Chapter 22

I watched as, after a couple hours waiting around within the Flaming Rose's little tent barracks next to the tower, the elderly priest and his escort of four knights finally exited the tower, checking over me and Ivar's work to make sure the specters were well and truly gone. I actually wasn't upset about them double checking since they have tried to remove Renfri and her gang for years and they always came back, then I stroll in and apparently get rid of them in a day? They wanted to cover their bases.

I could even respect it if I wasn't constantly watching for them to stab me in the back at any moment because I knew who their leader was, which might be overly paranoid or just the right amount.

I was near certain the priest himself was a mage who believed his powers were god given or something along those lines since I doubt any regular priest not well-trained in dealing with spirits would know what to look for. The Order certainly wasn't against mages since their Grandmaster was one after all. Despite being a mage he was certainly old looking, something which might have been a choice, what with his long greying beard going down to his chest, the flowing red robes showing how he was part of the clergy of the Eternal Fire, and even walking with a slight hunch in his back. It also helped that when I was closer to him earlier my amulet was vibrating enough to confirm my suspicions.

I saw Roland go up to speak to him and I took that as my cue to get up from my game of chess with Ivar which the Order had on hand and walk over, him and Dogmeat following along shortly after.

Both Roland and the priest saw me coming and acknowledged my presence.

"Ah yes, the Witcher… Ser Roland, I have been able to confirm after extensive study and ceremonies that the tower has indeed been purified of the spectral presence that had infested it. May the troubled souls finally find peace in the embrace of the Eternal Fire." the priest paused to give a silent prayer, something which Roland followed along and I did as well. I may not be religious and I certainly don't respect the Eternal Fire, but I could pray that those souls would finally be given peace after so long.

"I must admit I was very skeptical when the mutant claimed he did what our Order could not… but it is a sin to not admit it has happened one way or another. The people of Blaviken will no longer have to fear this tower nor what is within it and that is all that matters in the end. I shall return later to recover the remains within so they might be properly cremated. For now, I must return to the temple and tend to my folk. I can only leave my acolytes in charge for so long."

"Of course, your holiness. Thank you for coming on such short notice." Roland thanked him with a bow.

"But of course, a knight of your standing could not simply trust the world of the unclean after all, no matter how… well meaning." the priest sneered at me before taking his leave with an escort of two knights back to his temple and his followers.

Yeah, there were good reasons why I didn't like the Eternal Fire even beyond what I knew was canon from the games.

"While I have decent respect for the gods as the next man I feel as if they could choose their voices better." Ivar couldn't help but quip.

I appreciate voicing the thought Ivar but maybe not in front of the heavily armed followers of said priest.

"His holiness is a good man, though I admit quite traditional in many things. Still, you have done good work this day Master Witcher, and that deserves praise and rewards in equal measure. I will accompany you personally to report to the alderman of your success… and since I have you here maybe even give you another task should you want it." Roland offered.

"Thanks, but I think I'm just going to wait on my ship till we sail out soon rather than take anymore jobs." I turned down politely.

"I understand, but in fact what I am offering you is directly related to your travel plans. You see, with the tower now successfully cleared of harmful spirits the main task of our chapter here is complete. We must report this success to our headquarters, the Castle of Barienmurg within the lands the Order directly holds, so that they can decide what our next orders are to be. After all, we cannot be content to rest on our laurels when there remains much work to be done in the world and we are no longer needed here in such numbers. Ivar here tells me that you are on a ship south that will stop by Roggeven, the castle-city next to the lands of the Order, and that is where you come in. You only need to hand the message off to our brothers there and they will deliver it the rest of the way. We could do it ourselves but it would take much too long by horse and yours is the only ship in harbor heading that way swiftly. It should be a very simple job for one of your skills after all." Roland explained.

Oooooh boy. I mean, I knew we would be stopping by port that was basically next to Order central, but I had planned to hide on ship the whole time to avoid trouble since I figured that would be safest. I could turn it down… but I feel like turning down such an easy job might bring more attention to me once the message does make it back to Order proper. Fucked if I do, fucked if I don't. It was just deciding how hard I would be fucked out of the options.

Aww hell, I was already on the Order's radar by being a Witcher and this event. I might as well go along with it but at the same time not overstay my welcome, gold was gold in the end as well.

Besides, I was from the Griffin School and they believe they can only get Witcher secrets from Kaer Morhen. From their eyes I was less useful than grabbing a Wolf Witcher like they did in canon, at least I hoped so.

"Well, assuming I am being paid I have no issue in taking up the job." I answered.

"But of course, 100 crowns now and another on completion of the delivery." Roland offered.

"Deal. Though I have to say that is a lot for being a messenger." I pointed out.

"You have done good service for the Order for exorcising the specters from this tower and are carrying an official correspondence, it is the least we can offer." Roland stated.

"Well, I can't say no to that. Will need to let the captain know of course since he will be carrying some important cargo but it shouldn't be an issue. Now, let's tell the Alderman that the tower is finally open for the next mage that wants to move in."

Roland nodded and we made our way back to the house with the woman who stuck a crossbow in my face.

I was going to use Quen beforehand just in case. I would leave it on all the time if I could.

---

"... so other than the decaying magical illusions the tower is clear of any lingering vengeful spirits. You can now sell it off to any mage or other person who wants it and no longer have to deal with morons getting themselves killed trying to sneak in to loot the place, not that there was much in there to begin with. All in all, I think I earned my pay." I finished my personal report as Roland backed up everything I said to the alderman.

"Thank the gods. I wasn't sure if you could really pull it off, but I guess you Witchers aren't known as monster slayers for nothing. I will go and collect your coin." the alderman said in gratitude before moving deeper into the house.

"Awww, I can see why you Witchers love your work so much! Not only do you get to travel far and encounter so many amazing creatures but you are praised and paid for your work! It must be quite the life." Ivar said with a smile.

'It is… if you like being hated for what you are, constantly diving in danger headfirst, and most of the time living day to day with what little you can earn. Most Witcher work is underpaid for the jobs involved and I've been lucky finding really good work. You'll see, as we travel more it gets a lot less rewarding." I said with a gruff tone.

"Nevertheless, your deeds will put this city and it's fine people at ease. That is a reward enough for a knight." Roland said.

"He ain't no knight. He's a Witcher." the voice lanced in anger said from the other side of the room. We turned to see Marilka glaring daggers at me, seemingly wishing she could kill me with a look. "They are nothing but cold-blooded emotionless killers who will butcher anyone just because they can. He's no different from the last one that visited this city and my fool of a husband should never have hired him on to do anything. We're lucky he didn't unleash the wraiths on us or some other terrible thing." she practically hissed.

Sigh, I was so not in the mood for this at all. I just wanted to… was it worth it? Was it? Probably not… but it would make me feel better since I've been bottling shit since I got here and I wanted to let at least a little of it out.

"Milady, I do not know of your grief with the Witcher but we-" Roland tried to say before I just held a hand up to him and walked forward to Marilka. She just stared up defiantly at me, as if daring me to take a swing at her or something. I did something way worse.

"I'm sorry, you must have been really scared that day. Having Renfri's band gather you and all the other people up in front of the tower and saying how she would kill all of you if that prick in there didn't come out, even worse when he said he had no intention to. Then a Witcher comes by and easily cut all them down with such speed and efficiency it just scared you even more. Seeing this white-haired cat-eyed man so effortlessly kill these battle-hardened men that despite their small size took so many people hostage.

You just wanted the source of all this fear to go away, so you and everyone else threw insults, rocks and all manner of things at him until he left. But he left too easily. You most likely though, 'why did this man leave with no argument, was he planning something, would he come back in the night to take me away like the stories say or worse?'" I said with as much kindness and empathy as I could muster.

I don't think she was expecting any of that, what with the way her mouth just opened and closed in shock. Nothing came out besides a few small uncertain sounds. I took that as my que to keep going.

"I get it, you were scared of this man you talked with with no fear at first. You wanted it, him, to go away and so clung onto the bad stories and rumors that just fed it. I wasn't there personally, but I'm pretty sure he wanted to save you from Renfri and her band. We Witchers aren't the most social types so when we are not wanted we tend just to move on rather than defend ourselves, makes it so it is very easy for people to make up things about us since we don't do anything to dissuade it most of the time.

I can't change your mind or anything, not trying to, but do you really want to live with that hate and fear forever? Even Renfri, the specter we removed from the tower if you didn't know, felt regret in the end regarding the Witcher you met and he was the one that killed her. If she could let go and move on I know you can. I'm not asking you to love Witchers, just give us a chance to do our job since we were literally made to make the lives of the common folk easier. That's all I wanted to say, you can take it or leave it." I finished.

I wasn't much to scream and yell even in my old life; I could only give my honest thoughts and let people do with it what they will. I couldn't alter people's minds, all I could do was try to convince them to expand their own a little.

Marilka gaped at me, an expression mirrored by Roland and Ivar, albeit for different reasons. Her mouth worked as she tried to think of a response; abruptly, she spun on her heel and marched out of the room, her back stiff.

"Huh. She reacted much better than I thought she would," said her husband, having apparently walked back in after I began my little speech, heavy coin pouch in hand.

I turned to look at the man. "Really?"

He nodded. "My wife's got a temper, in case you didn't notice. Reacting like that, tells me she's going to stop and think about what you said, but I didn't trust herself to react appropriately. How you knew all of that, I have no idea, but if it encourages her to ease up on her attitude towards Witchers who want to deal with things we can't, it'll be worth it."

"Shame that the next time a Witcher comes by will likely be awhile, we are an endangered species after all." I couldn't help but darkly joke.

---

After that we left the Alderman's house and made our way back to the docks, the day now nearing its end with the sun dipping past the horizon. Stars appeared in the sky in much greater numbers than back home.

It had been a very eventful day and I was actually looking forward to spending what few days on the ship being bored and relaxing since I was sure Destiny would not let me keep at it for long.

Despite being a city in its own right most folk were either home for the day or most likely at local taverns drinking their money away so the streets were pretty quiet all told. I just walked along in silence as Roland and Ivar conversed with each other, about their experience growing up apparently, while I held Dogmeat who seemed quite tired from walking around a lot today. Puppies needed rest just as much as exercise after all, which reminded me I should walk Griffin a bit when we get back as well.

I was broken out of my mental musings as Roland spoke up.

"That's odd, where are the gate guards? The sun may have waned but that is no excuse for no one being posted. I shall be having words with the watch captain over this." Roland noted gruffly as I followed his gaze.

He was right, the eastern gate out of the city was seemingly abandoned and locked up, which was weird since it led to docks which despite the time of day would still have sailors and other people coming in and out. It's as if the guards decided to quit en mass and just lock the door behind them.

Before I could respond to that, my Witcher hearing suddenly picked up the sounds of a lot of armored feet moving around us. "We got company." I said ominously as I put down a confused Dogmeat and drew my steel sword.

At my words all around us, from back alleys, side doors, and even the damned guardhouse sitting next to the gate came out well armed and armored people who did not look friendly at all. There were about two dozen of them, all wearing a mismatch of armor but not below chain mail at least and holding some basic steel weapons, I even saw a few with crossbows among them. They didn't move like soldiers, but certainly professional enough not to be common cutthroats which left…

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here boys. A scholar, a knight, a dog, and a mutt. Seems like the start of a really bad jest, and I don't know about you all but I'm not laughing." A familiar voice cut through the air and I watched as out of the guardhouse came the merc leader from earlier, looking much more confident than before.

"What is this? What do you brigands hope to achieve here against a knight of the Order of the Flaming Rose and it's official business?" Roland challenged as he drew his own sword, no doubt expecting a fight as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry 'Ser', we're just doing the work of purging filthy nonhumans you and yours are too stupid to do yourself. In fact, I say it's a might traitorous to be even talking with 'em. You see, the Witcher here done slighted me in front of my own men, made me look craven. As a honest As a honest mercenary I got a reputation to keep up so I can't really let that slide so I've gathered my boys here to teach a well-deserved lesson before we deal with our original contract involving that stupid troll later. This city is no friend to Witchers so I barely had to bribe the guards to 'take a break' while we covered their watch for 'em. I knew the freak would come through here at some point since I learned he came by boat and no inn was likely to take him.

Once we are through with you mutant I figure we can cut you up and sell your bits off to any one interested for some good coins, lots of people want to know how Witchers tick after all. After that we are paying that farm a visit to kill the troll and the whoreson and his family for befriending the beast, think we'd get extra out of it. As for the rest of you… well I'm sure ser knight's armor will find a good price to the right fence and the scholar will be fun to play with, and the dog will be a good snack." The merc leader gloated as around him his men shared his dark laughter and cruel smirk.

Oh this motherfucker.

"You done with your evil gloating you arshfaced simpleton who isn't even important enough in my mind to give a name?" I suddenly called out, causing the laughter to cut off and actually cause said idiot to look a little gobsmacked.

"You think I'm afraid of your petty threats? I'm a gods be damned Witcher, I face down horrors that would make you shit your britches every other day. Just today I put to rest specters that haunted the tower in the center of the city for decades. Ser Roland here, I'm assuming, earned his knighthood through years of dedication from boyhood and climbed the ranks of his Order to point of leading a Chapterhouse here. Ivar is a regular human scholar that actively seeks out the most dangerous monsters this world knows just to study them and I've seen him kill men at dozens of paces with a simple rock to the head, and I don't see any of you wearing good helmets. You think you're tough shit cause you cut down defenseless people or fight against your 'equals' but your cruelty shows your true cowardice deep within you. You have the gall to threaten to eat a Witcher Hound who even at this age could easily rip out your throat if I gave the order.

So let me make one thing clear, you had the chance to walk away earlier cause I was being merciful. Now though… now you are not going to see the next sunrise and if the rest of your little band was smart they would throw themselves to Ser Roland's own mercy right now since this Witcher has none for you now." I called out with as much repressed and controlled rage as I could, growling all the way that put to mind more a wolf than a man.

Holy shit, where did that come from?

The entire street descended into silence at that, several of the mercs looking surprised and a little worried while looking to their boss who seemed to be super pissed.

"... Kill 'em all. KILL 'EM ALL!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as he drew his warhammer and charged, which his men followed suit in.

Before I could even cast my first Sign however something unexpected happened. Namely what I briefly saw as a flying barrel going overhead before it smashed into one very unlucky merc, breaking it's contents of fish and the merc himself to pieces before a new voice joined the battlefield.

"Leave Witchyman and friends alone! BOLT SMASH!" Bolt roared as I turned my head and saw the very angry troll burst through a cart moved to block the road behind us and charge into some very surprised mercs.

Huh, I guessed it did pay to be nice to those that deserved it. Now it was a much more even fight.

I just had to survive it.