"Well, that just happened." Derrick said dumbly as Vyle took off in bat form and flew into the distance. He lost his patience with the rest of them and flew off, somehow finding his way through the sewers. He was pretty certain that it was dumb luck. As for the rest of them, they had the Doppler's help getting out and he was soon able to follow the trail of Drowner pheromones. He was impressed with the Vampire's abilities to isolate and track scents. He soon concluded that if it ever came down to it, in a battle, he would likely be found wanting. The only advantage that he did have was his skill with Axii. Running through the encounter hypothetically, it was going to be a hard one. Luckily, it probably wouldn't come to that. He was owed a favour. He wasn't sure how to cash in on that yet, but he'd figure it out later. For now... He shrugged to himself. Where the devil did he go? Did it matter? Not really. He probably found what he was looking for. "Well, that about resolves that then. Run along my Doppler friend. Run as fast as you can." He spoke, knowing how Veera would probably interpret it. And it was intended that way. The Doppler wasn't to know, as far as he knew it would be Vyle he had to run from. The vampire was only the second most dangerous thing to him here. The first was Derrick's old friend.
Derrick stepped gracefully to the side as Veera passed him, thereby stopping any attempt at vengeful shoving that she might attempt in her palpable rage. He was cautious in following her. There was no telling what was beyond the threshold and he didn't fancy being caught up in anything that struck her. He had to admit to himself, he felt mistrustful of her. His faith in his fellow Witcher was shaken by her new attitude and her hostility. What was it that had made her so unfriendly? He had hoped that she would choose to confide in him, but it seemed that she would not. He was disappointed. Nevertheless, he followed and did as he was contracted to do. He needed to do something to earn real money soon.
"And here I thought we were friends Veera. Take that frown off, it's a waste of a pretty face." Derrick commented as she disengaged rapidly and walked away, trying to disarm her attitude with a lighthearted comment. He sighed. Apparently things were bad. Unintentionally, she had told him a lot of what he needed to know. Yes, something had happened and Aaron was most certainly involved. She didn't believe that 'he made his own choice' thing truly. He was young, she was more experienced and he was certain that she had her ways if she ever chose to use them. She could have played on his protectiveness of Tatiana. It wouldn't be hard. The Witcher strolled over to the false panel and reopened it, then pulled the lever. The floor slid out, and there it was, a passageway. "Just as expected." He turned around and walked to the steps that led down into the passage, then looked at everyone else. "Alright then. If you've stopped being broody Veera and Vyle has finished attempting to terrify the local population with that face he's putting on, we can get going." He gestured at the passage. With the tension in the room so high, he decided to try and defuse it with some humour. "So who's going first? I'll do it if there aren't any takers." Somehow, he didn't think that there would be anybody up for it in particular. Well, Veera wasn't going to do at least. Vyle seemed a little... Inconsistent at the moment.
"Yes, that we do." He agreed with a sagely nod. "We have nothing to fear from that one. Nor do most. He is somewhat of an irregularity amongst vampires. We won't be needing our Silver. Not for him." Vyle was no Katakan or Ekkimara, so consumed by their thirst for blood that they were feral, nor was he in accordance with the rest of his kind. Meeting any other vampire on the road, Higher or otherwise, would have led to bloodshed. Higher Vampires were powerful creatures. Even the most skilled of Witchers had cause to fear them for their incredible powers. Derrick followed him. After all, that's what he had roped himself into now. He noticed that he couldn't actually see Tatiana around. He frowned, but thought little of it. With Veceslav nearby, it was unlikely that anything would have happened to her. The Crow was if anything, a protector. His name had seldom came through his head when he heard it uttered in a low, panic stricken voice behind him. He looked around. Veera had seized up. His suspicions only heightened. If she had done nothing wrong then there was nothing for her to hide from him. She could be paranoid, or perhaps there was something hidden, lurking that she had not mentioned... He should have pressed Aaron. Shaking his head in annoyance, he grabbed Veera and pulled her inside. "Yes, I'll open the passage. One moment." Derrick turned his intense amber eyes upon Veera, speaking quietly though urgently. "If you freeze up at the very sight of him you'll give whatever it is away. You're lucky I heard you. I have an awful suspicion that you've got Aaron mixed up in something. You should tell me at least what you've got yourself into. What you do to yourself is your business, but now you've got him mixed up it's no different. I've no desire to have two friends dead, one barely a man."
DM Message: Alright folks, time to get this show on the road! A carriage ride later, and then hiking on foot after stopping in a nearby village later, we at last arrive at the area that Kellan described is located... Fogwarden Dale Instructions: “At last, we’ve arrived.” Kellan said, stretching his arms out and groaning with satisfaction. It had taken them some time to hike it up to the Hinterlands and longer still to reach this area. Now, at last, he knew that they would be able to find the Keep. Fogwarden Dale was thickly wooded with huge swathes of pine trees growing as far as the eye could see, which was admittedly not very far given the abundance of trees. Bushes and grass grew all around and faintly beneath the layers of grass, short stones could be seen protruding. Kellan walked over to one of them and addressed the group. “This here, is an old road. We’ll need to follow these old roads to get to Fogwarden Keep. The problem is, I don’t actually know which direction it’s in exactly. However, the old road seems to be going North-East so, it’ll be that way.” Kellan set off along the road until they reached a fork in the road. There was a stone sign post, one side pointing to the right fork and the left side detached along with a pile of stones which may have been pieces of wall and of the post as well, as it looked well worn. “We ought to choose a direction. Splitting up at the moment seems like a bad call.” Aston suggested and their companion nodded. DM Message: Everyone, pick left or right. You can search around for clues if you wish. The sign on the right hand side has ‘M’ inscribed on it. "I thought the waiting would never end." Aedan muttered to himself as they were roused by Sanderson in the morning. He hadn't felt overly social the previous night, and everyone seemed absorbed by themselves. There was no place for him, the stranger in that crowd. At least, for the moment. Now however, they were on the move again. He quickly changed himself into his normal attire and went down to eat. He could smell the bacon, and he relished the smell. Truly, well cooked meat was beautiful.
And so the Witcher followed the tracks, and then the vampire. It seemed that all semblance of sanity was quickly disappearing from him. They split off, but on his route things came to naught. The main track led on to the main road. In the confusion of the well trodden main path, there could be no hope of finding anyone. For lack of anything better to do, Derrick backtracked. Perhaps he could catch up with the person he was ultimately doing all of this for. "A Witcher, helping a vampire..." He muttered to himself. "Who'd ever believe such a thing?" He soon reached the fork again, but there was no need to search. Vyle was there too, arriving at the same time and with him an all too familiar face. He blinked in surprise. "Veera? Of all the places, an alleyway with a Higher Vampire that we aren't actually trying to kill." He said lightly. She looked tense. She was radiating it. It seemed that she could scarcely meet his eyes, but he could not for sure say why. Perhaps she was embarrassed for her earlier outburst, but that seemed wrong. She wasn't like that. It must be something else, but that was a matter for another time. "Well, we are Witchers. We're capable of navigating the sewers." At least he was going to get a big favour after this. Now that Veera was involved, he couldn't help but wonder - How deep did the rabbit hole go? The idea of reporting this incident to Archon and offering his services in tracking down the people responsible came to mind again. "I assume you found something other than Veera on your route?" He inquired along the way, raising an eyebrow.
"I see." He said in a clipped voice. "If having Conrad helps you deal with me, so be it. Now tell me, what's going on? Is it because you have a problem with me being your father?" He wanted to try and hear it from her first, before he launched into a series of grand assumptions that, while probably correct, would only serve to show off himself and not particularly advance the conversation they were having. He was going to resolve this, one way or another. He had given his word as a Dorian to this girl. Even though it was an ill-considered moment of sympathy, he would do his best to uphold that vow. She needed guiding. And he liked her, he had to admit that to himself.
"If I choose to do so, I suppose I could allow that." She said, not looking at Aster, but rather at where she was flying. She hit the power to 'sprint' the remaining distance out of the area of the tower and into safety. The g-force pushed her back into the seat, such was the speed of the craft when she put it's full force to work. Soon enough, it was over and the sounds of the machine dwindled to a quieter, lower pitched whine as she released the acceleration and instead, cruised towards their current HQ. It was lucky they didn't have any air forces to speak of, and that she had taken the path through the forest. From there, it'd be hard to track them. Finally, she glanced at the man sharing the cockpit with her, much to her annoyance. "What's your problem with her exactly? Most siblings don't want to see the other suffer beyond harmless pranks." She was quickly coming to the conclusion that Aster had serious problems with women. He couldn't handle them, or wished that he could have more from them? Perhaps he was spurned hard once? It seemed irrational. That being said, since when was Aster known for being rational? Kalak entered the tower, deducing the location of the others by the trail of destruction. Scorched walls, holes tore into the ceiling and the walls. He whistled. It must have been chaos itself in here, whatever happened. He followed the tower up, supposing that they would be in the control room of the tower. It seemed to be the best place to stop. When he arrived there, he gave the room an examination. Someone was conspicuous by her absence in the corners of the shadowy places in the room, or snuggling up to his uncle. "I see Rose is missing, and the Shards have escaped. I suppose we have a tower now though." He observed dryly. Judging by the conversation, they could have taken a shot. "Throda is right. Now Carissa has escaped mother's vengeance once more. It would have been crippling. No matter. We'll fight them on another front. Perhaps this is the start of us being able to turn the war around. Being outdone by humanity like this is frankly embarrassing."
Derrick nodded to Aaron's suggestions. He hadn't considered that line of thought. He raised a good point. It was impossible to tell who exactly had cast the spell, so he was open to either possibility. The only real option was to find one of them and then establish a chain of events from there. Otherwise, they could stand here and take shots in the dark as to what happened forever and get basically nowhere. "Good point, I hadn't considered that. My assumption was that the one who was free to cast the spell was able to get away. Perhaps it could have been a distraction for the other though." The Witcher put his hand on his chin and approached the false panel. He yanked the bolt out. "There's something behind here..." He pushed the false panel to the side, revealing a lever. He clicked his fingers. "Just as expected. Now then, let's se-" Before he could get any further, the Higher Vampire burst in. He sighed and fixed his eyes on the Vampire's. "Make your mind up. We can't afford to waste time. We'll had a hard time catching them in the streets of Oxenfurt, but we'd have had more time if you had decided this earlier." Nevertheless, he followed the Vampire out. Before he did, he looked Aaron. "Your sister should be outside. You might want to take care of her. Follow us if you want. After all, it's your sister." With that, he followed the tracks that he could see on the ground with the inhuman speed of a Witcher, following the tracks that were laid out before him. It was already getting difficult to follow everything, and it was only going to get harder the more they went into the main thoroughfares of the city.
Derrick began examining the room as everyone went outside. He breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he was on his own and able to do his job in relative peace. Also, Tatiana had been removed as something to worry about, at least at the moment. Derrick examined the room more carefully. By the looks of things, the secret passageway was a wooden trapdoor in the floor. If he had to guess, based on the positioning, it probably led down a staircase of some kind. He couldn't see any obvious way of opening it. To double check his hypothesis, the Witcher got on his knees and knocked on the wood. He nodded to himself at the sound that he heard. It sounded hollow below. That meant he was on the right track. "Part one of the puzzle..." He stood up and looked around more, his eyes now flicking across the walls. The mechanism was probably close to the door. His keen eyes examined every panel of the wall for some sort of hint. Whatever that magical explosion was, it was doing him a favour. Having thrown soot and all kinds of dirt around, it made it easy to see where people had brushed past, or been standing and blocking its path. One panel in particular seemed suspect. There were two hand marks and the ash had been scraped off it unevenly as it if had been dragged across. He tapped one wall. "Place is solidly built. That means..." He knocked on what he believed to be the secret panel and knocked. "And part two. Gotcha!" He said with a smirk. His ears picked up something and he looked around, only to see Aaron standing there, much to his surprise. Derrick took a crossbow bolt and shoved it into the secret panel as a reminder of where it was and looked at the boy. Well, relatively speaking a boy. "So Veera brought you here too. If you're here, Veceslav is or he's already on his way. Olivia should be here soon. That makes the entire Kaer here in Oxenfurt. So much for not following him." He chuckled, but then his face became serious. Since he asked... "Not at all. Looks like illegal mage trafficking. If he wasn't such a racist ******* with a vendetta against Witchers, I'd be tempted to report it to the King's men, or the man himself. He'd probably pay well to have them uprooted, whoever did it." Derrick explained. "And as for what happened... Looks like one of their captives got out of hand. They've got Dimeritium shackles. They probably let the mage out for a moment and boom. At least one casualty I think. There's a body mark in the soot over there and one of the trails seems to favour a side, as if he's holding something over his shoulder. Probably the body. And I think in the confusion, one escaped. Somewhere in the city there's a mage running for his life with two angry people behind him. Or her. Could be the one who set off the explosion. That would make the most sense to me. Fire and run off in the chaos, but they definitely got at least one. Two of the cells are occupied and there's only one track that looks like it could be a fleeing mage." He realised that he had explained the situation rather quickly and it was probably a little much for him all to take in. "That enough detail for you?" He said with his trademark grin. "Thank ye. I'll look forward to seein' me Matilda back then Miss." Dave said with an understanding nod. He noticed the If. That meant that she was really considering the idea that she may not come back at all. At least she had said that much. He then went back to farming. In a whole other corner of the field. As far as he was concerned it was entirely Gordon's problem now. He was going to have to do the work that the boy was getting out of today. It's not that he wasn't worried, quite the opposite, but the farmer knew that sometimes it was best to let people deal with a problem and just move on. If he worried too much then he'd never get any of this damn work done. Meanwhile, Gordon followed Ellyn like a lost poppy across the field. He was meant to follow her and follow her he would. "I don' think I'll be in danger with you around. You could fight anything with all that." The farm boy said with a hint of admiration in his voice. He couldn't help but be in awe of the lady that had come over to help save his sister out of what seemed to be the kindness of her heart. She had all that armour, and she had weapons and now he saw her horse. It was huge. He hadn't seen a horse like that before. And he was going to ride it. He would have been more excited, if it didn't narrow its eyes at him. "A-Are you sure it doesn't mind?" He said nervously as he took Ellyn's hand and was lifted on to the horse. He seated himself behind her and immediately felt quite unsteady. He instinctively leaned forwards and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "S-S-Sorry. I-I think I'll fall off." He looked down worriedly and clutched her tighter. "Wh-What should I do?"
"A favour. I can settle for that. We'll call tha-" Derrick stood up, accidentally pushing the table they were sitting at a bit in his haste. A sound like that was hardly normal, and Vyle clearly agreed. The Vampire was out of there in a flash and the Witcher could only follow. "Tatiana, with me! And bring the horse!" He knew that involving her was a bad idea, but he had no idea what else to do with her. He had to keep her close just in case trouble caught up with her. Speaking of catching up, by following his Senses he was able to track Vyle down. He had got used to his scent and was able to trace it through the streets. He caught up with him eventually, and when he entered the building he immediately entered business mode. Before the Vampire asked, he was already examining. Clear signs of some sort of fire magic. He nodded to Vyle and set about examining the building. "Cages... People were kept here. Shackles for the ankles." Derrick grimaced. "Dimeritium. Someone was keeping sorcerers here... Looks like two." That puzzled, and concerned him. This was definitely an illegal activity. This wasn't business of the sort that Archon would get involved with. That meant that it was something underground. Very, very illegal. "Trafficking mages? Risky business." The Witcher commented. He examined the various prints on the floor. It was confused in places, but there seemed to be two distinct sets of tracks. One seemed to be a larger group. There was a spot on the ground in the soot where a body probably lay, and then one of the tracks seemed to favour one side. That suggested to him that one man was carrying a body. Beyond that, it was hard to say how many. Four perhaps. The other set was all broken up into a run. From what he could tell, there was at least three and they headed outside, as opposed to the others who headed to a wall. That screamed secret passage. "Okay... Vyle we have a choice. There's a secret passageway here. I'm not sure how it opens yet, but it looks like a large group went through. Three of them headed outside. Now, of the tw-" He heard shouting coming from outside and he became alert. Panicked. Calling a name. "Make that three. Someone is outside. They're panicked about something. I can hear them talking frantically." Derrick added. He looked at the Higher Vampire. "Choose quickly. We're already behind."
"The medallion was vibrating... That means that woman was a sorceress and used some sort of magic... Or maybe you're right about him being a Doppler. To be fair, there are a few Witchers around that I don't know." Derrick mused. He folded his arms and leaned back with one leg slung over the other as he thought on it. However, it seemed that Vyle was feeling a fair amount of guilt about it. "There's nothing you could have done. However... I can track them for you. My senses and training will be useful. I hate to ask this of you, but Witchers don't work for free. If I help you with this... Then I'll need something." It seemed hardly fair to charge Tatiana for his services, and not Vyle. However, it'd be at a much lower rate because it would be a much, much smaller job.
"I see..." He was positive that it couldn't have been Aaron. Even with Veera putting him up to something, he still wasn't that sort of person. The only person that he could think of was Veceslav, but that still seemed wrong somehow. Of course, they weren't the only Witchers in the world. That meant that it was someone not from around here. That meant different standards - Someone not beholden to Veceslav. Truly, they weren't. But they had respect for the old man, and so they'd listen to him. After all, he was their teacher. "Derrick of Kaedwen, but just call me Derrick. It's a pleasure to meet you Vyle." Derrick gave the man a smile. He had not expected to be exchanging pleasantries with a Higher Vampire, let alone helping one find his friend. Life was strange. "We'll head inside. Lead the way. I assume you don't mind the young lady accompanying us? She's not a danger to you." He reassured. "Ye want work here? Err, Ah dunno. Go find Dave if yer tha' desperate. An' Ah I suppose ye could try Boenn. He might have a thing or two for ya. Especially if the Endregas are gettin' oot o' hand. Ye seem handy with that blade o' yours." Wilfred shrugged. He wasn't really familiar with the ins and outs of the farming world. He just made the stuff when they asked him for it and they paid him. What he knew was his blacksmithing work and he didn't need an assistant. At least, not one with no idea what he was doing. He had a feeling that the kid had no idea how to actually smith anything so trying to get him on board was an entirely pointless exercise. So, he'd send him off to the farmers or Boenn. That would suit him best.
He was getting towards where he was informed that Veera was hiding out. He started to wonder something. There was news of Veera, but nothing of Olivia? And why would Veera be here, in Oxenfurt? He was positive that she had made her way to Novigrad. That to him seemed the most logical place for her to go. But no, it seemed that there was something entirely different going on. The Witcher felt inexorably pulled into what was going on. Legends often spoke of the great power that Destiny possessed and how it influenced everyone's lives. Nothing was more famous than the ballad of the White Wolf and his Child-Surprise. Whether it was fact or fiction, he was never sure. His musings on destiny were interrupted suddenly when he sensed a presence rushing towards him from an alleyway. "Tatiana behind me!" Derrick ordered sharply, stepping swiftly in front of the girl and drawing his sword. He had drawn it halfway when he saw the figure from the road, and stopped. "You? Never mind, he means us no harm. At least, I think." The impeccable face now wore a look of concern. Luckily, the man was quick with his explanations and the Witcher lowered his hand from the hilt of his blade, allowing it to slide back into the sheath. "Taken by a Witcher?" Derrick asked as possibilities rushed through his head. He couldn't think of anyone that it could have been. A Witcher and a woman. "Are you sure that the woman wasn't a Witcher as well? It doesn't sound like Olivia, nor does it sound like Aaron. But if the woman was a Witcher too..." It couldn't have been Veceslav, could it? If it was Veera then she could have roped Aaron into it. It definitely wasn't the Crow's style, of that he was certain. "What did he look like? And the woman too?" "****, Archon? Did Ah mention him? Musta got meself confused. Unless yer some sort o' Sorcerer, ye dinnae want ta have anythin' ta do with King Archon." The Dwarf spoke, correcting his earlier mistake. "Ye've a chance o' finding oot what's goin' on with yer sword there though. Head on o'er ta Novigrad. That's where ye'll find him." When the man had dragged in the Endrega, he directed him to the table and had him place the creature on there. He'd get Boenn to take a look at it later and carve it up. He was unsure whether to have it hanging on the wall or to try and make something out of the chitin with a bit of metal.
"I see. I'll look around that area. Thanks." Derrick stated, having finished his conversation with the bartender. The Witcher looked at Tatiana and nodded. "I've got what I was looking for. It sounds like Veera has been here and is hiding away in a house in the town. Looks like we'd best try and find it. You can rest there for sure." With that, Derrick led Tatiana out of the tavern. He untied the horse and led it behind him as he wandered the town. That hideout was around here somewhere right? Probably? Yeah. Somewhere over here. Apparently Gordon was not content with just running off, but the lady he ran off to talk to started involving him in the whole business. He was about to make a comment about how she was doing a sterling job of getting in the way of normal life, when he realised that she was actually trying to be polite and helpful. If a little insistent to the point of being a bit overbearing. But, who was he to argue with someone in armour like that? "I suppose... If it'll help find me daughter... But you bring me boy back in one piece lady. Even if- Even if ye can't find Matilda. Just make sure that Gordon at least is okay." Dave stated. He looked at his son. "You be careful out there lad. And whatever you do, come back safe. Bring your sister back if you can." The younger farmer nodded. "I'll come back da'. Don't you worry." Gordon said firmly. He looked up at Ellyn. "So err... What do I do now?" He felt proud of himself. He was doing something to help the family. He would bring his sister back. Him and Ellyn. They'd be able to do it. "So, Adolin, now that we've handed over a sorceress to a Doppler with hitherto unknown intentions, what are we going to do?" She put her hands on her hips and looked at him pointedly. Her partner shrugged and she rolled her eyes. "So we're waiting for this guy to pay us? That is what you're saying. That we're going to sit here looking pretty?" "There's not much we can do. I'd go about looking for supplies to enact the wider plan, but as you've noticed it's nighttime. We're not going to find any resources at this time. Not legally anyway. I don't want to attract too much unwanted attention- Yet." He said. There was a time and place for attention, but that was not quite yet. However, a time would come when he would want every Witcher's eye to be on him. "Waiting it is then." Alanna stated. And so they waited.
As soon as everyone was aboard, the Huntress wasted no time in getting moving. However, as always, there was a large armoured distraction in the form of Aster of the Obnoxious Surname. "Thirty six. And I got your sister." She smirked at him. "Take the time during the retreat to come to terms with your defeat because there's no way that you topped that. And don't lay a hand on her. She's mine to do as I wish with. Consider that your first order." She ran into the cockpit of the shuttle and her hands flicked over the controls. Spinning the control device up, the craft ascended. Now, to pick a route. She would have liked to use the tower for cover, but even as she started to angle the ship she saw the gun sweeping around towards them. "****, they're on the gun. We're taking the rough way out of here! Strap in tight!" Carissa shouted to the people in the hold behind her. Without further ado, she pushed the ship forwards at maximum speed towards the forest. She had no doubt that the gun would be firing soon, so she had to do her best to make it difficult. Luckily, what she had over the Order was the knowledge of the rate of fire and the rough spread of fire of the weapon. She could dodge it in the open air, but heading through the nearby forested area would only make it safer, if a little more uncomfortable. She kept the craft low, relying on instinct along with brief flashes of terrain to make stomach-churning turns, knocking over the occasional tree in their flight. Eventually, she would stop dodging and focus on pure speed. Once they were out of range, it would be all over... Kalak watched the shuttle fly away with mixed feelings. There was disappointment - He knew that his mother's killer had once again escaped death. However, he knew that this would not be their only chance for revenge. The Huntress could only run for so long before they caught up to them. The gun was turning towards the Shards' escape craft, but he knew that it would be far, far too late for that now. He had no doubt that Carissa had a plan for escape, most likely one set up by her infernal cousin. What surprised Kalak was that the tower had not yet self-destructed. It would be an obvious way to deny them the territory here, so why would Jaden simply allow them to take it? Not that the others would have thought of that. For now, Kalak enjoyed the victory. For once, they had achieved exactly what they had set out to do and as far as he was aware, without any significant losses...
Vance was now ignoring whatever the strange people here were saying or doing. He saw out of the corner of his eye Thea heading over to the side with Conrad. He looked directly over there with a sad expression. It seemed that the other man was usurping his role. Thea was upset, and it wasn't him that she came to. He knew that he had made a mistake of course. He had to remind himself that Thea was no adult. She wouldn't think rationally and realise that people made mistakes. Perhaps he had made such a mistake in trying to adopt her. It was responsibility. One that he had not yet realised the magnitude of. He knew that he couldn't just let her believe the worst of him without trying. It would also be rude to interrupt. But if he did nothing, it would create an insurmountable gap. He couldn't just ignore her forever. The nobleman took a deep breath. He was meant to be her father. He had to try at least something. He walked over purposefully. He wouldn't let Conrad say anything that would screw things up more than they already were. "It's alright Conrad, I'll handle things from here." He stated. "I'm meant to be her father, after all. Even though I have perhaps done a poor job of it thus far." The last part he spoke while looking at the girl in question. He hadn't heard everything that she was saying, but the last thing that he heard was 'demon child'. "What's this about a demon child Thea?" Vance asked. "Do you mean yourself?" "Calm down. The judge can't do anything to us. After all, we're wizards. We have magic." Dale spoke, before walking towards the door. He was going to have to sort out this judge right away. The way that he had treated this poor girl was barbaric. This room, it was cruel. Dale threw the door open and stepped outside with his staff raised. "Hello? Who's there?" This whole thing was very strange. This was supposed to be a mission about exploring and mapping a strange island but now everything had got a whole lot more complicated. There were strange computer devices and they were taking these animal people back to civilisation. Apparently. But that left her with a question. "I thought that we weren't meant to be disturbing things here if we could avoid it, and suddenly we're taking these people away from their homes?" Alessia asked generally. Would any of the others see her view here? She didn't really know.
The journey had taken some time and they weren't there quite yet. Kellan had pointed out that a boat down the river would have been quicker than the carriage that Aston was thinking of. They were sailing downstream now along the river that ran through Varewyn and the plan was to stop at a village near Eradan and catch a coach from there. That was going to spare them a lot of travel time. The hope now of course, was that nobody would be seasick. "Hope all of you have your sea legs on otherwise this is going to be an unpleasant ride." Aston commented, looking at everyone with a wry smile. Perhaps if they weren't too busy, he could find out a little more about the people that they were travelling with. "While we've spare time, what brought you all here?" Have some time to chat amongst yourselves for a bit. Sorry for the delay in posting at all. We'll arrive soon.
"I'm going to try and track down my friend. She should be in the city. She did set out before me." Derrick said as he led Tatiana inside by the hand. He kept a firm grip so that she couldn't be pulled away, as he knew that there were people after her. That, and he didn't feel like taking any chances with her dodgy balance. If she was going to fall, he had to be ready to catch her or pull her up. He pushed open the door with the woman in tow, making straight for the bar counter. The room was hot and there were a variety of people strewn about the room. Workmen and accountants drinking with wives and girlfriend, strumpets flashing their assets for the men to see and perhaps attract them for a night of respite. Normally, he wouldn't be adverse to trying some of the clientele himself, but at the moment he was on business. Not pleasure. Not yet at least. Perhaps if all of this kicked up enough stress he'd go distract himself with one of these women though there had to be better places in town. He knew the Passiflora in Novigrad was pretty good, not so much about Oxenfurt though. "Barkeep. I'm looking for Witchers. Heard of any 'round here?" He asked bluntly. "And you got any work while you're at it?" "It is amazing. I've been gone a little while too. It's changed a bit, hasn't it?" Alanna agreed, looking around. It seemed that she was in fact, waiting for someone. She was certain that it was definitely her target. Now, they just needed an opportunity. Perhaps if she could distract her, Adolin could make a move. Yes, that would do well enough. First, she had an alternative plan. "Yeah, I live here. I've got a house not far from here. Do you have a place to stay? You and your companion that is? I've got rooms to spare for the two of you if you need it. My friend Carrak and I only take one. Saves you having to pay the extortionate prices for a room around here. At least, assuming that at least, has stayed the same." She chuckled, remembering the prices around here got silly. At least, if you wanted somewhere decent.
"Very well Bryce. You likely caught my name. It is Adolin Bonhart, however you should call me Carrak of Cintra while I remain in this form." Adolin explained. He nodded at the man before turning to leave one they knew where they were going. "Good luck to you in your second hunt." With that, the pair prepared to set off. He turned to ask where they were going, but the sorceress pre-empted him and took the lead. "Follow me." He did so dutifully. They moved through narrow streets and side alleys in a complex route. Despite her age, clearly she knew the city well. "How do you know all of this place? I assume you lived here?" He asked. "What's this now Adolin, taking an interest?" She said mockingly. A displeased expression crossed his face and he was about to make an irritated response when she continued speaking. "I had a mentor, Marla. She taught me my magic, and she lived in this city. For a good third of my life so far I spent my time wandering Oxenfurt with her, learning. You get to know the place after a while. I'd say I still have the key to the house that she left to me here, but you've got that. And everything else." Adolin listened as she spoke, and when the key was brought up, something compelled him to give it back to her. Recently, he felt secure that she wouldn't leave. He was willing to risk giving her this. Perhaps by doing so, it would cement her loyalty. The Doppler reached into one of the pouches along the Witcher's belt and retrieved a key from it and passed it into her hand from behind. She tucked it away quickly. "I should thank you, I suppose." She said. "But why?" Adolin smirked with a light chuckle. "I should thank you, I suppose." She actually laughed, and a genuine laugh not a mocking one. She was silent for the rest of the walk into the town centre, but eventually they arrived. Sure enough, one woman sat alone at the fountain, dipping her hands in. He looked around. He didn't detect a powerful presence nearby, at least, not yet. He'd have to keep an eye out. "Look out for the presence Adolin. The rest, you leave to me." She instructed. The fake Witcher nodded and for once, did what he was told. He followed behind her, those cat eyes flicking from side to side. They were approaching from behind so she wouldn't notice. This wasn't going to be a conventional kidnapping. At least, not yet. First, she wanted to figure out what this powerful being he mentioned was. She sat down next to the other woman by the fountain. She was close, but not intrusive. "Is this your first time in Oxenfurt?" Alanna asked, casually. She saw Adolin sit down as well, a greater distance from her. That was good. Enough for some privacy, but close enough to help. "A lot of people come here in their early visits. The fountain is hardly the most interesting part of the city though, pretty as it is."
