Ron and Geralt stepped out of the apartment. The door hinges creaked shut behind them. After walking a few steps, Ron spoke first.
"Was the information Tamara gave you any help?"
Geralt shook his head. "No. It wasn't much different from what I already knew."
"What are you planning next?"
"The elven ruins." Geralt did not beat around the bush.
"Keira mentioned that mysterious mage left something in the ruins, possibly for Ciri. I need to go in and take a look. Keira plans to go too."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Possibly." Geralt paused. "The Wild Hunt. They're looking for Ciri."
The two fell silent for a while.
"Then I'm coming too. Keira can't come to harm." Ron hung his greatsword at his horse's side and turned to Geralt.
"She's Calradia's sorceress adviser. Gretka's lessons have only just begun, and the improved enhancement potion still depends on her. If anything happens to her, everything we've set up will be ruined."
Geralt did not object. "I need to move quickly. When can you leave?"
Ron did not answer right away. He merely raised his head and looked toward the distant spired buildings. "We'll leave as soon as we return to the estate," he said.
Toward evening, Ron and Geralt returned to the estate. The archer atop the watchtower spotted them and called down, and the gates opened amid the dusk.
From afar, they could see soft light spilling from the laboratory windows, with a vague figure moving faintly within the glow.
Keira was bent over a cauldron, adjusting the flames. The revised formula for the enhancement potion was already brewing, and the estate functioned quietly beneath the evening gloom.
The next day, near Midcopse, at the entrance to the ruins, Keira was already waiting when Ron arrived.
Leaning against a vine-covered stone