Elsewhere :
A couple n stride into a well decorated room that is covered in finery, they lower their hoods so the single man present can see their faces before kneeling down and speaking, "Liege, we have news from the east."
The bearded man they are address is wearing silk clothing over what looks like chain mail, his bald head being adorned with a small crown. Anyone from Nilfgaard to the Northern kingdoms would recognise this person with only a glance, this was how prominent King Radovig V the Stern was. He frowns and takes his focus from the half finished chess board to his visitors. "Is that so? Tell , does it have sothing to do with that great black cloud that even Kovir could invariably see?" he asks with his hand on his chin.
One of the knelt n nod, "Yes... Would you allow ?" he asks anxiously, knowing that there have been spies killed for giving the information too quickly as Radovid loved to try figure it out before he was told.
...
Radovid gestures for him to continue after a mont, "The smoke was not from Kaedwen, instead it was from further into the mountains. The scouts that were sent spoke of a massive forest fire that was enveloping the region, though they do not expect it to continue for much longer as the weather wouldn't allow it."
Radovid closes his eyes and contemplates for a mont before replying, "What structures are in the mountains where the fire originated?"
The spies look at each other with confusion for a mont, the take out parchnts of paper and look through their notes and eventually find the information their King wanted. "N-nothing but a village that was recently destroyed by monsters of so sort and the ruins of an old keep that belonged to a group of Witchers."
...
Radovid "You wouldn't happen to know which group would you?" He inquires.
The spy answers dutifully, "The school of the Wolf if I'm not mistaken my liege."
Radovid nods as if the pieces had finally co together, he waves the spies away and pours himself a bottle of wine to contemplate his next move.
From his spies he knew the Witcher Geralt of Rivia was performing so kind of mission for Nilfgaard, though most information about him contradicted this as it wasn't uncommon for the man to kill Nilfgaardian's if the situation called for it. One of the prominent examples of this being when he butchered a troop of Nilfgaardian soldiers in an attempt to help his long ti friend Vernon Roche.
Radovid knew Geralt as a tough but sentintal man, he judged him to be quite simple with a stern code that differs from regular Witchers who'd kill monsters for coin, harmful or not. From his forr contact Whoreson Junior he had heard of the White Haired girl that'd displayed abilities most would say were impossible. Of course, this could only be one person, the lost child of Cintra Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon. Most who knew of her wrote her off as dead, especially after the Nilfgaardian war machine took her ho, however those in the know knew she was still out there... And those with ears in even the most remote places knew that she had been taken in by Geralt of Rivia.
Of course most of the information he knew about Cirilla ca from the Sorceresses of the Lodge he'd managed to capture, torturing for everything they did and did not know. Gaining valuable information about various obscure things in the process. The Elder Blood, sothing he had initially brushed off as raving from a tortured soul that wished for death. However the more he looked into it the more intrigued he beca.
After finding out about the Elder Blood, Cirilla's connection to Geralt and the location of the fires it wasn't all that hard to piece together what may have happened... Though so other reports he'd received only confird his suspicion. The movents of notable people that are close with the Witcher towards Kaedwen and the mountains after it.
Radovid "Wraiths hmm?" he mutters to himself, he wasn't a stupid man and knew rumours and stories must have originated from sowhere. Stories of the Wild Hunt, or Wraiths as Skellige referred to them go back hundreds, maybe even thousands of years around the lands. His spies told of a village covered in ice and frost with the stench of death lingering in the air that Geralt of Rivia happened to have visited.
Most would call him crazy for believing that they exist if they didn't already question his sanity, but it them he would question if they didn't have doubts. Magic, Monsters and Demons all exist within this world, why would it be strange for Wraith's to be real as well? Regardless of his rationalisations over their existence, if they do exist then they are trying to obtain Cirilla, possibly for the Elder Blood running through her veins.
He knew not of what they wanted with it but from this he could bet a large fortune that the Wraiths had attacked the keep owned by the Witchers while they and their allies tried to defend Ciri against them. That is the only rational explanation for the sudden inexplicable fires apart from maybe a dragon of supre power flying over the Dragon Mountains for a al and getting into a fight with the Witchers.
Either way he would need to keep an eye on the happening from now on, hopefully they had managed to fend off the Wraiths as he'd dread to think about what they could do with the Elder Blood, a prophecy from long ago strikes his thoughts but he shakes his head. If that were to co to fruition there would be nothing that he could possibly do.
He sighs to himself, he'd send a ssage to his newly appointed King of Kaedwen Mansfeld to keep an eye on the mountains and possibly send so Elite Witch Hunters to see if anything is wrong.
Radovid rubs his face and finishes his wine, "This war is mine to win, it is only the outside influences that could change this."
Reviews
All reviews (0)