They were sitting on the wooden round table, and on the far edge of the tent was the map of northern kingdoms. There was not much to see inside except for wooden bows and arrows stack together in a corner.

The elf crosses her legs, and look at the girl at her front.

“Talk”

But Joan didn’t immediately speak and look at the map.

“Before I say anything, what are your plans for your future?”

The woman gawk and chuckle humorlessly

“Child, I don’t think you have a qualification to talk to me like equal. Right now, both of you are prisoners in this camp whether you like it or not.”

Joan nod and close her eyes.

She tries to form a connection to the woman. The elf felt someone try to connect to her mind making her startled.

“You- “

Suddenly, her view became different, she was transported in some battlefield where the corpse was littered everywhere. She remembers sitting in her tent, then suddenly she found herself here.

“Illusion?” she mutters

She looks at the corpse close to her, she knit her eyebrow because their leather armor looks familiar. She approaches one near her and turns it around. Suddenly she staggered backward. It was an elf base on its pointed ear.

She looks around as she realized all of the corpses have the same armor.

“Is this a joke?”

Suddenly she heard a sob behind her, she immediately draws her sword but found nothing attach at her side.

“Tsk”

She turns around and her eyes almost bulge.

A woman was currently kneeling on the ground. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was awash of black paint.

What makes her dread was the woman has the same face as her.

“What- “

She shakes her head in denial.

“What sorcery is this?”

“Why?”

The woman suddenly looks at her.

“Why did we do it? Our proud lineage was no more, all the remaining young elves have killed themselves because of their arrogance and pride taking our race to extinction. We are now trapped in our fantasy that we forgot what our reality is!

Still being vigilant, she looks around to make sure, no one ambushes her.

Suddenly the woman shouts hoarsely.

Then the environment change, the world became gray, and the scene became entirely different.

It was in the town square, people are going on their normal routine, but the looks of the human on non-human was seething with hatred and contempt. The air in the city almost can smell the thick gunpowder that ready to set off.

In a corner of her eyes she saw a dwarf and a noblewoman fighting on the street, they were arguing about something and they argue and argue until the dwarf can’t take it anymore and push her back forcefully.

It was like an ignition of a bomb, the next thing people were pointing at the dwarf, next thing they were holding their pitchfork and rush to the dwarf to stab him until he died. Then the chain reaction began, the townspeople didn’t just stop at the dwarf, they began to attack non-humans everywhere, she can see non-human being oppressed, harassed, and killed like a lamb by a bunch of butcher's.

She watches all this in horror as her elf compatriot was treated like trash, her mouth moves to shout for them to stop, but she can’t open it as if something was stuck on her throat.

Then the scene changes again, this time, the elf was attacking a caravan of food. She watches as the elves attack the guards and kill all of them, after that they were like wolf pillaging the cart like a locust. She watches as the elf eat the meat and look vigilantly around them. She covers her mouth and looks stricken as she watches her fellow elves experience this kind of life.

The different scenes began to play around her she watches them numbly as the elf became oppressed until they have no spirit to fight. Unknowingly, tears began to fall on her cheeks.

“Do you like it?” a childish voice sounded behind her.

Like waking up in a dream, her bloodshot eyes turn around and glare at the young child sitting on a wooden bench out of nowhere looking indifferent.

“Is this your sorcery?”

“No, this is my dream. Its one of my unique abilities, it allows me to dream of some future events” she looks at her straight “ and I have dreamed of your future”

The elf became stiff when she heard that, she opens her mouth to deny but it was naught, because deep inside her, what she saw was the reality of their situation, the future they were fighting for, the future they desire only to become a nightmare.

“What do you want,” she said hoarsely

The child smile like an innocently, but the elf knows, the smile was more than a cunning predator looking at its prey.

“Cooperation.”

-

Zoltan blink, because he just notices the elf and the girl was just staring at each other for five minutes.

He coughs loudly to get their attention, but it seems they were busy in their world.

“Well, whatever. I wish they have a vodka here, must be nice to have a drink.” he murmurs

“We have some vodka, I’ll immediately tell the others for one.” the elf woman blink and shake her head.

Zoltan gawk and look at the elf upside down.

“You okay there lad? Something wrong in your head?”

“No, I’m fine, better than ever,” she mutters

“Hmm well whatever” he just shrugged not caring at all

“By the way, I didn’t introduce myself yet, name Olivia. A leader of the resistance.”

“Zoltan, merchant and this child beside me are…

Zoltan scratches his beard and stares awkwardly at the elf.

“…Illyah”

“Right, “cough” Illyah, some sort of my niece or something"

"..." Zoltan, why do you act like a suspicious kidnapper?

“Now, let’s go to business.”

Olivia nodded

“I can give you a list of people that can help your current predicaments, people who are willing to support you.”

“But in exchange?”

“I want you to deliver us to Vizima temple.”

“That can be arranged. What else?”

“I would like a trade between us, I would need some herbs, it's better if you can introduce me to a middleman.”

She nodded again but didn’t ask anything.

“Last, I would like us to have intermediary communication. There were still things I would require.

“Is that all?”

“Yes, for now,” then Joan look at the parchment “I can’t move my body, so you better write it yourself”

“Just curious, what happens to you?”

“Accident of overusing magic. Disable my body on the process.”

“Ah.”

Olivia nod and grab and empty parchment, a quill with ink.

“Rodovid V”

Oliva was about to write when she stops and look at her with doubt.

“Radovid? I heard a half-elf assassinate his father, I doubt he will help us elves”

“Tell him that Philippa Einhart was the one who orders the assassination of his father”

“Evidence?”

“Find the half-elf that killed the king, then present him on Radovid."

“As far as I know, Radovid is a child that sorceress Philippa was grooming to be a king. How could we convince him?”

"Just tell him about Philippa's involvement, and her desire to control the court."

“Also, the name of Dijkstra was working along with Philippa. He was a master spy of Redenia working secretly with the sorceress.”

“Interesting…anything else?” as Olivia writes on the parchment

“Look for Francis Bedlam, or known as King of beggars”

“Never heard of him”

“Of course you don’t, he was one the of the underground king in Novigrad”

“And we must look at him because?”

“This man was a neutral party; he can help you hide when the situation became dire. He adopted what the human called freaks.”

“Freaks?”

"Non-human"

"We are not freaks!" she was offended someone has the gall to call them freaks.

“Not to human understanding, to human, all not human are freaks of nature including non-humans.”

She just snorts.

“That’s all for now, I’ll tell you more after further cooperation.”

“Good, Greg deliver them to living quarters, treat them as our special guest.”

“Yes!”

An elf came out in a corner, and bow to them courteously

“This way please.”

-

After they left, Olivia looks at the candle and ponder.

“Why did those two interest you?”

She looks sideways at the elf with his head covered in a red bandana.

“A transaction”

“A transaction you say? What kind?”

“Freedom" she simply said

“And you believe them” he looks at her amusingly

“I didn’t believe them or her to be exact”

The man raises his eyebrow at her.

“What do you think about our situation?”

The man frown.

“Can you say it directly?"

“Are we free?”

“Of course we are free”

“Free to walk on the streets without some humans harassing us? Free to marry and have ordinary life without people trying to point their finger at us and says we are freaks? Free from running around and having a stable life without running for our life every second because the human hated us and want to put us at burning stake?”

“Olivia, what are you trying to say?”

“I'm saying is, is this our ideals? Fighting guerrilla everywhere, looting food, killing innocent men?”

“You know they are not innocent.”

“So our action by looting caravan was innocent then? They have crime because they prevent us from our source of food? Our people need to eat so it's okay to kill them because we are hungry?”

The elf man didn’t say a word

“That’s why I’m going to gamble, the elders be damned. I’m tired of running in the forest just to live. I want to build a normal life for the elves.”

“You’re out of your mind” the elf man just shakes his head

Olivia didn’t answer and just look at the northern map on the wall.

-

“C’mon you been dying to ask me base on your face.”

“Well fuck it, how did you know those two, I heard of the tale of the underworld boss but I didn’t know his full name, and Radovid? I never knew you care so much about the Redenia kingdom.”

“One of my gift”

“Hmph, how useful, can it also make you rich?”

Joan just smiles looking up above the tent.

“Seriously?!” Zoltan almost bulge his eyes out

“Well, I got some ideas”

Zoltan starts rubbing his hands together, smiling wide showing his teeth.

“Maybe you’re looking for a servant? I can do many things!”

“Heh”

“Huff, you’ll see”

Then he lay down.

Joan sense that Zoltan has already been asleep after lying down on the bed, she can hear his loud snore over here making her frown.

Maybe because of exhaustion but it was a miracle that he can still move and protect her after experiencing what happens to Rivia.

Running non-stop without rest during the escape and he can still fight shows how strong his will is despite the difficulty.

"T-thanks." she silently mutters

-

The next day, two elves decided to escort them to the Vizima temple.

When she looks at their status, she found they are more elite than other elves she has seen.

Maybe Olivia was treating her seriously and decided to send her best warriors. Either way, her safety can be more guaranteed during their journey.

-

Redania

Outside the window of a large castle, colorful birds were perching on trees and singing a beautiful song, the servants quietly doing their job while looking at the garden with a smile, the trim garden that shape into different animals gave the garden a warm mood along the beautiful sunny day. Anyone who watches this scenery will feel refresh and ready to start their work with a smile, but a bald teen was looking in all this with indifferent mood as if nothing can touch him even the slightest warm of the sun.

“Knock “Knock”

The teen looks sideways

“Come in”

A thin servant walks inside, wearing a black silk dress enter.

“My sire, there was a letter sent to you”

“A letter?” the teen frown trying to think of anyone who will send him a letter at this hour.

“Bring it to me”

“Yes”

The servant hands the letter to him, he opens the seal and looks at the content, he raises his eyes eyebrow in surprise, but it vanishes within a second.

“You can leave now”

“Yes”

The servant bow then left.

The teen looks outside the clear sky.

“Some people want to talk to me? Interesting”

-

Night

In a dark alley, thee shadow figures wearing brown cloak arrive.

“I’m here now, you can show yourself,” he said in the alley.

A shadow figure slowly revealed himself. It wears a black cloak making it impossible to see its appearance.

“You are?”

The figure bows its head

“Hello prince Radovid, my name was not important, I’m here to deliver you a letter.”

“Letter? Why don’t you just send it to me directly?”

“We are just cautious; ears and eyes are everywhere after all.”

“Hmph, very well, where is the letter you are willing to give for all this secrecy?”

The man pulls out something inside his cloak. The two escorts grab their hilt.

The man halts his movement.

“Continue, they are just paranoid.”

The shadow slowly pulls out the letter and walk toward him slowly, he stops 1 meter from the prince and hands him the letter.

The prince frown and grab the letter, then the shadow figures bow respectfully and retrocede in the shadow. The two escort look at each other.

“No need to chase him, he already escapes.” While looking at the letter

He pulls out a knife and opens the seal, then he immediately read the letter. Suddenly his body trembles and his hands shook fiercely.

“Prince?”

A moment later, he stops trembling and became steady.

“Nothing.” The prince said in an indifferent tone, but inside his cloak, his eyes were currently blazing with hatred.

“Let’s leave” the youth look back at the shadow where the mysterious messenger came from then leave with his escorts vanishing into the night.