[It's not exactly unusual for Jaskier to not hear from Geralt for a few months at a time. No rumours of his travels or word of where he is at all is a little more unusual. It doesn't sit well with Jaskier, so, he does what he's good at and gets to work sticking his nose in Geralt's business.
What he finds is- well. Nothing. It's a trail run entirely cold, folks who haven't seen him for as long as Jaskier or sometimes even longer. There are those who sought him as well, some angry "and when you see him...!" messages to remember, and just when Jaskier is really working himself up into a state, he finds a small town just north of Vilnyk, where the residents can tell him exactly where his dear friend has disappeared.
It's not exactly reassuring.
Jaskier isn't stupid. He knows that wandering into a town that seems to swallow up everyone who enters, including Geralt, is a death wish. But he also doesn't really see another choice here. Who in their right mind is going to want to help him rescue a witcher? Who is going to take him seriously, when the stories of Vilnyk have barely spread past it's borders?
So here he is, lute on his back and reluctantly wielding the worlds smallest dagger (gods he hopes he doesn't have to use it) as he treks past the border and towards the town, under the instructions given to him by some townsfolk who were clearly dubious at best about his likelihood of survival.
Only, he's sure he's passed by this fallen tree a couple of times now. Hm. Terribly confusing. Should he have taken the left at the fork in the road, instead of the right?
By the time he stumbles into town, there are only a couple of hours before nightfall, and Jaskier is completely spent. He's so tired he forgets his earlier fear, in fact, and upon finding nothing immediately terrifying about the nearest people to him, he calls out:]
Hello! This is Vilnyk, yes? Because honestly I've been wandering for ages, and I was sort of expecting a creepy ghost town, but you folk seem- in the best way, truly- completely boringly normal, so I'm a little confused--
[The woman he's speaking to drops the bucket she's holding with a loud thunk, a hand flying to her mouth as she cries out in surprise.]
Oh. That's not- sorry, I didn't mean to... startle you...?
[She's already running, informing everyone of a new arrival as she goes, but Jaskier has no idea what's happening or why there's such a commotion building around him.]
[ Geralt is deep into his meditation, but there's one thing that can always bring him out of it. Especially when it's something that he's not heard in quite some time. His eyes open. He's fully aware. He just can't imagine why he's hearing Jaskier's voice in this gods forsaken place. Jaskier shouldn't be here. He should be elsehwere on the continent, safe from whatever curse if affecting this little town.
Gods, Geralt hopes that he's imagining it.
Quickly, he's on his feet and opening the door to the little home he's claimed. It's original owners are long gone now, and since they're all trapped here, the townspeople had graciously given him a place to stay, to store his swords. He'd left Roach in the town to the north, he can only hope that she's okay.
Stepping out, Geralt nearly does a double take. He's learned to trust his senses without fail, so he knows that he does truly see Jaskier walking down the the dirt path between houses. ]
Jaskier. [ He makes Jaskier's name into a complete sentence with the way he says it, stepping into Jaskier's path like a piece of punctuatiuon. ] What the fuck are you doing here?
[It hadn't really occurred to Jaskier just how worried he was about the possibility of Geralt being dead until this very second, while hit by the relief of seeing him alive.
The townspeople, upon realising he clearly knows Geralt and therefore will have someone to gently (hah!) break the news to him, all begin to back off. Some of the panic abates. He's not their problem, anymore. He's Geralt's.
Jaskier, for his part, makes his relief obvious.]
Oh, you oblivious fucker. You think you can disappear clean off the face of the continent, and your very best friend won't even bat an eyelash?
[He says it sort of like it's a joke, but at the same time he strides forward, grasping at Geralt's arms as if to reassure himself that he's solid and present and actually there.]
Where the fuck have you been, Geralt? Here, the whole time? Because no offense, but this doesn't exactly look like Witcher work central.
Jaskier, [ Geralt repeats, grasping his arms as well. ] You shouldn't have come. It's too dangerous.
[ He's been so thankful that he and Jaskier had been separated when he heard about this curse and found out what was truly going on here. He'd been so relieved that Jaskier wouldn't be in danger, but now, here he is. ]
Come with me, [ he says in a low voice, tugging Jaskier into the house he's been staying at. Once he gets Jaskier settled on a chair, he sits across from him, not entirely sure where to start. ]
You shouldn't have come. This town is cursed. It's true I've been here this whole time but it's because no one can escape. The curse holds us here, and there are monsters that come at night. They're not like anything I've ever seen before, and I can't fucking kill them.
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timeasmymeasure
hiiiii ♥
Date: 2023-09-08 09:50 am (UTC)What he finds is- well. Nothing. It's a trail run entirely cold, folks who haven't seen him for as long as Jaskier or sometimes even longer. There are those who sought him as well, some angry "and when you see him...!" messages to remember, and just when Jaskier is really working himself up into a state, he finds a small town just north of Vilnyk, where the residents can tell him exactly where his dear friend has disappeared.
It's not exactly reassuring.
Jaskier isn't stupid. He knows that wandering into a town that seems to swallow up everyone who enters, including Geralt, is a death wish. But he also doesn't really see another choice here. Who in their right mind is going to want to help him rescue a witcher? Who is going to take him seriously, when the stories of Vilnyk have barely spread past it's borders?
So here he is, lute on his back and reluctantly wielding the worlds smallest dagger (gods he hopes he doesn't have to use it) as he treks past the border and towards the town, under the instructions given to him by some townsfolk who were clearly dubious at best about his likelihood of survival.
Only, he's sure he's passed by this fallen tree a couple of times now. Hm. Terribly confusing. Should he have taken the left at the fork in the road, instead of the right?
By the time he stumbles into town, there are only a couple of hours before nightfall, and Jaskier is completely spent. He's so tired he forgets his earlier fear, in fact, and upon finding nothing immediately terrifying about the nearest people to him, he calls out:]
Hello! This is Vilnyk, yes? Because honestly I've been wandering for ages, and I was sort of expecting a creepy ghost town, but you folk seem- in the best way, truly- completely boringly normal, so I'm a little confused--
[The woman he's speaking to drops the bucket she's holding with a loud thunk, a hand flying to her mouth as she cries out in surprise.]
Oh. That's not- sorry, I didn't mean to... startle you...?
[She's already running, informing everyone of a new arrival as she goes, but Jaskier has no idea what's happening or why there's such a commotion building around him.]
Hi :)
Date: 2023-09-08 06:40 pm (UTC)Gods, Geralt hopes that he's imagining it.
Quickly, he's on his feet and opening the door to the little home he's claimed. It's original owners are long gone now, and since they're all trapped here, the townspeople had graciously given him a place to stay, to store his swords. He'd left Roach in the town to the north, he can only hope that she's okay.
Stepping out, Geralt nearly does a double take. He's learned to trust his senses without fail, so he knows that he does truly see Jaskier walking down the the dirt path between houses. ]
Jaskier. [ He makes Jaskier's name into a complete sentence with the way he says it, stepping into Jaskier's path like a piece of punctuatiuon. ] What the fuck are you doing here?
no subject
Date: 2023-09-15 05:43 am (UTC)The townspeople, upon realising he clearly knows Geralt and therefore will have someone to gently (hah!) break the news to him, all begin to back off. Some of the panic abates. He's not their problem, anymore. He's Geralt's.
Jaskier, for his part, makes his relief obvious.]
Oh, you oblivious fucker. You think you can disappear clean off the face of the continent, and your very best friend won't even bat an eyelash?
[He says it sort of like it's a joke, but at the same time he strides forward, grasping at Geralt's arms as if to reassure himself that he's solid and present and actually there.]
Where the fuck have you been, Geralt? Here, the whole time? Because no offense, but this doesn't exactly look like Witcher work central.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-15 05:25 pm (UTC)[ He's been so thankful that he and Jaskier had been separated when he heard about this curse and found out what was truly going on here. He'd been so relieved that Jaskier wouldn't be in danger, but now, here he is. ]
Come with me, [ he says in a low voice, tugging Jaskier into the house he's been staying at. Once he gets Jaskier settled on a chair, he sits across from him, not entirely sure where to start. ]
You shouldn't have come. This town is cursed. It's true I've been here this whole time but it's because no one can escape. The curse holds us here, and there are monsters that come at night. They're not like anything I've ever seen before, and I can't fucking kill them.