Chapter 1 – In Kovir by Chance

The first rays of the morning sun fell on the frozen ground. The nights were still chilly, but the last days had already caused a change. The trees and shrubs on the edge of the road floated out, forming buds. Kovir's lush vegetation welcomed spring.

A sparrow was sitting in a tree by the wayside, cheerfully whistling his song - presumably to impress any female sparrow. Or to steal her from another sparrow ... in any case, the little guy had a disgusting good mood.

"Stupid little bastard."

Lambert hated this morning. Just like the morning before. Frozen, he had awakened in the barn, where a suspicious farmer had let him spend the night. This scumbag had let him pay for the night in the straw. Lambert would have loved to tell the man in his own way what he thought about travelers being exempted. But since the alternative would have been an overnight stay under the stars, he'd swallowed his anger and pulled out his purse.

He moved his icy toes in his boots. Damn cold. Why had he been back on the path so early? Two, three weeks longer in Kaer Morhen and he would have spared himself this crap. But after several months in this draughty ruin, alone with Eskel, he had been glad to leave at last. Still, he had waited a few more days than his brother, who had already jumped back into the saddle as soon as the mountain road was passable. Could not wait to come to Oxenfurt.

Lambert snorted. He could not blame Eskel. If a woman like Thalia expected him, he would probably have tried to melt the ice on the passes with Igni himself.

But no woman expected him. Nobody expected him at all.

If any monster tore him to pieces in a stinking cave, no one would ever notice. If Eskel returned to Kaer Morhen next winter - and Lambert wasn´t sure if he would - then he would wonder why Lambert didn´t come. Had he moved into another winter´s quarter somewhere? The following year, Eskel would realize that Lambert would not return. But no one would ever know what had happened to him. That had been the fate of hundreds of witchers before him. No witcher ever died in his bed, as Vesemir always used to say.

And yet he was back on the path again. On the path he hated, which he had not chosen, and which would someday - sooner or later - be his death. First, Lambert had followed the road to Aard Carraigh, with no clear target. Then he rode further west until he had crossed the Kovirian border yesterday.

The fact that he traveled to Kovir had nothing to do with the incidential comment that Triss had dropped during her stay at Kaer Morhen. That Keira now lived in Kovir, more specifically in Lan Exeter. He had no intention of ever seeing this bossy, unfaithful sorceress again.

Everything had started so well at first. They had traveled together to Gors Velen, where Keira had made further research to cure Catriona's disease. The notes of this sorcerer Alexander, that she had found in Velen, were probably a treasure trove of information. But even after Radovid's death, many areas in the northern kingdoms were not a safe place for magicians, so Lambert had kept her out of trouble. If she needed ingredients for her research – in fact monster´s ingredients - he had provided them to her.

From the beginning she set the tone, made the decisions and determined her travel destinations. But with all this she had been more or less friendly to him. At least for a sorceress. And she had always been able to appease him as he vented his anger over the hierarchy in their relationship. Oh, yes, she had ...

Lambert quickly suppressed the thought of intimate moments with this deceitful woman. The memory of her soft skin, her touch still provoked a longing in him that he didn´t wanted.

If he was honest with himself - and Lambert tried to minimize those moments - then the months with Keira had been the best time of his life. Which was more about how shitty fate had always treated him.

Everything was fine until she met her 'old acquaintance' - Emilian Gyldenstein. This disgusting, arrogant, condescending snob. This self-absorbed sorcerer, with whom she seemed to have maintained pelvic contact before. But he had not realized that at the time.

This presumptuous bastard had clearly shown what he thought of witchers - and of this witcher who accompanied his 'good friend' Keira, especially. This suck-up had tried to make him look like an uneducated thug and a ruffian in Keira's presence.

And like an idiot, even then he had not suspected anything. As always, he went beast-hunting to bring her some much needed ingredient. While she ... Lambert's lips pressed together, his expression darkening as he thought back to that moment.

Unaware, he had returned from his mission, stained with blood and much less appetizing things. He entered the house rented by her, and for a moment he was surprised only when an unfamiliar coat hung over the back of a chair. And only then he heard what he had never wanted to hear.

Furious, he had stormed into the bedroom, tore that bastard off her. When he smashed his head against the bedpost, he heard his nose crack. He would have broken that sucker a lot more bones if that ass had not pushed him roughly against the wall with a levitation spell. What had come after, he had perceived as though through a veil of anger, disappointment, and pain. Keira's screams, her hands trying to stop him from running on that whore-son again, her ridiculous attempts to explain ... Lambert had pushed her away and left the house. Dirty and reeking, he had climbed onto his horse and ridden away. He hadn't looked back for her when she had tried to change his attire in front of the house wearing a dressing gown only.

He had not seen her since. That was almost two years ago.

And yet hardly a day went by without thinking of this unfaithful, treacherous slut. Fucking shit.

That his way led him to Lan Exeter was pure coincidence. Actually, Pont Vanis was his destination. In Hengfors he had overheard the conversation of two traders in an inn, who were talking about increasing attacks by sirens on the waters near the coastal city. A witcher who took care of the matter would certainly be welcomed upon the fishermen there. Lan Exeter in Praxeda Bay was just on the way.

As he rode through the eastern city gate, the characteristic smells of a larger settlement immediately struck him. In Lan Exeter, the notes of sweat, smoked fish and baked goods dominated. A clear improvement on the cities further south, especially the 'Free City of Novigrad', as this filthy hole called itself. There the bewitching scents of excrement, piss and debris took his breath away - at least in the lower city. In Kovir - and especially in the port city of Lan Exeter - there was hardly any poverty, crime was at a low level and the underground sewers provided relatively clean streets and alleys.

Nevertheless, Lambert hated Lan Exeter. Actually, he hated all cities. Too many people, too many sounds, too many smells. However, often the most money could be made in cities. The fine gentlemen would never have come up with the idea of handling their own problems with unwanted creatures, as more and more farmers and forest workers did these days. Those witchers who specialized in the elimination of Zeugls, lower Vampires and Apparitions, could make a living in larger cities. But Lambert would never have come up with the idea.

So Keira had settled down here. According to Triss, she spent the last year in Lan Exeter. Until a few months ago this promiscuous bitch probably lived with this Albrecht van Ehrenfels. Probably some rich jerk who allowed her a dissolute lifestyle. Something else she had had to do without during the time she had been with Lambert. Just like receptions, expensive clothes and 'cultivated conversation'.

But they still had a good time together. She did not seem to have missed all the amenities - at least not when she lay in his arms. Lambert found himself thinking of the passionate moments they had shared. How her lips had felt on his. The light scent of jasmine and patchouli that had always surrounded her. Not so intrusive and irritating as this perfume of lilac and gooseberries that Yennefer always used. By the gods, how lovely Keira had always smelled ...

Lambert repressed those silly memories immediately. Every single good moment they had shared was overshadowed by her treachery, her voluptuous infidelity with that stupid squirt. Lambert had sometimes wondered why she had done it. Did she miss something when she was with him? Was he too crude, too inept? She had never said anything ... though she had not bothered with commands and criticism otherwise.

He forced himself to suppress the thoughts of her. The time he had been wondering if he had to blame himself for everything ending so bad was long gone.

He left his horse at one of the stables after he had paid for food and pitch and made his way to the marketplace. There he wanted to look at the notice board for contracts. After that he would look for a place to sleep. Any inn would be adequate, where he could spend the night for a few coins.

The marketplace was full as expected. Hundreds of people crowded around the merchants' booths, examining the displays and bargaining for every Bizant. Lambert moved swiftly through the crowd until he reached the bulletin board. He needed a little time to get an overview of the available offers. Most pinned notes were buy or sell offers. A note caught his attention. A merchant was looking for a witcher (or, alternatively, a "brave lad") who cleaned his warehouse from a group of Nekkers. Nothing spectacular, but quickly earned money, as Lambert decided. He pulled the note from the board and studied the address given. According to the information, the warehouse should be in the north of the city. Lambert looked around the square and tried to peer from his slightly elevated position the streets that branched off the square to orientate. As his gaze passed over the crowd, it suddenly stopped at a person. On long blond hair. A fine-cut, beautiful face. Red beads that adorned a delicate neck on a necklace. An adrenaline rush hit Lambert when he saw Keira.

She was checking the quality of an oil, rubbing a drop of it between her fingertips, smelling it. She agreed with the dealer on a prize, coins and bottles changed hands. With smooth movements she stowed her shopping in a bag and then went away to the south. Lambert stretched himself so that he did not lose sight of her in the crowd.

For a moment he hesitated ... actually he had wanted to visit his potential employer. In the north of the city.

On the other hand ... he really wanted to know to which place Keira went. Where she lived? With whom maybe?

The warehouse would also be haunted by Nekkers tomorrow. One day more or less probably didn´t matter.

Lambert cursed. And followed the blond sorceress unnoticed.

Note:

This story is a spin-off to my long-fic "The Heart of Alchemy", that you find here in the archive as well (in which Eskel is the main protagonist).

The events in "Eternal Flame" take place between chapters 21 and 23 of the "Heart". If you are already reading my main story, I´ll advice to read this Lambert-spin-off after Chapter 20.

You can also start with "Eternal Flame", if you haven´t read "The Heart of Alchemy" yet. After three chapters this spin-off will be continued in the main story from chapter 23 and following.

I hope this isn´t too confusing … ;-)

A big hug for my wonderful beta-reader Ofeliathemoth.