In the daylight, in a backyard on the outskirts of the city of Cintra, a young man is inspecting it. He looks at the tracks around the yard. Footprints, bloodstains, ashes, claw marks. He searches from top to bottom so as not to miss anything.
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Saibus POV
Lyndis has done an excellent job on this scramble. A puddle of blood from his punctured torso and the rest of his face melted on the ground, mixing with the dirt and rainwater he had. Turning the whole thing into pure molasses that smells terrible. A real witch's work.
I thought as I studied the evidence of the fight on the ground. Then, after one last look, I stood up, and a smell caught my attention. The smell was that of orange.
'Intriguing.'
I then inspected the blood and footprints inside the courtyard and the one coming out.
The plumbers attacked Lyndis and she headed for a narrow alleyway further on. During her fight, I was drawn into the second barrow and assaulted by the plumbers. Lots of plumbers. Plumbers were used as cannon fodder to hold me back, while the second bruxa went to help the first. Unfortunately for her, she died before she could get there to rescue her.
But she didn't give up her anger to attack Lyndis directly when she got there. Instead, she chose to retrieve her body. Her sister's body.'
'Right, time to get some height,' I said in my head as I finished mentally recapping the events of last night.
I climbed easily up the abandoned house and reached the top. I looked at the roof and noticed a large amount of blood near the edge on the other side of the roof.
'Weird,' I thought. I approach the blood and crouch down. I raise my right hand and make hand motions while I say verses in the ancient language. The blood begins to turn a bright color, losing its blackness as it dries.
I can see that the middle of the pool of blood is clearing. The blood moves, allowing me to see two figures. The figures are two women, one carrying the other. The woman who is being carried loses a large amount of blood as the woman carrying her lands on the roof. She says a few words to the woman in her arms and starts running across the roofs toward the market district.
Well, this blood does belong to the Bruxe that Lyndis killed yesterday. They are heading towards the market district. So their home is not in the suburbs but in the middle or upper town. That already narrows down the possible hiding places. I stand up and jump off the roof.
Let the hunt begin,' I smile.
I walk quietly through the suburbs towards the market district. Today the market is bigger than usual because of a small party organized by the merchants themselves to bring more customers to their stalls and make people forget the monsters' presence for a day while they do business.
Even on the city's outskirts, the atmosphere is lively and less gloomy than usual. Fewer drunken men but more comrades are sharing a drink and a game of Gwynt or dice.
The road gradually changes from a mere dirt road to one made of cobbled stone from which the little clatter of carriages and horseshoes echoes.
Even at the beginning of the market district, I can hear the shouts of shopkeepers trying to entice passers-by to their stalls. The shouts are accompanied by music from a band passing through the city. The atmosphere is festive and joyful. It is quite different from the previous days.
As I walk through the neighborhood, I catch a particularly familiar smell. A smell of orange, the same one that the brouxe had. Following this smell, I come across a stall run by an old woman. The lady is selling clothes, fabric, and some cheap jewelry. The smell comes from the lady's customers, five young girls dressed in noble clothes. Each is wearing a dress made of beautiful fabrics with many ornaments. The girls are undoubtedly members of the city's nobility.
Well, following the scent of the brouxe will be more difficult than expected if every noble girl is wearing the same scent. But now I know where the remaining bruxas are, in the upper part of the city.' I thought as I approached the old lady.
"Hello, Madam. Sorry to bother you in the middle of your business with these lovely ladies, but I smelled a good orange. I'm looking for which stall sells oranges with such a delicious smell."
"My dear, that is not the smell of orange you are smelling, but the perfume of the master perfumer Noz. All the ladies in high society are crazy about it, and I can see why. It is a delicious perfume. I don't think you're interested, but a handsome and charming young man like yourself must surely have a woman he's madly in love with. I am sure that if you give him this perfume, your lady will be delighted. Head for the noble quarter, Master Noz's shop is on your right before the ascent to the nobility." The old woman kindly corrected me, pointing to Noz's shop.
As I left, I heard the five young girls giggling. I glanced in their direction and saw all five of them giving me mischievous and charming looks.
Yennefer's bewitching looks are more enchanting than that,' I thought.
Following the path the old lady had given me, I arrived at the shop of Master Noz.
The façade is simple, a brick wall with a window to let the light in and allow you to see inside. The interior is considerably more luxurious. I can see chandeliers, dozens of perfume bottles, gold and silver ornaments, and many other opulent things.
'cling'.
The chimes sing as I enter the perfume shop.
As I enter the empty shop, I walk up to the counter. In the back of the shop, I can see a dwarf dressed in model-like clothes.
"One moment, please," says the dwarf in a suave voice.
After two or three minutes of waiting to look at the products sold in the shop.
"Good morning, my lord. I apologize for my tardiness. I was preparing orders for my noble clients." The dwarf approaches the counter.
"No worries, Master Noz, I presume?" I asked.
"The one and only Master Noz, the best perfumer in all of Cintra. What can I do for you?"
"I wish to purchase your orange-based perfume. I have heard it is your best perfume, and I would like to give it to my wife." I said.
"Oh, you want the Celestial Dew. It is indeed the best perfume I have ever made to date, and it may forever be my greatest creation. How many bottles do you want?" says Noz, pulling out a book. I can see that the book is an account book.
"I would like to buy two bottles," I reply, looking over the counter. Reading what is written in the book upside down.
"Fine, two bottles of Celestial Dew, I'll need a name, and that will be 1000 Ducats," said Noz as he took a quill from an inkwell.
"Desmond Miles," I replied to Noz's request as I pulled 300 crowns from my purse.
"Fine, Mr. Miles, I'll get your perfumes." Noz takes the 300 crowns and goes to the back of the shop. He goes to a table where he counts the coins checking if I have given him the stated number of crowns and if they are equivalent to 1000 Ducats.
Meanwhile, I lean forward and leaf through the account book. Flipping through the pages to see who has recently bought the Celestial Dew. Turning page after page, going back in those five minutes to 1205. Putting the book back on the first page, I return to my seat, having obtained the information I wanted.
Noz returns later with a small wooden box. "Well, my dear sir, here are the two bottles of Rosée Céleste," he says as he opens the box to show me two perfumes labeled Rosée Céleste.
I take the box and thank Noz. "Thank you, Master Noz."
"I thank you, my lord, for appreciating my work. I bid you farewell until your next order."
I leave the perfumery.
'Well, now that I have the information, all I have to do is analyze it.'
I return to the temple of Melitele. I greet the priestesses I pass and enter Lyndis' room. I put the box on a table and sit down on a chair.
"Did you find any information during that two-hour investigation?" asks Lyndis, who straightened up as I walked in.
"Yes, I narrowed the search area to the noble quarter. The scent of the brouxe led me to a perfumery that sells this perfume to all the noblewomen in the city and kingdom," replied I, closing my eyes
"So, other than the fact that we have to search the upper city, you have failed to find any other clues as to where the remaining brouxe may be."
"I didn't say that. I saw the account book, including the addresses of the master perfumer's deliveries. Give me a little time, and I can give you some possible addresses." I retorted as I settled back into my chair.
"How do you plan to do that?" Lyndis asked me doubtfully.
"With something magical, chaos, and the Crypt of Knowledge spell," I answered Lyndis with a smile.
I went through my mind tracing the information I got from looking at the account book.
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Narrator POV:
Saibus opens his eyes after an hour of meditation. He sees Lyndis tending to her witching equipment.
"It's okay. I got several delivery addresses from Noz, the master perfumer. There are a lot of them. It will take me a few days to check them all out."
"Yes, and we'll have to wait because I can't go out, or I'll get killed by the priestess of Melitele," says Lyndis.
"I know, that's why I said take me. By the time you recover, I will check the place out."
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9 Birke 1208
In the noble district of Cintra, in front of a magnificent mansion made of white and blue stones, Lyndis and Saibus are standing.
"Well, usually I would let you talk, but as I explained to you, the situation is quite delicate, and I don't want the situation to get out of hand and innocent blood to be shed," says Saibus looking at Lyndis.
"Yes, don't worry, the lives of the innocents are more important to me than the life of a monster, so if you can stop the brouxe without the innocents in the house being killed, I'm with you," Lyndis replies.
So Saibus walks to the door and knocks three times.
"I'm coming." A voice answers Saibus' knock.
An old lady with white hair and grey eyes opens the door a few moments later.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" the lady asks in a gentle grandmotherly voice.
"Hello, Lady Lydia. I am a friend of your granddaughter Lana. I am passing through the city, so I thought I would come and visit her." Saibus answers the old lady's question in his kind voice.
"Oh, you're a friend of my sweet granddaughter. Come on in. I'll call her." the lady replies with a bright smile.
"My sweet Lana, your friend has come to visit you. The old lady enters the entrance of the house and calls her granddaughter.
Saibus and Lyndis enter Lydia's house. The house is decorated luxuriously but not extravagantly. It manages to merge luxury and simplicity.
"Settle in, my dear, don't be shy." Lydia invites her guests to sit down in the living room.
She takes a small bell and rings it. A little girl of fifteen then arrives in a servant's outfit
"Little Sophie, prepare tea for four people."
"Yes, Grandma Lydia."
"So until my granddaughter comes downstairs, what can you tell me about yourself?" asks Lydia curiously.
"My colleague here is something of a mercenary with little talk, and I am helping her with one of her missions. " I am a magician who helps the innocent," says Saibus with a smile.
"Oh, a mercenary and a magician, what an unlikely duo. I hope my little girl didn't trouble you when you met.
"No, young lady, she did not cause us any trouble. On the contrary, she took a thorn out of our side."
"Well then..." Lydia is about to continue the conversation when a voice interrupts her.
"Grandma, you said a friend visited me?" A melodious voice comes from the stairs.
"Yes, my child is coming to see me. Your magician friend is passing through town," Lydia smiles.
A young woman with long black hair enters the room. Pale skin, scarlet eyes. Her ethereal beauty is enhanced by her jewelry, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Her body, though voluptuous, is lean. Her curves are hidden under her loose-fitting dress, but this does not work correctly. On the contrary, her dress gives her extra charm and attraction. The woman hides the bottom of her face with a heel.
"Hello Lana, how nice to have you back," Saibus says with a smile.
'Don't move. I don't want to kill you. I don't want the situation to get out of hand and your famous grandmother to be caught between us.' Saibus says in his head.
Lana tensed for a brief moment before returning to her natural expression.
"Indeed, it has been long since we last saw, my dear."
'What do you want? Your friend killed my sister. Do you want to kill me too?" replied Lana as she stood at the entrance to the living room.
'No, on the contrary, I have a proposal for you instead. A proposal that would make your grandmother happy and yours,' Saibus replies mentally.
Lana's silence lets Saibus know that she is listening.
A friend of mine is in a similar condition to you. She could use some help with her thirst. I think you can help her. If you help her, your grandmother will be proud of you.'
"My dear Lana, don't just stand there. Come and sit next to me," Lydia says, tapping her right.
Lana mechanically follows Lydia's request by sitting on her right.
Sophie arrives with a silver tray and places it on the coffee table. She serves the tea and leaves.
"My little Lana, your friend, please tell me how you met," Lydia says, taking a cup of tea.
"We met in a fight. I was in a fight, and she got into a fight with a little man as stubborn as a woodpecker."
"Oh, my dear, you didn't tell me that story. Did you get hurt?" Lydia panics and turns to Lana.
"Ah, no, grandma, I'm fine. I wasn't hurt at all," replies Lana.
"Good, I'm reassured," says Lydia with a sigh.
'I've been gathering information on you. I know you've been with your sister in this town for three years. I know that you're pretending to be Lady Lydia's granddaughter. I also know that you only kill people who commit crimes, proving you are not an emotionless monster. Even our current situation proves that.'
'I don't see how my history or lack of emotions makes you want to make a deal with me and not kill me. especially when a witch accompanies you.' Lana mentally snaps.
It matters because it lets me know who you are or not. It lets me know whether or not I can try to trust you to help my friend. As for your sister, you have my apologies and my condolences. I can't bring her back to life, but maybe you can make sure that never happens. So what do you think of my proposal?'
"It's nice to see you again, but I'd like to know what you're doing here?" asks Lana with a smile.
AN:
I thank ArtoriasPendragon for allowing me to use his Lyndis creation in my story. The Brouxe's abilities come from The Witcher: The Witcher's Journal Roleplaying Game, which is the expansion to The Witcher Roleplaying Game.