.XIV. Plateau of Ashes.
Uneven, layers upon layers,
Of ancient dust,
Pressed
in the shape of an old message.
The Ashes spread upon the red, sun bathed rocks,
Enslaved
At the will of Time...
'Eunick ! Son-of-a-whore !', yelled an angry islander, 'Do' yee know what yee did, huh ?', then as he stood above the one he questioned, he punched him between the eyes. 'Do yee ? Is that what your old man taught yee ?'.
He kept on questioning the man that was unconsciously murmuring nonsense. Words that only made the other even angrier, like he felt challenged to deliver a few more fists to the others face.
'Arik. Leave him be ! The gods will-', said a man next to him.
'They'll do nothing, not to this coward', screamed Arik, spitting on the others face. 'May the seas swallow yee next time you set sail. Fuckin' bastard !'.
At the door of the inn, stood Gerd, who now walked towards a table. Where, as always, Ksander sat, drinking from a tankard.
'What's this about ?', asked Gerd as he sat down.
'From what I gathered thus far...The one that has blood smeared all over his face, fucked the others sister, knocked her up, then left her. As you already may deduced he's not from here, some Redanian arse, that came to the isles around a month ago...'.
Gerd nodded his head, 'He won't eat solid food any time soon.'.
Ksander, lifted from his shoulders, then gulped down whatever was left in the tankard.
'So, are we going back ?'.
'Have a drink, or two...'.
'No.', strongly said Gerd.
'Fine, we're going...', replied Ksander.
Then they both walked out of the Inn, Ksander first.
'Dammit ! It's bright outside...'.
'That's what you get after spending a half day insi...'.
The witcher's eyes quickly opened, at the same time his right hand reached for the handle of his sword. He noticed a lot of vibrations coming from above. From what he had gathered thus far, they were around five in numbers.
He slept in a crack within the wall of the canyon. Above was the top of the plateau, and below a path, that was going downward towards the entrance to a cave. A cave in which he believed the monster that prowled the area used as a lair.
They were walking now above him, one descended from the top of the plateau on the path that led towards the cave. It was more of a narrow rock formations that were near the top. The only way to get to it was climbing the wall, or descending from the plateau.
He heard a couple of voices above, one of them seemed familiar. The one that was now on the path towards the cave, had been joined by three others. While on top, few more had come to help whatever the initial five were doing.
They were the Zerrikanians. As Gerd already did mention the possibility of Galodo's escape, this made that possibility a reality, as the Zerrikanians were searching for him. Looking, searching every spot down the path, every hole, crevasse a man could squeeze in.
After many days in which the witcher saw nothing resembling human activity, nor any kind of tracks, this had been a sign he welcomed.
He heard chatter above him, he couldn't make sense of whatever it was about, but he made sense of something. It was the frustration in their voices, their movement was slow paced, they were tired...
'Then, you know why I'm here ?', asked the witcher.
'I do. You want to ask about the poison I had found inside the body of our employer's husband.', responded the mage. 'Yet...', she resumed, looking at the assailant, who was choking on his own blood. '...I believe our current situation is a bit more important and time pressing. Don't you agree ?'
'Keira...'
'No formalities ? How rude...', replied the mage.
'I-'
'You'll help me get information out of this hunk of dying flesh. Then rid me of his dead carcass by discharging it in the luxurious sewers of Novigrad.', she interrupted. 'Afterwards, we'll address the matter for which you barged through my door to talk about.'
'Listen, I-'
'Don't you dare finish that sentence.', she said, with a serious tone.
'Fine.', grinned the witcher. 'You, speak. Who put you up to this ?', resumed Gerd, making the sign of Axii.
From the man, that sat down on the floor leaning on a cabinet, came no words.
'Sure your spell works ?', asked the mage, mocking the witcher.
'Shit...', muttered Gerd. 'He can't talk...for he has no tongue.'
'That renders him useless.', continued Keira, annoyed.
She then turned, and went into the next room. The witcher walked in the chamber from where he came, he then looked back at the man that attacked Keira, only to see the mage striking him in the head with a candleholder.
Keira walked in the room Gerd was, placing the object she struck the man with on a cabinet near the door.
'What ?', Keira asked, walking to the place where her megascope was, checking it for damage.
'Couldn't you bother to cast some spell to find out what he knew ?'.
'Huh, I can't read minds, witcher. He could have had someone peeking through those eyes of his...'.
'My medallion would've-'.
'Tremble like an old's peasants knees in the winter. Whatever...', interrupted the mage. 'Better to be sure.'.
'Why do you think he tried to...you know...'
'Murder me ? I don't have the faintest clue, witcher.', replied the mage.
'Right...', began the witcher, 'Time I clean your mess.', he resumed, walking towards the man laying face down on the floor.
Gerd decided to descend from the hole he used as bed, onto the narrow path.
'Hey.', began the witcher. 'Don't go further.', he said slowly, moving his hands in ways to express what he was saying. 'Something lives in the cave.' he continued, pointing the certain opening within the canyon's wall. 'Do you understand ?'.
The Zerrikanian that saw him, nudged the others to look as well. There were two women behind him, one of them called someone from the top of the plateau.
Soon from the top of the plateau, a voice, 'Gerd ?', it was Biua. 'The others said you're dead. Hah, but I didn't. Come on up.'.
'Tell them to stop advancing, there is something in the cave.'.
'We know, don't fret.', she then called those on the path, they then turned and climbed to the top.
The witcher joined them. When he reached the top, Biua was laughing.
'You pale, cat-eyed bastard...Come here !', said Biua, hugging Gerd so hard that his bones clicked. 'Glad to know you alive, wait 'till Tara and Veya see you, hah !'
The witcher and the zerrikanian group, walked to the south eastern side of the plateau, where according to Biua, they had a camp.
'You did good comin' here. I guess you know he escaped, don't you ?'.
'Mhm, thought of it when I saw wagons from the middle section of the group shattered to pieces.', responded Gerd.
'He ain't far.', said Biua.
'He's alone ?'.
'Not alone, no. A Haakland soldier joined him...', she answered, pissed about the fact. 'He's one lucky prick !'.
'Tell me about it...', Gerd said, than drank some water from a canteen. 'What of his wife ?'.
'We had them in different carriages, she's fine. Damn shame the worm didn't get that cunt !'.
Gerd snorted. 'A bit, yes.'.
They kept on talking along the way towards the camp. Gerd thought about what would have happened if he had met Galodo instead of the zerrikanians. He surely would've smiled from ear to ear to get his much wanted end of this contract which already prolonged itself to a point in which he'd want, if he had met Galodo, to cut him in half, with one clean slash from his shoulders to his hips. A cut in which he would have placed all his frustration that he gathered within him those weeks he chased the mercenary. He'd watch all the blood pour out of his lifeless body, then decapitate him and drive his head through a hook and hang it on his horse's saddle, if he had one, as he lost his faithful mare when the worm attacked. Anyhow, if that would have not happen, ride his mare with the freshly decapitate skull as a trophy back to Spalla. Get his coin, then find a tavern, where he would have in mind to drink all the beer and vodka he can gulp down, and eat all the lamb, pig, chicken, and calf meat he could stuff in his belly, then sleep for days. After, a visit to the best brothel in town, pick a beautiful lass and hump her from dusk 'till dawn. Afterwards he'd return on the path and ride to the next city, village, or town, where he would look up a contract and continue his never ending chase for coin.
But that was long way away from happening, and he knew it, and that thing made him even more enraged. Which helped, to a certain degree...
'Thank you, witcher, for disposing me so elegantly of that stinking corpse.', said the mage, while taking a sip of wine from a golden goblet she held in her right hand. 'I know you came all the way here to learn of something, and I won't hold you anymore. The poison I found in Hector's system was of a different kind that the ones I'm used to.'.
'How so ?', asked Gerd, leaning on the door jamb.
'Don't interrupt and I shall tell you ! Anyway, it didn't come from plants such as Actaea Pachypoda, or Atropa Belladonna. However, from what I seen by analyzing the poison, it came from a draconid, possibly a basilisk.'.
'Basilisk, huh ?', the witcher paused for a bit, nodding his head slowly. 'If administrated in a low dose, like half a milliliter, which is enough to spice a certain drink for example. Would lead to cardiac arrest in less than twenty minutes.'
'This Implies our killer may have some connections in the black market.'.
'Seems so.', replied Gerd, crossing his arms. 'I do know someone in the city that could have such a substance in his possession.'.
'Who's that ?', asked Keira taking another sip of wine.
'An old pal, a herbalist, Frances Rourterggest.'.
'Never heard of him...'.
'He's not that famous. He has a shop not far from here.'.
'Looks like you have a lead. Do tell me if you uncover something.', Keira said, walking towards the witcher. 'Now go on, out the door, chop-chop, I have to take a bath. I'll see you later.'.
'Yeah, later.', said the witcher, walking out the door.