The sound of birds chirping told Ruby she had already slept past the rising of the sun. Cracking one eye open she was not pleased to find herself alone in bed. She had been hoping to spend a lazy morning in bed cuddling up to an icy Sorceress.
Thinking of Weiss made the Witcher flush.
"So… that was a thing that happened…" She thought to herself, running a hand through her tousled hair. Not a bad thing, definitely not. She grinned stupidly to herself as she stared up at the ceiling.
She didn't exactly have a long list of past lovers, despite her admittedly advanced age but she was quite sure Weiss had just shot to number one on it.
She did wonder where this put them.
The grin slipped from her face at that particular thought. This was always a weird place to be, especially considering this was day four of their acquaintance.
Was this just a manner of relieving stress? She was really interested in Weiss, was Weiss legitimately interested in her?
She covered her face with her hands and groaned. She would just have to figure it out as she went.
Running a hand over the cold sheets beside her told her that Weiss had been gone for a while. With a pout the Witcher pulled herself up, mindful of her arm as she did. Her medallion made quiet noises as she moved.
She yawned and stretched gently and felt the tight pull of skin that was already trying to mend itself together. That was good, it might heal up faster than she had thought. She healed supernaturally fast of course but this was faster than even her body was capable. No doubt it was the magic Weiss had used on her wounds.
Her eyes slid around the room cautiously. Weiss kept both their rooms warded from outsiders but it had never hurt her to extra vigilant in the past. Finding everything to be as it should be she crawled out from under the warm sheets and scooped her forgotten clothes up off the floor and quickly got dressed. She could really use something to eat. Once she figured she was presentable enough she made a quick trip to the kitchens.
She nodded to everyone who passed by her in the corridors and was stopped a few times by servants and guards alike to commend her on the fantastic battle. Commenting on her skill and bravery. She bashfully thanked them and moved on, her growling stomach forcing her interactions to be brief.
The cook was more than happy to give her anything she wanted after having seen her in action against "that scaly whoreson.".
She nodded in thanks as he handed over a basket filled with smoked meats, cheese, half a loaf of bread and a chunk of golden dripping honeycomb.
Ruby took her prize out into the gardens with a grin. The air had only begun to truly warm as a cool breeze rustled the beautiful flower in full bloom around her. It was a perfect morning to have a lazy breakfast outside before the heat of the day set in.
She was so busy stuffing cheese and meat into her mouth that she almost didn't notice the presence coming up behind her. The crunching of grass underfoot mad her tense until a jovial voice called out.
"Ahh, Miss Rose, there you are!" Oobleck called as he stopped a few feet from the eating Witcher.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you?" He questioned, adjusting the thick spectacles perched on his nose.
With her mouthful Ruby settled for shaking her head.
"Excellent," He said and plopped himself onto the grass beside her. "I have always considered myself to be a lifelong student and I was hoping you might educate me."
Ruby swallowed the bite in her mouth as she looked questioningly at the castle steward.
"About what?"
"Monsters." Was the grinning man's easy reply.
This was going to be a longer day than Ruby had hoped for.
Earlier that morning.
Without making a sound Weiss slipped quietly out of the gently snoring Witchers room, glancing up and down the hall to make sure no servants would see her as she crossed back into her own room.
There was no reason to wake her for this. Ruby had technically finished the job she had been hired for, to slay the beast that lived beneath the castle. She was free to leave if she so wished. The thought caused a twinge in the Sorceress's chest but she shook it off as she closed the door to her room behind her.
She on the other hand still had work to do.
Unfortunately, she admittedly didn't know much about the local fisstech trade. However, due to people dealing in poisoned fisstech over the last year King Ozpin had asked another Sorceress to look into finding the parties responsible. She rolled her eyes at coming conversation.
She made quick work of changing her clothes and straightening her hair into a presentable fashion before walking up to her megascope and adjusting the crystals before she closed her eyes and focussed on the person that she wanted.
The crystals began to glow faintly before bursting into a bright light as a clear picture of a faraway workshop was projected into the air by the three crystals, revealing the smiling face of a familiar golden haired Sorceress.
"Helloooo!"
Weiss was greeted by a singsong voice.
"Hello, Yang." She nodded in return, observing her colleague. Looking at her now Weiss couldn't see any sort of resemblance between her and the silver eyed Witcher.
"Hey. How are things going at Beacon? Did my sister arrive?" Yang asked, running a hand through her gold mane.
"Things are going well. We're at Beacon now. Your sister dispatched of the basilisk that was living beneath the castle just last night…" Weiss informed the now grinning blonde.
"I told Glynda, Ruby was just what you needed. So where is my little sister?" Violet eyes searched the room behind Weiss for any sign of her Witcher sister.
"She's… I assume, is still asleep." Weiss caught herself. There was no need to even give Yang an inkling about what had transpired last night by having information she otherwise wouldn't.
She still hadn't decided on how she felt about the whole thing.
She'd only worked with Yang a handful of times but her temper was legendary, not that Weiss was afraid of the blonde. She snorted to herself at the idea. She simply didn't want to deal with that, especially not now.
"That sounds about right." Yang smiled to herself, violet eyes looking off at something Weiss couldn't see before her attention was once again focussed on the icy Sorceress. "So what do you want?" She questioned.
"If you have one, I need names of the local fisstech dealers around Beacon." She told the blonde.
"Never figured you to be into that stuff." Yang said, the hints of a smile tugging at her lips became a full blown shit-eating grin when Weiss scowled.
"Ruby and I found fisstech in nearly every victims bed. I believe it was being used to sedate them, make easier work of dragging them into the catacombs." Weiss explained.
"The question is still, why?" Yang hummed in thought. "Crazy serial killer, systematic cleansing of the servants?" She shrugged looking at Weiss who had a thoughtful expression on her face. "Weiss?" She prodded. Weiss jerked, focusing back on her colleague.
"It's hard to say at this point, I'm following all the leads I have. In keeping with that, do you have what I require or not?"
"Yeah, I got it. Keep your dress on." Yang grumbled walking out of view of the megascope. The rustling of papers could be heard in the background before the other Sorceress came back into view holding a piece of parchment.
"Roman Torchwick is the only supplier near Beacon castle, he's posing as an apothecary. I'm not guaranteeing that information is complete or even still relevant. The life of narcotic dealers tend to be short ones." The blonde warned with a shrug. Weiss nodded in acceptance of this.
"Excellent," She said. "Thank you." She said curtly, moving to shut off the device.
"Sure, one more thing, Weiss." The blonde stopped her before she could deactivate the device. "I did you a favor now you do one for me." The serious look on Yang's face gave Weiss pause as she waited for the other Sorceress to speak.
"While she's there, keep an eye on Ruby for me." Yang must have noticed the now curious and disbelieving look on Weiss's face and chuckled. "She's a tough little Witcher, I know, but she's still my little sister too." Yang folded her arms over her chest.
"From what I understand you two didn't grow up together." Yang nodded to this.
"We didn't. Ruby was taken to Kaer Morhen when she was six and just a couple years later I was accepted into Aretuza. We didn't know each other until we were adults but that's been like, fifty years now." Yang flipped a lock of gold hair over her shoulder. "We're very close and the only family the other has left in this world. So I'm asking you, keep an eye on my sister." The last words were delivered with a deliberate edge, violet eyes flashing.
"I'll do what I can." Weiss replied tersely to which Yang smiled brightly.
There it was, the resemblance between the sisters. That smile.
She could instantly see Ruby's cheerful smile in Yangs. The way their eyes crinkled at the corners when they were pleased by something was identical.
"Good to hear. Sometime when she gets to moving around patch her through, I haven't seen her in a while." With that the conversation cut off and the crystals went dark again. Weiss crossed her arms in thought. She supposed she was lucky, in bigger towns and villages there could be as many as twelve fisstech dealers in one district.
She could very easily get what she needed from one back alley dealing thug.
She crossed the room and threw open the doors to the wardrobe and began shuffling through her things until she pulled out what she wanted. A black hooded cloak.
She tied the cloak around her shoulders and retrieved her rapier from its place beside her bed. Assured of its place at her side she pulled up the hood, making sure all her bright colorless hair was hidden before holding up a glowing hand
A swirling portal of orange light roared to life and once she was sure it was stable, she stepped through.
She stepped out the otherside in a back alley behind the apothecary shop in the village just south of Beacon castle. The fake apothecary.
Something she would be speaking with Oobleck about at a later time. For now she had things to do.
Pushing inside the shop she was greeted by a dim room filled with the conflicting smells of different herbs and elixirs.
Shelves lined every wall and were covered in jars filled with a variety of things, some of which Weiss didn't recognize.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" The orange haired man behind the counter asked. He was grimy, his face smeared with grease and he was smiling creepily. Roman Torchwick, no doubt.
When she stepped closer the acrid smell of sweat made her nose wrinkle beneath the hood.
"I have it on good authority that you sell fisstech." Straight to the point, Weiss didn't have the time to beat around the bush.
"I'm afraid I don't sell those kind of things here, if you're not going to buy something then..." He stopped when Weiss laid a handful of Novigrad crowns on the table. Eyeing her suspiciously he snatched up one of the gold coins and examined it. He nodded and cupped both his hands around the pile and began to slide it towards him when there was a flash of blue light and ice had formed over his hands, holding him to the table.
His head whipped up, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
"Listen carefully and you'll get you hands back" Her voice was low.
"What do you want?" He sighed. Looking up at her almost bored.
"I want to know of any customers you have among the staff at Beacon castle."
"Hmm..," He hummed to himself. "Not ringing any bells." He jumped when the ice around him tightened, pricking his skin. "Fine, fine." He grumbled. "My only client from the castle is that stable boy, the grouchy elf."
"A little more specific if you please." Weiss rolled her eyes.
"A something… Alex? Adam? That's right, Adam. Adam Taurus. He started coming to me around last spring. I haven't seen him in over a month though." He swore, starting to shiver as the ice numbed his hands.
With the flick of her wrist the ice that trapped him evaporated into nothing. She turned on heel and strutted out of the shop, having gotten what she came for. An orange portal came into existence, making the jars and shelves rattle and clink loudly. A couple rattled off the shelves, crashing loudly as she stepped through, disappearing.
Roman scowled shaking out the numbness in his hands and looking over the broken glass on the floor but was happy to see the crowns still sitting on the table. At least he got something out of that transaction.
Ruby laid snoozing in the grass in the castle garden.
After her meal and talking to Oobleck for no less than then two hours she was exhausted. He at least had informed her that her armor had been repaired and was waiting in her room.
True, she should be more vigilant about the threat of assassination but considering that several servants were walking around trimming the flower bushes she wasn't too concerned about someone trying to stab her while she napped.
She still hadn't seen Weiss yet but she imagined that being an advisor to the King she had other duties to attend to, though Oobleck hadn't seemed at all rushed in their earlier conversation. Probably because the King was not in residence this season due to the killings.
The season was already nearing its end. In another month and a half the cooler winds of autumn would be moving in, which brought the usual question to mind. Would she winter in the fortress this year?
Come fall she could travel back to Kaer Morhen for the winter or find somewhere else to hunker down through the cold and snow. Yang was always begging her to come spend the winter in Mistral with her. It was always a dilemma.
She liked to see her other fellows who decided to winter in the fortress but she also liked spending time with Yang. The problem with both options of course was her sister did her own thing much of the time and really, listening to her sister 'entertain' was not high on her list of things she enjoyed. The other being that her fellows were more the silent brooding type.
They shared stories of jobs and monsters killed but it was hard for her to spend the whole winter cooped up in the fortress. Her fidgetiness drove herself and them mad and once there the paths would be filled with snow and unsurmountable until spring.
She still had a couple months to think about it. For now she was just going to enjoy the warmth of the summer sun while she had it. Birds were chirping and a cool breeze was staving off some of the heat. The constant droning of the cicadas lulled her into a state of barely conscious relaxation.
She wasn't sure how long she had laid there but after a while she heard the familiar steps of a certain Sorceress walking through the grass toward her.
She tipped her head back and saw Weiss standing in the grass just a few feet from her.
"Hey," The Witcher said with a smile.
"We need to talk, meet me in my room." Weiss said before turning and walking away.
Ruby frowned at that. That seemed a little cold after last night. Maybe she'd put to much stock in one night. She pushed herself up and stood, brushing the grass of her pants.
Weiss was gathering things off her desk when she walked in.
"By tracking the fisstech I was able to determine who's responsible for the deaths, a servant that works in the stables; Adam Taurus, an elf. Oobleck is already sending guards out to look for him." She informed Ruby.
"We never even confirmed that theory…" Ruby started.
"The local dealer only had one client from the castle, him. Thus he is the only source and it connects him to all the victims." Weiss calmly explained. "More than that, after something your sister said to me this morning, I checked and all the servants who went missing, all thirty were human. Don't you find it odd that of all the servants, half of which are elven that all the victims were human?" She asked. "I should have expected as much from an elf." She mumbled.
Ruby pursed her lips but nodded unhappily. She could admit the evidence all lead to him but she wasn't sure how she felt about Weiss's obvious prejudice. Ruby had plenty of non-human friends, dwarves, halflings and elves. Being a Witcher meant she too was usually viewed as something other.
"Are you coming?" Weiss's voice brought her back to the moment at hand.
"Yeah, just let me get my armor on." She left the room without another word.
It took a few minutes longer than it normally did to strap everything on with her arm but it was still faster than most. Her cloak taking the longest once the armor was in place.
She met Weiss in the hall and followed the Sorceress to the main hall where Oobleck stood talking to several men.
"Ah, Mistress Schnee, Miss Rose. Terrible news. No one can find him!" Oobleck pushed back his wild hair stressfully.
"When was the last time anyone saw him?!" Weiss demanded. Everyone was running around in a panic.
"Sir Oobleck!" A servant came running up out of breath.
"What, what is it? Speak man!"
"I saw, Taurus. He was going into the dungeon." He panted.
"The dungeon?" Oobleck repeated.
Weiss's eyes flickered back and forth in rapid thought before the answer hit her.
"He's trying to escape through the catacombs!" She realized.
As soon as Ruby realized what was said she pivoted around and took off running. Weiss hesitated only a second before following Ruby at full tilt down the main hall and out the front gates.
"Ruby, Where are we going?" She asked when she finally caught up to the the Witcher in the stables sadleing her horse with lightning speed.
"The catacombs come back up above ground next to the river, it's how the basilisk got in. He's trying to escape through there." Ruby pulled herself into the saddle.
"I need to saddle Stardust..."
"No time." She jerked her head.
"Scoot up then!" She demanded.
"Wha…?!" Weiss pulled herself into the saddle behind Ruby. Zwei shook his head and snorted as they jerked and rocked in the saddle.
"Alright, go." Weiss held on to the Witchers hips. With a squeeze of her heels they were racing out of the stables and across the bridge away from the castle. Zwei's hooves clapping loudly against the cobblestones until she turned him off the main road and followed the river down into the hills. Stray branches slapped at their faces as they dode through the brush.
The thick foliage snagged at their clothes, tearing the skirt of the Sorceress's dress. Thin whip like branches slapped Ruby's face, leaving red scratches across her cheeks.
They rounded an hill and Ruby could see the hole in the hills.
"There!" Glancing around Ruby she saw a red head with a white bandana come sliding out of the tunnel stumbling before sprinting through the field.
"Get closer." Weiss urged her.
Ruby spurred him harder, coming within a few yards of him when Weiss held up a hand and ice erupted across the field, blocking his path. He turned, sword in hand before he found half his body encased in ice.
"It would be best if you don't get any ideas." Weiss warned.
"Geas yn, dearg bleidd, daerienn." He spat.
"Uh, my elder speech is a little rusty, but I did catch 'wolf' in there..." Ruby mumbled to the Sorceress who just rolled her eyes as she dismounted.
"Ruby, wait here, I'm going back to the castle to direct the guards." A portal came into being with a wave and she disappeared.
From the back of Zwei she turned towards the frozen elf as he stared at the ground, pointedly not looking up at her. After a few moments it became apparent that he would say nothing.
"Why?" She asked. He scoffed.
"The only good D'hoine is a dead one." He spat then went silent.
Ruby sighed.
'Geas yn, dearg bleidd, daerienn' - Curse you, Red Wolf, Witch/Sorceress
Not over yet - Malthazar LOS
[Get wrecked loser, got iced liked a coffee from Starbucks.] -ODST110
