Disclaimer: I do not own the Witcher Franchise Books/Games/Series; I only own my SI character.
Chapter XX
Witchers reflexes are really great when it comes to activities such as scaling up high places and it is a waste for Geralt and the others to not take advantage of it, I climbed the wall and quickly hid, I waited for the guards to pass through while remaining undetected, I followed them for some time and separated when I saw a place where I can safely jump down to.
A roof not far from the wall is what I jumped on to, I then ran and jumped from roof to roof till I found what I would consider a plaza in Vizima and what I saw from up top was a city with almost no people present which was probably caused by the Catriona Plague, I was definitely relieved that Witchers have immunity for diseases, I'd rather not die from another kind of sickness in this world, I looked away to find somewhere to crash for the night, I found a place where I can descend back to the ground and moved towards it.
I walked a few blocks to find some establishment to stay for the night before I continued mapping out the place and getting familiar with it, but then I heard some screams coming from a place not too far from where I am, I ran towards it to see what is happening maybe someone needs help and usually that someone, pays when helped.
It was near the boat docks that I saw a group of women surrounded by what looks like some local thugs, I looked around to see if someone else would help but the passer-by's just turned their head's away from the scene, avoiding eye contact from the direction of the incident hoping that they would not be targeted next.
'Heh, some of these people would probably scorn and insult a Witcher or non-humans, but looking at them now, disgust me, sure they won't have any chance when they go one on one but if they all helped, things like this can be avoided' ignoring them and leaving them to their fate is the same as doing the crime yourself, 'Who's the non-human's now?' I thought to myself before checking out the thug's numbers and the immediate location, once I have done so I took steps forward towards the thugs and ladies that were cornered in encirclement.
"Ladies, do you perhaps need some help?" I asked the 4 of them while walking forward, I did not forget to keep my senses alert to keep an eye on the thugs harassing the ladies.
"Yes please, these people have been bothering our establishment, our bouncers kicked them out but they ambushed us here" a pretty lady who's the bravest of the four answered as she is also shielding her friends from the threat, I nodded in response to her answer and before I could act, a thug got in front of my face and started spouting.
"Who're yous then? some kinda knight? piss off before yous started tastin my knife up yer arse" the dumbass started spouting to me, then he showed his back and ignored my presence in favor of the 'prices' in front of him, he is probably not that scared due to the number of the thugs in the area, I counted 8 of them.
I was very tempted to throw in the first punch but I have to stop myself from doing so, I grabbed his shoulder and spun him so that he would be facing me again, I had my hood donned so he wasn't able to look at my face carefully, if he had, then the situation would either get easier or worse.
"Is there something we could do for you to leave these lovely ladies alone?" I asked in vain attempt of diplomacy to the caveman in modern society.
"You tryna pick a fight with us are ye? Boys! gettim!" he yelled and every thug that was surrounding the ladies and the exits came towards me, I signaled for the ladies to stand aside and give me some space to clean up some trash, I opted not to draw the Yamato and just planned to break their bones, disabling them for the remainder of their pitiful existence.
"Leave now and I will show mercy, stay and you will regret it for the rest of your useless lives" I warned in case there is still someone sensible among them, but it was a false hope, every one of them brought out their weapons and charged at me.
I quickly placed myself between the thugs and the ladies but didn't draw my Yamato, from where I am standing I have a visual on every one of them, the ideal way to deal with multiple opponents, I could face them even if there is someone at my back due to my Witcher senses and reflexes but I would prefer it if I did it this way, I didn't want anyone getting in risk due to me showing off.
The thugs placed themselves in front of me, intent on charging at the same time, and they did it so, I had no choice in the matter so I stepped forward towards the charging thug who is the closest to me and entered his range, he swung his sword at me but I avoided it within an inch and gripped his wrist while breaking his elbows by striking it the wrong way with my other hand, he screamed as he fell down clutching his arms before I was then attacked from another side, I quickly moved away and moved back in just as fast before swinging the Yamato still in its sheath and striking and breaking his calves till they are pointing in a very awkward angle.
A few of them got startled at my display of violence and backed off just a little, I took advantage of it and took a dash forward and knelt as I also broke their calves the same way with the Yamato's sheath, a few of them tried to run but I did not show mercy and broke both of their knees before going back to the guy whom I broke his wrist and also broke his knee, I have already given them the warning and they did not retreat, this is an appropriate punishment for their actions, they probably had done worse to other people so it is just fitting in my point of view, they would suffer their whole lives because of it.
The travel with Geralt almost numbed my senses for killing human and while a great majority of them are scum, they are still of the same species as me, my morals are different than the people here so it was a bit challenging in trying to adjust to it.
I activated my senses if I missed anyone but it is all clear, I searched the bandits if they have any valuables on them and found a 103 florens all in all, they did not manage to acquire anything from the ladies so I kept the gold to myself, as I did so the one that defended the other 3 came forward and spoke with me.
'Hmm from what these ladies told me earlier I can sumrise that they are all co-workers and they work in an establishment with bouncers so they are either from a pleasure house or a tavern' I thought as I saw them all approaching me.
"Many thanks mister, me an the girls were tryna buy some supplies for the brothel but this here fellows tried to block our path we don't know what we gonna do without you" she told me confirming my hypothesis of their profession, I nodded back as I answered;
"It is no matter and it is a pleasure in helping out lovely ladies such as yourselves" I answered back while giving them a smile, I have tried this in the past as I was also helping other people and it always produced some kind of reward for me.
"We don have gold on us to repay yer kindness Mr but if ye want to visit our establishment I'm sure the girls and I can give you a discount" the pretty lady in front of me offered and I was very tempted to accept it immediately but this situation provides a really good opportunity for me.
"I would love that but sadly I am here on a business although I wouldn't mind if you repaid me with something else and don't worry its nothing sketchy I just want you and your girls to provide some information for me, I will even pay you for it how's that?" I answered back with a proposition for the girls; needless to say they are surprised at my offer of information in exchange for money.
"What kind of information?" the girl in front of me asked narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"Nothing grand, I just want to ask the basics and current events that you can get your hands on, some kind of information on various organization and whatnot, I am not asking you to look for them yourselves but it would greatly help me if you somehow acquire any of these information, you can just keep doing what you are doing and inform me if you have something interesting, deal?"
I asked the girls who had a bit of a smile on their faces for the chance to gain some extra cash on the side while they are doing their jobs, they discussed it with each other for a while and kept my hand hanging in the air waiting for one of them to shake it to finalize the transaction.
"Any kind of gossip about what is happening would do?" again asked the brave one from the four of them in which I nodded to, she focused on my expression before taking my hand and shaking it.
"Where are we gonna look for ye if we have something of worth to inform ye?" she asked me again and this is where my second reward comes in.
"I was coming to that, you see I just arrived in Vizima, do you perhaps know of a place where I can spend my time while in here, I would probably stay a few weeks, months even depending on the conclusion of my business while in here" I asked back, because while I can easily find a place to call a base for the duration of our stay in Vizima, it is best to ask the locals for help in such things, especially locals who are willing to help.
"There is a good place to stay near the river, the owner is looking for someone to rent their extra room, it is a bit expensive for us but the place has a good location and clean environment" one of the girls behind the brave girl answered back.
"Can you please show me the way towards it and talk to the owner in my behalf? I can pay you for the trouble and escort you back to the establishment afterwards" I asked back and she nodded in return, she motioned for me to follow her, her friends also followed.
It was not a long walk because we were near the home, it was quite a big one and the owner is just a normal person, the girls haggled the price of my stay, the owner is a man so it wasn't hard for them especially since the 4 of them are very attractive, they really know what buttons to push when they spoke to the old man, he relented after a few minutes unable to resist the power that the 4 young pretty ladies hold and I was given a great discount from it.
The room I had rented have a very spacious space, it has 2 bedrooms and plenty of space in the dining and living room to accommodate 20 guests and all I had to pay for this is the cost of staying at a Tavern, part of the reason the owner relented on letting me rent the space for that price is because there are hardly any people visiting Vizima nowadays due to the plague that is happening in the city.
I did not forget to tip the girls generously before escorting them back to the establishment, the girls led me to their Madame and explained what happened, the Madame also gave me discounts whenever I wanted to use their services, and I was really trying my hardest to refuse the offer for now as more important matters needs to be taken care off.
I also offered the Madame the same thing I offered to the girls before I left, we discussed a bit about the pay and prize depending on the importance of the information, how to contact me properly as to not cause any trouble on both sides and such, we discussed in her solar where my senses can hear moans of the girls and lads using the rooms upstairs.
I bid the Girls farewell before leaving to go back to the place I have rented to take a bit of rest before venturing out again to look for some foods and supplies, I would also have to check the notice board to see if there is any work available for a Witcher as I spent a bit of gold already, I would also need to earn extra so I would have something to pay the girls that will provide me information in the future.
Hiring the girls as informers, I found, is one of the most effective way of looking for any kind of information, a lot of people visits their establishments and these people often blabber about something or complain about their work, about their bosses, and luckily for Geralt and I, all the people we are hunting are not a role model when treating their subordinates and said subordinates can only release their stress by visiting a brothel and complaining about their day, I am expecting some relevant information soon.
I double checked the surroundings of the rented place and found that it was quite peaceful, a few people often walked by it, I also didn't forget to check all the possible exits and entries of the room, I opened a window and saw that the landlord has an open space on the back, it has nothing at the moment, I asked the landlord about it and he told me that he planned to plant some medicinal plants and some fruit on it and tend to it as a past time and hobby, but his plans were destroyed when the plague attacked the city, he is scared to go out, opting to have someone else deliver supplies to his house, all kinds of business establishment had closed including places where he can get supplies to start planting.
"Would it be alright then if I used it for my training while there is nothing on it?" I asked as it would be convenient for me if he can approve it, it is quite a closed space so it has zero chances of someone walking in and observing my practice, plus it is in a place where it is visited by a few people.
"Alright but don't try to destroy the overall terrain, I am still going to plant something in there someday after the plague has passed after all" I nodded back and promised to pay for the damages if I went overboard with my training.
'I talked with him for a few minutes and I was able to find out that the landlord is oddly an optimist I expected him to be grumpy but he is just trying to survive' I thought to myself while looking at the retreating back of the Landlord.
"After the plague has passed, heh it is quite a good feeling to find out there are still people like him out there in the world" people like him justifies what the Witcher's are doing in slaying monsters, in a world where the Thieves, Rapist, and murderers thrive, to keep that kind of positivity even after all that is happening is definitely worth fighting for.
I smiled before going back to my room and deposited my coat and hoodie on my bed, I then went out again with only my shirt, pants, gloves, boots and katana on the empty backyard and started going through the motions and practiced my forms, I also did not forget to call out Shadowmere, I removed all items on him and deposited them back to my room, I kept them hidden in case some thieves tried their luck against me.
I then released Shadowmere to the wilds so that he can play, I reminded him that I will be calling for him when I need him but for now he can go out and play or discover on his own, I went back to practice and went on until I felt hungry, I wiped myself with towel and then went out to look for someplace to eat.
I asked the landlord if he knows anywhere near that I can grab some food, he pointed me in the direction of a tavern, I thanked him and went outside towards the tavern, I turned to look at my surroundings, despite the plague and hidden schemes that is going on in the city, the peaceful and quite places that are left are quite a sight to behold.
'I can only look at this places behind the screen back home and I would not even dream of visiting such places after I had my sickness' I awed at the place, its structure, roads, clean river waters that is not polluted or green and the people, it felt like I am in one of those medieval fair's I wanted to go to but wasn't able to.
A lot of the people I passed was giving me a pointed look, most of them were dudes, while a great number of the ladies were giving me winks, it is probably due to my slightly fitted shirt, body build and mutation that happened to restructure my face slightly, even I can't deny at this point that I have joined the people I criticized back on earth due to their looks, it is quite a different experience.
It took me a while to find the Tavern the landlord pointed me through but I found it, I entered and found a lot of people are already inside, it is loud and very busy, nothing compared to any restaurants back on earth, 'Hell's Kitchen' won't even begin to compare.
I asked a serving girl where I can find some seats and was lead to another floor, thankfully the Tavern has 3 floors and I was lead to the second where I have a great view of the stage where I assume some bards perform, I asked the serving lady about it and told me that they only play at night after dinner as it is not as busy that time compared to now and won't be as noisy.
I resolved myself to come back here in the evening to check it out and ordered some food for now, the serving girl took note of it and went to place it and I waited, curious how the food of this world taste, me and Geralt were mostly eating food that I had hunted with my bow during our travels and that saved us a lot of coins, while Vesemir cooked some basic stuff back in Kaer Morhen so this is my first official foreign food in this world and I can't wait to taste it.