((Headline from the song Understanding by Evanescence.))

Chapter 27
The Dawn Will Break the Silence

Ilkar had no idea how long it took them to get from the wine cellar back to Svitlana's mansion. Regis and Thraun – again in wolf-shape – had met them on the way. The surgeon had brought his knapsack and had disinfected the wound right where they were before applying a better bandage. In the time that took him, he'd sent The Unknown and Thraun, who had changed back, to construct a makeshift litter to bring him back to the building. He found the pendant under Hirad's clothes and looked at it. Both Ilkar and Will barked at the vampire to leave it where it was. Regis raised his eyebrows but didn't enquire further.

On the way back, Hirad drifted in and out of consciousness. The first time he came to, Regis gave him a few drops from one of the bottles he was carrying with him, and after that, the moments in which Hirad was lucid were more frequent until he remained awake, his eyes fixed on Ilkar, one hand unconsciously going to the pendant resting on his collarbone.

In the mansion, they found Shani in a heated debate with Thaler, but when they arrived both fell silent. 'Do you need Dima?' Thaler asked.

Regis shook his head. 'I don't. He'll live.'

Shani gave an impatient shout. 'Live! But how?'

The vampire looked at her. 'Perfectly fine, Shani. It's not up for debate.'

She ignored him. 'Hirad, listen. Dima … that's Svitlana's father … he can spare you any possible complications, he can help you much better than anyone else ever could.'

'Or,' Thaler said, 'he can just not do that and undo what those arseholes did to Shani while Hirad heals the normal way.'

Ilkar stared. 'What? How?'

'Curse. Long explanation, and this is hardly the time for it.'

Hirad looked at Ilkar. 'Am I dying otherwise?'

The elf swallowed hard and clasped one of Hirad's hands in his. He looked at Regis, who shook his head. 'I suppose I trust Regis to know his skill. So, no?'

'Then keep that miracle for Shani.'

'Hirad, there's something I need to say.'

The barbarian pulled his hand from his grip and placed it over Ilkar's mouth. 'No. Not now. Let Regis talk, he looks like he wants to.'

'I've got to sew the wound shut. This is going to hurt. I gave you something for the pain earlier, but that won't help for that. I have to sedate you. Or we could ask Dima …'

'No.' The barbarian shook his head.

Ilkar swallowed. 'I swear, Regis, if he dies I'm going to hurt you.'

'He won't.'

'Indeed he won't.' Shani shook her head. 'Whatever Dima might or might not do for me, he won't do it until Hirad is all right.' She put her hand on Ilkar's arm. 'He will be all right. He's in excellent hands.'

Regis huffed. 'Well, thank you. Now please. Everyone that is not a medic, get lost. Shoo.'

Ϡ

They were gathered in Svitlana's dining room. The only sound was Thaler turning the pages of the book they had brought with them. Ilkar stood at the window, staring outside, his hands clutching at the sill to stop them from shaking. After what felt might have been minutes or hours, he felt Will by his side. 'I know how it feels,' the thief said softly. 'That fear. I know it. So does Thraun. We've both been there, and if this really goes south, we're there. I want you to know that.'

'Thanks,' he answered. He only trusted himself with a whisper. Taking a few steadying breaths, he walked back to the table and sat next to the shapechanger, who gave him a lingering look of his own and a nod.

'Well,' Thaler said at last. 'That means our business is concluded. I have my answers, and I know that Trina was avenged, in a way. I'd hoped … ah. Never mind.'

'You'd hoped that knowing her killer's dead would make it hurt less?' Thraun asked. 'It doesn't work that way.'

'I can see why one would try,' Will said.

'How do we get our payment?' The Unknown asked. 'You said you needed to recover your assets.'

'All done. I took the risk and sent a letter to the Vivaldi bank in Vizima, and they took care of it. All my assets have been turned into coin that is available in any Vivaldi bank. They're scattered through all the Northern Kingdoms, so if you open an account with them, you will have access to your money wherever you go.' He shrugged. 'I will pay all those I had the contract with, including, Erienne, Jandyr, and Denser. How you split the money that belongs to your dead is your business. I suggest that we visit the bank soon and you open an account. You can let the people there tell you what the offered amount will afford you, and with that as reference we can negotiate, if you feel that is necessary.'

'I've got a feeling that we won't,' Ilkar answered.

'I've got to ask, Ilkar. You and the barbarian … ah.'

'Yes, Thaler. So?'

Sirendor snorted. 'There's my bet lost. But that's new, isn't it?'

'Very.'

'And did you …?'

'Yes. We did.' Sirendor hooted and Ilkar narrowed his eyes.

'Who were you betting with anyway?'

'Ah … Shani, actually.'

Ilkar's lips twitched, despite himself. 'She wasn't playing fair. She probably had it from Regis. He knew I'd cast an eye on someone, and even though I didn't tell him who that was, I'm sure he figured it out.'

'Ah, that's okay. I'm glad I lost that one.'

'Barking,' Thaler said.

Ϡ

When Regis joined the Raven, he had changed into something else. It was something of the old man's, but his original clothes were full of blood and he didn't want The Raven to worry more then necessary. The first thing he did was nod at Ilkar. 'You'll have plenty of time to say what you wanted to,' he said. 'It's going to take a bit of time for him to fully heal, but there won't be any lasting damage. Except perhaps to his ego because he had to be carried.'

'Screw his ego,' said Sirendor, 'long as he's all right. Shani?'

'Is continuing her debate with Dima about the ethics of taking a life willingly given, but I did kick them out of the room. No, Thaler, you don't. It's none of our business.' The spy growled but reluctantly stayed in his seat. 'I'll talk to her later. A powerful curse like that … even if it doesn't kill you, it ruins everything that is good in life.' He shook himself. 'At any rate, given Hirad's constitution, he'll probably wake up soon. I barely got him to sleep. So if you want to be there when he wakes up, you should go.' Ilkar all but ran out, and Regis watched him go wistfully. 'I suppose this is where our paths diverge,' he said. 'No matter what Shani and Dima do, we'll be going to Oxenfurt. Depending on the outcome of this, I'll make a particular journey alone or with her.'

'Vague much?' Sirendor asked.

Regis shook himself as if he'd only just realised there were other people. 'There is someone I owe a visit. At least one. And I prefer not to bring Shani near him, even if he is my friend. They wouldn't be compatible. But unless she accepts Dima's offer, I can hardly drop her off in Oxenfurt and be on my way. Huh. She might actually like Toussaint.'

'Varilia said she'd go there, too,' Sirendor said.

'Oh, good. I'll be sure to have a chat with her, too. We owe her a lot.'

'What's your plan, Thaler?' The Unknown asked.

'Good question.' The spy shook his head. 'What little news I have from the world isn't good. I wouldn't be surprised if there were another invasion and a war coming. There are people who may have answers and if we do face another conquest, I won't keep my head down and wait for them to swallow what's left of my country. So I'll go to Novigrad and take it from there. I recommend you to do the same. Plenty of work for you there. And who knows, maybe I'll need mercenaries one day.'

'I'm sure you can find someone who doesn't engage in such sinful activities as some of us do,' Will said.

'Maybe, but I have a feeling most of them would be neither as effective, nor as loyal. Finding mercenaries with honour isn't that easy.'

'Also,' Regis said, 'you'd be a stone-cast away from Shani and me, if you wanted to see friendlier faces than Thaler's. Well. A powerful stone-cast, granted, but it's not far from Novigrad to Oxenfurt. What's more, it's a city you should have at least seen. You want to get the hang of our world, try there.'

Ϡ

Ilkar walked into Dima's secret room with an increasing sense of déjà vu. Regis had removed Hirad's tunic, and only a bandage on his middle indicated that anything was wrong. Other than that, he looked like he was sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling regularly. The elf swallowed past the lump in his throat and dropped in a chair beside the bed that must belong to Dima. Now that he was alone, the horror of what had nearly happened hit him fully. This was the second time he'd thought the barbarian was going to die on him, the second time he was all but powerless to help him.

The need to feel the life in Hirad's body became overwhelming and Ilkar put his head on his chest. The warmth of his skin and the steady heartbeat calmed him somewhat. When a hand carded gently through his hair, he looked up. 'Fancy seeing you,' Hirad said. His voice was low but firm, as if he hadn't nearly bled to death. 'So apparently I'm really not dying. You want your pendant back?'

'Not yet. Keep it. For my nerves more than anything else.'

Hirad nodded and shifted. Judging from the pained expression that followed, that wasn't a good idea. 'Ow. How long before I can fight?'

Ilkar gave an exasperated laugh. 'You heal quickly, but before you're going to do anything, it'll be a while.'

'Healing slow and naturally seems a waste of time. Maybe we should try and recruit a mage.'

'Make that definitely.' He smiled and caressed Hirad's cheek with his fingertips. The barbarian closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. 'Hirad, I love you.'

'Ah. I knew you'd say that. But it's not like you haven't said it before, so why the desperation?' He opened one eye and laughed at Ilkar's expression. Again, that seemed like it wasn't wise at the moment. 'Ouch. Gods, Ilks. I love you, too.'

'Good for you, Coldheart.'

Hirad's expression was unusually serious. 'I can't bury you ever again. I really don't think I'd survive that.'

'And you wonder why elves and humans shouldn't mix. It tends to get … intense.' He leaned forwards and kissed Hirad gently on the lips. 'So we'll both have to be careful, that's all. No stupid risks, no attempts of self-sacrifice because that … wouldn't actually help. Agreed?'

'Wholeheartedly.' The barbarian closed his eyes. 'Don't know what Regis gave me, but I'm still so tired. Think you can stay with me?'

Ilkar smiled, even though Hirad couldn't see it. 'There's nowhere I'd rather be.'

((So, at last, we're done.

I left Shani and Dima's decision open deliberately. I don't normally go back on any catastrophe I cause, but that's because I'm usually too fast for canon to catch up in time. Here, it did. I really thought that Thaler, Shani, and Regis would never make a (re-)appearance in a Witcher game and that I could do with them as I pleased. Then I get all three of them in the third game. Mind you, I laughed when I met Thaler, and when Regis appeared in Blood and Wine I literally screamed. I knew it was him and I have never in my life been so overjoyed to see a fictional character. I still grin like a fool when I think about it. Shani in Hearts of Stone was a shock. My first thought really was, "Oh, fuck". Then I considered just ignoring canon, but what with Hearts of Stone being what it was, the opportunity presented itself.

Anyway, if this story, in the end, diverges from canon or not, is entirely up to you. If I ever feel a need to continue after the Witcher 3 storyline, I can do it, but at this point, I really don't think so.

Oh, and the remaining two names in italics on my list were Jonas and Thaler. Thaler got a reprieve due to canon. Sirendor would have died in his stead, if Thaler had done what he was supposed to and had gone after the Raven to the wine cellar. Then Sirendor would have caught a sword for him. But as it was, Thaler was being good and stayed put.))