"Geralt, what time do you think we'll arrive?" I asked him.
"Normally around noon."
"I see." Then I turned my gaze back to the campfire, thinking about the events that had happened earlier.
After discovering the elements in the book, Geralt and I decided not to take Lambert with us, despite his request, because I thought having Geralt already was enough. So we headed toward the village where the former werewolf clan used to trade, thanks to Vesemir's directions, leaving Ciri's training to Lambert and Eskel, as we didn't know how long it would take us.
"Aiden is going to sleep; I'll keep watch," Geralt said as he added branches to the embers.
"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting."
"No, go to sleep." I then lay down on the ground, which wasn't very comfortable, before closing my eyes.
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As I opened my eyes, I found myself in a forest. The wind was blowing, and the sound of the tree branches was cracking.
"Where am I?" I wondered as I caught sight of something unreal.
But there was no time to think, as a wolf's howl echoed. Trying to grab my sword instinctively, I realized it was no longer there. Shifting my gaze toward the source of the sound, I saw a white wolf looking at me with indifference before approaching me without my noticing.
Lowering its head to my level, since it was much larger than me, it began to growl and, in a weak voice, said to me:
"Aquila, let's see what choice you will make."
As soon as it finished speaking, it swiped its claw, and before I could react, it decapitated me.
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"Ah… Ahh…"
Catching my breath, feeling the fear wash over me, my body was dripping with cold sweat. My hand was on my heart, which was racing.
"It's okay, it's just a nightmare," I said, trying to reassure myself.
I turned my gaze toward Geralt, who was looking at me with concern, and I shared what I had seen.
"A white wolf and a choice you'll have to make," Geralt said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Yes, I don't understand, but I don't think this dream is just a coincidence."
"Yeah, I don't think it's a coincidence either that you're dreaming of a werewolf right when we're arriving at the village."
"But Aiden, if what you told me is true, then we already know that the threat is very real and that we're going to face an unknown danger." Shaking his head, Geralt looked at me and said,
"Go back to sleep; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Lying back down on the ground, I closed my eyes.
-------
"Aiden, we've arrived," Geralt said.
"So, here is the village of Lupus Amicus," I replied.
"Let's try to find a place to rest."
We began to gallop toward the entrance of the village. Perhaps visitors were few and far between, as our arrival surprised the locals to the extent that the village chief came directly to us just as we dismounted from our horses.
"Master Witcher, what brings you to our village?" the chief asked, rubbing his hands nervously.
Geralt stepped forward and replied, "We're looking for a place to rest; money is not an issue."
"I see. Then follow me," he said, gesturing for us to follow.
As we followed the village chief, I looked around to see if there was any difference between this village and others. There was none, except for a slightly larger house that appeared to be abandoned. I tapped Geralt on the shoulder; he looked at me before I pointed out the abandoned house.
"Chief, what's that house?" I asked him.
"Mmh, oh, that one? It used to be the home of the former village chief. He died in a fire caused by a candle. I'm not surprised; George was getting old," he replied with a sad expression.
"Master Witcher, here's a cabin with two beds. This house belonged to a former hunter who unfortunately died while hunting, so I hope that doesn't bother you."
"No, how much do we owe you?" Geralt asked as he took out his purse.
"Nothing, but if you'd like, I can prepare a meal for just two crowns."
"If it's not too much trouble, can we visit the former chief's house?"
"Uh…" The chief paused, surprised by our request.
He hesitated for a few seconds, and those few seconds seemed suspicious, but we didn't bring it up.
"Of course not, but I ask you not to break anything," he said before leaving in a hurry.
"Aiden, go check out the house in the meantime; I'll question the villagers," Geralt said before heading off.
Nodding, I made my way to the house, which still smelled of smoke. Entering through the burned door, I found myself in a place where there was nothing visible anymore. This might seem normal, but the problem was that my eyes and the medallion detected faint traces of magic, even though there were no magicians in this village.
Closing my eyes, I heightened my senses, and thanks to that, I felt a slight draft near the floor. Moving toward it, I lifted the burned carpet, and underneath it was a trapdoor leading to a small cellar where a chest was located.
As I opened the chest, I found only a single book. Upon opening it and reading a bit, I discovered that it was quite interesting because the former village chief belonged to a very ancient family, a family that had been present since the construction of this village. Moreover, one of the members of this family was the representative and trusted friend of a wolf from the tribe.
But the more I read, the more I realized the deception, as this family member had betrayed the werewolf for the money of a noble family in exchange for the location of the village. This ultimately led to the Blood Moon War, followed by nonsense in which the former village chief cursed his ancestors for making that decision. One piece of information caught my attention: it spoke of a ritual cave reserved only for the tribe, located deep in the forest.
"Is there someone there?"
Thanks to my senses, I heard footsteps just above me. Preparing my sword, I climbed the ladder quickly.
(Attention, what I'm about to do is a serious crime for those in the know, so please forgive me; I regret what follows in this chapter ;( )
"Who's there!" I said in a serious tone, ready for battle.
Pointing my sword toward the person, I realized it was just a little girl looking at me in fear. But more importantly, I saw that she had an appearance marked by many injuries, dirty hair, and very worn clothes.
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to scare you," I said, trying to calm her.
She didn't react at first, but perhaps seeing that I posed no threat, she slowly stood up and patted my head as if to comfort me and say it was no problem.
Smiling at the little girl, she took my hand and led me to a field of flowers. Pushing me down to the ground, she made gestures for me to wait before going to pick some flowers and making a crown, which she placed on my head while smiling gently and giggling, perhaps because my appearance contrasted with the flower crown.
I smiled and plucked a flower, placing it in her hair. Surprised by my gesture, she touched the flower as if to check if it was real before smiling at me with tears of joy.
"Wait, don't cry," I said, surprised by how easily she cried, but that was understandable given her appearance.
"Uh…" I rubbed her eyes with my hand to stop her tears. At that moment, a woman appeared, equally in rags and with a worried look. The little girl hurried to her, hugging her while showing her the flower. The woman laughed before looking at me, lowering her gaze and saying:
"My daughter, has she disturbed you, my lord?"
"No, no, it's fine, but she can't speak," I asked with some curiosity.
"No, she can speak, but she is deaf, and because of certain circumstances that I prefer not to reveal to you, my lord," she replied, still looking down as the girl tugged at her clothing, asking what was wrong.
"Oh… forgive me."
"No, I'm just glad she can smile. Her disability keeps her away from other children," she said, rubbing her hand on her daughter's head.
Then the woman took her daughter's hand, but the little girl pulled it away and ran to me to give me a hug before whispering softly:
"Th…ank you, big… br…other."
Patting her head and smiling, she ran back to her mother and waved goodbye to me.
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"The villagers don't want to tell me anything," I said, sighing.
I sighed in frustration for having no clues. After Aiden went off on his own, I went to seek information from the villagers, who simply ignored me. I knocked on the last house.
It opened, and a young man appeared, looking rather peculiar.
"Hello, what can I do for you, Master Witcher?" he asked with a curious expression.
"Do you have any information about the werewolves in the forest?" I asked him.
Smiling at me kindly, he replied,
"Yes, of course, come in."
I entered his house, which seemed completely normal. He pointed to a bench for me to sit on before handing me a beer.
"Tell me what you know?" I said, going straight to the point.
"What I know is that there's an ancient ruin inhabited by wolves, which was reserved exclusively for the former werewolf clan."
"Mmh… Can you tell me how to reach those ruins?" I asked, hoping to avoid searching for hours.
"Yes, you just need to follow the river, and you'll eventually see them. But above all, don't approach the old village of the clan, as there are still werewolves roaming there."
"Thank you." I stood up, but as I was about to leave, I looked back at him. He was still smiling at me with his eyes closed, but I noticed a kind of moon-shaped tattoo on his neck.
"Why are you telling me this? The other villagers ignore my questions."
"Oh, they're just cowards and traitors; they're simply afraid of the consequences," he said, a hint of anger creeping into his voice.
"Consequences?"
"Yes, a legend says that their betrayals will be avenged by a vengeful werewolf. Ridiculous, don't you think?" he added mysteriously before I left, closing the door behind me.
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"Geralt, remind me why we have to get our feet wet," I said, looking down at my boots filled with water.
"It's to reach the ruin. In the meantime, tell me what you discovered."
I explained my findings to him, and he paused for a moment before speaking.
"Human greed," he said with a sigh.
"Yes, unfortunately. That's why I admit I prefer an intelligent enemy to a foolish ally who might stab you in the back."
"Mmh, I wouldn't disagree with that."
After ten minutes of walking, we arrived at the ruin. Upon getting there, we easily dispatched the wolves before analyzing the structure.
"There's nothing left, Geralt. Are you sure this is of any use?" I asked, unsure.
"This is our only lead. Look at this fresco."
The fresco depicted a circle where several wolves were praying to a person in a cage, with a white werewolf portrayed above her.
"Look, I think this shows the ritual to resurrect the alpha wolf. But I don't understand: isn't he trying to revive the clan using the villagers as sacrifices?" Geralt asked, intrigued.
"Geralt, come see, there are some writings," I said as I spotted something.
"Here, it shows the glorious rebirth of our lord. May he create this world in his image through his claws of rebirth."
"Geralt, what if to transform humans into werewolves, we need the alpha?" I suggested, forming a hypothesis.
"That's true. During the war, we didn't know anything since the Alpha only emerged to confront the ancient vampires. So nobody knew. But don't forget we're looking for the..."
"Wait." Geralt interrupted me, and I watched him approach the fresco, pointing at a werewolf.
"I've seen that tattoo on a man who told me about this place."
Then a howl echoed, and although it was midday, the sky turned black. Looking back, we saw many glowing eyes in the darkness, watching us with murderous intent.
"Geralt, I think we've been trapped," I said with a sigh.