Ciri turned and walked briskly up the sloping hill, back towards the center of Oxenfurt. But that wasn't a good place to be, either. Most of the city had woken up, and more and more people were outside in the streets. She didn't want to draw attention and stuck to the less populated ones, keeping her gaze on the ground in front of her, only peering up every now and then to make sure she didn't collide with her fellow pedestrians.
Kain could catch up with her pretty quickly, but he took advantage of her not looking back, and allowed her to stride alone until she neared the gate leading out of the city.
"Ciri," he called, jogging up. "Yennefer will be fine. Don't haul so much guilt on yourself - it won't help you."
Ciri hadn't even noticed Kain following her and was therefore brought up short when she heard his voice. She paused in her tracks. "Avallac'h always said this would happen. That I would hurt someone I love. I just didn't listen."
"Maybe you shouldn't listen to him that much when all he says is scaring you with failures."
She tucked her hair behind her ear, unable to meet his gaze for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"When he threatens you with all the horrors you're capable of due to a power he doesn't even understand because he hasn't experienced it firsthand, it makes you believe you will snap and do those things. You fear it in advance, and then something happens to throw you off balance, and your fear pushes you further than you would go without it. He makes you afraid and thus damages your self-control when the stress hits."
"Maybe," she admitted, turning to continue walking. Standing still felt uncomfortable. "Have you ever lost control?"
"I've never done what you can do, but during my training with the druids, I've made plenty of mistakes. Druid magic - when it comes to serious matters like controlling elements and creating storms - demands total control, and it's not easy." He thought of Yennefer and their argument. How he punished her. He wasn't sure it qualified as losing control, for he did it deliberately, but it was like a stain on his conscience that bothered him like an itching rash whenever he remembered.
Ciri managed a slight smile. "That makes me feel a little better."
"Everybody makes mistakes," Kain said. "Especially when you haven't had the luxury of training to deal with your power for years. A month of meditations and crushing rocks cannot substitute for years of learning to control it. Don't be hard on yourself - you didn't cripple her. You stopped in time."
"Only because she made me," Ciri said. "If she hadn't, I don't know what would have happened. I didn't even know I was doing it."
"Why were you doing it?" he asked. "What did she do to make you do it?"
"She conjured Eredin. Not the real Eredin, obviously, but an illusion. I think she believed I would like to... take my frustrations out on him."
Kain scowled, "Makes sense. It's a rough method. But given how they train the sorcerers at their schools, she tried something that was used on her, most likely. I don't think their teachers believe in any gentle approaches when they train."
"No. Yennefer excluded, I am starting to dislike all sorceresses and their approaches," Ciri murmured. "I just wasn't prepared for it."
He peered at her shrewdly, "What happened?"
They had strolled through the village and turned to walk along the shore. Sun glistened on the water surface, sending blinding flashes into their eyes, making them squint.
"Philippa and Margarita have decided that for the Lodge to help us further with anything, we will have to renegotiate their price. Apparently, saving their lives and buying their freedom was not enough."
"I didn't get the impression they weren't going to aid us any further." He ran a hand through his hair, glancing at the river pensively. "It's truly strange they would imply it. Did they tell you that? Personally?"
"They told Yennefer when she tried to make them come here and help rebuild the city. And what they want is you. And me. And any potential Elder Blood offspring." There was a clear edge to Ciri's voice now. "Apparently, Triss helped put the idea into Philippa's head. I feel... betrayed."
He thought about it, watching the blinding sunlight play and gleam over the water surface. He shook his head slowly. "They would love that," he murmured. "No denying it. However, each of them knows neither of us can be forced by mere means they have in their possession. If they had a plan on how to accomplish it, they would have acted differently. Demanding such things so openly and for helping with the repairs – I don't believe they truly meant it." He turned to her, a hint of an apology in his expression. "It must be Yennefer. They said it all out of spite because of Yennefer."
"I don't care whether Philippa meant it or not. I care that Triss would suggest it. That she would use the things I have told her. With all her talk of how much she loves me, how she only wants what is best for me, and yet she goes behind my back and do something like this? It hurts."
"I don't think it's likely that Philippa would tell so if it were the case. It seems they were merely riling Yennefer up. Besides, I told you before that the Lodge is never going to be your true friends. Just like Nilfgaard, or Aen Elle, the Lodge wants what it wants. They don't feel for you – they feel for what you can bring them. Like a goose with golden eggs – potential eggs."
"But I thought Triss was different. She was the first one of them I met, you know? She helped take care of me when I lived at Kaer Morhen. She calls us family. I consider her family! But now..." Ciri was momentarily lost for words.
"She feels for you, Ciri," Kain said in a quiet voice. "One cannot fake their emotions for those who can sense them. She's just torn between the Lodge and Philippa's authority and feelings for you and Geralt. She didn't ever betray you any more than Avallac'h. They both are bound by certain things you don't share."
"Why are you trying to justify her actions?" Ciri asked, frowning. "Don't you understand I cannot trust her now?"
"You can't trust anyone besides Geralt and Yennefer, Dandelion and Zoltan," Kain said. "That barely changes. I'm not trying to justify anything - I was merely reminding you of their own perspective on things – it's a two-sided coin. Triss is a buffer between you and the Lodge because she cares about you and Geralt. But she doesn't want to confront the Lodge so openly."
"She cares about Geralt, alright." Ciri was no longer certain she was part of the equation. "What are your plans for today?" Now she'd had some time to vent and air her frustrations, it was easier to move on to a different subject.
"My plans depend on Geralt," Kain shrugged. "We have to make sure there is no ambush for later. I doubt, however, that we should linger here all the time. Novigrad is not yet free of danger."
Ciri nodded. "No signs of any Riders being left behind?"
"No. Doesn't mean they plan nothing else."
"I don't think they will do anything without their leader. But there's no sure way of knowing if they've managed to fetch him yet." Not other than Ciri going there herself to check. But she didn't know if she would be able to find her way back to him. Especially not without trying to create a link with Eredin somehow. Which she was currently unwilling to risk.
"He won't be lost for long," Kain said. "So we have to assume they've found him already. Even if not - they could've had a strategy to begin with, and then his soldiers and generals will follow it while the mage is looking for him."
"Better safe than sorry, I suppose."
They walked in silence a while until Ciri's curiosity reared its head again. "I got the feeling Geralt did not want me to come to Oxenfurt yesterday. Any truth to that, you think?"
"No. There's a lot on his mind, is all. He always wants to have you around."
"I hope so. Because that is how I feel about him."
"I'm sure he would feel happy if he had you alone in the whole world. You seem to be his whole world."
She smiled a little. "That's sweet but there are other people he loves just as much. As he should. His family. That includes you now."
"We're still... getting used to it. It's strange for both of us."
"I can imagine. At least you are getting along, right? Geralt no longer wants to throttle you because I like you?" She asked, smirking subtly.
Kain smirked, amused. "No. There are no issues between us."
"Good. I do wonder what would have happened had I not tried to stop him from going after you that first day in Skellige."
"Who knows," he peered at her wistfully. "He doesn't fight without reason. But his wish to go after Griffin could change the whole scenario."
"Glad we managed to prevent that. He was wounded in the battle? Griffin? There was blood in his feathers when he came to find me."
"I healed him, then sent him back to his cave. But seems like he chose to get you instead."
"Those who love you will never hide while you are in danger."
"I don't want to get him killed. He can't fight for my or anyone else's causes. He's a free wild beast."
Ciri eyed him, feeling sympathetic. "It's in his nature to fight for his family. That is you now. He lost his mate and any potential eggs. You're what he has."
"It wouldn't console me had anything happened to him."
"Nothing would," she sighed.
Yennefer didn't look back as she stormed out of the clinic. She was tired. Very tired. She didn't use her magic, either, hopeful that the walk would soothe her raging nerves and give her a little time to clear her thoughts.
When she found the two, they were on the shoreline, walking side by side, clearly talking. Ciri was calm again, too. Yennefer could appreciate that Kain was able to do that for her.
She waited a beat, summoning up some willpower, and then crossed toward them slowly. The blood was gone, her hair had been straightened a bit, and, apart from the obvious exhaustion, she looked as she always did – put together.
Ciri didn't see Yennefer approach until the sorceress was almost close enough to touch. The blood was cleaned, but it didn't help erase the memories of what had happened.
"Yennefer..." Ciri took a few steps closer but stopped before she reached her. She wasn't sure Yennefer would want to be touched. "Are you alright?"
Yennefer had read her hesitant intention and purposely closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Ciri, stroking her hair lovingly.
She had been worried that she might have lost her girl or even pushed her to such a point that Ciri'd have filtered her into the troublesome category where she couldn't stand to look at Yen.
"Are you?"
"Better now," Ciri admitted, burying her face in the crook of Yennefer's neck, her arms squeezing the sorceress' back to keep her close. "I am so sorry, Yennefer. I never want to hurt you."
Yennefer squeezed her back tightly.
"Nor I you. I'm sorry that I scared you. Set you off."
"I just... I was not prepared," Ciri whispered.
Kain backed away to let them talk in private and headed back for the gate in a languid stroll.
"Neither was I," Yennefer murmured. She relinquished her hold so she could look into Ciri's eyes. "You know I would never intentionally hurt you?"
Ciri frowned. "Of course I do." The very thought Yennefer ever could do something to purposely hurt her was ridiculous.
The enchantress hugged her once more and then slowly let her go, glancing around when she realized that Kain had left to give them space.
"I've been talking to Geralt. I thought, that maybe the two of you should go somewhere – relax. You have a lot on your mind and being on guard isn't helping."
Ciri tilted her head to the side, uncertain of what Yennefer was suggesting.
"Go where? Somewhere secluded?" Was this a new take on Ciri's earlier island-musings, only with a babysitter instead of her being alone?
Yennefer shrugged. "Somewhere you can feel more at peace. Geralt seems to think that it'll never happen with the Wild Hunt out there and I agree. But who knows when we'll dispatch them? You deserve more than to live your life making up for something you can't control or have no say over. You should get to live as well. At least for a little."
"I can't leave." Ciri shook her head slowly, though it was truly not even a consideration. "We all need to stick together. By ourselves, we are so much easier to pick off."
"Yes, you can," Yennefer added vehemently. "I'm also not suggesting you do it alone. Never. All I'm saying is, that maybe you'd enjoy some downtime. No plotting, planning, pretending."
"No. That can't happen. The moment I let my guard down, they attack."
Ciri softened a little because despite her own insecurities she believed she understood what Yennefer was trying to do.
"I appreciate the thought, Yennefer. But I am not leaving."
"Then I'm not leaving, either."
Yennefer had almost been pushed to do just that, thinking she'd made one of her worst mistakes and that she couldn't possibly be any good when she couldn't read signs. The thought had been that without Geralt's love she'd lost some sharpness of understanding, her intuition. It was an irrational thought and an insecurity she hardly indulged in, anymore.
Ciri blinked up at the sorceress. "Why would you leave?" Because of me?
"I—I figure it was the right thing to do after I… did what I did."
Yennefer didn't like how insecure she sounded airing that out loud, but she'd always relished in the newfound honesty of their relationship.
"I didn't want to be the cause for anything else. You looked so... heartbroken."
"You don't get to leave me," Ciri said, reaching for Yennefer's hand and squeezing it. "You're my family. We stick together."
Yennefer squeezed Ciri's hand back. "We are. So know, the same relates to you."
She smiled softly and then slowly headed for the gates, guiding Ciri along with her.
"I'm exhausted. I need sleep."
"Did you not sleep last night?"
"I did," Yennefer offered. "I've just—the magic use has taken a bit out of me."
There had been the repairs to the structures, the illusions, and then her attack that seemed to have drained it right out of her for a moment. Yennefer had been wholly unprepared.
"Of course. I'll show you where I slept last night. The bed is comfortable enough." Ciri just hoped they wouldn't run into Triss.
"What about you? Your dreams?"
"I haven't slept much. No more potions. Though, luckily, I think Eredin has been too preoccupied to enter my dreams."
Yennefer squeezed her hand once more in a thank-you, nodding in acknowledgement of the fact that Eredin hadn't shown up yet.
"Would you like me to make you some more sleep draught, just in case?"
"Yes, please. But only after you get some sleep yourself." Ciri smiled up at her, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "I don't want sub-par results."
Yennefer gave a soft laugh, bestowing her a teasing look that said 'as if there would ever be such a possibility'.
They went back to the clinic and Ciri showed her to the empty room where she could get some rest. She hugged the sorceress, then went back outside, reluctant to stay where she assumed Triss was still lingering. She was not ready to face her yet.
Yennefer waited until the door closed behind Ciri, and then went to make herself at home on the bed, scarcely bothering to strip off her clothes, falling asleep within a minute of her head hitting the pillow.
Ciri hadn't seen where Kain had disappeared to, but she assumed he was still close by somewhere. Unless Geralt had found him and they had gone off on another patrol.
She slowly wound her way through the market square, pleased to see people were rebuilding and preparing their stalls for sale with gentle enthusiasm.
They didn't pay her much attention, and that was lovely as well, allowing her to observe from afar and simply be.
"I've heard Yennefer has arrived." Fringilla approached from behind while the Witcher was deep in thought watching over the port. "I would expect to find her with you. Strange to see you all alone."
Geralt shrugged with a wistful smile. "I don't always seek company. I needed to think, and it's best done in solitude."
"I see." A subtle smile touched her lips; she stood next to him observing the river. "I know Philippa refused to come here. I shall talk to her. She'll change her mind."
"What makes you so certain?"
"I know her. And I know how things are between her and Yennefer. You've chosen a very complicated sorceress, Geralt."
He smirked. "So I keep hearing."
She studied him with a hint of wonder. "Strange way to put it," she noted. "As if it was decided without your participation."
Geralt sighed, reflecting a moment. "There are some issues with my memory. It feels like that at times - like I get to know my own life as if it's someone else's."
She was astonished. "What happened to cause it?"
He waved a dismissive hand. "Some magic, as usual. Magic always complicates things."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
He looked at her with both tenderness and amusement. "You would want to help me after I left you?"
She averted her eyes to the ship, a sad sneer on her mouth. "You chose your duty. We all know what it is like. I don't blame you, Geralt. I still remember every moment, every gaze we shared, every second we breathed together, and I know how you felt. It's become enough for me - to know it. I still care."
He smiled, touching her chin gently, and leaned in to plant a kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Me too."
She smiled and this time her eyes lit up a bit. She nodded and then jerked her chin to indicate something behind him. "Ciri."
Ciri'd seen them from afar and was hesitantly approaching. She didn't like the sorceress so close to Geralt, even if Fringilla had been a much bigger help than Philippa and Margarita. It was just the intimacy of how they were standing...
It felt wrong. It brought back the visions she'd had years ago at the Tower of the Swallow. She had not enjoyed that development.
Their conversation could not be overheard, and since Ciri had no urgent matters to discuss of her own, she didn't want to interrupt. Instead, she stood off to the side, arms folded across her chest and gaze on the river, allowing the two to finish whatever they were doing.
Fringilla strolled away, nodding to Ciri as she went. Geralt came up to the girl with a smile and an expression of inquiry.
"Something happened? You look preoccupied."
She followed Fringilla with her gaze as the sorceress walked away before meeting Geralt's eyes.
"No," Ciri said, smiling slightly. "I didn't know you two were still so... close."
"We're good with each other," he ventured. "She said Philippa refused us help because of Yennefer. Fringilla will talk to her. I believe she might be right. Philippa doesn't seem to be fond of Yen. Not in the slightest. I should've talked to her myself without letting Yennefer do it for me. It was a mistake."
Ciri nodded slowly. "They'll want new terms. More rewards. They won't have them."
"Let's not think before the time comes for them to demand things. We shall worry when they tell us whether they want new things. Before that, I hope Fringilla will set it right."
"That's what they told Yennefer," Ciri pointed out. "Renegotiations. If that is how Philippa wants to play it, I'll take back the pardon I purchased for her."
"We don't need them to be one more enemy, Ciri. Leave the pardons and hold your anger until you know for sure what happens."
"Everyone is our enemy, Geralt," Ciri said gravely. "The Lodge included. We are all just playing a game of pretend."
He looked at her with calm resolve. "When you feel like everyone is your enemy, you become a cornered animal and it that ruins you in the end. Don't think so. Think that you have lots of allies who will fight your enemies with you. It's a lot more than some have."
"I just don't know who to trust anymore," she admitted, eyes on her feet. "There's you, Yennefer, and Kain. Dandelion and Zoltan. The rest..." A shrug.
He smiled with tender adoration. "Trust yourself, Ciri. Trust your mind, your heart, your intuition. You have many gifts and you should trust them."
She fixed him with a dubious look, sheepish. "After what happened with Yennefer?"
He squinted. "Why do you think it happened?"
"I was upset. And not prepared for an Eredin apparition in the middle of the street."
"You know why it happened. That means you know how to address your issue and what to work on to prevent it in the future."
"Not so sure about that, but I will try." She turned to eye him. "What are your plans for today?"
"I have made no special personal plans," the Witcher admitted. "But Kain is telling me the surviving Crone can be a problem for us. She might be helping the Hunt already. It means we have to stop her. Probably better sooner than later."
"I agree. And I will, of course, help. But I think, if you can find the time today, you should spend some of it with Dandelion. He misses you, Geralt. He misses his best friend."
Geralt laughed. "I'm sure he can fill his free time with all the Academy students who worship him and his talents while we take care of our problems."
Ciri eyed him seriously. "No, Geralt. He feels neglected. Replaced. He told me last night."
"Was he drunk when he said that?"
"Not particularly."
"Which means he drank some. I know him. He falls for his momentary moods and stews in them, writes his best works, and then moves on to the next. He'll be fine. But I can't nurse his poetic drama mood while my brother and daughter are in danger because that Crone is sitting in her swamps with Kain's blood and does gods know what.
"If Kain's right, she's been spying on us all this time, and maybe this is how Eredin fooled us."
She shrugged. "At least I told you. Done my part." Ciri brushed her hair from her face. "Kain still convinced she is in Velen?"
"It was their place of power," Geralt mused. "Without her sisters, she lost some of the magic they had together, and it must be hard for her to get out of there. The tree gave them strength. It's still standing, people are still remembering them, maybe some still worship them. She has no power in any other place than there."
"Makes sense," Ciri agreed. "How many of us should go?"
"I haven't decided yet. I want to find a way to minimize the risk - and the risk is significant when it comes to Eredin and his allies."
"She probably expects us to come as well. So the element of surprise won't exactly be on our side."
Geralt smiled. "That means we have to think of one."
In the early hours of the following morning, Kain, Geralt, and Ciri were entering the property lines of Velen on horseback. It was cold and the ground was covered in red and yellow leaves, creating a beautiful display of color against the dawning sky and the remaining green of the pine trees.
They'd slowed to a walk and Ciri released Kelpie's reins to rub her hands together. Despite her gloves, her fingers had become stiff with cold.
"Do you think the Crone still resides beneath the mountain?" she asked the two witchers.
"I would bet on the hut in the middle of the swamps I kept seeing in my dreams," Kain said.
The early morning revealed the land of mists and nightmares that refused to fade. The mist coiled around the rare trees and bushes, thickened over the pools concealing them from every wanderer silly enough to pick the route through the Crookback bog. The mist was disorienting and played games with sounds that carried strangely across the swamp. Drowners, water hags, occasional ghouls - you could expect anything.
"I guess it's safer to leave the horses here," Geralt mused. "It's hard to see in this fog, and even harder to respond to threats in time. We don't need to sacrifice our mounts."
Ciri pulled Kelpie to a stop and slipped off her back, loosening her bridle to allow the mare free reign while on her own. She took a look at their immediate surroundings while Kain and Geralt tended to their own mounts. She'd been here once before, but nothing looked familiar whatsoever. The fog was new, probably a direct result of the remaining Crone's magic to confuse them. It was working.
"Do you know the way?" she asked Geralt, remembering he had been in the area as well not too long ago.
The Witcher took a look around. "The swamps look the same everywhere until you get to that hut," he said. "We'll have to just go and search for it. She might put some glamor on it to stop us."
It was eerily quiet, and the fog coiled around the grassy mounds and over the pools. Some rare strange sounds and whispers worried the veil of silence.
"It's the Weavess," Kain said. "She can trick and lead into a trap. This whole place is one big trap. I can't draw from this place - it's soaked with her magic. So it's just our swords. Use your Signs, Geralt. Try to not get separated."
Geralt nodded, pulling the sword out slowly, looking around.
Kain looked at Ciri: "Try not to teleport with your power - you could be mislead. She's at her strongest here, and she's angry."
Fighting without her powers always made Ciri feel strangely trapped, but she could recognize the truth of Kain's words. They had to be careful. This was The Crone's turf and she held all of the advantages.
"Do you think her worshippers still remain?" Ciri asked as they advanced through the fog, swords raised and ready to inflict lethal damage to whatever malicious creature they'd come across. "Are they still feeding her power?"
"I wouldn't put it past her," Geralt mused. "She needs every little piece of power she can get."
"Wrong place to discuss this," Kain whispered, and the Witcher nodded. The sister specializing on the ears was dead, but who knew how many talents the remaining one had? Neither witcher wanted to test their fate.
The fog was getting thicker around their feet and creeping higher. Soon enough they didn't see where they were stepping, which significantly slowed down their progress. The scenery looked the same whichever side they glanced, and there was no way of telling which direction the hut was.
The first wave of drowners hit them suddenly and from every which way. They ran from every side, climbed from behind every mound and pool, hissing and baring teeth. Hags were among them, screeching and cackling, bony arms flailing, knotty fingers clawing at the intruders.
The mighty attack washed through the trio like a cold wave of a stormy sea, pushing them in different directions. Before they knew it, they lost sight of each other in the thickened fog.
Panting, Geralt yanked the sword from the hag's thick skull and looked around. An icy finger of alarm and worry tickled his spine: everywhere he looked he saw the milky veil of fog and nothing else. It hung like a curtain, isolating him from the rest of the world. He heard nothing else, only the slurping sound of his boots as he navigated the swamp.
"Ciri!" he called and listened a moment. Nothing. "Kain! CIRI!"
No response. There was a distant hissing sound of a drowner, perhaps, but nothing of what he wished to hear.
"Dammit," he muttered and began to walk gingerly. He dreaded to think that the Crone could have gotten what she wanted while the Witcher was incapable of stopping her. He had never felt as helpless - not since the horrid night he'd lost Ciri for all those years he couldn't restore for both of them.
"CIRI!" he tried again. "Kain!"
Kain stood over a hag's corpse surrounded by dead drowners, with his eyes closed. He wasn't listening as much as focusing on pushing his racing thoughts into the background. He needed his instincts now, not the panicking mind. When his mind stilled enough, he looked around. He was certain they couldn't be too far from each other, but this was magic at work. Her territory. He couldn't see their colors, nor hear them, but he knew they were close. They had to be. The only option was to keep walking.
As he did, a few more drowners found their way to him. He killed them easily, gracefully moving between the pools and puddles. Killing was always easier with a quiet mind.
And then there was something, a subtle pull, some imperceptible touch of familiar energy he tried to follow. He didn't find his companions, but it felt like he had found something else.
There was nothing to be seen on the ground through the fog that lay like cotton around his ankles. He crouched and held his palm over it - after a moment, the fog parted under his hand revealing some drying grass on the verge of a shallow pool. A silver gleam caught his eye, and he shifted closer to the water. Something in the silt... He reached, his fingers felt something firm and edgy.
Before he pulled it out, something hit him from behind and pushed headfirst into the water.
He didn't dig into the silt with his face - there was no bottom to hit. He twirled in the water, fully submerged, while a drowner's claws slashed at his sides and arms. Kain twisted, diving under and around the creature, and shoved his hand into the side of its head. An impulse of power went through the drowner's brain, shooting a cloud of blood from another side of its head where an ear could be, and its body went limp. Kain began to swim up and realized he couldn't. It was as if something wrapped around his ankles and pulled him down, though there was nothing. A spasmodic exhale left his mouth in a flurry of bubbles while he fought to reach the surface. There was no way to tell where that surface was, anymore, he noticed, as everything around was murky and dark. His chest was tightening painfully, screaming for air, his mind dimming, while the invisible power kept pulling him deeper.
Ciri couldn't say for sure the exact moment they had all split up. One minute Kain and Geralt had been by her side, and the next she was surrounded by drowners, pushed back into the suffocating fog until she could barely see her own hands in front of her.
That made the fighting more complicated and Ciri was suddenly grateful for all the exercises back at Kaer Morhen where the witchers had insisted she be blindfolded while facing her opponents.
This is just like that, she told herself, relying on her other senses to guide her sword, slashing and hacking until the drowners lay still at her feet. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but judging by the fact her heart was racing and breathing labored, the fight had to have lasted a long good while.
Her armor had protected her from the drowners' claws, for the most part, her arms and torso were safe. But one of them had managed to get a scratch in across Ciri's cheek, the same side that carried her infamous scar. As she tried to navigate her way through the swamp, blood trickled into her mouth.
Blood. My blood. Elder Blood.
Ciri paused her progression through the fog and closed her eyes, sensing for Geralt like she would Kain when she needed to find him. The Crone's magic and influence all around sent a shiver of goosebumps down Ciri's neck and spine, but she tried to ignore it.
"My power is greater than yours," she heard herself whisper as if the Crone was standing right in front of her. "Our power. And you cannot keep us apart."
Something seemed to snap into place inside her. A cord held taut. And Ciri knew what was on the other end. Geralt. She just needed to follow it. She'd find him and together they would find Kain.
She stepped carefully through the swamp, stopping twice when she encountered new attacks from the drowners that resided here, and focused once more to find that connection with her father. She could feel herself getting closer.
When she finally reached her destination, Geralt had his back turned to her. Ciri cautiously reached out and took his hand, pulling him to her. "Are you alright?"
Geralt wasn't startled by her approach - he felt it a few seconds before she reached him. When he turned to her, his face was grayishly pale with dark veins beneath the skin, his eyes two black pits. His smile, however, reflected his relief.
"Thank Gods, Ciri. You all right? Seen Kain?"
Geralt's current appearance would put the fright into the bravest of men, but Ciri wasn't scared. She knew it was the effects of his potions.
"I haven't found him yet," she admitted in a hushed voice, keeping hold of Geralt's hand as they started off. "I'll try and sense him, like I did you. Don't let go of my hand." It was too easy to get separated out here.
She closed her eyes again, trusting Geralt to have her back should another group of drowners show up while she focused and zeroed in on Kain's essence. Before long, she was pulling Geralt behind her, moving in the general direction where she sensed Kain was or had been.
Geralt had his reservations concerning Ciri's using of her powers, but there was little to nothing else they could do. Despite the potions, Geralt couldn't sense much through the magical fog. The Crone's charms were stronger than he imagined. Now he knew how stupid and ambitious this affair was. The Crone had enough time to prepare while they had been too busy with the Hunt.
"So convenient," he muttered when Ciri slowed down. The cold of dread stroked through his back. "It's a trap. A calculated trap. For him. And for you. We shouldn't have come here."
"I know," Ciri whispered, feeling her way through the fog. She could sense Kain's essence close by but struggled to pinpoint it. "But it's too late to turn around now. We're not leaving without him."
"He'd have found us himself by now if he could," Geralt reasoned, scanning the fog around them. His Wolf pendant was sending subtle thrills through his body. "It means he can't."
"His magic might not be working right."
Ciri stopped and adjusted her hold on Geralt's hand, closing her eyes again to focus on Kain and the mysterious bond between them.
"I feel him here. But not here."
She frowned, trying to make sense of it all.
"Maybe he was here very recently..." But then how could he have made it so far away that she now didn't feel like she had any new directions to follow?
Scowling, Geralt listened to the magic singing in his pendant and wondered what it could mean. Either the fog or...
He looked at the milky smoke coiling around their ankles. He swayed his foot, thinning it - he could see the grass and water beneath it briefly, but then the fog won back its territory.
While Ciri tried her utmost to concentrate, her hold on Geralt's arm unrelenting, Geralt tried to look for any traces on the ground - as hard as it was. He made a few steps around, swaying his feet while scoping the ground. There were no physical traces he could make out, but in his altered vision there seemed to be another picture. Nothing specific, nor clear, however, aside from the certainty that Kain'd been here.
"Something attacked him," Geralt murmured, crouching, and swatted at the fog with his hand. "A drowner." The said drowner lay dead a couple of feet away. Next to it, lay a sword.
Ciri followed Geralt, keeping as close as possible without actually clinging to him. She eyed the dead drowner with a frown, then the sword. Kain's sword.
Fuck.
"He's not dead," she whispered, peering around as if expecting a trail of dead monsters. "I can still feel him. I just can't... find him."
"I know he's not." Geralt picked up the sword. "Hardly she wants him dead. Doesn't mean we have much time, either."
He pushed the dead drowner with his boot and crouched again: there was something under the corpse. He passed the sword to Ciri and grabbed at what he saw gleaming in the silt underwater. He came back with two pendants dangling from his fingers. A Wolf and a Cat. He showcased them to Ciri.
Ciri stepped in, lightly touching both pendants.
"Kain and Vesemir's," she muttered. "The Crone was here. Must have lured him in." Unless she'd just pounced. "We need to find her home. If she took Kain, you can be sure she'll want to use him for her own purposes before giving him to Eredin."
Like resurrecting her sisters. Or eating Kain's feet.
Ciri took both necklaces and slipped them on over her head, allowing them to hang from her neck as she found Geralt's hand with her own again. She closed her eyes. "Maybe, if I focus really hard, I can still feel him."
She tried. And tried. And when she finally felt an inkling of something, she began to walk.