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❝ Two thousand orens if you can tell me what exactly killed these people. ❞
Triss Merigold
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The sun had only just begun to bloom on the horizon as Triss Merigold snuck Geralt and me into the castle, hidden under the last of the night before the sun could reach through the dense forest surrounding the castle. We followed the beautiful mage down turnpike stairs and through iron gates. The only sound echoing through the dungeon was our footsteps and the beating of my heart.
The laboratory was made of pale red stone, arching alcoves holding brewing stations, bookshelves and cupboards with crumbling columns keeping the castle above from caving in. Torches and candles lit up the large space. Beakers filled with bubbling liquids and jars of foul-smelling powders were scattered across the many desks.
I plucked out a strange, purple leaf from one of the many jars as Triss explained what she knew of the kingdom. I took a deep sniff as a sweet aroma overcame me, my muscles relaxing as soon as the scent hit my senses. "Six years ago stable hands started vanishing at the castle above the city." I placed the leaf back into its jar as Triss began. "Before long, citizens were disappearing throughout all Temeria. Foltest's royal guard soon realized the creature was coming from the crypt where the king's sister Adda is buried. Rumour has it she was having an affair with a young man in town when she died,"
"An affair?" I raised a brow at that, looking to Triss with intrigue. A woman, a princess was having an affair outside of marriage and now lay dead in the ground. How did she die? Of sickness? Or perhaps, something else? Possibly a scorned lover, Zula was a sorry reminder of what love can do to a man. "Was she promised to another? Or maybe she fell pregnant?"
Triss looked over to me, pausing to think, "Nothing set in stone, I believe." she answered, "And if she were pregnant, that would make her child the sole heir to the throne as Foltest never married. The king fled the castle, ignoring the rising death toll."
