Before the witchers knew it, the sun was already starting to set. The sounds of arguments and someone writing on the wall was getting softer and slower.
After a heated argument, the witchers finally settled down on the four missions: unity, teamwork, equality, and expansion.
There were also six absolute rules they had to follow. Any rulebreaker could be facing house arrest to the death penalty.
1. No betraying the brotherhood and its members.
2. No committing heinous acts unprovoked.
3. Equality and fairness.
4. No interfering with politics without the brotherhood's permission.
5. Follow the brotherhood's orders.
6. No politicking in the brotherhood.
(Subject to change)
***
"Now for the nitty gritty." Roy said, "So expansion is our goal, and we need manpower for that. We need a source of new blood. We'll be going with our plan and working with Orloff to build an orphanage. He's one of Novigrad's big three. You'll be picking the children you want and mentoring them before administering the Trials. We need to contact The Collector and pick a spot for the orphanage."
"Hold on. You mean to work with one of the biggest gang lords around?" Geralt shook his head. "He's got blood on his hands. No way he'll work with you. Even if the gang lords would put in work for charity, they must have something to gain from it."
Lambert and Eskel were doubtful as well.
"Ah, allow me to tell you a story." Felix stood up and explained, "The Collector is more than meets the eye…"
Felix finished his story in a few minutes, leaving the Wolves dumbfounded.
Geralt was utterly impressed. "You built a lab right under Eternal Fire's nose, had a doppler replace a gang lord, and then partnered up with him."
"That is incredible. You guys are geniuses." Lambert was shaking with excitement, his eyes glinting with glee. "I love it."
"When we trained his slowpoke thugs, we knew he was as kind as most dopplers are. Since he's an orphan, he sympathized with all the children born into this world alone." Felix said, "But he used to be hunted by the Eternal Fire. Hiding from them was already hard enough, let alone taking care of the poor orphans. Things are different now, however. He's now one of the biggest rulers in Novigrad. Money is no problem for him, and he gets to call a lot of the shots in Novigrad. Just like us, he wants to build an orphanage to take all those lonely kids in and provide them shelter until they can stand on their own two feet. Most importantly, those kids will be safe from the traffickers if they have a place to stay."
The witchers nodded. The slave trade was rampant all the way from Skellige Isles to the continents.
"While you guys were in Kaer Morhen, the Collector shortlisted three houses as a potential orphanage. He was waiting for you guys to make the call." There was a hint of respect in Felix's eyes. "And he promised he'd invest eighty percent of the money to build the place up and keep it running."
Roy heaved a sigh of relief. At least we don't have to worry about money for a while.
"But he had a condition, and he wishes to talk to us about it." Felix added, "It's probably about the children who will be taken in. He knows how hard our training can be, and he's worried we might go too far and hurt the kids."
"We'll see him tomorrow, then," Auckes suggested. "We need a lot of people to work on the orphanage. Everyone needs to lend a hand."
Just like that, they already had something to do the next day.
***
"We can't just expand externally. Relying on the orphanage alone takes too much time. The kids will at least take a year to pass the Trial. Unity should be further up on our list of priorities." Lambert said, "We'll gather all wandering witchers and have them join the brotherhood. As long as they are willing to negotiate and pass the test. Their schools don't matter. And I know one witcher who can join—Aiden of the Cat School." Lambert gushed, "I've worked with him a few times. We're good friends, and he's a man of principle. We can trust him. I can travel to our rendezvous point and wait for him or leave a hint telling him to come to Novigrad."
Lambert was looking forward to meeting Aiden.
Kiyan and Felix exchanged a look. "I remember Aiden. He's a black-haired and green-eyed kid. Wasn't even fifteen when we last saw him. So that makes him fifty-something this year? He's not consumed by madness, however. A worthy ally for us."
"Never seen you so excited about seeing someone before, Lambert." Auckes wiggled his brows. "Is he your lover?"
"I would've been done with the wedding a long time ago if Aiden was a girl," Lambert answered proudly.
"Since we're talking about the people we know, I suggest we be honest about everything," Letho quipped. "Tell us every witcher you know. If we can trust them, try contacting them and tell them about the brotherhood. We need to bolster our foundation. Every veteran can at least handle a few apprentices, and that's crucial for our growth."
"If I'm right, Vesemir knows exactly where Kaer Seren is. It's somewhere between Kovir and Poviss." Eskel mused. "Once he's here in Novigrad, maybe we can get to the Griffin School through him."
"Griffins are worthy allies. The creed of knights is the truth they live by," Geralt said. "They're even more traditional than us, but that's the reason their numbers are dwindling. They're in an even worse position than any other school."
"So we have Aiden and the Griffins…" Roy recorded that in a leather journal and scanned everyone. "Any other leads?"
"It's been more than ten years since I saw any witcher outside of the Wolf School. Excluding today." Eskel shook his head.
"I've been locked up for thirty years." Kiyan sighed. "Sorry."
Felix said nothing.
"We met someone in Vizima." Serrit looked at the Wolves. "He's a former Wolf and current mercenary named Berengar."
"Berengar is still alive?" The Wolves exchanged a look of relief and delight. "When did you see him? Is he still doing well?"
"About six months ago. We asked him to make some gear for us. He's a real master blacksmith. In terms of blacksmithing alone, he's even better than Vesemir," Serrit said. "He's doing okay. Still makes a living by taking requests and never kills any innocents. Upholds the Wolven code of neutrality. We invited him to come with us before we left Vizima, but he refused. He told us he wanted to turn his body back to normal so he could have kids. That's why he hates Kaer Morhen for changing him into a witcher."
Felix scoffed. Yet another fool. He has an incredibly long life and a powerful body. This is the price he must pay. This isn't some kind of fairy tale where you can sell your cake and eat it as well.
Kiyan sympathized with Berengar, and he nodded. His biggest wish was to gain back his old appearance.
"He's a master blacksmith, but still he left the school without hesitation. Nobody can convince him to come back." Geralt muttered to himself, "Berengar still hasn't changed." And he sighed.
Eskel and Lambert's gazes turned downward as they reminisced about their life with Berengar.
"You've known him for decades. Do you think you can convince him? Can Vesemir do it?"
The Wolves shook their heads.
"Unless we can somehow get a container of djinns and make a wish for him, I doubt he'd ever join us."
Geralt narrowed his eyes, regret filling his face. He had a chance to have three wishes granted, but his foolishness cost him two of them. And he wasted the last one on a relationship because he got the urge for one, and that relationship left the deepest impression on him.
***
Roy put Berengar's name at the tail end of the list. He was the hardest witcher to convince thus far. "So all the potential members we know so far are Kiyan of the Cat School, the Griffins in Kaer Seren, and Berengar of Vizima." He said, "Once the early stages of the orphanage's establishment is done, we'll send someone to persuade these people."
"Think outside the box, Roy. There are more witchers out there. We can just post a request on the bulletin board and wait for someone to come to us," Aucke suggested. "This is a big city with a ton of people living in it. I think someone should come by within a few months."
***
After the topic of the orphanage and unity, someone brought up another issue.
"Roy, back in Kaer Morhen, you promised you could improve the recipe and reduce the death rate of the Trial." Eskel asked, "Our lab is certainly big, but where are we going to get our mage?"
And then everyone turned their attention to Roy. Some gave him nervous looks, some winked at him, while some wiggled their eyebrows. If they had no mage, then the brotherhood would just be like all the witcher schools: stagnant and left with no chances to improve or expand.
"Calm down, people." Roy puffed his chest and strutted around the table confidently. "I have a few candidates. Mages, alchemists, druids, you name it. But I need to dup… convince them to join. Ask Felix. He knows what I'm talking about. He saw the sorceress and made an agreement with her. She's going to hold the Trial for Carl."
Felix nodded, and the Wolves heaved a sigh of relief. They were looking forward to Carl passing the Trial. He would be the first one to pass it since the brotherhood's establishment. That was an event to look forward to, as it had been too long since they witnessed a successful Trial. They needed something to confirm that their choice was correct.
"And I'm not the only one who knows a mage, Geralt." Time to drag the White Wolf into this. "I think you can try persuading her into joining, if you catch my drift. If I'm right, she's a consultant in Aedirn's Vengerberg, isn't she? If she's willing to be our resident mage, you guys can be together again."
"Ahem." Geralt waved his hands. "We've broken up for years. It's been a while since she contacted me, and she doesn't owe me anything. She might even hate me for what happened before the breakup. It'd be bad if I tried to convince her."
Roy rubbed his chin. They keep breaking up and getting back together only to live their lives together in the end. But Ciri is a key part in their relationship. She's like a daughter to them, after all. With Ciri out of the picture, there's no way someone like Geralt can convince Yennefer. I'd rather take my chances with a higher vampire. "Forget it. We'll talk about that later."
And he stared at his companions once more. "Today, we've settled on the brotherhood's missions, rules, and short-term goals. I hereby announce that the brotherhood is officially established!"
Roy produced a bottle of white wine brewed in rural Novigrad and sold in the ballroom, and then he poured a glass for everyone. "A toast for a great day. Today is the beginning of everything!"
Serrit stopped him. "Hold it! You've overlooked something important, kid. We're a brotherhood, so everyone's equal, but there must be an eldest of the brothers here." He announced, "We need a leader. He doesn't need to give every order for every little thing, but he needs to guide us to a better future. He needs to make plans and give a wide berth to any dangers we can't win. When we can't decide on something difficult, he must make the final call. We need someone to lead us into glory!"
Serrit looked at everyone present. "What do you think? Who's the best one to lead us all?"
"Why don't we decide through a trial of battle?" Auckes was raring to go, but Serrit shot him a look.
Geralt disagreed. "We're a brotherhood now. Combat prowess isn't the only defining trait for a leader."
Lambert agreed for once. "Just because someone's a good combatant doesn't mean he's wise. He could be a fool. I think we should vote on this."
"Agreed."
"But I have something to say." Lambert pursed his lips. "Every school has a different number of members here. That might affect the final results."
The Vipers exchanged looks. They knew Lambert was talking about them.
"Rule number six, Lambert. You broke it." Felix purred, "Politicking will affect the results, not the number of members each school has. You have nothing to worry about if you don't have any ulterior motives."
"On the name of our school and the brotherhood, we swear we'll pick the best man for the job. No biases." Letho took a deep breath. They had the most number of members around, so he thought there was a need to explain.
Kiyan said, "Don't forget, we did talk about abolishing the schools and uniting everyone under one banner once the brotherhood hits its stride. Don't sweat the details, Lambert."
Geralt patted Lambert's shoulder, and Eskel looked at him.
"It's alright. We'll just cast our votes."
"I trust you'll make the right choice." Geralt smiled. "Wouldn't have come here otherwise."
***
The votes were counted, and the results were out. All witchers smiled, save for one.
"Are you guys serious?" Roy was red with anxiety for the first time. "Why me?" Everyone voted for me but me!
"You know the reason we're gathered here," Letho commented.
Everyone's eyes twinkled.
Roy might be the youngest of them all, but he got all the witchers together.
"Because you're a clairvoyant." Lambert was half-amused, half-annoyed. "Who else can take the spot but you?"
"But we're not here to work for you," Felix blurted, and Kiyan nodded. "You can only point us in the general direction."
"And if your decision proves to be wrong…" Auckes grinned. "Punishment awaits."
"And now, a toast." Geralt stood up, raising his glass of wine. "To the brotherhood!"
Eskel raised his glass as well, the sun shining on his slightly red face.
Everyone shouted, "To the brotherhood! To Roy!"
Roy was still bemused and confused. But he knew what he had to do. A great future awaits!
***
***
