The Witcher: Elder Blood

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***

I've been in a bad mood for the past four hours. The recent situation with the brazen thieves and the greedy merchant was to blame. Seriously, what kind of person would you have to be to decide to steal from wizards.

We dealt with the former at their place of residence - a large yet inconspicuous lair - roughly speaking. Not the way I wanted, instead of intimidation with our sorcerer's 'stuff', we had to spill a lot of blood. They were the first to start, but I still felt out of place. Until today, I had never killed humans, only monsters, and that could be counted on the fingers of two hands. Most likely by the next day I wouldn't care at all, and everything that had happened would remain as an unpleasant moment of our journey.

For the spoilt day and nerves, we decided to get even on the second accomplice - the merchant. And no, we didn't kill him, we didn't do any physical harm at all. We were wiser: we called the local guards, explained the situation to them briefly, paid them some money for their trouble, and they, motivated by the quick solution of the problem, handed the merchant over to the local authorities.

However, magicians are treated more favourably if they don't play any cruel tricks, and we didn't do that, even a run-in with thieves didn't spoil our reputation. Firstly, they are thieves who decided to steal from honourable wizards. Secondly, they didn't have the brains to resolve the matter peacefully. Thirdly, the local government members in charge of our case didn't care about the lives of the Temple Quarter thieves.

We were even paid some compensation from the merchant's funds before sticking him in the dungeon. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the funds were shared by the local government.

Still, neither the return of our belongings, nor the proceedings with the merchant, none of it lifted my spirits. I left Vyzima with a frown on my face and thoughts of the same quality.

- Are you not satisfied with what has happened? - Galanthea asked me worriedly, sitting beside me on the wagon while I steered the horses. - Detmold doesn't care a bit about what happened, only happy about the extra coins from the compensation.

- The idiots could move on. All they had to do was return our valuables. But no, they decided to fight.

- So why feel sorry for them? It's a waste,' she moved closer, her hand massaging my back. - These things happen, so why mourn your enemies?

- Yeah, now I'm being taught how to live by a little girl? - I asked her without anger. - I don't feel sorry for them, all the same... the case itself seems wrong to me. Needless violence. They weren't our enemies, and neither were we theirs, but they somehow decided that the amount they stole was more important.

- You need a distraction, do you want me to teach you how to play the lute?

- I'm not going to become a bard,' I gave her a sceptical glance over my shoulder.

- Come on, you're an enchanter. A hundred years isn't a barrier, it's not just about learning magic,' she held out the lute to me and took the reins herself. - At least try it, maybe you'll like it. We'll start with the choruses first,' her finger pointed at the strings.

The rest of the journey was spent learning how to play the lute. It lasted only half an hour until we reached our transition point, away from the city and prying eyes. There I opened a portal to the same point at the next town on the path.

The next crossing point was outside the city of Rinda, located by the Pontar River that separates the two kingdoms. This time we crossed into Redania territory. One of the perks of such crossings is no brainwashing at the borders. Often traders have to be bribed to get through without wasting time. We fortunately have our own pass, with much better efficiency.

The rest of the journey to Tretogor, the capital of Redania, was spent learning from Galantea, who again persuaded me to continue my lute lessons.

- You don't have a problem with your memory, all that's left is to learn to play,' the praise did nothing to buy me.

- It was like going to a blacksmith with tools and saying: 'Listen, I've done the hardest thing here - I've assembled the tools, teach me how to forge quickly'.

- Small steps, Eren. Let me play something before you throw away my lute,' she stopped trying to teach me just in time, just as I was about to throw the lute back with the other things in the wagon out of annoyance.

The unskilful strumming of the lute, even considering the slight irritation of learning to play an instrument under Galantea's constant instruction, lightened my mood a little, and the pleasant music of her playing brought me back to normal. At least by the time we reached the city in the late afternoon, I had forgotten all about what had happened and was concentrating on more important matters.

You'd expect a lot when visiting Tritogor, it's a capital city after all, but its nauseating conservatism and initial plainness leaves a lot to be desired compared to the more attractive looking and convenient capitals. The city is not particularly impressive - a small castle, a royal palace, a few grand government buildings and that's it, nothing else interesting to show a visitor.

Much more interesting was Oxenfurt, built on an island in the middle of the river about five hundred kilometres to the west. The town is famous for its Ochsenfurt Academy. Any connoisseur will say of the Academy that it is a glorious institution of higher learning, attracting people from all over the continent, and managing to lure them from Ophir - the land beyond the Great Sea.

But it is not only Oxenfurt that takes some of the glory away from the capital, there is another city that is much more significant, and yet is not part of Redania, although it is located on its territory - Novigrad.

It is a city-state and the largest human settlement in the Northern Kingdoms, located in the delta of the Pontar River. Novigrad has the status of a 'Free City' and is not subject to the laws of Redania. Also, thanks to the largest port on the Continent, the city is rightfully called the 'Capital of the World' and a centre of culture.

It is to Novigrad that we will go to trade after Tritogor, at the same time stopping in Oxenfurt, where we will sell paper and ink. And in Novigrad, on the contrary, we'll mostly shop - that was the original plan, but it changed when one evening Detmold came to me, while we were resting in a tavern, with a serious conversation.

- So you want to end the trade? - I asked him.

- Shit, it's bullshit. It seemed interesting at first, and we managed to raise a lot of money, but to continue? I don't feel like it. Not even a little bit.

- I see. - I cast a thoughtful glance at the book on the table in front of me. In it I write down all the information about our trade case. - That's okay, so we'll finish sooner than originally expected.

- Do you mind?

- Why would I mind? - I give him a surprised look. - I told you right away, when I first came up with the idea - trading just to get back on my feet..... - I look at the book again, turning a few pages. - We need to sell off the rest of the merchandise first. Since we're done with all this crap, there's no point in stopping by Novigrad for more purchases. We'll head straight for Ard Carraigre, stopping by small towns and villages along the way, and sell off what's left in the capital.

- Phew, that's a load off my mind. I thought I'd have to convince you,' Detmold finally relaxed from the start of the conversation and sat down in the second chair on the other side of the table. - I wanted to go to Covir.

- To see your brother? He's supposed to be living in Pont Vanis.

- That's right, not only does he, we're from Pontus Vanis. At least I'll see what he's up to,' he threw his arms out to the sides. - I haven't thought any further.

- Suit yourself. I hope you don't blow all your money. Now that we've sorted out your future plans, I'm going to Wengerberg. I have no idea how long I'll be there, but if you need me, at least you'll know where to find me.

- Wengerberg? - Detmold jumped up. - Are you seriously going to go to that bitch? How do you even manage to hold a conversation with her for more than a minute.

- It's not that bad, and she promised to teach me alchemy.

- Pfft, tough case, me and my brother have known alchemy since we were kids. You could have asked us to do the same,' the warlock said, crossing his arms resentfully.

- Don't play the high-competition whore from Novigrad. Not only are you a shitty teacher, but being an alchemist's apprentice doesn't compare to being a personal apprentice to Tissae de Vries. Whereas I was taught spatial magic and tried to cram in as many different types of spells as possible to better understand my potential, she was taught in a more structured way, with plenty of time for alchemy and artefacting.

Detmold listened to my explanation first resentfully, then sceptically. By the end of it, he let out a chuckle and headed for the exit of my room, throwing in one last thing:

- 'Just say, "I want to get under her skirt" - the rest is secondary,' he didn't let me answer, disappearing on the other side of the door as soon as he finished speaking.

- Still, you're a lousy teacher, no matter how many potions you brew.

Left alone, I was finally able to devote time to the office book, making edits and crossing out previously written down goods that I was going to buy in Novigrad.

The next day we changed our route, travelling in the opposite direction from Oxenfurt and Novigrad.