The Curse of Love || The Witcher

Chapter Ten

Geralt trod down the uneven dirt toward the village, letting his legs carry him forward, his mind so far away.

At first, a few scattered heads lifted to see the incoming visitor, most quickly becoming uninterested and returning to their various duties. However, as Geralt got closer and closer to the main village, where the hustle and bustle of trade was fully underway, hushed whispers haunted his passage. The boisterous chatter died in waves around him, replaced with murmurs and sidelong glances.

Geralt was oblivious to it all. The fog he had fallen into was impenetrable and left him single-minded in focus. He would head for the tavern. He figured that if anyone knew where Tesrin was, that barmaid would. The two seemed to have a certain rapport. If nothing else, Tesrin had found Geralt at the tavern the first time. There was no reason he wouldn't do so again.

More and more eyes locked onto Geralt as he made his way down the path, though he stared only at the dirt in front of his feet.

Soon enough, Geralt's feet had carried him to The Split Oak. He was almost to the door before he even realized he had arrived. It was that stupid cat that wrenched Geralt out of his stupor, hissing and spitting as it was at Geralt's feet.

"Get," Geralt shooed. Blinking back the haze, Geralt ducked inside.

And there, seated at the very table Geralt had claimed on his first visit, was Tesrin, saving Geralt the trouble of having to track him down. Tesrin was alone in the tavern save for Geralt, even the barkeep absent from the room, probably off in the storeroom or around back. Tesrin's appearance shocked Geralt. He was haggard and unkempt, his normally cheery demeanor full of despair. His pale face revealed tear tracks down his cheeks, dark circles shadowing his red-rimmed eyes.

Tesrin hadn't even noticed Geralt enter, absorbed as he was in his own thoughts. It wasn't until Geralt sat himself across from the man, placing his cloth bundle by his feet, that Tesrin glanced up.

"Geralt!" Tesrin exclaimed in a stunned whisper. "It's been nearly two weeks. I feared you were dead."

"Not exactly." Geralt didn't know where to begin. Speech seemed to elude him.

Luckily Tesrin was not at a loss for words. "Did you find Mikel?" he probed apprehensively. He wasn't a stupid man. If Geralt had returned without Mikel, it didn't bode well.

Geralt merely nodded.

Reading the truth in Geralt's eyes, Tesrin turned somber. "I see." Though he seemed to understand that there was more to the story than Mikel's death. "What happened out there? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

Finally Geralt found his voice. "It's a long story. And it's not a very pleasant one."

Tesrin was perplexed by Geralt's comment. "What do you mean?"

It took a moment for Geralt to commit himself to the telling of his search for Mikel and the subsequent events, but once he started talking, the words flowed out of him of their own accord, like they were eager to share the story. And maybe just a bit of the burden it had imparted on Geralt.

Tesrin didn't interrupt when Geralt finally got to the part about finding Aela, but tears flowed freely down his cheeks, sorrow and love and longing all fighting to transform his face. He listened in horrified silence as Geralt described what Kallis had done to Mikel and himself, then in awe as Geralt spoke of breaking Aela's curse and the battle with Kallis.

When Geralt talked about Aela sacrificing herself for him, he couldn't hold Tesrin's gaze. Geralt knew it had ultimately been Aela's decision, but he still felt somehow responsible for her death.