The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

"Help!" Dandelion felt the magic power blocking his throat disappear, and he wailed miserably. "Help!"

"Stop yelling, Dandelion, it's me." The cloaked figure, or rather, Yennefer, removed her hood and cut the ropes binding Dandelion with a dagger.

Although it was dark, Dandelion immediately recognized Yennefer's voice.

"Thank God, Yennefer! I apologize for all the harsh words and offensive language I said to you before. From today on, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. I wish you and Geralt will never be separated until the destruction of the world. I want to come up with a masterpiece for you that can resound through the North. I'm starting to think about it now... I think... I'm sorry, maybe it's because I've been hung for too long, I just want to vomit now..."

“Not pissing on you is the best thank you, you could give me.” Yennefer sneered. "I heard your singing under the giant oak tree. I wanted to talk to you, but I didn't expect you to run so fast. Fortunately, I found you after all."

"I want to thank you again, Yennefer. I know you don't like me, and we are not even friends, but you still saved me."

The sorceress turned her head and was silent for a while.

“You travel with him.” Yennefer finally spoke and said without any expression. “Thanks to you, he is not alone. You are his friend. He has your company.”

Dandelion also lowered his eyes after hearing this.

“Our friendship doesn't do him any good, I only bring him trouble... and he's always running after me.”

Yennefer looked at him leisurely. "But he enjoys it. He is such a person."

Dandelion and Yennefer did not mention who they were referring to, but they both knew perfectly well who they were talking about.

Dandelion took a deep breath of fresh air, waved his hand and said: “Forget about me now, he is in danger. That sorcerer is looking for him. Yennefer, you must find him before the enemy does and warn him.”

...

“Then, Yennefer told me to come to Redania, to Oxenfurt, because Dijkstra and Philippa would be here. You probably don't know Philippa, she's another very dangerous sorceress. Rience wouldn't dare to cause trouble here."

Lann nodded. He assumed that Dandelion, who had been in Oxenfurt the whole time, didn't know the details of what had happened to Geralt.

“Yennefer also found Geralt later, although it was Triss who called her and not she who found him. But they found each other in the end. I heard they are destined to be together, maybe it is fate.”

Listening to Lann recount Geralt and Yennefer’s recent actions, Dandelion showed interest. “So, a witcher and a sorceress are now teaching the surprise child together?”

“Let’s get back to the topic, we were just talking about Rience. If I find him, I’ll kill him, so you won’t have to worry about him anymore. I heard he’s come to Oxenfurt, is that true?”

The bard wore a lost expression that made it clear that his mind was wandering at the moment. Lane twisted his mouth and coughed to interrupt his thoughts.

Dandelion was in a poetic mood, but upon receiving Lann's reminder, he realized there were more important matters to attend to.

"Rience really has been in Oxenfurt. A few days ago I heard an old charlatan selling fake medicines around here mention his name. I can take you to find him."

...

During this time, Lann managed to recall a bit of information about Rience. He remembered that he had been a dropout from the Ban Ard magic academy. His magic was rather botched, he didn't even know how to open portals.

However, Rience had decent skills in combat, combining his low-level attack spells with his physical prowess.

'In The Witcher Series, he was ordered to find Ciri and he pursued Geralt, but that was meant to happen years later. At this point, Geralt and Ciri were safe in Kaer Morhen, so why would he set his sights on me?'

'How dare he? Geralt may be a lone witcher, but I am the Lion of Cintra, backed by over forty soldiers. Does he think we're joking?'

By this time, Lann had been brought by Dandelion to the door of the aforementioned fake medicine seller.

A drizzle fell on the streets, causing mud to spread everywhere.

Lann changed back to the improved armor of the Griffin School. All the soldiers were brought out except for a few who stayed to guard the house.

Lann knew he had to act quickly and get back to his team before Vizimir II discovered the secret operation. Otherwise, the king might become uncomfortable.

Lann wiped the rain off his face and looked at the building in front of him. "This is not a house, it's simply a fortress. Look, there are walls there. Does the king allow such things to appear in the city? This is simply a city within a city."

Dandelion didn't care. "This is Oxenfurt, the city of miracles. The king's orders lose their authority here. Plus, it's the docks, always full of criminals, thugs and swindlers. Only, by tacit agreement, they never attack students."

Lann's good first impression of Oxenfurt was quickly fading.

Taking advantage of the darkness, the group crept silently. The Cintra soldiers, dressed in cloaks over their silver armor, blended better with the moonlight.

From the tavern across the canal a strip of light was cast across the water, and the sound of singing, laughter and shouting echoed around. Three sailors came running up from the quay, two of them fighting and pushing each other, repeating the same rudeness over and over again without getting bored.

On the other side of the canal, the group had reached the place designated by Dandelion. Lann gave a signal, and the bard gently knocked on the iron plate on the wooden door.

"Damn it, who is bothering me so late?" A voice came from inside the house. "Brainless idiots, scum, trash, get out! Get out, right now! I've got the crossbow ready! Who wants more arrows up their ass?"

Dandelion changed his tone of voice, adopting the voice of a teenager. "Master Myhrman! It's me, Levi. I brought some medicine and I want to sell it to make some money."

Dandelion has been in Oxenfurt for many years, so he naturally knows a few tricks here. At the Oxenfurt Academy there are a large number of students who are not so well off financially and will try every means to earn extra money for themselves.

Master Myhrman, inside the house, was one of the routes for medical students. Many sold the medicines they prepared or even stole real medicines from the academy to sell.

Dandelion gestured to Lann, indicating that they would be able to open the door soon.

But Lann didn't care. He just needed to confirm that the man was inside. He didn't need to open the door, he could just blow it up.

Lann gently pushed Dandelion aside, placing his left hand on the door.

"I've seen Geralt use the witchers' tricks." Dandelion lowered his voice. "But believe me, this door is very strong, it can't be opened with that trick that can blow the wind."

"We are not equal." Lann smiled. "I told you I could kill several sorcerers on the battlefield. Do you think I was joking?"

[Aard Sign] + 100 magic points, release.

Lann decided to be careful not to tear down the entire house, as he needed a living prisoner.

With a crash, Dandelion covered his eyes, hurt by the pressure of the air. The door did not break but flew inward along with a part of the wooden wall, scattering splinters everywhere.

A dirty-looking man with a crossbow in his hand screamed and dove to the side, but the flying door still hit his left leg, knocking him down.

Dandelion gaped as Lann used another Aard Sign to clear the dust and splinters from the air before advancing towards the owner of the house, Myhrman. Dandelion muttered to himself: "You're definitely not like Geralt."

Myhrman was shouting on the ground: "I don't know any Levi! Who are you? Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble by coming here at night?"

The nearby houses, alerted by the noise, turned on lights and the sound of moving objects could be heard. But soon, everything returned to calm, probably because the noise had surprised them too much to want any trouble.

Lann stopped in front of Myhrma. He looked at the steel greaves and realized something was wrong. He looked up slowly, recognizing the value of the armor the man wore. Despite his limitations, he knew that even his imagination would underestimate the true value of the armor.

Someone in that armor didn't come for minor matters.

Myhrman's voice softened, and his gaze turned pleading. "Spare my life... Show mercy, I swear in the name of my mother that I will tell you everything you want to know, or do you want money? I can give it to you..."

"You're Myhrman, right? Where's Rience?"

Myhrman trembled at the question. He was no coward, few things in this world frightened a desperate man. But the blond knight's question contained everything he feared, and even more.

Fear spread through his gut like a living worm, and Myhrman struggled to control it. "What? Who?" He pretended to be surprised. "What are you talking about? Rie... who?"

Lann chuckled, bent down, and let Myhrman look directly into his eyes.

Lann leaned down and covered Myhrman's eyes with a hand that glowed with white light.

[Axii Sign] + [Delusion] + Magic Infusion.

Myhrman's gaze turned blank.

"Where is Rience and how can we find him?"

Myhrman murmured as if in a trance: "I don't know where he is. He always comes looking for me. But he gave me an amulet to send him signals..."

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