The Witcher: My Own Path

There was still a great bustle and commotion in the throne room, the guards, however, easily caught the one responsible for casting the curse on the queen and princess, magnate Ostrit. He did not try to run away or lash out, he was already quite old and the great carcass and lack of, any physical activity did not allow him to make a great effort. One might even say that he had given up, surrendered completely to his fate. The evidence against him was irrefutable. I went towards the criminal and the guards and stood in front of them, obstructing the king's view of him to protect him from Foltest's wrath.

I intended to suggest to Foltest what Geralt had done, setting Ostrit up as bait for the striga, inflicting a horrible death on him, and in the process appeasing the king's wrath and earning a few extra points with him.

"My lord, please let me say something" I knelt before him with my head bowed.

"If you don't like my idea, you can always do what you want with it. The magnate is in your hands anyway King, there is no escape for him!"

The furious Foltest stared at me like a hawk at its prey. I won't lie, I was feeling the pressure, I may be strong, but I can't stand against an entire kingdom. I had to use power to gently influence him, to ease his anger a little and my proposal, to make him at least attractive enough to listen to it for even a minute.

He pointed at me with the sword he held in his right hand. His voice was sharp, hard.

"Speak, and that it be something good, or else your head and his head will be side by side, in front of the walls of the Wyzima jammed on a pile!

Son of a bitch!" Thought.

"Merciful king, ever since the princess appeared in her cursed form, less than seven years ago, I began to gather every knowledge of how this great misfortune could be counteracted. At first out of sheer curiosity, I was just a little boy at the time, but as I grew older my curiosity turned into a need. You, my king, are suffering, the princess is suffering, your people are suffering. When Captain Ryzz, made me his apprentice, I promised myself and my teacher that I would disenchant the princess. At the time, I was still too weak. That time has passed however, if you can't defeat something by force, do it by trickery and to use that trickery I will need Ostrit, he will be the bait for the striga. Not only is this a well-deserved punishment for him, but it will do great service in the process of pulling off the curse. If all goes according to plan, we will disenchant the princess and punish the bastard who was responsible for all this suffering. We will hunt two birds, with one stone!"

Foltes began to slowly lower his sword, still looking at me, there was absolute silence in the room. Everyone was curious about what was happening and was slowly beginning to understand the situation. From my and Foltes' conversation it was easy to deduce what was really going on.

"Are you sure you can do this? Remove the curse from my daughter!"

"I know how to do it and when, my king, however the question is, will I survive?"

"Are you not afraid? And what do you want for removing the curse from my daughter?"

I lowered my head and moved it gently from side to side, but when I raised it, my eyes showed determination.

"I am terrified Your Majesty, but we have all suffered enough. You are our king, our ruler, and if the ruler is worried, the whole nation is worried. When the king suffers, the whole nation suffers. I desire nothing for myself, my gracious lord, I desire neither glory nor fame...."

Once again I used the power to gently begin to influence Foltest, Velerad and all the courtiers, my image was to be as noble, chivalrous as possible. My person and attitude was to inspire pity in them, through love for the king, the country and its citizens, but also admiration at my own sacrifice and not seeking common goods for myself .

"...but only the happiness of my king and his subjects. I once made a vow to my teacher to end this suffering and I will do so, even if it means sacrificing my life. My king, please only look out for my father, he is a good man, a hard worker. He loves you and Temerie. If I die, remember him and lend your grace".

My gentle manipulation of power must have worked well, the Courtiers covered their mouths with their hands and shed a few tears, I heard the words "brave young man " or " such a young man is ready to give his life " and " wonderful young man ".

Foltest turned away from me and went towards his throne, when he sat down he said.

" Guards! Take this miscreant to the dungeons and guard him so he doesn't do anything to himself, we will need him!"

"I am amazed at your courage and dedication, to me and to the whole kingdom, young Tyr. Despite being so young, you have a huge heart in you, your father should be proud of you, and I am proud to have someone like you serving me. I promise you that if you succeed in lifting the curse from the princess, a great reward awaits you, and if you fall in the attempt, I will grant mercy to your father. Now tell me what your plan is".

"Thank you, Your Highness, for being willing to listen to your servant. In order to lift the curse from the princess, on the full moon, which is five days from now, you must spend the whole night in the crypt of the striga, from dusk to dawn, until the cock crows three times. It won't be, as easy as it sounds. The striga must be aware of my presence, and consequently will want to devour me, quite apart from the fact that it is an extremely powerful creature. By the time of the full moon, I will have to prepare all the traps and, when the turned princess, is asleep during the day in her crypt, install them throughout the manor. Ostrit will serve as a distraction while I arm the traps and then lure the striga. Then I intend to hide in the crypt and wait until dawn. I'm not giving myself much of a chance of survival, however, I must try. I cannot allow the suffering to continue".

Foltest and the whole court were impressed by my dedication to the cause.

"There is something else I must mention my king".

"Speak up, young Tyr!"

"The princess... she..."

" Speak, do not be afraid!"

"The princess, she was transformed when she was still an infant, and almost seven years have passed since then, so her mind...."

"Are you suggesting that she might be retarded?" Velerad asked.

The king looked at him then at me.

-"Answer me!" He demanded.

"Not so much, retarded, but she will probably behave like an infant that has just left its mother's womb. After all, she had no way to develop, by absorbing stimuli from the world around her. She will need the same care as a newborn baby".

"Hmm... Makes sense". The king mused.

"What do you need from me until then?"

"Nothing, Your Royal Highness, however, thank you very much. As I mentioned earlier, I have been preparing to remove the curse from the princess for some time now. Now I want to spend these last few days preparing and spend some time with my father and friends to say goodbye. I don't know what fate awaits me, so I want to close all my affairs so that I don't have, any regrets.

- Well then! You are dismissed and ... good luck boy, I hope to see you soon!"

I rose from my kneeling position, gave Foltest one last bow and headed for the exit. I was going to give a small party at my inn in the suburb . In the meantime, my men would be spreading rumours stealthily throughout the city about my resolve and desire to free Wyzima and its inhabitants from the fear that had haunted them for so many years, because after all, the striga had been devouring at least fifty people a year, which makes about three hundred over all those years. Quite a lot, I would say.

The fight certainly won't be easy, Geralt, with almost fifty years of experience, barely survived. Physically, thanks to the super soldier serum, I am above ordinary humans, however still below the standards of witchers, but I can increase my strength and speed through power, at least to the level of what monster slayers represent. I have the will, the skill and the ambition to face the monster, I am going to take off the curse and climb even higher. I cannot fail!