Geralt opened his eyes but his vision was still blurry. He was lying down and someone was placing his arms and legs in shackles. His head was throbbing. He groaned.
"He's waking up," Geralt heard a rough voice.
"Well knock him back out then," a woman replied, her voice familiar. Another hard hit landed on his head and everything went black.
Yennefer sat on the edge of the bed shaking her leg. She was chewing on her fingers, a bad habit very few people knew about. She looked at the door and squinted, deep in thought. Geralt should have been back hours ago. How long should I wait? If he's with Triss, who knows what's going on… If he's just caught up, he'll be upset that I came to find him… However, if he's truly in danger, I should not wait.
Having made up her mind, she stood up abruptly and walked over to their bag. She pulled out black trousers and a black tunic. She quickly changed her clothes, tucking in the tunic, putting a cloak over her shoulders, pulling on black gloves and hiding a pearl handled dagger in her boot. She rushed down the hallway to the library.
After finding the book she needed, she pulled a detailed map of Kovir from it and laid the map flat on a table. She pulled a crystal from her pocket and hovered it over the map, reciting a spell. The crystal spun slowly and then faster and faster. It spun violently over the cliffs just south of Lan Exeter. Yennefer caught the crystal, put it back in her pocket.
She rushed to the steward's quarters, knocking urgently upon reaching it. Hendon opened. He was wearing a nightdress. "Lady Yennefer. It's the middle of the night."
"Yes, I'm aware, but this can't wait any longer. Tell King Tancred immediately that Geralt and Triss have yet to return, and that I'm leaving to find them."
"Oh... Yes, of course." Hendon said while rubbing sleep from his eyes. "I'll go wake his majesty right away. He'll want to speak to you."
"No, there isn't any time for that. Just deliver my message, Hendon," she said as she turned to walk away. She pulled her hood over her head, and walked briskly to the main doors of the castle.
Yen approached the docks. Smoke rose out of the window of a small hut. She knocked on the door. Yennefer could see her breath in front of her face. A short, portly man opened after a few moments, "What?"
"I need transport, immediately. I'll pay you," she said while turning her hand over to show a small bag of coins.
"Hmm… Where to?" the man said as he licked his lips greedily.
"I need to go to the cliffs south of Lan Exeter right away."
"Fine. Do you need to leave now? The moon is high, so the tide is high."
"I understand, but yes, I must leave now. Please. I'll double your pay."
"Alright, alright. Let's go, miss," the man said as he pulled on his hat and grabbed his coat. He led her down to the docks to a small rowboat. He put one foot into the boat to keep it steady, then held his hand out to Yennefer. She smiled politely, but without teeth, and stepped into the boat past his hand. He cleared his throat and settled into his seat. He pulled the oars up from the floor of the boat and began rowing.
"Why do you need to head to this way in the middle of the night, if you don't mind my asking?"
Yennefer paused before she decided that it was easier to not explain, "I do mind."
When they reached the shore, Yennefer stood. The man struggled to stand up, and Yen gestured for the man to not bother. She stepped out of the boat gracefully. She threw two small pouches of gold coins into his boat. He tipped his hat to her, nodded, and shoved off back to the docks. Yennefer turned around and looked at the face of a small cliff. She removed her hood and focused. "Magical energy. A portal was opened here... Triss. To the top then." Yen opened her own portal and appeared at the top of the cliff. "Well at least there's just one way to go." Yen entered the snowy woods carefully, quietly.
"What is this?" Geralt said after coming to. He found himself strapped to a table in a small cave. A fire was lit in a cutout of the wall, and small torches surrounded the exterior of the room.
"Ah, welcome back. You witchers don't stay unconscious for long, do you?" He heard the same rough voice as earlier. A man appeared over Geralt's face. He was tall and burly, with a scar over his right eyebrow exposed underneath his mop of red hair. He was putting metal knuckles back onto his fist when Geralt heard someone else enter. Soft footsteps. A woman.
"Stop. I want to talk to him first," she said. Her voice was like velvet, smooth and low. A voice he knew well. She came closer, and his suspicions were confirmed.
"Philippa." He said, mostly as confirmation for himself.
"Geralt. It's so good of you to join me here. I mean, truly, you basically walked in by yourself."
"What are you doing? Why am I tied up? Where is Triss? And Heloiza?"
Philippa laughed. "Which question should I answer first?" She leaned over him so her face was inches away from his. "The first question is idiotic – I'm here on official Lodge business, as usual. The second – you're tied up because I need something from you, which we'll get to momentarily. The third – Triss is in another room. I'm certain she'll see things my way soon, as she always does. And finally, Heloiza is in my chambers. I understand there was quite the row over her disappearance, but she didn't disappear, she ran away, to be with me."
"Congratulations, Philippa. Truly, I couldn't be happier for you. I'd embrace you if I weren't tied to a table right now. It also seems that you've gotten your vision back, though I see you haven't lost the ribbon."
"No need for sarcasm, Geralt. It doesn't suit you." Something big in the corner of the room moved. It was the griffin Geralt had seen earlier, but something was off.
"Do you have a griffin, Philippa?"
"I suppose you could say I have a griffin of sorts. You see, Geralt, these mines are full of wonderful metals and stones that can either be manipulated by magic, or resist magic."
"And you have plans for them?"
"My, you're astute. I can't believe that you figured it out. The griffin that everyone has been so upset about is a stone monster that I've enchanted. Looks quite like a griffin, but much more predictable. The only trouble is that right now, he leaves a trail of sulfur, of which you are aware. But I'm working on it."
"Where are the rest of the villagers and soldiers that have gone missing?"
"You're very demanding, Geralt. One in your position shouldn't be so. But I'll indulge you, simply for old times sake. In simple terms, they're working for me. It is, of course, more complicated than that, but you understand."
"Working for you… they're mining for you, aren't they?"
"Goodness, Geralt! If you keep catching on to my plans so keenly, you might have a future as a scholar instead of a witcher."
Geralt rolled his eyes. "What is it that you need from me so desperately that you have to restrain me?"
"Well, two things, really. I need Yennefer, unfortunately," Philippa paused and grimaced. Her disdain for Yennefer was well-known. "It turns out the Lodge has need of her. For what you might ask, and I will simply reply 'not your concern.' And I also need Yennefer to cooperate, which is why you're tied up. Bargaining chip. No additional harm will come to you, if she obliges. I'm sending word to her that you're in captivity in the morning, and where to find you. It's quite the rudimentary trap, but it will suffice."
"Yennefer won't come quietly."
"I know. That's why we've taken these precautions," she said, gesturing to the restraints.
"And who is your lackey?"
"My name is Thom, lieutenant commander of the Lan Exeter guard," the man stepped forward, with his fist at his chest in a salute.
"What have you done to him, Philippa?"
"A rather simple spell, a promise of fortune and fame," Philippa said while smiling at the soldier. Thom smiled in response.
"The other Lodge members know about your plans here?"
"Of course."
"And they support you?"
"Geralt, so many questions. You've been with Yennefer for too long. You've forgotten what it's like to leave something to be desired," she said as she started to turn and walk away. "Now, I must go talk to Triss. I hope you're comfortable. We've got a big day tomorrow."
Thom approached Geralt again with the metal knuckles on. He swung his fist, and everything went dark again.
Yen stepped softly through the woods, careful to avoid twigs. Luckily, she found Geralt and Triss's trail from earlier. She followed the footsteps in the snow, quietly, tracing Geralt's steps to avoid making noise. The trail suddenly became muddled, messy with many steps, and then what looked like the trail of two bodies being dragged through snow. Yennefer gritted her teeth, pulled her cloak tighter, and continued. She came upon another mountain, but sensed a magical aura. An illusion, she thought, waving her hand to expose an opening in the mountain. She recited a spell that enabled her to see in the dark, and entered the cave.
Yennefer could hear echoing sounds in the distance, like metal on stone. Someone is mining in here. It must be the ferroaurom or kyrobelitium. She moved silently through the cave, with her back to the wall. It was clear that someone had been there; the cave walls were too smooth to have formed naturally and Yennefer could feel the magic radiating from them. She followed the cave until she came to a crossroads with three directions. To her left, the cave went downhill and she heard the echoing of the pickaxe hitting against stone. To her right, she saw a faint flicker of light but no sounds. Yennefer went right.
A suspicious feeling kept creeping up her spine with each step forward. She decided to send a projection ahead of herself first. She recited a quiet spell and an illusion appeared before her. The illusion was in her image. She sent it ahead noiselessly, as she followed from a safe distance. Her projection fluttered forward until suddenly, a red haired man appeared with sword drawn and cut through the middle of the projection. Yennefer stopped and pulled the dagger from her boot.
The man, taken aback from slicing through air, grunted, "who's there?" He stepped towards Yennefer. She could see him but he could not see her.
She readied herself, preparing to pounce. He moved closer and closer with his sword ready, until he was within striking distance. She leapt forward to his left, cutting with her dagger as she flew. He stumbled but slashed his sword at her, too slowly. He missed. She responded, thrusting her dagger with full force at the man. She caught him in the shoulder. The dagger stuck, she couldn't remove it. She leapt backwards away from him like a cat, landing in a crouching position.
He pulled the knife from his shoulder and threw it on the ground. "Shit! What the fuck was that? Show yourself!" the man shouted. His voice echoed through the cave.
Yennefer quickly recited a spell and took his voice from him. She could see him grasping his throat, trying to scream to no avail. She cast another spell, paralyzing him. He fell backwards stiff as a board.
After waiting to make sure that no one heard the commotion, Yennefer retrieved her dagger, wiped it off, and caught her breath. She continued through the cave until she came upon another crossroads. I'll have to remember my way, she thought. The right had flickers of light, and the left was dark. She chose the left this time. She came upon a small room with medical equipment, a fully stocked hospital. On the left wall, she spotted an opening to another room. The room was completely dark, but she found what she had been seeking.
"Geralt!" she whispered hurriedly to him. He didn't respond. She moved closer to him, and saw his restraints, dimeritium. "Shit." The witcher was unconscious; his face bruised and bloody. She shook him, but he didn't wake. She slapped him lightly on the cheeks, trying to avoid his bruises, and he groaned softly. "Wake up, Geralt! We must go!" She went to the desk in the corner to search for a key to his shackles. With a stroke of luck, she found it.
Yennefer freed him, but he was still unable to move. She recited another spell, wearying herself, however she could carry his weight. Yennefer put his arm around her neck, and walked him out of the room as noiselessly as she could. She navigated them successfully through the cave maze and when they got outside, she immediately opened a portal and transported them both back to their chambers.
Yennefer felt her strength waning after her rescue mission. She dropped Geralt onto the bed, still unconscious, before collapsing there herself, also unconscious.