14 Chapter 13: Natural History

Triss Merigold, a royal advisor to King Foltest, was seated at her desk in her room within the confines of the Vizima Royal castle. Having returned from a few days in the Mahakam cave, she had since moved her possessions from there to her tower in Maribor and resumed her duties to the king. When the king inquired about her situation, Triss kept her response brief, stating that she needed time to heal. Once recovered, she was released by the captive werewolf, who had kept his word to the king.

The king accepted Triss's explanation, understanding the severity of her wounds as he had seen in himself on the battlefield. However, one of her fellow advisors, Kiera Metz, a sorceress, was unconvinced. Though she didn't vocalize her doubts, she insinuated here and there that Triss wasn't being entirely truthful about what transpired in the cave. Kiera went as far as teasing Triss about the possibility of sleeping with the werewolf in their wolf form, as she was curious about the experience. Triss, of course, brushed off the insinuation and denied it altogether.

Other than that, nothing noteworthy happened. Triss attended council meetings with the king, listening to plans and schemes. As the capital city of Temeria descended into darkness, Triss peered out her window at the faintly shimmering stars.

This month has been full of strange and eventful experiences for her.

The trigger of the whole series of events can be attributed to the battle of Sodden Hill. Triss's decision to support the north instead of staying in her tower had a profound impact on her in multiple ways. Witnessing the deaths of many of her brothers and sisters, particularly the mages of the north who were relatively privileged and inexperienced in the horrors of war, left a lasting impression on her. She saw inexperienced sorcerers and sorceresses losing their lives, some of whom she considered sisters, having graduated from the same academy, Aretuza. These fellow mages turned into lumps of flesh, and their blood seeped into the ground of that hill, an image that Triss will be unable to shake off in the near future.

Furthermore, there is the matter of Triss's wounds. While the werewolves had covered them in bandages, she couldn't always use them and had to eventually get rid of them. Once she did, she grimaced at the damage that the war had inflicted on her body. Visible scars and healed burns were evident, and while she could heal them to some extent, it would take time. Triss, like any other sorceress, is self-conscious about her appearance, so for the time being, she will have to wear non-revealing dresses to conceal these healed wounds.

Lastly, there is the issue of the werewolf that had abducted her. Blaidd, the "higher" werewolf, is a curious creature. Firstly, he did not seem to be enchanted by Triss's beauty at all, which is an irritating trait that sorceresses despise but cannot get enough of. This trait prevented Triss from obtaining all the answers she needed from him. Though the witcher assisted her, there are still many more questions that she needs answering. How powerful is his sense of smell and sight? How potent is his regeneration? What do his other forms look like? Where did he come from? How can a creature be anti-magic? These are all questions that Triss desires answers to, and she will not rest until she finds them.

The sorceress was plagued by a torrent of unanswerable questions, each one adding to her mounting frustration. Yet, despite all the mental turmoil, the one thought that caused her the most distress was the fact that she couldn't seem to seduce him. For years, ever since the matter with Geralt and Yennefer, her sexual encounters had been lackluster, leaving her unfulfilled and yearning for something passionate. And to make matters worse, she had already witnessed what he's 'made' of, heightening her frustration even further.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she cast her gaze down to the table in front of her. There, a strange device was slowly taking shape under her skilled hands. Because of this, she would meet him again, one way or another.

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"Help! Help!" cried a man in distress, his voice piercing through the quiet road that Blaidd was traveling on, as he made his way towards Vizima. Blaidd immediately scanned the area to locate the source of the voice and spotted a man perched on top of a tree, desperately throwing books out of his bags. The man's attire suggested that he was a noble scholar, and the abundance of books he carried confirmed it. However, his wealth and status didn't seem to be of any use at the moment, as he was surrounded by a pack of wolves who barked relentlessly, waiting for him to slip up and become their next meal.

Blaidd couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and concern as he observed the situation. On one hand, it was a rare sight to see someone of the scholar's status in such a vulnerable position. On the other hand, it was a dangerous situation that required immediate action. Without much thought, Blaidd approached the pack of wolves, gradually closing the distance between them.

The pack of wolves noticed Blaidd's presence and initially continued to growl, their eyes fixated on him, waiting for any sign of weakness. However, Blaidd met their gaze with a narrowed gaze of his own, asserting his dominance over the pack. The wolves, sensing the danger, began to whimper and retreat from the area.

With the threat of the wolves now gone, Blaidd approached the scholar and helped him down from the tree.

The exhausted man breathed heavily as he bent over, placing his hands on his knees to steady himself. He looked up at the stranger who had just saved him and uttered, "Good gracious, thank you ever so much! I truly thought I was a goner. I'm at a loss as to how you managed to pull that off, but I'll be forever in your debt."

As the man caught his breath, Blaidd noticed that his books had been scattered all over the place. He immediately sprang into action, helping the man pick up his belongings. While he was doing so, his eyes fell upon one of the titles, which piqued his curiosity.

"Bestiary?" he asked, raising his eyebrows inquisitively.

The scholar, who had just regained his composure, straightened up and extended his hand to Blaidd, introducing himself, "Ah, terribly sorry. My name is Casimir Zygmunt, and I'm a professor of the Department of Natural History at Oxenfurt Academy."

Blaidd took the scholar's hand and shook it firmly, curious about the man's academic credentials. Though, he couldn't help but wonder how someone like him would find himself in such a precarious situation.

"How'd you get up there?" Blaidd asked again.

"Ah, long story. I was observing how a pack would—"

"You know what, never mind, I don't want to hear it." Blaidd sighed. "You traveled alone?"

"I've traveled with two of my colleagues but…" he murmured. "I seemed to have lost them."

"Lost?"

"Well I wandered around with myself at night because I was curious about the howling of the wolves in this forest." Casimir continued. "Next thing I knew, I was lost in the forest."

Blaidd sighed. "Are you an idiot?"

"Wha— Excuse you! I happen to be a professor at-"

"I know, I know, a professor of the Oxenfurt academy." Blaidd said, turning away from the man. "Anyway, not my problem, good luck in your journey."

"Hey! Wait!"

Blaidd turned his head to Casimir.

"I-I'll hire you." he said nervously. He looked at Blaidd top to bottom, his shabby clothes caught his attention, and he began to doubt. "You seem like a… somewhat capable man."

Blaidd raised his brow. "To do what?"

"Escort me. To Oxenfurt." Casimir proposed. "I shall remunerate you handsomely, I assure you."

"But you thought you had your colleagues around here? Shouldn't you try to find them?"

"Ah, those imbeciles are simply envious of my achievements." he scoffed. "In fact, I would think that they intentionally did this! They left me for dead and are long gone from here!"

"Oh really? Why don't I just rob you here?"

"Y-You helped me, now you want r-rob me?" Casamir stuttered. "I-I have none of my crowns on me at the moment. I-I only have these books, which I-I'm sure are quite useless to you."

Blaidd sighed. "You know, you should be careful if you're traveling, you're too trusting. Fine, how much do you want to pay me?"

"O-One thousand crowns. How about it?"

"One thousand?" Blaidd whistled. "You ARE rich. Alright, but you're just going to follow me and do as I say, we make a stop first at Vizima."

"What? No, I have to go back to–"

"Then find someone else."

"Alright, alright!"