identification first!"

"Well, what do you want us to show?!"

"Your contract! To show us if you're really hired to support us or not!"

The man in front of the gate sighed. He took a scroll from his pouch, and showed it to the commander by waving it. "Here!"

"Throw a bucket!" shouted the commander. A bucket with a rope was quickly thrown, and the man in front of the gate took it, before putting the scroll in the bucket.

The bucket was pulled, and the commander read the contract.

"I, Mikael of Kovir, will hire 20 men of the Koviri Free Company to help support the fortress of Ban Gleán, with 50.000 Bizats for six months as its payment…" the commander murmured to himself as he read.

The commander turned to his right hand. "What do you think?"

"Let them in," he said. "Watch them carefully. Check the supplies. If it's good, then it's fine, we're in dire need of supplies anyway…"

"Never heard of this Mikael fellow…"

"Never heard of him either. But let's watch the men carefully."

The commander hummed. "Very well. Let them in!"

The gate then opened as the 20 men flooded to the fortress, bringing supplies of food, clothing, and medicine.

Meanwhile, Shani approached the mercenaries curiously. The leader of the group saw Shani, and smiled.

"Ah! You must be lady Shani, correct?"

"Err… yes. How do you know about me?"

"Master Mikael told me about you," said the man. "Not to worry, here's the letter."

Shani was even more weirded out. "Mikael… did all of this?"

"Well, he got a bit of fortune back in Kovir." smiled the man. "Anyway, pardon me my lady, it seems the men around here aren't too trusting of us, rightfully so, so I must insist on leaving you for a moment."

"S-Sure…"

The man then walked away from Shani. She then quickly walked towards her quarters, eyes of women looking at her with envy, which made her uncomfortable.

She quickly closed the door of her quarter, and sat down on her desk, before opening the scroll. She read the content of the letter.

"

Dearest Shani,

Are you well? I hope so, though I imagined you being quite stressed right now, tending to all of those wounded soldiers, and on top of all, I've never sent you any letter these past month, so I am sorry for that.

You must be confused right now on why I have the mercenaries escorted your letter along with some supplies… you must be wondering how I get all of that Bizats… well, it's quite a long story.

You see, I accepted a job for King Tankred of Kovir, can't tell you the content of the job inside this letter, but it was a big deal for the king. So, as soon as I completed the job, I was rewarded, handsomely I might add. Firstly, I was knighted. I am now Sir Mikael of Kovir, can't think of a last name yet, nor do I really care, but the point is, I'm a knight now, well, an honorary knight… I have no obligation to the kingdom, and was allowed to move freely.

Secondly, I was awarded a residence in Lan Exeter, quite a lavish home near the Lan Exeter academy, I don't really know what's the true price of this place, but it's quite expensive, on top of all, there are caretakers too, you might have met one by now, his name is Cildal, he was supposed to be the bodyguard of the house, but I sent him to you.

Lastly, and most outrageous of all, I've been rewarded with a medium sized glass workshop. Its products include wine glasses, bottles, window panes, and many more. So basically, I'm telling you that I am filthy rich right now…

A merchant has helped me setting this place up, I truly don't know how am I going to do this, but one thing's for sure, I'll give all the work to my assistant, his name is Citte, quite a peculiar name, but can't complain really, he's really efficient in his job.

You might have guessed by now, but King Tankred really wants me to stay in Kovir, well, honestly, I don't know yet, I still have things to do, so I will leave Kovir once my business is done here. Don't be mad, but I've encountered an acquaintance of yours, Triss Merigold. She was the one who gave me the job, and now, she's telling me that Geralt needed help in Kaer Morhen, which means, my next destination would be Kaedwen, so don't send a reply letter, by the time you accepted this letter, I'm already gone from Kovir.

On the bright side, you can introduce me to your mother now. I remember you said that your mother wants you to marry a wealthy person or with a good trade, well, I'm both now, so I guess there's that…

Jokes aside, I hope that you take care of yourself, take a rest once in a while, don't push yourself too hard, I have reminded Cildal to watch over you, if anything goes south in that fortress, his first priority would be getting you out of that fortress.

Once again, take care of yourself, I beg of you.

Sincerely,

Mikael

P.S. No, I did not have any sexual relations with that sorceress. I am not a redhead addict.

"

Shani just massaged her head again as she finished the letter. "I swear… if that hag…"

Shani stopped herself. It's childish to feel jealous right now. At least she knew that he was okay, and sounds like he had a busy month. She looked outside the window of her quarters, watching the mercenaries giving the supplies to the soldier.

She thought about introducing him to her mother, maybe, it'll work this time, she smiled at the thought. She rolled the letter, and put it on her desk.

Suddenly, Shani's day brightened a whole lot more.

A Stale yet Peaceful day

[A couple of weeks earlier]

As the sun shines dimly outside Mikael's new home, he is sitting beside the window, drinking tea that has been served by his assistant, Citte. Snow was falling outside, it was going to be one of those cold days here in Lan Exeter, and at the comfort of his new home, Mikael is getting lazy.

A knock came from the door of his study room. He turned his head towards the door, and spoke.

"Come in."

The door quickly opened, revealing Citte, bringing a piece of paper in his hand. "Master, Mister Ardan had agreed on the shipment count of the products."

"50% of the total production it is then." hummed Mikael. "Estimated Profit?"

"Around 500.000 Bizats every quarter of the year."

"Bloody hell…" murmured Mikael, massaging his forehead. "Right… the other 50%?"

"We distribute it to the local economy." answered Citte. "It has been going well, the public wants to buy glass products from the hero who saves their princess.."

"By the public, you mean nobility." said Mikael. "Alright, profit?"

"Around 300.000 Bizats per quarter of the year."

Mikael sighed. "Good work Citte, you can rest now."

"Pardon me Master, but someone wants to meet you." said Citte.

"Who is it?"

"Advisor Triss Merigold." answered Citte. "She said that she has important news to give to you. Your ears only."

"Let her in."

"Very well, master."

"Oh and Citte?"

Citte turned to Mikael once more as he wanted to close the door.

"After I've talked to Triss, call Cildal to my room."

"Will do Master."

Citte quickly closed the door, and walked away from the room. Mikael continued to gaze outside his window, people scarcely walking on the street, the canals are quite empty, he could only see that the Lan Exeter academy was quite packed, students running around the place, bringing scrolls and books, even though the weather isn't quite friendly.

Mikael sighed, it was a foggy breath, even though it's in the middle of the day, and he was in his room, it's still cold as hell. He drank his tea once more, and moved towards his desk. He took a blank scroll, and started to write something on it.

Suddenly, a knock came from the door once again.

"Come in."

The door opened, a certain redhead entered the room, the smell of strawberry and rose hit Mikael's nostrils.

"Looks like you've been busy." teased the redhead in front of Mikael.

"Hello Triss." said Mikael flatly, still concentrating on writing his letter. "What brings you here?"

"I've got news from Yen. They need our help back in Kaer Morhen." she informed him, she looks quite serious.

"Geralt found Ciri yet?" questioned Mikael.

"Yen said that he found a lead." Triss answered. "She said that they needed to lift a curse first, which might lead them to Ciri, and if it is the case, the wild hunt will go to Kaer Morhen."

"Where's Geralt now?"

"He's trying to retrieve the cursed fellow," said Triss. "Yen said that you owe Vesemir and Geralt a favor, and they wanted that favor now. "

"Sure, I'll be there." said Mikael.

Triss just hummed, and walked to Mikael, watching what he's doing. "What are you writing?"

"A letter." answered Mikael. "To Shani."

"Going to mention me?" teased Triss.

"Of course." said Mikael flatly. "You're the one who gave me the job after all."

Triss just chuckled as she sat in front of Mikael. "Speaking of which. How's your life going?"

"Honestly? Still annoyed that the king chose to knight me in front of literally everyone." grumbled Mikael. "And the most annoying part? It's not really political… he just wants to be 'grateful' to me for saving his sister."

"It's kings, what did you expect?"

"True…" hummed Mikael. "But hey, at least I'm not tied to this kingdom, I could leave wherever I want…"

"You're rich now, you don't really need to be a mercenary anymore, you know?"

"I know…" said Mikael, finishing his letter. "But… I was hoping for one last trip. All my life, I only knew about killing and wars… it's nice to finally have a home to go to, being lazy all day, tending to mundane tasks. Still, it's quite strange with this sudden change, I won't get used to this for a while, so, I'll depart again for one last time, before going home, ending it all."

Triss hummed as she stood up. "Well, good luck to you, Sir Mikael of Kovir. I won't depart for Kaer Morhen for a while, there's still things I need to do for the king, after that, I'll portal to Kaer Morhen at once."

Mikael chuckled. "Right, see you later Merigold."

Triss then left, leaving Mikael alone again in his study room. He took a sip of his tea once again, before taking another empty scroll. Cildal soon entered the room, answering Mikael's call.

"You call for me Master?" questioned Cildal.

"Yes Cildal." said Mikael as he finished writing on the new scroll. "Here, take this to the Koviri free company. Ask the money to Citte."

Cildal read the paper, and questioned Mikael. "What for Master? Ban Glean?"

"Yes, that's where Shani is." said Mikael as he gave him another letter. "Give this to her, buy supplies for them on the way, and once you're there, make sure she's safe. If anything goes south, you know what to do."

"Yes master. I'll depart at once." Cildal quickly got out of the room with the two letters, and Mikael just sat on his chair, drinking tea as the day kept getting more and more peaceful.

A Wolf's Howl

Mikael was riding lazily on his mare Ebony as he passed a village somewhere in Redania, when he noticed there's quite a ruckus in the middle of the village. There were people crying, and a man was being dragged from his house, a noose was trying to be tied around his neck.

"I didn't do it! I swear!" the man desperately trying to break free of the grasps of the villagers.

"Silence you monster!" the ealdorman spat. "You murdered little Tilly with your cursed hands and you still won't admit it?!"

"I did not murder Tilly!" shrieked the man in defense. "I am her uncle for gods' sake!"

"We will not hear of this!" The ealdorman didn't care about his plea. He just kept dragging the man to a tree nearby.

Mikael, quite curious about the situation, walked towards the group. "What's going on here?"

The ealdorman turned to Mikael. "This is none of your business outsider, move along now."

"Please!" shouted the man that was being dragged. "Please help me! I'm not guilty, I swear!"

"Shut your mouth wolf!" hissed the Ealdorman.

"Wolf?"

"Yeah! He's a werewolf!" shouted another man. "Killed little Tilly, poor girl…"

Mikael frowned, and jumped from Ebony. He took something from his pouch, and herb. "Well, if he's a werewolf, we'll know once he eats this," said Mikael.

"What's that?"

"Wolfsbane." answered Mikael. "It mitigates the werewolf symptoms, but also can detect if someone is actually a werewolf or not, because if he's not, the herb won't do anything to him."

The ealdorman frowned. "Are you sure it will work?"

"I know what I'm doing." snorted Mikael as he walked towards the dragged man. "Eat this, let me see if you're truly a werewolf or not."

The man then chewed the wolfsbane, and nothing happened.

"See! Am not a werewolf!" shouted the man. "You accused me of a crime I didn't do!"

"Then if you're not the werewolf, who is?" questioned the Ealdorman. "You're the one who's been found beside the body!"

"I was drunk!" refuted the man. "I was crying! But I passed out because I was drunk!"

"Excuses!"

"Stop!" shouted Mikael. "Let me find the werewolf for you. How about it?"

The ealdorman frowned. "We don't have any money, hunter."

"I'll do it for free, just give me some food or something."

"Very well hunter, thank you for your generosity." said the Ealdorman slowly. "If you found the wolf among us, bring me his or her head."

"Will do."

—

Mikael was now kneeling beside the corpse of Tilly. Her body was mangled, scratches around her body, and worst of all, her throat was practically missing.

"Hmm… wolf bite, definitely." murmured Mikael. "But… small teeths… a young wolf? Or a young werewolf?"

He continued to examine her body. "Again… small scratches… too big for a normal werewolf's hands…"

"I- It was Danny!" someone shouted suddenly. Mikael turned around, and saw a little girl, being silenced by her mother.

"Danny?" questioned Mikael.

"Betty, be quiet! The hunter's working!" shouted the mother. "Apologies… Betty's not always like this…"

"No no, it's fine. Please tell me about Danny."

"Tilly got into a fight with Danny yesterday…" murmured Betty. "She stole his necklace, saying that boys shouldn't wear necklaces…"

"That's enough Betty…" the mother scolded Betty. "Continue your job master hunter, please don't mind my daughter…"

"Ah… sure…" murmured Mikael. He turned around to the body again. After a couple of minutes of examining, he spotted something. Footsteps.

It was a footsteps of something, a werewolf probably, but it was a small footstep.

He followed the footsteps towards the forest, where he saw a piece of clothing, belonging to that of a child.

"This is… not good…" Mikael frowned as he took the clothing. He then spotted another footsteps, now, it was footsteps of humans, a child.

Mikael followed the footsteps, around the area, he found some more clothing, and a pair of torn up shoes. Finally, as he arrived at the end of the footsteps, he arrived at a shack, it was a shabby shack, and it was at the edge of the village.

Mikael gulped, he looked around, and saw that the people were getting back to their normal routines. He then sat just outside of the shack, waiting for nighttime.

—

As nighttime arrived, he finally stood up. He walked to the shack once again, and knocked on the door. Sounds of ruffles could be heard inside, and finally, the door opened.

It was a young woman, probably not yet thirty.

"C-Can I help you hunter?" stuttered the woman.

"I know this sounds strange… but… do you have a child miss?"

"A-A child?" the woman turned pale at the mention of a child. "N-No, I don't…"

"Mummy? Who's that?" Suddenly a voice sounded from the inside.

Mikael raised his eyebrow. "You were saying?'

The woman turned pale again, and closed the door for a little bit. "Danny! Could you please wait a moment!?"

The door opened once again, and the woman sighed. "Y-Yes… I have, his name is Danny."

"Has Danny developed any symptoms lately?"

"W-What symptoms?"

"Wolf-like symptoms." continued Mikael.

The woman gulped. "P-Please sir… he's just a child…"

"He killed a girl…"

"I-It was an accident! I-I didn't know…"

"You didn't know?" frowned Mikael. "You didn't know you laid with a werewolf?"

"L-Like I said, I didn't know!" pleaded the woman. "P-Please, spare us!"

Mikael sighed. "Listen lady… you have to get out of this village quickly. And please, find the boy's father."

"T-The boy's father… h-he's dead…"

"Then I suggest you live in isolation." said Mikael. "The boy was born with lycanthropy, which means he could control it. Try your best to tell him to train himself."

"I-I'll try… just… thank you hunter…"

"Quickly get out of this place," said Mikael. "I'll tell the Ealdorman that the werewolf comes from the forest, so it'll divert his attention a bit."

"Truly… Thank you…"

A Witcher's Fortress

A fortress stood beside the dragon mountains. The place was so hidden that the natural clouds of the mountain hid it from prying eyes around. The forests around it still untouched, monsters roamed around the deep woods, which is ironic, considering that the fortress was the home of Witchers.

While the fortress still exists, it can barely be called a fortress. Some of the walls have holes, broken towers, and barely maintained gates. Mikael could only sighed at the sight, he rode his Ebony slowly, a forktail's head hanging on Ebony's back, and he arrived at the main gate of Kaer Morhen.

The wooden gate opened as Mikael stepped on the bridge, sounds of chani getting pulled could be heard from the walls, and Mikael entered the courtyard of the fortress as he dismounted.

Someone greeted him. An old friend, literally.

"Well, well, look who's here." said the man, approaching Mikael with a smile.

Mikael also smiled at the sight of his friend. "Hello old man, glad to see you're still alive."

The old man shrugged. "Just barely hanging," he said. "How's your journey?"

"Calm." hummed Mikael. "I stopped only once, at a village, but I rushed here as soon as possible. Although, I encountered a forktail on the way." said Mikael, pointing at the forktail's head dangling on Ebony's back.

"Ah… yes… there's been a forktail infestation nearby." nodded Vesemir in embarrassment. "I was going to send Eskel to do it… but, looks like you finished the job."

"I took their organs as well, just in case." said Mikael, throwing a bloodied sack to Vesemir, which he caught. "By the way, where's Geralt?"

"Haven't arrived yet." said Vesemir as they walked to the fortress. "Yennefer said that their journey will be delayed a bit, as they have been called by the emperor."

"Huh… they're awfully slow," said Mikael. Both of them continued towards the fortress, chatting along as they walked through the courtyard of the place. Vesemir opened a big wooden door between the outer and the inner courtyard, and walked up the stairs, before opening another door, this time, to the hall.

As Vesemir opened the door towards the hall, Mikael looked around the hall. Its red tiling, the broken ceiling, the stone rubbles in the middle of the room, it's a mess.

"Vesemir, who's this?" questioned a man who was sharpening his sword. He wore a black leather armor, watching Mikael cautiously.

"His name's Mikael." Vesemir said. "The guy me and Geralt met at White orchard."

"You mean the guy with that awful rot?" snorted another man who was wearing red leather armor.

"Ah, I almost forgot about that." said Vesemir. "Could you clear the rot in the back room please, I may have been too careless with it… I blocked it using fire, but… who knows how long it'll last…"

Mikael sighed in amusement. "Told you old man, it's dangerous." said Mikael as he walked to the back of the fortress.

"You let him in Vesemir?" questioned the man with the black armor.

"He's a friend, don't worry about it." Vesemir refuted. "By the way Eskel, Mikael cleared the infestation, you don't have to do it anymore."

"Well at least the guy's useful." smiled Eskel. "Then I'll be going."

Then, Mikael came back. "It's done, the tiling and the walls are damaged though, you probably need to repair it."

"Repairing this old castle?" snorted Lambert. "It's better off to just blow it up."

Suddenly, a portal appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the room as the four chatted. A woman walked out of it, Yennefer with her black and white robe and the smell of lilac and gooseberries instantly entered Mikael's nostrils.

"We have a curse to lift." said the raven-haired woman. "Eskel, hunt a forktail nearby and bring me its spinal fluid. Lambert, take this phylactery and bring it to the mountains and enrich it with elemental powers."

She threw the phylactery to Lambert, which the man instinctively caught it.

"Vesemir, help me assemble a megascope."

Vesemir frowned. "I'm too old for that Yennefer."

Yennefer sighed. "Fine… you… what's your name again?"

Mikael raised his eyebrow. "You came here to a portal, not saying hello or anything, instead, you order us like we're your slaves. This isn't Nilfgaard sorceress, this is Kaer Morhen. Tell us what you're doing, or at the very least, say 'please'…"

Yennefer's face contorted as she heard Mikael's words. "Listen, we're running out of time, and we have to–"

"Does saying 'please' take some considerable time?" questioned Mikael. He turned to the two witchers. "Does it?"

"Well of course not." Sneered Lambert in amusement.

Yennefer sighed in defeat as she massaged her eyebrow. "I've got no time for you jests… whoever you are…"

"And I didn't come here miles away from my home to deal with your bullshit sorceress." smiled Mikael.

Yennefer gritted her teeth in annoyance as she let out an annoyed breath. "Fine. Eskel, Lambert, and whoever you are, could you 'please' bring me some forktail's spinal fluid, bring the phylactery to the mountains to enrich it with elemental powers, and help me prepare my megascope?"

"Now that wasn't so bad was it?" shrugged Mikael. He threw a pouch to Yen, which she caught. "That's your spinal fluid. You go to the guest room first, I'll follow you later."

Yennefer just walked away from the group in annoyance, visibly upset.

"I like you already kid." Lambert patted Mikael's back. "Good thing Vesemir invited you."

"Eh… I dislike sorceresses, stuck up bitches."

Uma

Mikael climbed the stairs to the guest room of Kaer Morhen, bringing a box of metal parts that he didn't even know what the use of it was.

He opened the door of the guest room, and dropped the box in front of a woman, Yennefer.

"Finally." she rolled her eyes. "Is it that hard?"

"Shut the fuck up." scoffed Mikael as he leaned against a wall, crossing his arms. "I'm not a bloody mage, I don't know how megascope parts are made. I have to ask Vesemir for that."

"Honestly, it's quicker if I do it myself." she said, floating the box near her megascope.

"Then why ask me to?!" protested Mikael as he massaged his head. "Ugh… this is why I hate sorceresses."

"Oh don't be such a boor Mikael." Yennefer rolled her eyes. "You're the most productive out of all of them. Lambert hasn't departed to the mountains yet, and I suspect Vesemir is intentionally trying to annoy me by hammering the window below me at the crack of dawn."

Yennefer then floated the parts, slowly assimilating it to a full megascope. "You, meanwhile, have given me the parts I needed, and the forktail spinal fluid, even if that's just a coincidence."

"You believe it to be a coincidence?" smirked Mikael.

"Don't even start." Yennefer scoffed. She walked to the finished megascope, and she put a crystal on it. She then went to activate it.

Mikael panicked a bit. "Wait, don't–"

But Yennefer continued to activate it, and the megascope exploded in front of her face. Smoke coming from the megascope, making Yennefer cough loudly.

"Piece of shit!" she cursed.

Mikael sighed. "Too impatient…"

"There must be a disturbance around here." she said, coughing up again.

"Well, that's obvious, my arm is part Dimeritium."

"Why didn't you say that at the start?!" she protested as she threw away the burned crystal towards the window.

"Well, you never asked." Mikael sneered.

Yennefer groaned in annoyance as she took off some of the megascope parts that had been burned.

Mikael walked towards the balcony, traces of broken wood were around it. He walked to the edge, where he saw a bed below.

"I still can't believe you threw the bed off." murmured Mikael.

"It's distracting…" Yen said. "Can't exactly sleep on it if the bed is littered with red hair can't I?"

Mikael whistled. "Not going to intrude on that…"

"Good choice." she said. "Now, if you don't mind, could you throw away your arm for a few moments?"

"Well that's quite rude." scoffed Mikael. "Later perhaps. Now, can you tell me about the curse?"

"I don't see how that's useful to me." said Yennefer flatly.

"Just tell me sorceress, or I won't go."

Yennefer sighed. "Va fail, elaine - caed'mil, folie! Glaeddyv dorne aep t'enaid, bunn'droh ithne i'yachus. There, happy now?"

Mikaell hummed. "Good bye beauty, hello madness. Sword thorn of soul, something something… thorn-sword of the soul, burn within blood? Can't tell about the last one…"

"You know Elder Speech?" questioned Yennefer in surprise.

"Well a little." shrugged Mikael. "That phrase may be connected to the one speech. Just know that much, you have to ask an Elven Sage on how to crack it." Mikael then saw a certain white-haired Witcher coming to the fortress with an ugly thing in his hands.

"You seemed to know more than you actually look," said Yennefer in amusement.

Mikael laughed. "Well, I know many things, Sorceress. Anyway, looks like Geralt's here, he can be your servant now, I'm not going to do it anymore."

"Well, we've got time to chat." she said. "I still need to fix the megascope… again…"

"Okay, what do you want me to say?"

"Hmm… let's see… How's my 'dear friend' Triss?"

"I mean… she's fine…" shrugged Mikael. "Is there anything else to say on the matter?"

"Strange… but I thought–"

"No, you read it wrong," said Mikael. "Any more questions?"

Yennefer sighed. "You don't need to be so hostile to me, you know?"

"Well, I can't help it while you're acting like an arrogant arse Yennefer." said Mikael. "You often disrespected Vesemir, who is decades older than you might I add, I don't know if there's a mage's code about that, but usually, we respect seniors, at least not outright insulting them."

"I know…" she said softly. "Just… force of habit…"

"Then break that habit. You're older than me for gods' sake, do I still need to lecture you about manners?" continued Mikael. "Are you going to be only respectful towards an Aen Saevherne, while spitting on old Witchers?"

"How do you–"

"Know that you will contact Ida?" scoffed Mikael. "I know what you're doing Yennefer, you're going to do the first part of the trial of the grasses to the cursed right?"

Yennefer frowned, and nodded. "Don't tell them."

"I won't. But please, fix your attitude." said Mikael. "This isn't your home, this is Vesemir's. Respect the old man for once."

"Why are you so… defensive towards him?"

"He spared me," said Mikael. "He might be a Witcher, but he has a good heart."

Mikael then walked away from Yen, towards the stairs, stumbling to Geralt. "Well, here's your next servant."

"Something going on?" questioned Geralt.

"Nothing Geralt." said Yennefer as Mikael walked down the stairs. "Nothing."

—

As Mikael stood in front of the cursed, Uma Geralt called him, Vesemir also watched the guy with curiosity.

"So… what's this guy's deal?" questioned Mikael.

"A cursed fellow." said Vesemir, examining Uma's eyes. "Whoever is inside this little guy is the key to finding Ciri…"

Mikael hummed. "You sure it's not going to bring us trouble?"

"Well, not really." shrugged Vesemir. "But, need to trust Geralt for this."

Mikael nodded. He looked at the side, and saw a stack of boxes. "What's that?"

"Dimeritium bombs." he said. "Lambert just made it."

"Yennefer's using a megascope upstairs… so…"

"I get it." hummed Vesemir. "I'll move it away, you watch the guy."

"Sure." said Mikael as Vesemir quickly moved the boxes away.

Meanwhile, Mikael was staring at Uma's eyes. "Hello Avallac'h." said Mikael. "You know… I pity you, trapped within this body… but I'm watching you Avallac'h."

—

In the evening of the day, Mikael was sitting with the two witchers as Geralt was wandering around the place being Yennefer's servant. It was quite entertaining to say the least, the things men do for love…

"I've got all the things you need." said Geralt to Yennefer as the others gathered at the dining table, drinking away their sorrow.

"Splendid. Now, Eskel, prepare the appara–"

"Last I heard my dear, I give the orders around here, not you." said Vesemir to Yennefer strongly.

Yennefer raised her eyebrow. "I believe we made an agreement. To seek to cure Uma my way."

"I said we would help you. That's it. I don't know what you want to do with him, you haven't deigned to inform us. But it's not safe, is it?"

Yennefer just sighed at the question, confirming Vesemir's thoughts.

"Just as I thought. Which is why I think we should first try another, less invasive method."

"Forgive me Vesemir, but we've got no time–"

"A night wouldn't hurt my dear." said Vesemir sternly as he knelt in front of Uma. "I'll take Uma into the mountains."

"What then? Will you howl at the moon together?" scoffed Yennefer.

"A bit of respect." warned Lambert. "You're not talkin' to Geralt."

"No, we will not howl at the moon. But I assure you, it does work sometimes." he said. "I will return tomorrow morning, bringing Uma… or whoever hides inside him."

"In my opinion–"

"I know your opinion." Vesemir said. "But I'm not asking for your permission. I'm saying what will happen, and I'll be back at dawn."

He then took Uma from the table, and walked away from the rest of the group, leaving them alone.

A Drunken Night & an Unexpected Guest

The group watched as Vesemir got out of the fortress in the evening, bringing Uma with him along with a couple of things in a pouch.

As soon as the old man's gone, Geralt turned to the others. "So… got the evening off. What do we do with it?" he questioned, sitting beside Yennefer.

Eskel looked at the others. "Vesemir mentioned some roof beams in the tower need replacing. Maybe we could do that."

"In the Evening?" scoffed Mikael. "Yeah, you Witchers do that."

Eskel just shrugged as the others facepalmed on his words. "Or… we could have a drink."

"Sounds a lot better than the beams," said Lambert sarcastically.

"Wouldn't mind a shot myself. Or two." said Geralt casually.

"Nothing I can do," said Eskel innocently. "Been outvoted. Let's go."

Yennefer then stood up. "Do as you will… but in a moment, Geralt and I must talk."

"Ooh… sounds serious," said Eskel in amusement. "C'mon Lambert, kid, see you in a bit Geralt."

Geralt nodded, and followed Yennefer upstairs, 'talking'.

"Even in the fortress, Geralt is still the one who gets the pussy…" Lambert scoffed as he saw the two walked off to the room upstairs.

"Hey, I remember you got one too in the past." stated Mikael suddenly as he stood up. "Triss right?"

Lambert almost choked in his drink. "How do you even know that?"

"I have my ways." shrugged Mikael. "Anyway, I'm raiding the kitchen, maybe there's some good alcohol in there."

"Don't bring the strong ones," said Eskel. "There's still Yennefer."

"Good point." said Mikael as he walked off to the kitchen.

—

An hour later, neither Mikael, Yennefer, nor Geralt had come back to the table, which made Lambert annoyed a bit.

"Kid, what's taking so long!" shouted Lambert.

"You Witchers are insane!" said Mikael as he walked back to the table. "These are pure alcohols! You want to give people alcohol poisoning with this?!"

"Cut the crap kid, no one's human in this fortress." Scoffed lambert.

Mikael dropped the alcohol bottles on the table. "The least I found is Vodka, fucking hell, you Witchers are a bunch of Drunk men."

"Can't get drunk using normal Rye or Mead." said Eskel as he poured himself a mug of Vodka. "Naturally, we used stronger things."

"Sometimes I wonder how you all still live…"

"Trust me kid, we sometimes think of that too…" Lambert chuckled. He then saw Yennefer and Geralt came back from upstairs.

"Well, well, Lovebirds decided to join us, enjoy yourselves?" sneered Lambert.

"Only an hour? Damn." said Mikael.

"Shut your mouth Mikael." Geralt grunted as he sat down along with Yennefer.

Eskel chuckled at the exchange of words, then turned to Yennefer. "Uh… Yen, we don't have glasses. You alright drinkin' from a mug?"

"I'd drink from an old boot tonight." she said, sipping some Vodka from a mug, making her cringe at the taste. "But gentlemen, surely you could order some? you have a glass merchant sitting with you after all."

The others then turned to Mikael, which made him raise a brow. "What?"

"You're a merchant?" questioned Lambert.

"Well, I just own a glass factory." shrugged Mikael.

"Which means you're rich." scoffed Lambert. "Why didn't you say so? I shouldn't have given you a free whetstone yesterday…"

"That's new." said Geralt as he drank. "Where?"

"Lan Exeter." said Mikael. "Got a job from Tankred, the reward is quite hefty."

"Took a job in Lan Exeter too." frowned Lambert. "What's the job?"

"Killing a couple hundred men." shrugged Mikael. "And rescuing a princess, all in a day's work."

"A couple hundred?" questioned Eskel, curious.

"You haven't heard?" said Yennefer in amusement. "Mikael here becomes a hero of Kovir. He's knighted in front of everyone in Lan Exeter, there's tales already made up for him."

"Didn't know that I've been working with a big shot." said Eskel. "But it makes sense. Kovir's where the gold to be made. I got 5000 Bizats from a drowner job once."

"True, but now I've got more responsibilities to deal with, which is a bit annoying, but manageable."

"Damn, I only made around 10000 Bizats from the job I did…" murmured Lambert. "Next time I'm in Lan Exeter, you better give me a place to stay, kid."

Mikael chuckled as he tapped Lambert's mug with his own. "Will do."

"What about you Eskel, what'd you do while you were away?" questioned Geralt.

"Aldersberg. Hunted a higher vampire." he said.

"Oh-ho-ho… dangerous whoresons, those." said Lambert.

"Finicky too." hummed Eskel. "Specimen in question only went for young women from the upper classes."

"Vampire's got taste." stated Lambert.

"Spare me your fantasies Lambert." Yennefer rolled her eyes. "So… what did you do?"

"Made a deal with an alchemist," said Eskel. "She really loaded up. Fisstech, vodka, magic mushrooms, she consumed it all… she then went to the garden, vampire found her and drank his fill, after that, the fight was a breeze, the vampire's practically wasted."

"What happened to the alchemist?"

"Nothing major, just some blood loss. The worst one is the hangover, needed to drink pickle juice for the next month."

"I hunted a bruxa once in Oxenfurt." stated Mikael. "She used a brothel as a place to hunt."

"A peculiar bruxa…" Geralt stated. "But I guess it's possible, what happened next?"

"She bit me from the back." said Mikael. "Drank my blood, and you know my blood… she rotted from the inside…"

"Ugh… nasty…" Lambert drank another mug.

"Well, eventful times for me," said Geralt. "Kings, dragons, conspiracies… then, I found Yen."

Mikael saw Yennefer smiling at him, to which he smiled back.

"We're thrilled for you," said Lambert. "But why don't you tell us about Uma?"

Geralt sighed as he drank from his mug. "Long story. I was on Ciri's trail… went to Velen, Skellige, Novigrad, where Dandelion needed saving again…"

"He get caught ploughing somebody he shouldn't'ave been?" chuckled Eskel.

"Right." sneered Lambert. "Speaking of old friends. Novigrad and ploughing… how's Triss?"

The entire table turned to Geralt with teasing faces.

Geralt just drank his vodka and grunted. "Fuck off…."

"If you want to know about Triss… Mikael here might know more." said Yennefer in amusement.

"You met Triss?" questioned Geralt to Mikael.

The one-armed man hummed as he drank. "An Advisor to Tankred now, that's where I got the job."

"Again?"

"Well, it's her life, it's up to her…"

"How are those scars she got at Sodden? Still there?" questioned Lambert without thinking.

Mikael scoffed. "Contrary to your belief Lambert, I didn't fuck her, unlike you."

"You shagged Triss Lambert?" Yennefer asked with curiosity.

Lambert facepalmed himself. "I… did…"

"When?" questioned Geralt.

"When she was at Kaer Morhen…" he murmured.

"Well, well." chuckled Yennefer. "What do you know, Geralt?"

"You sneaked up on me?" questioned Geralt again.

"It was just a one time thing." he defended. "You were asleep."

"No kidding." scoffed Geralt.

"How does it feel now Geralt?" questioned Yennefer in amusement.

"Don't ask me…"

"Well she was just irresistible–"

"Lambert. Not funny." said Eskel.

"Fine." Lambert said. "Conversation turned serious? Let's talk. Yen, what do you plan to do with Uma?"

Yennefer sighed. "I said I'll tell you tomorrow."

"It's past midnight, so technically, it is."

"Fine… I'll subject him to the trial of grasses. But only–"

Lambert then suddenly slammed the table and stood up. "You'll fucking what?!"

"You trying to change that little man to a Witcher?" questioned Eskel.

"Of course not." Yennefer rolled her eyes. "As I was about to say, I'll only apply the first half of the trial, because–"

"Because you wanna watch him suffer?" questioned Lambert again.

"Stop interrupting! Or I will watch you suffer." warned Yennefer, before she took a deep breath. "To restore Uma's former appearance, we must first… hmm… how do I put it…"

"You need to break down his body first to lift the curse, yeah I get it…" said Mikael casually. "You witchers need your body to be broken down first in order to insert the mutagens. Because your body is broken, it's open to change."

"What he said." Yennefer added.

"You knew about this?" questioned Lambert accusingly.

Mikael shrugged. "I mean, I knew it before she even thought about it…"

"Meaning?"

"Too long to explain." sighed Mikael. "Besides, maybe Vesemir's trick worked, who knows."

"Sounds like you already knew the answer to that," said Geralt.

"You know me so well Geralt… you know me so well…."

Yennefer sighed. "This is why I didn't tell you… you'd be cautious."

"Cautious?" said Lambert. "That's not the problem. Those secrets have been forgotten, and that's how they should stay."

"I'd be the last to suggest you start producing hordes of Witchers." stated Yennefer.

"You hardly need to," said Eskel. "See, till now we had a great excuse to not take apprentices, seems we'll need to talk it over."

"I'd fund a Witcher school." shrugged Mikael. "Just saying."

"Not funny kid." frowned Lambert. "Not funny."

"Well." suddenly said Yennefer as she stood up. "Gentlemen, pleasure drinking with you… Lambert especially, but the hour is late."

Geralt also stood up, following Yennefer to upstairs.

—

Fifteen minutes later, Geralt went back to the table as he saw the three talking.

He sat down, and drank a mug. "Whoo… what's this?" he said, shaking his head from the buzz.

"What's that face? Yennefer's gone, time for some serious drinking." stated Lambert.

"Damn straight." said Eskel. "Pour as another, bottoms up!"

Mikael groaned. "I swear, you're going to kill me from alcohol poisoning…"

"Relax… you'll do fine…" said Lambert as Mikael drank the mug. He then was hit with a strong buzz in his throat.

After a couple more drinks, Mikael's memory became hazy. Granted, he remembered some of it. He played a game with the three witchers, which made him drink more and more. He remembered that the four walked upstairs to Yen's guest room, where they rummaged through her clothing, all black and white. Mikael took a feathery hat, which he wore. The witchers then wanted to use the megascope, but Mikael's hand prevented them from doing so, so Mikael walked outside the fortress, sitting against the floor, looking at the grass below him as he passed out.

—

In the crack of dawn, Mikael was still passed out in front of the gate, the hat still on, covering his face as a goat was poking him with its horn.

Suddenly, someone shook Mikael's shoulder, jolting him awake.

"Huh.. what–"

Mikael looked around, and in front of him, he saw three people, Vesemir with Uma in his hands, another hand on his hips. The other two however, he needed to focus a little bit.

He narrowed his eyes as he fixed the hat on his head. And finally, he recognised who it was.

"Shani?! Cildal?!" said Mikael, standing up instantly as he was surprised by their existence here. "What are you doing here?!"

"Hello to you too you drunk." said Shani in amusement as she fixed Mikael's hat. "Nice hat by the way."

Mikael turned to Vesemir, who shrugged at him. "Found them trying to find the fortress. Mentioned you… so…"

Mikael turned to Cildal, and threw a questioning look. "Ban Glean's compromised Master. The Nilfgaardian bribed the mercenaries inside, including ours, so…"

"So you ran…" murmured Mikael. "But why here?!"

"What? I can't see you here?" questioned Shani.

"This place's dangerous!" refuted Mikael. "No, I'll ask Yen or Triss to send you back to Oxenfurt after this…"

"Triss's here?" questioned Shani with a raised brow.

"No, but–"

"We can talk about this later Mikael, I'm tired…" she murmured. "I need a little rest…"

Mikael turned to Vesemir once again. "There's a spare room for her."

Mikael sighed, and just massaged his throbbing head because of the hangover. "Fine…"

A fair elf

The residents of Kaer Morhen were now gathering around an operating table, Uma was laying on it, on the dirty cage-like steel table, looking around as if he didn't know what's going on. He keeps mummering something, mummering his name, 'Uma…', 'Umama…' again and again like he used to do.

Mikael however, was sitting on the dining table as he drank many cups of water, trying to cure his hangover using that way. He saw the others talking at the operating table in the middle of the keep, he also saw Geralt still sleeping at the corner of the room on a makeshift bed, well, more like beside it, as he had fallen to the cold floor.

Mikael stood up, and walked up to Geralt. He kicked him at the back, jolting him awake.

"Huh, what–" Geralt instinctively grabbed his non-existent sword from his back, and stood up.

"Wake up." grumbled Mikael.

Geralt looked at Mikael, and relaxed his muscles as he sat on the bed. "So it's not a dream?"

"What?"

"Me… wearing Yen's pants…"

"Oh, that's not a dream…" said Mikael calmly. "Probably, you kicked me out by the time you went to play with the megascope."

Geralt groaned as he massaged his forehead, still hungover. He looked around, and saw the people talking. "It's starting?"

"Not yet." shrugged Mikael. "Waiting for you."

"Wait…" Geralt narrowed his cat-like eyes at the table. "Is that… Shani?"

"Yeah…" Mikael sighed tiredly.

"Why's she here?"

"Apparently Ban Glean's been conquered." said Mikael. "The Nilfgaardians bribed the mercenaries inside."

"Ah… heard about that plan during my emperor's meeting." stated Geralt as he stood up, looking for his shirt. "But why come here?"

"A blockade near the Kestrel mountains." stated Mikael once again. "That's her excuse at least, don't know if it's true or not. I mean, she could just travel by boat to Novigrad using the Pontar."

"Probably wants to see you," Geralt said as he wore his shirt.

"Flattering." Mikael shrugged. "But idiotic."

The two then approached the table, greeting the rest.

"I see everyone's up and about." said Geralt casually.

"Ugh… you reek of booze," said Vesemir in disappointment. "I left the keep for one night…"

"Hey, we're not children, old man." Lambert snorted.

"Might as well be one." scoffed Vesemir. "I'm guessing you didn't replace the beams?"

"You can give the boys a rap on the knuckles later. Let's get to work." interrupted Yennefer.

Geralt hummed. "I'm guessing your method didn't work, Vesemir?"

"No, but I learned something," said Vesemir. "I noticed that Uma, at moment's of… hmm… how do I say it… relaxed consciousness, he behaves differently."

"Different how?" questioned Eskel.

"While falling asleep, he'd pause awake for an instant. Something different about his movements, his gaze, then. But only for a moment."

"Personality disorder?" suddenly questioned Shani.

"That's what I was thinking." nodded Vesemir. "I hypnotized him essentially. Nothing at first, but, as he dropped into a deep sleep, I heard something… a sigh, or a moan… and it wasn't Uma's voice."

"So something's definitely inside Uma." hummed Geralt.

"Thank you Vesemir, for the information… and… I apologize… for what I did this past week. Have the boys told you what we plan to do?" said Yennefer.

"Yes." nodded Vesemir grimly. "Don't like it one bit. But I suppose I have to trust you."

"What now?" questioned Geralt.

"Well, I've just brewed the potions." said Shani, dragging a set of potions that are hanging at a feeder stand. "I've also disinfected the tools. I just need to insert the needle now."

"You brewed the potions?" questioned Mikael, frowning. "You an alchemist now?"

"It's not much different from a normal medicine, Mikael." Shani rolled her eyes as she put an incision on Uma's right hand, inserting the tubes to his veins. "Done this hundreds of times, I'm a medic, I tend to know what I'm doing."

"Thank you… Shani…" Yennefer said, a bit awkwardly.

"Right. Done." she said calmly.

"Vesemir?" Yennefer said.

Vesemir put something into Uma's mouth. "Hookweed extract to deaden the pain. I know, I've done this before."

"Then Shani, you could open the valves. It doesn't matter in which order."

All the Witchers frowned as they heard that. Lambert shook his head in disapproval as Shani was about to open the valves. She then opened the biggest one, and the liquid slowly entered Uma's body.

As soon as the potion entered the body, Uma's body was shaking violently, and he screamed at the top of his small lungs.

"Yyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

Uma continued to shake, struggling to break free, but he had been strapped to the table, unable to move. His mouth started gurgling, bubbles came out of his mouth.

"Aaaa…. Aaaa….. Ummmmmmmmmaaaaaamamaaaaaaaaama…."

"Ugh… Vesemir… did the hookweed work?" questioned Shani, her face a bit pale.

"If it hadn't, young lady… he would've died out of shock."

"Wow…" gulped Shani. "I heard about it being violent… but still… to be able to watch it up close…"

"Open the next valve Shani."

"This is a bad idea…" Lambert stated his dissaproval.

Shani then continued to open the next valve. And Uma once again screamed.

"Aaaa…. Aaaach! AAAAAAACHH! UMMMMAAAAMAAA! UUUUU…. UMAMAAA!"

Vesemir sighed deeply as he heard the screams. "I had hoped… I'd hoped I would never have to watch this again…"

"Why'd you keep the table then?!" Lambert protested. He then walked away from the table, upset.

"Shani, next potion please." ordered Yennefer.

Shani nodded grimly, and opened the last valve.

"Ummmamaama… AAaaaaa… AAAAACCHH!!!"

Yennefer then pushed Shani gently toward the side, and stood beside Uma. she raised her hand, magic started to gather around her hand, and she spoke an incantation.

"Oesi, caefyn!" her voice echoed.

Magic then started to enveloped Uma, flashing every so often.

"What now?" questioned Shani, curious.

"We wait for the potions to do their work." explained Vesemir. "Might take a day, might take more."

"True, but I must maintain the stabilizing spell." stated Yennefer. "Unlike witcher-candidates, Uma isn't trained to take the trial. Without it–"

Uma then suddenly threw up to Yennefer, dirtying her hair, her clothing, and the floor.

Yennefer cringes in disgust. "Shani, I'm sorry, would you mind?"

"Right, I'll get some rags…"

—

A couple of hours have passed, the vomit has been cleaned by Shani, along with Yennefer's clothes, and now, Shani is sitting on the table, writing in her journal.

"What are you writing?" questioned Mikael suddenly, sitting besides her.

Shani turned and smiled softly at him. "Writing an entry about the trial." she said. "It's not everyday that a scholar was able to witness the legendary witcher trial."

Mikael hummed. "You okay then?" questioned Mikael. "Even I was a bit disturbed by the screams…"

"Honestly, I never get used to it." said Shani as she continued to write in her journal. "The screams… the wails… sometimes I just want to stop, forget it all. But I'm a medic, it's what I do."

Mikael hummed as he patted Shani's shoulder. "I know, remember about the time that I told you I was a soldier?"

Shani just hummed and looked at him.

"Endless wars." sighed Mikael. "I saw families torn apart, children killed in front of their parents and vice versa, I saw fellow soldiers r*ped their own comrades, a city vanished in an instant, giving the people of the city a state that is worse than death…"

Shani held his hand. "Must be hard."

"Not really." said Mikael softly. "When you live in that kind of world, you're used to it. But… it's getting tiring…"

Shani just sat closer to him, and kissed his cheek. "You're fine now."

Mikael hummed. "Which is why you shouldn't be here Shani. It's dangerous."

Shani sighed. "I know… I'm sorry, don't be mad at me…"

"I'm not. Just, why?"

"I just wanted to see you." she said. "Look, I'll go home after this, portal me anywhere you like, just, let me stay with you for a bit…"

Mikael sighed. "Fine… after today, you will go home, understand?"

"Yes…"

"Where's Cildal by the way?"

"Sleeping," said Shani. "He worked hard. The battle was really chaotic. The mercenaries slaughtered almost everyone in the fortress."

"Damn, I need to give him a raise…"

—

More hours have passed, Mikael and Shani were sleeping on the floor, leaning against a wall as Shani slept on Mikael's shoulder. Mikael however, kept watching Yennefer talk to Geralt, watching Uma carefully.

Geralt was telling a story to Yennefer, but then, she interrupted him.

"He's awake. It's time." said Yennefer. "Prepare the phylactery."

Mikael shook Shani awake, and stood up.

"Shani, it's time," he whispered.

Shani woke up slowly, and Mikael helped her stand up.

As Mikael and Shani walked closer, Yennefer already spoke the incantation. Uma once again screamed at the top of his lung, trying to break free of the chains.

"Nevid, cyvir!" Yennefer's voice echoed as she made a pulling gesture to Uma's body. Black smoke starts to come out of the skin, seeping through like a disease. "Caniatad… Nevid… Cyvir…"

The smoke is starting to pile up on Uma's body. Yennefer kept pulling, speaking an incantation.

"Coalle… Ariva… Aendir…"

But then, the spell broke. Uma layed motionlessly on the table, while Yennefer had a trace of panic in her eyes.

"No… no. I won't let you!" shouted Yennefer desperately. She punched Uma's chest, trying to make him breathe again.

"Let me try!" Shani quickly rushed to the body. She pushed Uma's chest back and forth, stimulating breathing.

"Geralt! Yellow flashk! In my satchel!" Yennefer said, panicking.

Vesemir then interrupted, pushing Shani and Yennefer away. "Quiet. Listen."

The old man heard a faint heartbeat from the creature. Then, Uma twitched, and a voice came from his mouth, not his.

"Coalle… Coalle… Caniatad…" it whispered.

Yennefer quickly focused herself, and she pushed everyone from the table once more. She raised her hands, and spoke the incantation.

"Nevid, cyvir! Coalle, coalle caniatad!" her voice echoed. Black smoke started to come out once again, at an alarming rate this time.

"Nevid! Ariva! Aendir!" her hands started to shake from the pressure of the curse. "Geralt, the phylactery! Open it!"

Geralt then clumsily opened the Phylactery.

Yennefer then slammed the black smoke towards the phylactery. "Caniatad! Taron Anede! Dis!"

Geralt then quickly closed the phylactery, finally lifting the curse.

Uma then slowly changed. Into that of an elf. His body has many tattoos, his skin pale as snow, and his hair gray.

"An elf?" questioned Shani.

"Avallac'h." frowned Geralt.

"You know him?" questioned Vesemir.

"A sage." said Mikael, making the others turn to him. "Aen Elle."

The others frowned as they heard the words 'Aen Elle'. Yennefer then looked at his eyes closely. "Where is Ciri?"

"Hidden…" he whispered. "Isle of mists… but… it's not… safe… the hunt…"

"Where is it?" Geralt questioned impatiently.

"Everywhere… and nowhere…"

"Just give him the damn guide!" Mikael shouted.

The elf groaned. "Praevein, arwein, cyrraen…"

A yellow light suddenly appeared from his hand, floating towards Geralt.

"I-In Skellige… follow it… into the mists… hurry… hurry!"

Geralt then caught the light, trapping it between his hands.

"I tried to protect her… but the curse… find the isle… 'Tis a matter of time… but if she leaves… they will detect her… at once…"

"I- I think he should rest first," said Shani. "He's exhausted. His nerves have been overloaded."

"Shani's right." nodded Yennefer. "I must tend to him if he wants to survive."

"I'm going to get Ciri then." nodded Geralt.

"Hold up." said Eskel. "Don't you want to explain who he is?"

"Got no time. Yen will explain it to you. Just keep an eye for you, he's not a friend."

"Perhaps not, but Ciri apparently trusted him. We should at least take his words seriously."

Mikael chuckled at Vesemir's words, making the others turn to him. "Trust me, you don't want to trust all of his words."

"But he's right." said Geralt. "Once Ciri's found, the hunt will be able to track her."

"What then?"

"What's your suggestion?"

"I'd say, fight." said Mikael, making the others turn to him once again, and making Shani frown. "You've got me now."

Vesemir crossed his arms and nodded. "Time we the hunted became the hunters. The hunt will follow Ciri here. They'll expect to catch us by surprise, and they'll be sorely disappointed."

"Fight them?" questioned Yennefer. "In a crumbling castle?"

"Do we have a choice? Besides delaying the inevitable?" questioned Vesemir back.

"Don't worry about that." said Mikael. "Geralt could bring more people. Or not, his choice."

Geralt hummed. "Fine, I'll get Ciri, and recruit some allies. Bring everyone here. Got a few favors I can call in."

"I can hire mercenaries if you want," said Mikael.

Yennefer shook her head. "No time, can't trust them anyway." she said.

"True…" said Mikael. "Then maybe I'll bloom once again…"

"Bloom?"

"You'll see," said Mikael. "Vesemir, you don't mind if woods nearby got destroyed, are you?"

Vesemir sighed. "What are you gonna do?"

"I mean, just making sure…"

"For Ciri? fine."

Too many redheads

Mikael was now sitting on a bed as Shani was beside him, cleaning his wound gently. She looked focused on the task, both of them didn't speak, it was quiet and comfortable.

"Is it just me, or is the wound getting bigger?" questioned Shani in worry.

"Just your imagination Shani." Mikael rolled his eyes.

"No… I'm sure of it." she insisted. "Did you do something while you were away?"

"I did nothing at all." said Mikael softly.

Shani narrowed her eyes at Mikael, but she chose to drop the topic, continuing to clean his wound thoroughly.

"So… you got a home now…" murmured Shani.

"Well, it was gifted…" Mikael hummed. "But yes, I suppose."

"Well, I'm happy for you." Shani smiled. "You've accomplished so much this couple of months, it's quite unbelievable to be honest."

"Hey, what can I say?" Mikael shrugged, looking proud.

"Okay… don't get too cocky now." chuckled Shani.

Mikael just smiled at her chuckle, and he relaxed his body a bit. "Shani, need to ask you something. Familiar with mind sickness?"

"I've studied it a little." hummed Shani. "Why? You alright?"

"No… it's fine…" Mikael said. He looked at the window beside him, and saw a redhead woman, full of rot, sitting on a platform of the fortress, watching him ever closely.

"Mikael, I know you're lying." scoffed Shani. "Please, if you feel something's not right with you, just tell me."

"No, honestly, it's nothing." said Mikael, still staring at the redhead woman outside the window. "After today, I just suddenly got a headache is all…"

"A headache?" questioned Shani. "I thought you can't get sick?"

"Like I said, probably nothing." Mikael continued. "Anyway, I think you should go home now…"

"It's barely a day Mikael." Shani rolled her eyes. "I need to help Yennefer with Avallac'h as well."

"No, you've done enough." Mikael insisted. "I'll ask Yennefer to portal you to Kovir with Cildal, pack up some supplies in my house, then go home, or stay, up to you."

"Why not straight to Oxenfurt?"

"Dangerous. Witch hunters, remember?"

"Right…" she murmured. "Then I've got no time to spend with you… so let's get to the point."

"Wha–"

Before Mikael could continue, Shani shut him up by putting her lips to his. She quickly straddled him as she grabbed his head, caressing his hair gently.

Shani's hands then moved down to his chest, unbuttoning his shirt slowly. But then, they were interrupted by something. The door opened, revealing Triss Merigold with her usual leather clothing.

"Hey, Yen told me–" Triss froze as she saw Shani straddling Mikael, and coughed in embarrassment. "Did I interrupt something?"

Shani grumbled as she stood up from Mikael's lap. She quickly sat down on the bed again, and crossed her legs. "Hello Merigold." she said bitterly.

"Shani…" greeted Triss awkwardly. "I heard you needed someone to portal you?"

"Uh… yes." said Mikael as he buttoned his shirt once again. "Would you mind? Make a portal to my home, so Shani and Cildal could pack up some supplies."

"Sure," said Triss.

"Merigold. I think we should talk." smiled Shani. "In private."

"Shani, please, you need to go home."

"It's just a talk Mikael." Shani rolled her eyes as she stood up, walking to Triss. "We just need to… settle our differences…"

Mikael sighed. "Fine, do whatever you want." said Mikael as he looked towards the window, finding that other redhead woman again. "I'll be downstairs."

—

Mikael walked downstairs as he followed the redhead that just appeared in his mind this morning. She was tall, really tall, her body filled with rot, and she looked bare naked.

Mikael followed the woman, towards the courtyard of the keep as she turned around, stopping in place.

"Who are you?" questioned Mikael curiously to the woman. "Why have you suddenly appeared?"

The woman didn't say anything, she just kept staring at him, well, not really 'staring', because her face was devoid of eyes, consumed by the rot.

"Not speaking?" snarled Mikael. "Fuck, this feels like Triss stalking me all over again…"

Again, the woman didn't speak. Mikael then quickly got annoyed, and decided to try to touch the woman. But as soon as his hand neared the woman, it passed through her skin, as if she wasn't there at all.

"What the fuck…" murmured Mikael, trying to grab her again, to no avail.

"Mikael?" questioned a voice from his back. He turned around, and saw Vesemir, trying to fix a couple of fences. "Who are you talking to?"

"No one," he said. He turned to the woman once again, but she had vanished. "Huh… I'm going crazy after all…"

—

As Mikael walked upstairs again, trying to see if the two had broken anything yet, he was surprised when he opened the door and saw Shani and Triss talking to each other, rather in friendly terms.

"Okay… finished your talking?" questioned Mikael.

"Yeah." nodded Shani. "I think I'll stay in Lan Exeter for a while, at least until the war calms down."

"What about your mother and father?" frowned Mikael.

"I'll help her move them," said Triss. "Will take convincing, but…"

Mikael raised his eyebrow. "Am I missing something? I thought you two hated each other?"

"It's just your imagination Mikael." Shani rolled her eyes in amusement. "Anyways, I think I'll go now. See you at your home…"

"Wait, wait, wait." said Mikael. "This is confusing, but, you know Triss is a sorceress right? How will your mother and step-father react?"

"They're fine with them," said Shani. "Just dislike them a bit, but should be fine."

"Okay… this is too sudden… are you telling me that your parents will move to my residence for a while?"

"Well, yeah…" said Shani. "Is that not allowed?"

"No, it's okay… but… you realize that–"

"I know, I know." shused Shani. "I'll tell them something, that you're on a mission or something…"

Triss looked at them in amusement. "Well, I need to get back in the evening, so we should be quick about this."

"I'm seriously confused right now…" Mikael massaged his head. "Like how— you know what? Not going to ask anymore."

"Good choice." hummed Triss as the two redhead women walked to the door. "Anyway, I'll send Shani off first. I guess I'll be seeing you a lot more than I thought I would…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" questioned Mikael in confusion. He looked at Shani, but the woman just winked at him, making him more confused.

"See, told you, dense." said Shani.

"Hmm… I suppose I could work with that…" murmured Triss. "Anyway, see you later Mikael."

The two redheads then exited the room, leaving Mikael alone.

"What the hell…" sighed Mikael. "I'm really becoming a crazy man… too many redheads in my mind…"

Sages and Gods

Whispers. Voices. Commands. All of those echoes through Mikael's mind as he's sleeping. Heavy breathing is always present in his mind, as if someone's head was beside him all the time.

"Cure… Cure her…" whispered the voice. It was the voice of a child.

Mikael was quivering on the bed, sweating profusely. He was sleeping at the hall, where the other witchers have also slept, so when he was quivering, everybody could see it.

Yennefer and Vesemir approached him as the quiver was getting more and more intense. They shook him awake, making him jolt up, sitting down instantly. His pupils dilated, his gaze seemed unfocused, before returning to normal once again.

"Wha–" he looked around, and saw the Old Witcher and the Sorceress.

"Are you alright child?" questioned Vesemir in worry. "You seemed… distressed…"

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine…" stuttered Mikael. He then turned to look around, but when his gaze turned to his right, the redhead woman that was full of rot was there again, scaring the shit out of Mikael.

"Fucking hell!" he jolted, backing up a bit, pushing Yennefer and Vesemir away.

"What? What did you see?" questioned Yennefer curiously, looking at the direction Mikael was seeing.

"No, no… didn't see anything…" he lied. "Just… too many things on my mind right now…"

"What's going on with you?" Vesemir questioned. "It's been going on for a few days now. This is the worst day."

"Like I said, just too many things on my mind." said Mikael calmly, starting to ignore the 'stares' of the redhead woman once again. "Maybe… Yennefer, could you make a sleeping potion for me or something?"

"I could ask Triss to do it…"

Mikael flinched, which Yennefer noticed. "What is going with you?"

"Just… fine… ask Triss to do it." he said. "By the way, Avallac'h awake yet?"

"Barely, I still need to stabilize his nervous system, he could barely stand as it is."

"I need to talk to him."

"No. Absolutely not."

"It won't be long," said Mikael. "It's important."

"What might be so important to discuss right now?"

"About his… intention I guess." murmured Mikael as he took his shirt and wore it. "Just give me a few minutes."

"Very well." frowned Yennefer. "This afternoon, after I'm finished what I'm doing."

"Thanks." hummed Mikael. "And please, don't eavesdrop, I'll know."

—

A couple hours had passed, and Mikael was walking through the hall. He saw the redhead woman again, leaning against a wall, watching him ever closely. He ignored her of course, no point in talking to her. He then knocked on the door, asking if he could come in.

"Come in." said a feminime voice.

Mikael opened the door, revealing Triss with a potion-brewing kit.

"My potion ready yet?" he questioned as he sat on a chair nearby.

"Just finishing it." said Triss, concentrating on the bubbling vials in front of her. "If Shani hears of this, she'll beg me to bring her here again."

"And how can she be able to contact you?" scoffed Mikael.

"I gave her a Xenovox." she said.

"You what?" Mikael frowned. "What for?"

"She's trying to 'renovate' your home, so to speak," said Triss. "She needed my help, of course, I agree."

"Renovate?"

"Your home isn't exactly full of decoration." Triss stated.

"So that's what you're talking about with her yesterday?"

Triss scoffed. "Gods no." she took the heated vial, and put the liquid in a bottle.

"Then what was it?"

Triss sighed. "I can't tell if you're really dense or just stupid…"

Mikael frowned. "Meaning?"

Triss gave the bottle to Mikael. "Listen Mikael, she wants her parents to move into your residence, and she's literally decorating your home as if she owns it."

"So?"

Triss facepalmed. "She's trying to convince them. She's working there, while I'll work with you here."

"What?"

"I'll work with your manners." said Triss. "And your… dense attitude. Even if you're knighted, you barely have any manners."

"That's it?" questioned Mikael.

Triss raised her brow and crossed her arms. "What do you think it is?"

"Well… never mind." shrugged Mikael. "So I'm going insane after all…"

"What? Are you thinking about sex?" scoffed Triss. "Well, I wouldn't mind a threesome once in a while–"

"Nope." said Mikael abruptly, cutting Triss off. "Not going to happen. I have two redheads in my mind right now, one doesn't want to even talk to me and just stared at me all day, so I'm not going to add another."

Triss frowned. "What did you just say?"

"I– forget that." said Mikael, slamming the door of Triss's room quickly, getting out of the sorceress chamber.

—

Mikael was climbing up the stairs to Avallac'h's room, when the redhead woman was standing on the way, scaring him.

"Bloody hell, you need to stop that…" murmured Mikael, holding onto the railing.

The woman once again didn't talk, she just stared at him intently.

"Who are you talking to?" questioned someone. It was Yennefer, walking down the stairs.

"No one." hummed Mikael.

Yennefer frowned. "He's awake upstairs."

"Thanks. I'll be quick." said Mikael, passing through the redhead woman, and passed Yennefer, towards the room.

Mikael opened the room, and he saw Avallac'h, laying on the bed weakly.

Mikael took a chair, and sat beside the bed. "Caed'mil Aen Saevherne."

"Caed'mil… Pest…" said Avallac'h meekly.

Mikael frowned. "Pest?"

"I believe… in your tongue… it's… blight."

Mikael hummed. "Feels strange to be called a pest, but all right."

"Why… have you come here?" questioned Avallac'h, trying to sit.

"You don't have to sit if you want," said Mikael.

Avallac'h was still trying to sit. As he sat beside the bed, face to face with Mikael, the one-armed man continued.

"Let's make a deal." said Mikael.

"A deal?" frowned Avallac'h.

"I will kill Eredin." continued Mikael. "In exchange, tell them the truth."

"I have no idea what you are talking about… pest?"

"I know what you're doing Avallac'h." sighed Mikael. "And I know it's necessary. You want to save your world, I want to save… well… this world."

"You…" Avallac'h frowned. "The one with rot… Gwynbleidd will not agree with her thoughts, he will do anything to stop her."

"If it comes to that, I'll help you both." said Mikael. "Ciri's an adult, she can think for herself, Geralt can't stop her."

"Zireael… she's attached… to her…"

"He's her father, of course she's attached." Mikael scoffed. "You, on the other hand, view her as a means to an end. Don't think I fully trust you Avallac'h, your obsession with Lara's blood is pathetic."

Avallac'h frowned. "She… was supposed to be… mine…"

"Yet she's not," said Mikael. "You've been cucked by a human, suck it up elf. Right now, the important thing is not that, but the white frost that's coming."

"She… asked me to open the tower…" said Avallac'h. "After she's ready…"

"So after Eredin, you will help her train." hummed Mikael. "Then you will open the tower, one way or another. After that, go home Avallac'h, do not try to search for Ciri anymore, if you still insist, I will come for you."

Zireael

As men and women started to appear in Kaer Morhen, Mikael watched all of them from the balcony as they introduced themselves with one another. He saw another sorceress, blocking the way to the courtyard with her makeup table, he saw another redhead, a man this time, he saw Zoltan with his explosives, he saw a druid, checking the earth beneath him, he saw a couple of blue stripes,, sharpening their swords, one of them don't have a decency to cover her chest like everyone else, hey, Mikael enjoyed it, but gets a bit distracting sometimes.

"That's quite a crew." someone said to Mikael suddenly. Mikael turned around, and saw Vesemir, crossing his arms, looking at the gathering people below them. "Never seen Kaer Morhen this crowded since… forever."

Mikael hummed. "They're not Witchers as well. Must be strange for you seeing strangers in this crumbling castle."

"After Geralt arrived with Ciri for the first time, I'm used to it." said Vesemir. "You free?"

"Not really doing anything right now." Mikael said, staring at the crowd below as he saw the redhead woman appear again near it. "Need me to do something?"

"There's a hole in the wall," said Vesemir. "Could you…"

"Fix it? Sure." said Mikael. "I'll do it in a minute."

"Then thank you. The boards in the warehouse, there's some nails in there too."

"Right."

—

Mikael was now walking towards the hole in the wall of the fortress, nails and boards in hands. He examined the hole, there's already some wooden beams to nail the boards to, so Mikael dropped the boards, and took one from the ground, took a piece of nail, and hammer away.

As he hammered the boards one by one, the redhead woman appeared beside him, sitting against the wall, now not even staring at him.

Mikael was not scared of her sudden appearance anymore, he had grown 'accustomed' to it, but he's still annoyed at the existence of the redhead woman.

"Going to just sit there and do nothing?" Mikael snorted.

The woman once again didn't say anything.

Mikael continued to hammer the boards one by one. "You know, if you could talk, we could deal with this. Why are you here? Why have you appeared before me? Nobody could see you, I'm starting to hear voices in my head, the voice of a child, telling me to cure… to cure… to cure who? You? I can't even touch you."

The woman didn't speak once again, making Mikael scoff.

"I'm guessing it's useless to talk to you." said Mikael in annoyance. "I'll look insane in front of others if I continue to do so… Triss and Yennefer are already convinced that something's wrong with me… well, they're not wrong, but still… they're trying to feed me weird shit these days… I don't even know what they are doing…"

Mikael continued to hammer the boards to the beams, covering the hole slowly but surely as the redhead woman still sat on the ground, leaning against the wall.

But then, something unexpected happened. The wind suddenly blew strongly around Mikael, making him frown.

"I dreamt for so long…" spoke the redhead woman suddenly.

Mikael's eyes widened as he heard the woman speak. "Did you just—"

"My flesh was dull gold… and my blood, rotted." She continued to speak. "Corpse after corpse, left in my wake… as I awaited… his return…"

"He? Who?" questioned Mikael. "Who are you? Why speak now?"

"Yet here I am…" she spoke again, slowly standing. "In a strange world, as I was slain by my match… hearing my brother's voice in a foreign soul…"

"Match? Brother?" Mikael frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Miquella…" spoke the woman again. "O' dearest brother… why are you here?"

"Miquella?"

But before Mikael could ask again, something suddenly made Mikael's instinct tingle. He turned around, and saw turquoise light glowing at the courtyard. As he turned to the redhead woman again, the woman disappeared, making Mikael frown.

"Great, you finally talked, and now you disappeared…" Mikael said to himself. Mikael turned to the direction of the courtyard once again, and sighed. "I guess Ciri's here."

—

Mikael leaned against a broken wall as he saw an ashen-haired woman hugging Vesemir giddily, dangling her feet happily. She looks excited, looking around at the crumbling castle as people who know her rushed to her.

First there's Yennefer. Her voice was so high-pitched when she yelled Ciri's name, she looked genuinely happy, smiling widely as Ciri hugged her dearly.

Then there was Triss, running past Mikael, hugging her tightly. They talked for a little, before Yennefer kissed Geralt passionately in front of everyone. Mikael saw Triss throwing jealous looks at them, but quickly shook it off as they separated.

Vesemir then talked about something, making Ciri follow him up the ramp, passing through Mikael.

He just nodded at both of them. Vesemir said to him. "Come, we will discuss things."

"I'll be with you in a bit." hummed Mikael.

Vesemir nodded, and both of them continued towards the fortress, leaving Mikael.

Then, the two sorceresses and Geralt passed him. "Come inside," said Yennefer. "We will hold a council."

"Sure," said Mikael. "But Geralt, I must say, what a peculiar family you've got here." he said, following the three.

"Meaning?" he questioned.

"You're the father, Yennefer's the mother, Ciri's the daughter, and Triss's the older sister," said Mikael calmly. "But you've been in bed with Triss… I mean… that's just–"

"Fuck off." Geralt scoffed.

Mikael just chuckled. Then, he saw the redhead woman appeared again, sitting on the wall above. He frowned, and just followed the group inside.