The skies were grey the next afternoon. A blanket of fog that came from Pontar draped the baron’s land, filling the air with humidity and the stench of fish and riverweeds.
The ladies of the troupe were escorted by a soldier, and they were led away from the castle. Their hair was wet, apparently because they bathed earlier. Their rancid smell was gone, and their cuffs had been taken off. Their greasy, squalid clothes were changed out for clean ones, and they looked different.
“You’re lucky Sir Aryan woke up in time, bitches. Count yourselves fortunate the baron decided to let you go.” Dylan was pushing the ladies, cursing, “Now take your stuff and make yourself scarce. Leave the fief in three days. You can go wherever you want, but never come back, or the next time you come will be your last.”
“Pee yew. You’re less civilized than my cat.” The young witcher came out of the tower behind them, eyes flashing with anger, and he cracked his knuckles. “Now lay your disgusting hand off the ladies. They’re no longer prisoners you can torture. Touch them again and the next time will be your last.”
Dylan looked livid and irked, as if he just heard the most offensive thing in the continent. He bared his teeth, but then he remembered that horrifying encounter last time, and he swallowed his words in horror.
The Zerrikanian lady suddenly stuck her tongue out and drew a finger across her throat.
***
“So, how does freedom feel, ladies?” Roy saw Dylan off, smiling happily, and he went to the ladies’ side.
“I knew you wouldn’t leave us for dead, Roy.” Kantilla wrapped her arm around Roy’s shoulder and leaned closer to him. “You caught the culprit and cleared our names, didn’t you? The lady gave us a lot of coins as recompense.”
Roy nodded. The culprit is just some bullshit I came up with. There’s no way the baron would believe anything I say about Gaunter. Who’d believe something that powerful exists? The ladies probably wouldn’t either.
“Where’s Ferroz anyway?” Roy looked around, but only the ladies were here. Ferroz the Joker was nowhere to be seen.
“Ferroz is…” Kantilla suddenly hung her head low, her smile wiped away.
Sadness welled in Eveline’s eyes, but she said nothing.
It was then Roy noticed the three hemp sacks behind the ladies. He sniffed the air. One of them smelled like burned flesh, the other smelled like flowers, and the last one smelled like a slightly rotten corpse. “Is he…”
“Yes, his corpse is in there.” Kantilla sighed. “Right after the servants told us the culprit was caught, he killed himself.”
“You sure it’s a suicide and not a murder?” Roy looked at the sack darkly.
Eveline shook her head. She said, “He lost his will to live, but he wasn’t gonna die until his name was cleared. Now that the truth is out, he went ahead to see Collins.”
Roy was shocked. I racked my brains and challenged the Master of Mirrors to save you guys, and one of you killed himself? “So Amos and Collins are in here too, aren’t they?”
“Kantilla, I don’t doubt your skills. You’re an indubitably great warrior, and… Oh, please button your shirt.” Roy looked away and said seriously, “You ladies make great friends, but once you become my mercenary, there’s going to be a gap between us. It’s not something I want—”
“I don’t mind.” Kantilla suddenly held Roy’s arms. “Witchers fight dangerous monsters all the time, don’t they? That’s what I want. I want to kill more monsters, get more victories, and gain more tattoos. There’s no greater purpose for me.” The lady’s eyes were starting to shine.
“But you have a better way out here. Listen to me.” Roy pulled his arm away. Oh no. I’m not letting you take my EXP away from me. “Lady Louisa reimbursed you, didn’t she? You can build the troupe again with that money.”
“It’s too late.” Eveline pursed her lips. She had a sad look in her eyes. “Our members are dead, and the others have left us. We’re the only ones left. We can’t even come up with a complete show. Kantilla and I talked about it. Once we bury our dead members, we’re going our separate ways. She has nobody else she can rely on in the northern kingdom. It’d be best if you can take her in.”
“I’ll have to talk to my companions about this,” Roy said. “But why are you going your separate ways? I thought you were friends. My companions won’t mind taking two more people to Novigrad. The free city’s trade is marvelous. You’ll find work easily there, and it should be safe for a few years. Life is a lot better there too. At least compared to the baron’s land.”
“Sorry, Roy, but I have other plans.” Eveline looked up into the sky and sighed. She finally resolved herself. “I’m going home.”
“Home?”
“Eveline comes from Dol Blathanna. It’s somewhere in the Blue Mountains… In a place the northerners call the world’s edge,” Kantilla explained. “She should have brought it up before.”
That’s one familiar name. Never been there before. Roy massaged his temples, and he rummaged through his memories.
Dol Blathanna sat under the Blue Mountains. It was due east of Lower Posada, Roy’s hometown. Elven folk used to own the place a few centuries ago, but ever since humans invaded it, Dol Blathanna became Aedirn’s eastern border. The local Ain Seidhes were forced into the Blue Mountains.
Even until today, the elves would destroy the fields and learn about agriculture from the humans. All while they were plotting how to take back Dol Blathanna.
Humans and elves had been fighting in Dol Blathanna for a long time, and the battle was getting more intense as the Northern War was getting closer. There was one important figure in Dol Blathanna, and her name was Francesca Findabair. She was the future queen of the elves as well as one of the leaders of Dol Blathanna elves.
***
“Why are you going back all of a sudden?” Roy asked. “Because of what happened to Ferroz and Collins?”
Eveline stayed silent, but then she stopped in her tracks and looked ahead. Roy realized that they were in a narrow alley. He looked in the direction Eveline was staring, but when he scanned the innermost wall of the alley, his pupils contracted.
There were four silhouettes standing on the wall, as if they came out of nowhere. They were crouching on the looming wall, and the leader was… an elf. There were blue highlights in his black hair, and his features were chiseled. His eyes were big, and they shone. His ears were pointy, and he was in tight green brigandine. A slender sword hung around his waist.
Roy held his vibrating pendant and tensed up. He had cast Observe on the group of people. They were all elves from the mountains, and all of them looked like the typical ancient Ain Seidhe. Purebloods.
***
***