An eerie silence fell on them. Auckes' eyes went wide with envy, while Priscilla pouted. She had a look of disgust on her face. Roy felt sorry for Dandelion, but only for a mont. He showed his true colors right in front of Priscilla. Can he even date her in the end?
"I knew it. Dandelion, you're a master of the art of love. You're a casanova." Auckes wiggled his eyebrows at Dandelion.
"Um…" Oh, they're a little calr now. He heaved a sigh of relief. The bard argued, "Chasing after inspiration is a poet's instinct, and inspiration cos from all things nice, including humans. I am just doing this for art."
"Alright, I don't care about your reason. Just tell where your lovers live, Dandelion."
"I have a condition." The bard pressed on despite the great pressure the witchers were giving off. "I need you to promise you won't interrogate them with any illegal ans."
Geralt was his friend. Of course he knew how witchers could extract information from the people they wanted. "I've only spent a single night with so of them, but I don't want them to suffer because of ."
"Well, at least you're not total scum," Priscilla mocked. The witchers agreed to the terms.
"Fine. You ask them out." Roy looked around and whispered, "Then we'll infiltrate their place to look for the map."
Dandelion thought about it, and he nodded. Two of his lovers were working at The Golden Sturgeon and The Kingfisher Inn respectively, one was married to an aristocrat, one was a tailor, one was a middle-aged madam, and one was an Eternal Fire cultist. He had a broad taste in won. Humans, part-elves, teenagers, and even married won.
Roy stared at the bard for the longest ti. It made Dandelion uncomfortable. Wow, he has a lot of lovers. Even more than Geralt the Stud himself. Honestly, this guy might actually be the protagonist of this world.
Roy asked himself if he could do what Dandelion did, and he shook his head. Not everyone could fall in love with everyone they ca across, nor could they handle a bunch of won at the sa ti.
"You gotta take care, Dandelion. Or you're gonna exhaust yourself at this rate." Auckes patted the bard's shoulder. He was concerned.
Dandelion, however, wasn't embarrassed. In fact, he was proud. "Don't worry about , witcher. There are always n who have greater needs and skills out there. They enjoy being wanted by won, and I'm one of them."
"Bragging about your natural abilities in front of witchers. You're a brave one."
"Oh no. Compared to you, I'm not impressive. I haven't passed the trial, and my mber's still in the range of an ordinary person," he said humbly. The bard then asked, "So that's the plan then? When are we gonna execute it? And if I may say sothing, setting up a date that's attractive enough for the ladies does take a lot of coins, so can you sponsor ?"
The witchers' jaws dropped. They had a feeling they just got scamd. Priscilla covered her mouth and chuckled.
"I'm curious. What did you guys and the butler talk about?" Dandelion didn't think the top leadership of a gang had anything in common with the witchers.
"He wanted our help with a request, but we refused."
***
They left the inn. Two hours later, the little team was moving down the streets, with the witchers standing on both sides of Dandelion like they were his bodyguards. The bard strutted down the street and winked at a young lady whose braids extended down to her hips. The girl covered her blushing face and ran away.
Roy stared at the ground. He was imrsed in his thoughts.
A beautiful lady with golden hair and blue eyes was following them. She was staring at the witchers, jotting sothing down on her parchnt with her quill.
'The Hunting Vipers
Hair as black as a raven's wings, as lustrous as the night sky.
Eyes as golden as a slumbering lightning.
'Twas a man who looked as steely and ice cold as the pendant he wears. Sharp enough was the look in his eyes, it could almost kill…"
***
"A reminder, Dandelion. Just because we're guarding you doesn't an you can do anything you want. Dial it back a little."
The witchers searched the rooms of the waitresses and the madam for over two hours, but alas, the map wasn't in their rooms.
Dandelion distracted the ladies by taking them to another room and spending the witchers' money on a al and entertainnt. He was done with them within ten minutes every ti. The bard had to spend precious minutes asking them about the map, so he spent really little ti on the… real action. It was a far cry from the skills he bragged about.
Honestly, how'd he hook up with the duchess of Toussaint? With his oratorical skills?
"Calm down." The bard laughed dryly. "I think we're closing in on the target."
They ca to the pink house a while later. The witchers hid in the alley and watched in disbelief as an angry elf in full drag yelled profanities at Dandelion from his balcony. For ten minutes. And he didn't use the sa profanity twice.
Eventually, he cald down and took Dandelion away. The bard looked a little out of it though.
The witchers infiltrated the house, but instead of finding a map, they found a whole room of the latest fashion. Lawyer outfits, princess gowns, aristocrats' outfits… you na it. They had all kinds of uniforms here, and all of them were fashion for won.
"I had no idea he was such a… broad-minded person." Priscilla looked a little shocked.
"Man, are all artists this decadent?" Roy had to say that Dandelion had great taste in won. The waitresses and the madam were plump and hot, but his taste for n was… It's weird in this era, really.
"Hey, what are you doing with that skirt, Auckes? Where'd you hide it?" Serrit shouted. It seed like he found sothing interesting.
"Shut up! Be quiet!" Auckes covered his brother's mouth quickly. He noticed the look Priscilla and Roy were giving him. He smiled sheepishly and tossed the skirt onto the ground. "I just think the skirt's out of place, so I'm helping him out. Trust . Hey, don't give that look. I'm not that kind of person!"
Roy picked the skirt up and smirked. "I'll keep this for you, Auckes. You might need it eventually." Like when you're drunk, Roy added silently.
The date went on for a while this ti. Ariel the tailor was the one who ca back first. He looked glistening and glimring, like he just had a revitalizing bath.
Dandelion ca back a while after him. Unlike Ariel, he looked pale and weak, like he was diseased, and he was sweating too.
"Do you have to take a rest, Dandelion?"
"No!" Obstinance shone in the bard's eyes, and he held the witcher's shoulder with trembling hands. The bard did nothing but make up praises for Ariel as hard as he could. Praising soone took skill, especially when it would go on for a while. "I will not let you down. We will find the map today."
The witchers nodded. They gave the bard a smidgen of acknowledgent.
Their next target was the Eternal Fire cultist. Her house was in northern Novigrad. More precisely, a civilian housing area near the bridge leading to the island. The group ran into a little problem in an alleyway.
Eight n in black outfits and leather caps approached the group, but they maintained a little distance. The n spread out in a single line, blocking the alleyway. They were holding so sort of ring-shaped object that looked like ropes. The witchers looked around and rolled their shoulders. They could feel a hint of animosity and cautiousness from the n.
Dandelion whispered, "Calm down, witchers. They're guards of the temple." He said with uncertainty, "They're probably going to search you, since you do look different."
The temple guards. Protectors of the Eternal Fire, huh? Roy scanned the weapons these guys were holding. They were no ordinary whips. Instead, these weapons were Lamias.
"Chappelle…"
The man called Chappelle stopped in his tracks and looked at the group closely. Roy realized that his unusually icy eyes were reflecting the color of tal, and his forehead was drenched in sweat. His cheeks were covered in red spots as well.
"The talented Dandelion, and Priscilla." He looked at the witchers' pendants and said loudly, "And witchers of the Viper School. Are you traveling to the island of the temple? Going to pray to the Eternal Fire?"
"That's not actually it." Dandelion wiped his sweat away. "I'm just going to see a friend of mine."
Chappelle nodded at the witchers, but they didn't answer.
"They're bodyguards I hired," he lied. The bard said, "You know how so people in Novigrad envy my looks. They accuse of seducing their wives and daughters. I hired these witchers for my safety. So insane n might send an assassin after , after all."
"Is that so?"
The witchers nodded quietly.
"I can prove it, Chappelle," Priscilla said gently. "The witchers are indeed hired by Dandelion."
"Very well." Chappelle looked at the witchers suspiciously. "You may travel around in Novigrad freely, but I have advice for the witchers. I know so cities have a monster problem because of the lack of the Eternal Fire there, but none of those filth exist in Novigrad. Use your weapons and Signs carefully, witchers. Do not point them at the people and the believers. They're all kind souls."
"Of course." Roy nodded. Yeah, the gang mbers aren't exactly kind.
"Witchers are no murderers. You do not have to worry."
"But most importantly…" Chappelle emphaasized, "I heard you witchers hold no beliefs. I respect that, but I hope you'll respect the Eternal Fire as well. Do not blasphe it. Anyone who blasphes the Eternal Fire will be burned at the stake, and I will personally see to it. Their wealth will be confiscated as well. That's all I have to say. And rember this… The Eternal Fire watches all life." Chappelle drew a circle in front of his chest. He stared at the group for a while and turned around. As he left the alleyway, so did the ard soldiers. They followed him in a single file and left.
Dandelion saw them off and heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh gosh."
Priscilla was obviously relieved as well.
"Who was that guy? You look terrified of him. And how'd he know us?"
"That's the Chancellor of Security. Novigrad's intelligence agency is a derivative of the church. He's no priest, but he's the highest ranking official. The guy wields the most power in this city, and he's also the most dangerous man around. All the citizens… No, even the city council and guilds are terrified of him. There's a lot of dark incidents surrounding him. Disappearances, torture, assassinations, threats, extortions, and even petty theft, you na it. He's behind all of these cris. You're lucky he let you guys go so easily, witchers."
"He's right, witchers. If you ever run into Chappelle, turn back. And you're involved with a gang now too. Don't let him catch you." Priscilla looked wary as well. "Or he'll make sure your stay in Novigrad becos a permanent one."
The witchers nodded. They took the advice to heart.
***
About fifteen minutes later, Dandelion t that cultist. She was a cut, sheepish young lady with freckles on her face. Surprisingly, the lady handed the map over before the witchers could search her room.
The witchers got what they wanted, but the map wasn't a detailed one. It was just a simple sketch of Kaedwen borders. More specifically, an area at the base of the mountain. There were no specifics of Kaer Morhen's location. The Wolf School didn't give them all the details. They would send soone to welco them at the rendezvous point during Yule.
***
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