665 Circus

The trio reaches a large courtyard with a tower connected to a main building looking down at them, the castle itself didn't look to be a Knights property, instead looking more like a military outpost with how many armed guards there were.

Ciri, Geralt, and Regis were told to wait in the courtyard as someone went off to retrieve Sir Roderick. The tall man stormed out of the main building with a scowl, glaring at the trio as if he were about to cut them down "What, is the meaning of this!?!" he exclaims, pointing at them.

Ciri steps forwards with her arms wide, "As I told your guardsman, we are operating under the Duchesses commands."

Roderick frowns "And why would the Duchess send you lot to my land?" he asks.

Ciri "The Duchess mourns the veteran knights solitary lifestyles, not even deigning to join the festivities... While she does not dispute your choice to isolate yourselves, she doesn't wish for you to be forgotten... And thus she sent us! If you will not come to the festivities, the festivities will come to you!" she exclaims, giving a twirl and sending a wink at him.

Roderick is about to tell them all to fuck off, but due to them having been sent by the Duchess doing such a thing would be incredibly disrespectful... Almost imprisonment worthy infact. He looks around at his guards and ponders for a moment before eventually reaching a decision. "Fine, you may perform here, but do not dwell too long. I appreciate the peace and quiet afforded to me after my long years of service." he states, slowly walking back inside where a black-haired woman is waiting for him.

Ciri grins, her plan working almost perfectly. "Clowns! Bring in the wagons!" she shouts, the Prospects leading the wagons inside the Castle before beginning to set up a crudely built stage as well as a few huge barrels of alcohol.

A few decorative sheets are placed to cover them all from the hot Toussaint sun, many fabrics also being placed on the floor to act as seating, along with a few large pillows.

Immediately, Ciri has the alcohol distributed to everyone, the guards happily beginning to drink despite it being midday.

With the Duchesses insignia their guards were obviously dropped, no one daring to think that it would be used against them. Roderick despite being a greedy scoundrel was still loyal to Toussaint, to a degree atleast.

And so, the circus started. The beginning acts were just the Prospects performing acrobatic stunts, shocking the guards who'd never seen anything like it before. Afterwards the did disappearing acts with their weapons, hiding them behind their backs and dematerialising them as the guards watched, shocking them even further.

The commotion had been loud and unruly, drawing Roderick back out to see what the hubbub was about, he was followed by a beautiful black haired girl who seemed to try and stay incognito, never approaching anyone aside from Roderick.

The guards were obviously wary, but the alcohol had dulled the fears, allowing them to scream "Freak!" at the Witcher as he began to perform.

Geralt tried his best to keep a neutral expression as he had the Acromentula do tricks, rolling on it's back, jumping in the air, and even approaching the audience. The men who were cursing at him almost shit themselves when the angry looking spider scuttled towards them, forcing them to be quiet.

Roderick seemed to be getting into the mood, shouting for Geralt to do something dangerous with the creature, the black-haired girl at his side giving him a dull look as another drink was pushed into her hands.

Geralt began to bow which usually signalled the performance was over, however, much to the surprise of the audience the spider crawled up his back and sat on his head, screeching at the audience and causing them all to cheer and clap.

Roderick laughs, clapping one of his guards on the shoulder, "That bitch Duchess really knows how to create a circus!..." those that'd heard him give him a confused look, Roderick himself blushing at having literally cursed the Duchess. "My apologies, the alcohol must be getting to me!... LONG LIVE DUCHESS ANNA HENRIETTA!" he screams to try and draw attention from his earlier gaff.

The black-haired girl raises her glass and tries to say it too, however, her words don't seem to come out. She frowns, feeling like something was off, but having no valid reason to excuse herself...

The next act is Regis, or, as Ciri announces, "The Noble Silence!"

Regis steps out, still dressed as a mime, and begins performing... At first it's quite boring when compared to the people before him, but his earlier practice had allowed him to utilise his vampiric strength to astound the audience. Though, some of the tricks he performed were only possible with Ciri silently levitating objects or using magic...

There were a few weird things happening from within the... "So I got there, and guess what I saw? Four wome-... Wom-... Four men..." the guard says, becoming confused.

"So what'd you do?"

The guards almost chokes on his drink as words seem to leave his mouth without his notice. "They ploughed me ass until it was raw... WOT!?!" he exclaims, realising he'd just revealed that he'd been raped by a group of men. The man quickly left, saying that he'd flubbed his words but all his mates were laughing and cheering at him, not noticing that whatever happened to him had also affected them.

Eventually, though, the circus was over. Ciri standing up on stage and bowing to the audience with a wide smile on her face. Roderick had been offered drinks by his men and the Circus and was already in a drunken stupour, his hands wandering over the clothes of the black-haired woman as she attempted to push him away.

She stands up and excuses herself to Roderick and begins walked towards the main building just as Ciri starts talking.

Ciri "I hope you all enjoyed the festivities provided by the Duchess, but I think you'll all enjoy the words she asked me to give you... WHO HERE IS INVOLVED WITH THE BEAST OF BEAUCLAIR!?!" she shouts, everyone going silent as the Prospects begin to fight should everything turn sideways.