[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
Third Person POV
Skellige.
...
...
Madara returned to the castle two hours after he had parted ways with Ciri, not with the green dragon, but with the griffin.
And as they began to descend toward the castle, they frightened the guards, who started shouting and pointing when they saw the enormous creature approaching the entrance, thinking it could be an attack. After all, griffins existed on the islands, and generally, they wanted to eat humans when they encountered them.
Madara avoided landing near them and chose a place outside the gates, more open, while the griffin finally struck its claws against the firm ground. It was no surprise that men shouted to draw their weapons, especially long-range ones, against the enormous creature, and other guards came running up the mountain quickly after hearing their companions' cry for help.
Totó stood there calmly, filling his chest forward in a proud stance, daring those humans to shoot any arrow at him. He was already almost an adult griffin, he had been with Madara since he was a hatchling, and that was more than 7 years ago. Perhaps, in two more years, he would reach the peak of his size, but already he frightened anyone. After all, he was large enough to be much bigger than a horse, able to carry three people, as he had yesterday.
The animal's calmness, standing there, finally being noticed, inspired the men to calm down, since just the sight of the griffin had scared them as if it were a monster's attack. Little by little, more people began to realize that there was someone mounted on the saddle. In fact, everyone was surprised to see that the creature had its own saddle, like a horse.
Then they finally identified Madara, sitting calmly, watching them as if he were waiting for them to notice who was up there.
"Calm yourselves, this creature is with me." Madara said calmly.
"How is this possible? That is a griffin, a wild creature!" shouted what seemed to be the captain among the gate guards, while more men arrived from below the mountain, preparing for a battle against the creature, but hesitating as soon as they saw him.
"The griffin is mine, my personal mount. I know no one has ever seen a tamed griffin, but you cannot expect anything different with my reputation." He said in a calm tone, while the men gradually began to lower their weapons. "In any case, he is already leaving. Go to the camp by the lake." Madara gave his order.
The animal turned its back, flapped its wings, and soared into the sky, leaving him alone. Many people still watched the creature, even several windows of the castle were filled with the curious, who had witnessed the commotion and saw the creature flying away.
Ciri appeared shortly after, using teleportation.
"Madara, you finally arrived." She said. Even though she had many questions about his two-hour absence, she said nothing more, other than hugging him and greeting him with the smile of a girl who loved him.
"Let's go inside. Geralt and the others are waiting. Mousesack is scolding Yennefer the whole time over the theft of the mask and you know she is very proud, while Dandelion tries to help with his songs, but it's not working out very well. Maybe he'll have more success charming the ladies of the castle, as he's been doing over the last day. You don't even know the mess he got himself into yesterday!" She said, as if it were gossip.
"I imagine it comes down to sleeping with a married woman." Madara mocked. Dandelion was that kind of person who would always be in danger the next day, and Geralt would end up having to save him from the very mess he had gotten himself into.
"If you think Geralt saved him, you're wrong." Ciri laughed. "The servant's husband caught them in bed and threw Dandelion's lute out the window. That was during the day, while we were searching for our target."
"Could it be that he didn't survive...?" Madara asked as if it were a joke.
"Yes. I told you he's trying to play songs to cheer the group up, and it's not working." She said, laughing, as she began moving inside the castle along with Madara. The guards looked on without knowing what to say. They simply made space for both of them to enter the castle again.
Unsurprisingly, Geralt also came outside to check what was happening.
"It was just Madara, father." Ciri said in a playful tone, as they entered, and Geralt said nothing more.
Heading inside, they went to the hall where the group was already gathered.
"There are more people than usual here." Madara said, seeing several gazes along the castle corridors. There were more nobles judging by the way they were dressed, and they all looked at them as they passed through the place.
"Yes, they are coming from the entire continent. If you're asking how they arrived so quickly, sorcerers are bringing them." Ciri replied.
"I see." Madara only said. The wedding would be tomorrow, so probably many nobles were rushing to Skellige.
"You have to see what the situation is like down at the bottom of the mountain. So many people are trying to climb the mountain, a bunch of them seeking audiences with King Bran, also demanding invitations to attend our wedding." Ciri said in a whisper.
"I see... Is Eleanor still here?" Madara asked, changing the subject.
"No, she left. She said she needed to settle some things and went to her home in the city. She said she would return tomorrow." Ciri informed.
Madara nodded as they entered the hall and saw the group at the same table as always, near the main one, though they were the only ones there. Dandelion really was trying to sing a song, but the melody came out strangely. Mousesack was making some sarcastic remarks, while Yennefer frowned, and Zoltan was with Dandelion trying to lighten the mood.
"Look at them, how did you let it get to this situation?" Geralt heard Madara say to him, while the latter raised an eyebrow at him.
"You saying it like that makes it sound like you're accusing me that the others' mess is my fault." He said.
Madara shrugged and moved closer. It was easy to see the black eye on Dandelion and also notice, when he gave a smile, that one of his teeth was missing.
"See how he ended up? I'm glad some man hit you after you messed with married women." Ciri openly mocked him.
"Don't talk like that! It was just an adventure for musical inspiration. It's not my fault if it went a little wrong." He said, starting to play a new melody on the lute he had managed to get after his other one was destroyed.
Madara found a place and sat down beside the others. Everyone's eyes turned back to him.
"You brought a dragon to Skellige, Madara?" Yennefer said. "Don't tell me the shouts from outside were about that creature?"
"The dragon is here? I don't believe it... but if it is out there, I would very much like to see it. It would be good to have it here soon." Mousesack spoke, with an urgent tone that practically made it clear he wanted to see a dragon no matter what.
"No, I brought our griffin, but the dragon is elsewhere. I haven't let it out yet." Madara replied directly.
"Really? Can we see it?" Mousesack asked, still insistent.
"Of course, but only in a few days. I'll use the dragon for something else in the meantime." Madara said.
"And what were you doing away for so long?" Yennefer didn't fail to ask.
"Well... that's a secret." Madara simply replied, while ignoring Dandelion singing some melancholic song. At that moment, the front doors of the hall opened, with King Bran approaching along with his son.
There were still some servants tending the tables, but none seemed to bother their group.
"Well, well, looks like the boy has finally returned!" Bran shouted, approaching their table with a smile.
"I spent the whole morning hearing about everything that happened yesterday, and I must say I'm quite astonished by some situations." He said, scratching his beard. "To begin with, we caught all those who tried to plot something against the wedding, right inside my house. Damn traitors! Be they servants, guards, or even some nobles, they're all now rotting in our dungeons."
"We also caught the Druids who had contact with that evil mage since yesterday. When Mousesack informed me of everything, and I learned this morning that you managed to kill that damned sorcerer... well, that seems like one less headache. Is there anything else dangerous within my domains that I should know about?" He asked.
"If everything that happened has already been explained, then there's nothing else. Our problem was dealing with the Bear Men tribe and even magical bombs, but both have been resolved."
"I swear I intend to wipe out that damned tribe." Said King Bran in fury.
"We left quite a mess among them, if you want to know. Countless women and children are now at the mercy of fate, without many men to support them. I think that was already a very harsh punishment for them. But do as you wish, this land is yours." Madara replied calmly.
"Yes, we heard that from that woman... Well, I thank you for having resolved it. I will further fortify the castle with guards so there will be no disturbances tomorrow." Bran said, pausing before continuing. "I heard that you brought a griffin to the front of the castle, riding it as if it were a flying steed. I won't say I'm surprised coming from you. However, I admit I have never seen anyone ride such a creature, it is astonishing. Also... on the way here, there was a messenger from Undvik."
"He must have spoken of the clone I left there to deal with the pests of the island." Madara replied.
"Yes, they told me that someone identical to you appeared in the town near the coast along with the girl with platinum hair." Said King Bran, looking at Madara and then at Ciri. "I heard that both surprised the warriors of Undvik in the arena. And I must say I am surprised to see that our little Ciri is such a powerful warrior, able to captivate the eyes of the warriors in Skellige. But I also heard that the boy who was with her saved a woman who no longer had the movement of her leg."
The group, who had no knowledge of this, stared at Madara in surprise.
"Yes, Madara healed a woman there." Ciri said with pride.
"Later, they saw him traveling across the entire island, doing missions for various villages and towns, defeating monsters, solving mysteries... and without charging anything for it. I must say I am quite surprised by this and grateful. It's not every day we see this kind of person acting like that, it will help many families to be fed." Bran said, before bursting into laughter.
"But also something strange happened." He said, becoming a little more serious now. "On the coast, some men reported that they saw strange lights coming from it in the middle of the night and, the next moment, a snowstorm arose. They say they saw ghosts coming out of it and fled the place. The next day, they returned and found large piles of ice, as if someone had raised enormous frozen stakes. No one knows where it came from. Do you know what that could be? Was it that clone of yours?" Asked King Bran, with a certain caution, while Madara narrowed his eyes.
"No... I have no ability with ice, if that's what you're asking me." Madara said.
"I see. Their account also doesn't sound anything normal about that mist. In any case, there will be some years to investigate." He said, heading back out, since he only wanted to exchange a few words once he learned Madara had returned.
At the same time, everyone at the table turned their eyes to Madara in that moment. Especially Ciri, with a questioning look, seeing him thoughtful.
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