Temeria

King foltest, was currently reading reports in his office when someone knocks on the door.

“Come in.”

A servant enters inside and bow politely.

“Sire, the royal advisor was requesting for an audience”

“At this hour?” Foltest frown looking at the reports at his table

“She says its an urgent matter”

“I see" he put the report he been reading down and look at the servant.

"Let her in then.”

The servant bows and leaves the room.

Later the door open and a woman enter inside.

She was wearing a loose green robe that shows her healthy cleavage, and flaming red hair that sways on her shoulder as she walks step by step. Every time Foltest sees her, he can’t help but praise her burning beauty and can't help indulge himself in the poet about the beauty of Triss Marigold.

“Triss, it’s my pleasure to see you.”

“As I, my king”

“Need a drink?”

“No your majesty, I have some other task to do. So I was in haste.”

“Is that so?" Foltest look disappointed making Triss mouth twitch.

"Very well then, what message you need to send that you come personally?”

Triss bow politely accidentally revealing those beautiful mounds. Foltest can't help but gulp, suddenly he became thirsty and tried to look elsewhere.

She smiles politely and put the scrolls down the table and straighten up as if nothing happens.

He coughs then pick a scroll. Curious, Foltest grabs a scroll and starts to read it carefully, soon his face frown then he looks at the others scrolls, then he starts to read them one by one seriously. He was surprised then became angry at the detail information on the scrolls.

“Good, these fools know how to play me” he closes the scrolls and look at Triss seriously.

“Who send this to you?”

“A friend of mine sire has gotten this information.”

“Can’t your friend came here to give this information?”

“Sorry sire, but I promise a friend of mine that I won’t reveal any information about him to protect his privacy.”

“I see…”

Foltest nod, with a pondering expression.

“Very well then, thank you for this information, if your…friend need anything, just say the word and I will do my best to help.”

“Understood.”

“Is that all?’

“Yes your majesty, that is all.”

Foltest smiles bitterly and beckons her.

“Go, you may dismiss.”

Triss bow and leave.

“Call Roche, I got work for him”

“Understood sire,” said behind him

He turns at the windows and looks at the half-moon.

-

Flotsam

In a manor, on the third floor, a bald man just finishes at intercourse with a young blond woman and sits upon the bed. Soon a dainty hand touches his arms.

“Finish already?” he heard a sickly sweet voice behind him. He frowns looking at those fingers but he didn’t show it and turn around and faces the woman and smile gently.

“Got work to do darling, go on take a rest. Maybe I will take you to the ocean after my work is done.”

“You promise?” the woman reveals a surprise expression

“Of course.” The bald man looks at the blond woman gently as he caresses her face.

“Then I will be waiting.” she rubs her face like a cat at his callous palm

The bald man chuckles and stood up revealing his fat body. The woman reveals disgust in her eyes but she didn’t dare show it openly.

After the bald man dresses up, he exits the door.

Outside, two bodyguards were guarding the door.

“Do what you want with her, after that dispose of her. Make sure to make it clean. Understood?” the bald man's eyes became indifferent as he spoke to his two bodyguards.

“Hehe as you wish master”

“We will take care of her”

The men reveal lustful desire in their eyes as they look at the door.

“Good.” he steps away from the door.

Soon he heard the door open behind him.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“We're here to play a little game.”

“Don’t worry, it will be good”

“No, don’t come closer, stop! Help! No!”

Then the sound was broken as the door was closed.

“Whore” he mutters

-

He was sitting in his office while looking at the view.

“It’s been months but there was still no report about the death of Lousie, I already contact everyone I know, and bribe some officials but there was nothing worth mentioning.”

He looks at the report piles up on his desk and frowns.

“Most of the reports are about non-human involvement, it will reduce the non-human influence on Vizima but that’s not important right now. What important to me is to find those documents Lousie was hiding. That damn Lousie was keeping documents of our transactions, blackmailing me for orens to keep his mouth shut. That fucker, although he deserves his death, I need to find those documents fast before anyone did.”

Loredo keeps tapping his finger and thinking of a way to hasten the investigation.

“Not good, I need to supervise the investigation myself. I can’t let other people know my secrets or it’s my end”

Loredo grips his fist tightly while his eyes became vicious.

“Just wait” he mutters.

-

At night, figures move in the shadow in the manor, every guard were being taken out silently.

Currently, the weather was cloudy making the wind strong. The men use this advantage to move fast and take the guards down.

An old woman inside the manor on the first floor was currently making powder while humming softly.

She wears a thin flower crown on her forehead, with gentle eyes as she prepares ingredients for creating fisstechs. Suddenly she stops and looks up. She gawks when she found herself surrounded by unknown men.

But before she can scream, the men already upon her and tied her up.

“Hmph! Hmmph!” The old woman kept struggling, they search her body and find a rusty key.

“Make sure the manor was surrounded, don’t let anyone escape.”

The man with the blue bandanna order his men.

“Yes!”

-

Suddenly Loredo opens his eyes, he raises his ears, and carefully stood up.

“Intruders…Assassin? But there was no signal of attacks, not just one assassin then?”

He carefully dresses and picks up his large pike. He carefully looks outside the window, he can’t see any guards, as if they vanish in thin air.

“Can’t go to the window, they might be watching, need to go to the secret room and wait till they go”

Thinking of this, he silently opens the door-

“Bang!”

The door was open by a kick, he immediately back away while holding his weapon.

A woman appeared in the doorway, she has short blond hair and wearing a blue vest, brown pants, and steel guard on her knee parts.

“Surrender Bernard Loredo!” she points her sword at him

Loredo just sneers and picks up his large pike at his side.

“Make me!”

He rushes at her, she dodges his attack to the left and pass the long pike and deliver him a punch on his face. Not satisfied enough, she pummeled him repeatedly until he was bruised over his face.

“Enough Ves!”

The man wearing a blue bandanna enter and frowns at Loredo.

“Tie him up.”

Two men enter and grab Loredo.

“Search the entire house for evidence, don’t leave anything behind.”

-

The entire kingdom shook with the sudden arrest of Bernard Loredo who was known for his gentle demeanor and benevolence to people, they were confused about why the Temeria kingdom has arrested him. But soon, more people were caught and all of them were nobles, sons of reputable nobles, and some are just plain crooks.

But this was enough to shake the kingdom since the incident where the chaos of Temeria happens.

The nobles associate to the capture nobles' protest to the unfair treatment of the royal highness to his loyal citizen why they treat them poorly like this.

Until the king show enough evidence of these nobles related to manufacturing fisstech.

This has shut all the mouths of the protesting nobles. Although some were still unwilling; the evidence was strong enough to warrant death.

They watch as the nobles and their sons were hang in the town square as a warning for those who will attempt to the crime against the kingdom rules.

-

All these were just a small episode to Joan, who was right now trying to move her body. She can feel her fingers twitching as she tried to move them nonstop. She will do this exercise every single day to let the blood flow on her body.

She can feel the blood flowing to her veins slowly, making her giddy. She can feel her complete recovery soon.

-

The battle between Northern kingdoms and Nilfgaard became fierce as Emhyr the emperor found himself against the sorceress of the lodge. He tried sending his mages but they were no match to them and forced to flee. With no course in victory and a failed attempt of assassination to the lodge, he was forced to give up and sign a peace treaty to the Northern kingdom once again.

-

Three months later

Since the incident of the “burning snake”, all the members of Salamandra disappear and the death of responsible for manufacturing fisstech vanish.

This made the city of Vizima gained its liveliness, gone was the gloomy atmosphere replaces by a clean but quiet environment.

Although there was still harassment to non-human, it was treated as a common occurrence since not all humans like non-humans creatures. But it was enough not to feel pressured or oppressed by others where people just want to live a peaceful life.

But there was a single person not happy what’s happening right now.

Jacques smiles tightly as the non-human prays to the statue of mother Melitele. He was stopping himself from kicking the dwarf in front of him.

“May the mother look after you”

“Thanks, sire”

After the dwarf bow, then left the temple.

Jacques looks at this and frowns.

“My plan failed as I can’t use the Salamandra anymore.”

Just thinking of this, his eyes narrow dangerously.

“Whoever did this, I will surely make them pay the price of going against me.”

Then he calms down.

“I can’t use the command of the order without reason or the higher up will get suspicious of me.”

He then put a hand to his chin and ponder.

“I need a new plan…”

-

Joan stood up fumblingly.

“Careful!”

“Shut your trap! Can’t you see she was focusing?”

“How about you, your mouth was louder than a loud chicken. It's irritating!”

“What the fuck did you say?!”

“Both of you shut up!”

Both dwarfs shut up and look at her worriedly

Joan breathes in and slowly walk. She walks step by step, although she was still trembling, she can feel her body getting pump up by the blood.

Suddenly she stops and sway, both dwarfs was about to rush to her but stop. She grits her teeth and continues.

Slowly her body starts to adapt, she almost grins when she starts getting faster and faster until she was running to the door back to the table. She does this back and forth, then she jumps upside down repeatedly.

“F-F-fuck!” she raises her arms in victory and suddenly she trembles and she began to cry.

“F-Fuck…” she sat down on the ground while sobbing softly.

After two years of being disabled, she finally able to walk and move her body. The feeling of moving her body again was euphoric.

“You okay kid?” Zoltan asks worriedly.

“Yes, yes I’m alright” she wipes her face with the back of hands.

Then she turns to Zoltan and approaches him, then suddenly she hugged him tightly making him startled.

“Thanks…I owe you” she whispers to his ear

“Wa-er…cough I-okay fuck this” then he hugs her back

“Cough” can I join?” Yarpen look at the two awkwardly

“Go fuck yourself” Zoltan release her and smile.

“My promise- “

“No rush kid, take your time”

Joan nod.

“So…do we celebrate or what?”

“Sure!” Joan answer then she remembers something her eyes began to revolve and her smile became bigger.

“But first do you remember our bet?”

“Bet?” Yarpen gawk then it slowly dawns on him. He began to tremble and sweat start to cover his forehead.

“Hehe” Yarpen laugh hollowly

“Hehe” Zoltan chuckle and cross his arms waiting for Yarpens joke

“Cough” I don’t know what- “

Suddenly, memories start flooding his brain.

“Remember now?” she smiles gently at Yarpen who has tears flowing to his eyes.

“…”

-

That day, if anyone enters Yarpen’s house, they will find a dwarf licking the dirty floor cleanly while two people watch with gleeful eyes.

-

They celebrate her recovery until morning, drunken as shite, multiple bodies scattered everywhere while Joan sitting on the chair looking at everyone with a smile. People come as they greet her including the prostitute Leah. She was one of the closet friends of Joan during her times of need.

She has handled her necessities like a pro, and never complain about it, just that she be paid in orens.

“I’ve been taking care of my grandmother for years, so taking care of you was no hardship for me,” Leah said while scrubbing her during bath time.

-

A week since her recovery, she has been stretching her arms and doing work out. She can’t still hold a sword properly because her hands tremble when she holds them. Although she recovers now, the aftershock of the disabilities is still there. She still walks while twitching occasionally, she can’t eat properly with her wooden spoon spilling its content as her hands shake and she still talks in stutters. But all is good since she can feel her body gradually adapting.

-

One day of that week, a small number of the cavalry of soldiers consists of dwarfs appear on Yarpens home. They are wearing a steel helmet, blue leather armor with white stripes across their body. They have a symbol of two hammers intertwining together on their shields. This is the symbol of Mahakam, a vassal of the northern kingdom.

“Zoltan Chavey!”

Zoltan gets out of the house and frowns at the soldiers.

“Are you Zoltan Chavey?” The leader of the troops with a long red bushy beard spoke loudly.

“It is I!” Zoltan nod in recognition

“According to Sir Chavey, you are to immediately head towards the Markaham mountain for your engagement to miss Eudora Breckenriggs, and for your safety, we are here to escort you.”

Zoltan frowns deeper.

“I’m sorry, I can’t go with you yet. I have still some matters to attend to-”

“Sorry mister Zoltan, according to your father exact words;” then he coughs for effect

“Whether you like it or not, you will come home this instant or else I’ll come and drag your shitty arse here in the mountain.” that’s what he says”

Zoltan just sighs and shakes his head. He knows when his father issues his command, no one can disobey him including him.

He looks back at his two friends.

“Go on, no need to care about us, I’ll take care of everything here,” Yarpen said nodding at him

“Take care of yourself, I’ll come to visit,” Joan said

Zoltan nod

-

The two watch as the troops withdraw along with Zoltan riding in front.

“C’mon kid, need some cleaning to do.”

-

With the peace has come, the turmoil of the northern kingdom temporary subside

But behind it, a large storm was brewing with lightning ready to strike.