"You're smart men, witchers." Bogut pushed his chair back and stood up. He shook the witchers' hands. "You know what's best for you. Made the right choice. And now, let's enjoy the show."
The witchers took their leave a moment later. Before they made their way to Wiley Manor, they had to get the answer they wanted from Dandelion. Back in Cintra, Geralt said he would tell Dandelion about the Wolf School's answer, and he would tell Roy about it.
Roy was nervous. Will Vesemir invite us to the fortress?
***
"Hello, friends. Priscilla told me you were looking for me?" Dandelion came over to them with Vespula. He was holding a glass of wine.
Roy looked at him. Dandelion was born in 1229. He was in his early thirties, and the man was more handsome than he thought. Almost as handsome as I am. He was mature and elegant too. Not to mention he was a fashionista. Roy could almost feel the decadence coming off him. There was a smirk on his lips, and his beautiful blue eyes had a perpetual glint to them. No wonder he's popular with the ladies.
"Let me guess, Dandelion the bard? The one whose name is known throughout the land?" Auckes raised a toast and shook the bard's hand with glee.
Dandelion's smile froze. The witcher's passionate gaze and powerful handshake made his heart skip a beat. Who is he? Has he taken a liking to me? But he's not my type, and I don't want to cheat on Ariel. He pulled his hand away quietly. "That is I. And you are? Have we met?"
"Dandelion, they're witchers of the Viper School. This is Auckes." Priscilla stepped forward and pointed at the witchers. "And this is Serrit. This is Roy."
Three witchers? Dandelion froze. He knew what witchers were. One of them was even his friend, but the guy had always been a lone wolf. Dandelion never saw him moving around with his companions. I don't remember witchers being so commonplace.
"Your reputation precedes you, Master Dandelion. I'm Auckes. I was privileged enough to be a drop in at Oxenfurt Academy's Faculty of Poetry. And I've read your works. Time of the Moon and The Adversities of Loving. The lyrics and imagery are superb. They're timeless works." Auckes' eyes shone with worship. "I've always wondered how long I would have to work on my poetry to reach your level. It's amazing that I got to see you in person."
"Ah, so you're a lover of poetry as well. What's your favorite poem?" Dandelion nodded. It was his first time encountering a witcher who liked poems.
"Love, I'd say. It's so gorgeous, so lifelike. I could feel myself in the world of the poem itself. Honestly, I'm just a casual fan of poetry. I'm not studying poetry for the love of it." Auckes cleared his throat and whispered, "Master Dandelion, can you tell me how to become a poet that's loved by the rich ladies?"
Dandelion's eyes went wide with surprise, and he spewed his wine all over Auckes' face. "Oh, I'm sorry. So sorry."
"It's alright." Auckes wiped the wine away. "I've smelled Kikimore urine before. Everything else is the same to me, aside from alcohol and blood."
"Alright, stop it. Let's talk business." Roy pushed Auckes down to his seat, and Serrit covered his brother's mouth. "Dandelion, we've only met today, but a friend of mine has told me about your… past." Roy said earnestly, "And we asked Priscilla to contact you exactly because we want to talk about this friend."
Dandelion mused. Oh. "Geralt, huh? He talks about me a lot? Ah, I bet it's nothing good." Dandelion shook his head. He obviously didn't think what Roy said was true.
"You and I know the White Wolf is a kind person at heart. He's a man of few words, but he's impressed by your talents." Roy held back the urge to puke and downed some juice to clear his throat.
"So what did he say about me?" Dandelion asked curiously.
"He said you once caught a flying arrow with your bare hands."
"Hah!" Dandelion looked smug. "So he finally believes me."
"So, did it jog your memory, Dandelion?" Roy quickly continued, "Did Geralt give you any message you wanna tell us? It's supposed to be for the Viper School witchers."
"The Vipers… Roy… Oh yeah, he did say that." Dandelion looked at the viper pendant hanging from Roy's neck. He said, "You guys came early. Geralt told me the appointed time is about the end of the year. You're about a month early."
He muttered under his breath and looked around. Alright, nobody's watching. He huddled closer to the witchers. Everyone was waiting with bated breath. "Half a month ago, Geralt suddenly came to me, and he wanted me to tell Roy that he'll see you in Kaer Morhen when Yule swings by." Dandelion came to an abrupt halt, and nobody noticed the nervous look on his face.
Yule was one of the months in the elven calendar. It ran from 21st of December to 1st of February in Gregorian.
And he's seeing us in Kaer Morhen? Roy was visibly delighted. Alright. The wait wasn't for nothing.
"So does that mean Geralt's mentor agrees to see us? Vesemir, the leader of the Wolf School, agrees to this?" Auckes rubbed his chin.
"This is a good start. We need to meet up with them and get down to the negotiations." Serrit was excited too, but he was also a little confused. He thought the talks between the Vipers and Wolves was a joke, but they actually pulled it off. He didn't hold onto any hope to begin with.
But they probably just wanna make some new friends. The brotherhood's still not gonna happen.
"How should we get to the fortress though?" Roy's smile froze. The Wolf School's fortress was located in Kaedwen, hidden in the Blue Mountain. Barely anyone knew it, and Blue Mountain was a big place. Going around without a direction would take them years just to locate the place.
"What did you not tell us, Dandelion?" The witchers set their sights on the bard.
He shivered. "Ca-Calm down. Now don't do anything rash…" Dandelion hid behind Priscilla.
She had no idea what they were talking about. The conversation confused her. "Calm down, witchers. I'll ask him. Mate, stop hiding any secrets. Just tell them what happened, and I'll tell them to go easy on you."
Dandelion rolled his eyes and shrugged. He said awkwardly, "Actually, that message was written on a map, but… I lost the map."
"You what?"
The witchers shot up like beasts who got challenged. They approached the bard. At this critical time? Roy took a deep breath. He thought he would explode. "Where is it?"
The witchers looked murderous. Dandelion had a feeling that if he said he didn’t know, the witchers would dismember him. He felt that these witchers were not like Geralt. They wouldn't engage in any friendly banter with him. He smacked the back of his head and pretended he just remembered where he left the map. "Oh, I remember! I left the map in my lover's place."
"And where is your lover?"
"I'm not sure…" Dandelion puffed his chest proudly, but he shrunk back when the witchers shot him a withering glare. "I have six lovers, and all of them live in different places."
***
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