After Wayne finished speaking, a heavy silence fell upon the room. Princess Pavetta's face was etched with disbelief, Queen Calanthe a mix of anger and surprise. Mousesack and King Eist exchanged a silent glance, deep in thought.
Crach an Craite, the Boar of the Sea, was the first to break the silence. He slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted with rage. "That Duny is a villain!" he roared. "I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on him. You should have let me kill him, Uncle! The world would be rid of one less scoundrel."
King Eist glared at his nephew, reprimanding him. "Silence, Crach! Duny is Pavetta's betrothed. Do not make rash accusations without proof."
Queen Calanthe had never been fond of Duny, having only accepted him due to the Law of Surprise and her daughter's insistence. Wayne's information, though not entirely disproven, left her feeling uneasy. She turned to Mousesack, the archdruid and trusted advisor, for his opinion.
"Mousesack," she asked, "what do you make of Wayne's story?"
The old druid turned to Wayne, a thoughtful expression on his face. Both emotionally and logically, he was inclined to believe the witcher's story. A newly minted witcher, with no prior connection to Cintra or Duny, had no reason to fabricate such a tale in front of the royal family.
Mousesack stroked his beard, pondering for a moment. "If we follow Wayne's reasoning," he began, "then Duny's disappearance makes more sense. The absence of any struggle in the study suggests he willingly left, likely contacted by his sorcerer accomplice after breaking the curse, and then departed through some magical means."
He paused, then added, "This sorcerer must be powerful indeed, for my divination spells yielded no results. As for Duny's motive for leaving, perhaps your impending marriage to Eist, Calanthe, made him realize his bid for the Cintra throne had failed, and he saw no reason to linger. Perhaps he has already returned to Nilfgaard, leaving without a word."
Wayne nodded along, inwardly impressed by the druid's deduction skills. In a short time, Mousesack had pieced together a plausible explanation.
The druid then turned to Queen Calanthe, a puzzled look on his face. "However, I am still perplexed by one question," he admitted. "If breaking the curse required the Law of Surprise, why would Duny choose Princess Pavetta? Wouldn't it have been easier to choose a commoner? The banquet held many risks. Had Geralt and Wayne not intervened, Duny could have easily perished."
No one had an answer to Mousesack's question. There were simply too few clues to decipher Duny's reasoning.
Wayne, however, had a theory. Seeing the contemplative expressions of the others, he cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "I have some speculations on this matter," he began, "that might shed some light on the situation."
Mousesack turned to him, and the rest of the room leaned in, eager to hear his insights. Pavetta, however, remained lost in thought, visibly shaken by Wayne's earlier revelation. The young princess, caught up in the throes of first love, likely never imagined her beloved could be a deceiver.
Wayne spoke plainly. "According to my colleague's investigation, the sorcerer allied with Emhyr sought the power of Elder Blood. This may be the reason Emhyr pursued Princess Pavetta. By using the Law of Surprise to claim her, he aimed to secure the Cintra throne and potentially gain access to more Elder Blood through their offspring."
The mention of Elder Blood, along with Wayne's speculation, darkened Queen Calanthe's face. Mousesack studied Wayne intently, while King Eist and the others wore blank expressions, unfamiliar with the term.
Wayne, undeterred, continued in a cautionary tone. "I learned of Elder Blood from ancient texts. It is a rare and immensely powerful force. Those who possess it are natural-born sorcerers with extraordinary magical abilities, even capable of wielding unique powers."
"Before meeting Princess Pavetta," he confessed, "I believed it to be merely a legend. Now, I suspect only the Cintra royal family carries this bloodline in the Northern Kingdoms."
"Her Highness was an ordinary person with no magical training," Wayne continued. "Yet, the power she displayed at the banquet was evident to all." He turned to Queen Calanthe, who had grown visibly somber. "Your Majesty, this power is like a double-edged sword. It can bring unimaginable benefits to its bearer, but also great danger."
"Perhaps I am being overly cautious," he admitted, "but regarding Elder Blood, I believe any sorcerer, mage, or individual seeking power would not hesitate to experiment on someone possessing it. The Brotherhood of Sorcerers, or even the nefarious mages of Nilfgaard, would see such a person as a valuable test subject."
A heavy silence fell upon the room. Calanthe's face hardened, Mousesack's eyes narrowed, and King Eist and the others wore expressions of confusion.
Wayne pressed on. "Before meeting Princess Pavetta, I thought Elder Blood was merely a myth. Now, I fear the Cintra royal family may be the only remaining carriers of this bloodline in the Northern Kingdoms."
...
The meeting ended on an unsettling note, with no resolution regarding Duny's disappearance. However, Wayne felt he had done his part, warning Pavetta of the potential dangers associated with her Elder Blood. As an outsider, he could not interfere further. It was up to Pavetta and Calanthe to decide how to proceed.
The only thing Wayne could do was focus on his own strength, preparing himself for whatever the future held. Whether it was the Wild Hunt, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, or the armies of the North or South, only by becoming stronger could he shape his own destiny.
A few days later, Wayne returned to Vizima in Temeria, accompanied by Marika and Aglais. However, knowing the dryads were unaccustomed to city life and human interaction, he left them in the forest on Black Tern Island.
The island in Lake Vizima was practically Wayne's private domain. The surrounding waters were under the watchful eye of Fitz, while the forest on the island was frequented by the Lady of the Lake, ensuring no unwanted visitors set foot there. Wayne had spent a day and a night in deep communion with the goddess, even introducing Marika and Aglais to her.
The dryads were thrilled to meet the Lady of the Lake, further solidifying their belief in Queen Eithné's words and seeing Wayne as a chosen one. After all, how could an ordinary mortal be so familiar with such a powerful entity?
However, Wayne noticed that after his encounter with the Lady of the Lake and the subsequent upgrade of his Divine Blessing skill to level two, the skill's growth rate had slowed considerably. Even continued communion with the goddess yielded minimal improvement. This led him to wonder if the skill's growth was tied to intimate encounters with different goddesses. Unfortunately, with only Lilith as a data point, there was no way to test this hypothesis.
Back in Vizima, Wayne caught up with old friends and briefly returned to Middle-earth to attend to matters at Wayne Manor. Ford, the hobbit butler, seemed unfazed by Wayne's frequent absences, diligently managing the estate in his stead. The manor's warehouse was overflowing with pipe-weed, purchased with over half of the 10,000 gold coins Wayne had invested.
However, Wayne had no intention of selling the pipe-weed directly to the wealthy merchant Leuvaarden or the dwarves.
Relying solely on others' channels would limit his profits and control over the market. Wayne envisioned establishing his own chamber of commerce, specializing in trading goods from other worlds. This would serve as a foundation for building a network of influence and power, potentially even spanning multiple worlds, like the esteemed bank of the goddess Melitele.
Having received a modern education, Wayne understood the importance of trade and logistics. Armed caravans and company structures aligned with his management style. The only missing piece was a capable and trustworthy leader who could guide the caravan's growth. But this wasn't an urgent matter, and Wayne had time to find the right person.
As a witcher, he still had plenty of time on his hands. The months passed peacefully, and by October, Wayne's life had settled into a comfortable routine. Besides completing an expert-level contract for Leuvaarden to clear a monster-infested mine, he refrained from taking on any other challenging tasks.
In his free time, he would fly to Black Tern Island and help Marika and Aglais construct a cabin in the forest. He had even obtained several sacred oak saplings from Archdruid Mousesack, which the dryads, with the Lady of the Lake's blessing, would use to build their own tree dwellings.
Of course, Wayne, as a man of experience, wouldn't pass up the opportunity for intimacy with the dryads. Both Marika and Aglais, being childless and inexperienced, found themselves guided by Wayne's expertise. As their understanding of each other deepened, their relationship evolved into something far more intimate than that of employer and bodyguard. Though it was too early to call them lovers, their bond had grown significantly stronger.
.....
One mid-October morning, Wayne gently disentangled himself from Triss Merigold's embrace, leaving the sorceress smiling in her sleep. He didn't want to disturb her pleasant dreams, so he quietly dressed and headed to the kitchen to prepare a delicious breakfast.
As he habitually picked up the silver dice from the table and rolled for his daily luck, Wayne was pleasantly surprised. After waiting throughout September, his lucky day in October had finally arrived, the day he could open the treasure chests he had accumulated.
This time was different, though. While he had over forty ordinary treasure chests and one expert chest, he also possessed three master-level chests. The contracts with the dryad queen, and the Cintra betrothal feast had, in the span of a month, yielded these valuable rewards, along with over a thousand experience points. Such a rapid accumulation would have taken at least a year with regular contracts. With this influx of experience, his witcher level had finally reached eleven, marking another milestone in his growth.
However, Wayne was accustomed to the ritual of opening treasure chests on his lucky days. He didn't rush, instead preparing a delightful breakfast for Triss. After they shared a sweet meal, and Triss departed for her own mansion, Wayne eagerly returned home.