The jailer pushed the iron door of the cell open with an effort. The door grated on its hinges and revealed a big cell, poorly illuminated. The place stunk. There were several men, sitting or lying on the floor in different degrees of neglect and filth.
“There you have them,” said the jailer. “Knock yourself out.”
The lady didn´t answer him. She advanced hesitantly into the cell, followed by her escort: two heavily built men, probably her bodyguards. Her exquisite dress betrayed her noble status and it was completely out of place in this grubby dungeon. The stench made her immediately put a gloved hand over her nose. She looked over the place and spotted a white haired man huddled against one of the walls. She approached him slowly and could see that his wrists were shackled and fixed to the wall with a length of chain. His long white hair covered his face.
“Hello,” she said softly. He didn´t react.
She squatted in front of him, soiling her dress. With her trembling gloved hand, she took him by the chin and lifted his face towards her. Two impassive yellow eyes looked at her. She could see that he was in pain. There were cuts and bruises in his face and arms, and probably in other parts of his body as well. She sighed, almost smiling. She had found him. But she had to make sure it was the one she was looking for.
“What is your name?” she asked him.
He lowered his eyes and remained silent. The jailer came closer and kicked him brutally on the side. He responded with a barely audible groan and grabbed the wall with his bound hands.
“Stop it!” yelled the lady to the jailer.
“I was just trying to help with your interrogation,” shrugged his shoulders the jailer. “He is a mutant, he doesn´t respond to kindness, you see? If you want an answer from this piece of scum, you have to beat him half dead to get it, that´s how he likes it.”
“You have helped enough. Get out,” she said furiously.
“I don´t understand what you want with this deviant son of a whore,” went on the jailer, unconcerned with her anger. “If you ask me, I would have hanged him or burnt him on the stake long ago, but whoever put him here thought it would be better for him to just rot away alive.”
“I said, get out!” she growled. “I no longer require your services.”
The jailer shrugged and left, wishing secretly that the prisoner would bite her neck to death there and then. That woman had no idea what type of degenerate he was.
She turned her attention back to the prisoner:
“I can take you out of here,” she whispered to him. “You just need to tell me your name.”
The man lifted his head, swallowed and answered reluctantly:
“Geralt. Geralt of Rivia.”
She nodded and stood up.
“It´s him,” she said to her escort. “Take him to the carriage and prepare him for transport.”
The two men busied themselves with taking the chain off the wall. They didn’t unshackle his hands, though. They helped him to stand up. He was so weak that he couldn´t even walk and had to be dragged out of the cell by the two bodyguards. Nobody tried to stop them or question them. Geralt wondered who this woman was, that could so easily free him without opposition from the castellan. That is, if she was freeing him.
When they reached the street, which was unbearably bright for Geralt after months of being buried in that dungeon, the two men helped him inside a rich carriage, still bound, and put a cloth bag on his head. He didn´t protest. He was more curious than worried.
He heard the horses being prompted to advance and the carriage started moving along the street. They hadn´t travelled long, when Geralt felt his skin prickle unpleasantly. He then felt hollow for a moment and a bit nauseated. Thankfully, the sensation passed quickly. The hood he had on his head could not hide from him the clear fact that they had just gone through a magical portal. The woman had to be a sorceress. That explained a lot, but not everything.
The carriage stopped suddenly and Geralt could hear that the driver was having a hard time trying to calm down the horses. Someone opened the carriage door and the two men helped Geralt out. The sorceress took the hood out of his head. He looked around and saw an astonishing garden surrounded by the galleries of a huge and rich palace.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” said the woman to Geralt. “They will all be answered,” she promised.
He remained silent, his yellow uncanny eyes studying her closely. She lowered her eyes and caught sight of the lacerations in his wrists showing under the shackles.
“Clean him up,” she ordered to her guards. “I will send a healer to his room to tend to his wounds. And for Melitele´s sake, take those hideous shackles off him.”
The guards bowed and took Geralt away. The lady turned with a sigh and called one of his servants:
“Paul, get him some clean clothes, black, he´ll like black. When he is ready, bring him to dinner.”
“Yes, my lady,” bowed Paul.
Thank you for reading!
PART 1: MY NAME IS GERALT OF RIVIA
Very interesting start. Gerald is found by a sorceress inside a dungeon and is freed. He has been locked away for a while and has been mishandled. The chapter is very well written, hardly any spelling or grammatical mistakes, the imagery is vivid and one wants to continue reading. Very, very good
PART 2: I DON´T RESPOND TO KINDNESS
This is excellent - the chapter reveals only so much information to keep one hooked, but doesn't reveal too much. Gerald has been newly clothed and has been invited by the sorceress to dine. They exchange a few words, but it remainsunclear what she wants from hum yet. Very well written!!
Okay, I'm hooked. Gerald gets his new servant Paul to show him around his new "prison", as he calls it. It becomes clear that he has no way of escaping. The story flows, it's entertaining and even though there isn't a cliffhanger this time, it's too alluring to stop reading - on to the next chapter!
Gerald is armed and deadly! Determined despite the pain he's in, he walks around his new environment and his temper even momentarily flares. This chapter ends on a cliffhanger and is, yet again, extremely well written. The pace slowed slightly, but it tickles you to carry on reading
PART 5: TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT FROM ME
I hadn't seen that coming. Gerald confronts the sorceress and is forced to acknowledge her superiority. The ending quite surprised me, but the chapter is once again excellently written: the language, the descriptions, the added seductiveness of the sorceress - a story really worth reading.
PART 6: LET ME GO OR CHAIN ME IN YOUR DUNGEON
I realize I've been spelling Geralt in my native language - sorry about that! This chapter increased the speed of the story. Geralt has been given a possible mission, one that he doesn't seem to want to accept. Finally, the adventure is about to start...
Uff. Quite a lot to remember - Geralt is on his way to a new adventure and is attacked by strange beings, rescued and then introduced to too many people at once. It gets a bit confusoing because there are so many new characters and some minor characters seempretty flat. This chapter was weaker
And here is the writing I so liked about this story again! It's back to fast pacing, describing a new problem and Geralt riding off into a new adventure with his new friend. There's some exposition, but it's introduced well and the story remains exciting again. I really like this story and author!
An ambush! The story continues to intrigue. Geralt and his female companion ride into a destroyed village and come across the seeminly sole survivor. At his signal, men surround Geralt and take him prisoner. The writing is excellent, the pace and chosen words perfectly timed- it's a really good tale
Geralt is tied up and accused of having sinister plans. Later on, he is rescued by a mysterious woman, whom he identifies from his past. I personally would have liked to have had this part written more descriptively, but the action was there, the spelling and grammar are flawless - very impressive
PART 11: PEOPLE LINKED BY DESTINY WILL ALWAYS FIND EACH OTHER
Nice reveal - Geralt has a conversation with the woman he was supposed to have rescued. He does not receive the answers to his questions, but is rescued and tries to join his previous friend, only to be turned away. One feels for Geralt, but is also intrigued as to the ulterior motives acting here
The pace is picking up and finally some puzzle pieces have fallen into place! Geralt has almost reached the end of his adventure and one smells a fulminating showdown. Excellently written, Geralt's portrayal is convincing and the climax of the story is around the corner. What a pity the story's over
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