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After the group finished getting ready for the day, the Mighty Nein headed out to the busy streets of Zadash, in order to buy Geralt supplies and prepare him for the next part of their Journy. The first stop was a tailor, the shop was run by a middle-aged human woman and it displayed all manner of clothes. There wasn't anything fancy, this was mainly for the common folk. The clothing was simple and practical, something which Geralt was relieved to see.
Jaskier would hate this shop.
While Geralt was getting new clothes Caduceus left, Jester tried to make Geralt try on different outfits and asked for a variety of different colours and Beau also suggested some tighter and less covered outfits. But the Witcher refused to indulge them. He tried on a variety of different styles but in the end, he settled on a simple undershirt, some night cloths along with two sets of travel clothes. One for warmer clients and one for the cold winter.
Geralt didn't want anything expensive, he really only wore his armor back in his world; plus he wanted to keep his debt as low as possible. Nott surprisingly asked about smaller child clothes and bought a small royal blue jacket shiny golden button.
Once he had a new shirt and his travel clothes the tailor tallied up the bill to 2 gold and 5 silver. Jester paid for Geralt's clothes, she offed to pay for not but the small green girl refused and paid for them herself. Geralt was expecting it to be more expensive. The tailor also took Geralt's torn shirt and offered to dispose of it; the Witcher wore his new shirt out of the store.
Outside Caduceus was waiting, he held up a brown backpack and offered it to Geralt. Geralt took the bag and gave a Caduceus a questioning look.
"It's filled with essential supplies," He smiled
Geralt nodded and looked through the back, he found there a bedroll, some rope, and a tinder box, some dried rations, and other essential travel supplies in the bag.
"How much did this cost?" Geralt asked.
"10 gold. Don't worry, I'll add it to your tab," Caduceus answered.
"Thanks," Geralt grunted.
The next stop was a forge, Geralt was both looking forward and dreading this. While he was curious to see the make and quality of weapons in this world, he also knew that most of his debt would come from new weapons and armor. Along the way Nott ran off claiming to want to send a package out, Jester went with her while Caduceus followed to supervise the two. Caleb, Fjord, and Beau remained with Geralt.
The forge was run by an elderly dwarf who was busy with his work. "Be with ye in a bit," He called out as Geralt and Fjord walked in. Caleb not interested in weapons decided to wait outside the forge.
"Take your time," Fjord called back as he and Geralt started to browse the weapons on sale. "So, what kind of weapons do you normally use?" Fjord asked as he and Geralt looked over the weapons rack.
"Witcher swords," Geralt answered.
"What's uh…whats a Witcher sword?" Beau asked.
"Similar to this," Geralt answered and picked out a Longsword "Wither swords are about this length, but stronger and far more durable,"
"I'm sure they've got some stronger blades, if not we can commission one," Fjord offered.
"Withers use two different types of blades," Geralt said "One made of steel and one made from silver. If possible, they should have some ruins in them too,"
"Runis?" Beau asked.
Geralt nodded. "Enchantments inscribed on the blades. Make the blade extra deadly," he clarified "If we could get the armor Glyphed too, that would be ideal,"
"I take it glyphs are enchantments for armor," Beau assumed. Geralt nodded and put the Longsword back in its place.
"The steel shouldn't be a problem, but making one from pure silver and then adding the cost of the enchantments…that's going to cost a lot," Fjord commented "Maybe more then we can afford at the moment,"
"You know I've never heard of a pure silver blade," Beau commented "I mean outside of ceremonial blades or one's rich people display in their homes. As for the enchantments, we should ask Pumat to help, he might give us a discount,"
"Hmm…" Geralt responded. It was worrying that he may not be able to get a silver sword, how would he fight monsters without the correct weapons. They browsed the weapons for a few more minutes until the Dwarf came over.
"S'rry abot the wait. How can I help, ye lads?" the dwarf asked.
"We need two new swords and some new armor for this man here," Fjord said and gestured to Geralt.
"Aye, we can do that. what kind ye be looking for?" the dwarf asked.
"Two very strong very durable longswords, one steel one sliver," Geralt answered "they need to be sharp enough to kill monsters,"
"Ah, adventures are ye? Well don't worry, I'll sort ye out," the dwarf responded. He wanded down the weapon rack and picked out to swords and placed them on the table for Geralt to look at.
"These be the strongest longswords I have, they're above average quilty and usually what I sell to the guards and other mercenaries that pass through," the blacksmith said "15 gold each,"
Geralt picked one up and studied it carefully. He gave it a test swing, the blade was well balanced and had a decent edge to it. Geralt would have preferred it to be sharper but his own swords were only sharp due to the amount of time he spent caring for them.
Geralt nodded in approval and placed the blade down before picking up the other one. Like the first one, it was a well-made blade. There was no difference between the two.
"These are well made," Geralt praised "Do you have any sliver swords?"
"I can Sliver one of them, it'll cost and extra hundred gold to do," the dwarf answered.
"Ohh that's a bit steep. You sure you need a sliver sword?" Beau asked Geralt.
The Witcher nodded and Beau let out a sigh.
"That's fine," Fjord agreed. Geralt glanced at Fjord, he would rather a blade made out of pure silver.
"So, I'm not getting a sliver sword," he stated.
"You are, we'll leave one of the swords here for him to silver and we'll pick it up later," Fjord explained.
"What do you mean you'll leave one for his to silver?" Geralt asked "it's already made from steel,"
"Aye, it is. See it'd be very difficult to get enough raw silver to make a full blade and even if I did have the necessary ore, the swords would be brittle and impractical to use in battle," the dwarf explained "It's easier to just coat weapons in silver than forge one from scratch,"
Geralt nodded in understating, he didn't want a brittle blade but at the same time he was confused, smiths in his world made silver weapons. Granted those who did were few and far between as it required a great skill level. It was one of the reasons why Witcher swords were so expensive.
"Will it have the same effect as a blade made from silver?" Geralt asked.
"It will kill a vampire or a wear creature if that's what yer asking," the dwarf stated "though we don't usually get them besties in these parts,"
"Hmm," Geralt responded. If the sliver coated blade had the same effect as his own wither sword then he would make do.
"Can you inscribe some ruins onto the blade?" Geralt asked.
"Yer want what?" the dwarf asked confused.
"I want the blade enchanted," Geralt clarified "what ruins do you have?"
"We don't offer that, we just sell weapons," the dwarf claimed.
"You're a dwarf, surely you know how to enchant a blade,"
"Look human, just because I be a dwarf does not mean that I know how to make magic weapons," the blacksmith huffed "Nor does it mean I am drunk all the time and I would apricate it if you did not assume and can do something just because of me race,"
Before Geralt could respond Fjord stepped in, he grabbed Geralts' arm and pulled him back a bit.
"Geralt I don't know how it is on your world but here enchanted weapons are rare. Blacksmiths don't make magic blades," Fjord said in low voice.
Geralt glanced back over at the dwarf and then refocused his attention on Fjord.
"Really? Only dwarf or the most skilled blacksmiths in my world can make enchanted weapons and armor," Geralt claimed, "What about your sword then?"
"The Falchion is…special. Look if you want your weapons enchanted there's a shop in town that could do it," Fjord offered.
Geralt nodded. He turned back to the smith and approached him again.
"Sorry, I didn't know," Geralt apologised, and the dwarf grunted in response. "What kind of Armour do you have?"
"All kinds depend on what ye looking for," the smith responded.
"My last armor was a chainmail shirt under some heavy leather armor," Geralt described.
"I gots a few Chain shirts in stock. If they don't fit, I'll need to make ye one from scratch," the dwarf claimed.
"How long will it take?" Geralt asked.
"To make the shirt and sliver the sword…3 days,"
"Let's see what you have," Geralt requested.
The blacksmith nodded and he pulled out the chain shits and Leather armor that he had in stock. Unfortunately, the blacksmith didn't have a chain shirt that fit the Witcher, so he placed an order for one. He also ordered a leather armor to wear over the top of the chain shirt. Geralt did not want to wait, he would prefer to start working to pay off the Mighty Nein as soon as possible. The sooner he started taking on contracts, the sooner he could focus on finding a way back to his own world.
"That's fine, we can wait," Fjord said. Geralt shot the half-orc a glare but said nothing. There was really nothing he could do about it.
"Good, good. Anything else I can get ye?" the dwarf asked.
Fjord looked at Geralt but the Witcher didn't respond. So, he assumed they had everything.
"A bottle of oil and 4 whetstones to care for the blades if you have it. Also, can we take one of the swords with us now, or do we need to leave them both here?" Fjord asked.
The dwarf nodded, he took back one of the swords and walked into the back room of his shop and returned with two whetstones, a bottle of cleaning oil; he placed it down on the counter.
"So, for the two swords, plus the slivering one. The armor, the oil, and stones will set you back…" the dwarf started and did a quick calculation in his head "190 gold and 5 silver. Ye can take one with you now,"
Geralt winced at the price, he wasn't familiar with how currency worked in this world but he assumed that it was a lot of money. He hadn't even gotten his travel supplies yet. Never the less Fjord and Beau both pulled out their coin pouches and handed over the correct amount to the dwarf, and Geralt picked up his purchases and they left promising to come back and pick up Geralts order in a few days.
"How did it go?" Caleb asked. Once they had exited the forge.
"Geralt here is a big spender," Beau claimed "At this rate, he will be working for us forever,"
Caleb raised an eyebrow and looked at the single sword that Geralt had.
"You only got a single sword," Caleb observed "It couldn't hafe cost that much,"
"Had to order the armor and leave the other to be slivered," Geralt grunted.
"Ah that vould do it," Caleb agreed "So vhere to next?"
"Depends. Geralt you need anything else?" Fjord asked.
Geralt thought about it, he had clothes, a weapon, and his armor were on order. The pack Caduceus had bought him would do for now, since he wasn't traveling for a few days he wouldn't be needing extra supplies just yet. The only thing he could think of was enchantments for his new gear and he wanted to look into potential ingredients for making Witcher potions.
"I wouldn't mind knowing what enchantments are available for my new gear," Geralt supposed "also I need to look into some potions,"
"Pumats then," Caleb suggested and walked off.
On the way to Pumats shop Caleb got distracted by a book shop, he eagerly walked in and began looking for books. Fjord and Beau rolled their eyes as Calebs' stoic and timid demeanor dropped and was replaced by one of that of a child in a toy shop.
The dirty wizard eagerly dashed from shelf to shelf, browsing and looking at all the books available. Geralt walked in and glanced around the shop, as he was, he felt his medallion start to vibrate. He glanced around looking for threats. He didn't see anything so he made his way to Caleb and the closer he got the more his medallion vibrated.
Geralt narrowed his eyes and stalked closer to Caleb. Once he was close enough, Geralt's enhanced hearing picked up on Caleb muttering some words, Calen waved his hands in the air and magical energy formed various different symbols in the air. Once he was finished, the wizards' eyes changed. They were no longer brown but a strange purplish-blue colour.
Geralt wondered why Caleb was using magic inside the shop.
"What are you doing?" Geralt hissed a little too violently.
"Browsing," Caleb responded.
"With Magic?"
"Yes," Caleb responded before he turned around and headed further into the shop.
Geralt followed him but kept a bit of a distance, occasionally picking out a random book and flipping through it. Trying to give the impression, that he was browsing and not stalking the wizard. Caleb was also picking out some books and flipping through them.
"Do like books Geralt?" Caleb finally asked, without looking up from the book he was skimming through.
"I get them every now and then," Geralt admitted.
"What kind? Do you like fiction, or history, or smut?" Caleb asked interested, turning his attention to the Witcher.
"I mainly buy books of herbs, plants…beasties," Geralt claimed "that sort of thing. They can be useful in my work. How about you?"
"I'm always on the lookout for books on magic, and magical theories. They can be hard to find outside the Solstice Academy and affiliated Libraries, but they are out there," Caleb responded "I also like reading history or Smut,"
Geralt nodded, he browsed the shelves and found one or two books on plants, he flicked through it but put it back. He didn't want to add to his debt which was already becoming very high. Caleb, however, noticed the books that Geralt had picked out he looked at them briefly before turning his attention back to the shelves.
After about another twenty minutes Caleb emerged from the shop. He bought a book on plants and herbs for Geralt as well as a book on basic magic theory and bestiary. It didn't cover the more exotic and dangerous monsters but it was a good place to start and Geralt apricated any information he could get.
Even if it did add to his debt.
After that, the group headed to The Invulnerable Vagrant, where Geralt had a very interesting encounter with Pumat Sol. According to the Mighty Nein Pumant could enchant items, Geralt asked about enchanting his weapons and Armor but to get do so would add over 3,000 gold to his debt. It was a lot more than the group had on them.
Instead, he got two health potions and a herbalism kit, in hopes he could make his Witcher potions. After leaving Pumats place, Geralt stopped in an apothecary, he wanted to get a feel for what kind of herbs that would be available to him. After speaking with the shopkeeper, Geralt was disappointed to learn that most of the ingredients he needed for his Witcher potions were either extremely rare or didn't exist.
Caleb suggested that the ingredients he needed might have a different name in this world. Geralt wound up buying a book on Potion making from the apothecary. He didn't want to be without any as he was used to keeping some on him at all times and Geralt saw no reason to break that habit.
After the visit to the Apocathery it was getting on in the afternoon, so the Mighty Nein headed back to the Leaky Tap. Once their Fjord sat down with the group at a table and they each informed him how much Geralt's new gear had cost. While Fjord was doing the math, Jester grabbed one of the two-coin pouches Caduceus had bought Geralt and started to paint the words "Pay Back" on it. The half-orc had recorded everything that the group had bought Geralt and he added up the total cost.
"So, your grand total comes to….810 gold, 12 silver, and 4 copper," Fjord announced. Geralt let out a sigh, it was a lot more than he had expected and he knew it would take a very long time to pay it all back.
"I am surprised we had that much money between us," Caleb stated.
"Caleb are you out of Money?" Nott asked "Do you need some more? I can give you some,"
"I'm fine, I have a good 20 gold leftover from today," Caleb assured.
"Don't you usually spend like 300 gold worth on paper and ink alone?" Beau asked.
"It's a hundred gold," Caleb shot back.
Geralt wondered why Caleb would spend so much money on paper alone.
"That brings up a good question, how much do we have left?" Jester asked.
"Enough to get by the next few days, but we should find some work soon," Beau answered.
"What about the reward we got from the Gentlemen for taking care of those bandits who were obstructing his business?" Nott asked.
"We spent it on Geralt today," Fjord claimed "the whole pot and a bit more,"
"Then vee should find some way to boost our coin," Caleb stated "Though it should be in the city, Geralt doesn't have his armor yet. So, nothing too dangerous,"
"Yeah good luck with that," Beau snorted.
"You never know, there might be another spider in the sewers," Jester suggested.
"Vee are not doing any work in the sewers again," Caleb insisted.
"Come on Caleb, it wasn't that bad," Fjord claimed.
"Yes, it was," Nott agreed "and it only got worse when we encountered those Xhoursian elves and stole their treasure,"
Geralt wanted to ask about it but decided against it. If this treasure was important then he assumed the group would tell him. Well, he hoped they would.
"It's getting late, let's call it a day and check the Taskmasters board tomorrow," Nott suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Fjord agreed. He looked over his shoulder as a serving girl walked past "a round of drinks here,"
Geralt sighed, his one consolation in all this was that Jaskier was safe.
Jaskier should have expected it, really. He'd been a nobody, not worth the trouble to rob before he met Geralt. Sure, he's been someone back in Oxenfurt: a very excellent student, a brilliant professor, good at whatever he put his hands and mind to, but he had all of that behind in favor of an adventure. At first, it was difficult, being a wandering bard, playing at shithole taverns and barely making anything, and more often than not eating any food that was thrown at him for his less than popular songs.
But that was before he met Geralt when he had followed the Witcher his luck turned around. Sure he would be in constant danger from monsters and other nasties that Geralt hunted, and Jaskier complained bitterly about camping out and walking everywhere. But he had the best source of inspiration for epic tales and ballads.
After all what better way to create a then by seeing those creatures up close and personal with them. Even if Geralt never gave him any details or much information when he asked. So Jaskier had to get creative and exaggerate a bit on some of the finer details.
Despite Geralt's disapproval and constantly telling him to fuck off. Jaskier hung around and it was worth it for his name was now known and his songs were a favorite amongst both peasants and nobles alike.
It had also put Witchers in a new light, so now Geralt wasn't chased out of every town he entered and was able to find contracts and people willing to pay him with a lot less hassle. Though they still encountered those who wanted to try and screw him over on more than a few occasions.
But that was all over now, the life Jaskier had led would come to an end. There would be no more songs, no new inspiration, no more adventures, and no one to watch his back if he pissed off the wrong father, husband, or suitor.
Jaskier looked up at the Nilfgaurden solder he was being forced to follow. After he had pushed Geralt into the unstable Portal and Fringllia had pronounced him dead. The Nilfgaardian mage gave orders for Jaskier to be brought to the Nilfgaurd. The bard thought they would be portals there as it was a very long trek to Nilfgaurd and with winter not far off it would make the journey harder.
However that was not the case, once the orders had been given, Fringllia opened a portal for herself and all but 10 of the soldiers she brought with her. The remaining soldier was to bring Jaskier to Nilfgaurd alive and in a reasonable condition. The captain promised he would ensure that Jaskier would be treated exactly how he deserved.
Once the portal had closed the captain of the reaming soldiers shoved the gag back into the bard's mouth and had Jaskiers bound hands tied to a length of rope and attached to a horse. Most of the five of the soldiers had horses to ride on and the captain had declared that his men would rotate daily, giving each man a day march and a day on horseback.
However, Jaskier was not part of that arrangement and was forced to walk. Dragged along by the length of rope that was attached to his bound hands. As they left the clearing Jaksier looked back at Geralt's fallen swords until they were out of sight.
Jaskier knew that no other Witcher would come looking for Geralt until spring. Since Geralt was starting to make his way back to Ker Moran for winter, as there was no work during the winter months due to all monsters hibernating.
When he and Geralt would not return to the village, Jaskier knew that some of the villages might try to brave the hunting grounds looking for them. If they did then Geralts swords would likely be kept by the villages and given to the first Witcher that came looking for him.
That thought filled Jaskier with dread. Geralt had told Jaksier that if a Witchers' swords are found anywhere other than with there owner, it meant that the Witcher was dead. The others would hear of the contract and assume that Geralt had either died from the harpies or from his injuries and his body devoured by the hunting grounds more carnivorous occupants.
That was not the great end that Jaskier had envisioned for Geralt. He always assumed Geralt would go out fighting some powerful foe or ferocious Dragon. That would make a good story. He never once thought that Gealt would die by his hand and his stupidity.
Jaskier wasn't paying attention, he just walked along behind his captors. Every now and then the soldiers would snarl and sneer at him. Trying to get a rise out of the bard, but Jaskier ignored them. He was too focused on the fact that he had killed Geralt of Riva.
Jaskier didn't even notice that the company of solider had stopped for the night until he walked into a horses ass. He was left sitting against a tree they had tied him to tree, while the soldiers set up camp, and once they were done the captain came over and pulled the gag out a bit too forcefully.
Jaskier looked up at the captain, his armor was slightly different than the other soldiers but all Nilfgaardian armor looked the same to Jaskier.
"Enjoying your rest while the rest of use work?" the captain asked.
Jaskier blinked at him. His mouth still hurt from the removal of the gag. He was hungry and thirsty and exhausted from the days' march, while he was used to trekking long distances with Geralt. The Witcher took periodic breaks to give Jaskier a brief rest and avoided the harsher and harder paths.
"So, bard my men are tired and could use a little entertainment for the night. Since there are no busting nilfgaardian beauties around I guess you'll do," the captain said in a commanding tone "Sing us a tune or two and we might let you eat,"
"Not in the mood for singing," Jaskier responded sadly.
"Oh, but you've had all day to come up with a balled about how you bravely betrayed and killed your friend in an attempt to save yourself,"
"That's not what happened," Jaskier snapped "I was trying to save him not me,"
"That's not what I saw, that's not what my men saw," the captain mocked.
"Then you need to get your eyes checked," Jaskier shot back "but then again I guess the Nilfgaurden army like its solders who can't see. Makes it easier to blindly follow orders,"
Anger filled the captain's face. "Watch your mouth bard, it's a long trek to Nilfgaurrd and you only need to be bearly alive. You'd do well to remember that,"
Jaskier sighed, he didn't really have a choice. But he was too miserable to play for the soldiers, the captain thought he was being defiant and decided to teach him a lesson on respect and obeying his superiors.
"Rule one: Never speak unless you are told to. Rule two: You will obey all commands given to you by your superiors…which is everyone else. Finally, Rule three: If you break any of these rules you will be punished," The captain said.
"Rule four: go fuck yourself," Jaskier shot back.
The soldiers beat him for not providing them with an evening of entertainment and talking back. Not enough to knock him out, but close. He lay sagging against a tree breathing heavily. They'd stripped him naked and he'd bled a fair bit until they got bored and left him there for the night.
No food, no water, no clothes, and no blanket. He wasn't even close enough to the fire to get warm.
The next day Jaskier was forced to walk the whole day without clothes. By the end of the day, his feet were cut and bruised from walking several miles both through the forest and over a gravel-filled road. That night he was left tied to the horses, the soldiers didn't even bother untying his leash. Feeling hungry and desperate for some food. Jaskier offered to sing for the soldiers in exchange for some food and water. However, the captain claimed that his men wanted an early night and Jaskiers' service would not be required. He was again beaten for speaking out of turn and presuming what the soldier wanted. As such Jaksier once again received no food or water; instead the captain tightened the bards' gag so no one would not hear him complain.
Unlike the first night, this time, the soldiers who were on watch were ordered to keep Jaskier awake throughout the night. They did so by giving him a sharp kick to his side every hour. It wasn't enough to break his ribs but it definitely hurt them.
On the third day, Jaskier was finally allowed to get dressed again. However, his relief was short-lived as his feet had developed blisters and that night Jaskier and the soldiers discovered they had popped and become infected. Despite this, he was still forced to walk. That night, in a very poor attempt to deal with Jaskiers infections, the captain heated up the tip of his sword and used the blade to not only burn out the infection but also cartelize the wounds.
It was excruciatingly painful and Jaksier screamed and cried through the whole ordeal until his throat was horse. The captain didn't care, he merely told the bard to suck it up and stop being a baby. Afterward, Jaskier was finally given some food, though it was only scarps and a small amount of water that night, and due to the pain he could not keep it down.
This earned him another beating from the captain and the soldiers.
On the fourth day Jaskier could not walk, he barely had anything to eat or drink in almost three days, the long march without sustenance left him weak. After the first hour, he collapsed on the road and could not get up again.
"Get up," the captain sneered "if fall behind or don't cover significant groud today you will suffer for our delay,"
Jaskier didn't respond. He didn't have the energy, he just lay there on the ground breathing heavily.
"Sir, he looks in a bad way," one of the soldiers said. He walked up to Jaskier and prodded him with his boot "I don't think he can walk at all,"
The captain clicked his tongue "What a selfish bard you are. You expect us to feed you, yet you don't put any effort or work in to earn that food. Now you collapse only after three days of walking? Pathetic. Tell me were you this self-centered when you were following that freak around,"
"Geralt…was…not…a…freak," Jaskier wheezed out. One of the soldiers kicked him in the gut for his response, causing Jaskier to gasp for air.
"If you can talk back then you can walk," the captain spat "were continuing, if you don't walk you will be dragged,"
The captain gave the order and the march continued, unfortunately, Jaskier was dragged behind the horses. Around noon, one of the soldiers took pity on the bard and insisted that he be allowed on one of the horses. The captain only agreed when he was reminded that Fringllia wanted the bard alive.
However Jaskier was not riding a horse, instead, he was slumped over it, behind the saddle like a sack of flour. His hands still bound.
By the fifth day, It became clear that Jaskier would not survive the long trek to Nilfgaurrd. He was ill and running a high fever from his infections. Being exhausted and dragged for half the day did not help.
Upon discovering how bad the Bards condition was, the captain pulled out a crystal and smashed it. A strange purple mist appeared before evaporating into the wind. A few minutes later, a portal opened and Fringla stepped out. She looked at Jaskier with a mixture of annoyance, contempt, and disappointment.
"You had that the whole time?" Jaskier asked weakly "Why the hell did we walk if you had a way to call up that mage?"
The captain responded by slapping him across the face. "I thought I told you never to speak unless you were told too," the captain stated.
"Not even five days, I thought he would last longer than that," Fringllia said disappointingly "Did you treat him as he deserved?"
"Of course, the little shit is just weak and useless," the captain snorted "His feet are infected and he can no longer walk. Personly I thought someone who traveled with a Witcher would be used to long marches and harsh treatment,"
"As did I. Makes me wonder why the Witcher kept him around," Fringlia agreed.
"Who knows, maybe the mutant freak used him as bait for the monsters," the captain suggested.
"A clever strategy," Firngllia agreed in approval "Either way we shall have to portal the rest of the way. Bring him,"
A couple of soldiers hoisted him up by his arms and dragged him through the portal. Jaskier didn't really register where he was been taken too, it was all a bit of a mixed and painful blur. However not long after they had passed through the portal something nice smelling passed under his nose. He took a few deep breaths and whatever it was made the pain in his body had suffered at the abuse fade.
It also made him feel sleepy and his eyes got heavier the more he breathed it in. However, the nice smelling scent was taken away and the bard felt himself being dragged away again. Jaskier thought he herd Fringllia say something but he couldn't make out the words.
The guards deposited him in a small dungeon cell, they manacled his wrists to the chains on the wall and left him there. As Jaskiers consciousness was left him and he thought about Geralt, how the Witcher would have to come and rescue him from another bad situation.
Only to remember that Geralt wouldn't come. He wouldn't be there to get him out of the horrible situations Jaskier had the habit of getting them both into. Not this time and not ever again.
Something which his Nilfgarrdian captors would no doubt love to remind him of.