Vyr’s Journey Through The Multiverse - Chapter 42

Johannes took the group to a bar in midtown, the girl they were looking for, Bea, wasn’t there yet as she worked later in the day. So the group sat down to eat as Johannes went to look for her and bring her back. Originally Trey was going to follow him but Geralt disagreed and held him back with the group.

The group sat down at one of the round tables near the wall and began eating. Trey and Geralt focused on recording all the information they had gathered into their notes for the mission.

“What are you doing?” Weiss asked, picking at her food as their notebooks caught her interest.

“Recording details about the job. Having notes you can look through is ideal when you need to piece together what happened and why.” Trey responded as Geralt continued writing.

“Why does it matter if you know what happened? We just have to find what did it and kill it.” Weiss said, Ruby nodding along as she stuffed another forkfull in her mouth.

“Vyr told me of the Grimm where you live. We aren’t fighting them. Here the monsters are a lot smarter. They know how to hide, and how to ambush. They know to run when they can’t win rather than stay and die. While I don’t know what kind of training you went through, I know it’s better to be prepared for what you can than to be left in the dark. Witchers are taught to never rush in and kill. We learned to take things slow and prepare for a fight of any kind. We make sure we have every advantage possible. That’s how you stay alive. Not fancy footwork or blade techniques. Not even numbers. Hard work, planning, preparing, and knowledge.” Geralt’s tone was firm. He ignored their surprised faces and continued to write as they stood shocked at the information and the fact that he could actually speak in more than one sentence.

The shock quickly wore off and Ruby thought about what Geralt had said. She remembered that Vyr had told her the same many times before. “Knowledge is power,” Ruby muttered, thinking out loud.

After that Ruby started helping with the notes and not wanting to be left out Weiss joined as well. Before they could finish Johannes walked back into the bar followed by a girl. The group was pointed out and Johannes was back out the door as soon as he was sure she knew where to go.

The girl approached their table, her eyes wide and her face reading nothing but nervousness. It was clear that she had just been pulled from her bed, her clothes disheveled and her hair out of place. She looked young, in her early twenties with long dark hair and sea green eyes. She was slightly tanned, still on the paler side of the spectrum though.

“You Bea?” Geralt asks, wanting to confirm her identity.

“Y-you needed me Master Witcher?” Her heavy accent almost covered the shakiness of her voice. Her voice, while thick, had the kind of quality that made you want to sit and listen to what she had to say.

Geralt acknowledged her with a grunt and reached to pull a chair from another table. It was clear that he wanted her to sit. The girl, while a bit jumpy, moved to sit down. Geralt turned his own chair to look her directly in the eye and interrogate her.

“You Bea?

“It was so horrible Master Witcher! Blood everywhere. Oh, and that poor guard,” she says tears welling up in her eyes and threatening to spill out.

“Less mȯȧning, more details. What happened? Why were you out there?” Geralt demanded as he leaned forward to set his crossed arms on the table.

“There was so much blood, and his face looked like it had been mauled by a bear. When I tried to help him, something shoved me to the side and took off with him.” Her accent made it hard to understand but her tone was stressed enough to get the point across.

“This thing, did you get a look at it?”

“It was all so sudden, when I looked up from where I was, all I could see was a shape running down the street. I only caught that glimpse of it before it ducked into an alleyway, but this I can swear on. It was on two legs, Master Witcher.” Her words quickly poured out of her, intimidated by Geralt’s hard stare.

Ruby reached over and started rubbing the girl’s back in comforting circles as she tried to calm her down and coarse more information out of her. It was slightly awkward seeing as Ruby was younger, but she still helped her nonetheless.

“You said you were outside. Why?” Geralt said after shooting a glare at Ruby.

“One of the customers kept getting handsy while I was making my rounds in the bar, so the owner had me step outside for a bit.” Her cheeks flushed as she wiped away her tears.

“The guard who was taken. You know him?” Trey asks, flipping through his notes.

“I don’t know. Maybe?” the girl says unsure.

“What do you mean you dont know?” Weiss questions this time.

Geralt gave one final nod and stood up, before motioning for the rest of the group to follow as he walked away. He dropped some coins on the bar to pay for their food and Ruby took one last look at the girl. She was still slightly tense as her eyes followed them across the bar, but she was visibly relieved and slumped back in her chair.

When they exited the building, Geralt waved to Trey and the two of them seemed to have a quick and silent conversation with their eyes before Trey walked away to disappear into a nearby alleyway.

“Where is he going?” Weiss questioned, not understanding their nonverbal confrontation.

“To keep an eye on our informant.” Geralt’s eyes never left the street as he answered Weiss.

“Why? We just talked to her.” Ruby said, confused.

“Her story doesn’t add up.” Geralt said as they took an alley to the back streets.

“What was wrong?”

“She was too calm.”

“Calm? she was breaking down, crying,” Weiss quipped, wondering if Geralt had something wrong with his head.

“How could you even tell that?” Weiss asked incredulously. He’s joking right? There’s no way he could actually tell that.

“Witcher’s have enhanced senses. We can hear heartbeats, among other things.”

“Don’t just say that as if it’s normal!”

“It IS normal. Now, keep your mouth shut. We’re close..” Geralt said while motioning for them to slow down.