Chapter 108

A girl with red hair in a bundle came out of the portal window, followed by a girl with loose black hair, and then the second girl snapped her fingers and the portal collapsed.

For a few minutes the girls waved their hands around, but I had to hold Ciri in place so she wouldn't rush to meet the obviously familiar sorceresses. She wanted to!

If it hadn't been for Sandi, I wouldn't have been able to keep her in place in time.

"Well... at least the air here is breathable, though I wouldn't say it's clean..."

The girl with red hair looked around and made a few gestures then took a deep breath.

"Well. it's not that bad, some of our cities smell worse, although it's clearly..."

"Junkyard ..."

The second continued after her acquaintance, who was clearly trying to choose words more careful and not offensive.

"...Triss, call it what it is, it's a dump."

"Yeah, uh. but, uh. are you sure we're doing the right thing?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, we fooled Geralt and Aquallach..."

"Yeah. Or have you already forgotten what this Wild Hunt is all about?"

"No, but..."

"No, but-- Triss, there's something the elf wasn't telling us. and what's more, how could he have such knowledge? I'm not talking about portals to other worlds now, but about Wild Hunt's plans to negotiate with these sentients, who according to the same elf were able to capture Ciri, but let him go... I don't believe it...

"It's understandable that the elf was trying to use us. but Geralt."

"He's an asshole!"

"What the hell happened to you? You used to--

"Huh, an acquaintance found contact with a higher vampire and I bought knowledge from him a couple months ago on how to remove the effects of Genius on a sentient..."

"Uh... congratulations."

"Uh-huh...

"And what did you have to do?"

"No big deal. gave him a couple of mages."

"What did you do?!"

"Calm down... not witches, and especially not inadequate magicians... I was glad for the first time that among our colleagues there are some scum who can be used for blood rituals and given to a vampire as payment."

"Fuck. Ian! Are you crazy?! If the others find out about this."

"Well, uh. you're not gonna turn me in, are you?"

"I'm not. but are you sure that vampire won't turn you in?"

"Tz... no. but what choice did I have?"

"Okay..."

Triss shook her head.

"...so that Genius' influence on you was stronger than you thought?"

"Yeah... And honestly, after that, my opinion of Geralt dropped below the plinth... No, as a Witcher he's very good, maybe even as a man and a human being... but honestly, I'd rather die than go back to being brainwashed. brainwashed."

"I see... What are we gonna do now?"

"I don't know."

"That said, she didn't take Geralt and the elf with us, who could have tried to track down Ciri..."

And then I decided to use one of the speakers.

"Triss Merigold and Jennyfair of Wengerberg, it is a pleasure to welcome you to our world. If you have come in good faith, please raise your hands in the air."

The girls flinched when they heard my voice, but hesitantly raised their hands in the air.

"Thank you for the clear demonstration..."

I couldn't confirm their good intentions, so I just let Ciri go and nodded at the girls, turning on the sandi and watching as she rushed over to both girls and wrapped her arms around them.

"Triss! Ian! It's so good to see you! I've missed you so much!"

"Ciri?"

Both girls were shocked.

"Is that really you?"

Jennyfair was the first to come to her senses and pulling away from Ciri slightly she asked the question.

"Yeah..."

"How did you..."

"It's all made up. David decided it was wrong to just let me go and helped me fight off the Wild Hunt, so..."

"Then how do you know what I was gonna ask you?"

Yennyfeather frowned slightly.

"We heard you talking, so we have a pretty good idea why you're here. That's what David was counting on."

"This?"

Triss looked at Ciri in surprise.

"Well, he assumed that if they didn't succeed on their own, they'd use you as bait to catch me."

"Uh. well, that's what we thought, but we couldn't pass up the chance to get to you and try to help."

"By the way..."

After Triss, Jennyfair spoke again.

"And the guy who approached us, is he David?"

"Yeah..."

"And why isn't he here yet?"

"I guess he and Judy still have you in their sights."

"Hmm? They think a bow will penetrate magical shields?"

"A more advanced analog and he had no problem taking out the Wild Hunt representatives with a single shot."

"Kha!"

The girls looked around warily.

"Okay, David, would you stop it? If they just wanted to run away with me, they would have tried already..."

I turned off the sandi with a sigh and stood up from my position throwing my rifle on my shoulder, then calmly walked down to the girls.

"Not a sure thing... But okay, let's try to trust them."

I got to the girls pretty quickly and nodded to them.

"David Martinez, at your service."

"I'm Triss and this is Jennyfair, as I understand you already know us, albeit in absentia."

"Yes, Ciri told me about you, even though she was counting on Geralt arriving with you."

"No... he chose to trust that elf. We, or Ian for that matter, decided not to."

"And rightly so... when he and I broke up, he was kind of hurt, and it was just a game to keep me to myself. If it weren't for David and his girls, I'd probably be ready to howl with loneliness and the constant need to run away."

"Okay, well, uh."

At this point Judy, who I had contacted earlier had already pulled the car up and I waved.

"Let's go to the car, we'll talk at home..."

"You trust us that much?"

"There's just nothing you can do to me..."

"Uh-huh?

Ian's fingers glistened from the current discharges.

"Ian!"

Ciri stepped between us.

"Ciri, I didn't think you had such bad taste and your boyfriend would be so presumptuous."

"Well..."

I stepped around Ciri and froze exactly in front of Ian.

"...to begin with, there's nothing going on between me and Ciri. She chose another man to be her mate, we're just friends. We also have a mutually beneficial relationship."

"Hmph? Backed up?"

An unpleasant smirk appeared on Yennyfair's lips.

"Actually, he was telling the truth. My boyfriend's name is Saul and he's going to be a little older than David."

"Older guys, right?"

Triss grinned and took a few steps toward me and stopped a few paces away, looking at my face intently.

"Thank you for helping Ciri..."

"Well..."

I shrugged.

"...I couldn't do otherwise."

"Hero complex?"

Ian was still trying to get a rise out of me.

"More like a mercenary complex looking for profit."

"So you're a mercenary?"

"Yes, but I suggest we get in the car and talk more specifically on the way home."

"All right, uh. lead the way."

I led the girls to the car and explained to them what to do and why, and then they quietly sat down on the floor between the back and front seats, hiding from the cameras, but Ciri could not be afraid... her digital footprint had already been spelled out. And even if her identity would still be impossible to find, but in our world, it's not that important. A person without an identity is less attractive than a person without a past.

"So, what are our plans?"

"In short, zero in on the Wild Hunt."

"Uh..."

The girls were clearly confused, but Ciri laughed.

"David, let's get more detailed, because they seem to be blue screened right now..."

"What language are you speaking now?"

"Zero is kill, blue screen is stupor."

I deciphered the definitions for the girls and they nodded their heads.

"Okay, uh. clearly, nothing is clear. let's start with what we owe for the help, you said you're a mercenary, so you don't just work for nothing..."

"Well..."

I averted my gaze to the window, and for about five minutes we drove in silence. Triss and Jennyfair didn't stop me from pausing.

"...Okay, I'll tell it like it is, originally I was going to ask you to teach me or my girls, or maybe all of us, magic. But now."

I cast a glance at Ciri.

"...Ciri is with Saul, and he's my subordinate, at least for now, so I'll just have to help her."

"Well..."

The girls looked at each other.

"I see no problem training you all..."

Triss shrugged.

"If we can beat the Wild Hunt, of course."

"Thank you..."

I nodded to the redhead and she smiled kindly at me.

"How about a more detailed plan?"

"More detailed?"

I looked at Yennyfair.

"We'll teach you how to interact with our squad, arm you, prepare the terrain and force the Wild Hunt to show up there in full force, then..."

I ran my thumb across my throat.

"Hmm... it's kind of weird and unfinished, but, uh."

"It's just a work in progress. We only know about our abilities, and Ciri couldn't tell us yours... she told us that you can launch a fireball, shoot lightning, but in general it's difficult to make an accurate plan based on such fragments, so the plan will be made in a week or so..."

A car passed us by with the group that was to take over our post.

"Uh... is that Panam Kiwi and Becca?"

"Yeah, they're going to get into position now and mangle our positions for a little while longer."

"Hmm. do you think I should?"

"I think it's gonna be another three weeks... whether or not Geralt and the elf show up. at least follow them if they do, and if they don't, make sure they don't show up. Anyway, we'll have to keep a little more time to monitor the area, especially since Triss and Jennyfair will need time to get up to speed."

"So you're okay with us staying with you indefinitely?"

"If he was against it, he wouldn't have met and helped Ciri fight the Wild Hunt, just left her to her fate."

"I see..."

The rest of the ride was silent until we were at the campground.

And I can say that their reactions were much more restrained compared to Ciri's, well, it's understandable, mages, for them it's amazing, but they can do incredible things.

"By the way, how do you know our language?"

"Ciri helped... but first we communicated in one of the dead languages of your world."

"How did you know him?"

Ian looked at me suspiciously.

"It just happens to be one of the languages spoken in this world."

Ciri answered for me.

"And yes, soon you will be taught the language that is more common here, after which you will be able to communicate freely with others, but I do not advise you to leave the camp for the same reason you have to hide now."

"Yeah, we get that."

Triss replied, and Ian simply nodded confirming her friend's words...