The Witcher: My Own Path

A few days passed between my conversation with Geralt and the conclusion of an agreement with him to share his experiences with Orik, as well as his help in training my first official combat unit. Not only Geralt, Orik and Isarim had a lot of work to do. Even though I fully trusted the old elf, as a member of the Order, I preferred to personally supervise potential recruits and their training from time to time, then locking myself in the tower, informing everyone around me beforehand not to disturb me under any circumstances due to the amount of work, I immersed myself in my duties. At least that was the official version.

The truth is, however, that I slipped away at every possible opportunity, covering myself with Force Cloak so as not to draw attention to myself. I had one goal: to find a suitable place for my second laboratory as quickly as possible. A laboratory that will be known only to me and where I will conduct further research on the development of the super soldier serum. It will be a place dedicated solely to this task. I can carry out any other tasks at the official centre at the Order's headquarters without hiding.

The task was not difficult; I already had several locations in mind that I remembered from the game. All I had to do was search them discreetly. I was already lucky on the first day. The cave near the Maribor Gate, where Echinops nested in the game, had everything I needed. It was empty, compared to what we had to face as Geralt, it had a lot of free space, it was outside the city, but close by and it was quite well hidden. Moving the equipment was also extremely easy because of my dimensional pocket, and as for the money I spent on it, who among the Order would dare to ask me on what I spends orens. My new laboratory is not perfect and will require a lot of work, but the foundations have already been laid and they are quite solid. I could use the old royal estate where Striga lived, but it was precisely in this place that Azar Javed conducted his research. When I know where the treasure will appear in a few years, it will be better to prepare the place than to sabotage it. Who knows where it could move later.

(The manager's tower, present day)

From the highest chamber of my tower, I watched as nearly forty men, dwarves and elves trained together as if in a synchronised dance. They were being trained by none other than Captain Ryzz, and I was delighted to hear that my former fencing teacher and mentor had agreed to take on the task. When I asked him if he had time for it, he replied that he had entrusted some of his duties to Vincet Meis, a rising star in the Monastery District guard. He said he was training the young man to take over his duties after his retirement. Since I am no longer an option, which he did not hide, he regretted. Another thirty men were being trained nearby by Tomo, Mirim right-hand man in the use of bows. Overall, it is not a large force, but it should be completely sufficient for current purposes. Only a handful of these men belong to the Order and it will remain that way for the time being; the recruitment process into our ranks is very restrictive. The list of qualities that candidates should possess is long, but I don't have to deal with it personally or worry, Isarim takes care of it.

The sound of several knocks on the door and the slight creak of it opening distracted me from the recruits below. After a short while, a beautiful young elf appeared before my eyes. Mirim had long black hair braided into a plait and tied with a green ribbon, beautiful large grey eyes, high cheekbones and alluring lips, not very tall, about one hundred and seventy centimetres, slim but lithe figure. She was wearing black leather knee-high boots, brown breeches, black gloves up to her forearms, a green long-sleeved shirt and a leather waistcoat. She had a long dark green coat with a hood, which was fastened at the neck with a silver pin in the shape of a leaf.

I kept my eyes on her as she approached and stood next to me. I turned my head towards the window, and now we were both watching the events in the courtyard. I was curious why she had come, but I didn't press the issue.

"On my way from HQ, I met one of Loona's girls. She ask my to tell you that your father has been drinking for two days and I'm not talking about a few glasses, but to the point of unconsciousness. I think something bad happened to him. You should go and see him," she said, still looking out of the window.

I turned to her in surprise. Only once in my life had I seen my father completely drunk, and that was on the day I was knighted by the king.

"Do you know anything more?" I asked hopefully. She just shook her head in denial.

"If that's all, you know you didn't have to come here in person. You probably have more important things on your mind".

"I know, but that's not the only reason I'm here".

I didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm worried, Loona and Albert are up to something... Something big and I know you're not aware of it. You haven't left the tower for a few days, and if you did go out, it was only to watch the people training in the courtyard".

"I didn't know you were keeping an eye on me, should I be worried?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in fake surprise. I wasn't angry with her for spying on me because I knew it perfectly well, but she didn't need to be aware of it.

Her big grey eyes looked into mine and her face showed great concern.

"What you did for me" Then, pointing to the entire neighbourhood of non-humans, "what you have done for us... You have changed each and every one of us, your kindness, compassion and strength have breathed new life into us. Just look, humans, elves, dwarves living together, exercising together, laughing together. Wyzima is changing, people are changing, we are changing, in a few years this place could be what we have always dreamed of. Without prejudice, racism, pogroms, and it's all thanks to you. However, I have no doubt that without you, all this will collapse, die and we will lose hope forever, so I ask you ..." Mirim suddenly fell to the ground, on her knees "...live as long as possible"

I sighed loudly, smiled gently and placed my hand on her right shoulder.

"Well, instead of assigning staff, who are so important to your Sphere, to watch me, maybe you should take care of our enemies. You know I can take care of myself, don't you?" Still smiling, I jokingly admonished her, then gently took her hand and helped her to her feet.

She looked at me with determination.

"Despite your power, my Lord, your safety is the most important thing for me... I mean for the Order. It is not a problem to send one or two people away," she said.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mirim. Haren will appreciate it," I laughed. "And as for Loona and Albert, don't worry about them, I trust them, I know that the good of the Order is close to their hearts and everything will be cleared up in the end, now get out of here, I have a lot of work to do" I dismissed the young elf, still smiling.

"Of course, my lord, there is one more thing I would like to report. Yesterday, Gavorn finished his reconnaissance of the iron mine you discovered, well, at least as far as time and resources allowed. He was very excited when he finished and wanted me to tell you that you were right and that he can't wait for us to start mining. A typical dwarf.

"Thank you, Mirim. That's excellent news. Please tell him to temporarily contain his enthusiasm because, unfortunately, we are not ready for that yet".

"Yes, my lord, if you will forgive me". She bowed and quietly left my office.