This is a non-commercial fanfic based on the universes of The Witcher and Disco Elysium. All rights to the original works, characters, names, and elements of their respective worlds belong to their respective copyright holders. The author of this fanfic does not claim ownership of any of them. Age rating: rated R (18+). The text contains profanity, alcohol, fictional drugs, violence, and other themes intended for an adult audience.
“The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest,
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
— William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
NARRATOR – After waiting about ten minutes and pacing past the tavern doors a few times, you decide, for no particular reason, to visit the vacant lot once more. Almost nothing has changed. Wet ground, the crooked shed, the bare branches of the old tree — only the body is gone. All that remains are the round impressions in the earth where the guards had set up the ladder.
ARTISTRY [Medium: Success] – Even without the hanged man, the vacant lot looks no less bleak.
NARRATOR – Rune is fussing around by the shed — the same red-haired runt as before. He is crouched by the door, trying to reattach a torn-off hinge with a rusty hammer. His friend sits on the roof with her arms wrapped around her knees. The moment she sees you, she goes rigid and fixes you with a suspicious stare.
KEEN EYE [Trivial: Success] – She went tense all over.
SENSIBILITY [Challenging: Failure] – What’s gotten into her?
RUNA – Hey, Rune, behind you! That idiot’s back again…
NARRATOR – Startled, the boy smashes his own finger with the hammer and immediately unleashes a torrent of horrific curses, probably learned from the dockworkers. Then he whirls around.
RUNE – I just smashed my fucking finger because of you, asshole!
ELOQUENCE [Trivial: Failure] – W-well… Did you, though? Strictly speaking, that’s not quite what happened…
RUNE – What the hell do you want here?! You and your buddy have already sniffed around every inch of this place — even climbed into the garbage. But that’s as far as my generosity goes. Get lost!
WHISPER [Easy: Success] – Speak slowly. Don’t raise your voice.
YOU – Listen, kid, I just want to ask a couple of questions. Why are you getting so worked up?
NARRATOR – The red-haired goblin raises the hammer over his head and, swaying on his feet, tries to assume some bizarre fighting stance. It does not go well. Just in case, the girl jumps across to the neighboring roof and scrambles higher.
VICE [Easy: Success] – Dilated pupils, poor coordination, a trembling jaw, uncontrollable rage, and a desperate belief in his own immortality. This kid is high on fisstech. He took far less than Jethro did, but even that was more than enough for a runt like him.
RUNE – Hey, gray-hair, what part of that didn’t you understand?! This yard belongs to Rune, so you’ve got five seconds to get the fuck out of here!
RUNA – Yeah, tell him to fuck right off!
DOMINANCE [Medium: Failure] – Who the hell does this little brat think he’s talking to?!
STEADINESS [Easy: Success] – Easy. He’s just a frightened kid with a hammer, fisstech in his blood, and a girl he desperately doesn’t want to look weak in front of.
YOU – Let’s just talk this out peacefully. You can see I’m unarmed.
RUNA – Don’t talk to him, or you’ll turn into a mutant yourself!
NARRATOR – Egged on by his friend, the boy shows no sign of calming down.
RUNE – Fuck, you’re even stupider than you look! You heard me: get the hell out of here, or I’ll smash your fucking head in with this hammer!
NARRATOR – He hops around you like a fighting cock, alternately brandishing his weapon and hiding it behind his back.
BRAWN [Easy: Failure] – Oh, that’s it! The little bastard asked for it!!! Time to knock the little shit flat. Sweep his leg, rip the hammer away with your left hand, then punch him straight in the face with your right!
DOMINANCE [Challenging: Success] – Stop. That’s too much. You are not going to beat up a twelve-year-old boy. Just order him to calm down. Make sure he understands there will be no second warning.
SENSIBILITY [Easy: Success] – Rune wants to look tough and dangerous. A typical defense mechanism: otherwise, you don’t survive on the streets. But that doesn’t mean you have to take the bait.
YOU – Calm down. Now. I’m not looking for trouble.
NARRATOR – You neither raise your voice nor move from the spot. And yet he notices something in your eyes. Rune stops mid-step. Suddenly, even he seems to realize how ridiculous his fighting-cock stance looks. For a few moments, the boy stares at you stubbornly, then slowly lowers the hammer.
RUNE – Oh, no fucking way… I know what you were thinking. Like, I’m gonna beat the shit outta this little punk! That’s the same crazy look my old man gets when he’s about to beat Rune’s ass over some stupid bullshit…
NARRATOR – The boy excitedly taps a finger against his temple.
RUNE – See, Rune’s got you figured out! Got right inside your fucking head! But you seem like an all-right kinda guy, even if you are a drunk. You don’t start swinging at people for no reason. I respect that shit.
UMBRA [Easy: Success] – See? Even this vacant lot could use a little kindness…
RUNA – Rune, what, are you two buddies now or something?!
NARRATOR – The red-haired runt just waves her off.
RUNE – We ain’t fucking buddies! Just two hard men showing each other some respect. All right, ask away, old man. What’d you wanna know? I’m feeling real fucking generous today.
SENSIBILITY [Challenging: Success] – You can get through to Rune. His friend is another matter. She’s completely feral — she keeps as much distance as possible and is in no hurry to trust some strange grown man. There’s something in that look of hers… It’s frightening to imagine what she may already have been through at such a young age.
NARRATOR – You lean down toward Rune and ask quietly.
YOU – Listen, is Runa your sister? Why does she act like that?
NARRATOR – The boy stares at you wide-eyed.
RUNE – Yo, boozehound, what sister? The fuck are you talking about? I got no idea where she even came from…
NARRATOR – He glances back at the roof. Runa is still watching the two of you, eyes narrowed warily.
RUNA – What are you whispering about down there?!
RUNE – Just shooting the shit! Everything’s fine, Rune’s at the helm! Rune’s got the situation under control!
NARRATOR – The boy drops his voice to a whisper again.
RUNE – About three months ago I was hanging around near the old distillery. And there she was, sitting under an awning, right in the mud. Skinny as hell. Covered in bruises, clothes all torn up… And you know the creepiest part? She wouldn’t say a word. Just stared at me. That’s it.
SENSIBILITY [Medium: Success] – There’s no boasting or anger in his voice now.
RUNE – So I figured: if Rune’s the king around here, then he’s gotta look after his subjects, right?.. So I stole a hunk of bread and brought it back to the distillery. Runa threw a rock at me first, but then she ate every fucking crumb anyway. Next day she showed up here, at the vacant lot… Been following me around ever since. At least she talks now.
NARRATOR – The boy glances around furtively.
RUNE – Truth is, I still don’t even know her real name. I just made up that nickname. Y’know, so it’d sound kinda like mine.
YOU – What about her parents? Didn’t you try to find out who she is or where she came from?
NARRATOR – The boy plants his hands on his hips indignantly.
RUNE – You think Rune’s a total dumbass?! Course I asked… She either doesn’t remember or just won’t tell me shit. Either way, I got nothing… But I’m warning you right now: don’t mess with her. She doesn’t like strangers. Especially grown men.
UMBRA [Challenging: Success] – That explains it. Just don’t tell the boy why his friend behaves this way. Maybe he’s already figured it out himself, but if he hasn’t… he doesn’t need to know.
YOU – Got it, Rune. I wasn’t planning to bother her. I just need to find out whether you know anything about the murder.
NARRATOR – He immediately slips back into his usual loud, obnoxious tone.
RUNE – No, fuck, I don’t know anything about the murder! And even if I did… Rune ain’t no fucking snitch. But relax, boozehound: I didn’t kill that freak!
NARRATOR – The boy waves the hammer around so energetically that he nearly loses his balance.
RUNE – We were hanging around here till midnight on Thursday and didn’t see shit. Same as always, the local thugs were getting wasted in the tavern… Somebody was bawling out songs in the square… But there sure as hell wasn’t any dead guy here, I swear!
NARRATOR – He rolls his eyes wildly and jabs a finger toward the tree.
DIALECTIC [Easy: Success] – So the body must have been hanged after midnight. Worth remembering.
YOU – Hmm… Were there any unfamiliar faces among those thugs? Anyone you hadn’t seen before?
RUNE – Don’t think so. All locals. I’ve seen their mugs a hundred times.
WHISPER [Medium: Failure] – What else could you ask…
YOU – And what happened after midnight?..
RUNE – Damn it, I told you already: we left. Went back to my place — it’s on the next street over…
NARRATOR – He casually points somewhere to the east.
YOU – So Runa lives with you?
RUNE – Yeah. ‘Cause I’ve got a fucking huge heart. And my old man doesn’t give a shit about anything anyway. He probably thinks he’s just seeing Rune double. Doesn’t even realize there’s actually two of us.
KEEN EYE [Challenging: Failure] – To be fair, after enough booze, you might think the same thing.
RUNE – But now I’m gonna tell you something fucking wild… So, before bed, I went outside to take a piss.
NARRATOR – After a long, dramatic pause, he continues.
RUNE – So I drop my pants, and suddenly I see this bright blue flash in the sky… More like a streak, actually. Thin and fucking long. Gone a second later. At the time I figured I was just high as shit and starting to hallucinate. But now that you’re asking… Looks like it really happened.
CODEX [Impossible: Failure] – Lightning, perhaps? Or some other weather phenomenon?
YOU – Where exactly did you see the flash, Rune?
RUNE – I was looking straight toward the vacant lot. So that fucking streak was heading somewhere toward the houses around Fountain Square. I’m telling you, that’s exactly what I saw. Then the fisstech hit me so hard I passed out almost immediately. By morning, the dead guy had already shown up in the tree. Then he started stinking up half the city, kurwa…
DIALECTIC [Challenging: Failure] – Could that really have had something to do with the murder? What could the connection possibly be? There doesn’t seem to be one…
WHISPER [Easy: Success] – Still, you shouldn’t dismiss it.
YOU – Got it. Thanks for the help, Rune.
NARRATOR – Realizing you might be late for the meeting, you turn to leave. The boy shouts after you from a distance.
RUNE – Hey, boozehound! When you and your buddy find the killer, what’re you gonna do — chop his fucking head off? Or just beat the shit out of him and leave him to rot in the lockup?
DOMINANCE [Medium: Failure] – Good question. What punishment does one actually receive for murder?
YOU – To be honest, we haven’t really thought that far ahead…
RUNE – Fuck, are you serious?! That’s the most important part! Just make sure you find the bastard, so he thinks twice before killing people in Rune’s kingdom again. Then I’ll tell you what to do with him… Maybe we’ll quarter him. Or come up with something even better…