On the outskirts of Mirfield a village south of Kaer Morhen a dim light flashes and a young white haired boy falls into the canopy of the forest.
Reima "Shhiiiieeeetttttt!"
Reima who had just finished talking to Jim (Being X) falls through the tree, branches, leaves and thorns causing scratches and cuts on the way down.
*Thunk*
He hits the floor and is covered in mud, luckily it seems Being X pitied him and gave him a jerkin made of so suspicious leather or hide and so leather trousers. Cursing himself and trying to keep the mud out of his wounds Reima looks up and realises a sword is being pointed in his face.
"You, what were you doing in the trees?" A gruff voice speaks.
Looking past the tal he spots the white mane of hair that can only belong to one man, Geralt of Rivia. Reima takes a breath and tries to get into a child's mindset.
"I was running from people Sir, I'm sorry if I startled you!"
Geralt looks around trying to tell if this is so sort of ambush, he pulls his sort away as he doesn't spot anything and his amulet is still.
"Who was chasing you?"
"I took so bread but they caught ... I don't have anywhere else to go, please don't send back Sir!"
Geralt sheaths his sword and pulls the child up out of the mud, he walks to Roach his faithful horse companion and strokes his mane.
Reima has no idea how he is going to convince Geralt to take him to Kaer Morhen, another issue he didn't think about is the tiline. They had stopped making Witcher by the ti Witcher 3 rolled around so this will be difficult.
He brushes the mud off his trousers and pulls his bare feet out and tries to start the tear factory,
"Sniff, Sir it's cold out here... I'm an orphan, please don't leave alone" Trying to act like a pathetic 7 year old is pretty hard!
Geralt still thinks sothing is off but decides he can't leave a barely clothed child in the forest teeming with monsters alone, "I'll take you back to Mirfield, be quick I need to be sowhere."
Reima panics and decides to change tactics.
"Wow your eyes! Your a monster hunter aren't you!?!"
"Yes."
He picks up the boy and puts him on the back of Roach as the boy starts chattering.
"I wish I could fight monsters... Mother would still be alive."
Geralt stills, "You want to be a Witcher?"
Reima brightly smiles, "Yes sir!"
Geralt turns his head and rubs his stubble, he was on his way back to complete the first trials since Vesemir beca Grand master of the School of the Wolf. Usually they only took kids that they earn through the Law of surprise, the practise where if soone saves your life they can evoke the Law of surprise. It's a rule where you give them the first thing that you don't expect to be there when you get ho... This includes children.
But due to the massacre that happened that wiped out most of the Witchers they have had to increase this batches numbers from orphans and slaves. Having this child literally dropped onto his lap seed like a gift in disguise.
"Are you sure? The path of a Witcher is a lonely and painful one... Only the most dedicated can even hope to survive the trials."
Reima looks into his cat-like eyes and affirms his belief "I can be a Monster hunter Sir. Ill show you!" Geralts lack of response doesn't dissuade his determination.
"Alright, just know that if you lose your nerve you will be sent straight back. I won't tell you what happens if you wish to leave during the trials but know that you won't like it."
Geralts steers Roach around and starts heading to Kaer Morhen.
Reima talks to Geralt about innocuous things and trying to figure out where he is on the tiline.
"Sir have you ever received a surprise?"
"Not yet" The gruff voice replies. Ok so he hasn't t Ciri yet and the fact that Geralt is taking to Kaer Morhen ans that they haven't stopped the trials yet.
"Sir you haven't told your na yet... I'm Reima Ludvig nice too et you!"
"Geralt of Rivia."
"How long have you been a Monster hunter Mr-"
"Shh" Geralt pushes his gloved finger into Reima's face causing him to shut up, in the distance we can hear moving water. Reimas hearing isn't as good as Geralts but thinks it's most likely the low level creatures that populate almost every water source in the Witcher... Drowners.
"Be quiet and stay on Roach" he gets off and approaches where the water is.
Reima wants to go with but decides that as a 7 yearold he would probably be torn apart.
Geralt approaches the bushes overlooking the stream, he can hear splashing and growling. The sun is setting and dusk is approaching giving him perfect cover to observe the Drowners.
Two Drowners are on land devouring a horse and what should be it's rider, two is easy enough but there is bound to be more nearby.
Drawing the crossbow from his back and placing a Yrden trap sign in front of him, he shoots the closest one revealing himself and backs back into the bush.
The two screech and start sprinting at his last location one with a bolt poking from its chest.
The trap springs impaling one and slowing the other, Geralt does an overhead chop and decapitates the slowed one he starts spinning and cuts the impaled Drowner in two.
More splashing and screeching approaches from further down the stream revealing three more. Geralt block one clawed hand and counters cutting it from the shoulder while the two others try to leap onto him, he rolls away and casts Igni enveloping them in flas.
Guttural screaming and rolling the flesh lts from their bones and they perish, He turns to the final one ard Drowner as it backs away.
It starts to run towards the water, its stump spurting dark red fluids as Geralt reloads his crossbow and shoots it in the back of the head.
"Should be a nest nearby... Not my problem" He states as he collects the tongues and heads back to Roach.
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