On a beautiful, sunny day, Geralt had to go to the ruins near a town in Barefield, in order to take care of a basilisk. This time, Olaf was supposed to accompany him - the snowman had managed to convince him to allow him to watch his fight with the draconid, as he wanted to make more notes. While the witcher and his snowy companion were in the ruins, Anna and Jaskier were guarding the horses. The princess was humming one of her partner's ballads:
"The gust of wind... smelled like autumn... with cold wind had gone the sense of words...".
The troubadour smiled, then joined the blue-eyed woman:
"That is the way... we cannot change anything... diamonds at your eyelashes' ends" they looked at each other, both of the mares roared joyfully, disrupting the concert. The pair laughed.
They didn't come back to singing, however they began to talk about everything and nothing. That included the weather, the nature, the plans for their future travels. Nevertheless their nice talk was interrupted by the arrival of three villagers. The first one was skinny, short with a thin, long mustache, the second one plump with disheveled hair and the third one, the oldest among them, had a grey curly beard reaching his chest, he was also wearing a hat. All of them had dirty, pitted clothes.
"Hello!" they shouted.
"Hello, dear sirs!" Anna shouted back, having recognized the men from whom Geralt took the contract. "Is something wrong?".
"Well... an hour passed, the witcha' ain't nowhere to be seen..." said the one with disheveled hair.
"Do not be afraid. He'll be back soon, with the monster's head" Jaskier assured.
"I told you, young ones, I told you! But you don't wanna listen to your old man!" said the oldest one.
"Does he always take this long to slaughter a monster?" the mustached one asked suspiciously, looking at the ruins.
"Depends on what kind he's dealing with" the princess informed. "Now he's fighting the basilisk, and those are tricky beasts, that's why it's taking so long" she explained the best as she could.
"See! The lady is speaking well!" the old man replied. "Patience, my sons!".
"He won't come back" said the mustached one, ignoring the previous statements.
"There was a deal..." reminded him the one with disheveled hair.
"But not with a dead man! And I sure ain't plannin' to become one too, if you have some brains in that pot of you head, you'll agree with me!"  the mustached one replied nervously, his brother nodded after a moment.
Both of them glanced at the horses, then exchanged knowing looks. They marched towards them.
"Hey, hey, hey! What is that supposed to mean?!" Jaskier asked, outraged.
"For the love of gods, that's not how I raised you, my sons!" the old man shouted.
The brothers, ignoring their father's words, already wanted to take the saddlebags, nevertheless their plan failed, as the princess quickly drew her sword and blocked their way, aiming at them with the blade.
"Don't you dare" she stated firmly.
"If I were you, I'd listen to the lady" an unknown voice spoke.
The gathered looked into its' direction. To their eyes appeared a knight in his middle age, wearing a tunic on which three jackdaws stood in a row on a yellow background. He was accompanied by two tall warriors, whom with just their gazes raised concern among the gathered. They came from the distant country of Zerrikania, as evidenced by the fact they were wearing dark yellow armors with elements in many shades of brown, on which a dragon's image was placed - the identical one to the one on the country's flag. The mustached man and his brother slowly backed to his father, apologizing for their intentions and begging for mercy. Not long after, the White Wolf bearing the basilisk's head and Olaf exited the ruins. At the sight of the witcher young villagers fell to his feet, their father handed the monster slayer a sack with payment for killing the beast. A moment later he set off with his sons, preaching them, while Jaskier in one breath told the grey-haired man everything what happened during his absence. That's when the knight invited the company to an inn for a meal and introduces his companions and, of course, himself. The warriors had the names Téa and Véa, while he was called Borch Three Jackdaws.
"The Pensive Dragon" inn wasn't much different than the others that our heroes had visited in the past. Broken candlesticks here and there, mold in one corner, spider's web in the second. The menu same as always, meaning soups, fish, certain parts of chicken, water and all kinds of beer to drink, however there was not even the cheapest wine from Toussaint to be had. When the heroes sat at one of the tables, Borch with great interest was questioning them about the company's adventures, of which he'd heard in ballads, he wanted to learn about the witcher's profession as well. He listened to the answers to his questions very carefully, absorbing each and every word. The sparkles of joy could be seen in his eyes. Eventually, he asked the question that was nurturing him the most:
"Tell me, Wolf... do you kill dragons?".
"No" Geralt answered shortly, then took a sip of his drink.
"Ah, so that's how it is... you see, dear witcher, some time ago a green dragon had landed on the other side of the border, in king Niedamir's mountains. He'd announced a dragon hunt, those people" he motioned to the tables occupied by other groups "are participating in it. My companions and me too. The reward isn't small, as it's the dragon's treasure and title of a lord with a fief to rule. I hoped you'd join me, your friends also... but if you're presenting the matter that way...".
"Oh pity, a great pity!" Olaf said. "I wouldn't want to kill sir dragon or lady dragoness, but I'd love to join the searching for it! Makes a fantastic adventure!".
"And a ballad!" Jaskier added, at which Anna laughed slightly and shook her head.
She looked around the inn. A question came to her mind and she asked it immediately.
"Borch, out of curiosity... how many teams are taking part in the hunt?".
"Four. The dwarf crew of Yarpen Zigrin, the Crinfrid Reavers led by some convict, my humble team and knight Eyck of Denesle with his mysterious company" he described.
"Quite a leader the Reavers had found for themselves... is anything know about that convict?" Geralt asked curiously.
"Not a lot" Téa spoke up. "He's from some duchy on the south".
"And does not have a good reputation" Véa added. "Reputedly, he's not allowed in few kingdoms and duchies. Breaking the prohibition would result in an instant arrest and a public execution".
"Hm..." Anna mumbled. The description reminded her of a certain person... no, a devil in human flesh, about whom she'd prefer to forget and never meet him again.
"My dearest?" having noticed the thoughtfulness on his beloved one's face, the bard took her hand. "Is everything alright?".
"Oh, yes, yes... I just got lost in the thoughts" she replied. "Don't worry, it's a silly thing".
The brunet did not believe those words. Whatever was weighing on his muse's heart at the moment, he knew one thing - it wasn't a trivial matter and he had to find what it was about. The snowman spoke up:
"And that Eyck? Who's accompanying him?".
At the same time when Three Jackdaws was about to answer, the inn was entered by the knight of Denesle, the heroes noticed a familiar storm of raven curls by his side. As one, the troubadour, the princess and the snowman looked meaningfully at the witcher who at the sight of the violet-eyed woman froze as enchanted.
"I changed my mind. We're in".
Everyone at the table smiled at his declaration.
     At the place of assembly, where our heroes had to leave their horses (and had an occasion to meet the cheerful company of dwarves), Yennefer approached them.
"And who is it am I seeing!" she said, smiling lightly.
"Yen! It's been ages!" the blue-eyed woman exclaimed happily and hugged her friend.
"Anna, we've seen each other two months ago" the sorceress returned the hug, shaking her head.
"Oh, shush. I've missed you!" the princess responded.
"I've missed you too. Hello Olaf!" the raven-haired crouched beside the snowman, whom she hugged as well.
"Wonderful to see you, Yennefer!" Olaf claimed with joy. "Finally our company is in complete!".
The violet-eyed woman laughed, then approached the poet, pretending to be serious. The brunet did the same. It was a joke between them.
"Bard".
"Witch" he said loftily, slightly raising his head.
"You still mistake witches with sorceresses, but it's nice to see you".
"You too".
A moment later they bursted out laughing and hugged each other. Next, the sorceress greeted Geralt, also hugging him.
"Ah, how sad it is that you're in Egg of Denial's team, not ours!" the snowy companion stated.
""Eyck of Denesle", not "Egg of Denial"" the grey-haired man corrected him.
"Same thing!" Olaf replied, waving his hand.
"Well, truth be told, they paired me with him, because he was alone and at least two-person teams were required" Yennefer explained. "You have no idea what a blessing your arrival is. I'll be with clever people, not a knight who with his weak sword and even weaker brain wants to kill the dragon".
"Praise to destiny" Jaskier said. "Tell us, Yennefer, why are you going for the dragon?".
"Dragon's body parts are valuable ingredients in elixirs and magical medicaments. I decided to get some for my research" she answered.
"Understandable" Anna claimed, quickly realizing what the aforementioned research was for.
Suddenly, among the Reavers, she spotted red hair and a face which she despised with all her heart. She blinked a few times - it wasn't a daydream, but the disappointing reality. Her worries from the inn got confirmed.
"Dear Freyja, have mercy!" she shouted, disgruntled.
"Anna, what ha..." Olaf looked in the same direction. "For the love of the gods! Not this scoundrel!".
The witcher, the sorceress and the bard turned their eyes to the red-haired man. White Wolf furrowed his eyebrows and spoke up first:
"Who's this?".
"A devil in human flesh, the wolf in sheep's clothing! Our mortal enemy, prince Hans the Exile!" the outraged snowman enlighted. "Ah, I should've guessed that he's the one leading the Reavers! Only one criminal matched the descriptions of Téa and Véa!".
"Would you like to tell us more about him?" the raven-haired woman asked.
"He was present at Elsa's coronation. However I met him a bit earlier, while wondering around the town. He seemed like a rather nice, genuine fellow... he charmed me so much, that stupid, young me fell in love! I was even ready for a wedding the same day!" her nostrils were constantly moving, her right hand already resting on her sword's hilt. "I told Elsa and you know what I found out?! That he had tried to charm her first! I've abandoned the marriage plans and we decided with Elsa, Olaf and stableman Kristoff... we... made a decision to run an investigation. And guess what? That scumbag had tried to seduce my sister, but when he'd failed, he hunted for me! Why would he do that?! My dear friends, he wanted to take over the throne and the wealth, and then kill us!".
Jaskier, without thinking too much, hugged her in order to show support, while Yennefer and Geralt were watching the prince with their eyes squinted. Both of them decided that at the first better occasion they will "accidentally" push him off the mountain. Or give to the dragon as an appetizer. The bard questioned with disgust:
"How had he got the "Exile" title?".
"Well, after many consultations with his family, Elsa banished him from Arendelle. His brother, the ruler of Nasturia duchy, send us a letter with apologies and assured that he would accordingly punish Hans. A few months later we've heard that Hans attempted to murder his two older brothers. And, as it turned out, he was planning to murder all of his twelve brothers, so he could take over the throne. But he failed and was banished from his homeland forever. It was then when he got the title" Anna told.
"And now we know from Téa and Véa that he's not allowed in few duchies and kingdoms, where he's threatened with executions. Why did this happen, I do not have this knowledge, however I am not planning on getting it!" Olaf stated firmly, crossing his stick arms. "Of course he decided to go for the broad and participate in this adventure! He wants to get the fief, then he'll for sure make an assasination attempt on king Niedamir! Don't let him think he'll succeed! I'm going to show him...".
"Uhuh. He's coming to us" Geralt warned.
The prince, trying to maintain a proud posture, approached the company. What was his goal in it? Presumably the same as always - create as much fuss as possible. He cleared his throat and spoke:
"I've never thought I'd see Your Majesty again" he said to Anna.
"We haven't been hoping for another meeting either..." the snowman muttered.
The Exile flinched at snowman's voice. He hated him - like everything that wasn't human.
"How are things in Arendelle? How's the queen doing?" Hans questioned.
Anna remained silent. Keeping a stony expression, she entangled her arm with bard's, her hand still resting on the hilt of the sword. Though the prince noticed it, he wasn't giving up.
"Who are your companions?" he asked curiously.
"Julian Alfred Pankratz viscount de Lettenhove" Jaskier introduced himself with a haughty tone.
"Yennefer of Vengerberg" the sorceress's voice was that harsh, that Hans gulped nervously.
"Geralt of Rivia" the witcher said indifferently.
"Oh..." the Exile began to loose confidence with which he had walked up to the group. "Butcher of Blaviken..." he looked at the grey-haired man from head to toe "pardon me... I've never seen a mutant...".
"He's much more human than you multiplied by twelve" the princess interrupted him.
She despised it when her friend was called a mutant. Biologically, indeed, he was one - but that was it, because he had a heart more good than many people, he often proved he was more humane than most of them. Hans was opening his mouth to say something, nevertheless the arrival of Borch, Téa and Véa stopped him. Upon seeing Zerrikanians, he got frightened, and after Borch's questions "Do you have a problem, sir? Can we help?" - he walked away without a word. The dwarves noticed it, Yarpen Zigrin laughed out loud.
"I knew we're dealing with a coward scab!" he commented.
Olaf initiated the arrived trio in the Exile's story, while Jaskier swore in his thoughts that "he will push him off the first better cliff". Not long after, the teams participating in the dragon hunt set off.
On the trail, the company was discussing many topics, they also got to know the dwarves better. As it turned out, Yarpen's crew besides having a great sense of humor, was a kind-hearted, eager to help group - they even offered an alliance against the Reavers. Our heroes, after short consultations, agreed to the proposition, mainly because they saw an opportunity to take the Exile down a peg. Borch, upon hearing Geralt and Yennefer's ideas on how to get rid of the prince, chuckled and stated that "the dragon would get food poisoning from eating him, but he'd definitely burn his sides". At the same time the snowman was asking the warriors about their travelling with Borch. Véa shortly replied that "he's the most beautiful", which caused more questions to be born in Olaf's head. Naturally, he decided to ask all of them. Anna and Jaskier on the other hand were walking hand-in-hand, joking, laughing together. While at it, they were making sure that Hans heard everything. They wanted to poison him with their happiness and it was going really well. Hans's eyebrows, nostrils and the corners of his mouth twitched alternately, he was getting more and more fed up with them with every passing moment. Hatred for princess since few years has been already higher than the highest mountain top in Mahakam, contempt for the bard was slowly getting to the identical level. It tempted him to say something, throw a rude comment - however then he reminded himself of two Zerrikanians, the sorceress and the witcher, and abandoned his plans. At some point the travelers arrived at a ruined valley, which had been destroyed by a dragon when humans had attacked it. Geralt furrowed his eyebrows.
"I don't understand. Dragons avoid people, it should've ran away when they attacked him. Why the retaliation?" he questioned.
"When your kind is at the extinction" Three Jackdaws began "you have to take drastic measures in order to survive".
They moved forward, when all of a sudden the blue-eyed woman and the brunet heard a noise in the bushes. The duo exchanged knowing looks and decided to inspect the sound's source. After shovelling away some branches, to their eyes appeared a round, furry head of a creature with big, bulged eyes and pointy ears going to sides. The innocent gaze of the creature touched the pair's hearts.
"Oh, aren't you the..." Jaskier was about to call the creature "the cutest", but when it stood up and turned out to be tall and skinny, he changed his mind "most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life!". Without thinking much, he grabbed Anna's hand and dragging her with him, came back to the group. "GERALT! GERALT!".
Everyone stopped and turned into the direction from which the pair Jaskier and Anna ran. The grey-haired man took a lot at the monster.
"That's a hirikka, it's probably hungry. Don't draw your weapons, it won't hurt anyone" he explained. "It doesn't eat people".
"Aww, how adorable! Can I pet it?" Olaf asked, amazed by the creature.
Before witcher could reply, Eyck launched himself at the hirikka with a shrill scream. What surprised the travelers was the fact that he managed to harm it with a steel sword. Anna, in whom the blood's been boiling for a while, bursted out in anger. The doing, which she was witnessing, was the last straw. She quickly walked up to the knight and dragged him away from the hirikka.
"You fool!" she shouted at him. "Didn't you hear what Geralt said?! Why did you attack an innocent being?! Such a knight you are that you don't know the basics of the knightly ethos?! You're no knight then! You're bringing shame to your homeland and compatriots! I'll tell you, who you are, Eyck of Denesle, and that is a pathetic, deprived of honor and reason whoreson!".
The company froze, the rest of the participants in the hunt as well. The heroes didn't know what to say. It was the first time they've seen Anna so angry, what's more it was the first time when they've heard her use a swear word. Olaf covered his mouth, Jaskier's jaw fell to the ground, Yennefer bulged her eyes. Geralt on the other hand smiled proudly. Troubled Eyck moved away, while Anna slowly approached the hirikka. At the beginning the scared creature wanted to run away, however under the influence of princess's voice filled with care it calmed down, bent and allowed itself to be pet. The snowman sighed, amazed by the scene.
"Can I feed it with bread rolls?" she turned to the White Wolf. "Or will they make it sick?".
"Go ahead" he responded.
The princess smiled lightly, then took out two of four bread rolls from her bag, which she had bought back at the inn to have something to bite on during the road. She was gradually breaking off the pieces, then giving it to the creature. The Exile snorted.
"Monsters should be killed, not taken care of".
"From what I recall, no one asked for your opinion" the sorceress interjected coldly, not giving the red-haired man a single glance.
Hans did not dare to speak again. After the hirikka consumed both of the rolls, it brushed its nose against the princess's cheek and then walked away. Anna came back to the company with a wide smile on her face.
"I've never seen such wonders before..." Yarpen said.
     In the evening, the travelers set up a camp in the forest. A bonfire was lit, Borch's team and the dwarves' crew sat around it together, Eyck joined them as well. The Reavers kept to the side. During dinner, which consisted of pre-taken food and a slaughtered deer, there were discussions about politics. More specifically, the rising power of Nilfgaard. Ever since the return of the heir to the throne, the had been a buzz in Nilfgaard, and for some time now the troops had been moving further and further towards the north. Zigrin expressed a worry, or even a certainty, that the empire would soon take over Sodden, Temeria, Cintra... he kept on listing certain countries, until Jaskier interjected that the rulers of North would rather die than surrender. They were discussing for a long time, until it got dark and they all decided to go to sleep, to be ready for the further journey.
In the morning, when there were preparations for departure, no one could wake up Eyck of Denesle. Many methods were tried out, that including Olaf and the dwarves screaming loudly, nevertheless the knight wasn't getting up. Eventually, it was decided to check his pulse.
"He's dead" the witcher informed.
The gathered began to whisper. The grey-haired man precisely inspected the body, however he didn't find any stab wounds. The princess of Arendelle allowed herself to browse through Eyck's things. It didn't take her long to find the cause of his death.
"Nightshade berries" she notified.
Yennefer clutched her head in disbelief. "How had he not recognized them? Gods, he was dumber than I assumed" she thought.
"Fool didn't know the basics... in this world even fruit cannot be trusted" Yarpen delivered the punchline.
The heroes buried the brave knight with his belongings, and then set of to continue the search for the dragon.

~⚔️~

Poor Eyck. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but may he rest in peace.
Hans the Exile enters the stage. God, how I hate him... hopefully karma gets him soon.
If you've noticed any errors, feel free to let me know.
Now I'll say goodbye, sending the best to all of you! Take care and see you next time!