While travelling through Cidaris, Geralt of Rivia planned to spend some time in countryside
villages where there was ample work opportunities for a witcher.
But after his companion, the poet Dandelion, started a tavern fight with a group of Rangers,
they were arrested, lost all their coin to pay the fine and were forced to flee for fear
of retribution, leaving them to visit the nearby city of Bremervoord, where work was
far more scarce.
In order to sustain themselves, Geralt sold a gold signet, while Dandelion parted with
an alexandrite hair brooch, but at last they made it to the seaside realm and landed a
contract with their ruler Duke Agloval.
Joining him on an expedition to sea, Geralt acted as a translator between the Duke and
his love, the beautiful mermaid Sh’eenaz.
Although they did not speak the same language, they often met on the rocks, saying nothing
but somehow understanding each other and falling in love.
Wanting to move their relationship forward, the Duke was informing her that he spent 2
pounds of pearls on a magic elixir which would allow her to grow legs after only 3 days of
suffering.
But the idea repulsed her and she declines, instead saying she knew a seawitch who could
give him a handsome tail with no pain at all.
With the Duke equally outraged, the Witcher tried to argue it was not the same thing,
because humans can’t breathe underwater, while mermaids can breath air.
But Sheenaz (Shee-naz) would not hear it and accused Agloval of being selfish, saying love
demands sacrifice, and that for her to have his children he must grow a tail and become
a spawner so she can deposit her eggs.
With neither side giving in, the mermaid lost her temper and told the Duke to dry up before
departing, which Geralt translated as “go drown yourself.”
Refusing to let her go, the Duke ordered his men to capture her by force, but Geralt warned
them she was not alone, and a Kraken may be underneath them.
Blaming the Witcher for their failure, the Duke refused to pay his wage, and so that
evening both Geralt and Dandelion were looking at another night of hunger.
Fortunately, the Spice Merchant and Dean of the local guild Teleri Drouhard recognized
the poet, and asked him to play as the second bard for his daughter’s betrothal party.
Outraged that he would be a second to anyone, Dandelion was about to refuse, but Geralt
asked him to make a little sacrifice, and in exchange he would stop refusing witcher
contracts out of principle and take the next one offered.
Arriving at the party, they heard the voice of the other singer, Miss Essi Daven, a long-time
friend of Dandelion he viewed as a little sister, who was nicknamed Little Eye, because
of her beautiful starry blue eyes.
After being introduced to the witcher, Agloval arrived and so Essi tried to start a conversation
by mentioning the rumors surrounding the duke and his mermaid lover.
But Geralt was sensitive to this sort of gossip, as his relationship with Yennefer became a
source of conversation for many across the continent, and so he lashed out and offended
the bard to the point she walked away from them, leaving Geralt feeling embarrassed and
guilty.
Duke Agloval then approached wanting to hire the Witcher once more, this time to investigate
the disappearance of 7 sailors in an area called the dragon’s fangs.
Since the ship was found intact, but covered in blood, they suspected a sea monster, and
as a result their people were refusing to leave the harbour, hurting trade and the duke’s
pearl diving business.
Despite not being paid for the last job, the Witcher remembered his promise to Dandelion
and accepted the contract.
Turning their attention to the party, Dandelion performed and flirted with girls, while Geralt
ate as much as he could, watching Essi from the corner of his eye.
After she finished singing, she appeared to snidely dismiss a man who approached her,
embarrassing him with her words.
Given his history with women, and Yennefer in particular, Geralt had a deeply cynical
view on love and intimacy, and so started to form an idea in his mind about the type
of girl Essi was, and when she slipped out of the room onto a terrace, he followed to
apologize for his earlier comments.
Accepting his apology, they briefly spoke about her love for the sea and Geralt started
to sense that she was interested in him, seeming to confirm his suspicions that she was curious
about him and what it would be like to lay with a mutant.
Believing she would therefore be easy to get into bed, he suddenly grabbed her by the waist,
pulled her close and went for a kiss.
At first she was startled and hesitant, but ultimately gave in for a moment, before extracting
herself from his arms and turning away.
It was at this moment, Geralt realized he made a mistake.
Instead of seeing curiosity and lust in her eyes, he saw sincerity and confusion.
When she asked why he did that, Geralt felt so ashamed he could not answer.
Trying to lighten the mood, Essi claimed she was not upset and asked him to come inside
so she could sing him a song.
Sharing a room, Geralt and Dandelion spoke later that night, with the poet quickly deducing
that Geralt had acted improper and now regretted it, but consoled him with the fact that if
Essi had truly been upset, she would have punched him in the face.
Dandelion then explained that while the Witcher’s mutations made him different on the outside,
on the inside he was as ordinary and boring as any other human.
To the poet it was clear that the Witcher’s bad experiences with Yennefer, led him to
assume the worst in potential romantic partners, but Essi was special and would not play those
same games.
The Next morning, Essi Daven met Geralt on the shore, wanting to tag along on his investigation
into the sea monster, and to his surprise, the girl was quite knowledgeable on the subject.
Agloval then arrived, soaking wet after waiting three hours for the mermaid who never came.
Unleashing his anger upon the witcher, he yelled and made threats, demanding he finish
his investigation.
Angered by his words, the bard jumped to the Witcher’s defense, claiming she was a friend
to the King of Cidaris and could arrange for the Duke to face public humiliation through
her songs.
When the embarrassed ruler then departed, Essi expressed her admiration for the White
Wolf, but he tried to dissuade her of any poetic notions, saying he was a cold killer
who hunted monsters and followed a code, regardless of the moral implications.
She in turn made it clear that wasn’t true and hinted she knew about his tumultuous relationship
with Yennefer.
The mermaid Sh’eenaz then arrived, furious to learn her Duke left after only 3 hours
of waiting, further proof he was unwilling to sacrifice.
Turning her eye to Essi, she asked if this was the witcher’s beloved, but he quickly
denied it, stating they barely know each other.
Essi then revealed she spoke the Mermaid language, introducing herself and later expressed annoyance
with Geralt how he described their relationship.
Asking about the attack against the sailors, Sheenaz merely said they must stay away from
that area of the sea before disappearing beneath the waves.
Undeterred, the Witcher was joined by Dandelion during on his mission to visit the Dragon’s
Fangs, with the poet spending his time searching for pearls among the seashells, hoping to
find a present for Essi’s upcoming birthday.
Arriving at their destination, they found an underwater stairway, possibly leading to
the fabled city of Ys, home of the fishpeople.
Hearing an underwater bell, the Witcher was then attacked by fishperson wielding a sword.
After an intense fight in which Geralt nearly died so Dandelion could escape, the mermaid
Sheenaz intervened and held back the attack long enough for Geralt to flee.
After tending to his wounds and listening to the story, Essi found the blue shell with
a rotting mulsuc inside which Dandelion picked up for her, but he was so embarrassed by it
he declared Geralt found it for her before quickly departing.
The witcher apologized and tried to take it away, but she would not give it up, and instead
opened it to clean out the contents, only for a beautiful blue pearl fell out of the
shell.
Though she immediately wanted to give it back to them, Geralt insisted she keep it as the
gift they intended.
Unfortunately, Essi misread the situation and threw herself at his lips, only to be
coldly rejected with a kiss on the cheek.
Though disappointed, she could no longer hold back her feelings and confessed she was completely
in love with him, comparing her feelings to a magical enchantment.
Knowing his romantic history, she expressed hatred for Yennefer, as it was her fault he
was not able to return her feelings, but to all this Geralt stayed silent, knowing that
was she said was true, as he was in love with the sorceress, and always would be.
He then came to the realization that this must be how Yennefer felt when she was with
the witcher.
That just like Geralt was not capable of returning Essi’s feelings, Yennefer was incapable
of returning what he felt, and so rather than hate her, he should appreciate that she made
a small sacrifice by allowing him into her life.
When Essi stopped talking and cried in silence, he wanted to hug and kiss her, even lay with
her if necessary, a small sacrifice to calm her down, but instead he suggested she take
the blue pearl and set in a silver flower, to wear on a chain around her neck, much like
his wolfs medallion.
She liked the idea, as it was the jewel she was given instead of love and so might bring
her luck.
The next day, Geralt met with Agloval and warned them that that the Fishpeople attacked
the sailors because they were defending the entrance to an underwater city.
Since this did not solve his problems, the Duke determined this another unsatisfactory
result and again refused to pay the Witcher’s wage.
He then stated armed guards would now accompany those who made their living from the sea,
effectively declaring war against the Fishpeople and even offered the White Wolf a high ranking
position in his army.
Refusing the position, Agloval began with the insults, only for an outraged Essi to
once again leap to the Witcher’s defense, claiming he was a better man than the Duke,
and so could not be bought or offered a job beneath his dignity.
She then issued a final warning that the sea was large, mysterious, dangerous and not a
place for humans.
But Agloval disagreed, saying that regardless of how many years or generations it took,
humans would conquer the seas and extract its wealth, just as they were doing with the
land.
Nothing could stand in the way of their domination over this world, and it was the Witchers who
led the way for this slaughter, by clearing the world of monster’s who threatened them
their expansion and progress.
Yet as they spoke, the doors to the room suddenly flew open and to the astonishment of all,
Sheenaz the mermaid walked in wearing a dress which she lifted to show off her new legs.
Falling to his knees the duke expressed his devotion, and she simply replied by asking
what kind of love would it be if she were not willing to make a little sacrifice.
With the Duke and Mermaid seeming to get their happy ending, Essi, Dandelion and Geralt departed
the city together, enduring tension and awkward silences, until the female poet could contain
herself no longer and confronted the witcher who realized this was the moment to make a
little sacrifice, but still he could not and remained silent.
Having enough of their nonsense Dandellion at last intervened and admonished them both
for acting like fools.
Essi was asking something of Geralt which was clearly impossible, and the Witcher in
turn was refusing to address her feelings at all.
Saying they needed to settle the issue, the poet demanded they speak honestly with each
other, try to empathize, and finally have an intimate night together, if for no other
reason then to get it out of their system.
Dandellion the left to go fishing, and having been thoroughly chastised, Geralt and Essi
held hands and had an Ernest conversation before spending an intimate night together.
The next day they were all in high spirits and prepared a farewell dinner before going
their separate ways.
As they ate, drank and sang together, the three experienced a night of honest happiness,
and as Geralt laid back listening to the beautiful music, the usual thoughts of Yennefer floated
into his mind, but so too did thoughts of Essi, who soon squeezed in beside him and
fell asleep.
Dandelion however, stayed up all night composing a ballad.
This one about a Witcher who fell in love with a poet, forging a bond so strong not
even death could part them.
It was a wonderful song, but it did not describe the truth of what occurred.
It didn’t talk about how after they went their separate ways, Geralt and Essi never
saw each other again.
Nor did he mention that Essi died 4 years later of small pox in Vizima, with Dandelion
carrying her body and digging her grave.
He never even spoke about how she asked to be buried with only 2 of her possessions,
the lute she used to play her songs and the blue pearl from which she was never parted.
Dandelion never changed the song, and neither did he play it for anyone, ever.
Yet as he sang his ballad straight through towards dawn, a vicious hungry werewolf heard
his voice and approached the camp.
Upon seeing it was only Dandelion, he listened for a moment, before continuing on his way.