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Just a couple more days had flown by lightning-fast since we settled on our immediate plans. We practically started training that same day, as putting it off was out of the question. Yen and Triss, right from the moment they first lay down in the Coffin, began learning how to shoot pistols and throw grenades. Of course, we could've come up with something more complex, but why?
They're mages; extra weapons in their hands are just a hindrance. A grenade is more for preventing an enemy from closing the distance if they somehow manage to break through their spells, and a pistol is a last-ditch weapon...
In short, they only learned the essentials, and simultaneously, they uploaded their knowledge to the training program that we were already using.
Naturally, we couldn't practice magic in the Coffin, but at least we could grasp the theory much faster...
I answered a call from one of the crew members currently at the lookout post.
"I'm locking onto a portal. Two figures came out: a white-haired man with two swords on his back and an elf... at least the pointy ears say he's an elf."
"Take them out with sleepy-darts."
"Got it. Executing now..."
"Just make sure you have backup. The guy with the two swords is real dangerous, and who knows how his body might react to the sedative. He might just fake being asleep and then attack..."
"Loud and clear. Going for the shot..."
A few seconds of silence.
"Impact confirmed. Both subjects are down. The elf dropped to the ground. The guy with the swords definitely hesitated a bit before falling."
"Does anyone have advanced optics?"
"David, don't teach your granddad to suck eggs... checking now..."
Another twenty seconds passed before the same voice came back over the comms.
"That's it... definitely sleeping now."
"Got it. Load them into the car. Don't forget to cuff them in metal, then drive them to the old clan lot."
"The old one?"
"Yeah... we're not bringing potential enemies into the clan camp, where there are tons of people who could get hurt if those guys have a way to mess with us even while they're shackled..."
"Understood... bringing them to the old camp location."
The connection broke, and I got up from my workstation and immediately started calling everyone. I had to pull Ciri out of the Coffin, but that took two minutes, so in five, we were all gathered by the car.
"What happened?"
"Well, Geralt and that elf seem to have arrived... they're sleeping right now and are being driven to the location where the clan camp used to be."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
Ciri jumped up from her seat and looked at me with excitement.
"Nothing, actually... I called you all together to deliver the news, and also to warn a few of you..."
I looked at Ciri, Yen, and Triss with a sharp gaze.
"...to keep you from doing anything stupid."
"We get it."
They nodded at my warning, after which we all got together and headed to the destination. We arrived significantly earlier than the clan member, so Judy, Kiwi, and Lucy managed to take positions perfect for sniper fire.
We had to wait about twenty minutes. During that time, I managed to take several collapsible metal tables out of the trunk, which I planned to use to secure the delivered subjects. When the car finally arrived, we immediately secured Geralt, then cut the elf's clothes off and secured him naked to a table.
"Hah... I feel so sorry for elven women..."
Becca shook her head, glanced briefly at the elf's member, and then lost all interest in our prisoner. We didn't even think about stripping Geralt. Even though we captured him, he's not an enemy...
Not yet, anyway...
"Ugh... Wh-what ha... happened?"
"Geralt..."
Yen's voice was arctic cold.
"Yen? How are you here..."
The man's eyes, which had been struggling to open, now snapped wide. He quickly looked around and jerked a couple of times, but it was useless.
"What the hell is going on?! Have you decided to join the Wild Hunt?! And you, Triss?!"
"Geralt... did they brainwash you?"
"What are you even talking about..."
"She's talking about the fact, Geralt, that a Wild Hunt supporter didn't kidnap me, like this asshole surely lied to you..."
Ciri gestured with contempt toward the naked elf.
"Um... why is he naked?"
"Because, Geralt," I decided to answer him. "...he's an enemy, unlike you. By the way, my name is David, and I'm the one who saved Ciri when she ended up in this world, and I've also been helping her fight the Wild Hunt."
"You?"
There was genuine surprise and doubt in the Witcher's voice, and the look he gave me was far from that of a man who believed my words.
"It was him, Geralt... he found me when I was unconscious, told me about this world and its dangers, and helped me repel the Wild Hunt's attack."
Geralt frowned.
"Do you have proof?"
"Does he have any?"
Ciri nodded at the elf.
"Well, his story at least sounds much more believable than one where this little kid takes on the Wild Hunt."
"This 'little kid' is much stronger than he looks. But you... for some reason, you decided to trust a former representative of the Wild Hunt, just like I once did..."
"What?!"
"He told me himself, though he insisted that he no longer holds the same radical views as the rest of that cheerful crew."
We were silent for a while.
"Umm... fine..."
Geralt chose a very cautious tone to speak again.
"...then why is he still alive if you consider him an enemy?"
"David wants to try to interrogate him."
"Try?"
There was incomprehension in the Witcher's voice.
"I've just never tortured anyone, Witcher. And so I'm not sure I can extract everything necessary from him, instead of just senselessly killing the bastard who decided he could play with Ciri's fate... by the way, he woke up about five minutes ago."
"This... you figured out I regained consciousness..." The elf opened his eyes. "...that commands respect. I am not your enemy. I want to save the universe from a terrible fate, and only Zireael can save many worlds from the White Frost!"
I sighed and closed my eyes for a couple of seconds.
"Ugh, now it's going to turn out there's a prophecy..."
"You are right... a prophecy, and only the Child of the Elder Blood can fulfill it. Fulfill it and save us all."
I laughed, and the others—well, except for Triss, Yen, and Geralt—laughed too.
"You know what the funniest thing is, elf?"
"What?"
He frowned.
"That White Frost of yours? That's your problem only. Neither Ciri's world nor this one has that problem. Furthermore, this world won't be threatened even if the portals your kin are opening to the White Frost—and judging by the severe temperature drop around them, that's exactly where they're opening them—become permanent."
"But this..."
"It's you who screwed something up. Most likely, your world is dying from the Frost because of your own experiments."
"Yes... we made a terrible mistake, but this is not just our disaster. After our world, the White Frost will move on, and what you feel now from the portals will be just a drop in the ocean..."
I shook my head.
"You still don't get it... I don't give a damn about your problems. For so many years... you could have solved them in other ways... gradually moving to another world, developing a seal to block portals with the White Frost, stopping using portals into it, but..."
I shook my head.
"You just don't care about anyone else. You only want to secure yourselves, but still keep using the Frost as a weapon against others."
The elf gritted his teeth.
"You don't understand anything... I've lived for a very long time and know much more than you, a mere human. The White Frost won't stop at our world..."
"Maybe..."
I nodded a couple of times, showing that I didn't deny the possibility of that development.
"...but who said we have to help you?"
"Kid..."
A clear threat was audible in Geralt's voice.
"What? The Wild Hunt kills everyone they consider an obstacle with impunity, enslaves ordinary civilians, and believes that's the way it should be... and if his..."
I nodded at the elf, leaving no doubt about whom I was referring to.
"...race thinks that after all that, I'm going to help them... then they're so naive that it's scary how they haven't gone extinct yet."
"Are you ready to jeopardize the survival of an entire race just because of a few of its representatives?"
"Yeah."
I shrugged, answering the elf's question.
"You... you are just like Eredin... a monster..."
"I'll ask you to refrain from insults."
I threw a knife at the elf, and it easily pierced his foot near the arch, going straight through and forcing him to hiss in pain and grind his teeth.
"I don't go around worlds kidnapping and killing sentient beings. I'm not forcing you to die; I just don't want you to solve your problems with other people's hands."
"And I..."
Ciri joined the conversation.
"...no longer want to help you. And at first, when we just started traveling, I was grateful to you... Maybe if you hadn't abandoned me, I would be eating out of your hand now, figuratively speaking, but you chose to try and leave me alone so you could tie me even tighter to yourself later..."
"You don't understand... a terrifying power is hidden within you... such power needs direction and..."
"And you wanted to take that burden on yourself?"
Triss joined the conversation, casting a quick glance at Ciri.
"Aren't you trying to take on a bit too much?"
"You... you don't understand anything..."
"Maybe, but you've already confirmed our words just by not denying them. You were just playing with Ciri, but in reality, you're doing the same thing as the Wild Hunt: trying to seize her power. And we didn't even have to torture you..."
Yen shook her head.
"Yen..."
Geralt looked at his acquaintance in astonishment.
"What do you want?"
"I... what happened to you? Why do you feel such hatred for me?"
"Don't you think this is a bit of a bad time?"
She shook her head irritably. I walked over to the elf and, under his hateful glare, yanked the knife out of his foot.
"You won't succeed... Zireael will belong to us. She will fulfill her destiny, and you will all fall before the greatness of our race..."
"Well..."
I shrugged.
"...we already saw your true face beneath the mask of composure and a pseudo desire to help. So your words haven't opened our eyes to you or the representatives of your race."
A flick of my wrist, and the knife pierced the elf's eye, entering his brain.
"What are you doing?!"
Geralt was clearly not happy with what I had done.
"Eliminating someone who is definitely an enemy."
"You..."
"Geralt, even after what you heard, did you still want to protect him?"
Yen spoke in a voice full of disappointment, shaking her head.
"Ugh... good thing I found a way to remove the Djinn's influence on me... otherwise, I still wouldn't have noticed what an asshole you are."
"You... you could do that?"
"Yes. I could."
"And... what about us now?"
"Us?"
Yen scoffed.
"There is no 'us.' You know, I'd rather join David's harem than resume a relationship with you..."
"Pff... come on, friend, don't lie to us. You're not looking at David at all..."
Triss decided to intervene in the conversation.
"Yeah... unlike you, I'm not looking at him, but you still have an interview to go through."
Triss blushed slightly and looked away.
"And what should we do with him?"
I nodded at Geralt.
"I don't know..."
Yen shook her head.
"It seems his brain was messed with pretty bad; that's why he's rambling about helping the elves."
"I'm a Witcher... it's my duty to help sentient beings, whatever they may be, and an entire race definitely doesn't deserve death because of a few of its representatives..."
"Well, then let the elves deal with their own salvation..."
I shrugged.
"...they can open portals, they can teach mages how to do it, which means they can move to another world that's not affected by the White Frost. But they chose to just rely on someone else coming to save them..."
"Maybe they just can't leave..."
"Oh yeah? And what's stopping them?"
"For example, not everyone knows how to open portals..."
Geralt was stubborn.
"But they taught me and Triss how to open portals between worlds? Geralt, even considering that portals consume a lot of energy and only a limited number of sentient beings can pass through them, I can open such portals five times a day..."
Yen shook her head.
"That's a hundred sentient beings a day... over a year... thirty-six thousand five hundred sentient beings, and with Triss..."
"That's seventy-three thousand sentient beings."
Triss finished Yen's thought, who, judging by her look, had actually wanted to wait for Geralt's answer.
"And yet, humans are very weak mages compared to elves, simply because elves live a long time and have the opportunity to develop in magic, growing their reserve to a great size. And we have significantly fewer mages..."
Geralt looked at Triss in confusion.
"What are you trying to say?"
"That even without training, the elves have enough powerful mages who can simply be coached on creating portals. Yes, it might take a couple of months, maybe half a year, but after that..."
Yen shook her head.
"A hundred mages who can create at least one portal for five elves is five hundred elves a day and one hundred eighty thousand a year. And that's if there are only a hundred mages and they don't develop their reserve for some reason while creating spells like inter-world portals..."
"Are you trying to say..."
"She's trying to say, Witcher, that the elves could have solved their problem a long time ago, but they don't want to. They want to seize the Elder Blood that flows in Ciri."
"..."
"Hmm, judging by his look, he finally understood that he had been manipulated again."
"Fucking hell..."
"David, you can let him go. He understands how wrong he was to trust that elf. And he never wanted to harm Ciri anyway..."
I shrugged and quickly went over to Geralt, freeing him from the steel cables he was tied with.
"Damn it... how could this happen..."
Geralt sat up on the table and punched it with his fist.
"Did something upset you, Witcher?"
A smirk was easily heard in my voice.
"Only that you seem to be a racist..."
He let out a cheerless grunt as he said this.
"...but the fact that the powerful have been leading me by the nose again, trying to solve their problems at my expense, hasn't upset me at all, nor has the fact that for a change, the powerful one turned out to be an elf."
"No, no..."
I shrugged.
"...I'm not a racist. It's just that you specifically haven't earned my respect yet, so I don't want to call you by name."
"Hmm... I need to go home... gather my people..."
Geralt glanced at Yen.
"Can you hold out for a couple of months?"
"How should I know..."
She shrugged.
"We can."
I nodded a couple of times, confirming my words.
"But fighting in this world isn't the best idea. I'm far from the biggest frog in this swamp, and you could all be captured and dissected..."
"Then we need to meet the enemy at our place, but even then, they need to be distracted, which means it's best if you don't appear in our world for now. I'll prepare the area and..."
"I can provide people to make it happen faster..."
"Good... send me to Kaer Morhen. We'll gather the Witchers, and then, in a couple of months, send your people there... we'll restore the fortress so it can withstand a siege..."
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