"I am surprised that you even have emotions." Natasha said as by now everyone got a general idea of how Geralt was.
"Right, we need to search this place for the books." Steve didn't want to blame Geralt as he could see how Ciri riled him up. It was the most emotional they had ever seen him. Even Liam didn't expect Geralt to react that way. He was the most calm minded person Liam had ever come across and even in the game, Geralt never reacted that way.
Butterfly affect really did have miraculous changes.
Soon the group spread out, searching through the crumbling huts for anything of value. The remnants of the Crones' twisted domain were as grotesque inside as they were outside. Rotten wooden shelves, decrepit tables covered in dried blood, and strange symbols etched into the walls.
Geralt rummaged through one of the larger huts, pulling aside tattered cloth and overturned furniture. He flipped open a few books filled with indecipherable symbols and discarded them. He was doing more hard work than ever, because he felt guilty for killing the last crone.
And his witcher senses actually paid off. He reached a heavy, dust-covered tome bound in leather. He flipped through the pages, his eyes narrowing as he read the faded inscriptions.
"This might be something," he muttered, showing it to Liam. The younger man took the book, scanning the old elvish writings carefully. The elvish writings made Liam's eyes shine. Not because it contained vast information, but he could read them. There were very few elvish writings in the world of Norse mythology which didn't match with his knowledge of elves, but Celebrimbor's knowledge came into full swing when it came to the magic of this world.
He was surprised that these elves who shouldn't have any resemblance with each other, had the same words around. Did that mean somewhere, the world of Lord of the Rings was connected to Aen Elle?
"Yeah, this isn't ordinary magic. It's a mixture of curses and alchemical enchantments," Liam said. He was kind of disgusted by what he was reading. The curses written here was dark in nature. All of them involved killings, parts of body and sometimes full humans as sacrifices, bleeding young children and even servitude.
Liam proceeded to burn them instantly.
Meanwhile, Tony and Barton searched another hut, sifting through bones, broken glass, and rusted chains. Natasha found a chest hidden beneath a pile of rags, pried it open, and found a collection of scrolls. She handed them over to Liam, who proceeded to burn them again. The magic written here was how to turn themselves into various birds and each chant had requisites that riled up Liam more.
Steve found a set of small, metallic objects in a corner—charms likely used for dark rituals. He glanced at them warily before tossing them aside.
"No use keeping cursed trinkets." It didn't need Steve to be well versed with Elvish to know these are just bad.
"I need to go after the witch mentioned in the spy's notes. If she had any dealings with the Crones, she might have more information or something even more useful." Liam lied. He knew who the witch was and she didn't have any deals with the Crones. But she was another lead that could help Liam in his thirst for knowledge.
"You're sure about this?" Geralt looked up from the book he had been skimming through, his yellow eyes narrowing slightly.
"It's the best course of action. We need to cover more ground, and if this witch has anything useful, we can't afford to ignore it." Liam nodded.
"Then I'll be heading to Novigrad. There are leads on Ciri there, and I need to follow up on them." Geralt said.
"Steve, Natasha, I want you two to go with Geralt." Liam turned to the two.
"Why would we do that?"
"Have you forgotten our mission for the trial?" Liam asked. This made them stiff. While getting engaged with Ciri and Liam's book hunting, they had forgotten their main mission for a brief moment. Their main mission was influencing this world and bring changes to this realm.
"Splitting up isn't still the best idea." Steve frowned.
"Agreed," Natasha said. "We're strongest together."
"I know. But if we all stick together, we'll waste time traveling back and forth. Our mission isn't just about Ciri—it's about understanding the power in this world, the forces at play, and how we can influence them. " Liam folded his hands as he said that.
"Wouldn't mind the extra hands." Geralt said. Though he didn't exactly understand what their mission was, he didn't have the curiosity to ask. They would reveal themselves if they stayed together anyways.
"You two should go to Oxenfurt." Liam turned to Tony and Barton.
"Oxenfurt? A university town? Doesn't exactly scream 'Avengers' playground.'" Tony raised his brow.
"It's a center of knowledge," Liam explained. "The university has scholars, mages, and researchers. If we can establish influence here, that place is a great start." Liam said.
"So you want us to go be professors or something?" Barton asked. He had seen the way of living in Vizima. He himself would pass on a professor if he played his cards perfectly.
"More like benefactors. Get close to the right people, earn their trust, and we'll have an entire institution under our feet." Liam said. Geralt raised an eyebrow when Liam said that, especially because he had studied himself in Oxenfurt when he was young and they were quite knowledgeable. How do they want to influence an university, he thought.
"Alright, I'll admit it's not the worst idea." Tony crossed his arms.
"I still don't ." Natasha shook her head.
"Neither do I, but our mission won't succeed if we stay in one place. We regroup in Novigrad when we're done." Liam said.
"Alright. But if anything goes wrong, we regroup early. No exceptions." Steve said.
"How will you know where to meet?" Geralt asked. It was then Tony brought out black colored long cuboids with a black stick attached to one of the edge. This thing had uneven finishes which seemed to be made deliberately and they didn't even look metallic.
All in all, it looked like an work of art. Something which he hadn't seen before.