Here's the third part of my fanfic, I hope you like it, I certainly did have fun writting it.
Part 3, Geralt PoV
Sigismund Dijkstra, former spymaster of the Kingdom of Redania and also perhaps, former criminal lord in the city of Novigrad, greeted them with his usual impertinent demeanor. If the sight of Geralt with Triss in his arms surprised him, he gave no evidence of it. And why should he, It was their house dammit. An imaginary heated conversation went inside the witcher’s head. He voiced the last part. “Whatever, just go to the guestroom, I’ll deal with you in the morning.”
Half asleep, Triss suppressed a soft laugh at his words and seemed to whisper something, with an amused expression in her lovely face. Slightly confused, the witcher turned his gaze towards the spy, who shrugged, but made no attempts to heed his instructions.
“Wait here then, I’ll be with you in a moment... or when I feel like it.” Not waiting for a reply, Geralt made his way upstairs to the main bedroom, carefully not to wake up Triss. Other than her small remark, the sorceress seemed to have been in a deep and peaceful slumber.
He carefully deposited her on their bed. He placed a pillow below her head, action that was rewarded with a cute, stifled thank you coming from her red lips. Their home was heated enough that covers weren’t really needed; he still covered her in them though, perhaps in an unconscious attempt to protect her from unseen enemies.
He carefully kissed her forehead and then stayed there, silently watching her sleep. Her chest rose and fell slowly, her expression bearing a hint of peacefulness for which he was grateful. She was so beautiful. He suppressed the urge to join her in her sleep and cuddle untill the next morning. Sighting out of frustration for the missed opportunity, he left her side and got out of the room, closing the behind him.
He reached their living room where the bald man was still sitting in the couch, sipping their wine. The only difference was that he had produced two stacks of parchments, tied by ribbons. One was significantly larger than the other and even though he didn’t want to admit it, they instantly picked his curiosity.
“How the hell did you get in?” he voiced with obvious annoyance at the intrusion on what could have been an otherwise excellent conclusion to the evening.
“Is the princess enjoying her beauty sleep?”
“Go to hell Dijkstra. Now answer the question. “
“Now now, is that a way to greet an old friend?” said the spy, arms raised, in a posture that was half defensive and half mocking.
“We were never; or will be friends.”
“Maybe not, but associates perhaps? And to answer your previous question, unlike you, your companion didn’t forget the help I provided with her little show back in Novigrad. When I sent her word that I was coming on urgent matters, she had this delivered to me.” He said, producing a small gemstone from the inner pocket in his coat. “I suspect you would have been greeted by my charred remains had she not been kind enough to extend the invitation.”
Geralt remembered the poor servant boy who had pawned his gemstone in order to get some beer. While not exactly charred remains, his lack of judgment had probably cost him the use of both hands for the rest of his life. Despite Geralt protests that such a harsh system was certainly not needed, Triss’ argument that whoever tried to enter their home uninvited would definitely not have the best intentions in mind had prevailed.
She together with Margarita had dug into the archives for an upgrade, which now attuned the gems to their wearers somehow. Both him and a few select others, according to Triss this number had to be very limited, had had their own essence or some such directly engraved to the enchantment.
“Now that we have established that I’m a trusted guest, perhaps you could drop the hostile attitude. After all, I don’t hold a grudge against you for having bailed on us last time we saw each other. ” His tone clearly indicated the last part to be far from reality.
“I don’t kill kings.”
“Then perhaps you should have made an exception.” That was too close to the truth for comfort, although Geralt didn’t let his expression show it.
“In any case, that’s water under the bridge now.” Sigi said, toying with the parchments and removing the ribbons out of the big pile.
“Why are you here then?” Geralt said, carefully not to make his curiosity too evident either.
“I bet you are dying to know what’s inside, right? All in due time, don’t worry, we’ll there my friend.“
“We are not-“
“I know, associates, associates. In any case, before we begin, do you remember our conversation at the lighthouse?” No answer, it was obvious to both of them that Geralt did. “I’ll take that as a yes then. Think on that as we go through these.”
“What are they?”
“Reports... You might not be aware, but I make a living collecting and sorting through information. Now, what I have here... I reckon your information on this particular matter will be far more throughout, still, for the purposes of what I intend to demonstrate, this method-“
“Just get on with it,” said the witcher, taking a seat at the table and beckoning Sigi to do the same.
“Fair enough,” said the spy, following his instructions and taking the first parchment out of the pile. He started reading out loud.
“Subject and his lover arrived at noon at their new place of residence. Closer look into the place deemed too risky due to the likely existence of magical means of detection. Setting watch from safe distance. No further reports of activity from the place until arrival of the baggage the next day. Further-”
“What the fuck! You-”
“Yes, I’m keeping tabs on you. Your girlfriend is the advisor to one of the now few monarchs remaining in the world. And you, even though you like to see yourself as a simple witcher, somehow have a knack for being in the middle of the events. Even if you sometimes don’t make the best calls.” He added bitterly.
Geralt honestly didn’t know how to respond to that. Dijkstra words rang true in his ears, despite his best efforts the contrary that seemed to be the case. A sense of uneasiness settled over him, which he visibly shrugged off. “Whatever.”
The spy took this as a cue to take out the next report in the pile.
“Subject and lover attended royal reception. The sorceress was wearing a green dress, slightly open in the front, which exposed the upper side of her marvelous bosom. The cut of the silk was tight enough that her more prominent features, namely her behind, stood out whenever-“
Anticipating another outburst from Geralt, Sigi stopped reading and held up a palm as a sign of understanding.
“Yes, one of my little birds took a liking to your sweetheart there. Highly unprofessional, I know. I should have fired him, but, he has access to places.”
No response from Geralt. The spy decided to stop reading that particular report, grabbed a few others, skipping over them until he found another one he deemed relevant enough.
“Subject and lover spend the day in the market, buying goods with no discernible specific purpose. Mainly baking related ingredients. Returning to their place of residence later.”
In a way that day had been important. It had been the one they had first decided to cook a meal together, which had resulted in many good memories during and after the fact. Why Dijkstra had deemed that particular report relevant was beyond him though. Besides, there way no the spy could have inferred that. The knowing look he gave the witcher as he contemplated these events left him unsure. After a few minutes the spy looked down and continued reading several reports one after the other.
“Sorceress left early for Royal Palace, returned a few hours later. No further activities.”
“Subjects were visited by two individuals, the bard known as Dandelion and the suspected Scoiatel supporter known as Zoltan. Group left for city proper, went inside a tavern and left only in the later hours of the night.”
“Subject left the city by the means of the north date. Returned two days later. Sorceress visited royal palace for a few hours.”
“Subject and goddess summoned to the royal palace. Attended a ball in tribute to some Count. Asshole held her hand and kissed her numerous times. Lost sight of them for a few moments. Sorceress emerged from a side room with a beautiful smile, lucky bastard followed on her wake, a stupid smirk on his face. Dress showing signs highly suspicious activities, request permission to disregard caution should the situation happen again in order to gather more specific information.”
The spy dropped the note into the read pile and opened his palms, as if saying what can you do. Geralt couldn’t help but smile as he vividly remembered that particular evening. By then he had deduced this obsessed informant must have been a courtier. He tried to remember any specific men showing too much interest in Triss, which proved to be a difficult task, as her lover tended to draw many stares to her.
While he had been daydreaming, Sigi had briefly read and discarded a few more reports and was starting to read another.
“Both subjects left the city by the means of the north gate. Tried to follow but lost their trail in the mountains. Returned a few days later, no apparent change.”
“Subject left early in the morning, returned in the night and immediately left. Followed him into the cliffs overlooking the city. Met with a woman, too dark to make a positive identification, most likely usual one. Usual activities too.”
The spy sneered and Geralt noticed that this note was not put back into the big pile but into another besides it. He realized none accounts placed there had been read aloud.
His curiosity got the better of him and asked “What’s with that pile?”
Dijkstra was in the process of grabbing another when he looked up and answered, “This one... this one I’d label, People should know what a bed is for.” He grabbed them all and started going through them quickly as he gave them general names. “Cliffs, royal gardens, lighthouse, royal stables, guild side hall, temple inner sanctum, need me to go on?”
“Still not sure what’s the point of this particular presentation, so do what you like.”
“Thanks for your understanding,” replied the spy mockingly and continued with the one he had earlier.
He was about to read it when for some reason, decided otherwise. He lifted his gaze towards Geralt. “This one here made me glad I didn’t come unannounced.” He kept his eyes on him, as if expecting some sort of comment or reply. None was forthcoming and so the spy moved along.
“The King’s Chamberlain seems to share my distrust of the white haired demon and his unnatural sway over the lovely sorceress. Witnessed argument between the two yet again. Couldn’t stay to watch as she defended the subject’s actions. “
Geralt sighed. The contempt he was subject to from most nobles and uppity types was no news to him. It was something he had grown used to in his long career and, in a way, a source of pride for him. He felt a surge of joy and love inside him as he pictured Triss standing up for him. Dijkstra already had another report ready.
“Subjects visited a ball hosted at the newly founded school of mages. Sorceress met with another of her kind, one known as Margarita Laux-Antille. Fine specimen of humanity, pales in comparison to my subject of investigation though. Moron took my quarry into a secluded part of the garden. Highly suspicious activity suspected. Strongly repeat my request for permission to break cover and interfere in order to prevent said activities.”
“Dammed Geralt, if I were you, I’d beat the crap out of that guy.”
Startled, both the witcher and the spy were turned their heads in surprise towards the source of the new voice.
Lambert, one of his oldest friends and fellow witcher, was standing in the doorway coming from the guest room. “Although, I have to say my friend, you have just redefined the concept of what it means to be in a honeymoon.”
Half asleep, Triss suppressed a soft laugh at his words and seemed to whisper something, with an amused expression in her lovely face. Slightly confused, the witcher turned his gaze towards the spy, who shrugged, but made no attempts to heed his instructions.
“Wait here then, I’ll be with you in a moment... or when I feel like it.” Not waiting for a reply, Geralt made his way upstairs to the main bedroom, carefully not to wake up Triss. Other than her small remark, the sorceress seemed to have been in a deep and peaceful slumber.
He carefully deposited her on their bed. He placed a pillow below her head, action that was rewarded with a cute, stifled thank you coming from her red lips. Their home was heated enough that covers weren’t really needed; he still covered her in them though, perhaps in an unconscious attempt to protect her from unseen enemies.
He carefully kissed her forehead and then stayed there, silently watching her sleep. Her chest rose and fell slowly, her expression bearing a hint of peacefulness for which he was grateful. She was so beautiful. He suppressed the urge to join her in her sleep and cuddle untill the next morning. Sighting out of frustration for the missed opportunity, he left her side and got out of the room, closing the behind him.
He reached their living room where the bald man was still sitting in the couch, sipping their wine. The only difference was that he had produced two stacks of parchments, tied by ribbons. One was significantly larger than the other and even though he didn’t want to admit it, they instantly picked his curiosity.
“How the hell did you get in?” he voiced with obvious annoyance at the intrusion on what could have been an otherwise excellent conclusion to the evening.
“Is the princess enjoying her beauty sleep?”
“Go to hell Dijkstra. Now answer the question. “
“Now now, is that a way to greet an old friend?” said the spy, arms raised, in a posture that was half defensive and half mocking.
“We were never; or will be friends.”
“Maybe not, but associates perhaps? And to answer your previous question, unlike you, your companion didn’t forget the help I provided with her little show back in Novigrad. When I sent her word that I was coming on urgent matters, she had this delivered to me.” He said, producing a small gemstone from the inner pocket in his coat. “I suspect you would have been greeted by my charred remains had she not been kind enough to extend the invitation.”
Geralt remembered the poor servant boy who had pawned his gemstone in order to get some beer. While not exactly charred remains, his lack of judgment had probably cost him the use of both hands for the rest of his life. Despite Geralt protests that such a harsh system was certainly not needed, Triss’ argument that whoever tried to enter their home uninvited would definitely not have the best intentions in mind had prevailed.
She together with Margarita had dug into the archives for an upgrade, which now attuned the gems to their wearers somehow. Both him and a few select others, according to Triss this number had to be very limited, had had their own essence or some such directly engraved to the enchantment.
“Now that we have established that I’m a trusted guest, perhaps you could drop the hostile attitude. After all, I don’t hold a grudge against you for having bailed on us last time we saw each other. ” His tone clearly indicated the last part to be far from reality.
“I don’t kill kings.”
“Then perhaps you should have made an exception.” That was too close to the truth for comfort, although Geralt didn’t let his expression show it.
“In any case, that’s water under the bridge now.” Sigi said, toying with the parchments and removing the ribbons out of the big pile.
“Why are you here then?” Geralt said, carefully not to make his curiosity too evident either.
“I bet you are dying to know what’s inside, right? All in due time, don’t worry, we’ll there my friend.“
“We are not-“
“I know, associates, associates. In any case, before we begin, do you remember our conversation at the lighthouse?” No answer, it was obvious to both of them that Geralt did. “I’ll take that as a yes then. Think on that as we go through these.”
“What are they?”
“Reports... You might not be aware, but I make a living collecting and sorting through information. Now, what I have here... I reckon your information on this particular matter will be far more throughout, still, for the purposes of what I intend to demonstrate, this method-“
“Just get on with it,” said the witcher, taking a seat at the table and beckoning Sigi to do the same.
“Fair enough,” said the spy, following his instructions and taking the first parchment out of the pile. He started reading out loud.
“Subject and his lover arrived at noon at their new place of residence. Closer look into the place deemed too risky due to the likely existence of magical means of detection. Setting watch from safe distance. No further reports of activity from the place until arrival of the baggage the next day. Further-”
“What the fuck! You-”
“Yes, I’m keeping tabs on you. Your girlfriend is the advisor to one of the now few monarchs remaining in the world. And you, even though you like to see yourself as a simple witcher, somehow have a knack for being in the middle of the events. Even if you sometimes don’t make the best calls.” He added bitterly.
Geralt honestly didn’t know how to respond to that. Dijkstra words rang true in his ears, despite his best efforts the contrary that seemed to be the case. A sense of uneasiness settled over him, which he visibly shrugged off. “Whatever.”
The spy took this as a cue to take out the next report in the pile.
“Subject and lover attended royal reception. The sorceress was wearing a green dress, slightly open in the front, which exposed the upper side of her marvelous bosom. The cut of the silk was tight enough that her more prominent features, namely her behind, stood out whenever-“
Anticipating another outburst from Geralt, Sigi stopped reading and held up a palm as a sign of understanding.
“Yes, one of my little birds took a liking to your sweetheart there. Highly unprofessional, I know. I should have fired him, but, he has access to places.”
No response from Geralt. The spy decided to stop reading that particular report, grabbed a few others, skipping over them until he found another one he deemed relevant enough.
“Subject and lover spend the day in the market, buying goods with no discernible specific purpose. Mainly baking related ingredients. Returning to their place of residence later.”
In a way that day had been important. It had been the one they had first decided to cook a meal together, which had resulted in many good memories during and after the fact. Why Dijkstra had deemed that particular report relevant was beyond him though. Besides, there way no the spy could have inferred that. The knowing look he gave the witcher as he contemplated these events left him unsure. After a few minutes the spy looked down and continued reading several reports one after the other.
“Sorceress left early for Royal Palace, returned a few hours later. No further activities.”
“Subjects were visited by two individuals, the bard known as Dandelion and the suspected Scoiatel supporter known as Zoltan. Group left for city proper, went inside a tavern and left only in the later hours of the night.”
“Subject left the city by the means of the north date. Returned two days later. Sorceress visited royal palace for a few hours.”
“Subject and goddess summoned to the royal palace. Attended a ball in tribute to some Count. Asshole held her hand and kissed her numerous times. Lost sight of them for a few moments. Sorceress emerged from a side room with a beautiful smile, lucky bastard followed on her wake, a stupid smirk on his face. Dress showing signs highly suspicious activities, request permission to disregard caution should the situation happen again in order to gather more specific information.”
The spy dropped the note into the read pile and opened his palms, as if saying what can you do. Geralt couldn’t help but smile as he vividly remembered that particular evening. By then he had deduced this obsessed informant must have been a courtier. He tried to remember any specific men showing too much interest in Triss, which proved to be a difficult task, as her lover tended to draw many stares to her.
While he had been daydreaming, Sigi had briefly read and discarded a few more reports and was starting to read another.
“Both subjects left the city by the means of the north gate. Tried to follow but lost their trail in the mountains. Returned a few days later, no apparent change.”
“Subject left early in the morning, returned in the night and immediately left. Followed him into the cliffs overlooking the city. Met with a woman, too dark to make a positive identification, most likely usual one. Usual activities too.”
The spy sneered and Geralt noticed that this note was not put back into the big pile but into another besides it. He realized none accounts placed there had been read aloud.
His curiosity got the better of him and asked “What’s with that pile?”
Dijkstra was in the process of grabbing another when he looked up and answered, “This one... this one I’d label, People should know what a bed is for.” He grabbed them all and started going through them quickly as he gave them general names. “Cliffs, royal gardens, lighthouse, royal stables, guild side hall, temple inner sanctum, need me to go on?”
“Still not sure what’s the point of this particular presentation, so do what you like.”
“Thanks for your understanding,” replied the spy mockingly and continued with the one he had earlier.
He was about to read it when for some reason, decided otherwise. He lifted his gaze towards Geralt. “This one here made me glad I didn’t come unannounced.” He kept his eyes on him, as if expecting some sort of comment or reply. None was forthcoming and so the spy moved along.
“The King’s Chamberlain seems to share my distrust of the white haired demon and his unnatural sway over the lovely sorceress. Witnessed argument between the two yet again. Couldn’t stay to watch as she defended the subject’s actions. “
Geralt sighed. The contempt he was subject to from most nobles and uppity types was no news to him. It was something he had grown used to in his long career and, in a way, a source of pride for him. He felt a surge of joy and love inside him as he pictured Triss standing up for him. Dijkstra already had another report ready.
“Subjects visited a ball hosted at the newly founded school of mages. Sorceress met with another of her kind, one known as Margarita Laux-Antille. Fine specimen of humanity, pales in comparison to my subject of investigation though. Moron took my quarry into a secluded part of the garden. Highly suspicious activity suspected. Strongly repeat my request for permission to break cover and interfere in order to prevent said activities.”
“Dammed Geralt, if I were you, I’d beat the crap out of that guy.”
Startled, both the witcher and the spy were turned their heads in surprise towards the source of the new voice.
Lambert, one of his oldest friends and fellow witcher, was standing in the doorway coming from the guest room. “Although, I have to say my friend, you have just redefined the concept of what it means to be in a honeymoon.”
Comments and call for help
Dijkstra is trying to make the case that Geralt and Triss’ life in Kovir has been nothing short of wonderful, while appealing to the Geralt’s emotional side as much as possible, in order to get him in a state more malleable to his schemes (which will come in the next part).
With that in mind, I’d like to ask the wonderful people in this forum for other small bits of lovely dovey stuff to help make Sigi’s case stronger. Let your fantasies go wild! Anything, a walk in the moonlight, dinner, party, etc is fair game as long as it could have been reasonably spotted by his informants. Matter-of-factly if the regular guys were the witnesses or the more obsessive kind if it occurred in a more formal setting , with his level of fixation dependant on its place on the timeline. (no stuff inside their house or in more “secluded” places either, they are adventurous but not exactly exhibitionists
)
Thanks!
With that in mind, I’d like to ask the wonderful people in this forum for other small bits of lovely dovey stuff to help make Sigi’s case stronger. Let your fantasies go wild! Anything, a walk in the moonlight, dinner, party, etc is fair game as long as it could have been reasonably spotted by his informants. Matter-of-factly if the regular guys were the witnesses or the more obsessive kind if it occurred in a more formal setting , with his level of fixation dependant on its place on the timeline. (no stuff inside their house or in more “secluded” places either, they are adventurous but not exactly exhibitionists
)Thanks!
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