Something Wilder (Child of the Winter Moon Book 2)

19: Returning to the Path

A/N: The following chapter has mentions of sexual abuse. If this is triggering to you, please skip either the whole chapter or skip to the last paragraph.

"You knew?" Yennefer asked Juray when the Nilfgaardians disappeared from view.

"I knew about the letter," Juray admitted. "I knew Emhyr wished to step down and give her the throne."

"So you encouraged her to take it?" Geralt asked.

"I encouraged her to think about it and weigh the pros and cons. She wanted to be able to do the most good and I gave her the knowledge to make an informed decision."

"You know Vesemir would have done the same, Geralt," Eskel put in.

Geralt sighed. "I know."

"We both know she won't put up with any courtly bullshit. And personally, I think she'll make a great empress. She's Calanthe's granddaughter after all."

Geralt scoffed a laugh. "And as hard-headed."

"The snow's melting. The Path calls. It's time we return to normal."

"Normal? You're pretty much a sorceress now."

"I'm still a fucking Witcher, you asshole."

Eskel laughed.

"I'm just a more powerful Witcher now." She looked at the others. "Should be an interesting year, though."

"Yeah."

~~~

Juray read over the desperate notice from the board in Oxenfurt. She'd done a few Contracts and made use of the new Signs she and Yennefer had developed, but was quickly realizing that having magic really had not much effect on her Witchering. In her experience, people in cities paid a bit more than simple villagers and she felt the parents that had pinned the notice would be no different, although she wondered why the city guard wasn't dealing with it. Juray headed toward the address on the notice to speak to the parents.

Once Juray met with the merchants who posted the notice, it became clear to her why the city guard wasn't doing anything. They relayed to the Witcher how their only child, a girl of 12, had disappeared without a trace and the city guard kept brushing them off, saying there was no sign of breaking and entering. The elven couple was so desperate to find their child that they posted the notice. The Witcher looked over the girl's simple bedroom, using her senses to look for clues, finding the window had markings showing something had forced the latch open. Juray told them she would find their daughter. She really hoped she would find the little girl alive.

Her first stop was the city guard.

"Whaddya want, Witcher?" the captain asked boredly from behind a desk.

"Answers on why you're doing nothing to find a missing child."

The guard snorted. "That merchant pair put you up to this? We ain't got time to find runaways." He stamped some paperwork.

"And what makes you so sure this girl is a runaway?"

"She's elf. All of them run away at some point to find something better. Don't know why you're so concerned about it."

"Did you and your fellows even look for clues? Or did you just see who this family was and made up your mind that you wouldn't help them?"