WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

[abraxasmods]

WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

Welcome to The Free Cities! The portal exits outside the capital city of Cadens. The first impression of the city is its sheer size. It sprawls out across the landscape like a great hulking beast at rest. The wall that encircles it barely contains it, the buildings of Cadens practically bulging against its restraint.

The air here seems thicker somehow, tinged with a scent that’s acrid and smoky. Smog hangs high over the city, belched out by smokestacks that tower over the industrial district. The desert stretches out behind it, dotted with towers and dust clouds that disappear into the horizon. Multiple gates lead inside and each is staffed by soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms that wave a steady stream of people through without appearing to pay much attention. People are coming and going almost all of the time, to and from the outposts and areas of activity around the city proper. It’s difficult to tell just what’s out there beyond the impression of tall metal structures and a great deal of labor. Wagons carrying travelers to Libertas and Aquila roll out from the Travel Post outside the city wall.

Anyone who can sense magic will notice a much lower concentration here. No one will be stopped or questioned at the gate, even if the soldiers seem to take note of the fugitives from Thorne.

The activity and sheer number of citizens can be overwhelming. It’s crowded and loud and feels constantly in motion with everyone talking and yelling over each other. It’s easy to get swept up in the ever-moving throng or find oneself ducking into the mouth of a narrow alley just to breathe.

Anyone who’s willing to make their way to the northern part of the city and Portham Hall will find Prime Minister Marlo Reiner available to receive them.

Comments

[wiedzminka]

You were pulled inside it.

[ This part sounds familiar, but no less surprising even now that she's learned more about this sphere (though not much more about the Singularity itself, not yet). Ciri didn't know that it was called the Horizon, but someone did speak of this phenomenon with her. ]

There was another prisoner who spoke of something like that. An elf.

He told me that inside the Singularity was some sort of spiritual plane, and that upon entering it, one's body is as though frozen in time. While inside, he mentioned that even fatal blows were not so permanent.

But--

[ She frowns at Geralt, trying to understand. All this had seemed important to know for visiting the Singularity, but the way Geralt is bringing it up now as though it's an option to be able to speak to each other has her confused. ]

I thought one had to go to the Singularity in order to... enter, as you say. Isn't the Singularity itself the portal?

[gynvael]

[ His head cocks to the side, momentarily distracted by placing the elf. Only one elf in the dungeons. He thinks he knows who she's referring to, but it isn't important at the moment. He puts it aside. ]

It is. Those who've entered become a conduit. Of a sort. [ A proxy. How, he doesn't know. He only knows that it works, that he can take someone else in solely through physical contact, and that once inside they will lose their memories as they all have. ]

As far as I'm aware, the connection can't be broken once made. And I can't tell you what it'll mean, should it be severed. Or the Singularity itself destroyed.

[ Relena seemed to believe there'd be dire circumstances—enough that she's taken to entering at regular intervals, to make sure it remains intact. Whether that's true is another matter. He and Jaskier have both been connected against their will. Ciri has a choice. He'll let her make it, but it all leaves him uneasy. The idea of her stepping into something neither of them fully understand.

Some part of him wonders if maybe she understands more than he does, though. With all that she's learned of her powers and the Continent in the ten years since. ]

[wiedzminka]

[ Unfortunately, Ciri doesn't actually know any more than he does -- and perhaps even less, in fact. She frowns thoughtfully, brows furrowed as she considers what Geralt is saying, what he is offering. A choice.

From her understanding and the brief conversation with her fellow prisoner, Ciri has gathered the others were brought to the Singularity -- likely as some sort of experiment thanks to Thorne's mages -- and putting together what Geralt says now, it seems that connection had been established for them. Now, Geralt is offering to connect her to this same space, whatever it is, that is part of the Singularity. A place they can go, where they can theoretically meet with Yennefer regardless of the distance (that is, if Yennefer also finds her way there, but considering she is in Thorne, it seems quite likely).

She hesitates. Too much is unknown. ]

So you can... bring me into it? And it is a place only we can access?

[gynvael]

[ Geralt is watching her, trying to gauge what conclusions she might be drawing. It's a lot. It isn't a decision to be undertaken lightly. He doesn't like not knowing. Geralt is not a man who excessively prepares, but he does know, usually, what in the hell he's stepping into and how to deal with it. Everything here, since they've been pulled out of that well, has been unchartered territory.

He's growing tired of riding blind. Especially now that Ciri is looking to him for answers. There should be more he can offer her, more he can give—but there isn't. ]

Thorne claims venturing too close to the Singularity will tear them apart. I believe them. [ Their fear had been real; Relena's description of the man bursting when he couldn't contain her connection within himself—that's real, too. ] The first time you enter, you will not have your memories. I'll be with you, but... [ He hesitates, aware of the implications: that he'd also lost himself once, not too long ago. ] I don't suggest lingering.

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri's uncertain look deepens. She blinks, taken aback by Geralt's warning, confused by it. ]

...no memories? [ Clearly, Geralt has experienced this, from what he's said and implied about his own venture into this Horizon. Ciri asks: ] I'm having trouble imagining -- what is it like?

[gynvael]

[ What is it like. The question is expected, but it leaves him both uncertain of how to answer and almost unwilling to. If he'd been a completely different person, it might've been easier. He hadn't. He'd simply—

Wanted. The things that were not his to want, because he remembered nothing that would tell him otherwise. ]

You are without your past.

[ What will that mean in particular for her? He intends to stay with her, to make sure she doesn't lose herself for as long as the rest of them had. They'd been in there for two weeks or more. And somehow, it'd felt as though he lived an entire lifetime. ]

[wiedzminka]

[ That doesn't... really answer her question. But at the same time, it seems that's as much answer as Geralt is able to give. It seems the sort of thing that's as difficult to explain as it is to imagine.

Ciri swallows, hesitating a moment, before she finally nods. She trusts Geralt. If he's bringing it up, offering the option, after taking it himself-- it is probably worth it. To be able to access something the native people (especially Thorne) cannot. To be able to, potentially, speak with Yennefer. ]

How do I enter?

[gynvael]

[ While she considers, he waits. Is he hoping she turns him down? Might be. It'd make things simpler. She would still have the option should she change her mind later.

He senses she'll want it, though. He's right. His expression is heavy, but he nods. They'll go. ]

When I brought another in, only physical contact was required after I entered. To return, you'll need undisturbed concentration.

[ Which, if he's taught her, she should know how to do. He tips his head for her to follow him back out of the alley they've tucked into. If they'll be doing this, he wants to return to the inn, where the doors can be locked. He leads through the overflowing streets, answers what questions she has remaining. Despite having tried this with another already, it's still too much like toying with a power neither of them understand. But it is a tool, too. One they can use. He might not be keen to fuck with what he can't fully grasp, but he gets the value of a calculated risk.

He takes them upstairs when they return to their room and shuts the door. Seats himself on the floor. He looks at Ciri. ] I'll be right alongside you.

(( narrator: he was not right alongside her at all. ))