Chapter Text
Humming.
That was the first thing Eskel had heard as he came through the large farm grounds.
Soft, yet melodic humming from a distance. He couldn't point out what song it was but it was familiar.
It was a clear day, clearer than anything he'd seen in a long time. He walked through the opened gates and saw three laundresses doing their morning work outside. This kind of serenity had made him uneasy. However, he noticed that a carriage was parked outside the large mansion that he now stood in front of. He held the contract in his hand and sported his usual grimace as he approached the front door. Before he had a chance to knock the door was swung open by a large, old maid. Her eyes flew wide as she looked at Eskel. He knew it wasn't for the medallion around his neck. No. It was the three jagged scars that took up most of his face. The maid's face nearly paled but soon enough a well-dressed man was coming up from behind her.
"Margot, I am simply running late--oh!" The man stopped right in his tracks.
The maid, Margot, turned her head to the man and nodded. They exchanged nervous looks and Eskel sighed before unrolling the pamphlet in his hand. The maid was the first to inspect it but rolled her eyes at the cursive writing. The well-dressed man fixed his spectacles and observed the sheet. Eskel observed the man to be in his late fifties by the wrinkles on his face. The man also grew a large (nicely trimmed) beard. His suit could easily pay for a month of food by Eskel's observation.
"Ah! A Witcher! I was wondering when that contract would be answered! How do you do? I am Thomas Bucksley."
Thomas stuck his hand out and Eskel didn't shake it but merely looked at it. A foreign sign to him. He wasn't used to humans being polite--or courteous to a Witcher. Thomas took back his hand, turning to Margot, he handed her his luggage in his other hand.
"Come with me, master Witcher."
Thomas motioned to Eskel to follow as he strode out the front door. Margot followed behind--at a distance from Eskel.
"I was told you had a drowner problem on your residence?" Eskel nearly muttered.
Lord Bucksley didn't stop before his carriage driver opened the door to the carriage for him. Thomas swept into the cart with ease.
"Yes, yes. My daughter, Viana, can tell you everything. She has your payment as well. She resides in the back of the mansion in her green-house."
"Hey, I never agreed to talk to your-" Eskel said a minute too late.
The carriage door had slammed shut, silencing any questions or demands Eskel had. With a quick yank on the reigns, Eskel's employer took off into the country side. He stifled his groan of anger and turned to where the maid was fixing her apron. She nearly jumped once she noticed his agitated eyes had landed on hers.
"I-I will show you to Lady Viana's g-greenhouse." She stumbled over her words.
Eskel followed behind the large woman as she wove him around the side of the house. From the western side of the house was stables that horses neighed in. A stable master stood inside and nearly froze once he got a good look at the lumbering Witcher. Did his eyes go to the swords on his back first? They nearly gleamed from the sun above him. As they reared around he could see more buildings appear in the distance. A farmhouse that was large enough to keep more than one cow inside, a chicken coop from the far eastern side and then the actual field which was more of a vineyard. The trees bloomed with white and red petals that stretched far into the country side.
It made him wonder where these drowners were actually hiding? Finally, the maid stopped and pointed to a small greenhouse just on the outskirts of the house. It was a small, secluded shack but nonetheless it was large enough to hold a small garden of plants.
"Lady Viana is in there. I would travel with you but the beasts linger just a little bit far into the woods."
"Is that your only excuse?" He inquired.
The maid's face paled and in a blink of an eye she was already high-tailing back into the large manor. He let out a grunt before making his way through the vineyard. He hadn't taken on a job this lucrative in a long time. The notice had only been posted for a week when he'd come to this small town. But still, what kind of nobility did these people belong to have such luxury? Half-way through his walk toward the green house he began to hear the humming again. He listened and saw that there was movement within the small greenhouse. Indeed. The noble's daughter was in there.
He nearly enjoyed the sound of the lazy humming before an explosion sounded within the building.
Eskel immediately ran up to the door, flung it open, and let the smoke disperse from the building. He could see no flames but only heard coughing coming from within. He pressed in and moved through large shelves full of books and plants.
"Shit!" He heard a woman's voice hiss.
He wove through the maze of bookcases and desks before turning a corner to find one woman at a desk. The smoke, which was being fanned away by a hand, had come from an alchemy station that had reeked of one too many chemicals. His eyes lifted to where the hand waved the smoke. The woman before him, who he could only assume as Lady Viana, was the Lord’s daughter.
She was dressed in a wool dress that hugged and curved her curvaceous waistline. She was slim but not slim enough to prove that she didn't eat. The dress was layered in heaps of wool. The first color was an off white that cascaded down to her feet. It held a square neckline with elbow-length sleeves that were trimmed with lace. Over the large dress was a blue apron that was stained with different colors. Eskel had guessed it was from her experiments.
From her chest up, she revealed to be a woman that was in her late twenties, with a strong jawline and perfect plump lips. Brown hair had been swept up into a loose bun at the top of her head, letting two wisps of hair hug her tight cheek bones. Her nose was sloped into a straight, narrow line. And then above her nose were mesmerizing green eyes. The kind of color that you'd find grass to be on the first day of spring.
Viana nearly jumped from his lumbering presence in the greenhouse.
"Oh! I've been expecting you! Wonderful!" She said bringing her hands together.
Eskel didn’t say anything but simply waited for her to give him his orders and where to go slay the beasts. But by the look of this woman, she wasn’t that cut and dry.
"My name is Viana. And you are?” She asked, her large green eyes twinkling.
Did he want to go to the lengths to do introductions? He wanted to be in and out of this place faster than he came through the gates. Eskel rolled his shoulders back and fixed his posture. Viana unlaced her gloves and placed them on the desk that separated them.
“Witcher.” He stated.
Viana’s smile faltered slightly and she nodded. Silence started to cut between them. Eskel could hear her heart race kick up a notch. Did he make her nervous? Was it his demeanor that made her heart jump? Or did the rumors of terrifying Witchers scare her for him?
“My father sent you?” Viana finally asked.
"As he ran for his carriage outside the house. Could barely get a word in before he had slammed the door in my face.”
"Yes. My father tends to be like that. He's a man on a tight schedule. But, I doubt you came here to hear my ramblings.”
Viana kept her gaze pinned on his yellow eyes but soon enough they dropped to the necklace around his neck. Her eyebrows hunched together and she tilted her head at the medallion.
"What school did you come from?"
"School of Wolf." He answered quickly.
Viana smoothed her apron at her waist. A nervous habit from what Eskel gathered. It managed to slow her heart race to a minimal amount.
"The drowner problem has become quite an issue." She said tucking a stray hair behind her ear.
"Yeah. When did these drowners show up?"
Viana pursed her lips in thought.
"A nearly two months ago. We had hunters take out the first set but they seem to keep coming back."
"Where can I find them?"
"Just beyond these woods at the lake we have."
"Have they hurt or touched anything?"
"Just my garden. Damn creatures make it nearly impossible to go harvest my herbs."
By the sound of it, it had to be a nest. There couldn't be anything else that proved it to be otherwise.
"I'll take care of it but let's talk about my pay."
Viana turned to the desk behind her and tossed a large coin satchel on the desk between them. Eskel's eyes could have popped out of his head by the fatness of the bag.
"I trust that this is more than enough, yes?"
"Plenty."
Before he could walk out of the greenhouse Viana called after him.
"Master Witcher?" She asked politely.
Eskel turned with raised eyebrows.
"Once you've ridden the lake of it's beasts I was hoping you could bring me a drowner corpse."
Eskel's brows furrowed. "What do you need the corpse for?"
"I'm needed a particular ingredient for my formula. I suspect that a drowner body has the alchemical ingredient I require."
"Such as?"
"Aren't Witchers supposed to be less nosy?” Viana asked.
"Aren't noble ladies supposed to be married off?” He retorted.
Viana huffed. "I need to drain it's head for cerebral fluids. Then, I must drain it's spine for it’s fluids as well. I have to run comparison tests based on what kind of levels—“
Eskel cut her off. "Don't you just want the head?"
Viana’s eyes nearly burst out of her skull. "Of course not! If you remove the head from the body the cerebral fluid could leak out. I shan't take just a head."
Eskel sighed. "This is really out of my work pay."
“I can pay you more. I would appreciate it greatly.” Viana gave a warm smile.
They stared each other down for a moment. Eskel looked back to the coin purse on the desk and then back to the door. This was the easiest job around and the pay was too good to walk away from. But still, even if he could walk away from this job there was something…odd about Viana. Sure, she was an alchemist but by her greenhouse she was deeply invested in her work. Whatever she needed a drowner corpse for must be big.
Eskel put his hand out between the two of them. Viana’s eyes shot to his hand and then back to his eyes.
“Deal.”
Viana smiled again. “Deal.” And she took his hand in hers.