"You know, I can't help but feel simply sorry for this all..." spoke Eve of Rivia, watching as Loc Muine was engulfed in flames. It was like the moment, she left to sort her own problems or other problems - the world simply caught on fire.

"I know Radovid hates mages, but even that trick was easily seen through. The Blacks suddenly capturing the Kingslayer with ease - and suddenly the Lodge, all of it is responsible?" she sighed.

"Radovid' actions might have robbed the North a valuable weapon against the Nilfgaardians," she spoke, shaking her head. "But anywho, with Anais with Constable Natalis do you think Temeria can remain united enough to fight the Nilfgaardians, Roche?"

@freedomliveson

The flames flickered upwards as if to implore the heavens to intervene on the behalf of those already consumed, the once proudly erected ruins engulfed in the result of deceit and ego. It was disgusting. Pitiful. Probably a mixture of both and a few other adjectives that the Blue Stripes commander couldn't muster at the moment. Thankfully he had heard his companion's question in time to break from him any further reverie, lowering his hood and brushing sweat off of his brow before he answered grimly:
"I don't know if anything is certain anymore. Which gets under my bloody skin." His short, mussed up hair got even more messy when he ran a hand over his head.
"But we can worry about that once we get to Vizima. No doubt there'll be even more 'talks' about what to do with Nilfgaard and Radovid." His expression softened slightly as he turned his back from the massive chaos and asked:
"Or am I to go by myself to Vizima?" He drew a touch closer to Eve as he continued:
"It's almost as if your past is calling out to you. You've got most of your memory back and you have no political or monetary reason to return with me...why not go after Cirilla? Why not try to find Yennefer?"

@freedomliveson

"I am not sure myself. I know where Yennefer is," replied Eve, as the two continued walking, away from Loc Muinne. Triss had split up from them - namely cause with such a sudden out-turn of anti-mage hostility, Triss had mentioned that she needed to go and warn her other friends. Despite the fact, she had been just released Nilfgaard' prison. "But problem being, that is in Nilfgaard. And furthermore, Witchers aren't much welcome in the South. To the point they are barred entrance into cities. Or that was what the Kingslayer said. And in turns of Ciri, I am not sure - where even to start looking for her. Plus, she is kinda hard to pin-point - cause she likes to jump almost like a mage."

Plus, she wasn't sure - it was a good idea to head to Nilfgaard, right after it was spoken that they were planning for war. Plus due to the Kingslayer' actions - if they were found out, it could destroy the reputation of the Witchers in the North as well. And despite her neutrality on everything - she couldn't let that happen. "I guess, for now we could travel back to Vizima together. I got some people there to talk with. Guess we can travel back together," she added, as the two headed back the road they came - the smell of smoke and burning corpses still lingering in the air.

"But...well, despite everything that happened - I'd consider this a small victory for us," she spoke, smiling at Roche. "We found and killed the Kingslayer, Temeria still has an heir to unite it's divided nobility and Henselt the pig-fucker is dead with his 'glory' and lands."

Roche couldn't help but let out a snort of a chuckle when Eve uttered the insult in relation to Henslet, adding even more derogatory remarks:
"The man was a threat to any kind of Temerian interest. With him gone, I think we'll find it much easier to do what we must." He looked past the carnage with his head turned, the Blue Mountains shimmering in the heat rising from the billowing smoke issued from the ruins before facing the rolling hills that led back to Vizima.
"Well, with no horses, I suppose we'll hoof it, then? No problems with that, I suppose. You Witchers are known for your capability to trod across long distances." He shot her a teasing smirk before quipping:
"Of course, you couldn't ever outrun me or-" His brow furrowed in confusion as they reached a fork in their path, a figure dashing towards them from the left, her blonde hair sticking to her sweat stained forehead.
"Ves, what on ear-"
"Nilfgaardian forces are about a mile off!"
"Nilfgaard, here?" He looked to Eve with concern before addressing Ves:
"How many?"
"Squadron of about twelve of em, all marching North towards Vizima...they've got a caravan, too." Roche grumbled a curse under his breath.
"Think you can scout the area out with us, Eve?"

"You bet I can," replied Eve, smiling in reply as she pulled on her hood. Following after Ves and Roche. "I suspect, that the Black 'delegate' in Loc Muinne was likely holding some troops hidden nearby. Henselt was a fool for allowing them here in the first place. Those bastards smuggled Triss out of my grasp once - I wouldn't put it behind them to sneak army forces here too."

She followed after Ves, as they dashed through the muddy ground. Eventually reaching a hilltop, overlooking a caravan - all of the most visible figures wearing all black or fine embroidery. Eve raised a finger, so they wouldn't do anything stupid - as she focused. Letting her eyes squint and in a way - look close, like that of an eagle.

"I see...the caravan is carrying some strange papers...and...gold and silver..." she spoke, then growled. "I think, we might have more traitors in Temeria that the Count. I wouldn't but it behind them, that they are likely planning to buy somebody out in Vizima and allow them an easier access to these lands. Shall we jump them and liberate the cargo?"

Eve smiled at the idea - they could also commandeer the horses pulling the caravan. Plus they would get a very nice treasury for them to use - that was a good amount of gold and silver in there. Plus the group was only about two dozen men - she and Roche had killed several times over that, when they rescued Anais La Valette.

"No, no, hold off a moment." Roche squinted for a moment, focusing on the clothing of those who accompanied the treasure trove Eve had already identified.
"Commander, we've got a bead on em from the treeline just across from us. Just got to give em the signal." Ves implored, slight agitation betraying her desire to eliminate the perceived threat.
"Something about this is off. The cloaks they're wearing, the stitching..." He shook his head, knowing that the more he delayed, the farther away the caravan became. The Blue Stripes commander nodded.
"Do it. Quietly." In a flicker of a moment arrows ejected from the trees bordering the path that the caravan took, most of the missiles hitting their mark with precision. Out of the six travelers, two remained, both of them flanking the wagon with swords brandished in their hands, a glow emanating from the tip of the blades. As the trio descended from the hilltop, screams of agony assaulted their ears. What they found upon getting to level ground were the bodies of three Commandos crumpled at the base of their former perches, smoke wafting from holes burned through their chests.
"Mages?" Vernon asked to no one, approaching the bodies before examining them with a cautious eye.
"No blood. Clean entrance and exit..." He swiveled his head around to find that the figures with the glowing swords were now missing. Striding to the caravan, he extracted a rolled up piece of parchment that, when unveiled, had a column of..ingredients?
"Wormstooth, Vampire oil...potion ingredients?" He handed the parchment to Eve as he rummaged through the other rolls of paper to find similarly inscribed "recipes".
"You're the Witcher; what are all these recipes for?"

@freedomliveson

"Strange to be honest. I mean vampire oil is against vamps, but the rest seem strange. In addition to the group they had with them," said Eve, thinking to herself.

"Do you think hey might have been assassins?" asked Eve, as she checked the rest of the caravan. The gold and silver were real - but why was the note needed for.

"I guess we will figure it out later. For now, hop onboard and let's get this stuff to Vizima so we can count our loot," she said, setting course for Vizima.

"I doubt that assassins would be so brazen about carrying their cargo."
"Roche, look at this." Roche approached his second in command, who was on one knee examining one of the corpses.
"See the branding there? Looks a lot like the guys we stopped a few months before this." The skin brand in question was on the man's right pectoral in the shape of an amphibian of some kind, tail curled menacingly in the air.
"Exactly like it. When we get back to Vizima, follow up on this, go back to where we found the first bodies and see what we can do." He cast a look at his fallen men with a flash of sorrow before mounting the wagon.
"Get the rest of the squad assembled and meet me back at the safehouse just outside the city. We'll convene in a week." And with that, the duo of Witcher and soldier set off. Their journey would take a couple of days at most, which allowed time for reflection, a sometimes dangerous occupation that Roche didn't like to indulge in too often; however, after a few hours punctuated only by a few passing remarks about their surroundings between the two of them, Roche couldn't help but ask:
"What was it like up there with Sile? I assume because she didn't come down that you made quick work of her, which became the catalyst for...well, the crap hitting the fan. What did she say? Was there any bloody reasoning behind what she and the Lodge conspired to do?"

@freedomliveson

"It was the tell-tale sign as always - of people with power, putting themselves above the rule of man," sighed Eve, rubbing her forehead. It was not an encounter, she liked to recall. "Radovid wasn't completely at false - when he had his men assault the Lodge. Namely cause the Lodge WAS in earnest plotting to assassinate Demavend."

"Namely cause the mages believed, he was upsetting the balance of power in the North. As for that, they had hired a Witcher - the Kingslayer to kill Demavend. But the man didn't stop there and killed Foltest too, sorry," she sighed. "The mages were planning then to use their influence and 'build' or have form their own nation. Not sure, how that would have worked out - but it was supposed to form around the Pontar Valley I'd guess."

"So in short. The mages were responsible for starting this incident...but the escalation can be blamed on the Kingslayer and his master. Emhyr vas Emrys - the Emperor of Nilfgaard. The mages were just stupid enough, to leave evidence to blame them for everything," spoke Eve. "Guess it's my turn then."

"What was that mercenary and sign all about? And that brand? You got any old enemies, that you fear are working against your people?" asked Eve, as they continued along the trail towards Vizima.

Roche listened intently, choosing to not interrupt his companion and instead weigh the ramifications of what Eve told him silently. He was about to respond to her shortened account of events when she quickly turned the tables, an all too familiar pattern in their relationship. Right when he was about to ask her questions about some important thing or concept she brought up, she avoided going further and quickly changed the subject. That was, of course, his opinion and would have to bring it up to her sometime, but for now...

"I assume you're familiar with the Salamandra? Criminal underworld attempting to overthrow Vizima? While they've disbanded almost completely, there are still remnants here and there that the local guard have trouble stomping out. Claim that they can use magic and 'disappear' right when any of them close. Foltest thought it would be wise for the Stripes to look into the matter as best as we could. Ves and a couple of my men found a group hiding in an abandoned brothel not too far from the main square, took them out and saw the same brand on their chests as the bodies had back there. It worries me that they could be getting larger in scope." A grim half-smile formed on his face.
"Hopefully they name themselves after a more imposing reptile this time. The Crocodiles?" Jokes weren't a specialty of his.
"But that's not for you to be troubled with. One thing at a time." He leaned back against the seat, eyes closing.
"Going to rest for a bit. Let me know when we're getting close."

___

The cart jostled violently, prompting the Commando to spring to life, senses in a hazy cloud as he asked:
"Where are we? Why'd the cart sway so much?"

@freedomliveson

"Cause we're in Vizima silly," replied Eve, having driven their cart for a good several hours. Not bothering to wake him up to exchange the reins or let her sleep. As a Witcheress, she didn't require much sleep - she did nibble on his trail mix though; so that made them even in a sense.

Namely they had been travelling along the cobbled roads into Vizima - before she stopped their cart, due to the guards asking them to stop for identification. "I already gave them our name. So Constable Natalis should be here soon," said Eve, then looked at Roche.

"You sure we can't keep this to ourselves?" she asked, gesturing at the wealth behind them. Although knowing the unwritten law - anything brought to a city, could be confiscated by the crown. If the properties of the items were stolen. Plus, with the war coming along - the silver and gold would likely be used to fund the upcoming war.

Roche balked at the request for identification, pointing at the stripes that laced across the protective coating around his shoulders.
"You see these? Shouldn't that be enough or shall I illustrate what happens when a Blue Stripes commando gets waylaid by guards who should know better than to ask?" The guards looked at each other and grumbled under their breath momentarily before putting on apologetic airs:
"Sorry about that. Proceed on in." Shooting both them glares, Roche then settled his attention on Eve to answer her question:
"Who said we were going to tell anyone?" A teasing smirk flitted across his face as the stench of city dwellers assaulted his nostrils.
"Don't think I'll ever get used to that." His nose scrunched in disapproval before telling his companion:
"Get us off the main square so I can direct you to one of our...safer locations." They careened off the square and down a ramp towards some of the seedier portions of the city, Roche stopping Eve upon reaching a dead end flanked by two abandoned buildings. Roche disembarked, knocking on the door to their right in a distinct pattern, prompting the quick appearance of garbed Commandos.
"Commander?"
"Grab the cargo in the back and store it downstairs. And Charles, that coin you brought from the sewers, grab it." The commandos complied, the one named Charles producing a silver coin with an all too familiar etching.
"See that? Grabbed on a body that was dumped not too far from here that was...well, you'll have to see for yourself. Mind looking at the body for us?"

Eve grinned once they were allowed pass the gates - while Roche allowed them to easily haul all of this treasure for their own personal use. "Ohh...I will owe you a favor for this one," she smiled. "You know how to make a lady smile..."

Eve followed Roche' commands - slightly wondering, why they were headed towards the more seedy parts of Vizima. Albeit, knowing from experience - these parts were the perfect places to store unwanted gold and silver for later uses. In addition, to hiding other certain elements.

"Hmm. Alright, I can take a look at the body - but don't expect miracles. I know how to kill certain bodies, not examine them with a precision accuracy," spoke Eve, nevertheless - she followed after Roche, while the other Stripes that were left in the building, made their way to off-loading their cargo.

"What is the deal with these coins and people? Are they some old enemies of yours? Or some Nilfgaard unit? Non-human?" asked Eve, confused slightly about all the secrecy.

@freedomliveson

"I'm not looking for a miracle. I just need a Witcher's eye to go over something that I know we're missing...and that's hard for me to admit." Roche nodded to the two commandos who were unloading the cart before motioning for Eve to follow him back around the corner they had rounded earlier, chuckling a bit at Eve's curiosity.
"I don't think you've ever gone a conversation without asking at least three questions in a row." They walked up a ramp that led back to the main road, the Commando walking straight ahead to a massive wooden gate that wheeled open upon presenting his credentials. He stayed silent on the subject brought up by Eve until they were past the gate and onto a dirt path that was flanked on the left by a crystalline lake connected to the Pontar. Crates and other assorted paraphernalia related to shipping were strewn on the shore below, but Roche seemed more occupied with the shack sitting on wooden struts accessible by a plank bridge.
"They're old enemies of Vizima. Don't know if they're Nilfgaard, Redanian or anything else for that matter. All I know is that the normal gang issues that have infested the city have been replaced with more organized hits on shipping caravans, supply routes and an even more brazen attack on the outskirts of the palace(which was, thankfully, at night when the public couldn't be whipped into a frenzy). They seem to want to disrupt Vizima, but for what reasons? Still unclear. And that bothers me to no end." They walked into the shack to find a blue stripes commando seated in a chair next to a mangled mess of a corpse.
"That'll be all, Nek."
"Thanks be to Melitle." The guard mumbled as he slipped out, Roche motioning to the half severed arm, neck gashed open and other wounds.
"Tell me what you think. What killed him?"

Eve looked over the body with a keen eye, touching it's hand, checking out the eyes and even feeling the dead man' blood between her fingers. She bit her lip as she thought over the situation and remembering something that made her curse.

"Damnit. This guy looks to be killed by a Blackguard," she hummed, looking sour. "I am not sure if you know about them. But they are said to be the... well Nilfgaard version of you guys. Only more brutal, thuggish and with no regard for morals. It's when you take the worst kind of criminals of Nilfgaard - whom have the most skewered sense of patriotism."

"I hear these guys are into all sorts of weird stuff. Poisoning crops, raping children, using exotic chemicals to bomb churches and hospitalet," she spoke, shuttering at the idea. "They take any weapon and use any tactic to get victory. If that means releasing a casket of plague into a nearby water source - they will do it."

Eve tapped her medallion, looked momentarily focused as she looked over the man. "As for cause of death - beyond total body death. Throat burned by acid, asphyxiation," she said, leaving the side of the body and heading to an empty corner. There she started heaving heavily, looking disrupted by the memory - looking and appearing to be a mix of physically ill and sobbing.

"Uhh... boss, I'll take the body away," spoke one Blue Stripes, taking the body and leaving Roche alone with Eve.

"I've heard of them sparingly, but never enough to warrant any attention. I'll be sure to ask around, see if I can dig up more information." If Eve could identify this mangled mess as the Blackguard's work, Roche hated to think what else the Witcher had seen in her travels from the Blackguard.
"Throat burned by acid...that's a bit much, even for Nilfgaard. Makes me think that these Blackguard might not be natives. Wouldn't put it past Emyhr to hire-" Roche turned his head to find his normally confident and somewhat stoic friend dry-heaving in the left hand corner of the shack. Mixed in with the dry-heaving was...sobbing? Crying?
"Eve?! Eve, what's going on?" Nek had stayed just outside thankfully and was more than willing to dispose of the body, Roche nodding in approval as he attempted to help Eve straighten up.
"Was it the acid in the throat? Maybe causing a reaction? You've got enhanced senses, so maybe something is triggering..." No. No it didn't like that. Her face betrayed a mixture of what he perceived to be sorrow and disgust, but the Blue Stripes didn't want to infer too much, not before he could restore her senses.
"Come on, just..." He put an arm across her back, allowing one of hers to rest on his, giving him the ability to help her out of the shack and down towards the shore.
"Nek, water, now!" A few moments later the Blue Stripes soldier arrived with a canteen, Roche helping it to his companion's lips.
"There...there we go. Need any more?" He pulled a nearby crate over, helping her sit down.
"Eve...what happened?"

Eve didn't reply much at that, drinking the entire canteen down in one go - although, that was a mistake as usual when it came to sick people. As she quickly heaved it over into the water from her body' reaction, she groaned at that - wiping her mouth with her sleeve and sitting back up again. The other Stripe luckily offering Eve his own temporarily - she sipped this one slower, before handing it back.

"Sorry...old memories," she sighed, looking visibly exhausted. Like they had been after they had left Loc Muinne behind together. "I thought I had forgotten them...but, sorry. I am okay...okay....no, I AM NOT OKAY!"

Roche was soon yanked down to her level, as the woman in question - grasped onto his tunic and held on rather tightly. Like they were drowning and he was the only life-line in preventing that. Eve in question started sobbing at that - a complete turn-over from her previous interactions. Even when they had her in a Temerian prison and surrounded by uncultured men - didn't she bat an eyelash. But now she looked visibly broken and latching onto him as her only attachment.

"I will go get more water..." replied Roche' aid, leaving the two alone - so their ally could release the mental anguish that was tormenting her. It was rather sad sight of a cold mercenary being reduced to a hysterical woman in tears. Eventually she calmed, but still holding on tightly to him.

"I...once faced them. A village bordering the Nilfgaard Empire. They came, when I had been sleeping in an inn. They attacked so quickly, before I could react. Gathered up the villagers. Sometimes I wished they just had raped us...their choice of punishment was far worse..." she said, crying into his shoulder. "They gathered up everybody. Bound their hands, legs and gagged us. Then tied us into potato sacks - leaving only our head visible."

"Then they went around, stabbing people in their side...having them bleed....then dumped us into the swamps outside the village," she spoke, shuttering with each word that she spoke. "They left us there to rot. To be feasted on by disease, animal or worse. I managed to be alright, since my body heals naturally better. But the others didn't. They died around me, their bodies pressed against mine...slowly rotting, and contaminating the water."

"I spent a week in that place. Unable to move, eat, drink or even sleep properly....unable to even scream. The night chilled me, the sun scorched me, the water burned my wound, the dead...haunted me...I saw nightmares of the dead trying to choke me...." spoke Eve, her body shaking from the fear - to the point, that her words started to emphasize it - bringing her response, down to the point she was begging for her long forgotten parents. ".....mami...the monsters scare me...

Roche listened to the story with narrowed eyes, his breath coming in much softer attempts than normal. As she neared the conclusion, the Blue Stripes commando placed a hand on her shoulder once she finished. Moments of silence wafted between them, Roche allowing the Witcher to compose herself before he spoke:
"I've seen atrocities like that. They're terrible. Inhumane. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He got down on a knee, hand moving from her shoulder to her knee.
"I promise you that we'll figure this out. No matter what the cost. Those villagers won't have died in vain. Not while I'm drawing breath." Squeezing her knee gently, he took the hat he normally wore over his shortly cropped black hair and placed it on the ground before standing.
"About time I let my hair down like you, eh?" An attempt at humor, a bit better than normal(he thought).
"Let's see what we can figure out from where the body was recovered. Maybe we missed something there."

The Vizima sewers were...well, sewers, but these seemed to be more "sewery" than one's average city cesspool. No matter the stench, Roche was determined to forge through it, leading Eve through the entrance grate and down a couple of passages before arriving at a dead end. On the wall facing them was a massive blood stain, oval in nature that went from six feet from the ground all the way down to the water's edge.
"Found him here. Why on earth would someone be hiding out here unless they were backed into a corner or attempting to find something dropped for them?" He pointed at the walkway opposite of the one they stood on.
"Maybe check on the other side? Commandos might have been in a rush and didn't do a good enough job sweeping the area."