The Dragon and the Wolf Ch. 05

"Some scars appear only skin deep," she whispered.

"I know what you mean. I've stared death in the face more times than I wish to count."

"What I saw that day, Ragnar... I still have nightmares sometimes."

I pulled her onto my lap and hugged her, feeling her arms wrap around me in return. "Does being here help?" I wondered, "Far away from civilisation. It's peaceful here, at least. I find it easy to just forget about everything beyond the fort."

"Ciri is a great distraction. And I'm finding someone else a rather pleasant distraction too." I couldn't help chuckle, which made her giggle again. "Am I being forward?"

"Nope. I have no problem with a woman letting me know what she is thinking or feeling. Takes some pressure off myself, to be honest."

"I'm guessing you had lovers back on Tamriel?"

"Aye. I remember them, of course, but I've been here for a while now."

She leaned back and met my eyes again before she used magic to cover the scars once again. "I do it for myself, Ragnar. I can't handle seeing it in the mirror. The doctors said I was hit right here," she gestured with her finger, "And that I was lucky to not be completely engulfed in flames. They managed to prevent more of my body being burned, and they did everything they could regarding this, but it takes magic to look in a mirror and see the woman from before Sodden Hill."

"I think she's beautiful either way."

Exactly the right thing to say as she leaned forward to kiss me. It didn't last too long, as we were both grinning while we kissed, before she eventually leaned back. "Well, about time that happened, right?" she asked.

"Aye, about time," I replied softly, caressing her cheek. She had very soft skin compared to the rough skin of my hand. She leaned forward, resting her head against my chest again, feeling her get comfortable as I just hugged her. It immediately felt right. I'd had that feeling before, back on Tamriel, but obviously the first time I'd felt that since arriving.

"Can I be honest about something?" she asked.

"Sure."

"I did have a little crush on Geralt for a while. I know he's been with Yennefer for a long time now, but... well, you obviously know him well enough now."

"He's a good man."

"He is. But things changed the day you were introduced to me. Does that happen often?"

I couldn't help laugh. "Aye, more times than I'd care to admit. I've been told more than once that I just have a presence and a certain charm. Doesn't make me irresistible or anything, but I did have a good track record on Tamriel."

"Ah, a line of lovers and broken hearts?"

"Not too many broken hearts, I like to believe. I lived a full life is how I would put it."

She eventually moved off my lap as we laid back and cuddled into my side, arm wrapped around her in return. Her hand eventually undid the buttons my shirt and she was soon tracing scars of my own with her fingers, asking if I remembered what happened regarding certain ones. I couldn't remember them all, but certainly remembered the larger scars, as those usually came with a lot of blood and pain. We eventually fell into contented silence, and I think drifted off to sleep, as we woke up a little later as the temperature was starting to drop. Packing up quickly, I took her by the hand as we headed quickly back to the fort before night fell.

Arriving back just as the sun was setting over the nearby mountain range, there was barely a mention of the fact we'd been gone all day. After dinner, we gathered as a group as always to enjoy a drink. Ciri would stay up though would be stuck to drinking juice. She'd tasted ale once, spat it out, and claimed to never want a drink again. That suited the adults just fine.

Heading to bed that evening, I was in the middle of undressing when there was a knock at the door. To find Triss on the other side wasn't a surprise, and she took a moment to look me up and down again, considering I stood there in just my trousers. Gently pushing me backwards, she kicked the door shut before stating, "I don't want to have sex tonight, Ragnar," she said rather bluntly. I couldn't help grin as she quickly added, "I don't want it to happen that quickly between us, but I wanted company. I've slept alone every night since I arrived. Would you like my company tonight?"

"I'll keep my trousers on."

It was the best night's sleep I'd had since I landed face down in the snow.

*****

We'd killed quite a few monsters. Golems. Drowners. Wraiths. Gargoyles. The only things I'd ever fought before had been gargoyles, when I'd been alongside Serana as we explored her family castle. Everything else was still relatively new. But nothing compared to the apparently power of the Wild Hunt. And when the mage summoned something Geralt called the 'White Frost', he was immediately concerned, while Keira had no idea what to expect.

Feeling the temperature suddenly dip by a number of degrees, Keira summoned a spell to keep them safe. There were three portals that appeared, through which monsters of the Wild Hunt appeared. Being a Nord, I could handle the worst of cold, amazing my companions as I happily approach the first portal, and at times like that, I had no problem using my Thu'um on both the portal and monsters that appeared. To actually close the portal, though, took particular magic from Keira to actually ensure the portal closed.

It was laborious work closing the three of them, and it allowed the rest of the Wild Hunt to get ahead. They tried to cover their tracks but another use or two of my Thu'um cleared the way, but knowing that we would still be pursuing them, they left behind another thing that they hoped would slow our progress.

"Two against one is almost unfair," I stated, though I could see the enormous weapon the Hunt member wielded that could certainly cut all three of us down with one good swing. Then Keira cleared her throat. "Sorry, three against one."

"At least steel will kill the bastard, so your sword will come in handy for this," Geralt muttered, "Keira, help where you can, but stay back. Ragnar and I will get in close, keep him occupied."

Geralt had told me about the Wild Hunt in stories we'd shared over campfires throughout the years that we'd known one another. They were known as the Aen Elle, elves from another world, and apparently travelled between worlds to capture slaves to serve them.

Whoever this Wild Hunt elf was, he was quick and his skill with his weapon was exemplary. Geralt and I worked in tandem, but it was hard to get in close. I could have just used my Thu'um, but it did feel like cheating at times, confident enough that Geralt and I could handle this member of the Wild Hunt, with assistance from Keira, who was smart enough to keep her distance, the elf almost catching Geralt and I off guard more than once.

Whenever we were gaining the upper hand, the bastard would summon those rifts we'd seen before, through which other Wild Hunt monsters would appeared. Geralt and I would deal with those as I kept my eyes on the elf. He must have summoned three rifts by the time I was just tired of him, so I used my Thu'um.

That definitely grabbed the attention of the elf while I heard Keira mutter one or two comments behind me, as she would not have seen me use my gift before either. The elf seemed to realise he was up against a new enemy, though, and renewed his attacks, swinging with even greater force, but I also sensed with a sense of desperation. That simply made me grin.

When Geralt appeared at my side, stating the last rift was closed, desperation turned to fear, and that ended in the elf making a fatal mistake. Geralt and I struck at the same time, the elf skewered by both our blades. As his body dropped the ground, already dead, I had to lean over and take a good look at him. His armour was completely black, and tapping my knuckles against it, rather thick. I was amazed he could walk around in it as it looked incredibly heavy.

"Our knowledge of them is limited," Geralt admitted, "It's what is so concerning regarding their interest in Ciri. But they appeared to be doing anything they can to find her."

"I would suggest immediately going on the front foot against them in return..."

"But we have no way of finding them, Ragnar, as I'm sure you've already figured out. We stay alert but allow them to come to us. We'll eventually find a way of locating them, and when we do, that's when we unleash the Dragonborn upon them." I gave him a glance to see he was deadly serious. "You are clearly not of this world, Ragnar, just like them. So we fight fire with fire."

I gave it about three seconds thought. "If it protects Ciri..."

"I figured your soft spot for her would help."

"I saw that portrait, Geralt. She's all grown up."

He looked away but nodded. "Yeah..."

I heard the tone and laid a hand on his shoulder, earning another nod of appreciation.

Wandering forward, the Wild Hunt had ransacked what we figured out was the laboratory of the elven mage we had been looking for. There was no sign of the mage himself, but there was another of those projections we'd seen. "Zireael, this place is no longer safe. Do not tarry here long. Trust no one, and above all beware the witches of Crookback Bog. Try to reach the place where last we were together."

I'd never heard of the witches of Crookback Bog before. They were likely a local legend, though they might actually exist. There was usually an element of fact within the myths that villagers usually held. As for where they were last together, the three of us were left absolutely clueless, considering we had no idea where Ciri was, and were only just figuring out where she might have been.

"Keira, you heard of these witches?"

She looked a little awkward when I asked, and when Geralt turned around, she started to look rather uncomfortable. "What is it, Keira?" he asked, "Do you know about these witches?"

She sighed, taking a seat on a chair as Geralt continued his search. "I've never met them, but I've read of them. In an old manuscript I found in one of the huts in the village. It mentions the village witches venturing into Crookback Bog at times, to liaise between the villagers in the Crones, the Ladies of the Wood. The Crones appear to be intolerant of outsiders, but they help the local folk. Apparently, they stopped the spread of the plague in Velen."

"So it's not all superstitious nonsense then?" I asked. I'd heard plenty of legends back on Skyrim. It was amusing how often there was always truth behind them.

"I'd love to shrug it off as the nattering of so many old women, yet... Throughout my first fortnight in Velen, I had horrible nightmares. Something was calling me out into the swamps. One night, I decided to enter the dream consciously, render it lucid. I confronted the... thing directly. It broke contact at once. Peaceful nights ever since."

"Powerful witches," Geralt muttered, "How do I find them?"

"The swamps are vast, dangerous, but they say the Crones mark the way for peasants who wish to visit them. The manuscript mentions a chapel in Crookback Bog. And from that chapel one must follow the Trail of Treats."

We at least had some information in regards to our next avenue of investigation. After finding a hidden exit, an illusion which Geralt had sensed with his medallion, Geralt and I were just about ready to head off when Keira mentioned something about finding a lamp the elf had promised her.

"A lamp?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Not just any lamp, Ragnar. A magic lamp."

I shared a glance with Geralt. I was willing to help but Geralt sighed. "Fine, I guess we owe you for help us," he grumbled.

Thankfully we didn't have to search for long to find the chamber in which the magic lamp was resting. It was hidden behind the usual puzzle room I was used to finding across Skyrim, with subtle difference, but with three minds at work, the puzzle was easy to figure out. The lamp itself looked just like I assumed it would, though Keira assured us it had magical properties. It lay near a sepulchre that Geralt claimed referred to someone known as Lara Dorren, though she wasn't buried underneath the stone shrine. When I returned a blank look, Geralt had to explain who she was.

"She was an elven sorceress who married a human mage, Cregennan of Lod. It was controversial at the time, and remains so to this day. Much of her life has since passed into legend. There are those who consider her a heroine. Many elves consider her a traitor."

Finding an exit that finally led us back out into the waning daylight, the three of us gathered, needing to figure out our next step. "What do you plan on now?" she asked.

"Before approaching these witches, I think speaking to this baron might be worthwhile. From what we've learned, Ciri was definitely seen in his company, so perhaps he can give us the information we require."

"Ragnar, perhaps you would like to help me with something? Sounds like Geralt won't need your help just speaking to a baron."

I glanced at Geralt before I shrugged. "I mean, sure, but splitting up..."

"Won't be a problem," she interrupted, taking a small object from her small bag, handing it to Geralt. "It's called a xenovox. You can speak into it and we'll hear you, and vice versa."

"I assume you have at least one more?"

"I have another two, Geralt, for when Ragnar decides to re-join you. It will allow you two to communicate if you end up doing different things."

We were far south of where we had entered the cave, necessitating quite the walk back to where we'd left our horses. By the time we'd found them and mounted up, it was already dark. Keira and I headed straight for her house, Geralt choosing to camp just outside Midcopse before heading off to Crow's Perch the next morning. We shook hands, wishing each other luck, before I rode Keira and I back to hers.

Heading inside, she immediately offered to cook us dinner, which I accepted with hearty thanks. Sitting down to a simple meal a little later, we cracked open a bottle of wine as well, polishing both off before she suggested we head back to the grove where we'd met the first time. Another fine idea, though she asked me to head on through first, and she'd be through in a few minutes.

The fur blanket was still where it was, so I laid back and waited for a few minutes. Appearing through the portal wearing nothing but a smile, I certainly sat up as I took in one of the significant changes she'd made. I certainly looked her up and down more than once as she sat down on her knees in front of me. "Do you approve, Dragonborn?" she asked, oh so sweetly.

"I assume you know of my major weakness, Keira."

"I would have used this to my advantage to seduce you. But considering, well, we've already made love, I thought I'd just do this to gauge your reaction."

"They say men prefer blondes. This man loves redheads."

"And how does it look on me?"

I pulled her forward and kissed her before placing my lips near her ear. "May I be vulgar a moment?" It made her giggle at least. "You're going to wake up sore in the morning."

"Just what I wanted to hear."

She was very eager to get me as naked as herself, and then she was even more eager to use her mouth on me. She was rather talented and proved even more open minded later when, telling her I was about to cum, she simply looked up, met my eyes with a smile in them, and happily kept going as I groaned.

I needed to lie back after that, waxing lyrical about her talent as she cuddled up next to me. "Can I be honest a moment, Ragnar?"

"Aye. I'll probably be rather agreeable after that."

"I've nursed a little crush on you since the first day we met. When Triss brought you before us all, I wasn't the only one to practically swoon."

"Keira, it isn't a surprise."

"I know, but I thought you might like to know, considering you've slept with most of the Lodge anyway. Triss tolerated it?"

"I was a pawn for her at times. I didn't mind, as I got to satisfy my urges and sleep with some rather attractive women in return. Those I slept with though they could use me in return, but I was always looking after Triss and her interests first."

"But now?"

"Now, I am my own man for the moment so make the choices I want. Not that I didn't before, but the only motivation in regards to helping you is that I want to."

That seemed to get to her, as the next kiss we shared was something else, before she pulled me onto her and I quickly slid my cock inside. The sex we shared was rather tender, at least to start with. I think the crush she'd nursed and any expectations she might have held had been met.

We made love for hours, forging a real connection in the process. She was a lot of fun, incredibly open minded, and the conversation we shared while taking the occasional flowed was easy, with plenty of laughter, and also sharing stories of loss and pain at the same time. I knew she had suffered the loss of lovers and friends, so I willingly lay there and listened before she needed me again. By the time I had to cry enough, she collapsed to the ground, half asleep anyway.

It was a fitful night's sleep shared, though I did wonder what favour she wanted as I slowly drifted off.