The Divine Hunter

Chapter 171: Plan

Bodrog’s troops welcomed Ciri and her soldiers to the fortress. Ciri went into the carriage, but the fact that they had to leave Roy behind infuriated the girl. “Where are we going?” Ciri pulled the curtains back and scanned Bodrog’s clean but boring roads impatiently.

Coria put her hands together in a plea. “Your Highness, you must be tired from the journey. We shall retire for the day somewhere, and Verden’s ambassador will take you to Nastrog tomorrow to see your fiancé.”

Nastrog was located southwest of Verden and west of Bodrog. It was also one of the fortresses on the border of Verden and Cintra, but it also acted as Verden’s capital.

Verden’s king and his son lived in Nastrog.

“This is nonsense!” Ciri’s face scrunched up in displeasure. “I have to travel all the way to Nastrog tomorrow? No. I am exhausted, and I refuse to move! Tell Kistrin to come here if he wants to see me. I refuse to go!”

Cairo didn’t pull Ciri’s hand away. She said, “Pwincess. Dis is the queen’s orders. You must not mezz it ub.”

“This is injustice! Grandmother loves me! She couldn’t have… She couldn’t have…”

Ciri let go of Coria. The servant heaved a sigh of relief, but Ciri waved her fists angrily, and she snorted. “If you lie to me, I-I will cut your head off once we return to Cintra. And the heads of those fools outside too!”

Unbeknownst to him, Calanthe just didn’t want Cintra to share Nazair’s fate.

***

Roy came to a dingy inn in Bodrog’s town area. He went inside and knocked on the rickety counter. “One kirsch please.”

“Ah, terribly sorry, dear customer. But you are from out of town, are you not?”

Roy grunted.

“We do not serve any kirsch here. How does a black stout sound? It’s a local specialty.”

“No.” Roy shook his head. He never liked bitter beers, and he couldn’t appreciate the so-called taste of malt. He preferred fruit wines for their sweetness and low levels of alcohol. His fellow witchers laughed at him for that, but Roy didn’t care. “In that case, give me a cider and a grilled fish.”

“Of course. It will be served soon enough.” The sight of Roy’s deep gold eyes and beastly pupils struck fear into the waiter’s heart. He didn’t take a close look, but when he turned around, he muttered under his breath, “This guy looks dangerous. Never thought he’d order a girly wine. What a waste of that manly look.”

Unbeknownst to the waiter, Roy heard his mutterings even though he was being quiet enough already. But Roy only laughed it off. He didn’t care about anyone’s comments about him anymore.

After finding out where Ciri was staying, Roy explored the city of Bodrog. It wasn’t as bustling as Cintra, naturally. Most of the barges that came here only saw it as a transit station. The passengers would head for other cities the moment they disembarked. There were a lot of military fortresses all over the world, however, and even a place like Bodrog would be populated, though most of the population was made up of soldiers.

There weren’t many customers during this time of the day. Aside from Roy, there were only a few exhausted soldiers in it.

“So, did you see the new guys earlier?”

Two soldiers were whispering to each other, and Roy listened closely.

“Who is that big guy, anyway? Never knew the captain could bow so deeply to someone.”

“Are you stupid? That guy’s not the real guest here. The one who holds all the power is the girl in the center of their troop,” the soldier whispered as he looked around. He stared at a man in a cape for a long time to see if they were overheard, but then the man took a swig from his cup and started looking tipsy.

The soldier whispered something into his comrade’s ears, and his comrade’s eyes widened in surprise. “You have to be joking. W-We actually can have that honor?”

The soldier who leaked the news looked proud. “My wife’s brother is a clerk for the baron. He told me about that, so I guess that’s the truth. It won’t be a secret for long, however. It’ll be made public eventually.”

“On Lammas!” The soldier’s comrade’s eyes shone, and he ruffled his unkempt hair. “It’s nearing Lammas now. I bet they’ll make the announcement on that day.”

“Of course. What do the bards usually say? A congratulations, it’s a celebration? Oh, and you had better keep that pipe of yours shut. If you tell anyone about this, you’ll be finished.”

***

According to the lore, Ciri would make her escape when she was on her way to the engagement. She eventually stumbled upon a dryad’s lair by mistake, but thanks to her immense luck, she ran around randomly and was rescued in the end.

Geralt dispelled Duny’s curse and used the Law of Surprise when he stipulated his reward. That reward would be none other than Ciri, who wasn’t born then. Ciri was Geralt’s Unexpected Child.

***

“Do you require more wine, sir?”

“I have a question. What lies at the east of Bodrog?”

The waiter froze. “Th-The east, sir?”

“Yes.”

“A barren land.”

“And what’s further east of that?”

“You cannot go further than that, sir! That is a forbidden land! We are not allowed to enter it! I-I have heard of lost travelers never coming out of that place after they go inside.” The waiter was starting to get agitated, but then a look of horror crawled onto his face. “A few veteran hunters have talked about hearing the sounds of creatures in that place. They say it devours human flesh! You can’t be thinking about going to that place, can you?” The waiter put some distance between him and the witcher.

Roy tossed a crown to him. “I’m not here to hear your stories. What lies further east?”

“I-If you walk five miles east, you will come across an ancient forest called Brokilon. At least that’s what the old hunters call it.”

***

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