First Impression of Velen

Two days passed and seven people stood in front of the mirror when Vincent says, "Let's get this behind us."

The mirror began to shine brightly as they entered the mirror and appeared in a room that seemed vacant to the group since no furniture was in that room.

"Where are we right now?" asks Karliah as she seemed to melt with the shadow.

"We are in Velen to be exact in an old Elven Ruin that I call one of my hideouts all over Ciri's World. We had to move many times in the past as I avoided some of my more valuable hideouts that could benefit the Wild Hunt in the long run," says Avallac'h hinting that not every one of his hideouts was this empty.

"At least we can see that you really only work with low numbers. If it was the old me, I would have filled this ruin with enough men to control Velen from the shadows as we did back then in Tamriel. Before the war started we already had everyone in our pocket in the North while the East ignored us and the west was ready to attack," says Karliah as Vincent sighs.

"We aren't going to war here. But since we are in Velen we should look for the Crones," says Vincent as he didn't want to waste much time in the ruins.

"Why are you even hunting them?" asks Avallac'h as Vincent never told him.

"Because they almost interfere in my world by giving an immortal being everlasting youth. I and my brother killed the immortal and the Crones seemed interested in returning but never did. So I took matters into my own hands," says Vincent as he saw them as the villains that could have destroyed Thedas by granting this request.

"They should have known better that entering a different world would get them killed," says Vincent as he felt the wind passing and walks towards it finding the exit.

"Will you come with us or you going on your own?" asks Vincent to Ciri and Avallac'h as both seemed to think about it when Vincent says, "You don't have to if you don't want to but take this with you at least."

Vincent takes a piece of paper out and cuts it in three and gives one piece to Ciri and another to Avallac'h while saying, "They will always find each other as a spell is on them."

Vincent then releases his half as it showed where both pieces were before taking it back while saying, "We will separate then. If you want to find me you know what to do."

Vincent walked towards the mirror and pocketed it in his pouch as he didn't want the mirror been unprotected while everyone was outside. They were about to leave when Vincent asks, "Where are you going from here?"

"Skellige. I have family over there," says Ciri as Vincent nods when Ciri asks, "Where are you going to go after the Crones?"

"We will be traveling for a while. If you ever hear that a Black Dragon appeared somewhere you should know that it is us being around," says Vincent as they left the Elven Ruin.

They see the sky and Vincent says, "The sky seems always the same wherever I go."

"We should find the nearest town or village to find out more of those Velen Crones," says Karliah as she summons a crow and it flew into the sky to search for a town or village while Vincent summoned a wolf that ran in another direction.

"We should maybe go North for now," says Vincent as he looked at the sky seeing the sunrise been in the east as he was holding a compass while pointing towards the North.

They follow a path when Ellana says, "It has been long since I walked on a path like this."

"You are not the only one. The modernization of our world did make those paths disappear except you enter a forest or take a mountain path," says Kirvena as it has been long since she walked on pure earth instead of stone.

They followed the path when they find bandits on their way that were robbing people as they took the females and Serana says, "At least this hasn't changed much."

"Let us finish this quick," says Vincent as he rushed into the enemy holding his ax.

Kirvena followed Vincent holding her sword and shield while Karliah draws her bow shooting two arrows that suddenly were surrounded by lightning that Ellana enchanted on them. Serana sat down on a stone nearby as the sun was out and it was annoying her making her not participate in this fight.

The arrows pierced through the first two bandits as Vincent passed them with Kirvena. She rushed with her shield first bringing the first row down when Vincent jumps over her and swings his ax down killing two bandits in one swing before Kirvena kills her first bandits that were on the ground.

Then flames arouse encircling the bandits with Kirvena and Vincent. The bandits couldn't escape any longer trapped with two monsters in human skin when another arrow kills the next bandit. The flames closed in on the bandits while Vincent and Kirvena smiled in excitement as it was a real fight they were having and not some mock battle to train.

Kirvena hits her shield three times before releasing the power sending the bandits into the fire while Vincent brought his ax down destroying the earth under them making them lose their footing before he swings his ax horizontally through them killing them.

Then fire shoots out of the earth burning the cut-in-half bandits before going for the bandits that were blown away by Kirvena. The bandits were burned alive when Vincent sighs as well as Kirvena and Karliah as they looked at Ellana.

"Did you really have to take the fun out of it," says Kirvena as she was having fun at the moment while looking at Ellana.

Serana on the other hand left her stone and walked towards the people that were robbed and asks, "Are you alright?"

"We are fine," says one of them fearful of what happened just some seconds ago as Serana calmed them down with magic without them noticing.

"Don't worry my husband and my sisters have dealt with this situation. Do you want us to accompany you to the next village or town?" says Serana as she was quite convincing for two women in the group since they needed protection to reach the next safe haven.

"If you could bring us to Midcopse it's only the path down," says one of the women as Serana nods.

"Down the path, we will find a village or town it seems," says Serana to Vincent who was cleaning his ax.

"Good, but if bandits are this near to a village," says Vincent hinting at something.

"It could be but we don't know until we know more," says Kirvena as Karliah's crow returned.

It landed on her shoulder and it was sharing its information with Karliah via telepathy making Karliah turn cold as she seemed to put pressure on her bow.

"What did your crow find that it makes you this angry?" asks Vincent as he has seen Karliah only like that when something horrible was happening.

"Near here is a bandit outpost," says Karliah as she pointed at where it is when she continues, "It used to be a refugee camp for the people that have lost everything from what my crow could overhear."

"Then something bad must have happened with the people inside," says Vincent as Karliah nods.

"They killed the men that were inside and kept the women and children. They are raping them while we are speaking right now," says Karliah angry as Vincent could feel the shadows trying to manifest around her.

"How about we go there and free them of the bandits before even more refugees go there and become victims for their pleasure," says Vincent as he agreed that they needed to do something now about the bandits.

"Serana, Kirvena, and Ellana, you all go with the little group to Midcopse while Karliah and I raid that Outpost," says Vincent serious as his wolf came running towards him scaring the group until they see Vincent interact with it.

"Your husband has a wolf as a pet?" asks the man of the little group when the boy and girl in the group walked forward wanting to touch it.

The wolf didn't do anything as the children touched it feeling how fluffy the fur was when Vincent asks warmly, "Do you like what you feel?"

The children nod when Vincent petted their heads before putting his head against the wolf's and they began to exchange information with each other when Vincent stood back up.

"The wolf will go with you too," says Vincent when Ellana looked worried at Vincent.

"Shouldn't I go with you too? I coul-," says Ellana as Vincent shakes his head.

"We need to do it fast and without being seen. If we are seen they could use the women and children as shields," says Vincent when Ellana nods but was still worried about them.

"Don't worry they will come back safe and sound," says Kirvena as the wolf joined them.

They left towards Midcopse while Vincent and Karliah strayed from the path going strayed North from where they were. Vincent changed his armor as he was now in his Koga-Set armor resembling a Ninja with his two daggers named Yoshimitsu sheathed on his belt.

"Do we wait for the night or do we created the night?" asks Vincent as Karliah takes her bow out.

"There is no waiting," says Karliah as Vincent moves his hand creating dark clouds that hide the sun over the outpost as Karliah turned invisible making Vincent sigh as he turned invisible as well.

They sneaked into the outpost as it seemed not guarded at the entrance when they find children in cages while they had to see their mothers been raped by the bandits.

Vincent was right now furious but he couldn't show it as he was sneaking inside. Karliah took the high ground as she killed the two bandits guarding there while Vincent approached the center when he took three throwing knives between his fingers in his left hand when he throws them killing the men raping the women.

He and Karliah acted fast when the three men were killed as Vincent rushed at the man with the keys for the cage killing him swiftly while Karliah shot three arrows in repetition killing three bandits that went for the women.

A bandit came for her only to find a dagger in his throat before she pulled it out making him grab his throat to bleed out like that. Vincent was surrounded and smiled while making hand seals before he summoned a toad that spewed fire at the bandit before the toad disappeared and he slit the throats of the bandits open.

Once the bandits were killed did Karliah come down from her high ground as she joined Vincent. The women were mentally broken from all that they suffered these days as well as the children.

"What do we do now?" asks Vincent since it was Karliah's idea to raid the outpost.

"Can you remove their memories and replace them with other memories of where we came in time to help them while I clean them so they don't get pregnant from those bastards," says Karliah as it didn't sound like a request but a command coming from Karliah.

"I will burn the bandits first while you clean the women and children after you are done I will exchange their memories. I hope you know that it will be difficult to do that for me," says Vincent as he wasn't the best in that field.

Karliah kisses him while saying, "Thank you for doing it for me."

"You are my wife, of course, I will help you," says Vincent as he began to collect the corpses of the bandits while burying the corpse of the men hanging from the walls nearby.

He didn't know how they bury the people around there so he did it how they do it in Skyrim by blessing the land before burying the person so no one could disturb the dead.

After that, he burned the bandits and entered finding Karliah with the women and children. Vincent then began to work as he needed to make the memories believable or they would relapse and their mind would break forever.

"We should bring them outside to the graves of the men it would be more believable that way," says Vincent as Karliah nods.

They bring them outside as Vincent modifies the memories making it so it was only some minutes ago that their men died against the bandits when Vincent and Karliah arrived and saved the day. Also that they burned the bandits and buried the men nearby.

Once they woke up they all began to cry as they were on the buried site mourning for their husbands or fathers. After leaving some food behind did Vincent something for them by blessing a piece of land making crops appear on it so they wouldn't hunger for a while.

Then they left the refugee camp to join the others when Karliah took Vincent's arm and says, "Thanks again for helping them and giving them the resources to survive."

"Yeah, they are lucky that I have so many provisions in my little pouch from over the years of adventuring," says Vincent as Karliah laid her head against his arm while they travelled towards Midcopse to meet the others.