Chapter 25

"Here's the plan. I stay here and you go give the message to the nearest member of the Order you can, it shouldn't be hard since this place is full of them, and the wax seal on it should prove its legitimacy to them. I care more about doing Roland a solid and staying away from the center of their power than pay so just say no reward needed or something. They are unlikely to give you trouble at all compared to me after all."

"Because the current Grandmaster is a madman who wants to kidnap Witchers to unlock the secrets of your creation to raise a mutant army to combat the coming apocalypse, I totally understand." Ivar nods.

"Yeah, got to say you are taking a potentially highly dangerous situation well on top of everything else on you." I noted.

"Why wouldn't I? You have opened up literally infinite possibilities in this universe and beyond! You my friend have opened my eyes more than all the learned men in the world combined! And for that I will always be thankful!" Ivar declared with stars in his eyes.

Well… better than him becoming a nihilist or thinking I was totally mad. I think Ivar was the kinda guy who was much more open to the impossible than most people. I won't complain. Still…

"Just get it done quickly and come back just as much. We don't need to stay here longer than needed and just cause you aren't a Witcher doesn't mean you should unduly risk yourself. It would be a shame to lose you just after I expanded your worldview."

"Indeed it would! I promise to all the gods watching I shall return within the hour or not at all!" Ivar declared as he climbed up the stairs to the top deck.

"Try not to do that last one!" I yelled after him before sighing and turning to Dogmeat. "I seriously have no idea where that guy gets all his energy about seemingly everything."

Dogmeat just let out a cute little bark in response.

"I concede to your wise words, truly there is no arguing with you. Now, who wants belly rubs?" I asked playfully.

I got a lot more excited barks in response to that.

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I was in the middle of my potion experiments when Ivar returned. I was working on a potion that would hopefully up my resistance to cold by increasing my blood flow higher than average for a short time, and I was glad that he seemed unharmed and in good spirits.

"I take it things went well?" I asked as I turned slightly from my work but still focusing on it enough to make sure mixtures didn't go off course. I would still be glad to be in a proper lab one day.

"There was no trouble at all! I did make a pit stop to stock up on ink and parchment since I have many more notes to take, but I quickly found a high ranking Order armsmen who assured me he could take the missive directly to their leadership. I assume he thought me a highly paid courier, the type that delivers messages between nobles and such, so he did not question me much. With that we have done our due to Ser Roland and can move on with nothing weighing us down."

"Good to hear. In a few days we are shoving off again and our last stop on this ship will be Novigrad. From there we will get on a riverboat and go up Pontar a ways before going the rest of the way by foot through Kaedwen to the School of the Wolf's home keep. Should be late fall around then so most likely we will spend winter there if all goes well."

"Sounds lovely! While not my field of study I am sure studying the aspects of a Witcher School would make for a lovely side project while stuck inside for a good while."

"Best work on getting on the Grandmaster's good side then since he can be a bit rightly paranoid about non-Witcher guests who haven't earned his trust. I'll vouch for you but the best way you can get him to like you is to get on his good side by working hard on things they have trouble with. I hope my own skills in alchemy will interest him a great deal and can be of use in dealing with upcoming threats." I grimaced as I thought about what would happen in the next couple years.

"Yes, the Order's mad plans, the Kingslayers, and of course the end of the world as we know it. That is a lot for only two men to handle… will you tell the Wolf Witchers what you told me?" Ivar asked curiously.

"Maybe? I'm worried that the more people know the less controllable things will become, especially if unfriendly people hear of it. Speaking of which we need to get you a dimeritium cap like me to hopefully defend against passive mind reading from mages. There are a few good ones like Triss and Yennifier, but even they have their own agendas at times and we don't have the benefit of being the White Wolf."

"'Women, especially Sorceresses, are dangerous creatures that must be treated with equal parts respect and wariness.' Considering what you told me of the Lodge I must say that saying has more truth to it than I originally expected. It is a shame your "metaknowledge" can not tell us of any mages besides them we could call upon to assist us."

"Yeah, you're telling me." I grumbled as the mixture finally boiled just right and I quickly poured it into a bottle to test the effects later.

"Still, given everything we know is to come to pass your plan does seem the most logical to find allies among the "main characters" of this world. I still find it fascinating how events here can be spawned in the minds of others in an entirely different world. Do our imaginations create new worlds, or do other minds sense these happenings and put them to paper? Are our realms more closely connected than we can possibly imagine or is there some other greater force at play? Oh how I hope this Ciri does not mind a scholar's curiosity and can entertain my thoughts."

"She's a bit less grumpy than her dad so maybe. Just don't go too far since she was trained by Witchers and has learned not to take shit lying down." I warned.

"I will be every part a gentleman… though I do worry our actions in preventing terrible future events will instead bring new ones we can't predict. The future can be a clouded and dangerous thing after all."

"Don't I know it." I sighed to myself as I collected my alchemical things and prepared to meditate the day away with only breaks to play with Dogmeat, talk with Ivar, eat and drink, and maybe play with my Signs.

It seemed like even with a plan in mind I was still finding myself wrestling with the infinite "what ifs" way out there.