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Jaskier looked up from the map he bought. He took one of his hands to mess with the amulet Yennefer gave him a few minutes ago, then handed Geralt the map. The witcher took it easily, folding it up before setting it into his bag on Roach. Yennefer, who was walking next to Jaskier, let out a small sigh. They finally arrived at Walli, Redania, a city frozen in time.
Yennefer explained the day before that Walli was in some sort of time loop. Those that passed through would be subjected to stay over and over as well. The time loop seemed to affect only a certain perimeter of the area, based solely in the town and its immediate surroundings. Jaskier thought that was kind of neat, a city frozen in time to forever live on as everything around it died, but he got an odd look from the sorceress so he stopped talking.
The town looked normal from the outside. Jaskier even spotted a couple of kids playing in the dirt with sticks. It reminded him of his days as a child for a moment. The buildings appeared fairly plain, with even a horse trotting around after its owner as they brought in a cart of rolled hary. Jaskier thought nothing was wrong with the town, but Yennefer scowled and Geralt’s medallion vibrated, so he must be wrong about that assumption.
They were inspecting the town from afar. Geralt wanted to test the border of the perimeter to see what was and what wasn’t affected. There was a vast outline of bright green grass and dried yellow grass. Inside the town, the grass was luscious, but outside of the perimeter it was dry as a bone. It made Jaskier wonder how long the town had been in the time-loop, for everything but the town to be experiencing a drought.
Geralt sniffed the air. His nose wrinkled, which was quite the feat as Jaskier had seen Geralt sniff a Ghoul’s graveyard before and not be disgusted. His eyes scanned the area and his nose twitched. The witcher turned to his companions with a concerned gaze.
He announced, “The smell of death is strong. It was weak earlier… It's strong now.” His golden eyes traveled along the town. To Yennefer, he asked, “Will I be able to enter the town without falling under whatever has them bespelled?”
“No. The Brotherhood sent scouts with the idea embedded into their minds to return. None came back out, so either the magic that was embedded was nullified or it was overridden with an order to stay inside the town. If the magic is that powerful, then even a witcher won’t be immune,” she said.
“Hmm.”
Jaskier watched as the two mulled over ideas silently. He wondered what would happen if he wandered inside the perimeter. People that crossed into the town didn’t come back out. Were they the ones that Geralt smelled dead? Jaskier wasn’t sure about it. He didn’t exactly want to go die on a contract, but the contract was quite large– set at 1,000 crowns. He thought it could be worth it.
Yennefer said, “I can send in an illusion of you.” Geralt eyed her in thought. “We can see if the illusion can interact with people.”
“Do it.”
Yennefer controlled her Chaos wonderfully. A mimic of Geralt appeared in front of Jaskier’s eyes. The bard couldn’t believe how realistic the illusion looked. He then watched as the illusion-Geralt started to walk towards the perimeter. However, as the illusion met with the border of yellow grass and green grass, the illusion faltered. After attempting to get through, the illusion fizzled away.
Jaskier turned to Yennefer. Her violet eyes narrowed at where her illusion-Geralt faded away. The bard suspected that something had gone wrong, and it wasn’t on the sorceress’s end.
Yennefer said, “My magic won’t go through. Something’s blocking it.”
“Will it block you from going in?” asked Geralt.
“I’m unsure. Let me try.” Yennefer stepped forward, only to be yanked back by Jaskier. “Bard,” she said, a bit angered that she was manhandled.
“You are not going in there alone,” stated Jaskier, voice almost in a whine. More seriously, he petted Roach before taking a rope from the saddle bag. “We’ll pull you back in case something happens.”
Yennefer paused, surprised that the human came up with a suggestion that wasn’t totally insane. “Fine.” She took the rope and tied it along her wrist. Geralt took one look at it and suggested tying it around her arm or waist. Yennefer sighed, but ended up asking Jaskier to tie it around her upper arm
“We’ll get you back in case something goes wrong,” said Geralt.
Yennefer bared her companions one last glance before walking to the perimeter. She stepped on the dry grass, then attempted to walk into the town where the bright grass grew. Dew still covered the grass due to how early it was in the morning. However, as soon as her foot set on the grass, she was flung through the air.
Pain numbed through her body, her eyes closed in a wince. She opened her eyes to see the sky. She heard Jaskier’s worried mumbling as he came to her side. Geralt stood steady, his expression tight. The bard helped Yennefer stand up. Instead of assuring her companions that she was safe, she took the rope off of her, letting it drop to the ground.
“It doesn’t want other magic inside,” she stated with an annoyed tone. “I can’t get inside or use any magic in it.”
“Who needs magic, huh?” said Jaskier, instantly supportive.
Geralt flickered his eyes to the town, then back to Yennefer. He spoke, “Will it repel me?”
“Probably,” she sighed, “but let’s check.”
5 minutes later, after Geralt got the rope tied around his waist and walked near the perimeter, he was flung through the air, but not as harshly. He groaned as he sat up to see Yennefer’s unamused look and Jaskier’s frightened stare.
“Hmm.”
“That’s all you’re gonna say? That’s your reaction? ‘Hmm?’ What the fuck?” whispered Jaskier. He crossed his arms as Geralt stumbled to stand.
Yennefer said, “We’ll have to figure out what’s wrong from the outside, then. It’s most likely a curse. It’s strong and gaining power from something in order for it to last this long– my bet is on the rotting smell. Lifeforce is a great way to supply a spell.”
“It’s at least 10 bodies,” said Geralt. He turned to Roach, a question in his gaze. “Let’s send in a horse. They have no Chaos, unlike cats.”
“What will a horse do, Geralt?” questioned Yennefer. “Eat the grass and tell us if it’s not poisoned? Roach can’t help us.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
Jaskier watched as the two challenged one another. It was a bit freaky, as they could definitely ruin one another’s lives. They continued to stand off, only for Jaskier to get a brilliant idea.
“What if I go in?” announced the bard. He suddenly felt giddy at the thought of helping out.
“No,” growled Geralt. Yennefer agreed with a curt nod.
“Why not?”
The witcher leveled his gaze at him. “You’re not… you’re not–”
“I’m not what, Geralt?” challenged Jaskier. The witcher stayed silent. “I’m going. You two aren’t able to cross through, Roach is magnificent but she’s a horse, and I am a normal freaking human without Chaos. I am perfect for this.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“Everything is dangerous, Geralt.”
“Jaskier–”
The bard took the rope, tied it around his wrist, and walked into the perimeter. He almost expected to be flung through the air, but he wasn’t. He was inside, his feet tapping along the green grass. He turned to Yennefer and Geralt. Their expressions were of disgust, with amusement clouded over Yennefer’s worries.
Jaskier grinned, he could feel it. He said hastily, “I’m inside. Now what?”
Yennefer ordered, “Search for the smell of dead bodies. The source of the town’s time loop will be near that.”
“The rope’s not long enough.”
“You’ll have to find your way back here,” she said steadily.
As the bard ventured into town with the rope hanging off of his wrist, Geralt turned to Yennefer with displeasure written across his face. “Jaskier will be put under the spell,” argued Geralt. “He won’t want to report to us.”
“It’ll be a fight over his mind. Jaskier’s strong. He’ll be fine.”
Jaskier, meanwhile, was enjoying his brisk walk through town. He found it a bit odd that no one questioned why a rope was tied to his wrist, but figured if the town was on a time loop then nobody was in their right mind. The bard followed the horrid, putrid smell of decay. It was bad enough that Jaskier was standing right next to a freshly made bread shop and he couldn’t get the rotting smell out of his nostrils.
Jaskier found his way to a hut. It looked quite horrid, an eerie feeling teetering along his neck. Jaskier knocked, but the door simply caved in. Jaskier gagged, quickly covering his nose. The smell got worse by opening what was keeping it at bay. His eyes watered as he stepped inside the hut to see corpses rotting off the bones. He had to make himself stay inside.
Jaskier remembered Yennefer’s words. The power – the bodies– supporting the spell will be near the source of whatever magic was creating the time loop. Just as he started to inspect his way around, his mind turned to fuzz. He found himself stuttering out his orders to find the source of the magic. He couldn’t forget it– not with lives on the line.
Jaskier opened his eyes to see wood. He squinted. Wasn’t he just– wasn’t he just outside? He stood up and found his way around. He was in an inn. He walked out and explored the town. Memories rushed back to him. He staggered as he made his way to where Geralt and Yennefer were.
He found them stationed outside of the perimeter. Yennefer had a tent put up. Jaskier noticed a fire pit, old and cold, a few feet away from the tent. The bard wondered how the two got so much done in so little time. He only left them an hour ago.
Geralt walked out of the tent, his nose twitching. Yennefer followed. Upon seeing Jaskier, their facial expressions tightened. The witcher and the mage walked to the perimeter, not worried about accidentally stepping inside.
Yennefer said, “How are you this morning?”
“Fine,” replied the bard simply.
“Do you remember anything?”
“I went into a–”
“Hut, yes, we know.” Her eyes flashed with some sort of hurt that Jaskier didn’t understand.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Yennefer remained silent. Instead, Geralt spoke, “Did you wake up in an inn?” Jaskier gave a single nod. “Anything out of the ordinary?”
“Out of waking up in an inn? No.”
The witcher let out a puff from his nose. “Jaskier, did you find anything in the town?”
“Am I supposed to?”
Jaskier was confused. They knew about the hut, so he must have told them at some point. He crossed his arms, and just knew that Geralt could smell his confusion and emotional turmoil.
Yennefer said, “Jaskier, you need to trust me. We’re looking for the source of the curse. We think it’s not in the hut. Instead, someone knows what is going on within the town but doesn’t care. They want to continue living through the time loop. Perhaps they’re trying to fix a mistake. We’re unsure of that part.”
“So I’m looking for someone that’s living through the time loop and trying to fix something that happened.”
“Yes.” She breathed in relief. “That’s exactly what you’re doing. We need you to find someone that’s acting odd. It’s not the baker, farmer, or even the innkeeper. It’s someone we don’t expect.”
“How do you know that for sure?” asked Jaskier.
Suddenly, Geralt blurted, “Do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“We just know. Don’t worry about it.”
“Alright.” Jaskier fumbled with his sleeve. “Who do I talk to?”
“We’ve been going down a list. There’s a family in a house with a set of windchimes on the corner. Assess them then come back here,” said Yennefer.
Jaskier thought it was strange that her voice warbled and she seemed so exhausted. The bard sucked in a breath, though, and went back inside the heart of the town.
The bard spotted the house at the edge of town. He thought the wind chimes were quite nice. He knocked on the door. A woman opened it, a subdued, frightened look on her face.
“Hello there, madam,” he greeted.
“Ah… hello,” replied the woman.
“I’m Jaskier, a traveling bard. And you are?”
“Anne.”
“What a lovely name.”
“Uh-huh.” Anne trailed her eyes behind her, back into the house. Jaskier could hear the cry of a baby. She turned back to Jaskier with an annoyed expression. “What do you want?”
“I have but a simple question, I assure you. I was wondering if anything was wrong?” Jaskier thought about the cry of the baby. “Is everything alright? How’s your child?”
The woman promptly burst into tears. “How did you know?” she sobbed out. “I’ve been hiding it from everyone. Not even my husband has asked.”
Jaskier tried not to look awkward. He said, “Are you okay? Is your child okay?”
“He’s sick,” answered Anne. Her red eyes were rubbed raw. “No one can help. The healer told me something’s wrong with his heart. Not even magic can fix it.”
“How strong is your local healer?”
“Just small time. She doesn’t have magic herself but–”
“I have a friend. They have magic,” blurted Jaskier.
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
Jaskier found himself at the edge of the perimeter. Geralt and Yennefer seemed surprised to find him with company. Jaskier waved, then announced their situation. Yennefer stuck her arms out, careful not to go too far. She didn’t look hopeful. However, when Anne and her child passed through, her eyes widened. Jaskier looked to Geralt, and the witcher had the same reaction.
Yennefer quietly hummed as her Chaos fluidly healed the sick baby. Anne lit up in excitement as the child stopped crying and instead pattered off to a sleep. She held him in her arms, relief spreading through her entire being.
“Thank you,” she said, raw emotion laid about.
“Mmn,” replied Yennefer. Her violet eyes latched onto golden ones. “Geralt, I think we know what happened now.” Geralt hmmed.
“What?” questioned Jaskier, suddenly curious.
“The child,” explained Yennefer.
“What about him?” questioned Anne, her voice protective.
“He has Chaos. It… he tried to get help. He created a time loop until someone could heal him.”
The mother looked shocked. She stared down at her baby boy with wide eyes. Soon, her gaze turned cold as she looked at Yennefer. Anne bit out, “You’re not taking my child, witch.” In a storm, the woman fled back into the city. No one chased after her.
Jaskier passed forward, out of the perimeter. Geralt immediately hugged him. It felt nice. Jaskier wasn’t sure why. Just yesterday morning they hugged. He could feel Geralt breathe in his scent. He giggled, a simple reaction from the chill.
When they separated, he looked to Yennefer. The bard said, “So that’s it? The curse is broken, now? That was easy.”
Yennefer and Geralt mirrored one another. They didn’t look happy at all. Jaskier frowned. They just got a curse unbroken! Shouldn’t they be celebrating?
Then it hit him.
“How many days was I stuck in the time loop?”
Geralt cast his gaze down. “34,” he answered in a small, gruff voice.
“Oh.”