Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or The Witcher games or books.

The two arrived in Lindenvale without any further trouble. Geralt tied up his mare to a fence in front of the inn. He took assorted materials ranging from silver ores to leather straps from Roach's saddlebags, and a pouch of crowns from his pocket and handed them to Ruby. "Take these, find the blacksmith, get the silver smelted and get yourself a scythe. I'm going to the inn to talk to a client." Ruby took all the components and the pouch, and with a nod, she set off.

After a few minutes of searching, Ruby found the blacksmith. "Hello, young lass. How can I help you?" the blacksmith asked. Ruby smiled and responded, "Can you smelt these and make a scythe out of it? Something to my specifications?" she asked, showing him the silver and other materials. "Of course. That will be 15 crowns." Ruby took the pouch, and after counting out 15 coins, she paid the blacksmith. "And these specifications of yours, could you enlighten me?" The girl complied, pointing out specifics like shaft and blade length. "Okay," the blacksmith said, "come back in a few hours and I'll be done with your scythe. I must say, you're probably the fanciest farmer or farmhand in the Continent, wanting a silver scythe like that." "Okay," she nodded, and went to go find Geralt.

"So can we meet the guy who'll be getting me home?" she asked her new companion. The two were seated at a table in the Lindenvale inn while they waited for the silver scythe to be hunters were having breakfast, Geralt having a ham sandwich, and Ruby with bacon, eggs and some strawberries.

"No."

"No? Why?"

"We're going to have to find her first. I have a lead on her location already. We'll go to a village called Heatherton as soon as that blacksmith finishes your silver scythe." Silence followed for a few more minute, except Ruby was gobbling up her food. Geralt then spoke up. "What made you decide to be a huntress?"

Ruby looked up from her plate. "Whup?" she asked, her mouth still full of food.

"What made you to become a huntress?" Geralt repeated. Ruby swallowed her food. "Oh. I wanna help people, simple as that. My sister used to read to me when I was little, and I always wanted to be like the heroes in the books," she replied happily. "As long as we're trading stories, what made you choose to become a witcher?"

"I didn't choose to become a witcher. Not many of us do."

"Is being a witcher a family thing, or..."

"No. Witchers are taken." Ruby tilted her head sideways. "What do you mean?"

"There is this law that we can incite when a client has no means of paying us called the Law of Surprise. When we incite this law, we either ask for the first thing that greets the client, or for something the client did not expect to see when they get home. Usually, that means unexpected children. Pregnancies. We also used to take in orphans"

"Then how come you've got catlike eyes, then? Those kids are all human, right?"

"Right. All witchers have eyes like mine. We undergo mutations that enhances our overall abilities. Strength, speed, reaction time, even slightly enhanced vision in the dark, thanks to the eyes."

Ruby's excitement came over her. "That'ssoawesomecanIgetthosemutationstoo?!" she excitedly cried.

"No."

"Why not?" she whined.

"The mutations are dangerous."

"That didn't stop you," she retorted.

Geralt squeezed his fist. He knew he had to calm down, after all, she doesn't know what they had to go through, and she seemed to be an innocent girl. Thankfully, the mutations and the training made it easy. With a deep sigh, Geralt responded. "The mutations we undergo is a mixture of potions and magic. There's no one around to perform the rituals anymore. Even with that, the potions themselves are toxic, and taking them will be the worst pain that any witcher can physically undergo. Sure, it leaves us with superhuman ability, immense tolerance to toxins, and immunity to almost every disease, but the cost of that is the intense pain of the process and sterility. If you don't know what that means, it means witchers are incapable of having children. And finally, and possibly the biggest reason why, not every candidate who undergoes the procedure survives. Only three, four boys at most, and that in on itself is slim, survive."

Ruby was in shock, her mouth agape. "I'm sorry," she stuttered out.

"It's fine. There was no way you could've known."

The hunters resumed eating in silence. Ruby spoke up again. "So what do people do for fun around here?"

A short "hm" was Geralt's response. "What do your people usually do?"

"We actually have a lot of things that cure our boredom. We could watch movies..."

"Um...what's a movie?"

Ruby facepalmed. How could she forget that she was in a less technologically advanced world? "Uhh...it's basically a play, but better."

"How?"

"Movies can have explosions, monsters, or anything, really. With this thing we call 'animation,' we can make things that don't exist seem life-like in movies."

Geralt nodded in slight understanding. "Surely you have better things to do than watch plays."

Ruby's face lit up. "Oh wait, I still have my Scroll!" she exclaimed as she pulled out the device from one of the many hidden pockets of her combat skirt. She stretched the two solid components out, displaying the interface. Geralt's expression was one of child-like curiosity, his eyes staring at the screen. "This is my Scroll," Ruby began to explain. "It handles stuff like mission objectives and my Aura levels. It can also send messages to other people with Scrolls no matter where they are. I can even talk to them with my own voice if I knew their contact information."

"Sort of like a megascope then?"

"What's a megascope?"

"Something that mages use in order to contact each other. Three stands with crystals are arranged in a triangle, and it shows the images of the callers on their own megascopes."

"So you have video chat here?"

"Whatever that is, yes." Geralt then pointed to a small lens on the back of the Scroll and asked, "What's this?"

"That's a camera. It's for taking a portrait of something in an instant, like this," she said as she took a picture of Geralt. She showed him the picture. Geralt could only look on in amazement. "It can also do this," she added, as she started the recording function. "Say something, Geralt."

Geralt was confused, but complied. "Something."

"Very funny," Ruby sarcastically stated. "Now, watch this." She showed the screen to him once more, and pressed the playback button. Geralt stared in wonder as the image of himself repeated the word "Something" to him. It felt surreal. "It can do a whole bunch of other stuff, like play games on it if I wanted to, but this thing runs on a power cell, and I have no way of charging it. You know what a power cell is, right?"

"Yes."

"Which brings me back to my original question: what do you do for fun?"

"We could play dice poker, but neither of us don't have dice. How about arm wrestling?"

Ruby sighed in disbelief, an unamused look on her face. "Really? You wanna arm wrestle an innocent 15 year old girl?"

"Point taken." Geralt started thinking. "How about Gwent? I just recently got into it, so we're fairly evenly matched."

"What's Gwent?"

Geralt began explaining the basics of the card game. Ruby was intrigued. "Okay, I wanna play, but where are we gonna get a deck?"

"Innkeep! A starter Gwent deck for the lass!" Geralt called out.

"Which faction?" the innkeeper replied.

Ruby took a minute to think. "Northern Realms!" she answered.

A minute later, the innkeeper came back with a deck. "That'll be 27 crowns." Geralt handed the innkeeper the money, then he returned to the bar. "Shall we?" Geralt asked. A smile crept up on Ruby's face. "Let's."

The pair played the game for the rest of their time at the inn.

"You know, if we were playing for money with a five crown ante, you'd owe me five crowns. Not bad," Geralt commented.

"That's because you kept drawing Stennis," Ruby replied. "You have the most unbelievable luck."

"Says the one who kept drawing the Dun Banner Medic..."

It was almost noon, and the two have been playing and taking lunch at the same time. "That scythe should be done by now," Ruby stated.

"Go pick it up, then. I'll start getting ready to go," he commanded.

Ruby skipped over to the blacksmith's, the craftsman greeting her as she arrived. "Here's your scythe, girlie. May it reap you much wheat."

Ruby chuckled. 'It's not gonna be wheat I'll be reaping,' she thought to herself.

The scythe itself was a simple one, similar to what any old farmer would use, except it was the same size as Crescent Rose, and the shaft was foldable for easy storage. It was accompanied with a carrying belt, with a holster just for it. It'll have to do until she could find a good forge to add silver to Crescent Rose. On that note, Geralt rode up to her on Roach, and she leapt on. The pair proceeded to ride to Heatherton.

"I should teach you something," Geralt stated as they rode.

"Huh?"

"You said you were in training, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well we wouldn't want you to miss a lot. We have to stay sharp in our line of work, as you probably already know."

Ruby gasped excitedly. "Doesthismeanyouregonnateachmethoseawesomespinnywitchermoves?!"

Geralt chuckled. He hasn't seen excitement like this since he started combat training with Ciri. In a way, Ruby almost reminded him of her when she was younger. "I don't know if it'll work with scythes, but we'll see. I'm also going to be teaching you more practical skills, like tracking."

"Cool!"

"What does temperature have to do with this?"

Ruby laughed, almost falling off Roach. "Cool also means awesome."

"I can't see how."

Ruby could not believe her eyes when she saw Heatherton. from the road. "Geralt, what month is it?" she asked the witcher.

"It's May. You're wondering about the frost and the mist, aren't you?" Ruby nodded nervously.

"We'll see soon enough." The riders continued on.

Heatherton was almost empty. Even though it was in the middle of summer, the village was blanketed in a thick mist. Snow lay on the ground and on the thatch rooves on the huts. Geralt heard a growling sound. Dogs.

"Ruby, ready your steel scythe. I hear dogs. Probably rabid," he ordered as he got off Roach and drew his steel sword. She obeyed, unfolding Crescent Rose to its scythe form. She followed Geralt, who was following the sound of the dogs, and they spotted three of them surrounding a peasant waving a torch. Geralt and Ruby quickly disposed of the dogs. The man with the torch shouted at them as he waved it. "Begone! Leave me be, whoever you is! Get away!" He stumbled back, trying to crawl away from Geralt and Ruby. "Calm down, it's over," Geralt said as he casted the Axii sign on him. "We don't want to hurt you, mister," Ruby quietly added. The peasant picked himself up, clutching his head. "Aye, it's over...all's past, never to be restored. I'll not forget that ever," he muttered, enough for the hunters to hear. He walked past them and sat on a bench, his head bowed down.. "Looking for a man named Hendrik. Supposed to live in this village," Geralt stated.

"Aye, he did. No longer. They nabbed 'im in that hut. If you'd o' heard the cries, sir...if you'd o' heard how a man can scream...how he can suffer..."

"Tell me what happened here, step by step."

The peasant described what had happened in the quiet village. How the air grew colder, how the Wild Hunt's riders arrived, how they found Hendrik and tortured him, how they razed the town and murdered the villagers. Ruby's eyes widened in shock over the story.

"Great," Geralt sighed. The man continued. "Weren't here long, the terrors. Yet the village froze like the heart of winter," he whimpered.

"You in that hut when they rode off?" Geralt asked.

"No, and I'll not set foot there. Never."

"Farewell, and peace of mind to you." With that, Geralt turned to the hut where Hendrik supposedly lived.

"What could have done all this?" Ruby asked, her voice hollowed in fear.

"The Wild Hunt. A group of specters, said to be an omen of misfortune and death."

"What could they have possibly wanted with Hendrik?"

"Same thing we're here for. We're looking for the person who can send you home. Her name is Ciri. Hendrik supposedly had information on her whereabouts, but the Wild Hunt beat us to him. Now come on, we have to check out his hut."

"What do they want with Ciri?"

"In short, they want her power. The same power we need to get you home. That's what most people want with her these days."

Geralt and Ruby walked over to the late Hendrik's shack. As they neared the entrance, they were assaulted by the stench of blood. The hunters walked in, and there on the floor lay Hendrik, his corpse grey and bathed in his own blood. Ruby started dry heaving, and soon enough, ran outside and emptied her stomach. Geralt called out to her, "You alright back there?"

Silence. Geralt spoke again. "Get in here. You're going to have to get used to this sight, and you're going to see worse. Might as well get you used to it early."

"Okay," she squeaked as she entered. Geralt's first thought was on the man's boots; after all, it was a common place to hide something. He tore the boots off the stiff, and found a key inside. 'Where would this key fit,' he thought to himself, as Ruby paced around the room. She felt a draft brush her leg. "Hey Geralt, you might wanna take a look at this," she called out as she moved the fur rug she had stepped on, revealing a trap door. "Nice find," Geralt commented. On that note, the two descended into the cellar.

Ruby noticed a poster on a post, a knife keeping it in place. It had a drawing of a girl on it. "Hey Geralt, what does this say?" she asked, pointing at the poster.

"A huntress-in-training, yet you don't know how to read?" Geralt responded.

"I can read!"

"Then why ask me?"

"Our alphabets are different," she replied, taking out her scroll. She decided on opening her message folder and showed it to him, considering Geralt probably wouldn't be able to read them.

"Well, forget the training, I have to teach you to read first."

"Ugh, fine," she begrudgingly complained. Geralt's lesson in literacy began, using some of the books he still had, and they were in that candlelit basement for an hour to teach her how to read.

"Missing. Tamara Strenger, daughter of the Bloody Baron. Presumed kidnapped. Hearty reward for whoever finds her or brings her in," Ruby read aloud.

"That's pretty good for someone who just learned the letters just an hour ago."

"Well, it helps that the only real difference between our langages are what letters we use for our alphabets."

"Alright, let's search this basement," Geralt ordered. Ruby walked in, and found an open chest. "Hey! I found a whole bunch of crowns in here!" she cried out.

"Keep it. He won't be needing it anyway. Now why would he leave his valuables out here in the open?" Geralt wondered.

"You're right. It's almost like he was basically displaying it," Ruby responded as she pocketed the money. Geralt started looking around the room some more, when his attention was caught on the candlestick on the wall. A hidden switch was under the shelf of the candle. A click came from the bookshelf, and it swung open. "Cool," Ruby whispered in amazement. She approached the uncovered compartment, an open chest containing a book inside. "Hey Geralt, check this out," she hollered. She started reading the book out loud. "Grain payments...charcoal..."

"It's a ledger," Geralt announced. "Hendrik was masquerading as a merchant."

"Sheesh, you make him sound like he's a spy," Ruby chuckled.

"That's because he was," Geralt reaffirmed. "Let me see that ledger."

"Ohmygoshhewasaspy?!" was her response as she handed him the book.

Geralt scanned the pages, looking for any hints. He found notes in the ledger, with a few interesting headings, and began to read. A few minutes passed, and Geralt snapped the book closed. "So, what did it say?" Ruby asked in an inquisitive tone.

"All he knew was that Ciri was spotted in Novigrad, a nearby city, and an archipelago to the west called Skellige. She also managed to associate with the Bloody Baron in Crow's Perch, and fought with a witch in a swamp. Says here we should ask the peasants at Midcopse about it."

"Can we not go to the swamp? I haaaaaaaate swamps," Ruby groaned.

"Yeah, and I hate portals, but I always seem to find myself taking them," Geralt retorted. "Let's go."

Gerald and Ruby climbed on Roach and rode off, leaving Heatherton behind them.

They arrived at a crossroads. "So, do either of these paths lead to Crow's Perch or Midcopse?" Ruby asked.

"If the rumours are correct, Crow's Perch sound be to the east. We're not heading that way right now, though," Geralt replied.

A surprised expression worked its way on Ruby's face. "What?! Why?!"

"Look, I want to find Ciri as much as you do, but simply put, I need to get paid. My pockets aren't exactly lined right now, especially since I'm paying for two," Geralt flatly answered. "Besides, I think you might like this. We're going to go help find someone's wife."

A/N: There we are. Next chapter, there will be a decision to make. Ah, the magic of moral grey areas.

Oh, and as a little tidbit, I'm a stickler for authenticity, so I'll be basing everything from the games and books as much as I can. Even all the way down to question mark hunting in Witcher 3.