"Why are we here?" Eskel looked up at the narrow building that now housed the Council of Mages. In this house near the city center, mages plied their craft, trained, studied, and most importantly, came together in peace and safety. Triss had struggled with getting this council off the ground in order to ensure the continued quality of life they had under the generosity of King Tancred. Triss opened the door and he followed her into the dark interior. The entry opened immediately into a library; the former parlor and rich sitting rooms were now floor to ceiling books and smelled strongly of oiled leather. In corners were tucked deep chairs while the floor center contained pedestals and tall stools. Mages were lounging as they contemplated their manuscripts while others painstakingly read through titles still on the shelf.
"Well, you have been asking me quite a bit about what I feel when I touch you and it got me to thinking."
"About…?" Eskel asked as he dodged a young woman carrying several large tomes. Triss reached back and took his hand.
"This way." She led him to the back of the house and down the basement stairs. The hall was narrow but high. At the end was a heavy door. Triss stopped and turned to him abruptly. "I love you. I don't know that I've ever said it…but I do." Eskel took her in his arms. "Through this door are answers you may not expect but nothing will change how I feel about you." They stood silently, her cheek against his chest as he held her tight. A click intruded on the silence as the door behind them opened. Again, Triss took Eskel by the hand and led him into a circular room with a dim blue light that seem to come from nowhere.
"This is a resonance chamber, admittedly a small one. We have a mage who specializes in magical resonance. He has trained himself to identify magical aptitude and abilities. Not many can do that."
"You can sense magic."
"Yes, but after it has been expended. Magnus is different. He can sense the innate ability. While the skilled can make anyone into a mage, there are those that are more desirable for their natural aptitude. Also, they are more likely to survive the transformation.
Magnus found me shortly after I came to Kovir. He's, well…you'll see." From the other side of the room an invisible door opened, and an old man walked carefully into the center. The top of his head was smooth and shiny with a halo of fluffy white hair and an appropriately long white beard that reached his knees over his white robes. In one hand was a twisted walking stick. Or at least that what it appeared to be. He looked up and Eskel was struck by the gentle smile and crystal clear blue eyes.
"Well, well…You did not tell me he was a Witcher. This should be quite interesting." His voice was a light tenor, his smile genuine as he then spoke to Eskel directly. "I am Magnus. Triss has told me a few things about you but I don't like to know too much before I examine someone." He leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner, "It ruins the surprise." Eskel found himself smiling back at the old man as Triss took his staff and left the chamber. "You're very powerful indeed. I feel it already. Let us see how far this goes, shall we? Give me your hand." Magnus held his hand out, palm up. Eskel hesitated for a moment then lay his hand on top. Magnus covered Eskel's with his other hand and closed his eyes.
Eskel looked around the room as the light dimmed and wondered what exactly was supposed to happen and if Magnus was crazy. A pressure began to build in his head and he tried to shake it off, but it persisted. The pressure turned into a spinning, yet he did not feel unsteady. The spinning intensified until it wrapped around him like a blanket squeezing him from the inside. His pulse sped up thudding in his ears and Eskel found himself panting. Thud, thud…thud, thud…The pressure continued to build, pressing him tighter and tighter to something he could not quite define. Then, suddenly, there it was. A light. A spark deep inside. If he reached far enough he just might be able to touch it…
Then it was gone. The pressure abated, the thudding of his own heartbeat, all of it…gone. He stood as he had before, his hand clasped between that of the mage before him. Magnus release his hand and Triss returned with the twisted staff. Magnus waited for the confusion of the moment to wear off before speaking. And for the first time in his life, Eskel took a while to gather himself, unable to fully process what had just happened.
"A surprise indeed. Do you know where you came from?"
"Lyria, generally. Vesemir said I was brought to Kaer Morhen as a very young child. He got the impression I might have been an orphan. The witcher who brought me never said."
"Interesting…but probably for the best for everyone including yourself. Eskel, you harbor a very strong power."
"His Witcher's Signs are stronger than normal, and he has random episodes of prescience." Triss commented.
"That is because of this deep magic. It was a good thing the Witchers found you first."
"Why?"
"Given your approximate age, there would have been some very nasty fellows, mages, around when you were found. The things they would have done to you…or the monster they could have turned you into. The Witcher's mutations have created a barrier that prevents you from consciously accessing your power. That accounts for the randomness of you other abilities. However, the magic you are able to freely access, your Signs, are bolstered by the power within."
Eskel let this sink in. On the Path, he had been called many things, monster included. The thought that he could have been something much worse…Would he have allowed it? His own personality had not been subsumed by the mutations and he did tend to be a little more tenderhearted, a trait he had learned to tamp down early on.
"Can you tell me why I have had more frequent occurrences?" Magnus looked from him to Triss and back.
"Magic seeks magic. At least that is the theory. Other than that, I cannot say. Even practitioners of my advanced age don't understand everything and be suspicious of anyone who says they do. Guard your secret diligently, Eskel. There are those who would still seek to use your power for their own ends." Eskel and Triss walked home in silence. He sat while she prepared dinner, still saying nothing. She had been right. He had received answers that he had not expected and still wasn't sure what to make of them. It wasn't until she placed the food on the table and sat beside him did he finally find his voice, yet he could only speak of the mundane.
"I picked up a contract yesterday. It'll take me out for a few nights. I'll leave in the morning."
"Alright." They lapsed back into an uncomfortable silence. Eskel's appetite was leaving him. He wanted to talk about it with her but didn't know what to say.
"Did you learn what you wanted this afternoon?" He began.
"You're upset." Triss dissembled.
"No. Just…it's a lot to take in. My life could have been different if the wrong person found me. That's…" Eskel shrugged.
"I understand. I have never felt from someone else what I feel from you. It doesn't change the way I feel about you. I told you that earlier and I meant it."
"Which is?" Eskel looked up at her, waiting.
"I love you."
"I like to hear you say it," he said with a smile.
After finishing his contract, he headed back to Pont Vanis. He was several hours away from home but still took the road at a leisurely pace. The sky was clear and sunny and Triss was busy, so he decided to enjoy the pleasant weather.
A woman's scream broke his peace and a flock of birds shot out of the trees north of the road. Eskel spurred Scorpion off the path and through the woods. Exiting the trees, he hit another road teeming with monsters. Nekkers. Small, fast and smelly, they lived in large groups almost like a hive. Even in small numbers they were problematic for humans and the numbers here meant certain death.
Further up the road a wagon had crashed into a boulder, the nasty little beasts scratching and clawing at the wood. He jumped from his horse and began clearing the nekkers. Before checking inside the wagon, he threw some grapeshot into the nearby trees to keep them at bay until he could destroy the nests.
Eskel climbed into the wreckage and found a woman sprawled in the back. Her side was ripped open and she was bleeding profusely. He reached down to find a very weak pulse in her neck. Suddenly her hand shot up and grabbed his arm.
"Help me…" she rasped. Eskel didn't know what to say. Without magic, this woman had no chance. She shifted carefully and pushed a basket toward him.
"Protect them…" In the basket were two infants that she had shielded with her own body. Eskel was stunned at what she was asking.
"Where is your husband?" The woman gave a sad shake of her head.
"Dead…up the road."
"Don't you have any other family?"
"No! You…protect them…Promise me…" her grip tightened as she swallowed and took short gasping breaths. As he stared at her, she released his arm and reached up to touch his wolf head medallion. "Please…"
"Okay." He said. What else could he say to a dying mother? She closed her eyes and gave him a tired smile.
"Th-thank y…" her hand fell from his medallion as she slipped into the world beyond. Eskel laid her hands across her stomach and stood. Now he had to think of something to do with the children. As he looked down at the tiny wiggling bundles, a long-forgotten memory came flooding back…
"The infertility is not reversible."
"That doesn't matter to me, Eskel."
"I won't do that to you. I'm sorry…"
Eskel flipped open the large trunk and sifted through its contents. At the bottom was a smaller box. It contained some jewelry, a surprising amount of gold and a journal. He secured it behind his saddle along with a bag of some small clothes and blankets. He tied a long shawl around his chest and tucked the tiny babies into the pockets in front. If he rode fast, he could make Pont Vanis before the court closed for the day. King Tancred was the best way to protect them. He was just a witcher.
He rode fast but steady, trying not to jostle them but fortunately the motion seemed to soothe them. The walls of the summer capital came into view late in the afternoon. He rode straight through the gates and onto the streets, but an overturned cart and milling crowd forced him to stop. As he waited for an opening, the infants began to mewl against his chest. An old woman at the edge of the crowd looked up at him and Eskel moved scorpion away from her.
"What do you have there, Witch Man?" She called. Others near her stopped to look at the witcher in their midst. The crying became louder and more people started calling out and shouting and moving toward him. He needed to get to the castle.
Scorpion backed up, shying from the crowd. Eskel kicked his side ordering him forward. Up and over the cart they went but the milling crowd had turned into an angry mob as their quary escaped and would not be deterred. Galloping as fast as he dared on the slick cobbled streets, he made the gate to the castle and climbed down from his horse as the guard came out to meet the angry people. He pushed into the heavy doors, the raucous noise following him in. The guard was on alert and sealed the door behind Eskel.
"What mischief have you brought with you, Witcher?" King Tancred asked from his throne. Eskel stopped a passing maid and handed her one of the squalling infants. Triss rushed down the steps of the dais and he handed her the other. She cradled the child carefully but looked up at him in shock.
"Eskel…where did you get them?" Her voice betrayed her fear. She knew well the tales told about their kind.
"Nekkers had overtaken travelers on the road a few hours from here. He was dead, and she was dying. She begged me to take them. I couldn't leave them there. This was the only thing I could think of." Triss looked back down at the baby in her arms. Using her sleeve, she wiped away the streak of blood down the side of the tiny face. She had assumed it had been from the mother but beneath was an angry red claw mark. The child's face would forever bear a scar down the right side. The King joined them and took the infant from the maid, sending her to fetch the Queen and her servant. Eskel untied the shawl and dropped it to the floor as the Queen came to take the orphans away. Something inside him didn't want to see them go and he wondered what would become of them.
"What of the mob that followed you here?" Tancred asked him.
"It's been a long time since I was chased by a mob," Eskel said after he finished his brief tale. Tancred turned to his guard.
"Open the doors. I will speak to my people. Witcher…follow." Eskel followed the King as the doors were opened, the guard outside holding back the mob. The scene before them usually ended with someone swinging from the end of a rope. Triss slipped her hand in his and he gave her a gentle squeeze. The King raised his hands, signally that he wished to speak, and the mob quieted. When he spoke, King Tancred's booming voice rolled easily over the crowd.
"Why do you bring this rabble to my step?"
"The Witch Man is stealing children!" It was the old woman. How she got to the front of the crowd Eskel couldn't imagine.
"Stealing children?"
"To make more freaks! Tha' where they come from! stole children!" Someone else called.
"If that were true, then there would be a witcher on every corner. This witcher rescued orphans from a pack of monsters. Go back to your homes and rest easy. A suitable home will be found." The people began to mummer and those as the back drifted away. The castle guard urged the rest to leave as well until only the old woman remained.
"Go, Old Mother. You have done your duty." The King said to her. She nodded then shuffled away. From a pocket in her apron fell a very tattered copy of Monstrum. He sighed. "People still believe this filth. Shame. Wait a while, Eskel, then go. They will forget soon enough."
They always do, Eskel thought, they always do.
It had been a long and dangerous journey, but he had made it safely to the sunny shores of his homeland. With one hand resting on his dagger, more out of habit than necessity at this point, and the other clutching the leather strap across his chest, the small man walked with purpose up the steps of the castle of King Tancred. The guards at the door immediately jumped into action and pulled open the massive doors and the maids clucked in dismay at the dirty footprints he left behind as he made his way across the marble floor of the empty hall.
The heavy door was closed but a light shone from beneath and there was a hum of voices. He did not stop to knock but boldly entered the room. The King sat in conference with his advisor. Good. That would be one less trip to make. He loosened the buckle on his mud stained bag and lay it on the table.
"Your Majesty, Sorceress." He acknowledged them each with a deferential nod. They said nothing but merely waited for the news he brought. "We need to prepare for war."