The Witcher: My Own Path

"Master Cicero, Master Andrew I'm not going to beat around the bush and say it straight out".

Both men looked at each other and then at me, I could see a flash of fear in their eyes. Maybe I shouldn't raise my voice, but I had to make these idiots realise that what they were planning to do wasn't in their best interests, at least not at the moment.

"Do you realise the implications of what you are planning to do or are the honourable masters deaf or dumb that they are unable to grasp the current trends and events that have taken place in the city. Especially the events that concern, the young Ser Tyr, the same one who has shown great bravery and courage and who enjoys the recognition and favour not only of the court but also of King Foltest himself. The rescue of the Princess Adda earned him the favour of the common people for obvious reasons as well as the great gratitude of his Majesty. An obvious favour that the masters chose, for reasons unknown to me, to ignore. Now you are here in the castle, in the throne room before the king accusing the hero who saved his daughter and the city. Have you gentlemen gone completely fucking mad!"

I looked at them carefully, thundering them with my eyes. A pair of complete idiots with so much greed in them that it oozed out of them with almost every pore in their skin. I watched with satisfaction as their faces grew paler and paler with every word I uttered, slowly realising the folly they had committed by coming to the castle.

In holding my position I cannot be biased and favour anyone, merchants pushing is not a first for me and knowing young Tyr he must have at least expected the steps taken by his rivals, however in this case I am willing to give him a little help, I like the boy and hold high hopes for him.

"I will give you advice and if I were you I would think it over carefully and take it deeply to heart..."

They both looked at each other and shook their heads, setting their second and third chins in motion.

"... Leave, Ser Tyr alone while he enjoys the King's favour. By continuing what you are doing now, you risk not only losing your estates, but your own heads".

Their little piggy eyes opened full width in fear, realising the extent of the protection their business rival enjoyed.

Once again, I looked deeply into their eyes.

"Now fuck off and don't show yourselves in the castle until the king's wrath has cooled".

The idiots began to bow and apologise and thank me for warning them of the potential consequences of their irresponsible actions.

I turned and headed towards the throne room, hoping that greed hadn't completely chewed through their brains and hoping that they would leave young Tyr at least for a while.

"M..mm... Master, Cicero what do we do now, do we listen to Velerad, or do we...?"

"We'll do nothing for now fool, Velerad is right, I may have been a little hasty and may have misunderstood the mood of the city, but that doesn't mean I'll let go so easily. This lover of non-humans is gaining more and more power and wealth, wealth that should belong to me. For now, we'll wait, gather more power and funds, and when his fame begins to pass, we'll strike with everything we've got".

"But Master Cicero, if we let it continue to grow in strength then..."

"And that is the best thing about it Andrew, let him earn and accumulate more orens, and when we are ready, we will strike and take everything from him. The more he has, the more painful his fall will be hahahahah".

"Cicero you are a true master of planning hahaha, a lover of elves and other vermin will lose everything like that arrogant whore son Albert".

"Don't worry Andrew, Albert and that Tyr kid are only the beginning in the end this whole city will be mine...I mean ours and to buy anything in it will need our approval".

"Yes, our approval Master Cicero hahahahha, hmm...? Did something happen Master Cycero?"

"No, not nothing, I just had the impression that I saw something, but it's nothing".

Mhm... We can't get distracted now and we better get back to work, lots of planning ahead.

(Half an hour later)

A middle-aged woman with slightly greying black hair and a long blue gown with a slightly dirty but still white apron superimposed over it walked hurriedly through the corridors of the royal palace with her eyes fixed ahead, heading towards her own living quarters, the quarters of the servants, his highness Foltesta. 

As soon as she crossed the threshold of her room, she carefully bolted the door behind her so that no one would disturb her in the task she had to perform. She went to the window and opened the cage of a beautiful black raven. It was not just any raven, but rather meticulously trained to deliver messages. Compared to common pigeons, it was faster and stronger and not so obvious if one wanted to conceal activities approaching treason to the kingdom, namely espionage within the king's castle itself. Despite the drops of cold sweat running down her forehead and back she did not hesitate, with quick and efficient movements of her hands she attached the letter to the bird. The message she was about to send was important, to the people she cared about and to the whole of Wyzima.

In one of the dark and dirty streets of Temple Quarter, a bored little boy was sitting on an old wooden stool in the back of the "Gentle Touch of the Muse" brothel. He was resting his head on his left hand and holding a stick in his right hand, drawing letters and numbers on the ground with it, trying to remember the last lesson he had passed in the secret school his mother sent him to almost every day, and secret only because his mother forbade him to mention it strictly to anyone. As the boy was immersed in scraping the ground, he heard a loud cawing which immediately alerted all his senses, he looked around and spotted a bird making these sounds on one of the roofs of a nearby house. He quickly sprang to his feet and opened a small wooden box, which contained a thick dusted glove and a few fruits and small pieces of meat, and with a rush he put the gloves on his hand and stretched into the air as if he wanted to catch something that was clearly not there. The raven, which had recently been standing on the roof singing its nasty tune, noticed the boy's gesture and headed towards him with all speed, landing gracefully on his sheltered hand. The boy's eyes lit up with joy and excitement. Just to, receive the news he spent dull hours in this place each day however the reward he received, in the form of a few orens fully rewarded his efforts. He took the wad of parchment from the raven's leg and fed the bird in passing, treating it to meat and fruit. He dismissed the raven, put the gloves back in the box, and ran to deliver the message to his mother himself.

In a secret room on the top floor, and at the same time the office from which almost all the orders of the 'Espionage and Intelligence' Sphere came out, behind a large and covered with all sorts of documents and reports sat Loona, AKA Nightingale, staring at a small wad of parchment delivered to her a few moments ago by one of her most loyal courtesans. The whole room was closer to a library than an office. Shelves of parchments and scrolls of intelligence reports, profiles of those investigated and those yet to be investigated. Reports on, streets, houses, workshops, shops. Anything that might be of any information value to the Order. Against one wall, instead of bookshelves, one can see three small wooden tables separated from each other by wooden screens and women sitting at them, pressing buttons with painted letters on strange wooden and metal machines at an unimaginably fast pace. An invention of the Master of the Order himself. Writing down all the words that flowed out of several pipes coming out of the walls, at each of these small stations.