Chapter 14 - Daisy
*****
"Priscilla!" Zoltan cried as I walked through the door of the Rosemary and Thyme.
"Who?" I asked, taking hold of the tankard Zoltan passed to me as I joined the pair at a table.
"That's who you've been looking for," he explained, gesturing to Geralt, "As I've told him, she's a trobairitz. Quite popular of late. Picture Dandelion with a pair o' tits and you've got the general idea."
"Well, there's an image forever burned into my mind," I muttered.
"Zoltan believes our friend has fallen in love, Ragnar."
I burst into laughter. Geralt grinned but Zoltan gave me a look that brought my laughter to an abrupt halt. "You're not kidding?"
"Who does Dandelion love most?" Zoltan asked.
"Himself," Geralt and I replied in unison.
"Aye, exactly. And in Priscilla, she's his mirror image. He is absolutely head over heels in love with her, lads. I've never seen him like it before. Talks about her more than he talks about himself."
"Shit, must be serious," I only half-joked.
"Even better news is that Priscilla works with a mummer's troupe, called 'Renarde and the Foxen.' Whenever they're in town, she performed nightly at the Kingfisher."
I raised my eyebrows. "Hadn't noticed."
"You were otherwise engaged," Geralt stated, "So we're going to meet there tonight and hopefully make contact. Might have to delay your nightly lovemaking with Triss for a couple of hours."
"Making up for lost time, Ragnar?" Zoltan enquired, a grin on his face. I just waved away his question. I didn't talk about such matters, despite what people might have thought.
With a day to myself, the first time I'd had a day since... White Orchard, Geralt and I agreed to split up, as he was going to continue his search. Without his particular set of skills, unless I ended up just bumping into Dandelion or someone I recognised, there was little I could actually do. I did wonder if Francis Bedlam would know anything, but I didn't particularly want to sit down and discuss anything with him, and I simply had no idea who in Novigrad would know anything.
So I ended up spending most of the day wandering around. Spent some time by the docks. Always loved ships, and while most were merchant vessels, there were a few warships that captured the imagination. Having lived in Skyrim nearly all my life, the chances of travelling by ship was few and far between. There was the one time I travelled to Solstheim, but that was it.
I enjoyed lunch and a couple of tankards at a tavern by the docks, chuckling at all the accents I could hear, as the men who worked on ships were from across the Continent, and there was no missing those who came from Skellige. They were the men who, after a few drinks, generally went looking for a fight.
Returning to the main square, I ended up heading into the Kingfisher by late afternoon, laying back on my bed and reading a book. Triss walked in as it was probably growing dark outside and noticed me, having a little giggle as she immediately took off her coat and lay down next to me. "What are you reading?"
"Novel called the Sword of Destiny. Pretty good, to be honest."
"Still carry around a couple of books when on the road?
I met her eyes and grinned. "Of course. Geralt isn't exactly known as a conversationalist, is he? I made sure I learned how to read and write when I was younger, so at moments like this, I could just pick up a book and pass the time." I put the book down and turned to cuddle her. "Need to head downstairs later. We made a breakthrough. The name Priscilla mean anything to you?"
"No. Should it?"
"She's a performer that Dandelion has apparently fallen in love with."
Triss just smiled and cuddled into me. "We'll head downstairs later then. If Dandelion has fallen in love with her, then she must be special."
We must have drifted off, as I was eventually given a gentle shake, waking up to see Geralt standing over us, telling us he'd been knocking for five minutes before he just tried the knob. "I'm just glad you're both dressed. Priscilla will be on stage in around ten minutes."
Yawning, Triss and I got up and headed downstairs, Zoltan already at a table with drinks for us, though I ordered a little food for Triss and I. There was plenty of noise as the place was as packed as I'd seen it, though Geralt had been right. Triss and I would usually be upstairs doing other things by this time of night.
A beautiful blonde woman appeared from a side door and stepped up onto the stage, the crowd immediately starting to quiet down as she fiddled with her lute before finally looking up and gazing over the crowd. She had the voice of an angel. The entire crowd was spellbound with every word she sang, every strum of her lute. Triss was cuddling into my side within seconds. And, when listening to the words, it was one of Dandelion's ballads about Geralt and Yennefer. My witcher friend rarely showed emotion, but we could all see he missed her as he rested elbows on his thighs, his shoulders lumping, Zoltan patting him on the back.
It was obviously sung for a reason, as once the applause died down, she headed straight for Geralt. They shared whispered words before Priscilla disappeared upstairs. Geralt and Zoltan turned around, gesturing for us to wait. We finished our tankards before Geralt stood up, the rest of us following him upstairs into another room where Priscilla was waiting for us.
She was just as sweet as I thought she would be. No wonder Dandelion fell in love with her, notwithstanding the jokes about seeing himself in her. But from that one song alone, the talent had been obvious. Sitting us down and offering us a drink, once we all had a tankard in hand, she sat down and got straight down to business.
"You're looking for Dandelion, I take it?" We all nodded. "I haven't see him in... a couple of weeks. The last time I saw him, he spoke about a heist. Sigi Reuven's vault."
"And that is?" Geralt wondered, "Who is he?"
"Tall, fat, bald. And very, very intelligent. Not someone to mess with."
"Heard any news about his whereabouts since?" I asked.
"I've asked about him everywhere, or at least with those I can at least trust. Ask the wrong person, and I'd probably end up in whatever hole he's found himself. What I did learn is that he caused quite the ruckus over at Whoreson Junior's lair. Then Whoreson had his men chase him across Novigrad in return."
"You know who this Whoreson Junior is?" Geralt asked Zoltan.