Geralt returned to Dijkstra, who was doing paperwork in his office.

"Dijkstra."

The former spymaster looked up "What did you find?"

"Found a second corpse, one of the thieves. Threw up the antidote, just like your man Fonce."

"A beautiful death. Find anything on the body?"

"Not much. Empty vial."

"Wouldn't have left him behind if he was anybody. Common porter, must be. Knew nothing, means nothing. Dead end. Literally!"

"But this isn't." Geralt set the piece of the container he found on the desk. "Seems to me a bomb blew the wall open."

Dijkstra picked up the piece. "Bottom of a silver cylinder, probably. Covered in runes... Interesting... Any idea what it contained?"

"Recognized some ingredients by their scent, wyvern oil and sugar."

"Sugar?! Geralt, I'm in no mood for jests."

"Nor am I. Just saying what I found. Bomb contained sugar."

"Let's think... Sugar would react violently with sulfuric acid... But not so violently to cause an explosion."

"Didn't know you were versed in alchemy."

"Dabbled in it a bit while at Oxenfurt Academy... But this is no time to reminisce. You're to find my treasure, not write my biography. Know anything else about this bomb? Anything at all?"

"Bomb went off inside a drainage pipe embedded in the vault wall. But the grate at the end of the pipe was in place when the blast happened, meaning..."

"The bomb must have found its way into the pipe from inside the bathhouse."

"Exactly. Mighta gone something like this: perpetrator started emptying one of the pools, then dropped the bomb down the drain."

"The bomb flowed down with the run-off, came to rest on the grate and, to quote Bart, big boom."

"Drain pipe's our only promising lead. We just need to know which pool it's connected to."

"Yes... Happen keeps a record of guests, should be able to tell us who used that pool the day of the break-in... You've not done badly." Dijkstra stood.

"Feel honored to be acknowledged," Geralt said drily, following him.

"Oh, that famous sarcasm... I'd missed it."

Geralt raised a brow. "Really?"

"Mhm. About as much as I'd miss a knife in my knickers."

Geralt rolled his eyes as Dijkstra led them to the baths.

"All right. You inspect the pools on the right, I'll take the ones on the left. Holler if you find anything!"

Geralt used his heightened senses to inspect the pools, coming across one that looked like it had oil on the surface. He looked around the pool and soon found a silver lid in one of the potted plants. "Silver lid... Matches the cylinder bottom I found in the sewer... Dijkstra! Come here!"

Dijkstra joined him. "Got something?"

"Yeah." He handed Dijkstra the lid. "Bomb part."

"Happen! Drain pool four! And bring me the guest book! Chop-chop!"

Happen, a portly man with a shaved head, left to do as he was told.

"By the way... What about Happen? Could've overheard you mention the vault, has access to the bathhouse whenever he wants..."

"Happen has numerous flaws. He's pompous, pretentious, can be a real prick at times, ironic as that may sound... But his loyalty's beyond question."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Witchers know their monsters, spies know their men."

"You trusted Philippa Eilhart once, too..."

"True. But I didn't pull Philippa Eilhart out of a Kovir prison the night before her execution."

"Fair enough."

As the water drained from the bath and Happen returned with the guestbook, Geralt noticed the grate was missing.

"Grate's been removed from the drain, meaning they flushed the bomb down here."

"Happen! Who used this pool the day of the break-in?"

Happen's finger ran down the page as Geralt leaned against the bath. "Let me see... Berthold Heintz; town councilman, Josef Schveik; brewer... and Margrave Henckel..."

"Henckel?" Dijkstra turned toward Happen. "That's impossible!"

"Impossible?" Geralt asked. "Why?"

"Old coot's been eating dirt since last winter! Couldn't have been here the day of the break-in!"

"He's dead?" Happen asked. "I'd not heard..."

"Not surprisin'. The honorable margrave croaked in a brothel, decked out in leather lingerie, so the family held a hush-hush funeral. But I have my sources."

"Yet... Yet I saw him that fateful day, Mr. Reuven. I'm certain of it."

"Did you speak to him? Get a good look at him?"

"No... He merely passed by on the way in..."

"So you didn't see Henckel, you saw an impersonator! Think for once! They scooped out your balls, not your brain! And you, Geralt, start lookin' into this."

"Gotta ask me nicely. I'm not one of your delivery boys."

"Pardon my tone. I've grown accustomed to ordering folk around and barking as I do it."

"Where should I start?"

"Henckel's home. Derelict townhouse south of the main square. You might happen on some trace of this scoundrel we're looking for there. Well, off with you!"

Geralt found the house and it was indeed derelict.

"What a dump. Looks more like a beggar's hovel than a margrave's townhouse. Jaskier made some interesting friends..."

Once inside, he could tell it was mostly abandoned but there was evidence that people had been there recently. He found a cylinder similar to the part he found in the sewer, telling him the bomb had been made there. Geralt headed upstairs, where he found a bottle of wine and a note.

"The wine from your birth year. It's absolutely excellent. Startling bouquet. You absolutely must try it. But afterward, please place the bottle back where you found it. Your birth-year... Could be Jaskier's..." He looked at the bottle. "Or Ciri's."

He found a wine rack in the next room and looked for Ciri's birth year. There was a space between the years 1245 to 1254, Ciri had been born in 1253, and he heard a click in the next room once he replaced the bottle. In the next room he found all the evidence he needed that the bomb had been built there. Along with a letter addressed to Ciri.

"Ciri... Menge is following me... He has seized the treasure... He has Jaskier... You must flee. Well, that's just great." Geralt turned his head and listened as his Witcher hearing picked up several footfalls downstairs. "Footsteps... Not good."

Geralt headed downstairs, using his abilities to not make a sound, thinking maybe the Temple Guard had come as well looking for the others. But downstairs was only Dijkstra and, surprisingly, Triss. "Didn't expect to see you here... Certainly not with Triss."

"I decided we could use someone who knows a bit of magic. The runes on the bomb, I'm absolutely dying to know what they mean..."

Geralt looked at Triss. "You dying to know too, Triss?"

"No. Just here for the coin."

"Ah, Merigold playing the cynical materialist. I like it. In truth, her ideals brought Triss here. She needs gold to save her colleagues... When I recover my treasure, I'll be in a position to help her. Simple as that. Speaking of which, and, pardon my Beauclairoise, have you found who fucking nicked my gold?"

"Hang on. Gotta tell me why you're here first. We agreed if I learned anything, I'd take it to you."

"So we did... But I was concerned about you. Stopped by to see if everything was all right."

"Bullshit. You don't trust me."

"I trust you as much as you trust me: not at all. Believe me, it's a healthy relationship."

"Gentlemen...," Triss said, with some heat to her voice. "Really privileged to witness your battle of wits...but try to remember, unlike you, I put my life at risk every time I venture out into the streets. Did the same just coming here. So I beg you, can we get to the point?"

"You bothered Triss for nothing."

"Because?"

"Cause I already know who nabbed your treasure. Commander of the Temple Guard. Caleb Menge."

Dijkstra looked over at Triss. "Well, well, Merigold... Your coin stands to come with a side of revenge."

Triss did not look pleased.

"Geralt, would you be kind enough to tell me what you've learned? I'm terribly curious."

"What I've learned doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter?! Yet you agreed to help me."

"I am. Doesn't mean I have to confess everything."

"I'll let your insolence fly this time, but only because his honor the margrave might indeed have something to do with the theft. Hm, Menge has been spending heaps of coin lately, though to my knowledge he shouldn't have a copper to his name..."

"So. What now?" Triss asked.

"From what I've heard, Menge spends his nights at the docks, witch hunters' quarters... Maybe pay him a visit, ask where he's holding my gold for me."

"Mhm," Geralt said. "So we do your dirty work while you sit around twiddling your thumbs?"

"Darling, when I'm able to make use of someone, I always do. It's convenient."

"And safe... Come on, admit you're scared of Menge."

"Of course I'm scared... Bloody dangerous whoreson. Triss would concur, I think."

"Not in those words..." the sorceress confirmed. "But I do agree with the statement overall."

"Doubt Menge'll say anything willingly..."

"As do I. Luckily I hired a Witcher and a sorceress who've been through so much together to get this done..."

"What's our past got to do with it?" Triss asked.

"A great deal. Lovers will jump into the abyss for one another..."

Geralt and Triss looked at one another.

"Suits my needs perfectly. Namely, it greatly increases your chances of getting out of the hunters' barracks alive with my treasure."

"In other words, you're using us," Geralt all but growled, causing Triss to give him a surprised look.

"Using you? Never! Merely makin' the most of your mutual bond." Dijkstra laughed. "Well, lovebirds... I really must be going. Good luck." Dijkstra turned and walked out of the building, leaving Geralt and Triss alone.

"Thought you'd correct him... Say that we... You know."

"Could've corrected him yourself," Geralt pointed out.

"True... But it's not an easy thing to say, is it?" Triss sighed. "But we've strayed from our topic... Got a treasure to recover."

"Triss, gotta tell you something... Dijkstra's gold, it's the last thing I could care about."

"Thought as much... This is about Ciri, isn't it?"

"Mhm. Menge's got Jaskier locked up somewhere... And Jaskier saw Ciri."

"That changes everything. Listen, meet me at midnight by the chapel of the Eternal Fire east of the harbor. We'll figure out a way to get into the hunters' barracks together."

"All right. See you then... And thanks." Triss left, pulling her hood up and acting like she was just another citizen as she walked down the street. Geralt headed back to the Rosemary to see if Juray had made it back and to update her and Zoltan about what he'd learned.

"Learn anythin'?" Zoltan asked when Geralt returned to the Rosemary.

"Mhm," Geralt replied. "Learned a lot. Like how Sigi Reuvan is actually Dijkstra."

"Dijkstra? As in Redanian intelligence, spymaster for King Vizimir, Dijkstra?"

"The same one." Geralt glanced around. "Where's Juray?"

"Whaddya mean? I thought she met up with you. Ain't seen the lass since we parted ways at the Kingfisher."

Geralt frowned. "Are you sure? You know how quiet she moves."

"Positive." Geralt's frown deepened. "What happened?"

"Whoreson's men attacked three of the Big Four at the bathhouse. Cleaver's on the warpath. Really hoping Whoreson didn't try anything with Juray."

"If he did, then he's probably rottin' in a ditch somewhere."

"It gets better. Jaskier succeeded in robbing Dijkstra. Now I'm having to track down the treasure he stole. Oh, and apparently Jaskier is Menge's guest and he has the treasure and I need to figure out where both Jaskier and Dijkstra's treasure is. Could use Juray, but now she's gone missing." Geralt sighed.

"That's not good."

"That's an understatement. I gotta go meet Triss tonight. See if you can sniff around and find out if anyone's seen Juray. You know how much she stands out sometimes."

"Aye, but she can also not be seen if she wants."

"Which would make everything so much harder if she managed to get people to not notice her."

"When ye meeting Triss?"

"Midnight."

"Maybe I'll find out something before ye head off."

Zoltan still hadn't returned by the time Geralt left to meet Triss.

"Glad you're here," Triss said. "But I might have heard some bad news from the King of Beggars." She looked at him from under her hood. "About Juray."

"What did you hear? Zoltan's been looking for her all afternoon. She didn't show back up at the Rosemary."

"One of his people saw Juray go into Whoreson's house on Temple Island, but she didn't come out the same way."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning she entered through the door and exited through a window. Temple Guard and Witch Hunters arrived not long after she did and she was last seen running through the Bits before a pair of Witch Hunters seemed to spontaneously combust. Bedlam thinks Whoreson might have set her up but she was able to dodge their net. She's literally disappeared into thin air."

"Question is, where is she?"

Triss shook her head. "Juray can take care of herself. You know that. She'll show back up. You know how resourceful she is, but listen...Took a look at the building and it does not look good."

"Mean it could use a bit of paint and spackle?"

Triss wasn't in the mood for Geralt's sarcasm. "I mean it's a damned fortress. High walls, guards at the gate, armed men everywhere. We could never sneak in, and fighting our way in won't work, Menge would have plenty of time to escape."

"What do you suggest?"

Triss pulled out a pair of shackles. While they looked like they were made of dimeritium, Geralt could sense they were normal shackles. "Take these shackles... Put them on me."

Geralt just looked at her. "Mind explaining what all this is about?"

"Think... Bring the hunters the vile Triss Merigold, they won't just open the gate for you, they're likely to let you present her to Menge personally."

Geralt did not like that suggestion one bit. "No way. Too risky."

"Jaskier's life is on the line... Ciri's too. No such thing as too risky."

She had to play the Ciri card...

"Triss, think about it...," Geralt countered. "Really want to walk into the lion's den of your own free will. And in chains?"

"Yes." There wasn't an ounce of hesitation in her voice.

"No. Can't allow it."

"Nice of you to worry... But I've made my decision, and I won't change it."

He swore she was as hard-headed and stubborn as Ciri.

He sighed. "Fine, let's say they take the bait... What then? We go in, I put a sword to Menge's throat and ask him where Jaskier is?"

"Might not work. Menge's scum, but you have to admit... Death doesn't scare him."

"Always found that annoying in fanatics. So we gotta trick him into talking. Any ideas?"

"Uh... Maybe tell him you have information about the Lodge, or about Philippa, even better, he hates her most of all. You'll think of something."

Geralt hated this plan, but he could see Triss wasn't going to back down. Or have a better plan. "Still got a bad feeling about this... But tough. Let's go."

They started to head towards the barracks.

"Geralt, remember, I can take care of myself."

"What're you talking about?"

"The Hunters... They won't treat me like a lady. But I'll survive. Might hurt a bit, but..."

Geralt stopped, looking at her.

"Ciri, she's what matters." Triss stopped and turned to Geralt. "Do what you need to do, no matter what happens."

He looked over at her. "Can't promise that."

"I'm still asking you to. All right?"

Geralt sighed. "All right."