Book 2: The Wolf Hunts

Chapter 14

Timataal stood frustrated at one of the fish market's stands, pretending to be interested in the merchant's wares. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Malek walk into the Debussy house all alone. The rest of Malek's men – and Fringilla – were scattered about the fish market doing their best to blend in and look inconspicuous. It had taken them several days to locate the residence of Evie's ex-husband, and they'd been keeping it under surveillance ever since.

Despite Timataal's protestations, Malek had insisted on speaking to his niece privately.

"It won't be private," Timataal had argued. "He's in there with her. You're good, Mal, but you're no witcher."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence. Nevertheless...I need to speak with her alone."

The shorter man slowly shook his head. "Alright. It's your funeral. I got dibs on your horse."

Malek smiled. "Right. I'd love to see you try to mount him. My stirrups come up to your chin."

Timataal shook his head again but now had a smirk on his face. "Don't die, asshole."

oOo

Malek stood – empty handed - on the opposite side of the small, dining table from Geralt and Evie. The witcher had taken a step to his left, most of his body now in front of his wife's. And though he appeared at ease, standing unnaturally still and casually holding his steel sword down at his side, Malek was not fooled. The monster-slayer's eyes were boring into his, anticipating the first movement of danger. Malek knew that he'd have to tread carefully if he wanted a peaceful parley. After he had finally taken the mutant's full measure, he shifted his eyes from Geralt. He looked over the witcher's shoulder to address his niece.

"You look well, Evangeline. It's good to see you safe."

"As you, Uncle. How'd you know I was coming here, to Claude's?"

Malek shrugged. "A little bit of luck. A bit of an educated guess. Does it really matter?"

"Yes, actually it does, but I suppose that's all you're going to say about it, right?"

Malek answered with a single nod of the head.

"So…then, why are you are here exactly? To take me back?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?"

She shook her head. "No, I wouldn't."

Malek squinted his eyes at the historian.

"You know, I have never done anything to you for you to mistrust me. Nevertheless, regardless of your suspicions, I'm here for the book that you stole. Nothing else."

Evie laughed. "So, I give you the book, and you just let us go?"

"Yes. I'll tell Emhyr that you both died in a skirmish. You'd, of course, have to leave the Continent, never to return, but you'd live."

"I have a hard time believing you'd flat-out lie to the Emperor. You're Emhyr's man, through and through."

"Evangeline, doubt me if you want, but I mean you no harm. I swear on your mother's memory…I have no desire to see you hurt in any way."

A strange looked crossed Evie's face.

"If you mean me no harm, then why did you ever involve me in this in the first place? You personally came to my home and asked me to the capital to study the book."

"I asked you to come because you are great historian…and I wanted to see you. We are family." Then, Malek smiled. "Of course, had I known you were going to steal the book, trust me, I never would have bothered. But I shouldn't be surprised. You always were impetuous…and stubborn…just like your mother. Regardless, you must give me the book if I am going to protect you."

Evie furrowed her brow at Malek's second mention of her mother.

"Thank you for your concern, but I've got all the protection I need. This is Geralt…my husband."

A look of surprise flashed across Malek's face, but he quickly composed himself.

"My congratulations to you both. I truly wish you happiness. And all the more reason to now simply hand the book over…and then go on an extended honeymoon…far away."

The witcher caught himself slightly nodding his head. While Geralt was very wary of the large man and didn't trust a word coming from his mouth, he had to admit that he did actually agree with the man's last idea.

"Why does Emhyr even want it?" Evie asked. "It's just full of Aen Seidhe myths and fairy tales."

The small smile returned to Malek's face. "Nice try, but we both know why the book is important and why he wants it. You wouldn't have stolen it, otherwise."

Evie shook her head, disappointment and confusion clearly on her face.

"I don't understand you, Uncle Malek. I've always looked up to you. Partly because I thought you always hated bullies. So, how can you serve Emhyr? He's the biggest bully of all. He's nothing but a war-monger. He's invaded the North twice – unprovoked - in the last decade."

"I don't serve Emhyr, Evangeline. I serve order."

Her brow furrowed. "You serve order? What the hell does that even mean? You are part of the Emperor's war-machine. And war is not order. You serve chaos and death. You know he won't be happy until the entire Continent is under his thumb."

"It's true that he and I both want the North under Nilfgaardian rule, but our motivations are quite different. For him it is about power, for me it is about peace."

"Peace? You support the invasion of the North because you want peace? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"You're a student of history, Evangeline. So, tell me…how many of the duchies and provinces under Nilfgaardian rule have revolted in the last…thirty years?"

"None."

"And why do you think that is?"

"Easy. Fear. One word about independence and they'd by crushed under Emhyr's black boot."

Malek shook his head.

"No, Evangeline. They don't revolt because they have no need or want to. Being a part of our Empire brings peace to their lands. But we bring more than that. We bring prosperity. Sure, there may be some 'patriots' who refuse to be happy living under any flag but their own, but most people? Most people couldn't care less who actually sits on the throne and rules. They just want live in a land of law and order, where they feel safe in their homes, where jobs can be found, where food is plenty, where their kin aren't beaten and murdered, their women aren't raped. And the Empire, while not perfect, offers that better than any other realm. You want me to believe that the North was a peaceful land and that our invasion somehow destroyed that? That's a fallacy, and you know it. Kaedwen and Aedirn have been at war for centuries. Temeria just went through a civil war. And the less said of Radovid's atrocities the better. The Northern kings have killed ten times the number of Nordlings than Nilfgaard ever has. The North is a land where anarchy reigns, and we can bring it much needed order. We can give the citizens – this entire continent - peace and stability."

"Well, silly me. I didn't realize just how altruistic your invasion actually was. Who knew that you and Emhyr have the Nordlings' best interest at heart? Good luck getting them to believe that."

"You mock, but we won't have to make them believe it. They'll see it for themselves when they're finally living in peace under our rule. You obviously don't agree with this war, but order doesn't just happen. It's the way of both man and nature to devolve into chaos. Gardens, unattended, don't stay pretty. They grow wild, quickly overrun with weeds and snakes and all types of pests that'll devour all. So, order is costly…and sometimes painful. You have to pull weeds and kill all of the vermin in order for the flowers to bloom. And, to me, that's what this war is…us pulling weeds…which brings us back to the book. If it can lead us to a weapon that will allow us to end this war sooner, that will, ultimately, permit more lives to be saved in the long run, then wouldn't you want us to have it?"

When Evie didn't say anything, Malek continued. "It's better in my hands than Radovid's, right? Because he's now after you and the book, too. You are aware of that, correct?"

"Yes, we're aware. How is it that you are?"

"I just know."

"Right…you have eyes and ears everywhere."

Malek shifted his focus to Geralt.

"Witcher, perhaps you can help Evangeline see reason."

The White Wolf stood still and silent for several moments, just staring at the southerner.

"I think you missed your calling, Malek," Geralt finally responded. "You should have been a politician or maybe even clergy. Very persuasive little speech, and such a poetic analogy. You almost had me convinced, except for one problem…you seem to think that you're the gardener. That you have the right to decide what should stay and what should go. But, as far as I'm concerned, Emhyr…Nilfgaard…you…you're just another one of the weeds."

Malek sighed. "I'm disappointed that's your view, Witcher. I had heard that you were…a practical sort."

"That so?"

"Yes. I know that you, too, have even worked – if not for – then, at least, with Emhyr when it suited your own aims. Just last year you fought alongside Nilfgaardians to defeat the Wild Hunt. Isn't that right?"

"What of it?"

"Just that, perhaps, you and I aren't so different. We're both willing to partner with those we may find…undesirable for a greater cause."

The witcher shook his head. "You and I are nothing alike. I was simply trying to save my daughter…and I would have done so with or without Emhyr's help. I never partnered with him."

"And I am simply trying to save the citizens of this continent from tyranny. And regardless of how you want to label it, just as I am using his resources for my aims, you did use his spies' intelligence and his naval and armed forces against the Wild Hunt to save your daughter. I think it just galls you that you had to."

Geralt eventually nodded. "Fair enough…but there's one big difference between you and me. I let people make their own choices. Your supreme leader ordered me to bring Ciri to him once I found her, but I refused. I let her decide what she wanted to do. But here you are, trying to force your own niece to do something against her will. Just like you're forcing the Nordlings to submit to Nilfgaardian rule against their will. That's the definition of tyranny. Good luck rationalizing that one away, bootlicker."

Malek sighed and turned to Evie. "I can see why you married him."

"I trust him with my life, which is more than I can say for you."

A look of sadness crossed Malek's face.

"I shall wait outside…with my men. I'll give you ten minutes. Please make the reasonable choice."

Suddenly, Geralt cast an Axii Sign at Malek, and the large man's eyes glazed over.

"Yeah…well, here's my choice. I'm just going to kill you and be done with it," said the witcher as he started toward Malek.

"Geralt, no!" Evie reached out quickly and grabbed the witcher's arm. "I may not agree with him, but he's still family, and I… I still love him. Please don't kill him."

"Evie, he's not going to let this go," said Geralt, not even bothering to hide the frustration in his voice. "Any more than Emhyr will. So, we either give him the book or we kill him. Those are the two choices. Well, three choices…we could just destroy the damn book so that no one can have it. But what we can't do is keep the book and let him go free."

"Witcher!" A voice came from out in the fish market.

Evie and Geralt quickly swiveled their heads towards the front door and then carefully approached a front window of the house.

Looking out into the market, the White Wolf sighed deeply.

"Son of a bitch. This has to be the most well-known, covert mission ever. Did someone send out invitations?"

oOo

Fringilla Vigo stood on the other side of the fish market from the Debussy house. In the last twenty minutes, her mind had been consumed by a whirlwind of thoughts. She wanted to believe that she felt nothing – neither affection nor hate – for the white-haired witcher, but if that was the case, then why did her heart start racing upon seeing him again. And she wasn't even going to attempt to label the emotion she felt when he and the historian kissed on the doorstep. And as if that weren't enough, Malek had entered the house alone. She knew that, for the good of the Empire, she should hope that the witcher struck down Malek and escaped. But what she knew and what she felt suddenly seemed to be at odds with one another.

"Damn it all to hell," she thought, shaking her head. "Why can't I just be like the rest of the sorceresses of the Lodge and like every man walking the planet? They have no issues whatsoever sleeping with people and not forming any kind of emotional attachments. What is wrong with me? I am obviously not cut out for this type of spying."

The sorceress was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by the sight and sounds of dozens and dozens of red and silver clad soldiers rushing into the fish market from all avenues. Within just a few minutes, there seemed to be at least a hundred or more armed-men facing and surrounding the Debussy house. Men with large shields knelt side by side along the front. Just behind them, soldiers thrust their long spears over the top of the shields, and in a third row, stood archers with bows and crossbows at the ready.

Behind them all, stood a man in gleaming armor, his blood-red cape billowing slightly in the morning breeze.

"Witcher!" the officer-in-charge yelled. "You are surrounded! You and the woman come out – unarmed, or we will come in for you!"

oOo

"There's gotta be an entire company of men out there," growled the witcher. "Even I can't defeat that many."

Geralt grabbed Malek by the back of the collar and dragged him towards the window.

"Is this your doing?"

"Of course not," answered Malek, no longer under the effect of the Axii. "I don't want Radovid to get the book. Nor, would I ever put Evangeline in danger."

"Then help me think of something because right now we are buggered," replied the witcher before he turned and started quickly piling the little bit of furniture that was available toward the front door. He then began scanning the floor.

"What are you looking for?" asked Evie, her voice high and trembling.

"A latch. Some of these houses have cellars connected to the sewers."

"Do you see anything?"

He shook his head and looked into Evie's eyes.

"Nothing."

Then, he turned and ran up the stairs.

"Witcher! This is your last chance! You and the woman have one minute to surrender!"

Evie watched Geralt disappear up the stairs and then turned towards Malek.

"What do we do?"

oOo

Timataal, Fringilla, and the rest of Malek's men had quickly fled the market upon the Redanian soldiers' arrival. Easily blending in with the large crowd of Novigrad citizens that were now gathered, they huddled together near the bridge than spanned the canal. Both questions and rumors went up and down the ranks of the citizenry as to just what was transpiring.

"Any ideas – that won't get us all killed?" asked Timataal in a hushed tone, eyeing his men.

All the Nilfgaardians peered at one another before finally turning back to Timataal. No one said anything, just shaking their heads.

"What about you?" he asked Fringilla.

All eyes went to the sorceress.

oOo

Novigrad Harbor

"Nilfgaardians!"

"Black Ones!"

The shouts were going up and down the docks of Novigrad as the three large ships, with giant black sails, emblazoned with a golden sun, appeared through the morning mist.

Emperor Emhyr stood on the deck of the middle ship, with his back to the shore, and looked at the five monstrous creatures in front of him. As he craned his neck to look upward into their lifeless eyes, he held the two magical discs in his hands. He lowered his eyes to the metal objects, breathed in deeply, and pressed them together. He twisted them, until he heard a click. Suddenly, he heard a low humming noise around him, and the hair on his arms stood on end as the air crackled with energy. He looked up, and as he saw the creatures coming to life, he could feel the magical power radiating off of them. He quickly moved behind the magical constructs and then glanced over to the other ships to see that the monsters there were also active.

He remembered Philippa's instructions regarding giving simple orders. He brought the discs up to his mouth and spoke.

"Go forth, and destroy all."

Immediately, the five monsters on his ship disappeared with a powerful whooshing sound. His eyes scanned the shoreline back and forth. Suddenly, the creatures appeared a hundred feet in the air and, like meteors, rained down towards the city below. Even standing on his ship well off-shore, he could feel the vibrations as the monsters crashed down into the docks, warehouses, and streets of Novigrad. As he watched one of the monsters belch forth a massive flame of fire and set the walls of a warehouse ablaze, for the first time in weeks, a genuine smile crossed the Emperor's face. That is, until her heard frantic shouts coming from the ship on his starboard side. He looked over and saw that there was one creature still aboard that ship, which was being quickly engulfed in flames.

Emhyr brought the disc up to his mouth again and shouted, "Attack the city! Attack the city!"

His orders weren't understood by the lone monster or else they simply weren't obeyed because the creature continued to breathe fire across the ship's sails and wooden deck. It then charged ahead into the forward mast and began pounding away at it with heavy fists. He watched as the sailors on the ship jumped overboard and began swimming for safety. As the ship began to sink, the monster disappeared. Emhyr's eyes went wide, looking up in the sky directly above him. He was waiting with dread for the monster to crash down onto the deck of his own ship and start wreaking havoc, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the creature suddenly appear in the Novigrad warehouse district, and he exhaled deeply.

The Emperor then shouted at the ship's captain. "Get us to safety! Now!"

oOo

Evie shrieked and jumped backward from a bright flash and loud bang. Fringilla stepped out of a portal, and it immediately vanished behind her. Her eyes quickly found Malek.

"Malek, we need to go, now."

She waved her arms about with a quick chant, and suddenly a new portal appeared in the small room.

"Evangeline, come with us. Please." Malek's eyes pierced Evie's.

"Not without Geralt."

Her stare was just as fierce. She was thankful that she was across the room from her uncle, near the stairs, just in case he made a move for her.

Malek's jaws clenched.

"Witcher! Let's go. We have a portal!" yelled Malek upward, toward the second floor.

Almost immediately, Geralt descended the stairs with a small boy in his arms and Celeste, holding her baby, right behind him. Without a word, he handed the boy to Fringilla and then pushed Celeste through the portal.

"Come on, Malek. I can only keep it open a few more seconds," urged Fringilla right before turning and entering the portal herself.

"I'm not going without you, Evangeline," Malek stated, while staring into her eyes.

"Like hell," growled the witcher, who quickly signed an Aard in Malek's direction and blasted him through the portal just before it closed.

Evie quickly turned to her husband.

"I hope you have a plan," she said, now biting her lower lip.

Suddenly, Geralt raised his head and starting looking around with wide eyes.

"Do you hear that?" he asked as he ran to the front window.

oOo

Outside, in the middle of the fish market, the eyes of everyone – including the Redanian soldiers – began shifting towards the docks. Along with plumes of smoke, screams of fear and agony were coming from that direction. Suddenly, falling from the sky, a giant creature landed right in the middle of the Redanian formation. Several soldiers were literally crushed into the dirt while dozens of others were flung through the air by the impact. Immediately, chaos ensued within the fish market as citizens and soldiers alike fled in all directions, accompanied by shouts of terror.

The creature breathed out flames and several merchant's stands and fleeing soldiers caught fire. The monster quickly rushed forward and grabbed a burning body in each hand. He forcefully threw one to the ground, shattering virtually every bone and internal organ, killing the man instantly. The creature violently tossed the other flaming corpse to the side, towards a building, just before rampaging towards the mass of humanity that was trying to escape.

oOo

"Duck!" yelled Geralt, and he immediately pushed Evie to the floor, protecting her with both his body and a Quen dome an instant before a burning corpse smashed into the front window.

"What the hell is that thing?" shouted Evie.

Geralt peeked his head back up towards the window. The creature was still in the market, now breathing fire at the businesses and homes on the other side. The witcher had never seen anything exactly like it. It looked like a cross between several different magical constructs that he'd come across while on the Path. It had the shape of a gargoyle, including the wings on its back, but the composition of the body looked like that of a golem. Though, at twelve feet tall, it was bigger than any gargoyle or golem he'd ever seen. Nor, had he ever known either of those constructs to have the ability to breathe fire. So, it apparently had some attributes of a fire elemental, too. Whatever it was exactly, it was clearly magical. He knew that something like that could never be birthed or hatched.

"It's trouble," he answered as he ducked back down below the window and grabbed Evie's hand. "Upstairs."

Geralt quickly led Evie up the stairs to the second floor, and upon arriving there, they immediately noticed smoke and flames billowing out of the wooden walls facing the fish market.

"Damn it! Give me one second," said the witcher as he threw Evie's cloak open and started unbuckling his silver sword from her. Less than a minute later, he dropped his cloak to the floor and had both swords on his back.

They moved to a window on the backside of the house and could see the Golden Sturgeon tavern across the road. It, too, was already in flames. The witcher peered down into the road below, and upon seeing it clear, he cast at Aard and blew out the window panes. He unsheathed his steel sword and knocked out the jagged shards that were still embedded in their grooves. He re-sheathed his sword, grabbed the window ledge and jumped out the window while still hanging on. He looked down to the ground below to see that his boots were about ten feet above the road. He kicked off the side of stone wall and twisted his body a quarter of a turn. As his feet hit the ground, he bent his knees and rolled forward. He was quickly up and back below the window. He saw Evie poking her head out.

"Evie, jump! I'll catch you!" he yelled up at her, his arms out if front of him, palms up.

She looked down at the witcher and shook her head back and forth before exhaling deeply. And then she leapt. A second after he caught her safely in his arms, the ground behind them shook as another one of the monsters charged down the road towards them. Geralt saw the creature stop and take in a deep breath.

"Get down!" he yelled to Evie, as he covered her body with his own while simultaneously casting a Quen dome around them both. Flames of fire completely enveloped them but the shield held on for just long enough. As soon as the flames ceased, the witcher cancelled the Quen dome and tossed a dimeritium bomb at the monster. Just as the bomb exploded against the creature's chest, Geralt and Evie were up and sprinting towards Hierarch Square. The witcher wasn't sure how effective the dimeritium would be in interfering with the strange monster's magic, but he just needed for it to be long enough so that the two could make their escape.

Geralt and Evie ran into the main square and found nothing but pandemonium. A monster was standing at the southeast corner of the square, breathing fire and tossing people about like rag dolls. Novigradians were running in every direction, most screaming at the top of their lungs.

Seeing that the half-gargoyle, half-golem was blocking the eastern exit of the square, Geralt quickly turned to Evie.

"We'll head to the northern exit," he yelled as he pointed to the opposite side of the square. "If we get separated, run that way."

Keeping to the western side of the square, he navigated his way through the people running in his direction with his left hand, his right hand grasping firmly to Evie's. He led them along the edge of the square, staying underneath a protective overhang. They came to the local bookstore at the northeast corner of the plaza and hid behind a stone column. It was then that the magical creature charged to the center of the square, snatching a fleeing citizen in each hand. He slammed both bodies to the ground and then breathed out fire on both of them. Geralt poked his head around the corner of the bookstore and looked north towards Dijkstra's bathhouse. He cursed as he saw another monster that way, causing total destruction of the buildings and people around it. He and Evie were starting to run out of options. He swiveled his head back to his right, and a nearby, three-story building caught his eye.

"Let's go!" urged the witcher.

The two of them rushed out from behind the stone column and began running for the steps of The Kingfisher Inn. The witcher's eyes stayed on the gargolem the entire time. Just as he and Evie made it to bottom of the steps leading up to the tavern's front door, the monster noticed them, let out a loud roar, and charged in their direction.

"Go! Go!" yelled the monster-slayer, as he pushed Evie up the stairs.

He knew that he didn't have another dimeritium bomb on his bandolier, so he immediately grabbed a Northern Wind and backhand tossed it at the rampaging monster. The bomb exploded and froze the gargolem just a few feet from the front edge of the stairs. It stopped the monster just long enough for Evie to make her way through the open door of the inn. As Geralt turned his back on the gargolem and continued up the steps, he signed a Quen - which definitely saved his life, for just a moment later, the monster swung a massive fist forward, smashing into the witcher's back and slamming him into the front, stone wall of the tavern. The heavy blow shattered the Quen shield, which knocked the gargolem backward and momentarily disoriented it, as well. Geralt tried scrambling to his feet, but the monster's punch had left him a bit groggy. Evie looked back to see him stumbling through the door. She ran back towards him as she heard the monster bellow loudly again. She pulled her husband across the threshold and slammed the door shut just as the gargolem breathed out heavy flames.

As the front door of the inn caught fire and burned behind them, the witcher shook his head slightly - as if to gather his bearings - and then looked at his wife.

"Thanks…come on."

He hurriedly led Evie around the long, wooden tables of the tavern to a doorway just left of the stage. He grabbed the handle, only to find that the door was locked. Suddenly, the front wall of the Kingfisher exploded as the gargolem smashed its way into the interior. Geralt instantly turned back towards the locked door and kicked it open. He immediately saw that someone had come up with the same idea as him since the hidden passage down to the sewers was already open. The monster shattered tables and chairs as it charged towards its prey. Geralt grabbed Evie and pulled her down the steps to safety just as the gargolem smashed its way into the small room, stone and mortar flying through the air.

As the two of them ran across the large, basement storeroom, the witcher grabbed a torch out of a wall sconce and lit it with Igni. After handing her the torch, he then led her over to a grate that led into the sewers.

"I know you don't want to go through the sewers again," he said to his wife, "but… better down here than up there."

Just then, they heard another roar from the gargolem, and the ground above them shook, dust and dirt falling down into their hair.

Her eyes jumped upward and then quickly back down to Geralt's.

"Agreed. I'll be right behind you."

oOo

Lydial, Benny, and the rest were all standing, with their mouths agape. They had been hiding in the woods east of town near the crematorium, but now, they were out in an open clearing, watching as the city of Novigrad went up in flames. Black smoke filled the morning sky, and hundreds of residents, soldiers, and temple guards were fleeing the city through the nearby Oxenfurt Gate.

"You think this is because of Geralt?" asked Barcain

"Can't be," answered Lydial. "Even he can't do this much damage, right?"

"You obviously haven't known him for very long," replied Roche.

"What should we do?" asked Ves.

"Well, what we don't do is go charging in, Ves. We stick with the plan and wait for them here," said Roche. "At least, for a bit more. The chances of us finding them in that mayhem is next to nothing."

The look on Ves' face made it clear she didn't agree, but Roche was used to that. What he wasn't accustomed to was seeing someone on their knees praying, as Lydial was now doing, but he nodded his head.

"Yeah…praying to the gods wouldn't hurt, either."

oOo

"Open up another portal, right now," ordered Malek, glaring at Fringilla.

"No," she answered calmly. "Entering that city is suicide. If you want to kill yourself, fine, but you won't get my help."

Finally, events were going the sorceress' way – Malek was safe, but he was also without the book, and she wasn't about to do anything to jeopardize either outcome.

While the two of them were standing outside of the Seven Cats Inn arguing, Celeste stood gawking at the destruction of Novigrad. Like their mother, her children were both in tears, her son hugging her leg while she held the baby close to her shoulder.

"I'm not going to sit here doing nothing while my men die in that inferno."

"They should be here shortly," responded Fringilla. "I told them to ride this way before I even cast the first portal."

That news seemed to placate Malek, and he then turned back to gaze at the burning city.

"Evangeline," he whispered.

oOo

Tretogor

Radovid the Stern, current King of Redania, had many flaws, but an inability to see the big picture was not one of them. It was what had allowed him to always be one step of ahead of Emperor Emhyr and the Nilfgaardian generals' plans for invasion. His use of Redania's scientists and engineers to counteract the enemy's use of magic had been absolutely revolutionary. However, he was still a bit confused by the Black Ones' apparent retreat from along the southern shores of the Pontar River. He didn't believe for a second that they were simply packing up and heading home. Unfortunately, the scouts that he had ordered to cross the river to find the now-missing Nilfgaardian forces had never returned. That was, in fact, the third scouting party that had not returned in the last week, which was making the king quite irritable and very paranoid.

At the moment, he stood in the middle of the war room in his palace. As was his custom, he stared intently at an enormous, topographical map of the northern part of the Continent that was laid out on top of a banquet-sized table. Small wooden figures – like chess pieces representing both his and the enemy forces – were positioned at various locations on the map. His eyes scanned back and forth over the map, searching for areas of vulnerability, where Emhyr just might be tempted to attack. The majority of his troops were along the entire length of the Pontar River, but he had also amassed some near the western coast, as well, particularly in the city of Novigrad. A week ago, after receiving the news of Nilfgaard's retreat, he had pulled a thousand of his troops along the Pontar back towards Tretogor. He hated to admit that he still wasn't sure what Emhyr was planning, but he wanted to be able to deploy those thousand men quickly wherever they were needed to reinforce his lines.

King Radovid was brought out of his thoughts by a frantic voice emanating from near his hand.

"….…attacked…are burn…we ne-…" The words were being drowned out by yelling and screaming.

The garbled sound was coming from a metal, circular-shaped box that could fit in the Redanian ruler's palm. Keira Metz had approached Radovid over a year ago, hoping to ingratiate herself with the king. She had mistakenly believed that the Redanian monarch gave a fig about a potential cure for a deadly disease. However, he had been intrigued when she mentioned the unique capabilities of small box, which she called a Xenovox. He had immediately seen the incredible, military advantages that the box could offer, for in war, many times, accurate and timely information was the difference between victory and defeat. Once his engineers inspected the communication device and assured Radovid that they could recreate it – and once he was confident the sorceress held no other valuable knowledge – he'd ordered her execution. It was through this box that he had spoken to Captain Krill, commander of his Novigrad garrison, less than an hour before. Krill had informed him that the Nilfgaardian historian had been seen in the city's fish market.

"Krill, repeat yourself! Captain!" ordered Radovid after pressing a small button on the device. He then released the button and listened.

Suddenly, the king's eyes widened as he heard a man's agonizing scream followed by a monstrous roar - and then silence. Radovid held the box in front at his face, staring at it for several long moments, but no other sounds came. He slowly walked to a nearby desk where more than a dozen other Xenovoxes were resting in labeled cubby holes, and he placed the box in his hand in the appropriate, empty spot.

He stood there in thought for a moment before grabbing another Xenovox from a cubby hole labeled, "Slevin."

"General Slevin, prepare the men for an invasion from Novigrad."

oOo

Malek scanned the horizon around him. It was absolute chaos. Hundreds, if not thousands, were still fleeing Novigrad, and a scene from his youth flashed through his mind. When he'd been a teenager, the river near his home had flooded. As the water had risen and entered many of the towns' houses and barns, he remembered watching hundreds of rats in the town scattering for higher, dryer, safer ground. That's what Novigrad looked like now, he thought. Everyone fleeing the city had the same frenzied look about them. A few stopped once they reached the Seven Cats and turned to watch the carnage, but most kept heading east. Though, by that point, exhaustion had taken hold, and they were no longer running for safety. They simply shuffled along while continuously looking back over their shoulders.

"Where will you go?" Malek asked, looking down from his mount at Celeste and her two children. Timataal and the rest of Malek's men had finally arrived at the Seven Cats Inn and had brought his horse with them.

The tears were no longer flowing from Celeste's or her children's eyes. It seemed that they were all just numb at that point.

She slowly shook her head.

"We've…we've got some friends in Oxenfurt. Maybe they can put us up for a bit. Of course, if those things head that direction, then…I don't know."

Malek reached into a pocket, and, after scanning his eyes around him, leaned down and slipped a small bag of coin into the woman's hand.

"Hide it well," he stated, looking hard into her eyes. "These are desperate, dangerous times."

She stared back and then nodded her head slowly.

"We'd escort you, but Oxenfurt is not our destination."

Celeste just nodded her head again, gathered up her children, and then began her journey east.

Malek turned back to the city. It appeared to him that every building was aflame. Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of one of the creatures materializing high above the city before dropping down into a new neighborhood to wreak more havoc. Even at that distance, he recognized the magical creatures from the basement of the Vizima palace. He had warned the Emperor. Warned him against ever getting involved with Philippa Eilhart in any way.

Malek shook his head and whispered to himself.

"Emhyr, you damned fool…look at what you've let loose."

oOo

Geralt and Evie ran through the trees east of Novigrad and found their friends, more or less, where they'd left them. Lydial rushed towards them and hugged them both.

"What the hell is happening in there?" asked Roche.

"I'll tell you on the way. We need to ride," answered Geralt, already heading towards their horses.

"Where to?" asked Barcain.

"Tretogor. We think Radovid's holding Claude prisoner. If so, we gotta break him out."

"Fantastic," replied Benny with a sigh.

oOo

Ostrynos Peninsula, Redania

Emhyr didn't know it, but so far, his plans were working to perfection. As the free city of Novigrad was burning to the ground, thousands of Nilfgaardian troops set foot on Redanian soil more than a hundred miles to the north. Halfway between Blaviken and Roggeveen, a piece of landed jutted out westward, like a point, into the ocean. This area, known as the Ostrynos Peninsula, formed the southern edge of the Gulf of Praxeda and contained gradually-sloping, sandy beaches. It was an ideal place for an amphibious assault.

Along with the many, terrifying tales of flying, fire-breathing monsters, there were also enough eye-witnesses who confirmed seeing Nilfgaardian troop ships in the Novigrad harbor that King Radovid had to take seriously the threat of invasion on his southwestern border. Therefore, he had begun repositioning many of his units towards the free city, leaving a much smaller force defending the shores of the peninsula. The Black Ones rolled through the meager Redanian defense and began marching with purpose towards the southeast. Their destination was Tretogor, residence of Radovid. Emhyr believed in the maxim, "Cut off the head and the body will die." He was confident that if he could kill the king, then the Redanian generals would sue for peace. There was no plan B.