Siren's Call

Of Beauty and Annoyance

                Geralt combed through the message boards of the town and talked to all the right people, but came up empty handed. Frustrated, he decided to head back to the inn where he'd deposited Jaskier and Roach. Even though it had only been a few hours, by the time he got back, he could already hear a rousing rendition of The Fishmonger's Daughter leaking out from the opening and closing door of the inn as people went in and out. A great roar of applause went up and he could faintly hear Jaskier making some speech, which prompted more cheering. The bard might be mostly useless in any combat situation, but he had to hand it to him. Jaskier really knew how to manipulate a crowd.

He pulled his hood up over his face and hunched his shoulders, readying himself for a crowded, hot room full of people ambivalent and scared of him at best. Shouldering the door open, he stepped inside.

The first thing he laid eyes on was Jaskier, standing atop a table at one end of the room, surrounded by people and in the full flush of a successful performance. Brilliant eyes told the same story as a laughing mouth as he happily strummed on his lute. He was beautiful, Geralt realized with a shock. Not that he hadn't objectively realized that before, anybody with eyes could see that Jaskier was aesthetically pleasing. But as he quietly moved to a lonely table at the edge of the crowd, he felt a hot stab of want. He wanted the bard. Wanted to make Jaskier smile, wanted his mouth on his, wanted to see him flushed and sweating, head thrown back in pleasure.

As he watched the rest of Jaskier's performance, he pondered this relatively new thing going on in his head, poking at it from all sides and deciding on the best course of action. He wasn't normally one to hesitate to act, but the thought of the bard's inevitable smugness at Geralt admitting or acting on any kind of pleasant feelings towards him was alone enough to give him pause. As well as the fact that it was always a little awkward having a travelling companion you'd had sex with.

He was shaken out of his reverie by Jaskier's excited voice. "And look who we have here Ladies and Gentlemen!" Geralt glanced up, shelving his thoughts in the 'look at later' box in his mind. Jaskier went on "It's the White Wolf, Geralt of Rivia, the man I've just been singing about!"

An excited murmur ran through the small crowd, people turning to stare at Geralt inquisitively. He glowered back at them, thoughts of Jaskier's beauty replaced by thoughts of how he was going to get him back for this. The bard made his way over to the table next to his, expertly jumped on top of it, and began a rousing rendition of Toss a Coin to Your Witcher.

As Jaskier played, Geralt caught the familiar hint of Chaos that always radiated from Jaskier when he was especially into a performance. The first few times he'd felt it, he'd been convinced Jaskier was some kind of mage in disguise. He'd at first allowed him to travel with him in order to scope him out and see what kind of a threat he was. His analysis had turned up empty. Jaskier's magic seemed to be completely natural, involuntary, and harmless. He'd tested this by surreptitiously letting him come dangerously close to being harmed by various terrifying monsters. Anyone with voluntary control over their magic, or even someone with a normal talent for involuntary magic, would have practically been forced to used it, but Jaskier had just screamed for him. As far as Geralt could tell, Jaskier simply had a slight affinity for Chaos that made his singing and playing just a little too good, and the control he had over crowds just a little more than most ordinary performers. Although, strangely enough, he never felt the slight hint of chaos when Jaskier was playing his lute around just him.

He felt the Chaos around Jaskier grow as the bard became more into his performance and picked up the pace. The crowd followed suite, practically mesmerized by the song. Abruptly, he felt someone watching him to his right. His head whipped around, piercing eyes searching. A man in the crowd stared fixedly at him, and he could see the nervous beads of fear sweat standing out on his face. He raised an eyebrow at him. The man glanced back, almost walked away, then seemed to gather his nerve and sidled up to Geralt.

He licked dry lips. "You're the Witcher?"

"I am"

"I'm a merchant, I was taking a caravan through Didith, and well..." The man stuttered, and the fear smell roiling off him increased.

"You were attacked." Geralt prompted gruffly. There was only one way this conversation was going to go. Hopefully in a direction that would allow him and Jaskier to live well for the next month or so.

The man swallowed and nodded. "I don't know what it was. It moved so fast, we barely had time to react. It destroyed most of my goods, and killed five of the people travelling with me." His voice faltered. "My...my wife was among them."

His expression hardened slightly, and he pulled out a decent sized bag, setting it on the table with a thud. "I want it dead."

Geralt looked through the coins, they were good, and ample payment for one monster. "Describe it for me."

"I never got a good look at it. It moved too quickly. From what I saw it looked like some kind of giant insect, like a praying mantis."

Geralt glanced up at the man quickly. "Are you sure?"

The merchant shrugged "as sure as I can be about anything."

Geralt nodded. "Then this coin won't be enough, I'll need at least double for a job this size."

The man looked down, then back up at Geralt. "I can't pay that much" He indicated the coin bag "but I can pay that much upfront, and raise half that for when the job's finished"

Geralt considered. "Fine, I'll kill your monster, where did it attack your caravan?"

The merchant smiled in relief. "about 5 hours away from Didith, night before last."

Geralt finished getting the details he needed, scarfed down some food, and went to collect his bard.

Predictably enough, Jaskier was having a big time. He glanced up at Geralt over the head of what was probably the one reasonably attractive young woman in the inn. "Ah! Geralt! So glad you could join me." He gestured expansively to a chair next to him. "Have a seat, and oh, meet Dana." Dana giggled nervously, nestling closer to Jaskier's side. She smelled of fear and lust, cheap wine and cheap perfume.

Geralt's nose wrinkled involuntarily. "I got a job. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

He'd made it halfway to the door before Jaskier extricated himself from Dana and caught up with him. "If you think you are leaving me behind you are very well mistaken!" he said firmly. "I am in desperate need of new material and a monster hunt is just what I need."

Geralt opened his mouth to argue, then sighed and jerked his head. "Come on then". If he tried to leave Jaskier behind while he was in this kind of mood he might do something indescribably stupid like try to follow him. Jaskier would be safer where he could keep an eye on him, and he was relatively good about staying out of the way.

Geralt headed out to the stables, tagged closely by the chattering Jaskier. It was going to be a long night.