Not Unwelcoming

The Pellar was out of his mind. He did know who Geralt was but the majority of his sprouting, he couldn’t understand.

Geralt took out the talisman and the Pellar seemed to recognize it, explaining the amulet’s properties, “...for Anna, to protect her, should have never taken it off!”

Calla spoke behind Geralt, clutching his armor on the left, “Hello, were you the one to make it?”

The Pellar looked at her and nodded explaining that he made it to protect Anna from the evil surrounding her, old magic he says.

Calla pursed her lips, eyes blazed with curiosity, “Old magic? What is that?”

The Pellar took in a sharp breath and looked around, looking at her with wide eyes making Calla take a step back until her back was against Geralt’s chest, “Old magic, tis not for the speech, not for the touch!”

The Pellar was about to take a step towards Calla but Geralt noticed this and placed an arm in her waist to pull her into a hug while using his other hand to push the Pellar away.

The Pellar, unbothered by Geralt’s attempt, did not make any move but did not cut off his eerie eye contact with her, “Old magic…old magic, aye, but not the old magic that brought you here, it is another, yours, its older, nay one of those who create, create, but nay, not of here, of here, and the Pellar knows no more,” The Pellar wanted to stumble forwards again. Calla was breathing fast.

"Ger-Geralt!" Calla cried, the green of her eyes beginning to glow slightly, the green illuminating bright, the same bright he could vaguely remember when she healed him. He felt a slight sense of panic, and locked his arm around her tightly, adding some pressure to comfort her.

“Enough, answer the amulet one first” Geralt spoke roughly. The Pellar responded, taking a step back, his voice weakening.

“Amulet…a small protective charm, not a thing more a Pellar could do”

“Anna and her daughter are missing, know where they are?”

“No, nay, no, Pellar don’t know, but the spirits could know, the Pellar will augur, the spirits ask, the spirits will tell you, and some perhaps may help you as well,” The Pellar spoke, his eyes moving towards Calla in the last part. Calla shivered and Geralt glared at him.

“Spirits, great, fine with me long as I know where to look, where to find them”

“Lost…lost, must be found…princess! None better than Princess for finding things!” The Pellar walked outside and Geralt took a large breath before letting go of Calla.

Calla looked nervous, wary. She looked at the surroundings in caution, her fingers squeezing the size of her palms.

“Calla, how are you feeling?”

Calla jumped and looked at him, her eyes back to their original colors although her pupils seem dilated. She looked around the surroundings first before taking some time to breathe, “I admit, I…I…thought I’d find it pretty cool like someone to talk about some of this world’s magic and him saying old magic sparked my interest but something on what he said made me feel odd, the unsettled odd”

“You think he’s bad news?”

“No…I don’t know,” Calla sighed, clutching a bit of Geralt’s armor, “Sorry, but I like your armor’s texture and well, it’s not him, it’s just what he said but I don’t know, maybe it’s just the constant rush of one danger to another in a short span of time since I got here; going from a harrowing adventure in my world then here that’s one grim tale to the next”

Geralt was lost. She did have a point, one moment she was here, and then she was in one danger after the other but he didn’t want to let her go yet for her safety, he reasons.

Calla looked up at him and squinted his eyes, placing both hands on his shoulder to snap him out, “Hey, it’s fine, just overwhelmed probably but I will get used to the loop around here and I won’t be thrown off anymore, think of it as studying in a way, quickly study a subject you can’t understand that’s hurting your brain for hours, who wouldn’t be tired?”

“...Do you want to go to the city instead? Or maybe stay at the Baron’s while I finish this Pellar thing?" He asked softly, not wanting to look into her eyes. He didn't know why, maybe he didn't want to see the relief from hearing his suggestion of leaving.

And he didn't get to see nor hear it.

“Absolutely not, besides I’m starting to get a hang of things, plus maybe he can answer my questions on why I’m here right? Old magic…maybe it just feels uncomfortable because it’s different energy but not all bad, maybe, just the way he said it felt eerie, not bad eerie but something different”

“That’s an optimistic way of viewing things, and I’ll be here if that eerie goes bad eerie”

“I don’t think it’s going to be bad eerie at all, it’s just, something big eerie that’s just there, not bad, not good, the way he said it, I just felt some kind of energy, not from him, but something that made me...like that, act that way"

“I–”

The Pellar’s voice sounded outside “Princess! Where have you gone?!”

Calla and Geralt looked at each other and went out.

The Pellar looked at them, “Princess, my goat! It’s gone!”

Geralt blinked, looking at the empty enclosure, “Those men must’ve scared her off, can we get back to the auguring?”

The Pellar was not pleased to hear that and insisted to have the goat back to have the prophecy. Geralt reluctantly decided to agree to help. Pleased to hear this, the Pellar took out a bell from his pocket and pushed it into Calla’s hand to the irritation of Geralt, who took the bell and ushered her behind him.

“The bell, the little bells ringing! Ring ring and she’ll follow but for a while”

Geralt looked at the bell and started walking to the forest, Calla’s hand in his free hand. He tried sensing the goat’s footsteps and found some. The duo followed it until Geralt could hear the sound of a goat.

“Heard a goat, going that way”

Calla nodded and opened her palm, “Can I use the bell? I want to try herding the goat, never tried that before”

Geralt stared at the bell, turning it a few times in his hand before giving it to her, “When I find the goat, you herd it and I’ll be at a distance to make sure everything’s clear, can hear some blood-thirsty wolves near the area”

Calla grinned weakly, holding the bell. Geralt walked towards the bush and opened revealing the missing goat, “This must be Princess”

“Can I use the bell now?”

“What did I say about asking for permission?”

“Ah–” Call rang the bell and as the Pellar said, the goat followed. Calla looked in awe at the goat and Geralt frowned.

“Please tell me you’ve seen a goat before”

“Of course, I’ve seen one!”

“You’re looking at it like it’s some alien”

Calla ignored him and walked forwards, ringing the bell from time to time, and singing some tune. She had a good voice, he had to admit but unfortunately, he couldn’t focus on her voice because he had to keep guard of their surroundings.

“Pellar said just ringing the bell,” Geralt said after a few seconds, looking at the goat in distaste.

Calla huffed, “Well, I want to sing to pretend like I’m some fairytale princess, like a Disney princess, let a girl dream from time to time”

“Disney, is that a city in your world?”

“No, it’s a fictional city, no wait- not a city, it’s from a fairytale”

Geralt chuckled, forgetting about the goat and just staring at her antics, pleased that she was feeling better, “Then, of course, your Highness, and next time add a pretty dress to the mix to have a boosted dream experience”

“Oh? Are there?” Calla asked, dusting her skirt and giving him a single twirl, “What color do you think would match me?”

He wasn’t a fashion fan, how the hell would he know?

“First a perfumer now a fashion person, do you think I’m an art connoisseur of some kind?”

“No, but everyone has some eye for aesthetics whatever they may be, I’m sure you’ve seen clothes are thought they were pretty or not, just answer whatever it may be”

Geralt took the bell, and rang it. Just a few more ringing and Princess is back. He looked at Calla top to toe and looked lost, “Uhm…when you were laying down and bleeding on the grass after those drowner attacks, I think you would looked pretty with the green or maybe…red”

“...that’s something but okay…green and red, you’re not really good at this, I guess?”

“You guess? Good guess, if the next guess you’ll be having is that I’m a great singer, I’m here to tell you that the answer is no”

“A singer? Hmm…”

“Don’t even think about it, and Pellar’s nearby, let’s go and as for the dresses, maybe we can find some in Novigrad or Oxenfurt”

Calla stopped and regarded him with surprise, “Oh? You’re serious? About the dress?”

“Do I look like I’m serious or joking?”

“It’s just, what if it’s expensive? I don’t have money and I know nothing about this–”

“You’re overthinking, we’ll think when we see the area,” Geralt cut her off before she went into her own world in her head in a panic, “And I’ve been serious before, why can’t I be serious with that too?” He cocked a brow, trying to keep his features light.

“I…I don’t know actually, I mean I’ve just been with you for the past few days and based on my personal evaluation, your face is like…one”

Geralt blinked, not understanding what she was trying to say, “One? Last I checked, I only have one face, do the people in your world have…multiple?”

“Hmm…no, maybe up to two, two-faced assholes but like what I meant was like your face is like…”

Geralt rang the bell when Princess stopped following in lieu of eating some raspberries, “Like? Just say it, I won’t grow another face and breathe fire if I don’t like what you say”

Calla clasped her hands, “Like a one-hit wonder!”

“Oh great, now an actor too, plan to see me as a writer next?”

She laughed and Geralt felt a tad happy about his dry sarcasm. However, she didn’t stop laughing after a few seconds, she was crying from laughing and Geralt had to hold her shoulders to guide them back to the Pellar.

Thankfully, she did stop after a few more seconds, she wiped her tears, and smiled widely, “No- I was meaning to say that your face doesn’t express much but your words do, you’re expressive in a non-expressive way but sometimes I don’t know if it's your sarcasm or not”

Geralt didn’t want to comment on that, he had nothing to say after all. He knew that it just felt odd when someone pointed it out even though others already have. It wasn’t an unpleasant odd, just neutral odd. He didn’t want to delve into why.

“And you’re expressive in an expressive way,” Geralt replied.

Calla hummed, before realizing something, “Oh, Novifort…gran and Oxemhorn, those were the cities here right?”

“Novigrad and Oxenfurt and yes”

“Novigrad and Oxenfurt, Novigrad and Oxenfurt, got it, oh! Shopping! Something to look forward to, I can’t wait, I wonder what you’ll choose?”

“Sorry princess, last time I remembered I’m not the one that’s going to be wearing the dress”

“Are you talking to me or the goat?”

Geralt rang the bell for the last time and the Pellar ushered the goat and as a final request, asked the pair to find a living being for the auguring while he prepares the area.

“A living being? We’re not going to kidnap someone for some sacrifice right?” Calla inquired, looking at the the Pellar's house again and her previous smile beginning to disappear.

“You’re thinking too much, I’ll catch a rat”

They began the auguring. Calla and Geralt were near the door, giving space for the Pellar for whatever ritual he was to do.

The Pellar did the motions of the ritual, getting the milk from Princess, the goat, and spraying it around along with some other seed. He motioned Geralt to hand him the sacrifice and grabbed the rat’s body, moving around with the rat in the air before ending it by slashing the rat’s body with the knife, letting its blood drip down.

At once, Calla gripped Geralt’s arm tightly, her energy going bleak once more, “The energy is changing, the one I told you, it’s tightening, it's bigger” She spoke in a hurried tone, sweat dripping down from her forehead.

Before Geralt could speak, she threw open his arms and went for a hug, he could hear her breathing going rapid, faster than before. The Pellar’s head began to smoke and he threw his head back, his eyes changed to a pale yellow color.

And he began to speak, voice deep and echoing, “They are not here, they are gone, blood, I see blood”

“Whose?”

“Not Anna, not Tamara, just a child”

The smoke around his head disappeared but his eyes still remained pale yellow. The sky darkened outside until it was pitch black and the world became eerily silent. He could only hear Calla’s rapid breathing and gnashing of her teeth.

Geralt began to feel it as well, an invisible suffocating energy around, he couldn’t explain what it was but it wasn’t like air, it didn’t exist but yet it was here, all around him, and it was crushing him slowly.

He wrapped both arms around Calla and propped himself against the wooden door, feet positioned to help him not fall as he tried to fight against this energy.

His eyelids felt heavy but something seemed to be pulling it open to keep him looking. Geralt tried to forcefully shut his eyes but could not and instead his body began to weigh too much for him to be upright. It felt like his body became steel but at the same time turned into mud but with the last strain of his sanity and strength, he tried to force through it.

The Pellar finally moved, his head moving forward, forehead touching the ground, and he spoke a voice deep and silky smooth different from the rough panicked one before, “Child, I am not your enemy, you…” The Pellar stood up and turned around to them, the color of his eyes gone, and words began to slur that Geralt could not understand but the pain in his body began to subside the more the voice spoke.

The tightening atmosphere relaxed and everything became clear. The sky lightened once more and the Pellar fainted.

Geralt slid down the wall, with Calla in his arms. Her breathing was still hurried and now, he could hear tears falling down. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what to focus on.

The Pellar was still knocked down. He’ll ask when he wakes but for now, Geralt lifted a hand to caress his companion’s back.

“Cry, just let it out, Pellar’s knock out cold, probably for a while”

And Calla cried harder, hiccups in between her sobs. Geralt could do nothing but soothe her by rubbing her back. He felt helpless while she cried but he knew, being silent would be the best option for now and so he did.

He let her cry for a few minutes while focusing on his breathing to regain his strength.

Minutes later he could hear her sobbing quiet down, her voice was shaky, “Do…do…d-do you have *hic* any s–spare *hic* cloth?”

Geralt looked at the wolf hide in her shoulders that he gave her and tore a bit on the ends, “Here, wipe your tears with this, we can get more hides later”

She took it with shaky hands.

“No need to hide your teary eyes, trust me I’ve seen worse”

Calla backed away from Geralt to slowly lift up her head and look at him. She looked like a mess, eyes bloodshot red, eyelids puffy, baby hair wet and stuck in circular waves on her sweaty forehead. She looked worse than her first fight with drowners.

“Heard what the voice said?”

“Y…yes *hic* I–”

“Don’t answer–my senses may be enhanced to hear the smallest voice but they’re not that enhanced to understand a sentence where crying hiccups break every word”

She quirked a sad smile and snuggled in Geralt’s arms. He took this time to meditate for a few hours.

Geralt opened his eyes after meditating and the Pellar was just beginning to awaken as well, he looked down to notice Calla sleeping so he carefully removed the wold hide to place it on the ground before setting her on top of it.

She removed the stray hair on her forehead and looked at the Pellar who was holding on to the windowsill to orient himself.

“You okay?”

“Aye, it is but something the Pellar is used to, a child that lives not but did not die,” The Pellar said, voice gruff, holding onto the edge of a rickety table to balance himself.

“It’s over that’s it? Spirit said nothing more to say like where they went, where they are now?”

The Pellar nodded. He shook his head to steady his vision, letting out a cough to ease the strain in his voice, “You came for an augury, and augur I did, they’re gone, and the child remains”

“Mentioned a child, whose? Anna’s?” Geralt said, voice softening, not liking where this was going.

“She was, and she miscarried”

“Baron didn’t mention it”

“Afraid perhaps or ashamed or forgetful or perhaps he has no wish to remember”

The Pellar shook his head sadly, sitting down on a chair with Princess nearby resting. He looked at her sadly and told Geralt that Anna had a miscarriage because of the Bloody Baron’s abuse whenever he was drunk.

The Pellar pointed at Princess, “She’s a wise beast, only comes to those who suffer, and she came to Anna”

“What happened to the child?”

“In a grave thrown without rite or ceremony, it awoke now it wanders it seeks vengeance”

“A botchling,“ Geralt cursed internally.

“Botchling…?” A weak voice cried out behind him and Geralt walked over to check on Calla who was propping herself from the floor.

“Small ugly creature created from improper burial or abandoned, unwanted stillborn fetuses. They prey on pregnant women, hiding beneath beds,” He answered grimly, helping her stand up without stumbling over. Her movements were still a bit shaky. Her face was slightly swollen.

She grimaced at hearing what he said but before she could answer the Pellar spoke, “White wolf, wise wolf, catch the botchling, the botchling will help, lead the wolf to the loved ones”

“Botchling suck the blood of pregnant women and eat their fetuses, they don’t help”

“Tis a being cursed and witchers lift curses if the white wolf can’t lift it, he must bring me its blood, blood will always find kindred blood”

Geralt pursed his lip and before feeling a hand tugging on his armor, he turned to look at Calla.

“Geralt, can we lift its curse? Maybe I can help, we can help or at least try, can we?” Calla asked, her eyebrows drawn together, the skin between them wrinkling, “Geralt…I want to help”

He didn’t answer and glanced at the Pellar, “Why do you want its blood?”

“Blood, blood, blood, it binds men for all ages, the living and the dead”

“Sure but what do you want to do with it?”

The Pellar went on to explain that it is to be mixed with herbs, hens feet, and mill for him to drink it in order to reconcile the dead with the living during Forefather’s Eve but mentions they can find another way since they are unable to do it since Forefather’s Eve was nowhere near to happen.

Geralt pondered and after a squeeze from Calla’s hand and the thought of the botchling made him agree, “Alright, heard of one witcher who lifted a botchling’s curse, never tried it myself though, I know you need to bury them to the threshold”

The Pellar who was pleased to hear his answer told him to do the ritual of naming, an elven custom under the threshold of its home.

“The ritual of naming? That’s an elven custom”

“Human, elven, dwarven, ancient, spirits have no race, they honor not its meaning, win a spirit's favor and the spirit will aid you, aid and it will answer, seek and it will show you the way…but it may not show yours,” The Pellar said, looking at Calla with pity at the last of his words.

Calla’s shoulder jumped, “Wha…what do you mean?” Her eyes were wide in anticipation but her breathing no longer sped up, she seemed to calm down now, or perhaps have begun to adjust.

Geralt took the fallen white wolf's hide and placed it on her shoulder, “What about the thing you said after Anna and the botchling?”

The Pellar shook his head, “Pellar did not hear, Pellar could not see, Pellar’s view has stopped after the spirit spoke through me and only gained awareness after all was done but Pellar knows, what surrounds her is something beyond what is known”

Calla nodded, face dulling from disappointment, “It’s okay…”

“Calla”

“The voice said some things, I was just hoping he would say more, I can tell you about that later, let’s lift the botchling’s curse first…I can help right?”

"You can, what makes you want to help as well?"

Calla's mouth twitched, "I, maybe it's savior complex or- but don't lecture me on not being able to save everyone, I know, or maybe it's just I don't want to think about that issue, at least let me ponder on it for a bit, and I guess, maybe lifting curses remind me a bit of home, I just want to not think about that one first, but I'll tell you, it's nothing bad I swear, it's just...really, really personal"

"Okay, alright...you lift curses back at home?"

"Well, not a lot, but I have lifted some, but I don't even know if the curses here are the same as there, maybe this whole magic thing despite it being different from home is making me feel at ease"

"You had a breakdown when we went here"

She wrinkled her nose, "Well, that one was certainly different, it felt like something beyond magic, but I'm okay now, its presence just... took my breath away, haha get it?"

“That was the saddest presentation of a pun and also, if you need to rest first–”

“No, let’s go, I have some stuff to help with me, I’ll show you later, but I want to go,” Calla said, her voice determined. Geralt followed after her, not knowing what to make of her.