The march through the forest lasted longer than Sebastian expected.
Not because the Scoia'tael moved slowly, quite the opposite, they moved like ghosts, never staying on one path for too long, constantly weaving through dense undergrowth and narrow stone ridges as if the forest itself was their fortress.
Sebastian allowed them to shove him forward while keeping the act going.
Head lowered slightly, movements sluggish, occasional groans whenever one of them yanked the ropes around his wrists too hard.
Truthfully the ropes themselves were almost insulting, he could have burned through them without effort. But for now? better to play prisoner.
The female elf who captured him walked ahead of the group, occasionally glancing back toward him with visible suspicion.
Eventually the forest began changing, the trees thickened.
Roots twisted around massive stone formations hidden beneath moss and ivy while the ground sloped downward into what at first looked like nothing more than dense greenery.
Then Sebastian noticed it, a concealed opening beneath hanging vines and thick brush.
It was very clever, the Scoia'tael pushed aside the greenery and entered one by one.
And the last one of them shoved Sebastian after them into the hidden cavern.
The inside was far larger than expected, torchlight illuminated the stone walls while smoke from several campfires curled upward through natural cracks in the ceiling. Wooden platforms had been built along parts of the cavern, supplies stacked carefully near sleeping rolls and weapon racks.
At least thirty Scoia'tael.
Elves mostly and a few dwarves.
Several children among them too, thin and tired.
The moment Sebastian entered, conversations stopped.
Every eye in the cavern shifted toward him immediately.
"A human? No.. that's a.."
"What's a vatt'ghern doing here?"
"Should've slit his throat outside!"
One older dwarf squinted at Sebastian and spat into the fire.
"Ugly bastard even by human standards.."
Sebastian looked at him upside down mentally for a second before replying dryly,
"And you're surprisingly short for a dwarf."
The dwarf blinked, then burst out laughing.
A few others did too despite themselves.
"Careful," the dwarf wheezed. "I might like this one."
"Shut up, Yarpen-wannabe," another elf muttered.
At the center of the cavern, seated beside a rough wooden table covered in maps and half-empty bottles, stood the apparent leader of the camp.
Tall, scarred and clearly older than the others.
One side of his face carried a long white scar stretching from brow to jaw while his silver hair was tied tightly behind his head. Unlike the others, he wore partial armor beneath his cloak, worn but maintained carefully.
The captain slowly rose from his seat as Sebastian was brought forward, his sharp eyes moved first toward the female elf.
"What is this?!"
"We found him tracking our trail," she answered immediately. "Near the burned village."
The cavern quieted further, the captain's expression darkened slightly.
"A spy or just some lapdog?"
"Possibly hired by the Redanians," another Scoia'tael added. "Almost found our lair."
Sebastian made a show of lifting his head sluggishly.
"Almost?" he muttered. "You literally dragged me here..."
One of the female elves shoved him hard between the shoulders.
"Quiet!"
Sebastian sighed.
"Yes mom."
The female elf looked moments away from hitting him again.
The captain approached slowly meanwhile, looking at Sebastian with curiosity now.
Then suddenly he grabbed Sebastian by the jaw roughly, forcing his head upward toward the torchlight.
Golden eyes reflected back at him.
The captain narrowed his own. "…A real vatt'ghern."
His voice carried genuine surprise.
"It's not often you see your kind... there was sometime ago where we met someone who pretended to be a Witcher... it didn't end well for him."
His thumb brushed lightly along one of Sebastian's wolf medallions before he released him.
"Hell, most of us don't even know what to classify you as."
A bitter smile crossed the elf's scarred face.
"Mutants? Abominations? Another fine creation mankind vomited into the world."
Sebastian rolled his shoulders slightly after being released.
"I usually go by Sebastian, but you can call me Seb."
That earned a few annoyed looks.
The captain however actually chuckled quietly.
"Hm."
He circled Sebastian slowly.
"Your kind helped humans conquer the Continent. Cleared monsters from lands they stole from elder races afterward."
His eyes hardened slightly.
"Humans brought nothing but ruin to our homes."
Sebastian finally looked directly at him.
"You think witchers had a choice in any of that?"
The captain stopped walking.
Silence lingered for a moment and the female elf crossed her arms.
"Don't listen to him, Faelorn. What should we do with him, he might be useful to us, that's why I brought him."
'So, Faelorn.' Seb thought to himself.
The captain glanced toward her.
"I can see that."
Then back toward Sebastian.
"And you," he said calmly, "are either very brave or very stupid."
Sebastian shrugged lightly despite the ropes.
"I've been called both."
One of the younger Scoia'tael suddenly stepped closer angrily.
"Why were you tracking us, mutant?"
Sebastian looked at him lazily.
"For fun."
Another elf punched him in the stomach immediately.
Or tried to. Sebastian tensed just enough to make the hit feel like punching stone.
The young elf grabbed his hand afterward with a pained hiss.
"…Fuck! What was that!"
Sebastian blinked innocently.
"You alright?"
The dwarf from earlier started laughing again so hard he nearly spilled his drink.
Faelorn raised a hand before things escalated further.
"Enough!"
The cavern quieted instantly.
The captain stepped closer to Sebastian again.
"The burned village," he said quietly. "Someone sent you?"
Sebastian tilted his head slightly.
"They offered coin."
"Ah." Faelorn nodded slowly. "There it is. Witchers and coin."
"That tends to be how contracts work."
Faelorn studied him carefully for another long moment.
Then unexpectedly cut the ropes binding Sebastian's wrists himself.
Several Scoia'tael reacted immediately.
"Captain.."
"He's surrounded," Faelorn interrupted calmly. "If he wanted blood, we'd already know."
Sebastian rubbed his wrists lightly while observing the cavern more openly now.
It was interesting, there was no fear or panic in Faelorn's eyes.
Which meant this captain either trusted his people completely…
…or was extremely dangerous himself.
Probably both.
Faelorn finally gestured toward a nearby table.
"Sit, vatt'ghern."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
"You're not killing me?"
The elf captain's scarred face twitched with amusement.
"If we killed every armed stranger wandering Redania, we'd never have time to eat."
Sebastian smirked faintly.
"Fair point."
Then he sat.
Several Scoia'tael still watched him like wolves eyeing a bear wandering into camp.
And Sebastian, despite remaining calm outwardly, quietly realized something important.
Whatever happened at that village…
…was probably uglier than it first appeared.
Faelorn remained standing across from Sebastian near the rough wooden table while torchlight danced across the scar running down the elf's face. The older elf poured dark liquor from a clay bottle into two battered cups before sliding one across the table.
Sebastian caught it easily.
Didn't drink yet.
His golden eyes remained fixed on Faelorn instead.
For several seconds neither of them spoke, the cavern fire crackled softly nearby.
Until Sebastian finally did, "What happened in the village?"
His voice carried none of the sarcasm from earlier now. He leaned back slightly against the wooden chair while continuing, "And why kill them like that?"
His gaze darkened faintly.
"The burned huts I understand. Raids happen. Food gets stolen. But children burned alive?" A muscle shifted slightly in Sebastian's jaw.
"That was senseless slaughter."
Several Scoia'tael nearby stiffened immediately.
One of the younger elves glared openly now.
"You dare accuse us in our own camp?!"
Sebastian didn't even look at him.
"I accuse whoever did it."
Faelorn however suddenly laughed and that alone caught Sebastian slightly off guard.
The scarred elf picked up his own drink before sitting opposite him.
"The village south of here?"
He shook his head slowly while taking a long swallow.
"I'm afraid you're wrong, witcher."
Sebastian narrowed his eyes slightly.
Faelorn leaned back against the chair, exhaustion suddenly becoming more visible beneath the hard edges of his face.
"We hate humans, we really do." The elf's voice remained calm and cold.
"So much that some nights I dream of drowning this continent in their blood."
A few Scoia'tael nearby nodded at those words.
Faelorn continued, "I've watched human kingdoms burn our forests, hang our children, starve our people, then call us savages when we fight back."
His fingers tightened slightly around the cup.
"I have buried more elves than you have years alive, vatt'ghern."
The cavern had gone completely silent now, even Sebastian listened without interruption.
Then Faelorn spoke again.
"But…"
His eyes locked onto Sebastian's.
"I had nothing to do with what happened to that village."
"None of us here did, their blood does not stain our hands."
Sebastian stared at him, and listened, Faelorn heartbeat was steady, his eyes not twitching, there was no scent of deceit.
Witchers noticed things others didn't.
And Sebastian realized something immediately.
Faelorn was telling the truth.
Completely.
"…What?" The word escaped Seb before he could stop it.
Around them several Scoia'tael exchanged confused looks.
Faelorn studied Sebastian carefully now.
"You truly believed it was us."
"It fit."
"The tracks?"
"Led toward this forest, I assume the tracks belong to our cart."
Faelorn nodded once.
"But we didn't raid or steal from them, the real story is far from that."
Sebastian went still.
Faelorn continued, "Three days ago we found one of our scouts hanging from a tree not far from that village."
The cavern darkened somehow despite the firelight.
"His ears had been cut off."
One of the female Scoia'tael nearby spat into the fire angrily.
"Redanian bastards!"
Sebastian slowly leaned forward now, fully focused.
"And you think someone staged the village massacre to blame Scoia'tael."
"I know they did." Faelorn's voice had lost all humor now.
"Humans already fear us. It takes very little to turn fear into hatred."
One of the younger elves cursed under his breath.
"So the Redanians can hunt us easier," another muttered.
"Or unite villages against elder races," said the dwarf quietly.
"Or hire a professional tracker and killer to finish their work." Faelorn added.
/-\
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