Apparently, I had horrible luck as we ended up in the mountains. Snow falling all around us. Thankfully we were able to purchase some warm cloaks at a nearby pub. I look around at the people in the pub trying to figure out where to begin. Who in this world would be connected to Hydra? A mage probably.

I thrum my fingers on the table absentmindedly. Thor slides me a pint of ale and I give him a smile in thanks as I lift the pint to my lips. I almost spit it out as I see a familiar face walk down the stairs a smile on his face. Wanda noticing my reaction follows my gaze to see who I am looking at.

"Is that him?" Wanda asks pulling me from my silent freak out.

"Who?" I ask looking at her.

"Geralt?" She whispers and I shake my head.

"No, that's Jaskier, the bard that's almost always with him." I confirm my eyes not leaving the man's figure.

My eyes never left him, not even when the door swung open to reveal a bigger man rushing in with blood dried on his body.

"I tell you no lie..." He starts the whole pub listening to his words. "It swallowed the whole village. It did." The people all gasp and I turn to look at Thor who was listening just as intently. "Not a bone to be found."

The storyteller's eyes find someone in the corner and he says, "Oh, don't give me that, Shitling. That's why we had to call him... The White Wolf. And he stood in the middle of that frozen lake like he knew it was coming for him. The Ice cracked open and the Selkiemore shot out! Oh, you've never seen one, but it would take down a ship with it's cavernous mouth full of devil's teeth." He pauses as the room gasps. "And it... swallowed... that Witcher... whole."

"Oh, this is brilliant." I hear Jaskier says and I smirk to myself. "Oh Sorry, it's just, Geralt's usually so stingy with the details. Uh, then what happened?"

"He died." The man replies, the room gasps, and I roll my eyes.

"Eh, he's fine." Jaskier concludes and my smile is back.

"Look, I was there." The man continues, "I saw it with my own-" the man didn't get to finish as the pub doors swung open with enough force to bang off the walls and call everyone's attention to it. My heart catches in my throat as he walks through the door, and even though he was covered in guts I knew it was him.

"See." Jaskier concludes.

"Oh, What's that stench?" The man from before asks.

"Selkiemore guts." Geralt answers.

"Ugh."

"Had to get it from the inside. I'll take what I'm owed."

Jaskier starts singing 'Toss a Coin to Your Witcher' and as the man hands over a purse of coin the rest of the pub joins in.

"So that's him." Wanda concludes and I nod.

"Uh huh." I reply my eyes focused solely on his back as he walks over to the bar.

"I like him." Thor announces making Wanda and I slowly look over at him. "He doesn't mind getting messy." I let out a chuckle as I shake my head.

"Food, Women, and Wine; Geralt!" Jaskier yells and I look back to see that Geralt had left the bar and was now facing us. I don't know why I did, but I turned and hid my face from his view. I guess I still held some hope that the woman he saw in his dreams was me and I didn't think I could handle it if I wasn't. Geralt turns and walking back to the bard continues his conversation.

"What am I doing?" I ask running my hands down my face. "I didn't come here for him; I came to find out who was talking to Hydra."

"Well, you weren't looking for him, true, but you did find him." Wanda says from beside me. I turn to look at her with questioning eyes only to have her bring her pint to her lips and look away from me. I look at Thor who gives me a playful smile and I roll my eyes.

"Can we talk about something else please?" I ask. "We need to find a mage."

"Is it a mage you're looking for?" A passerby asks pulling our attention toward the young man.

"It is," I agree then leaning forward against the table smile as I continue, "Tell me, do you know where I can find one?"

"The castle." He blurts a look of confusion filling his eyes that he replied so quickly.

"Tell me, how does one get to the castle, and when would be the best time to do so?"

"The princess of Cintra, Pavetta, is getting engaged. Tonight, is her betrothal party, people from all around will be there. If you follow the main trail out of town you will be there just before sundown."

"Thank you," I say and he offers me a smile before his brow furrows and he walks away.

"Was that necessary?" Wanda asks and I shrug my shoulders.

"Honestly I just wanted to see if my powers worked here." I reply pushing away from the table to stand up. "And they do."

"So, a party?" Wanda continues as she stands with me followed by Thor. "What are we gonna wear?"

"Good question." I ponder as I look from her to Thor. "Honestly Thor could probably just wear what he's wearing."

"Good, I don't have to change." Thor adds downing his pint.

"I guess we could wear these, there's not really enough time to find dresses or change. That is if we wanna make it in time."

"Then let's go." Thor announces pushing from the table to stand next to us and motion toward the door. As we move around the table, I look back to the bar to see Jaskier looking towards us with a look of curiosity in his eyes and I offer him a smile. He says something to Geralt and before the Witcher can turn to look our way I instantly make my way out the door.

Outside, the cold air slaps me in the face causing a shiver to wash over me. Pulling my cloak closed I let out a heavy sigh. My eyes move to a nearby horse and my face lights up.

"Roach!" I call out as I run over to her. Her head snaps to me as a soft nicker leaves her throat in recognition. "Oh, so you could see me?" I joke as she pushes her nose into my hand.

"Who's this?" Wanda asks moving next to me her hand gently patting Roach's shoulder.

"This is Roach, Geralt's horse."

"And she recognizes you?" Wanda inquires.

"I had a theory on it, you know how animals can sense things we can't, I figured she could see me since her eyes always found me when I would show up." I explain scratching the white strip on her forehead.

"We have to go." Thor announces and I nod.

"See you around Roach. I'll miss you." I say as I give her one last pat. "Take care of your rider for me." Her head nudges my shoulder and I smile.