The Great Northern Gambit: The First Push
Chapter 4: Commander of the Blue Stripes.
Narrator: After accepting a contract from their old friend Queen Adda of Redania, Dominik and Ciri set out right away for Crow's Perch, to complete the first part of their job, convincing their old friend, the Bloody Baron, to join he and his men in Velen with Queen Adda to push the Nilfgaardians out of the region for good. However, upon arriving they discovered that Lord Marshall Visegard, a former knight of Cintra who had betrayed the city, had already completed the task for them, convincing the Baron to gather his forces for the Queen. Shocked by the revelation, Dominik and Ciri proceed cautiously towards their next job. They head south in Velen, to meet up with Vernon Roche the Commander of the Temarian Blue Stripes, their next objective, to locate Iorveth, the last Commander of the Scoia'tael.
"I made a mistake," Dominik said, riding next to Ciri, slouching on Clop's back. "I should have killed him; I never should have let him walk out those gates."
"You think he was being serious about the plans to attack?" Ciri asked, noticing how tightly his fists were clenched around the stallion's reigns.
It was a hot day again, but Ciri could see rain clouds gathering in the distance. They'd spent the night in Crow's Perch, the same room she remembered spending nights in when she was recovering. It was still hard for her to believe that had been months ago, she still at times felt she'd turn and find skeleton horses charging at her. She patted Kelpie's neck as the mare knickered from the heat, as the village of Blackbough could be seen rising over the crest of the hill.
"I don't know," Dominik said, sounding as uncertain as he'd been since they left Crow's Perch. "He could have easily been lying."
"But you weren't going to gamble with the lives of thousands of people," Ciri reminded him, trying her utmost best to cheer him up. "You did the right thing. Try not to worry about it too much."
"He made too much sense," He said, scoffing. "That's what makes it hard. He could be mustering forces right now, sending word for assassins to come find us. Ordering them to kill me and take you."
It was her turn to scoff. "He's tried three times, all of them failed. Besides, it won't matter even if he does get me. If he does, I'll simply teleport back to your loving arms out of their grasp!"
She put a dramatic flair into her words, trying to make him laugh, and to her dismay it didn't work.
"Dimeritium chains will stop that," He muttered. "That's how they keep control of their mages."
She rolled her eyes. "Then I fully expect you to barge into wherever I'm held, eyes and sword glowing, slaughtering any guards and then the two of us escaping."
He sighed and Ciri saw a small smile creep onto his face as he looked at her. "That… sounds pretty accurate."
She smiled seeing it on his face and nodded. "See? We'll be fine, trust me. Think of it like this, any situation we encounter can't be worse than the Wild Hunt, right?"
"Try not to jinx it…" He mumbled again, before Ciri realized he was right.
Avallac'h was still out there, plotting, scheming. They had no idea what the elf would come up with, or when it could happen. It would be best if she didn't ask 'what could be worse than the Wild Hunt', because she knew that even with Eredin dead, there very well could still be something worse.
"Good point…" She said, looking up as the top of the hill got closer. "At least the first part of this is done, I assume Roche won't simply be in the village?"
Dominik chewed at his lip. "No, he'll be somewhere in the woods, probably a cave or clearing. He'll leave tracks we can find… it's when we find him that I'm concerned about."
"Roche wouldn't attack us."
"I know he wouldn't that's not what worries me," Dominik said, the sun glinting off the pommel of his two swords. "He's had a lot of time to sit and stew on what we're about to do."
Ciri remembered the hard man from Kaer Morhen, eyes that had seen a hundred battles, someone she would rather not make an enemy of. However, one thing she knew she couldn't doubt was his loyalty.
"He fought a guerrilla war against Nilfgaard with less than a hundred men for over a year," Ciri said, the both finally stopping at the top of the hill. "You really think he'd betray Adda after doing that?"
"No, I've no doubt he wouldn't, and he probably did agree to work with Iorveth like Adda said," He said, meeting her glare from atop Clop. "But before that… he was famous for killing Scoia'tael and non-humans. He hated them; I don't think that hatred will die just because Adda orders it."
"So, you don't think he'll do it anymore?"
"No, I think he will, but after he does when we try to fight, it'll get us killed," Dominik said. "First rule of fighting in a group, trust your partner completely."
He managed a cheeky grin before winking at her, and it made Ciri blush again. She liked to think she was past blushing like a little girl, but he always somehow brought it out of her.
"That is why we always do so well," Ciri said, smirking at him. "You really think you can read my mind?"
"I know I can."
"Oh really, hold on," She closed her eyes and pretended to think hard, before smirking back over at him. "Okay, what am I thinking about now?"
"You're thinking how there's no way I'm going to guess what you're thinking."
"Ass," She said, the both managing a laugh. She truly did think they could read each other's minds. Not like Yennefer did to Geralt, but their little unspoken language had been developing since they were eleven, and Ciri always found himself able to know what he was thinking in battle. When they were younger and sparred, they often could have gone for hours if nobody had intervened, they knew each other's style that well.
Of course, most of the time she'd trick him by pretending he'd hit her too hard, before he'd get cutely worried and then Ciri would swipe his feet out from under him. It was sweet how worried he got, she loved it, but would admit she took advantage of it to win those contests.
He finished laughing and smiled at her. "Okay, let's get going. I think we should start looking-."
"MOVE! OUT OF THE WAY DAMMIT!"
The scream came from the hill below, followed the thundering of hooves. Kelpie neighed under her, bucking upwards and Ciri was almost thrown from the saddle. The mare darted off the road, and she looked across just in time to see Clop had did the same to Dominik, before a rider dashed up the road past them riding a black horse.
It shot past in a blur, and Ciri had just gotten control of Kelpie again before the mare reared back a second time.
"STOP! IN THE NAME OF THE EMPIRE!"
Kelpie reared further back as at least half a dozen armored horses shot down the road. She noticed the heavily armored knights and the Nilfgaardian banner rush past, as down below the village was in chaos. She looked and saw Nilfgaardians rounding up the peasants, children cried, as she saw the large tree in the center of the down now held at least half a dozen nooses, she smelled smoke as she could see flames beginning to burn, and it didn't take her much time to realize what was happening.
That man must be one of Roche's men… the villagers helped him, now they're paying the price…. She looked up to Dominik across the road, ready to yell what she'd learned, but she already saw him getting ready to ride towards the village, the screams getting louder.
"NO! Dominik we can't!" She yelled, rushing across the road now with Kelpie under control.
Dominik turned to her, his eyes wide and angry. "Are you insane!? We can't just leave them there!"
"I'm not saying we should, but there's too many down there even for us!" She pleaded, tugging his arm, and pointing to the tracks, and the dust the riders were kicking up. "If we follow them, they'll lead us to Roche's hideout! We can gather them, and then come back!"
"We don't know if the village has that much time Ciri!"
"Then we'd best ride fast then!" She said, and finally she knew she had him at a loss for words.
After a few seconds looking back down at the village, Dominik cursed, and reached for the steel sword on his back, and jerked Clop back around.
"Come on, let's move!" He said, before she nodded and they both took off after the riders.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Kelpie was a fast horse, when her and Dominik normally raced her mare was more than a match for Clop. However now as they rode after the knights, she realized how fast Clop could move, especially with Dominik's powers. Clop and Kelpie were already going to be faster than the heavily armored knights they were chasing, but Ciri watched as bright blue magic started moving from his limbs, down to those of his horse, and Clop's hooves kicked up so much dust, Ciri and Kelpie were both starting to have trouble seeing.
"Dominik slow down!" She tried to yell to him, but after a second, she realized how worthless it was. Behind them, they could still hear villagers screaming, smell the smoke of the burning buildings.
He's not slowing down, not while that's happening, she thought. No use in trying to get him to slow, gotta keep moving.
She whistled and kicked her heels at Kelpie's sides, and her mare valiantly tried to catch up to Clop, and while they wouldn't catch Dominik's horse, she knew they were close to the riders. They had chased Roche's man through the woods into a small path, and Ciri could see a clearing up ahead, more fires sprouting up into the air, undoubtedly from the Blue Stripe Camp. Surely they had enough men to help save the village, they wouldn't have attempted such a bold maneuver if they didn't.
She could see the dust kicked up from the Nilfgardian horses, and the black and gold standard that they carried. Dominik's magic got brighter, and a small part of Ciri thought she should be worried, but then she remembered he was far from drunk this time while using them. He probably didn't mean too, but she'd no doubt seeing the Black Ones put the village to the torch had set him off. He explained to her before how his powers shifted with his emotions, when he was calm, it was more like a gentle hum around him. It wasn't as powerful, but it was controlled, and granted him more abilities.
However, if like now he got angrier, it became more of a storm. That's what she saw now, a storm of magic around his limbs. The magic at this point would give him more raw power, but was more unstable, and harder to control.
Ciri rode hard, as she saw the backs of the half-dozen Nilfgaardian knights, full sets of black plate gleaming in the sun burst through the treeline, and in the distance, she could see the Blue Stripe they'd been chasing veer off, and then booming voice rang through the trees.
"NOW!" The voice commanded, and that was when Ciri heard a loud BOOM, followed by two of the Nilfgaardians they'd been chasing suddenly disappearing.
"SHIT!" She yelled, pulling on Kelpie's reigns to stop her, as she watched another knight fall.
Pit traps… Blue Stripes Style, just like at Kaer Morhen, she realized, remembering Roche digging the pits before the battle at Kaer Morhen.
"AT THEM! FOR THE QUEEN!" Another loud voice yelled, this one feminine was followed by a chorus of voices, men charging, weapons flashing. Ciri heard the twang of bowstrings and crossbow bolts, sending the riders into disarray. The remaining four horses scrambled, they jumped across the pits and were flung into the chaos of the camp.
And to Ciri's horror in front of her, Dominik didn't stop.
"DOMINIK!" She tried to yell for him, but again her cries came on deaf ears. Stupid, brave, idiot boy.
Dominik didn't slow down, not one bit. He and Clop leaped over the pits, right into the middle of the clamoring Nilfgaardians. The group of them were swinging large swords, jabbing spears towards the Blue Stripes who had come to try and yank them from their horses, and were somehow managing to hold their own with their massive plate providing protection, that was until Dominik join the fray.
Clop landed in the middle, and Dominik knelt up on the saddle. His magic must've given Clop to the strength to hold his weight. Both feet on his horse back, he slapped Clop's backside to make the horse run, and just as the horse did, he leapt off, slamming into one of the knights and taking him clean off his horse.
Ciri was suddenly flashed back to when they were children, when Cintra was being sacked. Dominik had done that exact same thing to Cahir after the man had taken Ciri out of the city, despite being only eleven at the time, he surprised the man, knocking him from his horse and saving her life. Cahir had tried to kill him afterwards, and that had been the first time Ciri's powers unleashed, it saved Dominik, before the two of them ran off, and then got chased by the knight for weeks afterwards.
The difference now, Dominik was a fully grown man, and he strong enough to take the man to the ground. Ciri had just leapt Kelpie over the pit traps, with two knights and horses impaled on spikes covered in oil, when she spotted Dominik on the ground struggling with the knight.
The knight was in full plate, but Dominik held him down in a vice. The man tried to grab at Dominik's hands, but Dominik boot was holding down his one arm, and in one quick motion he reached to his back, pulled out his dagger and stabbed it right under the man's helmet between the slits of his armor and into his neck. Blood sprayed up into his face, and Ciri was just sliding off Kelpie when he saw another knight galloping towards him, lance couched and aimed at him.
Ciri was ready to teleport forward herself to cut the man down before he could reach him, but just before the lance stabbed through Dominik's chest a large crossbow bolt was sticking out the man's back. He yelled out, falling limp, and Dominik rolled out of the way of the oncoming horse. Ciri looked to the right and perched on a grassy knoll, Vernon Roche was reloading his massive crossbow.
Ciri rushed through the last of the melee, which was really just a group of Blue Stripes, pulling the last knight from his horse before savagely beating at him on the ground. The man screamed, but Ciri found it hard to find any sympathy for him. If he hadn't chased the Blue Stripe man down, he probably would be hanging villagers and setting buildings on fire.
She made it to Dominik and pulled him to his feet. He was stumbling, the storm of magic around his limbs gone, but she could still see bright blue in the corners of his eyes, as he slid his bloody silver knife back into the sheath on the bottom of his back. His face was specked with blood, and while Ciri looked worried his eyes were already trained back towards the village.
"You alright?" She asked, anxious as he looked back down at her.
He nodded. "Yeah, and you?"
"Been better but I can't complain."
"You can say that again…" He said, giving her a smile to assure her he was alright, before he looked towards the village. "The fires are getting worse; we need to move!"
"Dominik of Cintra I thought that was you," A voice came from behind them.
Ciri turned with Dominik and narrowed her eyes. The blonde woman Ves had been the one who spoke. Ciri was sure she was a courageous young woman, who wasn't a bad person, but just like at Kaer Morhen, she beamed far too brightly at Dominik for Ciri's liking. Dominik-bless his heart-didn't seem to notice, which almost made Ciri blush. He only ever had eyes for her, even if he didn't notice she liked him for a few years when they were younger.
Ves jogged to them both, a bloody sword in her hand. "Ha, Roche told us you were both coming along, I was hoping it wasn't a joke! That was some-."
"Ves, we need to move they're burning the village where's Roche!?" Dominik cut her off, and for the first time, Ciri saw the woman's eyes on something other than Dominik.
She looked and saw the burning smoke and nodded at them both, turning her back to them. "Roche! We got a problem!"
The Blue Stripes seemed to only total around twenty-five. Freya had explained to them that Adda absolved some of the troops back into her army as officers, and told Roche to keep only his best men, to be shock troops, to go behind enemy lines, and complete the missions that nobody else could complete.
After how she saw Roche, and she'd even admit Ves as well, she could see why. The men all parted, as Ciri stood next to Dominik to watch Roche tramp through the marshy terrain. The camp was a few lines of large tents, fires burned with racks weapons, carts of supplies, all against a large cliff which gave them coverage from three ways, and only gave the treeline as the reasonable root of attack. It was a good camp, and with the village close by, it was more than likely where they got their supplies.
"Dominik," Roche's deep voice cut across the air, as he reached the two of them and Ves. He shook Dominik's hand, before doing the same to Ciri, he gave her a straight mouthed nod, which Ciri assumed was the man's version of a smile. "Cirilla, good to you as well. You both got the gift of good timing I'll give you that."
"It's good to see you too Roche," Dominik said quickly, "but we need to move they're hanging the villagers and setting buildings on fire look!"
All the men turned to see the plumes of smoke, and Ciri bit at her tongue. She could remember her home being burned by Nilfgaard, her friends, grandmother all slaughtered. Blackbough wasn't nearly as big as Cintra, it didn't have the time it did.
Roche shook his head. "Damn Black Ones… bastards." He turned to the men and sharply whistled. "You heard him boys! Riders mount up, everyone else follow-on foot and move your asses, for the Queen!"
"For the Queen!" The chorus of cheers came back, before Ciri heard whistles and the sounds of men shouting and running to positions.
Roche turned to her and Dominik. "You'll both be joining us then?"
"Of course," Dominik said, turning to her. "Right Ciri?"
"You bet we will," She said, looking to meet Roche's eyes. "Ves said you were expecting us?"
Roche's almost smile, turned into a sneer. "Yes… we'll discuss the Queen's plan after we finish off these bastards."
He didn't give them time to argue, as he ran off whistling for his horse. Ciri's skin prickled, and she could see Dominik shuffle nervously next to her, probably now thinking again about their mission afterwards with Roche.
She grabbed his arm and nodded. "We'd best be off then, right? We both always wanted to fight Black Ones."
She smiled, and to her relief it seemed to calm him. He smiled back at her and nodded, before scowling over at the plumes of smoke.
"You're right about that, let's go get the fuckers," He whistled and Ciri did the same. Withing seconds, she heard the thundering hooves behind her, Dominik didn't even have to look as he ran and grabbed onto Clop's reigns as the horse ran.
And I thought I could read his mind… she thought as she watched him ride off, and withing another minute Kelpie appeared at her side, nickering apprehensively.
"Don't worry girl, we'll get there," She told the horse, sliding up into the saddle and kicking her heels. "For now, let's catch up to them yeah?"
Kelpie responded by darting out of the camp after Clop towards the village. And despite the fact she had never particularly wanted to be a soldier, she felt excited to be riding into her first battle.
Let's just not do anything stupid…. She knew she could escape, and she knew it would take a hell of a lot more then common soldiers to get her to captured, but still, she wouldn't let herself be taken again.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Dominik slowed Clop to let Ciri catch up with him. They were well ahead of the Blue Stripes, and he didn't like the idea of riding into the town by himself with no backup, and he could think of no backup he'd rather have then Ciri. He had seen Nilfgaardian's burn villages before and knew there had to be at least two dozen there, some scouts, others just scribes, but he knew there'd be more than a few knights. If he and Ciri could distract them, Roche's men he knew could smash them while they had them occupied. Ciri got next to him, and the damn woman smiled at him like a madwoman across from him as they road.
Damn I love her, he thought just as they got to the same hill that they started to chase the knights at. Sure, enough Dominik saw two, lightly armored men sitting atop horses, another two on foot trying to set up a perimeter. He nodded across to Ciri as Clop and Kelpie thundered down the hill, and just as the Nilfgaardians-who had been playing cards at a tree-stump, shot up, he drew out his steel.
The two on horses blocked the road. They weren't knights, only wearing leather armor, their horses not armored either.
One held his sword up. "Halt! This is restricted-."
Dominik didn't give him time to respond, at the last second, he jerked Clop's reigns to the left and cut his steel out across the man's chest. Magic came to life in his eyes, it ran down his arm to his blade and the tip of the steel cut across the man's chest, sending him flying from his horse. The two men below scrambled, and he looked over to see the rider Ciri had attacked met a similar fate.
Smoke continued to billow ahead, and Ciri waved him on, galloping behind him as they both burst into the center of the town. The first building on the left had already burned down to its foundation, Dominik saw a small family of elves being dragged and corralled towards a fenced in area, where dozens of villagers were sitting in chains, about four guards walking through them, beating them down if they dared to move.
Dominik looked further into town, a great oak tree in the middle, a half-dozen ropes with twitching villagers, jerking up and down as the life was strangled from them. At least a dozen soldiers, stood, a line with more villagers ready for the rope near them, as the buildings continued to burn, children cried, people shouted, but all the while one man with a parchment and clipboard casually scratched names and walked down the line.
Every fifth villager hang… every fifth, and non-human taken slave… bastards.
But this was on brand for Emhyr, for Nilfgaard, and he wouldn't let it happen anymore.
He looked at the bodies twitching, and just as they entered the village proper, he looked back to Ciri as they approached the pen with the villagers who'd been picked for enslavement.
Ciri was only a few strides behind him, and he frantically waved towards the pen. "Ciri! Get them out!"
"On it!" She said, peeling off and rearing her horse back around, the sounds of soldiers yelling in Nilfgaardian finally being heard.
Dominik galloped Clop past the enclosure, a swarm of the soldiers trying to get in his way, but with the magic coming from him, and around his horse Clop barreled through them, just as Ciri leapt from Kelpie's back and slammed into the chaos. A ring of magic shot up around her, and Dominik just had the time to see her eyes begin to glow bright blue before he was half-way to the town center. He could hear the soldiers screams, and the whistling of Ciri's magic, and knew she'd be alright.
He refocused on the town center, the four people, two women and two men hanging and dying on the tree. The dozen or so soldiers looked up and noticed him charging, and what a sight he must have been, glowing in the bright day. He must have scared them, because the scribe started shouting in Nilfgaardian, and more soldiers from around the town started charging.
Some of the knights came to charge and meet him, but Clop evaded them, skillfully moving between them, and Dominik reached for his belt. He looked to the line of villagers, scared and in a daze.
"MOVE GET TO THE FOREST!" He yelled, igniting a bomb-Dancing Star- with his Igni and throwing it at the group of soldiers in front of the tree.
A dozen explosions of fire erupted, sending hem scatter. Dominik kicked Clop's reigns and charged through the gap to the hanging villagers which was now open. He gripped tight to his steel and turned Clop towards the ropes. His steel glittering, it cut across the ropes and the villagers fell gasping for air, and Dominik pulled Clop to a stop.
He slid his sword back behind his back and rushed to the group of four writhing villagers. Three of them, a woman and the two men had gotten to their knees, coughing, and grabbing their throats. Dominik saw the one who hadn't risen, a girl who couldn't be any older then sixteen. He cursed, and dropped to her side, the other woman rushing towards him.
"MELANIE!" She yelled, falling next to Dominik on the ground.
He cursed, magic still floating around him and in his eyes. He pressed on the girl's chest, moving her mattered, bloody brown hair. Around him, the village continued to burn, and he could hear the soldiers regrouping. The other two men had gathered around him as well, just as Dominik put his ear to the girl's chest.
That's a heartbeat, he recognized, cursing as he looked around the girl's neck. Purple marks ran around it, and he shook his head. Gonna need to look at that later.
But he didn't have time now, he placed both his hands on the girl's chest, and sucked in the mist of magic that was around him. With an exhale he pressed, and the magic spread around her. After a minute, her eyes shot open and she gasped, shooting up.
"MELANIE!" The woman yelled, grabbing the girl's hand, but Dominik had already gotten up with her in his arms. He draped her over Clop's saddle.
"Can you ride girl!?" He yelled over the screaming.
"I… I can," She said, still obviously shaken.
He nodded and patted Clop's neck. "Clop get them to the treeline!" He turned to the other three, "Go and follow the others now!"
The young girl on the horse looked at him with awe as he glowed but was out of sight when Dominik's smacked Clop's backside, the horse neighed, nodded at him and took off. The other three followed, rushing past the building where the others had run.
"Stop criminal!" A voice in broken common tongue said, making Dominik whirl back around, his sword slinging from his back.
In front of him, the scribe had pulled out a short sword, pointing it at him, his fancy hat burned from the bomb. Flanked out around him on the left and right, at least two dozen soldiers had surrounded him. Dominik saw multiple knights in full plate, halberds pointed at him, along with a multitude of archers and, bows pointed.
Dominik scoffed, his magic spiraling down his sword. "Two dozen against one? I'd say those are fair odds."
"Silence!" The scribe yelled, the veins in his neck bulging. "You have committed crimes against the Empire and the Emperor himself! Who are you boy!"
"Dominik of Cintra!" He said, holding his arms out with a smirk. "Emhyr and I go way back! I bet if you capture me for him, he'd give you a nice pat on the head!"
"You will die here for your interference!" The scribe said. "And you shall address the Emperor-."
"By his full name or not at all, blah, blah, blah, yes, yes I've heard it all before," Dominik said, forming the proper sign with his hand, and making flames shoot up his steel. It made a few of the soldiers stumble back, yelling in Nilfgaardian. He waved the sword at them. "Now, you all have two options here. One, you can leave this village, return to the camp with your lives. Or you can pick option two, you stay, we fight, my woman gets here, our backup gets here, and you all get slaughtered, what's it going to be?"
He heard a bowstring loose behind him, and he spun around quick as a flash to cut an arrow from the sky just before it hit him. It burned to kindling on the ground, and Dominik saw the man who had shot the arrow fall onto his ass. After that he heard a crossbow bolt fire, and Dominik spun again, cutting the bolt out of the air and pulling his own crossbow from his hip. He fired when he saw the man, and soon one of his bolts was protruding from his eye.
It made a few more of the soldiers around him shuffle uncomfortably as the man fell, and Dominik looked at them all.
"So!" He said, his sword still in flames as he looked back to the scribe, who was clearly the head of the squad gathered. "What's it gonna be!"
The scribe looked around the group, a couple of them had back off, but seeing this the scribe yelled and went to rush forward. "Well, what are you doing you fools! Attack, that's an-."
A flash of light flashed through the air, and blood sprayed to the ground. The flash of light reappeared in front of him, and Ciri stood there, she spun her sword and cut across the man's neck, before spinning and falling back into place next to Dominik with her sword leveled.
"You weren't going to start without me now, were you?" She said, winking up at him.
Dominik scoffed, as the soldiers looked stunned for a moment. "Wouldn't dream of it! They really don't stand a chance now."
She winked at him again and pressed her back up against his. It felt as natural as ever. Magic lightly hummed from them both, he knew they probably shouldn't have been using it so openly, but it was their only chance until Roche got there.
After a minute, the first brave Nilfgaardian charged, a knight in full plate tried to jab a halberd at Ciri. In a flash she sidestepped, grabbing the halberd, pushing it down and cutting her sword clean through the shaft of the weapon. The man looked up stunned and reached out with a side-sword to stab Ciri through, but she knocked it aside and with perfect precision she cut her sword under his elbow. Her sword was imbued with magic, and cut the limb clean off, and as the man screamed Dominik stepped forward and shot his hand forward. Flames erupted from his hands and set the man ablaze. He screamed as he was set alight and fell to the ground dead.
Ciri spun back-to-back with him again, smirking at him as she did, and that was when the other Nilfgaardians mustered their courage and charged.
"Did you get those ones in the pen out?" Dominik asked, as the first few clashed into them both.
"I did," Ciri said, teleporting behind one man, cutting across his back, and kicking him away. "I sent them to the woods!"
He nodded and turned just as a knight in full plate came for him from one side, two more attempted to surround him. His sword still in flames, Dominik knocked side the knight's halberd and just as he did the one from the left came for a strike. He stepped under it, grabbed the man's arm, and threw him against the knight. Both those men stumbled, and then once the third one came charging, he fired his hand forward forming he sign for Aard. His magic made the sign come faster, and it ripped from his fingertips, slamming into the three men it sent them flying back into another two that were coming.
Dominik only had time to smirk, before he heard the footsteps behind him. He turned to see another of the scouts rushing towards him, an axe in hand but before he could, Ciri was there. She spun off one man and teleported forward to cut through the one who was coming for him. He smiled at her, getting his back up against hers again, as another group of the knights charged, the scouts gave way, as the heavily armored men rushed for Ciri and he.
One came from his left, Dominik parried the man's strike, spinning behind him and cutting at the back of his knee. It found home in a slit of the armor, and blood watered the ground. He was about to deliver the killing blow when another knight swung at him. Narrowly avoiding the strike, he found the slit beneath the man's elbow and cut his blade down. His magic helped it cut clean through the limb, and as one man screamed, the other beneath him tried to come up and stab him again. Dominik turned and caught the man's hand, throwing him forward into the other knight and thrusting forward his hand. Aard blew off one knight's helmet and knocked the one which only had one arm now hard against the tree.
Seeing no helmet, Dominik pulled out his crossbow and after a quick reload fired a bolt into the enemy's eye. More footfalls came behind him, and he spun to parry one vicious man's axe. He caught it on the handle, flicked it from the man's hand, and spun his sword to a reversed grip to cut across his throat. For a moment, no enemies came, he could see more taking a moment to reassess the situation, and in that moment Ciri next to him was going to work.
One knight came at her from behind as she was engaged by a scout. The scout pressed his sword down against her, but hearing the man behind her, she slipped out from under the clinch, and the blow the knight meant for her cleaved into the scout's shoulder. The scout screamed, and the knight ripped his sword free, but didn't have time before Ciri knocked it away. She spun and cut the scouts throat, before precisely slashing up across the knight's throat.
She was alone, but Dominik saw the man with a bow behind her.
"CIRI!" He yelled, and she turned just as the man fired.
Dominik shot his hand out, his magic flew from a mist around him, and out in front of Ciri. It caught and spread around the arrow, stopping it mid-air just before it could puncture Ciri's chest. She froze, spinning and looking at him, smirking and teleporting away. As she did Dominik spun his hand, the arrow spun with it, and he shot it forward. The arrow zipped back through the air and stuck the stunned archer in the chest.
"Did I ever mention how much I love that new trick of yours?" Ciri said, reappearing behind him.
He scoffed, but still smiled at her. "I think it's pretty handy. We should-."
"Look out!" She spun around him and cut a crossbow bolt out of the air. It clattered the ground, and they both looked around, to see that the remaining Nilfgaardians that had been hiding out on the outskirts of town had arrived, surrounding them with at least another two dozen more.
Ciri pressed her back against his, sword raised. "They surely have reinforcements coming as well… we won't hold them forever."
They had filed out around the two of them again, and he knew Ciri was correct. However, just as they started to close in again, he spotted a cloud of dust slowly starting to pick up over the hill.
He smirked and craned his head over to Ciri. "No need to worry Princess, cavalry's here!"
She turned and saw the same thing he did. He saw the smirk come to her face and reveled in it. I love it when she smiles like that. Only the two of us could admire each other's looks like this in the middle of a battle.
Ciri winked at him again, which he wouldn't deny made his face get red. However, it was at this moment one of the knights mustered up the knights mustered up his courage and attacked. Dominik heard the scream, and went to intercept, but just before the knight could get to him, he fell to the ground, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his neck. Blood seeped into the ground below, and Dominik looked up-Ciri rushing to his side- and their eyes fell to the top of the hill.
Vernon Roche had finally arrived, his crossbow aimed from atop his horse. After firing, he slung it to his back and pulled out a blade.
Damn, Ciri and I must have galloped like mad to get so far ahead of them.
"FOR THE QUEEN!" Roche yelled from atop the hill, before over a dozen horses galloped past him down the hill.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
"Just follow the path and head east," Dominik explained to the Ealdorman, Ciri kneeling a few feet away from him, applying bandages to the neck of the young woman-Melanie- he'd saved from the rope. "Pass by Crow's Perch if you need supplies, after that head for Oxenfurt, Queen Adda is taking in all refugees. You'll get food, clothes, and the Queen will have plenty of jobs available. Soon the Black Ones will be gone, and she'll help you rebuild your homes."
The man-another who he saved from the rope, the Ealdorman- look petrified. "Crow's Perch sir? The Baron, his men have sworn allegiance to the Empire! The Baron is often visited by-."
"You've no need to worry about the Baron. He's sworn his allegiance back to Queen Adda, I spoke to him myself," He assured the man, the rest of the villagers all starting to gather on the outskirts of town. "If you get there and any soldier gives you trouble, you ask to speak with the Baron, his wife, or his daughter. Tell them Dominik of Cintra sent you, they'll treat you right after that."
The Ealdorman's eyes went wide. "You? Dominik of Cintra? The slayer of the King of the Wild Hunt?"
It wasn't just me… he thought as he chewed his bottom lip, and looked at Ciri, tying the awe-struck girls' bandages and trying not to laugh at his flustered face.
He turned to see almost the entire village whispering, staring at him. A few of them had come closer, some started to yell questions, children rushed to the front of the group, and Dominik's face went beat red again.
Is this how Geralt feels whenever someone mentions his song… he thought, nervously smiling, and scanning the crowd. The more people who gathered to look at him, the more his chest pounded, he had gotten attention whenever he used to mention he was 'Geralt of Rivia's son', the one who he saved from the sack of Cintra in Dandelion's ballad, but ever since his own song had been written by Dandelion, it had gotten like this when he mentioned his name.
He never even wanted a song; they had only done it to help spread the rumor Ciri had died. Ciri next to him, smiled at the girl, and stood up next to him as the entirety of the village was looking at him now. Roche and his troops were all out making a perimeter, and taking counts of wounded and supplies, which left Ciri and he to help the villagers.
They all looked at him, but Dominik's eyes fell somewhere else, to a small group of elves, and a pair of dwarves standing a bit off from the main body of humans, staring at him yes, but being sure to keep their distance.
He could see the anxiety in the group of them. They're petrified… I wonder how they've been treated since Adda took over. Any better than before?
Biting his lip, he looked at the crowd, the Ealdorman again. All of them looked scared as well only a minute ago, but the minute Dominik's name was mentioned, they all perked up, chatting anxiously, and looking at him.
Ciri nudged him. He looked down as she smirked at him. "Well? Gotta say something now. Go on, inspire the people!"
He couldn't tell if she was joking or not, or if she was joking and being serious at the same time.
Turning back, he gulped as he looked to the Ealdorman, to the crowd, and slowly nodded.
"It's true," He said, crossing his arms, trying not to sound like a fool. "My names Dominik of Cintra. A friend of your Queen Adda! You'll all be safe in Oxenfurt with her."
The whispers got louder, and he could feel all the pairs of eyes trained on him.
"If Dominik of Cintra's fightin with the North," One man shouted above the rest. "The Black One's don't stand a chance!"
A loud bit of cheering went up, followed by another man's voice. "That's right! He'll kill the Emperor, just like he did the King of the Wild Hunt!"
If I'm lucky… Dominik thought, as another cheer went up.
"Is it true you fought the King for seven hours, and before strangling him to death!?"
"Nah stop it Pits! I heard he cut of his arm, and bashed his head in, before throwing his body in the sea!"
"What about your magic! Is it true you're descended you're a wizard and a witcher!"
"Did you see the Swallow before she died!?"
Another barrage of questions came. One man asked if it was true lighting shot from his eyes. One woman asked if he'd been seeing anybody since the 'The Swallow' died. One young boy asked if he could see Dominik's sword, the one he used to kill Eredin. Followed by more and more, each one more outlandish then the next.
He could only stand there stunned, and when he looked at Ciri she only laughed at him.
"Well, well, well, shooting lightning from your eyes?" She said, smiling over at the girl Melanie, who was staring at him, her mouth open a few steps away. "Looks like you have an admirer as well! I better step up my game if this is going to continue!"
He rolled his eyes, only making Ciri laugh, before one question rang above the rest.
"If Dominik of Cintra's gonna fight for the Queen, then I wanna to!" A man shouted.
A woman's voice followed next. "So do I! The Swallow fought alongside him, if they can fight together against the Hunt, then surely I can fight against the Black Ones!"
"We'll retake Vizima!" Another man yelled. "And with Dominik of Cintra, we'll knock down the walls to the Golden Tower itself!"
Dominik's eyes widened at that, his legs stiffening in the heat, his heart pounding.
"Woah, hold on now!" He yelled, getting all the villager's attention again.
He waited, and after a few seconds, all of them fell silent. Ciri crossed her arms, looking at him curiously as he blushed under the eyes. She nodded to him, and it calmed him like it always did.
Biting his lip, he met all the eyes again. "If you all want to fight, I won't stop you. When you make it to Oxenfurt, Queen Adda will have plenty need of soldiers! She'll accept anyone, man, woman…" his eyes trailed to the two dwarves and the group of elves. "Elf, dwarf, anyone with a desire to fight the Empire will be allowed!"
Dominik didn't fail to notice some of the villagers wearily look over to the non-humans. Some looked scared, some sneered, and Dominik pushed away his disgust. Praising me a second ago, clamoring to fight with me… but the second I mention non-humans they look like that. Gotta be careful with my words.
He knew how fast crowds could turn violent in the North, especially when non-humans were involved. His chest throbbed as he remembered what happened to him in Rivia.
He spoke to get the crowd's attention again. "I fight now with Queen Adda because I believe in her cause and reforms! For too long have we fought our neighbors for no good reason other than they look a little different then us!"
"Them non-humans stuck those bloody squirrels on us!" A man shouted, spitting near the non-humans. "The damned Scoia'tael have killed thousands of us!"
"Did any of your neighbors do that?" Dominik yelled, pushing the anger away again. "If we started judging one person based on the actions of an entire group, then us humans should be the most hated species in the world! Considering the Emperor is indeed human, and he's conquered our land, burned our villages and taken us slaves!"
"You comparing us to Nilfgaard!?" One man shouted, much angrier than Dominik had heard any yet.
A few more people joined the shouting, the discussion, and Dominik could sense their anger rising. Ciri shifted next to him, as if to pull him away, but the words flowed out of Dominik like a fountain.
"By your logic we should be! If we're to blame every non-human for the actions of members of their races who have committed crimes, then we must be responsible for all the crimes of members of our race! That's how the world got to where it is now, everyone at each other's throats, and for what!? So, one side can stand atop a pile of corpses from both sides to shout you're the winner?" He stepped forward towards the non-human group, and the villagers parted for him. "If we continue this way, hating out neighbors and trying to fight them, we'll get nowhere! Where has it gotten us!? The Empire is ready to invade, take our homes, take down our banners to put up golden suns! They'll take the weak slaves and destroy our way of life! I hail from Cintra as you all know, and it's a shadow of what it once was!
"I've seen my culture, my home's identity stolen, and made into nothing but another state of Nilfgaard! Do you all want to know what I learned that day a month ago at the Battle of Undvik? That if we all ban together, not as citizens of the North, the South, as a human or non-human, but as citizens of the world itself there's nothing we can't do!"
All the villagers looked at him as he approached the dwarves and family of elves. An older elven woman clutched at a small girl in her arms, as if scared by his approach. The man-he assumed her husband- stepped in front of them. He grabbed at someone in front of him, and Dominik smiled as he looked down to see another elven girl. This one was a bit older, perhaps in her middle teen years, fourteen, perhaps fifteen. She didn't seem scared, wearing a torn, dirty green dress, light blonde hair in tatters down her back. She looked right at him, not backing down from him, or the other villagers gathering near them.
"You don't seem afraid," Dominik said, kneeling to eye level with her.
She scoffed, her slender arms crossed and turned her head. "I ain't afraid of no Black-Ones!"
Dominik smiled, a few whispers were coming from the villagers behind him, but he ignored them, seeing Ciri shuffled towards him in his peripheral.
"So, you're their biggest fan I take it?" Dominik asked, nodding. "I don't like them very much myself as you could see."
"I hate them!" The girl yelled, her fists at her side. "I want to fight them, to kill them! I know what they did to other elves, what they've done to the village!"
"Iona!" The man behind her screamed, reaching for her shoulder, but the girl shrugged it off.
Dominik met the man's eyes and smiled, and it seemingly calmed him. He put his hand up, trying to gesture that it was alright. It worked because he removed his hand from his daughter's shoulder. Iona remains steely eyed, looking back to Dominik.
"Only good Black One is a dead Black One!" She shouted, and a few villagers even shouted their agreement behind him. "I don't want to be helpless! Not like today, I want to fight!"
"And I bet you'd do some serious damage," Dominik smiled, the villagers quieting again behind him, but he made sure to speak so they all could hear. "So, your name's Iona?"
"It is," Iona said. "I may be young, but I can fight I swear!"
"Iona we've been over this!" Her father hissed from behind her, but Dominik held a hand up to calm him again.
Dominik nodded to the man and then looked back at the girl. "It wasn't in the song… but did you know that at the battle of Undvik, I fought alongside dozens of other elves, even some dwarves as well."
He looks pointedly to the two dwarves, a stocky man and woman, who shuffled uncomfortably, but listened intently.
Dominik stood, seeing Ciri not too far from him now. He looked down at Iona, who's eyes had gone wide.
"Really!?" She said, all the villagers intently listening. "I've never heard of any elven war heroes, not in a good light by humans anyway, even less women ones…"
Dominik scoffed, smirked at Ciri who winked at him and then looked back to Iona. "Well, I'll do you one better. One young elf, a woman, her name's Valena, she was in the battle with me," he said, turning to all of the villagers now. "And while I was injured, recovering from part of my fight with him… Valena, along with dozens of other elves stood toe to toe with The King of the Wild Hunt himself! If not for them and my friends distracting him, giving me the time to recover, I would never have been able to defeat him! Valena, saved hundreds of lives on the battlefield that day, and thousands more innocents!
He remembered Anton telling them of the young elf again before they left Oxenfurt and was thanking his lucky stars he remembered then.
"And where is she now!" Iona asked, up on the toes of her muddy shoes.
He smiled and knelt to her again. "She was a part of Sir Robert Anton's band of knights then. But now, she's the head of Queen Adda's scouting core. So, you, see? If not for humans, and non-humans, I wouldn't have been able to defeat the Wild Hunt. We banded together then, and we were able to defeat gods themselves!"
Turning, he met the eyes of the shocked, quiet villagers again. "The Aen Elle, the race the Wild Hunt and it's King belonged too. They had invaded hundreds of different worlds before ours, enslaved entire races of people! They were going to invade our world, cover it in ice and make it there's! Make slaves of us all, force us to bend to their whims!"
"Just like the Empire is trying to do to us now!" One woman shouted, her voice angry and stern.
Dominik smiled, exactly the reaction I wanted.
"Yeah!" Another man yelled, stepping, and looking to the group. "You heard what he already did to the elves!? They've killed thousands of them, and now they're gonna do the same to us, take our homes, make slaves of the ones who fight back!"
"We ain't gonna let them!" Another said. "Queen Adda's going to lead us! And with Dominik of Cintra, they won't stand a chance!"
A loud cheer went up from the villagers, it was as if they weren't standing in ashy ruins. Dominik smiled, and nearly jumped when Ciri came up and nudged his arm. She winked at him again, which was becoming more and more enticing by the second. The villagers continued to cheer, but soon, as the cheers died down, Dominik looked to the group again. To his left, some of the villagers had gone over to the dwarves, to the elves, chatting and bringing them into the crowd. Dominik saw Iona's father and mother who was still holding her younger sister stunned, but Iona herself was still in front of he and Ciri, her eyes trained on them both in awe.
The young elf looked to Ciri. "Were you with him at the Battle of Undvik too?"
Ciri smiled and laughed, leaning against Dominik's arm. "You… could say that yes."
"Couldn't have done it without her," Dominik noted, and Iona was bouncing on her toes again.
Dominik smiled, just like Fiona did…
"Can I really not fight yet?" She said, a bit of disappointment in her voice.
Dominik tilted his head. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen," She said, but quickly shook her head. "But I'm basically sixteen, I turn it in a few weeks!"
Ciri shrugged and looked at him. "We had done a lot more than fight by the time we were that age."
"You can say that again…" He mumbled, before looking back to Iona and smiling. "Sixteen is the age Queen Adda set for entering the army. If your parents agree, and you do go, find Freya Kaminski of Ellander, she's the Royal Engineer."
"And Queen Adda also puts her in charge of special assignments in the field," Ciri said, no doubt remembering what Freya had told them at dinner that night in Oxenfurt. "If you find her, tell her Dominik and C-. Fiona, Dominik, and Fiona sent you. She'll help you out."
Iona smiled widened and to his shock, and to Ciri's wrapped both their waists in a hug, still bouncing on her toes like a dancer.
"Thank you, thank you!" She said, bowing and beaming. "I'll convince them, I know I can!"
"Iona!" The girl's father called, followed by Iona smiling back at them again and rushing off to join him.
Dominik looked at Ciri smiling next to him, but behind her eyes, he could see she was a bit disappointed. He knew she hated introducing herself as someone else. She wanted to be free to put her hood down, to use her real name.
And soon I'll be sure she can… maybe this was a good idea after all.
"Alright we'll do it! We'll head to Oxenfurt!" The Ealdorman said, getting Dominik's attention.
Dominik turned with Ciri, to see the group pf around thirty to forty villagers had all gathered on the village outskirts, the ruins of their old homes still smoking. However, they showed no fear, no, they only showed anger, eagerness, and almost as if they were ready for what was to come next. He noticed the elves and dwarves mixed in the group, young Iona with her parents, already speaking to them in frantic whispers.
The Ealdorman nodded and grabbed Dominik's hand. "Thank you, Dominik of Cintra, and you Fiona, was it? For what you did today. Give Commander Roche our thanks as well! I dare say Queen Adda will have no shortage of volunteers from Blackbough!"
Dominik shook the man's hand and nodded, looking to him, and to the group gathered behind him.
"Queen Adda will be lucky to have men and women like you in her army! But be warned, just because I fight with you, just because you fight for Queen Adda doesn't make you invincible!" He warned, shaking his head. "I'm not immortal, Queen Adda isn't, none of us are, no matter who's fighting with us. There's always the chance we can be slain… but if we band together, like we did at the Battle of Undvik, and like we'll do here in Velen, under a cause that is just there's nothing we won't be able to do!"
He found himself smirking as he looked the group over one last time. "No, none of us are invincible, but that's good that we know! We won't let arrogance blind us! Do you know does think himself immortal!? Emhyr Var Emrys, the Emperor thinks himself invincible! He thinks we'll sit up North and squabble amongst ourselves, he underestimates us, doesn't believe we have the power or courage, to put aside out hate and prejudice, to ban together and do something great!"
His skin began to tingle, but he smiled still as he crossed his arms again. "Do you know who else thought themselves immortal? Who else underestimated the power we could have if we come together as one? The King of the Wild Hunt! He thought himself invincible, and do you know where he is now!? A headless corpse, at the bottom of the Skelligan sea!"
"And Queen Adda will not stop," Ciri yelled, stepping up next to him with her fist in the air, "until the Emperor meets the same fate! Together, we'll push the Empire back, all the way south of the Yaruga, until Temaria, Aedirn, and even Cintra are free!"
The loudest cheer of them yet went up from the crowd of villagers. Dominik looked over at Ciri and smiled, his chest thumping and tingling as she turned to smile smirk at him. After a few more moments, and plenty of handshakes, the villagers all left in a group. Dominik watched them go, Ciri smiling and leaning against his arm. They all cheered, slapped each other on the back, celebrated as if they'd just won a great victory, and seeing them go, Dominik couldn't stop the smile from creeping back to his face.
Did I really just convince an entire Northern village to not only, give their non-humans a chance… but to act like this on the road after their village was just sacked?
You're a powerful speaker Dominik, your words hold power, that had been what Adda said. Dominik had never given it much thought, he simply said what he believed, what he thought.
But maybe she was right… maybe we can do this, he smiled and looked at Ciri, and she can finally truly live free.
No more hood up in towns, no more fake name, she wanted that, and he wanted it for her.
"That was a nice touch there at the end," He said to her, just as the group of villagers got over the hill, the sunsetting over it. "You really brought it home."
"Well, I couldn't let you have all the fun now, could I?" She said, making the both of them laugh. He turned to her, and she grabbed him by the straps of his armor, pulling his face down to kiss him. "I'm proud of you… that was really great what you just did. You gave them hope."
He could hear the voices of them all, still singing over the hill, cheering, and shouting their curses to the Nilfgaardians. He smiled yes but found himself biting his lip. He looked down at Ciri, sighing.
"I just hope they end up making it to Oxenfurt…" He said, turning back to the village with her. "And I wish we could have made it sooner…"
He didn't fail to notice the pile of burnt corpses that some of Roche's men were beginning to pile up, while others were digging graves. When he was younger, his father had always told him he'd get used to it. It would be horrible he always said… but he promised Dominik he would get used to it.
But… there's no way I could get used to that now. He'd seen friends get killed, innocents get killed, but on the Path, it was one contract then you'd have days or weeks at a time off. Yes, you saw death but… not on the scale he saw in the village that day. Some of the corpses were burnt, some were beaten.
There had been a reason he never spoke about the Battle of Brenna, what he saw there, and what he saw in Blackbough that day, the death he saw at the Battle of Undvik... he didn't know if he could stomach it for months on end, like some of the soldiers he saw would.
"I wish we could have too…" Ciri said, coming up next to him, and gently holding onto his arm. Her touch sent cool tingles up his arm, and into his chest. "But we still did a good thing today Dominik… you did a good thing."
"No… we did, you were right the first time. I couldn't do this without you," He said, turning to meet her. For a minute they stood there, just admiring her, before sighing and leaning down to kiss her. She responded eagerly for a moment, and when he pulled back, he sighed. "I'm not a solider Ciri… despite who my real father was I… I don't want, this to be what we do."
"We're not soldiers, neither of us are you're right," She said, reassuringly, a gentle smile on her face as she nodded at him. "We're Witchers, that's always been our destiny. But we're doing a good thing helping Adda like this, you know we are."
"I do…" He said, biting his lip and looking at the corpses again. "But… after this, Undvik… Brenna. I think I've had my fill playing soldier if you had."
She scoffed and reached around his neck to hug him. "Trust me I have too. We're going on vacation after this, you can be sure. First though, we still have some work to do."
"Yeah," Dominik said, looking at the Blue Stripes moving through town. "I just have a feeling convincing these men… will be a bit harder than some villagers."
A voice came before Ciri could answer, a loud, powerful one.
"Well, you two certainly are efficient, put on quite the show, but I didn't expect any less," Roche said, walking towards them from the center of town with Ves in tow. "Geralt's trained you both well, that's for damn sure."
Dominik saw Ciri glaring at Ves, who was in terms beaming at him. He resisted the urge to sigh. Maybe that's another reason she wants to not hide that she's alive, she can tell people 'The Swallow' is alive and well, and with 'The Young Wolf'.
"That he did, thanks for the save," Dominik said, reaching out for Roche's hand. "Don't know how much longer we could have held out."
Roche scoffed, shaking his hand. "From what I saw, a pretty damn long time. My boys are cleaning up now. Bastards got to about twenty or so of the villagers before we arrived."
"To many…" Dominik said, looking out over the hill, the voices of the survivors now drowned out by the wind.
Roche nodded. "Aye, would've been good to save more, but we have to thankful for what we could do. First rule of soldiering, fight now, mourn later." He turned to Ves. "Go and help the boys finish the casualty report and get final counts on remaining ammo and horses. After that, get everyone ready to move back to camp."
"On it," Ves said, before looking over at Dominik. "A lot of work for one, Dom do you want to help-."
"I'll help you out, be more than happy too," Ciri cut in, not even letting her finish stepping in front of him and glaring at the woman.
Ves looked like she was going to protest, but Roche cut in first. "Actually, that's a good idea. I think Dominik and I have a few things to talk about anyhow."
Dominik's skin tingled again, while Ciri looked at Ves with a triumphant smirk. The young blonde sighed and nodded. "Understood sir… come on then."
She left with no enthusiasm, but Ciri smirked and looked back to him. "I'll be back in a bit."
"Be nice…" Dominik mumbled.
Ciri feigned offense. "What? I'm an absolute delight at all times you said so yourself!"
He rolled his eyes, which only made her laugh as she trailed off after Ves. After a moment, Ciri had caught up with her, and seemed to be either joking with her, or mocking her, Dominik couldn't tell.
I need a drink… he thought, shuddering as he looked at the pile of burnt corpses.
"So, heard quite the story about Undvik from Freya," Roche said behind him, making Dominik turn back around to him. "I'm not one to take ballads words at face value, but between it and Freya's account… sounds like you had quite the battle."
"Songs often exaggerated things," Dominik said. "You would know that I'm sure. I was just protecting people, doing the right thing."
"And that's why you're here now?" Roche asked. "Why you told those villagers you'd be fighting?"
Dominik turned and met the man's intense eyes, they made him want to shrivel up inside his armor, but he knew if he was going to have any chance of convincing this man to work his former enemy, he couldn't show weakness himself.
"I fought at Brenna, at Undvik… but I'm no soldier," He said. "I only agreed to help Adda so I can stop the Empire from killing thousands and destroying the Northern way of life as it is. After this, Ciri and I are going on a vacation."
The man laughed, before scowling again. "Ha won't deny you probably would deserve it after what you've done. Queens made some decision I don't like… but I can't deny their effectiveness. Getting you on board was one I do agree with."
"Like I said, it's just for this mission, one contract, but I'm happy to help," He said, before crossing his arms and not backing down from the man's intense eyes. "She told me you know what that mission is, and you're going to help me."
Finally, Roche sneered like Dominik had been expecting.
"Adda's gone mad if you ask me, damned Iorveth can't be reasoned with," He spat, his tone becoming more hostile by the minute. "Man's a murdered, a criminal, I've stomached working with mages, I've done it before. I've stomached her trying to stop discrimination against other elves and non-humans, I'm of agreement with you, not all are bad I know, but working with the Scoia'tael? A damn mistake, one that could get me, and my men killed!"
"Then why are you still here," Dominik asked, trying not to cringe under the man's harsh tone. If he had fought Eredin, he could handle Roche. "If you disagree, why not run, or simply refuse the orders? Adda's never been one to force people into things they don't want."
Roche glared at him, seeming offended. "It's because I'm a soldier, a servant of my Queen. Good soldiers follow orders, no matter what. Besides… my men are veterans; they know how to fight Scoia'tael when things inevitably go south."
Dominik looked over at the men gathering in the town square. "So, you don't think there's any chance? You expect it to be a fight, you only said yes, because you think this will be your chance to get Iorveth finally…."
"The man can't be reasoned with, I'd have thought Geralt had told you that," Roche said, his voice tough as stone. "I'll do what the Queen says, follow you, try and find them… but it's futile."
"Have you ever tried to reason with him?" Dominik said, trying to find anything to latch onto. "Geralt said he was agreeable with him in Flotsam."
Roche laughed. "Ha, damned Geralt… trusts too easily, and so do you. Geralt's a friend, consider you one too, so I don't mind following you like the Queen ordered… but when we inevitably fail, and we have arrows coming for us, don't say I didn't try to warn you."
"And what if this does work?" He said. "What if Iorveth is willing to work with us? What if I can convince him to lay down his weapons, and then pick them up again for the Queen, and actually help us beat the Nilfgaardians?"
Roche genuinely laughed. "HA, if that happens, I'll give you my crossbow, and buy you a drink. If I didn't hate Emhyr as much as I do Iorveth, if I didn't pride myself on being a damned good solider who follows orders, I wouldn't be here."
Roche didn't give him a chance to respond, he walked past Dominik towards the town center, looking back at him one last time.
"The bastard's been sighted about a day's march west of here," He said, scoffing and shaking his head. "The Queen ordered me under your command when you arrived. I'll listen, let you talk to him, but when the arrows start flying… just know I'll do what I have to do to save my men, past friendships be damned, my first duty is to them."
Dominik saw the man's back before he could respond. The sun was low, just about to set, and it suddenly got cold just as his blood did.
He sighed and watched Roche walk away. "This… is going to even harder than I thought."
A/N: Chapter 4 is in the books ladies and gentlemen! And finally we get some real real action and see just how much more powerful Dominik and Ciri have gotten since the Battle of Undvik! It was a relatively short chapter but one that I hope had plenty of great action for you all to read, and we get to see a few more heartwarming character moments. I love writing scenes of people being inspired and rallying together. In this story it's no different, as we see Dominik do what he never thought he could do, rally people to a cause.
I really want to show more of the war with Nilfgaard in this story, this will be the only one where Dominik and Ciri are really involved, since as we know after this story, we're going into Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. We'll hear more about how the war is going, but I wanted to show it here, and show how Adda, and Dominik and Ciri are both changing the Witcher world around them! I also just really enjoy writing Dominik and Ciri without the threat of the Wild Hunt at their backs, while some lingering problems are still there, and they've far from exercise their demons, but I love writing them to be worried about things other then the Hunt.
We're going to see much more of them in Short Stories, we have things like Hjalmar's coronation, finding Leila of Tir'Nala, and of course, we have Fiona and plenty of crossovers planned, which all will lead us to the final story in Pain and Remembrance!
It's a short chapter and short AN, before I end another remind, that if you guys enjoy this story, be sure to go and visit the Instagram I made for this story! I have tons of fanart for this story, The Witcher: Through the Worlds, and will have plenty more to come! I also have previews and glimpses of my own original story in development, 'The Eleria Chronicles' if any of you are interested in that!
dominik_of_cintra is the Instagram name, and if you want to see fanart, talk to about the Witcher or writing, feel free to go and follow it! I'd love for you all to come and watch my writing journey, I already feel I've gotten so much better since chapter 1 of Through the Worlds, and I can't wait for you all to see more!
So as usual, if you have time please review to let me know what you think, favorite and follow to make sure you don't miss an update, and stay safe everyone!