— –Julian "Dandelion" Pankratz– —
Novigrad was never dull, but it certainly had its quiet spells. Dandelion had been enjoying one of them, glass of wine in hand, quill in the other, trying to capture the right turn of phrase for a new ballad, when the tavern door opened and nearly made him drop both.
Because, walking through the door, was her.
Ciri, The Lion Cub of Cintra. His goddaughter, practically, though you'd never know it by the way she insisted on dodging half the people who cared for her. Hair like ash, eyes like emerald fire, and that familiar air of someone who was always running from something. He could have recognized her everywhere, even if she were to be turned into a mouse by a witch.
Ironically, enough, perhaps that would only make her more familiar in his eyes. Ciri was, after all, a mousey little girl.
And next to her was… well, now that was new.
A boy with dull brown eyes, messy brown hair, and a strange air about him. Well, perhaps boy wasn't the best word to describe him, but it was clear that he wasn't a man. His clothing wasn't anything impressive, almost like he'd just come from one of the random villages along the road. Still, there was a heaviness in the way he carried himself. His eyes darted back and forth through the tavern as if he were expecting to be attacked at any moment.
"Ciri!" Dandelion exclaimed, shooting to his feet and nearly toppling his chair in his enthusiasm. "By the muses, look at you! Alive, well, taller, I think? And who—" His gaze flicked curiously to the stranger. "—is your rather serious-looking companion?" If he were being honest, he'd rather ask her a different barrage of questions. But he would have to test the waters out with just this simple question first.
Ciri returned the smile, but to Dandelion's dismay, it didn't have that same brightness he had expected. Yet, nevertheless, she still brought him for a short hug, squeezing him tight for a few moments before pulling back.
"It's good to see you too, Dandelion. This is Alex. He's… traveling with me."
Traveling with her. Hah. That much was obvious, but as he looked over the boy, he couldn't find anything that made him stand out. He wasn't a warrior, that much was clear. Perhaps he was a bard, like him? And little Ciri had missed him so much that she had decided to have someone who could sing tag along with her.
"Well!" He said, forcing brightness into the room. "Any friend of Ciri's is a friend of mine. You'll have to forgive me if I seem surprised. I expected her to walk through that door someday with Geralt, or Yennefer, or even the bloody Wild Hunt itself, but a stranger? Now that's a story worth telling. Tell me Alex, what sort of ballad should I write about you?"
"Well, depending on how this week goes. Maybe something about poor decisions and questionable luck."
Dandelion blinked, caught for a moment by the boy's dry humor. He had expected stoicism, maybe even suspicion, but instead Alex's words came with a touch of charm, self-deprecating, but not bitter. The sort of remark that drew a smile even when one didn't expect it.
"Well, my boy, you've come to the right place." Dandelion replied, gesturing grandly toward the empty chairs. "Poor decisions are my specialty. Questionable luck too, if you ask certain creditors. Sit, sit, both of you."
Waving over a waitress, and flashing her a charming smile, Dandelion ordered the two of them a drink before turning back to Ciri, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"How did you find me?" He asked, leaning an elbow on the table as though he were about to be treated to the greatest tale ever told.
"Same way I always do." Ciri smiled faintly. "By following the trail of people complaining about how much you owe them."
"Lies. Slander!" Dandelion clutched at his chest, feigning offense. "You wound me, Ciri. You wound me deeply. I'll have you know, my debts are a byproduct of my overwhelming generosity."
"There was also that one lady shouting outside…" Alex added.
"As I said, merely the consequence of generosity." Dandelion interrupted smoothly, raising a hand as if to wave away the memory. "I have a tender heart, you see. A touch too tender, perhaps, and sometimes the fairer sex mistakes it for… excess." He leaned back in his chair with theatrical ease. "It's hardly my fault if I'm too devoted to making no girl in town feels lonely."
"Dandelion…" Ciri's voice cut him down before he could build the performance any higher. She gave him a faint smile, fond but weary. "I wish we could sit here and trade stories all night, but we don't have the time. We're in a hurry." Her gaze hardened slightly. "Do you know if Geralt or Yen are nearby?"
Dandelion wished he could give her another answer, but he could only his head, spreading his hands apologetically.
"I'm afraid not, dear. Haven't seen either of them in months. Last I heard, they were scouring the Continent for you. You might catch them with a letter, perhaps, but it would take weeks, months even, and that's if you happen to guess the right patch of ground they're standing on. Neither of them is especially good at staying still."
Ciri's lips pressed thin before she reached for the mug, draining it in one long swallow. She set it down with a clink and managed a bitter smile.
"Damn… then… Do you think you could get us in touch with Dudu? We also need to find a sorcerer, a good one, someone who knows about curses."
Dandelion's expression sobered at the name, his usual grin softening into something more thoughtful. He leaned back in his chair, twirling the stem of his cup between his fingers.
"Dudu?" He echoed. "Yes, I could… though you know how slippery he can be when he doesn't want to be found. Still, for you, dear Ciri, I imagine he'd crawl out of whatever corner he's hiding in. He's fond of you."
"Good." Ciri let out a small breath of relief. "We'll need him."
Dandelion's eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced between her and Alex. "And what, pray tell, are you planning that requires my favorite merchant with a suspiciously bottomless coin purse? And a sorcerer too?"
"Nothing too crazy." Alex leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table with a smile. "Just some supplies, maybe a little help with connections. We've been running blind, and Novigrad's not exactly friendly to strangers. Better to know who to trust."
"Trust?" Dandelion scoffed, though the sparkle hadn't left his eye. "In Novigrad? My boy, the only thing you can trust here is that everyone's trying to sell you something. That, and the wine will always cost more than it should."
"So…" Ciri gave him a pointed look. "Can you get us in touch with him?"
He sighed theatrically, throwing his hands up as if they'd twisted his arm.
"Fine, fine. I'll put out a few words. But mind you, Dudu's a busy man these days. I can't guarantee when he'll appear." Then, leaning forward, he lowered his voice. "And if you're involving him, you'd better be careful. The walls of this city have ears, and even Dudu's name isn't one you toss around lightly, I hear he's got a big deal going on at the moment."
"Then it's a good thing we've got you helping us, right?" Alex asked, sounding surprisingly hopeful.
That earned him a bark of laughter from the bard.
"Oh, you're trouble, I like you. Remind me not to introduce you to too many women. You'd ruin my reputation."
"Don't worry, Dandelion, you don't need any help with that." Ciri answered with some laughter.
— –Alex Montclair– —
"Well, I'll be damned." Dandelion said with a chuckle, snapping Alex out of his thoughts as he looked away from Ciri, who was busy doing maintenance on her sword.
Novigrad was a big city, loud, sprawling, restless, and yet, to his own surprise, he quite liked it. Maybe his luck had finally started to turn. For two weeks straight he and Ciri had managed to ride without any major trouble, and while the journey had been long, it hadn't been dull. With nothing else to do but keep each other company, they had traded stories. Far too many stories, if Alex was being honest.
The road was long, after all.
It was strange, opening up so easily about his life. The portal, the fragments of Marvel he still remembered, even the ridiculous fact that the only reason he was so good at Gwent was because he'd played it endlessly back in his original world.
Ciri had been surprised at first, hearing Alex's extremely vague recollections of the books and games that had been made about her story. Her own world and story turned into entertainment for others. But she had surprisingly shrugged it off quite easily. It wasn't the first time she'd seen echoes of her own world bleed into others, she told him.
In her words, Avallac'h hadn't been much help explaining the phenomenon either, though Ciri remembered his words quite well. That all worlds were connected, one way or another, and through dreams, some people brushed against other versions of themselves. Those dreams left a mark on their unconscious, and through it, they would spread as myths, stories, and as half-remembered legends across countless dreams.
In a way, she wouldn't be surprised if the author of said books was Dandelion himself.
It was a strange thought. But it did explain a lot, in its own way, how Marvel could be real, how The Witcher's world could exist, how who-knew-what else might be out there. Maybe inspiration itself was just people stumbling through borrowed dreams.
Still, as much as he enjoyed Novigrad in the last two days he had been here, he had begun to miss the road. The nights by the fire, the simple conversations… it was nice.
Looking at Dandelion now, Alex saw the bard grinning from ear to ear. He followed his gaze to the table, then down to the scattered cards in his own hands. The look alone was enough to make him raise a brow.
"Do you give up? You've kinda lost already." Alex asked, frowning at how suddenly amused the bard seemed.
"Of course I lost." Dandelion said with dramatic flair, tossing his cards down as though they had personally betrayed him. "But that's hardly the point." His grin widened as he leaned back in his chair. "No, I finally understand why you were such a 'gentleman' back at the bathhouse, averting your eyes, fidgeting like a schoolboy. You weren't embarrassed, were you? Not really. And here I thought you'd simply never seen a woman in her natural state before."
Alex coughed into his hand, face heating despite himself. He forced a laugh, trying not to recall just how casually everyone had been wandering around unclothed, as though it were the most normal thing in the world. Which, apparently, it was.
"What are you getting at?" He asked, aiming for casual, though his voice came out a touch tighter than intended.
"Nothing, nothing. Though I am curious how much staring you'd have done had our little bird joined us." Dandelion said with mock innocence, though his eyes glinted with mischief. Rising, he clapped Alex firmly on the back. "Just a word of advice, watch yourself, boy. Geralt might kick your ass if you do anything stupid."
Before Alex could respond, the bard leaned in, his voice dropping low.
"Though, if you ever need some advice, you know who to call. You seem like a nice enough kid."
Alex rolled his eyes and let the bard's words hang, refusing to rise to the bait. Instead, his attention shifted toward the door of the inn, where someone new had just stepped inside.
A halfling, shaved head, sharp clothes, and a surprisingly warm expression that lit up the moment his gaze fell on Ciri.
"Dudu!" She called out, her voice bright. She rose from her seat in an instant and crossed the room, kneeling to pull him into a hug.
"My goodness, Ciri, look at you!" Dudu exclaimed, his voice rich with delight. "How long has it been?"
"Too long." She chuckled, her smile wide as she waved Alex and Dandelion over.
"This is Alex, he said he's going to blow us away, so you better be ready." She joked, tilting her head toward him.
"I didn't say that, but it's nice meeting you." Alex stepped forward, extending his hand and giving him the friendliest smile he could muster. "Ciri's told me plenty of stories about you."
"All good, I hope?" Dudu asked, returning the handshake with surprising strength for his size.
"Obviously, Dudu." Ciri chimed in before Alex could answer. "When he asked me who the best merchant in Novigrad was, you were the only one I could name."
"Well, I do know a thing or two." Dudu replied with a grin, his chest puffing slightly with pride.
Alex couldn't help but let his smile turn genuine at the halfling, but as he glanced around the tavern, he forced himself to focus. There was too many eyes and ears in their direction.
"Say, Dudu, do you have somewhere private?" Alex asked. "There's a lot we'd like to talk to you about."
The halfling's smile dimmed ever so slightly, but the sharpness in his eyes confirmed he had probably expected the request.
"Business, then?" He asked.
"Business indeed." Dandelion added with a smile that looked more amused than serious."A pleasure to see you again, Dudu, though I must admit, I'm wounded you didn't come greet me when I arrived in Novigrad."
"You still owe me money, Dandelion." Dudu answered, waving his hand dismissively. "But fine, fine. Follow me. Dainty's away on business, so the office is empty. We'll have the place to ourselves."
— — —
After a few minutes of weaving through Novigrad's crowded streets, they stopped in front of a modest but well-kept building tucked between two taller houses. Its walls were freshly painted, windows polished, and a brass sign hung above the door.
Inside, the office was small but richly decorated. A few paintings lined the walls, bookshelves crammed with ledgers and trinkets, and a desk polished to a shine.
Once the doors were closed and locked, there was a moment of silence. Dudu turned to them with his hands folded neatly in front of him. His friendly smile hadn't faded, but there was some slight caution on his eyes now.
"We really need your help, Dudu." She began, a bit more serious now that she had finished her reunion.
"Then you've come to the right halfling." Dudu replied gently. "But… if you'd allow me to be honest. We are in the middle of a few large transactions at the moment. So most of our gold reserves are being used at the moment. As much as it hurts me to say, there's not too much I can offer at the moment."
"Well…" Ciri began, her tone soft but urging, before turning toward Alex. "It might be easier if he explains it."
"Alright, well… without going into too many specifics, I happen to know how to create a lot of things." Alex said, searching for the right words. He had rehearsed this conversation in his head more than once, but speaking it aloud was somehow harder. His voice faltered slightly before he pressed on. "And I wanted to trade my blueprints with you. Blueprints in exchange for resources."
"That's uh…" Dudu trailed off, his expression shifting into something caught between politeness and discomfort. His eyes flicked toward Ciri, as though looking for an easier way out. "Listen, Ciri… I owe Geralt a great deal, and I like you too. So whatever you need, I'll put in my best effort, even if I don't have the funds available right now. We don't need to preamble this with… well… you know?"
If Alex was being honest, the answer caught him off guard. He'd half expected Dudu to light up at the prospect, to lean forward in excitement. Instead, the halfling seemed more wary than intrigued. And judging by the sudden burst of laughter from Dandelion, perhaps Alex had been too optimistic.
"Ah, of course. I'm guessing he's not the first bright young man with aspirations of making the next big thing to wander into your office?" Dandelion said, smirking. The slight grimace that tugged at Dudu's face made it clear the bard had struck closer to the truth than either of them liked to admit.
"Ah…" Alex muttered under his breath. His excitement had blinded him, and now reality was settling in. He knew the value of what he carried, what he could recreate here. So in a way, he hadn't expected to be brushed off so easily. "Well… Ciri trusts you. So I could give you a blueprint, and after you look at it…"
"Listen…" Dudu interrupted gently, his friendly smile returning as if to soften the refusal. "I'll do my best to help you all. Truly. You don't have to worry. Whatever you need, I'll pull some strings."
"But—" Alex tried again, only to feel Dandelion's hand clap firmly against his back, the bard's chuckle loud in the quiet office.
"Well, kid, you heard Dudu. Just think of it as getting a better deal than you expected."
Alex's words died in his throat. He went quiet, sitting back in his chair, though the disappointment pressed harder than he'd thought it would. He had been ready to prove himself, to show just how valuable his knowledge could be in this world. Instead, he felt like a child being politely humored, his ideas tucked aside with all the rest.
"Give it a chance, Dudu. You trust me, right?" Ciri's voice cut through the lull, calm but carrying weight. Her eyes flicked to Alex, and then back to the halfling. "Then trust me when I tell you whatever he has deserves at least a look. Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise you." She added a small, encouraging smile, one meant more for Alex than for Dudu.
Something loosened in his chest at that. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Straightening in his seat, Alex pushed himself up to his feet, feeling some of his confidence return back.
"Give me some paper and something to write with." He said, his tone firmer now.
Dudu hesitated, studying him for a beat longer than was comfortable. His merchant's instincts warred with his loyalty to Ciri, the caution in his eyes weighing Alex. Finally, with a soft sigh, he rose from behind his desk.
"Very well." He said, moving to a side shelf stacked with ledgers and scrap parchment. He gathered a few sheets and a quill, then returned, setting them down on the polished desk between them. "But you'll forgive me if I reserve judgment until I see what sort of 'miracle' you have in mind."
His words were even, but his smile carried just a flicker of amusement, half skepticism, half curiosity.
Alex simply nodded as he drew the paper closer, feeling a slight wave of anticipation and excitement. For the first time since he had been dragged into Limbo by Belasco, he could do what he was born to do. And for the first time since he got into this world, he could prove that he was more than just some extra baggage being dragged around.
— –Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon– —
Looking at how everything had spiraled, she couldn't help but remember something Yen had told her long ago.
"Passion is a dangerous thing, Ciri. But it is also what separates those who change the world from those who simply live in it." At the time, Ciri had only half-listened, too busy thinking Yen was lecturing her for the sake of it. Now, watching Alex lose himself in the lines he sketched, she understood.
Since the day they met, there had always been a shadow in his eyes, a certain heaviness he couldn't shake. Even when he smiled, even when he told her about his childhood or laughed at something ridiculous on the road, that shadow never really left. The spark in him would flare for a moment, then dim just as quickly.
Yet here, now, that spark wasn't fading. It was burning. His whole posture leaned into the page, his hand moving with a kind of urgency she rarely saw. His voice, when he muttered to himself, carried a brightness that felt… different.
And in spite of herself, Ciri felt something stir. She had seen warriors fight with passion, bards sing with it, mages pour it into their craft, but seeing Alex like this, so utterly alive in his ideas, it caught her off guard.
'Careful.' She warned herself. Yennefer would've told her not to let her guard down. But even so, she couldn't shake the thought that maybe, just maybe, Yen would have smiled too, seeing that same fire.
"More papers! Go on, Dandelion, go buy another stack!" Dudu exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement. The halfling had abandoned all pretense of caution, practically bouncing on his feet as he leaned over Alex's shoulder to watch the lines take shape.
Dandelion let out a laugh, throwing his hands up in mock surrender.
"By the gods, listen to you. A minute ago you were clutching your purse strings tighter than a miser, now you want me running errands?"
"Go!" Dudu snapped again, waving him toward the door without looking. His usual poise had vanished, swept away by raw enthusiasm. "This… this is different. Can't you see it? Gods, imagine how much the Eternal Fire would pay for a printing press of this caliber! They'd spread their tracts across the whole continent faster than plague ships! No, not just them, sorcerers, scholars, kings, anyone with the coin! If this works…" His voice trailed off, the sheer weight of possibility making his breath catch.
Ciri smiled faintly at the sight, though her eyes kept drifting back to Alex, who seemed oblivious to the noise around him. His focus didn't waver for even a second, hand moving swiftly, like he was racing to capture every thought before it slipped away.
"If only I could understand it all… then…" Dudu muttered under his breath, the awe plain in his tone. When his gaze flicked toward Ciri, his expression was bright, brimming with the kind of excitement that made her stomach twist. "Then just imagine what we could build!"
For a moment, her smile faltered. A prick of unease crept up her spine, the instinctive kind she'd learned to never ignore. She wished she'd not let her guard slip, wished she'd remembered sooner who she was dealing with.
Because Dudu was no ordinary merchant.
He was a doppler, a being who could become practically anyone. And dopplers weren't simple shapeshifters who borrowed faces. No, when they changed, they became their subject, down to the smallest detail. The tilt of their head, the cadence of their speech, even the way their thoughts turned. It wasn't mere mimicry; it was a living, breathing copy.
That was what made them so dangerous. And what made Dudu so very good at what he did.
For the longest time he had thrived in Novigrad's cutthroat market not by standing on his own name, but by borrowing another's. Dainty Biberveldt, the merchant whose life he had once imitated so completely that, in the end, the two of them decided to work together. A strange partnership, but one that had made both men very wealthy indeed.
"Shit, Dudu, wait—!" Ciri called out, but she was a moment too late. The halfling's frame shuddered, his features beginning to ripple and shift. Under different circumstances, maybe it wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world to have two Alexes working on their so-called inventions.
But in truth, it was simply bad manners to turn into another person without their permission. And if Alex took Dudu's transformation the wrong way, then there was a chance his blood might boil a bit too hot, and in turn, that their trip to Novigrad would be cut short. Having to run from the Wild Hunt once more.
"Argh!" Alex suddenly cried out, clutching his head, his voice raw with pain.
"Arrrgh!" Dudu shouted even louder, collapsing onto the floor as his body writhed mid-shift. His form twisted between halfling and man, limbs jerking in a way that made her stomach turn. From the sounds he made, the pain was real, genuine agony, but Ciri's instincts flared. She had to prioritize Alex first.
"Alex, are you ok?!" She asked firmly, grabbing his face in both hands, forcing his wild gaze to meet hers. Her voice was sharper than she intended, but it cut through the chaos.
For a heartbeat, she feared it wouldn't work. His eyes darted, his breath ragged, but then, slowly, she felt him steady. The tension bled out of him under her grip, his shoulders easing. The noise of the room fell away until the silence pressed in again.
"What just…" Alex rasped, staring at her. His words trailed as his eyes flicked past her shoulder. "Oh…"
Ciri turned to follow his gaze, and froze.
Dudu was already on his feet, the transformation complete. Standing there, rubbing his temples, was Alex. Or at least, a perfect copy. The posture, the expression, even the way he carried himself, it was… not quite right?.
"Boy… what the hell is going on in your head?" Dudu muttered, his tone half a complaint, half genuine bewilderment as he massaged the side of his skull. "Never in my life have I experienced anything like it."
"Yeah… it's a little broken or something, still figuring that part out." Alex muttered in a slight daze, standing up from the desk and stepping closer to Dudu until they were standing face to face. "This is so weird."
"Ah it really is, isn't it." Dudu answered as he looked at his body. "I got a bit too excited there, man, that hasn't happened in years…. Still, you don't seem all that surprised."
"Yeah, it was in your card." Alex answered absentmindedly as he walked around his copy.
"Card?" Dudu asked, frowning slightly. "That's strange, I don't know what you are talking about. Last I remember we were up in Egypt with our mother. Wait, Egypt? What's Egypt?"
"Egypt? Mom?" Alex echoed, blinking at him. He went silent, thinking, before his eyes widened with recognition. "Ah, of course!" But he quickly shook his head. "Listen, I'm not going to explain, so just don't worry about it." He finally stopped circling and gave Dudu a look. "But seriously, why the hell did you decide to copy me out of nowhere?"
"Ah, that's right!" Dudu exclaimed, suddenly turning back to the desk. He scooped up the blueprints, studying them with a grin before bursting into laughter. "Ahhh… I see now! I was wondering why you added that there! But still, why are we limiting the output here? Couldn't we squeeze in a few more—"
"No, no, the gears will jam if you overload it." Alex cut in, leaning over to point at the lines. "Or at least they should, depending on the quality of the materials. And I doubt you'll find anything that precise around here."
"Why, of course you can!" Dudu shot back, brimming with excitement. "There are dwarven craftsmen I've partnered with before. They could manage this, I'm sure of it."
"Really?" Alex's tone shifted, bright with interest. He grabbed another sheet of paper and began sketching again, his hand moving quick and confident. "Do you think they could handle something like this instead?"
"Ah! Of course!" Dudu cried, hunching over beside him, nodding eagerly.
For a second, Ciri stood frozen. Moments ago she had been bracing for blood to spill, ready to step between them if tempers flared. But instead… Alex had brushed it all off as though it were nothing. As though this sort of madness was just another ordinary day in his life. And perhaps it was.
And now? He was already back to scribbling furiously, while Dudu hovered like a child watching magic for the first time.
It was so absurd, so utterly ridiculous, that Ciri couldn't stop herself. A laugh burst out of her, sharp at first, then warmer as it spilled free. Alex glanced back at her in surprise, his eyebrows raised before a genuine smile appeared on his face.
"Just you wait, Ciri." He told her, sounding surprisingly confident before turning back to the paper.
It was then that Dandelion walked in, holding a stack of papers before suddenly freezing.
"By the muses, this is getting out of hand. Now there's two of them."
Shoutout to @Basilisk, @Harman, and @Tertius711 for helping me brainstorm and keep on coming up with ideas for this story and for Beta Reading.
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