I do not own Witcher or any of the characters.
A.N.: So, since the games aren't cannon, I decided that it would be safe to include them without them being date after the books(which I haven't read but intend to, if anyone can recommend a good website to read them for free.)
Stand-In
Eldin set the last of the finished mutagens on the table and sat back, sighing. Vesemir watched him in silence for a long while before opening his mouth, only for Eldin to hold up a hand.
"Yennefer?" Eldin asked.
Yennefer finished chanting over a bottle of her own and passed it to him. Eldin sniffed it, swirled it, sniffed it again, then set it beside his own mutagen, reciting a short chant. Both bottles glowed fluorescent blue-green for a moment before the light faded. Eldin nodded.
"It's good," Eldin nodded. "You've successfully created a new Witcher Mutagen."
"So, we can make more," Vesemir breathed. "Even if you're not here."
"Yes," Eldin nodded, raising a hand and pointing to one of the three sets of bottles, each a different shape. "The tall bottle goes first. Orally. It primes the body for mutation and begins the changes. It'll be rough. Vomiting, cramps, body feeling like it's on fire. Trial of the Grasses symptoms, but survivable. Wait three days, then bottle two." His hand moved from the tall, slim, rectangular bottles to a short, fat, round one. "This bottle is injected. It's the primary mutagen. It'll feel like their veins are on fire. They'll need to be restrained for this, not for the first bottle. Wait for twenty four hours, then inject this bottle." He indicated the final set, long, thin tubes. "It'll finalize the mutation. About three days after the final injection, the pain will fade, and they'll start to get their strength back."
Vesemir nodded. "I'll start getting new recruits."
"Volunteers only, Vesemir," Eldin said. "It can't be like before. That was part of why Witchers are so hated. We took new Witchers by force, coercion, or they were sold to us like slaves."
Vesemir nodded. "I know. Volunteers only."
Eldin nodded, just as the door groaned open, Geralt walking through the doors with the rest of the surviving Witchers. As they approached, Eldin picked up several bottles of thick, black fluid. They all walked over to him and stopped, eyeing the bottles in silence.
"So, how's this work?" Coen asked.
"Your mutagens are weaker than mine and Renfri's, but I can use that Cockatrice's blood to enhance them," Eldin said. "They should end up somewhere about my own mutagen's strength, maybe a little more. That means that your basic enhancements, your reflexes, speed, strength, and senses will be enhanced, and you'll be able to make use of my decoctions. I've added the Cockatrice blood to the new mutagens as well, so any new Witchers will start out at our level."
"So, we just drink those, and we'll be stronger?" Lambert asked.
"After several days of pain and feeling like death, yes," Eldin nodded. "So, who's first?"
"Fuck it," Geralt sighed. "Give me it."
Eldin handed him a bottle and Geralt drained it. A few seconds later, he groaned, stumbling backward as his skin grew pale, thick, dark veins standing out through his skin, and his eyes growing entirely black. He gagged, groaned again, and then collapsed sideways into Lambert, who caught him and eased him to the ground.
"What's happening!?" Coen demanded.
"I told you," Eldin said. "Pain and feeling like death."
The others all grimaced, but one by one found a place to suffer without falling over before drinking their mutagen. Once everyone had drank one, Eldin nodded, helping Yennefer and Renfri carry everyone to their rooms. Then, they headed to the main hall for food. As they arrived, however, Aralyn was just walking in with a deep frown, followed by a man dressed in intricate, gold and silver armor with a beautifully-crafted sword at his hip and several large, purple, faux feathers sticking up from the top of his helmet. Eldin raised an eyebrow, nodding to the knight.
"We might just as well open this place as a tavern at this rate," Eldin said.
"I assure you, finding this place was much less than easy," the knight promised, pulling a gilded scroll from a satchel he wore. "Is Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf, here? I have a message for him."
"He's...indisposed for the next few days, and has something extremely important to do after," Eldin said. "And if your message involves him going to Toussaint, as I'm assuming, he's not going to be able to. In fact, he's going to need to stay as far from Nilfgaard as possible for the foreseeable future."
The knight was silent for a moment before sighing, sitting on one of the benches and removing his helmet, revealing his bald head, sideburns, and rather plain face. "I see." He paused to consider, staring at the scroll. "Then, perhaps, you'd be available to take the job in his place?"
Eldin glanced at Aralyn and Renfri, both of whom were behind the knight and gestured at the scroll. "Let me hear the request, then we'll see."
The knight nodded, standing and unrolling the scroll. "If you would allow me, honor dictates I read this exactly as it is written. I am to deliver Her Grace the Dutchess' message in full, with all due ceremony. Tradition is sacred in Toussaint, you see."
"I see," Eldin nodded. "Go ahead."
The knight cleared his throat and began to read dramatically. "Most Honorable Geralt, Slayer of Monsters and All Evils Nefarious which Prey on the Defenseless of this World! Whereas never have you been known to deny help to the innocent nor leave widows and orphans to fates undeserved, answer you now our present summons! Free us from the Beast which floods our streets with blood and sows panic in the hearts of rich and poor alike. Come to our aid, Witcher. Thus humbly beseeches you the star-crossed city's most gracious protectress, Her Illustrious Highness, Dutchess Anna Henrietta." He rolled the scroll back up. "Obviously, this request was for Geralt, but if he is unavailable, I'm sure Her Grace would not begrudge me bringing back Eldin the Unkillable instead."
Eldin nodded slowly, then smirked. "Did the Dutchess really say all of that? Word for word?"
The knight shared Eldin's smirk. "I believe her exact words were, 'Bring me the Witcher and dare not spare your horse. Only make certain this time he comes alone.' The ducal chamberlain added the rest. For ceremony and tradition."
"I thought that was a bit closer," Eldin nodded. "But how did you know that I'd be here, or more importantly, how to get here?"
"I did not," the knight said. "I was dispatched with a fellow knight, however, upon learning that the White Wolf had disappeared, and upon hearing rumors of Geralt heading for this keep, we split up to try and find him."
"I see," Eldin nodded. "So, she sent two scrolls?"
"As a matter of fact, she did not," the knight said. "We were forced to copy the message onto a separate piece of parchment in order to be able to read him the message no matter who found him."
Eldin nodded. "Alright, tell me about this Beast. Where's it been killing? And what was the condition of the corpses?"
"Beauclair," the knight said. "No one has gotten a good look at it as yet. Our only sure witnesses, bodies massacred in a brutal, horrid manner."
"How brutal?" Eldin asked. "I need specifics. It'll help figure out what you're dealing with, which determines if I'm going or not."
"Is there a type of monster you wouldn't be willing to face?" the knight asked.
"Specific types of demons," Eldin said. "At least not alone."
The knight nodded. "There have been two victims so far. I've some sketches of the supposed Beast here." He spread them on the table.
One was a shadow bearing a half-dozen tentacles, one was a tall, lanky silhouette, like a stretched humanoid body, and one looked a sort of worm-like body with a swollen front end and pointed tail, multiple long, thin arms with three clawed fingers at the ends, a pair of bat wings, and a mouth of jagged teeth flanked by a pair of fleshy growths like inflated jowls, but no other face.
"As you can see, they're nothing alike," the knight said. "To my mind, the supposed witnesses lie."
"Or the Beast is a shapeshifter of some kind," Eldin said. "It's not impossible, depending on what it is. Tell me about the victims."
"Both were nobly born, which bodes ill due to a tourney starting soon," the knight said. "I should add, that the Beast cannot be tracked. It is believed that it wields black magic."
"What makes you say that?" Eldin asked.
"The first victim disappeared between bites at a feast," the knight explained. "Of the feastgoers, none noticed this. They saw but an open window, then heard desperate cries from the street below, where a corpse had just been found. The second killing was similar. A Knight in a locked room, knights all about the house, guards all around the estate. Yet the Beast somehow got him out, dragged him to the town square, and killed him there. No one saw nor heard a thing."
Eldin hummed, frowning and his brows sinking. "Starting to sound like either an angry Sorcerer or a demon."
"We need your aid," the knight implored. "This Beast cannot be tracked and kills effortlessly and with no rhyme or reason we can discern. I've no fear of creatures against which a sword and shield protect, but..."
Eldin nodded as the knight trailed off. "What's your name?"
"Oh, pardon me," the knight bowed. "I am Sir Palmerin de Launfal, Knight Errant of Toussaint in the service of Her Grace, the Dutchess Anna Henrietta."
"Well, Palmerin," Eldin said, glancing at Renfri and Aralyn, who both nodded. "We three will be joining you in returning to Toussaint, in place of Geralt. However, we'll have to find your companion first." He unrolled a map on the table. "What's his name?"
"Sir Milton de Peyrac-Peyran," Palmerin said.
Aralyn nodded, beginning to chant. Finally, a glowing spot appeared on the map.
"Got him," Aralyn nodded to herself, extending her arm and forming a portal.
"You're leaving?" Yennefer asked.
"Yeah," Eldin nodded. "Could you do us a favor and let Geralt know the three of us are heading on a job to Toussaint? It was meant for him, but for obvious reasons, we're going in his place."
Yennefer nodded and headed deeper into the keep. As she did, Eldin gestured to the portal for the knight to go first, and he nodded, walking through. Eldin and the others followed him through, Renfri restraining her complaints this time. Before them was a second knight, this one's armor red with gold highlights and the knight inside of the armor older with his sideburns accented by a mustache. Palmerin explained the situation to Milton, who nodded and agreed that this was their best option. Then, Aralyn opened a portal back to Kaer Morhen. As they stepped out of the portal, Palmerin frowned.
"Why are we back here?" Palmerin asked.
"We're going to need our horses," Eldin explained, heading for his and his two lovers' horses as well as the only one wearing gilded armor, untying them just as Milton guided his own horse through the portal.
Aralyn closed the portal and opened one last one to Toussaint. They all guided their horses through, and when they arrived, Beauclair sat proudly in the distance ahead of them. Eldin smiled, inhaling the warm air of one of the most beautiful countries he'd ever seen. He loved Toussaint.
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