After learning the whereabouts of a katakan's tongue from Old Graz, Witt and Geralt declined the old mage's invitation to rest another night and prepared to leave Ban Ard.
Witt walked along the roads of the academy district, where many mages were leading their apprentices in using magic to rebuild the ruined buildings. It seemed a scene of thriving prosperity.
But when he reached the commoners' district, what he saw was entirely different. Many people had been displaced, and some had even spent a sleepless night in homes that had already burned to ashes. Scorch marks were everywhere, and wails and sobs filled the air.
Witt glanced back. Geralt patted his shoulder without saying anything, nor was there any need to. The two left Ban Ard through the main gate. The soldier who had originally guarded it was still nowhere to be seen.
"How far is Ard Carraigh from here?" Witt asked.
"Much farther than it is from Kaer Morhen to Ban Ard. If we just follow the river, it'll take seven or eight days at least."
"Then why don't we find a merchant ship to take us there?" Witt pointed to the ships moored outside Ban Ard.
Geralt stroked Roach's mane, which had been dried out somewhat by the fire, and said, "Roach doesn't like boats. Every time I want to take one, she gets restless."
Witt thought for a moment. Unwilling to frighten the horse again when the fire had already left her so shaken, he nodded. "Then let's go overland. We can look for signs of Foglets along the way."
Geralt was about to reply when a piercing neigh interrupted him.
"Neighhh..."
The two looked toward the sound. A fine black horse burst from the dense woods beside the road, her coat glossy and sleek, her mane streaming in the wind. Her hoofbeats were like brisk drumbeats, short and powerful.
The horse galloped toward Witt, stirring up a gust that shook the fallen leaves from her body. She effortlessly snapped the branches blocking her path and sent dust flying.
Witt smiled at the black horse charging straight toward him and raised a hand to stop Geralt, who had taken a fighting stance. He knew this horse. She was the very one Anseis had given him.
The galloping black horse gradually slowed, finally stopping in front of Witt. Her breathing was a little quick, her chest heaving slightly. She looked at Witt with joy and excitement in her eyes, tapped her hooves haphazardly against the ground a few times, then affectionately lowered her head toward the witcher, nuzzling his face and puffing warm air from her nostrils.
Witt happily hugged the black horse's neck and smoothed her mane, which had become a little disheveled from running. "Good buddy, you haven't left yet." When Witt had let the black horse go, he had never expected her to return.
Geralt looked at the fine horse's powerful muscles and graceful lines and smiled. "Witt, where did you get this black horse? With a physique like that, she'd be more than capable of serving as a warhorse charging into battle."
As he spoke, he could not help stroking her glossy, sleek back, prompting the perceptive Roach to tug at her reins a few times in displeasure.
So Witt told Geralt about leaving the city to search for the succubus and meeting Anseis by chance. He did not conceal Anseis's true identity as the prince of Lyria and Rivia.
Hearing this, Geralt burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! That's what you get for copying me and giving yourself a title. Got caught out, didn't you? Hahahaha!"
"What are you laughing at? Geralt, you'd have been embarrassed too if you'd met him!"
Now that both had horses of their own, they decided to ride to Ard Carraigh.
Although this was already his second time riding a horse, Witt still felt a trace of nervousness and leaned forward over her back.
Fortunately, the black horse seemed to understand people. Rather than becoming impatient with her owner's nervousness and incorrect posture, she slowly walked forward, letting Witt gradually grow accustomed to riding and sit upright.
Riding Roach beside him, Geralt shook his head enviously. "Witt, you've found yourself a good horse. Let me see... she's a mare too, just like Roach. Give her a nice name."
Witt frowned in thought for a moment. He had never been good at naming things. Suddenly, inspiration struck, and he thought of a good name. "Let's call her Grape," he said with a smile.
Geralt asked in puzzlement, "Why that name?"
"How should I put it..." Witt searched for an excuse. Stroking Grape's glossy black coat, he made something up. "Don't you think her coat feels like black grapes, delicious and juicy?"
Geralt gave him a look that seemed to say, "What the hell are you talking about?" and said, "As long as you're happy."
Witt smiled and patted Grape's neck. "Grape, do you like that name?"
Grape expressed her fondness with a piercing "Neighhh!"
"See? She likes it." Witt looked at Geralt in delighted surprise.
Geralt spread his hands as he looked at Witt's bright, boyish smile. "Suit yourself." Then he lightly patted Roach's rump. "Come on, Roach."
Watching Roach and Geralt race ahead, Witt refused to be outdone. "Come on, Grape. Don't let them underestimate you!"
"Neighhh!"
The two riders and their horses galloped south toward Ard Carraigh, following the river as its waters grew clearer and crossing lush green grass.
Along the way, they searched for signs of Foglets and made several detours to villages in search of contracts, but ultimately found nothing. Geralt decided not to waste any more time and to head straight to Ard Carraigh to buy a Foglet's brain and a katakan's tongue.
On the night of the fifth day after leaving Ban Ard, they finally saw Ard Carraigh, the capital of the Kingdom of Kaedwen, in the distance.
Because Ard Carraigh had a tradition of discriminating against nonhumans even more than other Kaedwen cities, they decided not to enter the city that night and instead to stay in a village outside it.
Most of the villagers were people who had come from elsewhere to work in Ard Carraigh. Unable to afford the city's expensive cost of living, they had gathered outside its walls, forming a village over time.
So, although they still regarded the two witchers, fellow outsiders, with fear and wariness, at least they did not drive them straight out of the village.
The two tethered their horses, entered the village tavern, ordered a few servings of ordinary hot food, and ate quietly, using their keen hearing to search for useful information among the villagers' whispered conversations.
"Hey, you haven't heard? Something big's happened in the city lately!" The conversation between a pair of half-drunk men in a corner caught Geralt and Witt's attention.
They exchanged a glance, focused their attention on that corner, and waited. Soon, they heard the information they wanted.
"You're telling me! I heard monsters have been coming out of the sewers and eating people lately!"
"Monsters, my arse! Those things were clearly made by the gentlemen in the inner city. They oppose magic and reject nonhumans in public, but who knows what strange experiments they're actually conducting? Otherwise, why would those things only cause trouble in the city's slums?" The man replying had some knowledge, at least.
"Really? Isn't that 'Pig' doing anything about it?"
"Of course it's true! My older brother works as a clerk at a bank in the inner city. He told me himself! Hmph, maybe King 'Pig' is conducting those experiments himself. Why else would he lick the boots of that witch called Sa-something? Isn't he just hoping for a second youth?"
"That's fucking disgusting!" the other drunk cursed under his breath, then took a great gulp of his drink.