A Scholar's travels with a Witcher

Kerrass was fussing over me.

“No,” he said, “That tunic still has beer stains on it from that inn back in Appleford.”

“Which Appleford? The one with the...?”

“No the other one. Where that barmaid kept climbing onto your knee and you didn't know what to do with her.”

“Thank you for the visual Kerrass I'm sure it was very amusing for you.”

“It was thank you, but regardless, you still can't wear that tunic.”

“Have you got any better ideas?”

“As a matter of fact I do.”

He produced another tunic with a flourish.

I stared at it for several moments.

“There's embroidery on that one Kerrass.”

“I know,”

“Of flowers, Kerrass,”

“I know,”

“You know how I feel about embroidery Kerrass.”

“Freddie, what I want you to do right now is to take a good hard look at my face. Have you done that?”

“Yes,”

“Does this look like the kind of face that cares what you think about embroidery?”

“But it itches,”

“That's why you've got a shirt on underneath. My last clean shirt by the way.”

I changed Jerkins on the grounds that it was better for a quiet life.

“Where did you get this Jerkin anyway?”

“I borrowed it from one of the guardsmen.”

“By “borrowed” you mean...”

“Yes I stole it from the washing line outside the barracks.”

There was a pause.

“How long have you been thinking about this Kerrass?”

“A couple of days now. Hurry up. I want to leave Angraal in our trail dust before the day is out.”

There was another pause as he straightened my sword belt.

I don't have a sword belt either.

Or a sword for that matter and a spear would be completely out of the question.

“Why are you doing this anyway?” I demanded.

“Because you should go and see her. It would be rude not to.”

“You went to see her and you didn't bother with all of this gumpf.”

“No, no I didn't.” He paused for thought. “But then again I'm a monster hunter who goes out of his way to hunt people like her for money. You are a reasonable human being.... A lord no less, paying courtesies to a fellow member of the nobility.”

“She's a Vampire.”

“Still a noble though.”

“But she's a Vampire.”

“Yes. And a Countess. Which is a considerably higher rank than you.” He did an alarmingly good impression of my mother considering that he had never met her at that point.

“Kerrass.”

“Yes?”

“She terrifies me.”

Kerrass looked at me for a long time. “I know.”

He sighed. “She is a Vampire. She is also....complicated. You should go and see her. Say Goodbye if nothing else.”

“But I'm taking a bunch of flowers.”

“Indeed, if I had been able to find a box of sweet-meats for you to give her you, would be taking those as well.”

“Whatever for?”

“For your boorish behaviour in ignoring her.”

“But I haven't seen her.”

“Precisely.”

“I've been confined to my bed, not least of which by her.”

“Exactly. Hey there's a good starting point for a conversation. You could thank her for saving your life. Now go on. Shoo.”

He made herding gestures towards the door. “I'll get our stuff together and I'll meet you outside when you're done. Take your time.

My feelings were complicated as I left my room and asked the nearest guard for directions to where the Lady Ariadne was at that present time.

Angraal's main hall turned out to be much larger than we had first been able to see. The hall itself was attached to a series of guest rooms and negotiation rooms as well as a large garden that was theoretically for the use of the wives of the great men that would be debating important problems in the great hall. I suppose it is a sign of the times that the women had moved from the garden to the hall and all to the better for it in my opinion despite some people declaring that women should be seen and not heard.

Kerrass and I had been put up in guest rooms during the time that Kerrass had been off being busy in the meantime under hire by the Duke of Angraal and I had stayed behind being tended to by the priestess of Melitele for my various poisonings.

After all the wounded from the attempted coup had been seen to Kerrass, the ever present mother hen, had noticed that I was still trembling and coughing in what I had thought was battle-field reaction and had mentioned it to Ariadne who, in turn, kicked up a bit of a stink with both the Duke, myself and the priestess until I could be held down and looked at by the priestess in question. In detail it was described what had happened to me over the last week with regards to the poisoning, the use of another venom to counter-act the first venom followed by dysentery symptoms, a week on the road and then fighting and all of the things that that can do to a person.

The priestess scolded both Kerrass and the Vampire at length which would have been comical under other circumstances. Ariadne did her terrifying thing with Spiders and one burrowed it's way to the surface from the garden and was milked, willingly, for the priestess to play with it and I was examined.

I was told that my Liver and Kidney's had suffered severe damage as well as some minor damage to my heart. None of these things were things that you want to hear when people are talking about them with regards to yourself. Ariadne used her magic to heal me with guidance from the priestess and then, after Kerrass was questioned about my character and how I would behave in convalescence I was given a sleeping potion that knocked me out for several days on the grounds that I just couldn't be trusted to leave well enough alone.

I don't dwell on how they managed to feed me in the meantime.

After I woke up I felt as weak as a kitten but several huge meals as well as some more of the potions that the Priestess mixed for me got me back on my feet in record time.

As an aside. I want to state here and now that the Worship of Melitele is not a cult. They are good people all devoted to the care and well-being of all. The Holy Flame will always have precedence in my heart but we could do worse than have a hospital or sick-house run by Melitele's priestesses in every city. Kerrass paid the woman a compliment to the tune of the fact that this woman had forgotten more about Alchemy and Herbcraft than he, a Witcher, had ever known.

He is probably right.

But as it turned out I had missed some more momentous things which made my inner scholar rather cross.

Arguing that any healing could have been put off for a couple of days so that I could see some of the things that Kerrass had had to deal with while I was asleep did not gain any traction with the priestess or Kerrass himself.

But then he described them to me and I changed my mind as even with his, rather stale and clinical narration I could feel my brain slowly trying to leak out of my ears.

Long story short, Lord Dorme was into some weird and seriously fucked up shit.

But anyway, I'm beginning to describe things out of sequence so...

Eventually I found Madame Comtesse Ariadne of Angral (Apparently there's a big difference between Angral and Angraal. It's a local thing that I don't entirely understand) in the gardens. She was sat under a canopy of white linen on a bench with her feet tucked up underneath herself reading a book. Her hair had been unbound from her severe hair arrangement and although tied back into a pony tail she had pulled it round her neck and over her shoulder where she would play with it, twirling it round her fingers. She was wearing a lighter, brighter dress that I suspected had been lent to her, or copied from, another dress that the Duchess had lent her as there was more than a little gossip that the two women were indeed in the process of forming a close friendship which was causing the Duke some consternation.

The overall effect of the entire thing was of a young lady of the nobility, busy with her own interests while waiting for suitors to turn up and beg her hand in marriage. She had the entire entourage as well, complete with bodyguard (I am still unsure as to whether he was guarding her from others or guarding other people from her. The second thought was laughable) and two older ladies that were sat knitting nearby and scowling at random people who had the temerity to walk even vaguely close to their charge. I recognised the formation from when my sister was entertaining suitors.

There were two problems with the overall image. The first was the huge plate of food that was near Ariadne's elbow that she was taking a gigantic mouthful from with every half page or so. It was laden down with sausages, meats and pastries of various kinds. Nearby was another plate of cakes and a bowl of fruit. There were also two jugs which I would later learn contained milk and fruit-juice as well as a smaller one which contained red wine. The rate at which she was consuming the food was... a little off-putting. The other thing that was slightly off about the picture was the hound sized furry spider that had curled up asleep underneath the chair that she was sat on. You had to really look to realise what it was as well. At first glance it was a dog but then you started to realise that it had too many legs to be a dog and then you saw the mandibles and then... my eyes kind of slid off it.

It is well known that the human brain can only cope with so much weirdness at any one time and has remarkable capabilities to ignore what's directly in front of it if it doesn't fit in with it's overall world view. However it is remarkable to realise these things when it's happening to yourself.

I only knew a few things about what had happened regarding Ariadne in the meantime. I knew that she had taken over Dorme's former title and lands although she had already made a couple of very distinct changes. She had made a significant grant of land to the Duke and another grant of her land to the Church of the Holy Flame as well as setting aside a patch of land for a shrine to Melitele. She had also started insisting on people referring to her as the Nilfgaardian title of “Countess” or the Toussaint version of the same rank “Comtesse” rather than the Angraal title of Duke. The appearance of this meant that although she was still, technically the same rank as Dorme had been, she had reduced her significance in the eyes of the random courtiers that passed by. It certainly suggested that she was settling down for a quiet life.

She looked up as I approached and smiled generously.

“Good morning,” she said, while taking a huge bite of a sausage wrapped in pastry.

“Madame la Comtesse.” I made as formal a bow as I could manage given that the object of my bow was

brushing crumbs of her dress.

“I haven't seen you since...” She reached for words with the hand that contained the pastry.

“Since the good priestess of Melitele helped you prevent my Liver and Kidneys from exploding.”

“Yes,” she smiled with a small mischievous glint to her eyes. “Well I wasn't going to mention that one.” She deposited the remains of the pastry on the plate, wiping her hands on a cloth as she did so. “You were, after all, somewhat indisposed at the time.”

I felt my mouth twitch.

“You mean naked madame. I was naked and drugged up to my eye-balls.”

The two older ladies glared at me. Not that I could see this but I could sense their disapproval like a physical force, radiating heat at the side of my head. Then the spider (whom Ariadne had named “fluffy”) picked itself up, turned around a bit and settled back down again. In doing so it was exactly like a cat.

The two women subsided.

Ariadne laughed. She seemed to enjoy doing this and unlike the sinister malicious laughter that had occasionally grated when talking about Dorme in the past. This laughter was light and full of joy.

“I would invite you to sit Lord Frederick but there is only limited room and I'm afraid my chaperones would disapprove at our close contact.”

I smiled.

“and we don't want that to happen.”

“It is indeed, a fate worse than death. This whole business of being a modern noble, especially an unmarried female one, is fraught with danger.”

“You're enjoying every minute of it aren't you.” I accused.

“I really am,” she admitted getting to her feet. “Instead, why don't we walk for a while. I have been reading up on modern etiquette and I have a few questions that maybe a modern nobleman such as yourself might be in a better position to answer.”

I shivered in mock terror, remembering some of her other questioning sessions.

“I would remind the Comtesse that Witcher Kerrass is intending to leave later today and I with him.”

Her eyes glinted with humour. I have to admit that the amused mischief in her eyes suited her.

“I understand. I only have a few dozen questions.”

“Oh good, we should be able to polish it off before this time tomorrow.”

She hit me on the arm. It always astonished me how physical violence is considered a witty retort with the fairer sex. In this case the blow was from a vampire and I was mostly grateful that it didn't hurt too much.

She offered me her arm and although I tried really hard. I still hesitated a little bit before allowing it to be taken.

“Still afraid of me Frederick?” she said quietly.

“The word is terrified Comtesse, and yes, more than a little.”

“I didn't kill the village,”

“I know. I know that some over zealous members of Dorme's entourage did it and then he ordered it to look like you did it.”

She nodded. For all the world she looked, felt and smelt like a young woman walking around a garden with me. My body reacted to this, the romantic yearnings of a young, unmarried male, but even so... The knowledge of what she was and what she could do was thick in my mind.

I forced myself to be the very image of virtuous chivalric young nobility.

“Is it my nature that frightens you?”

“Yes,” Honesty was needed, I felt and she nodded.

“Will you give me time so that your brain can learn to trust me?”

“Of course.” She nodded in satisfaction.

“Will you call me Ariadne instead of by my new title?”

“In private, yes. In public, I'm afraid that you will remain Comtesse to more than just me.”

She smiled at that a little sadly.

“I find that I like the name though. Having a name rather than a title is novel and enticing.”

We walked for a little while. I could hear the guard walking behind us and I was well-aware that the chaperones were not far behind.

“It seems that you have given up privacy as well.” I ventured. The conversation had stopped suddenly and I felt the need to keep it going.

“Hmmm? Oh yes. I could get a room indoors to study and indeed I have been given my own chambers while a manor house is being built to my specifications over in Angral so I could do that. But I find that I like being out doors. Fresh air is a luxury that too many people ignore in their daily lives.”

YES! There was an in. A safe topic of conversation that could be used to steer things away from worrying topics.

“What happened in Angral? Kerrass told me a little but he is terrible when it comes to remembering context.”

“He does enjoy his focus doesn't he.” She smiled. Again that laughter. Again the need to remind myself that I was gallantly escorting an ancient being through the flower garden and not a young nobleman's daughter.

“How much would you like to know?”

“How much can you tell me without my fragile mortal brain dribbling out of my ears.”

“Your brain is anything but fragile.” She accused, “and I would never suggest different.”

“I know, I'm sorry. A figure of speech.”

“Ah,” she nodded and forgot about it.

Something rustled in the leaves near my leg.

“Is that a rat?” I commented.

“No. Fluffy is just being curious.”

I flinched and she laughed at me.

“Before you start your account, another question first. Why 'Fluffy' and is it true that you use him to put people off who you don't want to talk to?”

She grinned. A little of her old attitude came back. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Just as I thought.”

“He is useful whenever the court scribe brings me more writs and decrees to read and sign. I am now pretty certain that a lot of those things are just written for people to sign without thinking as I have caught myself nearly paying twice the regular amount of tax on several occasions. But he is not a pet.”

“I didn't think he was.”

“He's is more a kind of...interface.”

“What do you mean?”

“Spider's are not really that intelligent. Like dogs it depends on the breed. But they have created a

computer...”

“A what?”

“A thinking machine that is vast in complexity.”

“Are you having me on?”

She smiled. “Let's just say that webs are not just for catching prey but they also form networks that are

remarkably similar to brain connections.”

“You're definitely having me on.”

“Have it your way. Let's see. I suppose things started to kick off with the meeting in the Dukes study,”

She also insisted on calling everyone else by their Nilfgaardian titles.

I have written the following from her point of view:

“It was a big study. I remember thinking that when I first walked in. A big room that I don't remember being there when the hall was first built. It was strange, like I was travelling through time. The strange sense of being home left from sitting on my old seat of power changing to the sudden feeling of... newness. It was unpleasant and cold. I remember shivering and making sure that I was close to the fire.

It was an odd room. There was certainly a desk, a fireplace and several chairs but there was also a lack of any paperwork that would normally suggest a study. Instead there were a lot of chairs and I quickly decided that there was a “public” study and a “private” study where all the actual work was being done.

I was incredibly tired after the days exertions and was desperately hungry but it seemed incredibly politic to ask for an entire roast pig just for myself at that juncture.

We sat. The Duke behind his desk, a rather obvious need to re-establish his control over proceedings but the poor thing was rather rattled I suppose. Not that I blame him.

There was also the two priests. The Melitele lady and the new one, the Holy Flame, fire or something. They stood together, the woman placid and curious while the man stood their bristling in barely contained indignation that he had to suffer the same air as myself.

Kerrass was there as well as the guard Captain.

This was after the rest of the various forces that Dorme had commanded had been sent home of course. For an old soldier he was positively gleeful at his work. There was also someone I recognised as a Chancellor who dealt with money and things as well as a couple of general political types and I was pleased to see that the Duchess was hidden in a corner, behind a screen. Apparently the Duke enjoys his wife's input on certain matters.

I approve.

But anyway,

Kerrass started your story. Massively uncomfortable in such a formal situation and he did need leading on a little. A couple of people, including Kerrass himself openly wished that you were more coherent at the time so that we could hear your side of the story but the Priestess squashed that idea.

Her name is Mary by the way. I like her, of farming stock originally she ran away to church and now exerts influence over several powerful people which is a situation that she obviously relishes.

Anyway,

Kerrass took the story up until the point where the two of you kicked my door in.

I know, I know you didn't know that it was a Ladies bed-chambers at the time but even so...

Then it was my turn. I showed proper respect to the Duke and described how his Ancestors and the ancestors had misconstrued many of my actions and had used primitive magic's to overwhelm my defences to lock me up in the tower. There was some argument about the right and wrong of the situation and I had to defend myself against several accusations but nothing I wasn't prepared for.

I described the long imprisonment. The eventual death of my maid-servant who was descending into madness at the confinement despite her loyalty and my decision to enter a sleep state to avoid my own madness and fury. I described your arrival, my confusion as to the state of the world and Fuck-face's words to me as well as his efforts to control me.”

(“I had a question about that.” I asked as an insert, “Why did you pretend to be controlled by him right up until the throne room?”

Ariadne paused and considered.

“First of all, I was testing his own understanding of what he held and how successful he had been. When I realised that he was incorrect in his assumptions I pretended weakness. I once read the works of a general who said that “When weak, pretend strength. When Strong, pretend weakness.”

“The other thing was that I was by no means certain of where I stood in the world. Kerrass and yourself had already demonstrated that humanity had... moved on from where I thought their development had been and as such I needed to accrue more data. It is useless to act or to formulate a plan of action without data and as such, I wanted to know more. Your loyalties were not certain so I decided to bide my time and make an escape on my own terms.

“Later, when it transpired that Kerrass and yourself were caught up in things beyond your control as well as what Dorme had planned I decided that Angraal needed my help. The only deciding factor was what kind of man had my enemies produced by means of their breeding. I cannot deny that I was still angry with them for everything that they had done to me and to my country but finally, as I sat on my throne and thought about what you and Kerrass had told me about the world, the Duke came out and begged for the lives of his children. This simple act of a Fathers love told me that I could not kill the innocents in front of me.

“Dorme was quite right that if he was going to ascend to the Dukedom then those children would need to be killed. The same was true if I was to rule. So I decided to leave alone. To prevent the overturning of an established order and to learn how to exist and live in this, newer, world.”

She sighed and rubbed her head.

“I did explain all of this to the assembly in the study but I did leave out the fact that I didn't decide which of the three options I was going to take until I was literally there, standing in front of the Duke. I was never personally in any danger. I could flee at any time I wanted to and the only person who could have caught me was Kerrass and he was, by his own admission, not entirely invested in that hunt. For which I am grateful as he.... He terrifies me. I am physically stronger, faster and more resistant to harm than he is but when he looks at me with those cat's eyes....”

She shuddered.

“Probably some kind of primal thing. I really must remember to look into that when I've got a bit more time. Anyway...”)

“I told my story with many questions about the nature of Vampires and my own perspectives of things long past and explanations about how the world works from my perspective when the Priest from the Holy Flame could no longer contain himself.

“My Lord. How long must we suffer this... this thing, this filth to dirty the very air in which we breathe... I DEMAND that you...”

“Father, you do remember what happened the last time someone demanded something in her presence,” Mary said sweetly but he was on a roll and didn't stop preaching.

“For tho the Prophet said that Darkness lives in the hearts of all men and so we should seek it out with flaming brands to throw the shadow back and the holy flame can be seen in all of creation.”

“I'm pretty sure that Ithline didn't say that in any recorded text,” The Duke muttered and I began to realise that these impromptu sermons were part of the man's character. The others seemed content to wait for him to run out of words, making gentle jibes as they went. For myself I attempted to reason that this man had been just as terrified as everyone else in the throne-room earlier and that this was his way of expressing it. As a result I just chose to wait patiently while pointedly warming my hands by the fire a couple of times to make it clear that I wasn't afraid of light, fire, warmth or any such thing.

Eventually though I must admit that my patience snapped a little when he demanded further that I should be burned at the stake “like all witches and monsters”

“Certainly.” I responded. “I'm game if you are?”

“and lo we shall see that....what?”

I could see that the Guard captain was smirking.

“If flame is the act of purging evil it would follow that if there is no evil then I would not be burned. Am I correct?” I asked Mary.

“It would follow his dogmatic logic,” she said. Remind me never to gamble with that woman.

“So I will submit to this ordeal of fire, if you wish, providing you do the same. Then I can show the world that I am not evil by your own churches Dogma.”

I turned to the Duke then.

“My Lord,” I was taking care to properly say the two words to remind everyone, including him that I had sworn myself to him. “May I ask that we arrange the stakes and kindling as soon as possible as there are other things that need to be discussed that are rather time sensitive.”

The Duke did an admirable job of hiding his smile behind a cup of water.

The Priest spluttered a bit.

“Such as what Madam?” The Duke asked.

“Well, my disposition, not least but first of all I would suggest that there is another problem with regards to this bag.”

I took it off my belt and laid it on the floor next to the fire.

“Yes what is that bag?” I think it was the Chancellor that asked but I wasn't looking.

“It is an imperfect totem, a tool, used for controlling minds. Created using.... utterly amoral methods. We should be grateful that it didn't work as everyone in this room would now be dead at my hands.”

A couple of people twitched at this.

“As to what it is more practically. It is a bag made from the skin and containing the bones of Lord Dorme's daughter.”

“What blasphemy is this?” the Priest hissed in what I took for genuine horror.

I looked at the Duke for permission and he nodded.

“Are you, in this room, aware of the multiple worlds that existed separate from each other but were brought together for what you call “The conjunction of Spheres?”

There were various nods.

“Vampires come from one of those worlds. But there were other worlds as well. Some worlds have denizens and powers that can travel between worlds. The power to dominate the mind of a... being like myself does exist but to do so you would need to make contact with one of these powers. You would then need to make a vessel that would hold these powers.”

“Do you know how this was done?” Mary asked.

“I know part but not all. The process was so dangerous that when the vampiric elders realised that there was enough... You call it Force, or Magic, in this world to make these summons possible, they mounted a crusade against the knowledge. It was remarkably bloodless as crusades go, a few of our own perished as well as some other denizens who had come with us during the conjunction. But we made sure that we could recognise the practice of such magic's when they came up. Please understand that we were not entirely altruistic in our endeavours and that these events happened before I was born.

But we needed to make sure that this threat could be recognised and stamped out should anyone come across the method in the future as it's possible that a suitable mad person could find it and try again. Upon achieving a certain mastery of Magic, enough to realise the dangers inherent in these communications between worlds, I was told what things to watch for. As such I recognised the power contained in this bag. Even though it was imperfect and that Dorme had no real way of controlling it.”

“How do you know this?” The priest asked, fascinated despite himself.

“The fact that he wasn't howling mad and throwing his own faeces everywhere was a hint. It takes a special kind of mind to... cope with such contact and although Dorme was ambitious and probably a little delusional...”

The Duke snorted at that,

“He wasn't completely psychotically insane. He saw that there was a method here that would, he thought, give him what he wanted and followed it. I, for one, would be very interested in how he found these things.

But....”

“This,” I reached into the bag and produced a child's skull. “regardless of whether you believe me or not, is the corpse of someone who has had unspeakable things done to her. She will have been about six, so this has been a plan, a long time in the making. She will be the result of a rape. Her mother will then have been sacrificed and fed to the child and then....”

Frederick, I imagine that you sympathise a bit here. I am primarily a scientific kind of a Magic user and as such I can sometimes be a little clinical when it comes to describing such things. I looked up and noticed that the others in the room wore their alarm, pity and disgust on their faces. The chancellor in particular was pale.

“Well,” I said. “Let's just say that her life was extraordinarily horrific. As such, as the Witcher will tell you, she will probably be haunting various places even now. I would suggest that these remains be laid to rest with as much care and compassion as the church of the Eternal Flame, or the Priestesses of Melitele can muster. Maybe you should even collaborate so the spirit can gain the comfort in death that it never had in life.”

I started to feel a warming towards the Priest as his expression softened at this and he took the bag from me with gentleness and reverence.

“Will you give me the information that should be watched for?” he asked me. “Even if only to protect people from fates like this one,” he gestured with the bag for emphasis.

“I believe I might be able to do better.” I said. “As there is another danger in Angraal, which I suspect will exist in Dorme's lands somewhere. To even get this far,” I gestured at the bag which the priest was now cradling in his arms, “He will have needed to experiment and perform rites. Even though he got that bag wrong, he might have done some things right. There will certainly be things there that need destroying for the good of all.”

“Such as?” said the Duke.

I admit that I was taken aback by the question. I thought that I had already explained myself beyond the need for further example but it seems that humans need to go one step further into imagining possibilities.

“Try and imagine the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to you. Then turn that circumstance into a physical thing. Then turn that thing, including yourself as you imagine that thing, inside out and then animate yourself with invisible puppets strings that are used by dark Gods who roughly resemble the last thick and gloopy thing that came out of your nose while at the same time staring at you and guiding you with a terrible intelligence as well as utter hatred. While you are dealing with that image you are also being raped by a squiggley squirmy thing that is, at the same time, really large and infinitessimally small which is using you as the nutrient bath to lay it's own eggs within your insides.”

I looked at the pale faces around me. “I can keep going if you wish.”

The priestess was laughing, Kerrass looked serious but his eyes were glinting in that strange way that he has when I think he's either preparing to murder something or laugh aloud. Every one else looked sick to their stomach.

“The lady is not exaggerating, given what little knowledge I have of beings that came here from such places.” Kerrass put in.

“I think that will do.” Said the Duke. “What do you suggest?”

“First of all, Do you have any holy warriors amongst your number?”

The priest nodded.

“Then they should surround Dorme's lands with orders to detain or, at worst, destroy anyone who tries to leave in the immediate future. They should be backed up by as many holy women of Melitele as can be managed. Sir Priest, I have no idea as to the capabilities of your knights but Melitele's priestesses are well known to me. A simple and entirely sensible religion in my opinion. I have no doubt that we can discuss this “holy flame” of yours at length at some other point.”

“Destroy madam?” The chancellor looked aghast.

“Remember the egg-laying part of her description.” Kerrass spoke up, for which I was grateful. “These people who try to escape, who injure themselves rather than be restrained are trying to spread the creatures or demons influence and are already better off dead. Most people will be innocent but any farmer will tell you that if one field has a parasite then it's better to burn the field than to let the parasite spread. Harsh but there it is.”

“I would emphasise that the people's destruction is the last and most desperate action. I suspect that Dorme's people will have been misused and will be more than happy to find that people are taking them seriously. Your men should be armed and prepared for a fight, yes. But they should also have medicines, blankets and other things that help provide care.”

People nodded.

“Then I suggest that the Witcher, myself and the strongest of your knights should go into the centre of the place and assess the danger. Sacred rites should be performed over any corpses found and they should be given their rest with compassion and pity wherever possible.”

Kerrass was nodding as I said this,

“Then I believe that the best thing to do would be to raze Dorme's dwelling places with fire and the ground should be sewn with salt.”

“I agree with her on that.” said the Priest.

“You understand that you are agreeing with a vampire and a sorcerer there your grace,” Mary teased him.

To his credit the man grinned and un-stiffened a little. “My soul will heal in time, the lady has also promised to listen to me preach.” He grinned at me nastily but with humour.

“She did at that,” said Mary,

“You may come to regret that,” Commented the Duke to me, There was a general titter of laughter. “Anything after that?”

“After that the area should be guarded to make sure that the threat does not re-emerge. I flatter myself that that means me. I can oversee the guarding and use my magic to slowly re-introduce native flora and fauna while also watching for any sign of mutation and corruption.”

There was silence in the room for a while. Fortunately Mary saw what I was getting at. “Warren, just make her Lord of that Land.”

It turns out that the Duke's first name is Warren.

“Make her Lord of the Land, as “reward” for her service against Dorme's rebellion, which she deserves by the way.”

“A reward she deserves, but a Dukedom of Angraal?” The Priest was surprised. “Despite my...earlier agreement with her suggestions she is still a heretic and a monster, no offence milady,”

“None taken,” I smiled at him showing a bit of fang.

He shivered and looked away first.

“But a Dukedom of Angraal, to an unknown quantity?”

“I agree,” put in the chancellor, “We don't know her and the people don't know her. They may rebel at this.”

“The people do know her,” Kerrass of all people spoke up on my behalf. “She has been asking questions of many of the people in Dorme's army. She has spoken with myself and Lord Coulthard about Nobles' obligations at length and publicly. You may be surprised by how many people in Dorme's lands like her.”

“I would also say that I do not need that much, my personal needs are not great.” I decided to weigh in as this arrangement would suit me. “I would want a relatively small home but with a large library which I will fetch from my former prison. I would want a lab but largely I would want a large garden that I want to watch grow. Large tracts of Land? I will govern them tot he best of my ability, but the title of Duke is, I agree, too much. Countess maybe? Some extra land to be taken by yourself my lord. I would not want any people on my lands that don't want to be there anyhow.”

“I noticed that the Duchess' wife was coughing discreetly.

The Duke nodded without betraying any hint of having heard his wife.

“A Countess of Angraal and Nilfgaard. It is fitting with a small land reduction. Does that suit lady?”

“It does.”

“You will need to wait for your new home to be built but that would suit as well as we need to give you some

heraldry and discuss some other matters so you can stay here while your home is built.”

“That would be wonderful,” I said. “It means that my home can be built to my specifications as well and gives me more of a chance to see how the world works nowadays. I will also, of course, offer my services as your Court Mage and will enquire as to the organisation of Mages in the world as well but I will discuss those things with you as they come up.”

“The Duke nodded. “Done and Done. I will have the orders and writs done up before you leave.”

“My writ of nobility was written up while the Duke negotiated his fee and his reward with Kerrass and we left later that day after I used some magic to heal some of your more serious internal injuries.”

(Frederick:This is where Ariadne's Point of view ends)

Ariadne's narrative stopped there, so suddenly that I was still walking on while she had stopped in her tracks. She was frowning, another one of her little ways in blending in humanity was that she now frowned to tell the entire witnessing world that she was “thinking”.

“What happened?” I asked, “What did you find?”

“Hmm? Oh, I...” She stopped and frowned again for a moment. “I rather think that what we found was Human nature at it's grandest, and largest. At it's best and worst. It's something I have added to the growing list of topics that I intend to write about when I have all of my things in one place. Humans are different from all other races in that you are not driven by particular things. I suspect it's something to do with what Kerrass described in that it is linked to your relatively short life-spans. Even Kerrass, in his way has his nature and acts according to that nature.

“You are aware of this yourself Frederick. I have ready your writings and you yourself tell stories about men being more monstrous than the monsters and other men that have endangered themselves so that people could be free. Yourself not least.

“Yes, I have read your published works. I look forward to reading your account of this little adventure.

“Humans.... Humans are capable of so much that is grand and wonderful. All the virtues under the sun are found in humanity, kindness, pity, charity, love and some others that you haven't developed words for yet. But you are also guilty of the worst sins. Greed and Lust being just two of them. That's what we found in Dorme's lands, humanity's worst potential.

His biggest crime, in my opinion, was negligence. He was so fixated on being the Lord of Angraal that I suspect that had he succeeded he would have nothing to fulfil his life. Everything in his life was geared towards that end and had he achieved it he would have needed to fill that gulf. What we found were his people that were neglected unless they could be used in some way to further his goals. If he needed men to swell his armed forces then they were taken from the field. If he needed women, luxuries, money, or children to feed his dark rites towards power or to bribe other local lords towards his cause then he simply took it from his people by whatever means he had at his disposal. He didn't think it was evil he just thought that it was his right and that his people should be grateful for it. He wasn't particularly cruel, he didn't enjoy those horrors that he inflicted on others, he just...saw them as necessary. There are even some places where his people thrived under his stewardship until he stripped his lands of men and boys to fight his war. He did this because he needed strong men. Not because it was the right thing to do or the needs of the land or his country but because he needed them.”

Ariadne shook her head in what I took for sadness and frustration.

“I saw it as a waste. A waste of land, wealth and people. The man was clearly intelligent and charming and this was what he chose to do with it.

“He then went on to attract people to his cause. From an outside perspective those people might be good or evil, possibly both, who genuinely believed in his cause or saw in it another route to power. Even now, church and Ducal forces are routing out the last of Dorme's people, those hangers on that you despised so much. Now they see themselves as honourable outlaws, fighting the good fight against an oppressive regime. Who knows? Maybe they're right. I was sent home so that I would not be seen being too oppressive.

“What did I see?

“I saw a soldier get down off his horse and offer an old woman his blanket, cloak and whatever rations that he had in his back-pack before riding on. That old woman must have been passed by dozens of people and he was the first to offer her some charity. Another man close to me commented that the old woman would be murdered shortly for that cloak and blanket and that he shouldn't have given it to her.

“We came to a village that had been slaughtered by someone, I don't know by who. I hope it wasn't our side and I don't think it was due to the outrage, disgust and pain shown by our soldiers but there were some stories that were told by the arrangement of bodies. One woman had sheltered a child that wasn't her own with her own body, her efforts were pointless as the child had still been sought out and killed whereas another, older man had pushed a similarly aged child in front of himself so that he could get a head start on running away from his attackers.”

I said nothing.

“Humanity has such....potential. I like to think that that's what we saw in those earliest of settlers as they landed in the delta. I like to think that we saw... hope.”

She shook her head as though clearing out some cobwebs.

“Dorme's manor house was a picture of neglect and lack of care. Whole rooms were given over to the debauchery that I had feared and the rites that I had warned of. One woman had been skinned alive. Another had literally been raped to death. A man had been thrown into a pit with a pack of dogs. He'd done all the rites in the correct order but then he had just left them there. Left them without bothering to clean them up, so obsessed with the end result. It was like he had a list of things to do like “Eat breakfast, collect taxes, exercise horse, eat lunch, torture man to death by sticking hot items up his rectum, donate to charity” and so on. He just went through the motions.

“There was some magic there of course. You can't do things like that without leaving some kind of scarring where everyone can see and feel it. The place was definitely haunted and openly weeping church knights went through the place laying people to rest while Kerrass dealt with the angrier spirits as best as he could. People kept telling me that it was all horrible and how could a person do something like this.”

“I'm sorry” she said after another long silence. “If you wanted a lurid telling of what happened and what we found out there you're talking to the wrong vampire. It seems that I have lost my taste for such things in being reborn into this newer and more modern world.”

“Would you take it amiss Madame if I said that I was glad of that?”

She looked at me sharply before stopping and thinking. “No, no I don't think I would take it amiss and I also find that I am pleased that that's not what you want.”

“Don't get me wrong, it would increase my reader numbers.” I tried for a joke and she did indeed smile.

“What were the other duties?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“The Duke said you had “other things” to talk about?”

She laughed.

“It would seem that as well as your philosophy of Noble obligation, there are other more practical things that I am supposed to do now that I am a noble of this land for which there might be problems. Not that they're really problems but it's things that might need to be looked into for a quiet life in the future.”

“Such as,”

She grinned at me.

“Apparently it is unseemly for a lady such as myself to be unmarried and ruling over a part of the realm.” She snorted. “Of all the ridiculous notions that modern humanity has, this presumed precedence of the male over the female is one of the most stupid. But apparently it's something that I must look into. I told them that if they could find someone of suitable rank who was willing to marry the “Spider Queen of Angraal” then I would gladly meet with them.”

I grinned at her. “You could always make your own arrangements. As I think has been mentioned previously, marriages are arranged so you could go over the boys head if you wish,”

“I could. I will consider various things. The other thing is that it is an apparent duty of the female to produce an heir. Leaving aside the problem of finding someone to fulfil the first duty to help provide a legitimate heir. I am a vampire. I pointed out the redundancy of this duty given that, to all practical purposes, I will live forever but apparently it's still a thing in case something happens to me.”

She snorted again. “How ridiculous.”

“Have you made any other contacts with your own people?”

She looked at me for a long time.

“My people are very secretive. I have heard words to the effect that they will watch my progress “with interest,” I have no idea what that means but I suppose that we shall see. Kerrass and yourself will still leave today?”

“We will. Kerrass wants to go further north as he has something that he wants to do, or show me. He's not being forthcoming on details.”

She nodded and patted my arm.

There was something about that gesture. An intimacy about it that caught me off guard. We had been walking slowly round the gardens as we had talked and I was suddenly, again, very conscious of how close we were physically and I felt myself pull away without consciously meaning to.

“Do you still find me so terrifying Frederick?” she asked for the second time that morning. She looked up at me and I realised that this version of her was a little shorter than me. Thinking back this had been true before but this was the first time that I properly noticed it. She seemed a little resigned, maybe even a little sad.

“Is this a time for honesty rather than a time for consideration madame?” I asked formally.

She drew herself up. Her regality and poise coming back to the fore.

“It is,”

I nodded. Swallowed and cleared my throat.

“You terrify me madame.”

She nodded. I recognised her mask.

“Why?” she asked.

“There are a couple of reasons I suspect. The greater part of it is unknown to me. Maybe it is an instinctual thing like your confession with regards to your feelings about Kerrass. The primal part of me quails before your gaze. But although that is indeed true, there is another reason.”

I had turned away from her and turned back to face her.

“You are beautiful Lady, but I am also aware that what I am looking at is an illusion. What I can touch, feel, see, hear and smell is a spell designed to befuddle me. Made even worse by the fact that Kerrass, quite accurately, described my...tastes and as such, you cast a spell on me. I know this and as such I do not trust it. I don't know why you appear like this, in this form that is, I admit, attractive to me. I can guess at some reasons. You want to blend in, you want to put people at their ease and not frighten them all but it is a deception. Knowing that you can do those things I... Put bluntly... How can I trust you? You are also, obviously a gifted politician and can manipulate others to suit your needs and desires so how can I trust you?”

I smiled sadly. Her mask was still in place.

“You are right. I have met monsters that are kinder than humans and over the past year and a bit. I have met many things and encountered many more situations that have taught me to question my beliefs and long held prejudices but I find that although I can consciously decide that those things are incorrect... Instinct betrays me. I look at you and I hear your words. But I cannot trust what I see and hear, does that make sense? I do not mean to insult you and I accept that such things are highly insulting and I apologise for that and I...”

She smiled at me. “You're babbling Frederick. I understand completely. Trust is earned however and I intend to earn that trust. My appearance is part of that but I can see your reasoning. You have no need to apologise.”

I nodded, relieved.

She looked to the left and to the right quietly. I blinked and a skeleton was standing in front of me. I say a skeleton but that's not true. It was...The clothes were real, they seemed to hang off her as though they were hung on a dressing mannequin. She was painfully thin. Beyond even the thinnest of humans, those people that you see who have starved to death over a prolonged period of time. Her skin was there but so pale as to be translucent, blue veins running hither and thither underneath her skin. I could see no muscle or flesh anywhere, her fangs were plainly visible in her mouth under the lips and I could visibly see her heart beating. There were two things that remained the same though, her eyes and her hair which she was playing with nervously.

“Oh,” I exclaimed. Not the most witty response, or the most helpful.

She turned away. “Now do you see? This is why I hide so that I don't drive people away. I have....I learned a new word recently. Cliche. It is a cliché but true nevertheless. My companion in the tower died nearly three hundred years ago after living long past her natural span of years. I need people around me I'm... not lonely but I crave company and contact and people to talk to in the same way that I find I crave fresh air, rain or shine.” Her voice was a rasping ghost of what it was normally.

But I wasn't really listening. She had turned away from my eyes. For the first time she seemed.... afraid. She seemed.... I don't know the word for it but I wanted to reassure her but without lying. I am well aware of the male need to be a hero sometimes and I cannot deny that that was part of what I was feeling.

“Ariadne,” I said.

She looked back at me.

“I will not deny that you are a person that still needs to eat a lot of pie,”

she snickered at that, covering her mouth with her hand.

“But regardless of anything else I am pleased that you showed me that. That honesty is... I don't know what it is but it's...nice. And I will say that regardless of your physical body that, as I said, needs a lot of pie, vegetables and other such sustenance... I do see the truth there and I will admit that I find you beautiful.”

I do not know what I thought would happen then. I suspect that if she was human she may have blushed. But

Ariadne held my gaze and nodded.

“Thank you Frederick.”

We made pleasantries for a bit longer but the time for my departure came on us and I left. We were seen off by the Duke and most of the rest of the court decked out in their finery. I can't speak for Kerrass but I was certainly glad to be dressed in my normal travelling clothes again with my spear at my side and a road to be travelled. The Duke gave a speech, the priest gave a speech and then Ariadne approached. She gave Kerrass a jewelled badge and a small box that he put in the travel bag normally reserved for his alchemical supplies before hugging him. He made a joke which I did not hear but made her laugh. Then she came to me and I bowed formally. She did have her illusion back up and I will admit that she looked stunning. A long way from the corpse that I had first met and the black clad evil queen of legend. She didn't hug me or offer a gift she just stared at me for a long time, head slightly cocked to one side like a dog considering something.

“Tell me something Lord Frederick,” She said not quietly. “Who deals with arranging marriages for your family?”

The question was so out of the blue that like a fool, I answered.

“My mother probably, or if she has retired to the nunnery then it would be my eldest sister.”

Ariadne nodded. “I shall remember that.” She turned and walked back to her place next to the Duke.

As Kerrass and I left, the overwhelming implications of that question sank in and I looked over at Kerrass, mute horror on my face.

He grinned at me.

“Don't look at me.” He said. “You did that one to yourself. Properly stitched yourself.”

“Fuck off.” I said and kicked my horse into a trot to the sound of his quiet chuckling.