Adventures with the Witcher(s): A Multi Witcher Story

Preparing for the Journey (Geralt/Eskel/Lambert)

-------two weeks later------------

The sun was up, and the sky was clear. You would be leaving soon on your chosen path. Before that though, you made sure to pack plenty of provisions for the journey.

Lucky for you, Vesemir had loaned you a saddle and a couple saddlebags for you to store supplies. You had packed in linens, a skin of water, a first-aid kit, a couple books (one to identify monsters and another to identify herbs), a spare cloak, a map, sandwiches made with either salted fish or dried venison, dried fruit, and a couple daggers for your own protection.
You may not be capable of facing a monster just yet, but if you come across any bandits, all you would need was a couple stabs in the crucial places which can buy enough time for you to escape.

You also packed your rattlesnake skin boots for when the weather warmed, and your phone (which you hadn't used in a couple months and had turned off seeing how it's pretty much useless in this world).

You double check to make sure you didn't forget anything and you wouldn't need to come back for it.
Now you head for the stables, knowing the witcher would be waiting for with his things already packed and his horse already saddled.

You take a deep breath, hoping you had made the right choice.

Geralt:

You look up ahead at the stables and see Geralt had already walked, leading Roach in one hand and Midnight in the other.
Both horses were already saddled.

You were a little surprised Geralt was this considerate. You smile a bit and place the saddlebags where they needed to be. "Thank you for saddling Midnight for me," you say to Geralt, "hope he didn't give you too much trouble." "No trouble at all," Geralt assures, "you sure you're ready for the journey ahead?"

"About as ready as I can be," you shrug, "Being someone from another world, and who's never ventured outside Kaer Morhen for the first couple months of being here, I'm not really sure what to expect."

"Hmm," Geralt said in response. Since you've known Geralt in the couple months you've been in Kaer Morhen, you could safely say he was a man of very few words...very few facial expressions as well. He was considerate though, where his brothers' and your needs were concerned, something he had demonstrated when he gave you those linens for your menstrual cycle.
"Just don't expect too much in terms of hospitality," Geralt also says in an honest manner, "Especially as we get closer to Novigrad." "Because you're a witcher?" you ask. "That's part of the reason," Geralt nods, "but there's other things going on in Novigrad too. But it's better I tell you on the way there."

"Okay," you say then proceed to mount your horse, which took a little effort as you're more on the shorter side and Midnight was a fairly tall horse. Geralt was about to ask if you needed a hand, but you managed before he could even ask.

The two of you exit the keep, looking up to the road ahead.

Eskel:

You look ahead towards the stables to see nobody else was around. Well except for Scorpion, who was saddled and ready to go. You wondered where could Eskel be.

You walk into the stables, expecting Midnight to be munching on the last bit of hay from this morning's breakfast. When you peak into the stall, however, you were surprised to find Eskel was already there, brushing out Midnight's hair and prepping his saddle.
"This is a surprise," you say, which got the witcher's attention. "Just thought doing this would save some time," Eskel shrugs, "Got a long journey down south. Wanna get on the road as soon as we can."

"Well I appreciate it very much," you say meaningfully as you place the saddlebags were they need to be and then and then attempt to mount your trusty steed. "Need a hand there, (y/n)?" Eskel asks.
"Don't worry, I got this," you assure, grunting a bit, "Midnight's not the tallest horse I've been on."

You were halfway up, and about to pull yourself out, but you then you topple back over...or you would've if Eskel didn't rush to save you from landing on the ground.
"Whoa, real quick reflexes you got there," you compliment as you swing your leg over on the saddle. "All part of being a witcher," Eskel smiles a little, "though I can't help but feel this isn't the first time something like that has happened to you." "Well it is a first time someone actually managed to save me in time before I landed in an awkward position," you admit, "It's why I usually have a stool or platform to help me."

Eskel chuckles a little at that, something you hadn't heard him do before since you've been here. While a little more expressive than Geralt, Eskel was probably the more quieter of the witchers (actually Geralt and Eskel may go back and forth on who was more quieter). Certainly the more level headed of the bunch, that's for sure, especially more so than Lambert.

He also had taught you a few important things like how to properly skin and gut a deer, and how to get a fire started.

You check the stirrups, making sure they were even and you could put your feet properly on them, "Well, like you said, we have a long journey ahead of us. I believe you got Scorpion waiting outside."
Nodding, Eskel walked out, you following behind on Midnight.

With both of you now on horseback you begin the journey to Nilfgaard.  

Lambert:

You look ahead of the stables but didn't see anyone. Once you got a little closer, you see Lambert had come out of the stables with his horse in tow, brushed and saddled.

"Where's Midnight?" you ask. "In the stall like he's supposed to be," Lambert simply answers. You look at the witcher, then at his horse, then back at the stables, "Midnight's stall was on the way to your horse, you, uh...you couldn't have brought him out all saddled." "He's not my horse," Lambert sasses.
"Last I checked, you were the one who wanted to get out of here as soon as we can so this quest could be done and over with," you sass back, crossing your arms, "getting both horses ready would've saved you and me plenty of time."

"Hey I would, but that damn horse of yours barely lets me near him," Lambert points out, "tried to bite and kick me at least three times before I had to get out here. I don't think he's fond of other people, except for his caregiver apparently. So really it's your fault." "Midnight's the gentlest horse on the ranch back home," you point back, "he's always been first choice for beginner horse riders. And he's not like that with Geralt, Eskel, or Vesemir. Maybe it's just you. Probably knows what a jackass you are." "Oh very funny," Lambert deadpans, "just get your horse, so we can get this over with."

 You head to Midnight's stall, rolling your eyes as you did so.
Lambert was definitely the prickliest of the bunch, and short tempered too. Vesemir made that clear when you first got to know the witchers, but he also said that Lambert was a good man at heart once you get to know him. You had some doubts though, seeing how you've been in Kaer Morhen for nearly two months and you hadn't quite to break the ice with the witcher.

You walk into the stall, but to your surprise, you see Midnight already had his saddle secured onto him. You frown a bit, wondering why Lambert was griping about saddling your horse when he had managed to get it done anyway.
You brush it off and manage to mount the horse.

You head out and see Lambert was already atop his horse.
The two of you start on the path to Aedirn.