It was a midsummer's night. Stars twinkled in the heavens like gemstones that glinted under the sun. Silvery moonlight showered the land, and the night breeze murmured to the prairie. Cicadas chirped in the trees, and toads croaked in the fields. Sometimes pairs of green eyes would open in the darkness and dart across the plains.
"Mmph…"
"You're awake, I see."
"How long was I out, Letho?" Roy struggled to get up. He was on a makeshift bed made out of some hay, and a bonfire crackled beside him. His armor was taken off, and the right side of his chest was covered in bandages.
Letho was right beside him, tossing firewood into the bonfire. Auckes, Serrit, Felix, and Carl were lying across from them.
"About ten hours. It's almost daybreak." Letho took a rabbit's leg that was grilled to golden brown and handed it to Roy. The aroma of meat wafted in the air. "Eat. You need a lot of food to heal up."
"Is it that bad?" Roy tried to turn his waist and neck, but it tore on his wounds, and a wave of pain crashed over him. He checked his character sheet. His HP had gone up to forty percent, but the 'heavily injured' debuff was still there.
"Broke a rib, but your organs are intact. Didn't get displaced either. You were lucky. And we treated your wounds while you were out. You probably have to rest up for a month, so stay put. Don't do anything that'll drain you, and that includes your swordsmanship training."
"A month?" Roy bit into the rabbit's leg, but he looked frustrated. "I’ll get rusty if I don’t train for a whole month." Roy looked at the character sheet. He was really close to leveling up. He thought he could use Gryphon to kill more animals and gain enough experience to level up. That way, he could use Full Recovery to heal.
"Stop complaining, kid. Any other guy would have to rest for three months, and it's not easy surviving a dangerous battle like that." Letho arched his eyebrow. "You have to get used to this."
Roy touched the burn marks on his left hand, and he lost his appetite.
"You can do some training if you're bored, but nothing physical. Analyze the battle. Think about the mistakes you made and try to not make the same mistake in the next battle. Fine-tuning your battle sense is more important than the battle itself, to an extent." Letho looked at the blazing bonfire. "It's not fun, but it helps with survival."
Roy nodded.
"You probably can learn a lot from your battle with that red giant."
Roy licked the grease off his hand like a cat and cheered himself up. "Of course. I mean, what doesn't kill me makes me stronger."
Roy and Letho's conversation woke everyone else up.
"So, does it still hurt, Roy?" Auckes plopped down beside Roy and wagged his wineskin. "Wanna have a drink and clear your head?" He smiled.
"I'm fine. I just can't move too much for a while." Roy sniffed Auckes' liquor and rolled his eyes. "You can keep your liquor to yourself."
"Are you stupid?" Serrit snatched the wineskin right away and took a swig. "He broke a rib. He can't take any liquor or he'll have to stay out of action for two more months. And you still don't get it after all this time? He doesn't like liquor."
"No, you're stupid. Liquor cleanses the soul and works well as pain relief. Are you my brother or not? Why can't you understand me? And give me back my booze! I'm warning you! Stop! Leave some for me!"
Serrit and Auckes started arguing again, much to everyone's amusement. They also envied the brothers a little. No matter how dangerous the battles were, they could always stay optimistic after that. It was probably some kind of talent. The witchers just hoped the brothers could stay so optimistic forever.
***
Auckes and Serrit were unhurt, and so was Letho, but they looked exhausted. That was the side effects of their decoction and overexerting themselves. Felix, however, was worse for wear. The Whispess' weird attacks destroyed his armor. He looked even worse than a beggar.
Roy could see the layers of bandages under the cracks, and blood was seeping through them. Felix had a lot more endurance than most people though. He looked like the wounds did not even bother him. Felix pushed his sunglasses up to cover the bruise on his face, then he slowly greased and kept his blade sharp.
Carl was crouched beside him like a curious puppy. He stared at his teacher and turned his attention to Roy from time to time. The nightmare of the Ladies seemed to have no grip over him anymore.
Felix commented nonchalantly, "Well, we made the crones mad. They'll be giving us a really warm welcome the next time we pass Velen. A red, hot welcome."
Auckes tossed his wineskin to Felix and grinned. "If you ask me, Vulture, we don’t have to worry about those ugly witches. Serrit and I almost killed one of them. They're not that scary. The next time we're in Velen, we'll kill them!"
"Oh, shut it!" Serrit snapped. "The Ladies' power comes from the land of Velen. They'll be severely weakened if they leave their turf. We had an overwhelming advantage during the battle." He fell into a pensive state for a moment. "They couldn't summon the Wild Hunt in time. That's the biggest threat for us."
The Vipers fell into silence. They knew how lethal their nemeses were. A moment later, Roy touched his wound by accident. His face turned red, and he coughed violently.
"You're really banged up. Are you sure you can go on?"
"I'm not your regular guy. I'm not as weak as you think. I can go on horseback—" Roy coughed.
"Why don't we open a portal?" Auckes winked at Roy. "You're close with Lytta. Why don't you ask her to open a portal when we get to La Valette's turf? I bet she'll be happy to help. We'll leave the training for next time."
"Coral has work back in Kerack. She doesn't have time to come over." Roy shook his head. "I'd rather not disturb her over something like this." He cocked his eyebrow. "And I'm not the only one who's friends with a sorceress. Why don't you guys ask Keira for help? I'm sure she'll be happy to lend a hand."
Auckes smiled sheepishly. "It was just a fling. We just needed comfort. Besides, she's probably busy with things back in Temeria."
Everyone shut up about the sorceresses.
Letho looked at Felix and Carl. "You see how it is, Vulture. Roy's hurt. We might stay around at La Valette's turf for a while. At least until he's all better. If you need to leave…"
"I need to rest up for a bit as well." Felix took his sunglasses off and looked at the Vipers. He downed Auckes' liquor and shrugged. "And we promised we'd travel to Novigrad together. Carl needs your pointers too."
The witchers exchanged smiles. The deadly battle earlier closed the gap between the Vipers and Cats.
***
"Before we meditate, I think we should first check our loot." Letho laid out a pile of items beside the bonfire. There was a mutagen the size of a fist, a sharp pair of black, curled horns, and a cleaned, gigantic heart filled with mana. Roy got these from the fallen demon, Fagus. There was also a three-fingered arm covered in sickly patches, engorged flesh, and regenerative tissues, an enormous black ladle that measured over eight feet and weighed more than a hundred pounds. The veteran witchers got these from the Brewess. Finally, three acorns that gleamed pink and golden sat beside the bonfire. The witchers took these from Arendelle, the oak tree on Bald Mountain.
"Pick two, Vulture," Letho said generously. The other Vipers nodded as well.
If it was in the past, Roy would be managing all the loot, but they couldn't do that now that Felix and Carl were here. Felix might feel insulted if they took all the loot. It would be more trouble than it was worth to make an enemy out of another witcher.
"Carl will need the mutagen after he becomes a witcher. You can take it if you want. The demon horns are perfect crafting components. Berengar would love them. I think we can sell the heart to a sorcerer. I have no idea what this arm does."
Roy cast Observe on it, but all he saw was, 'An unknown item brimming with mana.' He turned around and met Carl, who was staring at him curiously. Roy smiled. "I have no idea what this does either. The sorcerers or scholars probably do, but I don't think you guys are going to need this." He brushed his hand across the ladle. It felt cool to the touch. "It's a sturdy weapon. Maybe we can melt this down into crafting components, but it'll be a hassle to bring it with us."
Everyone turned their attention to the acorns. Kunguran's message still rang in the witchers' minds. "The golden acorns can strengthen your body and extend your lifespan."
Carl was staring at the acorns. He could feel something stirring in him, and the boy licked his lips.
"Does it smell good? You want the acorn?" Felix patted the boy's head. Carl was weak and scrawning. If the acorn could strengthen his body, it would help a lot with the trial.
"Yeah. I…" Carl looked expectant, but when he noticed the witchers staring at him, he looked down sheepishly.
"Felix, Carl, I'm more than happy to give you the acorns, but I have to tell you that you can't eat them just like that." Roy raised an acorn up. It gleamed even brighter with the fire shining on it. This was Roy's first time coming in contact with this thing. "The core did not tell us everything. The golden acorn can strengthen Carl's body and help him with the trial, but not without a price." Roy paused for a moment. He cast Observe on the acorn.
'Forgotten Acorn
Beech family, oak
Age: Two hundred and four years old
Place of origin: Ard Saerbyn, top of Bald Mountain, Holy Oak—Arendelle
Effect: The fruit can heal major injuries swiftly and adds 3 to 5 points in Constitution on consumption.
Warning: The golden acorn has absorbed part of the Corrupted Oak's poison. Consuming the acorn will damage the brain to an extent. Anyone with a Constitution lower than 20 will lose a large part of their memories if they consume this. Anyone with a Constitution higher than 25 will be immune to the poison. Anyone with a Constitution higher than 30 will not be affected by the acorn.'
***
Roy fell into his own thoughts. I can't even see Letho and the guys' Constitution. I can't let them eat this. It'd be bad if they lost their memories. As for me…
I know Full Recovery can restore my memories, but I can't do that if I forget about the character sheet. After a lot of deliberation, Roy decided to keep this acorn as his trump card. He could use it to heal himself if or when he would be lethally injured. And I'll have to keep this until my Constitution is 25 and above. I wanna maximize its effect.
"What kind of price?"
"Remember the legend we heard?" Roy said, "Every year, the ladies would invite three young men and women to spend a night with them during the banquet. Every year, they would return the next day with their memories wiped clean. They would forget even their names and start life anew."
"So you're saying…" The witchers were surprised.
"Yes. They probably had this acorn, but these acorns we have are a lot older than the ones they had."
"And how'd you know that, kid?" Serrit was curious. "You haven't had one before."
"Well, that was just my deduction." Roy sighed. "But I just know the price is steep."
Eventually, Felix decided to take one of the Forgotten Acorns for Carl, but he seemed to have another plan of his own. He was not in a hurry to have the boy consume it. He declined the Vipers' offer to take another item, so Roy tucked everything into his inventory space.
It was now four cubic meters after that upgrade. Roy filled it with necessities, herbs, cleaned monster organs, crossbow bolts, and miscellaneous items. Even so, he still had some space to stuff things.
"So what are you going to do with that bloodstone?" Letho was talking about the stone Kunguran was trapped in.
Roy held it in his hand. "I thought I told you. Kunguran calls herself a druid, so I'll hand her to an actual druid. Nature's children will find a way to save her," Roy answered.
"Most druids follow the rules of nature. They live in seclusion and protect endangered animals and plants. Nobody knows where they are. Are you sure you can find them?"
The controller of weather and plants were as rare as witchers.
"I know one. I'll find the time to give him this stone."
"Who are you talking about?"
Roy smiled mysteriously. "Remember Geralt?"
"The white-haired guy who promised to meet us in Novigrad?" Letho rubbed his head. He had only seen Geralt once. It was back then Roy talked about the brotherhood of witchers.
"Yes. I got to know a druid thanks to him. It was back at Brokilon's border."
Mousesack (Ermion) was Geralt's old friend. He was also the consultant for Cintra and Skellige. Mousesack went to Brokilon for Ciri under Calanthe's orders. It was there he ran into Roy and Geralt, who was escorting Ciri.
Thanks to that, Roy got to know this old druid. Mousesack was the elder of Skellige's circle of druids. He was powerful and knowledgeable, but most importantly, he was a kind pacifist. He would help everyone in the world if he could. Roy thought they could make a lot of money if they gave the acorn to him.
The witchers talked about their itinerary for a while and went to meditate.
The skies were overcast the next few days. Dark clouds hung overhead, and the air itself felt wet. They went on slowly, since they had to take care of Roy. Still, they managed to reach La Valette's land by the third day's noon, a place located in the borders of Redania and Temeria.
End of Arc
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