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"I contacted Geralt. He said that with the help of a sorceress acquaintance who provided him with portals, he's already reached Kaer Morhen, and Vesemir was there. They've begun preparing for the siege and have sent messenger birds to the other Wolf School Witchers... But they're short-handed for preparing the fortress."
I looked at Yennefer, who had reported to me, and nodded thoughtfully at her words.
"When can you open a portal?"
"At any moment…"
"Good…"
I turned my gaze to Saul.
"Saul?"
"Yes, I'm ready to take the greater part of the clan with me so we can prepare the fortress for the siege. I think a month should be enough for us to get it into a state where we can hold out for a couple of years against the Wild Hunt's onslaught."
"Good... Just a reminder: it's better to use the materials already on site, just our tools. As far as I know, the fortress is in the mountains, so laser cutters for slicing out blocks to restore the walls won't be a problem."
"But I thought…"
"I also thought about equipping the fortress with the latest tech, but until it's officially ours, I don't see the point. Just rebuild the walls, renovate all the premises. If necessary, you can reinforce the walls with rebar; with our capabilities, making steel rods and drilling holes in the finished wall to place them isn't a problem, nor is the pump to inject cement solution into the cavities under pressure."
Saul nodded his head.
"And we need to teach the Witchers how to use a pistol and an assault rifle, as well as make them their customary swords and crossbows, but using materials from our world."
"Understood…"
"Ciri will stay with us for now, as will Triss. Yennefer, however, will go with you, just in case you need to contact us or open a portal from that side."
"Got it…"
Yennefer nodded and looked contentedly at Scorpion, but Ciri looked at Saul with sadness and concern.
"Princess, don't worry. Saul's a stand-up guy, and he won't be messing around with anyone behind your back."
Becca clapped her friend on the shoulder.
"I'm not worried…"
Ciri shrugged, but her tone made it clear that Becca's words had done the trick, and she was slightly calmer. Mda... she got attached to my second-in-command fast...
"So... now for a much more important question…"
I closed my eyes, maintaining a dramatic pause, and when I opened them, I saw that everyone had become much more collected and serious.
"And what question is that?"
Ciri couldn't stand the silence and decided to intervene.
"It's good that you're the one who asked this, because the question concerns you directly…"
And another brief pause.
"When's the wedding?"
"What-the-hell?"
Ciri blinked in astonishment.
"Kha-kha-kha?!"
Saul reacted much more strongly to my words and went into a coughing fit.
"No, but seriously? You two have obviously formed a deep bond, so my question is quite relevant. By the way, Saul, I'll let you leave the clan, but you need to groom your replacement beforehand."
"I... huff…"
He exhaled sharply and shook his head, meeting my gaze.
"Okay, I'm glad you're willing to let me go, but why do you think I want to leave?"
"You?"
I looked at him and shook my head.
"You don't want to, but you're too responsible."
"And how does that align with you letting me go from the clan?"
"It's direct…"
I shrugged.
"Ciri, as you likely know, is the heir to the Nilfgaardian Empire's throne. But she's not rushing to claim the throne. I don't know what you know about the happenings in her world, but I can tell you that things aren't great there in terms of a lack of good leadership. And when you spend some time there, talk to the Witchers... and find out what our Princess is running from…"
I shifted my gaze from Saul to Ciri.
"You know exactly what I mean, don't you?"
"Yes…"
Ciri nodded at my words.
"So you…"
I looked back at Saul.
"…won't be able to stand aside and will decide to help Ciri take power into her gentle hands. And once you take that power…"
I shrugged.
"…given your position, it would be wrong to remain subordinate to anyone else."
"I see…"
Saul sighed.
"…I'll train a successor... I don't know how right you are…"
"Absolutely right…"
Ciri said this and sighed sadly.
"…We really have big problems, so a leader like you would be well-suited there. But what about you? What do you plan to do?"
I shrugged.
"My own mercenary Order... a sort of inter-world Order that takes jobs."
"Hmm... you want to base yourselves in Kaer Morhen?"
"Yup, if we can seize it from the Wolves, of course."
"That's bad…"
Ciri frowned.
"Uncle Vesemir is like a grandfather to me, Geralt is like a father, and I wouldn't want them to be left without a home; that old fortress is their home. Maybe you could choose another place?"
I shrugged.
"I'm not kicking them out... and for... eight? Ten? Witchers, there will always be room in the castle. Or do you think that after we repair the fortress, we can't lay claim to a part of it as our base?"
"Possibly... Vesemir won't object, but the others... they don't like outsiders."
"I don't give a damn…"
I smirked.
"…They'll reconsider their viewpoint when a ripper runs a check on their genome and fixes it up a bit so they can have children. Not always, of course, but say, synthesizing a pill that will temporarily…"
"Is that real?!"
Yennefer loomed over me, and I looked at her in surprise.
"What? Making a pill for Witchers? Well... theoretically it should be real. Even if not a pill to restore it, then conversely, giving them back the ability to have children and making a pill that completely removes that trait for a while is definitely real."
"I need a ripper, urgently!"
Yennefer bolted from her seat and ran toward the clan's ripperdoc.
"What's wrong with her?"
I looked at Triss in surprise.
"Yen... she wasn't always this beautiful. When she was still studying, she didn't want to wait and decided on a dangerous ritual, as a result of which her appearance was completely corrected. But, you see…"
Triss gnawed on her lip, but then sighed and continued.
"…she can't have children after that. So the possibility of restoring a lost bodily function is like human blood to a drowned dead…"
I nodded in understanding and looked thoughtfully in the direction where Yennefer had run off. Our small clearing was silent for a while.
"And you don't have any problems?"
"Hmm?"
"Well, I just thought... We haven't been asking about your problems at all... I think it's because of a certain confidence that magic is something wondrous and all-powerful, and you couldn't possibly have any problems. At least not with your health…"
"Well... I have a burn near my solar plexus…"
Triss looked away.
"I never found a way to remove it…"
"Well, we can remove that skin and either transplant skin from other parts of your body or try to graft a synthetic analog, matching the pigment so the color doesn't differ from your natural one at all…"
"And that…"
"Triss, wait a bit. I think our ripper will have some questions for Yen. Give them thirty minutes, and you can go check on things, or we can zip over to Vik's, but I doubt that would be faster."
"Thanks…"
"By the way, why haven't I seen this burn? You seem to like low necklines…"
"Illusion."
She removed the illusion, and all I could do was shake my head. I hadn't thought the scar would be that big. However, with this world's medicine, removing it really shouldn't be a problem. But Yennefer... I can't even imagine what she might have underneath.
"Well, our medicine can definitely handle that…"
"Don't make such promises…"
Triss smiled sadly and sat closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Honestly, it's enough for me that you didn't look away when you saw the burn. Usually, men react more strongly to this... Even Geralt, though not as obviously as others…"
I put my arm around Triss's waist.
"Ahem... Girls, looks like we have competition…"
"Becca, I already agreed to everything with you guys…"
Triss shot her a glance.
"I know, I know, we're not against it... just so brazenly…"
"Well... I don't see anything wrong with it…"
"Alright... while Yen is gone, and Ciri and Saul are taking advantage of the moment to snuggle…"
"Hey! We're only hugging... And you and Triss aren't far behind!"
"I don't mind, I just needed a small distraction... by the way, you can also deal with your scar…"
"I know. Saul already told me about it, but it's…"
Ciri touched the scar under her eye.
"…a reminder. A reminder that you can't be too self-confident. If I remove it, I might forget that and get caught out again."
"Well, it's your call... but getting back to the matter at hand, or rather, the fortress of Kaer Morhen, it needs to be prepared as quickly as possible, and most importantly, the cellars need to be prepared. We have the money. We can definitely buy precious metals, which we'll exchange for local currency in that world, and stock up on provisions. And we'll need A LOT of those."
Saul nodded.
"I'll do it. By the way, we could set up a couple of dozen siege crossbows, upgrading them to multi-shot."
"That's all on you. Just make sure you do everything to the best of your ability."
"Fine... Ciri, don't go near David…"
Saul playfully wagged a finger at the girl, but she just pouted.
"That's insulting!"
"Aw, come on, you see how many beauties he's gathered around him... I'm even surprised you chose me and not him, and that Yen chose Scorpion…"
"Well, I don't gather every girl I meet into my harem... With some, I stay just friends—like Ciri, Yen, Rogue, Regina... With some, I prefer not to meet again—like Hanako and Mystic…"
"And what did the last one do to you?"
"I don't know... it's just... something inside me whispers that meeting her isn't the best idea."
"A sixth sense…"
Ciri nodded respectfully.
"…listening to it is the right thing to do."
"Yup, and now a question for my partners: how are we going to storm the Ebony? Have you gathered the data?"
"Shall we go then?"
Saul looked at me.
"Yeah... Yen can open a portal for you when she's done, but I think you and Ciri will want to spend at least one more night together, so you can leave say, tomorrow evening, or the day after."
"Tomorrow... in the afternoon."
"Well, that's for you to choose. Just make sure you prepare everything and gather the necessary tools…"
And losing interest in Saul and Ciri, who hurried to leave, I turned my gaze to Kiwi, Judy, and Lucy.
"Did you gather the data?"
"Yup... Maelstrom is guarding the approaches, and there's also Smasher's partner on the ship, a guy named Jeremiah Grayson…"
"We'll go quietly. I don't think we'll mess with the Maelstromers this time…"
Becca scratched her cheek, thoughtfully examining the map our netrunners had sent us.
"…There are too many of them; they'll definitely raise the alarm. And Smasher might wake up earlier, and we really wouldn't want to fight him…"
"You're thinking of sneaking in and striking the most vulnerable point, destroying Smasher with the first hit?"
"Yup…"
"Well... accepted…"
I nodded to the little choomba, at which point our conversation came to an end…
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