Disclaimer: I do not own the Witcher Franchse Books/Games/Series.
(AN: Some are calling bullshit on the SI's situation and cause of death, and I am sorry to disappoint but the situation he really is in is actually real, it is one of the reasons I started writing this fic, it is a way for me to escape my harsh reality ^^)
Chapter XXIII
'Oh no!, save Lisa first, stare at the hot chick later' I shook my head before answering Shani back "I am a Witcher, she is Lisa a friend of mine, some of the girls who she works with informed me that she's ill and the symptoms are very similar to those that are confined here, I brought her here as soon as I can".
She checked my eyes, probably to confirm that I am telling the truth if I am a Witcher or not and she has extensive knowledge about witchers as far as humans go because of hers and Geralt's past relationship, she nodded and replied back "Alright leave her here and don't worry I will do everything I can to help her out, do you have a moment? I want to talk to you outside" she motioned for me to follow her as she walked towards the door.
I placed a hand on Lisa's head and informed her that I will be gone for a bit and would be returning immediately, Lisa smiled and probably wanted to thank me but I had to stop her from pushing herself as it would make her sickness worse than it already is, I left her as she slept and followed Shani outside.
"I am sorry for taking your attention like this when your friend needs it the most, but are you perhaps the other Witcher, Geralt was talking about? he said he came here with another Witcher but you both separated to cover more grounds in gathering information about salamandra" Shani almost whispered out the last word as if he is talking about the triads or mafia back in the old world.
"Yes, and who might you be to Geralt? I apologize for the suspicion but you have to understand our circumstances, we can't trust a lot of people, especially since we are fighting against a group of people who specialize in multitude of illegal activities"
'Although I already know who you are' I added as an afterthought.
"Ah yes, of course, I am Shani a friend of Geralt we have known each other for a long time now, I was surprised about his condition I wish I could help but I'm afraid it is outside of my expertise, the only thing that could help him now is probably magic even though I hate to admit it" she answered calmly and I just took the information as the truth because it is.
"Hm is that so? I haven't known Geralt that long but I know for sure that he is one tough guy, he can deal with his memory gone for a while, don't worry I will help him regain his memories as soon as possible, now how about my friend? Can you cure her?" I asked curious to know if they already have the cure or if they are still in the process of developing one, I don't remember specifically how the cure was created I played the game a long time ago and I am grasping at straws for information right now.
Shani looked down sadly, unable to look directly at my eyes before replying the words that I dreaded to hear "I am sorry, we estimated that 90% of the patients that was affected by the plague will die, I don't want to get your hopes up as we are struggling in keeping the numbers down, we are nowhere near a cure for now" Shani told me the brutal truth of the situation, she then raised her head to look at me.
I was disappointed, I expected it to be so but I didn't want it to be real, the dread and sadness, I still feel it even though I supposedly have repressed emotions, Lisa is one of the first person in this world that has been very good to me, and frankly one of the few friends I have made in my stay here in Vizima, it is always hard to look at a friend on their deathbed.
"Haa, how many days or weeks does she have?" I asked to know what my window of opportunity looks like in saving Lisa if I have any at all.
"7 days at least, more if she can grit her teeth through it"
'I see, I had a lot more time than I thought' I heaved a sigh of relief and I looked through my pockets and fiddled with a small vial that I have made a month ago on my travels with Geralt while experimenting with alchemy, I stumbled upon it by accident and I was very surprised that I understood how it worked after reading information about the ingredients, it is in its development stage but I know for a fact that it is better than the ones on Earth as the ingredients used has a bit of magical properties in it, I tried and used it on an old man that we met in our travels, he never stopped coughing but with a few vials of the medicine I accidentally discovered, he stopped coughing and all his symptoms slowly deteriorated over time.
I brought it up and looked at it; I can also see Shani looking at the vial of white powder there are still a lot of things I don't know about it but I don't have any other possible choices right this moment.
"What is that" Shani asked while still looking curiously at the vial of white powder.
"I have heard news of a plague affecting this place when Geralt and I are travelling around the place and gathering information, I started developing this as a way to counter act the plague so that I would be able to profit from it, I am a Witcher so I don't really need a cure for this disease but I thought it would be different for humans, it's an Antibiotic and it should be very effective in fighting the bacteria in the body, it should reduce the casualties you have estimated to a range of 10-15% instead of 90%" I told her a brief explanation.
Shani had a surprised look on her face as I told her what I created, Alchemy came naturally to me when I started studying for it, Geralt characterized my mastery of the subject 'Adequate' but because of my knowledge back in the old world where medicine and a lot of subjects have been polished throughout the years mixed with it I was came up with things such as antibiotic, I came across it when I was reading about mutagens and the trial of the grasses, it was just a bit of practice from there mixed with some experiments and trial and errors that I was able to get an idea on how to even start making the miracle drug, I made it to make profit when we arrive in Vizima, I almost forgot about it as I was caught up in a lot of things happening at the same time.
I had to avoid Shani and raise my hands higher as I dodged her tackle, I can tell she was going for the vial but tripped and nearly destroyed it in her excitement, I supported her back so she won't fall and break something.
"Give it to me quickly! We can help a lot of people with that" she requested while still putting out her hands expecting me to give it to her without protest.
"I don't know if you were listening but I made this to make profit, not to become a saint"
"Are you actually serious right now? Your friend needs that and a lot of people do in this hospital and you are going to charge us?" now I can see that she is visibly angry from what I asked of her.
"I have worked hard for this and while I would like to give this for free I have to charge people for it so that I would have something in exchange instead of the doubt and scorn that I usually have, I am a Witcher, no one would care if I created a miracle cure that would save this city or the world, all they will see is a mutant and his poison that they need to cure themselves, also if you want to help more people it is better to do it this way, you guys don't have the funds to maintain this hospital for much longer and do you think all the ingredients and process of the drug would just magically appear in front of you?" I inhaled and then continued.
"If you really want to help these people then you need coins and a lot of them, charge a certain amount for the drugs enough so that you can have a better and cleaner hospital, all the materials needed to make the antibiotic and many more" I finished.
Shani contemplated a bit before looking at the vial again.
"Alright, what is your plan? Clearly you have one since you said all those words" she asked.
And so we discussed a deal, I offered to teach her the method of how I made the drug, she can improve upon it moving forward because I didn't want to spend more time on the drug than what is needed, I would earn 3% of the total sales, we also argued what would be a reasonable price for it to keep us both satisfied, it was a quick base of our plans at the moment because we need to test how effective it is first, I had only 3 vials with me at the moment but I will have to make more if this continues.
Shani and I went back inside to look for Lisa and give her the drug, Shani will observe her for a few days and see if the drug will have any effect at all, after giving Lisa the drug I bid her farewell and gave extra cash to Shani for Lisa's food and expenses, because I know Shani is an honest and good person and won't spend the coins I entrusted her for anything else besides its purpose.
Shani and I promised to meet after she is done with her work to discuss our plans further, also I am curious as to what happened with Geralt, I was eating food and enjoying life while he is in prison with the rats, I wanted to help so badly but I know he can handle, it a few rats and smelly sewer waters won't stop that guy from achieving his goal.
I requested we meet at the Tavern where I eat in the evening before I departed from the hospital; I directly went to the tavern to make a deal with the owner to reserve a table for 2.
I then went back to my temporary base to continue and kill time before the agreed meeting time with lunch the last thing on my mind, I trained until evening, after which I took a bath and a change of clothing, I only brought the Yamato and wrist blades with me and left everything else to Shadowmere.
I arrived at the meeting place early because I didn't want to take up too much time from Shani, she has been busy running around the place when I met her at the hospital, her drive to help and heal people would've probably made her a saintess in this world if she was given the ability to heal, Shani arrived right on time, the serving girl led her to the table I reserved and I can immediately tell that she came straight here from the hospital, I can also smell her sweat from where I am sitting.
"Have a sit, you were probably running around too much and should be tired, and would you like something to eat?" I offered her casually.
"Yes, the victims of the plague are increasing by the day, we could hardly keep up, there is not much of us in the medical department to begin with" she sat down and continued "if you are offering to buy the food then I won't refuse a free meal" she finished.
I motioned for the serving girl to get some proper food for us, I also ordered some wine for her and we ate in silence before continuing with the meeting, Shani is ravenous as she devoured her food so fast I wasn't even finished with mine when she finished hers, she is not even shy nor holding back as she ordered more, I let her do it and waited until her hunger is satiated, I just sat in silence and enjoyed my own meal.
"Phew thanks for the meal, I was really hungry we did not have anything from morning till now, and my stipend can't cover much of my food expenses" she said as she is drinking her wine.
"Haaa, you are welcome, if you want you can get more I have a few coins to spare after all" I couldn't help but notice that her eyes quickly sharpened at that.
"So you do have money! Can't you just make the 'antibiotics' you were talking about for free then" she voiced her complaint again, as she caught me red handed.
We argued for a bit again before we made progress towards a better solution, that was my earlier proposal to her, she accepted amicably and we made a schedule after her work where she will learn how to make the drug from me, she told me she has a dwarf contact that can take care of logistics and details of the business itself, I gave her my remaining vials for her to give to Lisa in order to confirm the effectiveness of the drug.
"So tell me, where is Geralt right now and where did you meet him?" I asked so that I could get that detail out of the way, she told me how they met in the outskirts of Vizima and everything that happened in the criminal infested village that they stayed in, how she is currently taking care of a boy 'who I'd like to avoid at all cost' and she also told me to go help Geralt out of his current dilemma.
"I appreciate your concern for him but I have large amount of confidence that he will be escaping and saving himself, it would be better for me to continue my information gathering so that we can have everything by the time he arrives" I told Shani to dismiss her worries.
I was expecting her to argue more about Geralt's situation but she nodded instead and told me that she would trust my instincts on the matter.
"I should not be talking about breaking him out because even I myself can't do it due to my duties here, I can't leave those people alone and you are probably right, Geralt can take care of himself, and his life is not in immediate danger at the moment" she sounded out, more like telling herself than telling me.
I just nodded and let her mumble by herself, when she snapped out of it we continued in hashing out our deal, we shook on it and bade each other goodbye at the moment, I offered to escort her back home but she refused saying that she can take care of herself, nevertheless I followed her and watched her surroundings on the rooftops just in case there are unsavoury characters with malicious intent on the pretty medic.
After I followed her the whole way and stopped some bandits that planned on crossing her path, I immediately went back to the temporary base to continue my routine, I also set aside some time to practice more on alchemy and note the details about the creation of the antibiotic specifically.
Shani and I agreed to meet again after she ran out of the powder I gave her so that she can report on her findings and inform me if the drug works, the next day after taking a good rest and shower I went to check on the notice board.
'I was delayed in checking the board out due to unseen circumstances and advantages that popped out immediately after my arrival' but now I have the time to check on it to see if there is any job for a Witcher.
I arrived early in the morning after I was done with my morning routines, and I can see a lot of papers posted on the notice board, unlike in the games the board was filled to the brim with papers of request some were probably even completed but wasn't taken down, I had to skim through a lot before I could find some monster hunting requests, I took all of it just in case it was already completed so I can go directly to the next one, I also saw a request about a manticore in the sewers that needs to be slayed.
I could've took it and meet up earlier with Geralt, but I have to take as many solo hunts as I can right now that I have the chance, I cannot be always reliant on the more experienced Witcher, someday I would be forced to walk my own path and no one will be there to watch my back, so I need more real life experiences to close that gap when the time comes.
I started quickly looking for the people who posted their requests, they were really far away from each other so I had to run, it was quite a workout too, a lot of the request were already finished by some Witcher who came earlier than me, probably the traitor, some were just forgotten and they did not have any interest in finishing it anymore, it took me all morning to sift through everything and I am only left with 1 last notice, before I went to confirm the last notice I stopped to get a quick bite.
Raymond then gave me an update via a 3rd party he wants to meet with me again in the evening to corroborate our findings, his messenger was able to find me because I was running all over the place, I replied that we can meet tomorrow as I will be taking on a job today if there is any, the 3rd party delivered my message, Raymond started using 3rd parties at irregular times, he is using it sometimes to catch some investigators on the salamandra's side, a very smart move if you ask me.
After I have filled my belly I went to look for the person who posted the last request in my pocket, I was able to find them and figure out what is problem, I was surprised at their request at first but now I am giddy at the chance of me completing my first contract solo, it wasn't much, just a reconnaissance one, I have to investigate the nearby woods because it apparently froze over, the animals are slowly dying out and the local flora are all but destroyed, a lot of the people here are relying on the supplies they can get on that forested area and they are paying handsomely for anyone to check out what is happening as they are all scared to do it themselves, they didn't want to risk it especially since the hunters are the only ones who can provide for their family right now where the pandemic is scaring everyone in the city.
"This here is the path" one of the hunters who chipped in to hire a witcher showed me a path outside the city without passing through the gates, I have to swim under the wall where there is a tunnel connecting the inside and outside of the place.
"After you exit you can see the trees frozen over at a distance, be careful mister witcher" the hunter offered me a last bit of advice, I nodded and told them to wait for me with the information that they need, I dived down and swam through the tunnel, the water is a bit murky but it is bearable, I have a really bad feeling about this job because not a lot of creatures are associated with ice and the few that are connected to it are extremely dangerous, even for a seasoned witcher/s.