26. Traidores
Cerys is an extremely entertaining woman, but a little too stubborn. I learned quickly that in order to have a salable conversation with her, you just don't have to have any kind of dispute involved and everything will be fine.
She has a need to prove herself better than anyone else, even if she doesn't need to. She even tried to put me in the dispute between her, her brother Hjalmar and Geralt.
Speaking of the peace, or rather the man, he is a complete opposite of his sister. Although they have hot tempers, he knows when he has the best hand and when not.
Unlike Cerys who would bet even if her cards were the worst possible, just to prove to the others how capable she is, Hjalmar would just make fun of the situation and pass on his turn.
Both are nice people, neither is better than the other, and neither is worse than the other, it's just the differences between them that makes things too glaring.
"So, is Sam going to participate in the race?" Hjalmar asks excitedly.
"If he does, we'll lose very badly," Geralt replies. Well, he knows I try very hard not to use my power to its fullest.
"A bet then? If I win all 3, everyone will tell my father that I am the most prepared candidate to take his place." replies Cerys.
"And if you lose?" I ask, excited now.
She is silent for a while, thinking.
"Don't you dare Sam," says Geralt.
"Don't you dare submit a proposal or participate in the bet?" I ask a little lost.
"Both." he replies.
"Killjoy." I grumble, making Hjalmar laugh.
"Ok, I'll let you choose in case I lose to either of you." says Cerys finally.
"Papa Geralt, may I?" I tease the man, who rolls his eyes.
"Come on, it will be fun Geralt, let him participate." Hjalmar asks, too excited for my taste.
"It's your problem, should he win, most likely he will cause a ruckus again, like he did in Toussaint." Geralt grumbles.
"What did he do at Toussaint?" Curious Cerys is the first to ask.
"Well..." he begins to recount the facts, making the duo widen their eyes. After a while, he finishes. "Then he finally explains that he didn't want the queen as his whore, just as a companion to learn about the responsibilities of the crown and the weight it carries."
"Wait, you let everyone think that way because?" Cerys asks directly.
"People have a habit of choosing to understand things the way they think is worst, which is not always a fact. It was good for her to learn that not everyone, looks at her as a precious piece of meat, even though she is.
Don't get me wrong, I would be more than happy to lie with the queen, but I'm not going to impose or force anyone to do anything, not least because, I still have a little self-respect," I explain.
"That being the case, there is nothing to worry about, we should head towards our mountain to make this race worthwhile." Hjalmar says, but a bizarre sound makes us look around.
A deafening roar happens in the hall, followed by another, and another, and another, until we notice there are 6 gigantic bears, setting off at a run toward the house guests.
They were not distinguishing man or woman, child or adult, they just took off, trying to tear everything and everyone apart.
I wave my hand, and the children who were most vulnerable are carried away, as if the stone floor made them slide, putting even those who were not in danger together.
They are now behind our group.
"As you know, I am not prone to fight, so I will stay to protect the children. Do as you see fit," I say, making it clear that I would not participate.
"Your help would be welcome, Berserkers are difficult creatures to defeat," Cerys says, drawing his sword from his waist.
"I'm already keeping them away from many victims, if I go into battle, I won't be able to focus on protecting these people, so a massacre could happen." I explain my point.
It was obviously a fallacy, I could very well eliminate everyone at once, but being quite honest, besides being lazy, it would be very likely that things would not end well for my side.
Geralt, Cerys, Yen, Hjalmar and Dettlaff went to face the group of bears, while I helped only here and there, avoiding a useless death or a not so casual accident.
Enjoying this, I also noticed that some of the guests seemed to just watch, as if they knew it would happen. Even though they were close, they didn't seem to care about the Bears' uprising.
While the group was defeating the bears, I was pinning people to the ground. It was pretty easy, I just turned the floor to mud, where they sank a little, and then I turned it back to stone again.
Once the bears were taken care of, Cerys and Geralt began to look for the plausible explanation for the events, while the children, protected by me, ran to their parents.
Taking note of a few things I noticed, I sat down at the table and began to taste the food, calmly. Sure, many were staring at me strangely, but when Hjalmar approached, the stares shifted.
"My sister and Geralt are checking on why, but this is very strange." he says, sitting down next to me.
I point out the group trapped by me. With him turning to look.
"They were close, but too calm about the situation. Not to mention, no bears tried to attack any of them. Something tells me they have the information you need." I say, causing the burly man to stand up.
"I'll get my sister and Geralt. We'll have a chat with them." he says, starting to walk away.
"If they are clean, let me know so I can release them yes." I say, and he waves his hand, showing that he heard me.
A short while later, Dettlaff and Yen sit down, and start eating next to me. I thought it was strange for Dettlaff to do this, and seeing my look at him, he responds by shrugging.
"I still remember what it tastes like, and to engage with humans, you have to follow certain habits. That's one I like." he says.
"Cool. Not that I care much, I just thought it was weird. But feel free, there's plenty to eat and drink," I tease, showing him the long table.
"Not that much," he retorts, then turns to a mug of mead.
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