Witcher's Atelier

"Declaration of the Flagellants"

"Brothers and sisters of Lebioda!

The end is coming! Make up for your sins now and accept everything in the Holy Book! Our prophet wrote: "It is sometimes necessary to stay away from the pleasures of the flesh and avoid one's own comfort; it is praiseworthy to value the happiness of one's neighbors more than one's own comfort."

So, we, the Eighth Day Flagellants, constantly whip ourselves and cause ourselves physical pain to ensure that all people in the world can succeed. There is still evil, illness or sin in the dark corners of the world, no doubt because we don't whip ourselves often enough!"

…

Victor had no opinion on the beliefs of the Flagellants. There were too many wonderful and even evil religious explorations in the Dark Middle Ages. The choice of the Flagellants to whip themselves was better than tying people to the fire and burning them. And Ms. Pinastri had no intention of preaching to the witchers.

Sitting on a chair and watching her make potions, Victor carefully memorized the ingredients of the "Grayhead Mushroom Potion". Fortunately, except for the grayhead mushroom, other materials were normal and non-toxic.

From the perspective of the mixing method, the so-called potion is simply to throw herbs into the pot and boil them. There is nothing particularly magical about it. The hermit girl is an ordinary herbalist rather than an alchemist.

…

A few hours later, Victor took the finished potion from her, walked out of the house and sat in the potato field. He drank it all and lay down.

The reason why he chose to test the potion outdoors is that according to his memory of playing Geralt in his previous life, he would faint after drinking the potion, and then he would hear the voice of his mount... the legendary horse "Carrot" when he woke up.

That's right! The side effect of the gray head mushroom potion is that it allows people to talk to horses. Such an interesting potion is of course very interesting to the alchemist.

And Pinastri, who followed him out of the door, found that Victor ran to the field to drink the potion and couldn't understand what was going on. It can only be classified as a witcher's quirk, and turned around to continue tending the herbs.

But after a while, although she had long known that drinking the potion would cause hallucinations, the hermit girl still blinked her eyes and couldn't believe what she saw and heard.

The witcher walked to his horse, smoothed the mare's mane with his hand, and began to introduce himself to him, "Hello, friend! Do you understand me? I am Victor of Keldra. I won't mention the title because it's too long, in case you can't remember it. I'm sorry I didn't give you a name in the past, or do you have a way to call yourself? Would you like to tell me?"

The next few minutes were very long for the worried Pinastrelli. She was worried whether there was something wrong with the mixing steps, or whether there was too much gray mushroom. The witcher's hallucination seemed to be very serious.

Fortunately, he stopped communicating with the horse soon and stood there thinking.

Sighing, Victor was very disappointed now. Although he had a hunch when he drank the potion and felt neither dizzy nor dizzy, but his cheeks were hot, he still wanted to try it. He got up and took the initiative to talk to the mare.

The tone changed from friendly to threatening. He used several languages ​​he was good at to communicate with the horse, and even tried various dialects including Northeastern dialect. However, it was useless. The mare opened her big wet eyes and looked at her master innocently.

Finally, the witcher had no choice but to admit that this gray-headed mushroom potion... at least the Pinastrid version of the gray-headed mushroom potion, the main function of "horse communication" did not work on him, only the side effect of "clairvoyance" did make the black horse shadow clearer.

"Yes... I'm sorry, maybe I made a mistake in the potion, which made you have such a serious hallucination... Are you okay now?"

Hearing the voice, Victor turned his head and saw Pinastrid clasped her hands in front of her chest, her movements and expressions revealing nervousness.

Scratching his hair, he soothed softly, "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine now, and I don't have any hallucinations. Of course, from a certain perspective, it's also very bad."

After speaking, he waved his hand, took out the evil spirit oil and poured it on the silver sword, and walked towards the black horse-shaped evil spirit, intending to end it cleanly.

Just now when he was in the house, he checked the surroundings and confirmed that the evil spirit had slightly absorbed the hermit's blood and physical strength. Although no obvious damage was caused, such chronic mental stress may also be a slow torture, making the victim's pain last longer.

However, the witcher's plan to make a quick decision failed. Sensing that the other party was rushing up fearlessly, the horse-shaped evil spirit "Shadow" turned around and ran away, and Victor had to get back on the horse and chase it.

This evil spirit didn't look too difficult to deal with. Using the Seal of Arden to form a barrier, it rushed in and fought to the death in the cage. So during the pursuit, the boy had time to recall the vague memory of this mission.

…

Time soon came to late at night, and the sound of horse hooves was heard in the cabin. The female hermit was a little panicked at first, thinking that the horse-shaped evil spirit was attacking again, but soon she heard that the sound of landing was not terrifying and heavy but relaxed and happy. It was the witcher who came back!

Getting out of bed and lighting the candle, she opened the door to greet him, and the man and the horse emerged in the darkness.

When he got closer, Victor jumped off his horse and walked leisurely with his horse, "Oh! Respectable lady, don't worry, everything is over. I can assure you that the evil spirit will not appear again."

"Ah... are you serious? Bless you, Lebioda, thank you for your help." Pinastrid clasped her hands together and thanked him sincerely, "Please go into the house and rest. Although there is nothing delicious, the mashed potatoes that were just pressed last night are very fresh."

He tied the horse to the stake and stuffed it with a handful of hay. "It's good. I like to eat mashed potatoes. I brought some dried meat in my bag. Maybe you would like to eat something with me? The adverse effects of evil spirits , a bowl of broth would be much better. Although whippers don’t like to enjoy it, they shouldn’t be prohibited from eating meat occasionally!”

"Thank you for your kindness." She did not refuse.

…

Sitting at the dining table, enjoying mashed potatoes and soaked dried meat, the wrinkles on the tortured old woman's face seemed to have disappeared.

"Chevalier Marcello Crucci...you know him, right?" Victor put the food into his mouth with a spoon, and Victor started the conversation vaguely.

Pinastri was startled, "You...how do you know this name?"

He pushed back the blond hair that fell from his forehead, "I can't help but know who made him the evil horse-shaped evil spirit!"

In shock, the spoon in her hand fell to the ground, "No... this is impossible. Although he is a rude, violent, and ungrateful bad guy, he will never hurt me!"

"Don't get excited...listen to my detailed explanation. I chased him on horseback for a long distance before I reached the cemetery where he was buried. It happened that he regained consciousness and took the initiative to communicate with me, otherwise I might kill him directly.

He really doesn't want to hurt you, but existences like evil spirits are naturally on the road to gradual loss. It's still just beginning, he only occasionally has unbearable bloodlust, and he can still control it.

But as time goes by, he will eventually forget everything, leaving only his original obsession. But even for the original obsession, he will not kill you, but he will not be so friendly to other people passing by. "

The female hermit lowered her head in frustration, "He...his soul is still in the world. Why doesn't he want to leave?...When you talked to him, how did he look? Why did he turn into an evil spirit?"

The witcher touched the stubble on his chin, "Don't worry, he looks fine. He is wearing the armor he was buried with, and he is conscious and able to express himself. And the reason why he turned into an evil spirit is because of you──he thinks he needs to get Only with your forgiveness can he go to heaven with peace of mind.

This thought made him curse himself unintentionally. To put it another way, he could also be said to have been cursed by you! I’m sure you also remember the horse ‘Flame’ who was whipped to death by him! "

"I cursed him? No! How could I curse him! Although I am angry at his cruelty, I also pity his soul.

Yes, of course I remember the horse named Flame. That poor child was beaten to death because of his mistake in the knight's tourney. I can't forgive his behavior!

So I joined the flagellants, and by flagellating myself, heartily begged Lebioda to forgive his soul. "

Snapping his fingers, "This is the reason why he can't leave. He always remembers this matter in his heart, which makes him unable to find peace after death. He comes here every day to beg you for mercy. Stop beating yourself up, Only then can he find peace.”

Understanding the meaning of Victor's words, Pinastri covered her face with her hands and remained silent. She was obviously stuck in a classic time of recollection.

In some mysterious texts, this memory can last for several months, such as the explosion of Namek, or Mumu's three-pointer, so the young man did not disturb her and recalled the Knights while eating. confession.

A few hours ago, in the unknown cemetery──

Knight Marcello. Keleqi, who turned into an evil spirit, has a clear figure, and even the feathers on his helmet are lifelike, "We have known each other since childhood. We are childhood sweethearts. I love her, but she is always unhappy and her mood never gets better. What? Nothing could please her.

She felt that the world was complicated and scary. I thought her unhappiness was due to poverty, so I tried my best to get us out of the village and start a new life elsewhere.

Later, I became a knight's squire and moved her into a big house, but Pinastri soon got tired of that life and ran away from me to join the Flagellants. I left home to find her, but she kicked me away and said she didn't want anything to do with me. "

Sitting on the steps of the cemetery, Victor rested his chin on his hands, "You must have done something that made her very angry. If she was just bored, she wouldn't drive you away when she faced you, but would feel guilty." right."

"...In the dark tomb, the world of the living is bright and dazzling. I couldn't figure it out when I was alive. Only after I died did I understand that she was just constantly searching for herself.

Wandering around her, I finally saw her thoughts clearly and understood why she wanted to drive me away.

It’s for the horse named ‘Flame’!

I once had the opportunity to become the champion of the knight's tourney. She was happy for me and I wanted to win for her, but my mount "Flame" made me fail. I was so angry that I beat the horse to death.

Although I didn't hurt her, the violent violence frightened her and made her refuse to forgive me! "

Considering the cause and effect, Victor decided to follow the knight's idea and tell a white lie.

"It's good. It seems that you are also conscious. She is full of anger and concern. These are probably the reasons why you turned into an evil spirit after your death. You were accidentally cursed by her."

…

The time of recall is over──

"So... how did you solve it later? Did you use the silver sword on your back to completely eliminate him?" Pinastri raised her head, clasping her hands and staring at Victor.

"Don't be nervous. After all, I'm not a demon. For a being that is conscious and can communicate, there's no need to draw a sword. Although people say that witchers have no emotions, I think I'm a young man with rich emotions.

I helped the knight to open up new ideas and told him that what he really needed to pray for was not your forgiveness, but the forgiveness of 'Flame'. If the mount that was killed could forgive its master, that would be the real salvation! And you would feel relieved."

After a moment of silence, the hermit nodded, "That's true, but 'Flame' is dead."

"It doesn't matter. Glory to my mount. Thank it for representing 'Flame' in friendship, listening to the knight's apology, and nodding to accept it."

"Is this... really okay? How did you get the horse to nod?"

"The method doesn't matter. Facts speak louder than words. Knight Marcello has been liberated and ascended to heaven. That's enough, isn't it?" Victor didn't mean to explain.

Although using carrots to lure the mare to nod seems to be a very childish practice, since the evil spirit that longs for liberation admits and believes it, the effectiveness of removing the curse is objective.

In the wooden house where the family herbalists were, dry wood was burning in the stove, making crackling sounds.

Without saying a word, the old woman lowered her head and stared at her interlocked fingers, with drops of water falling on her hands.

All that should be said had been said, and Victor ate mashed potatoes silently, with nothing to say.

Perhaps it was a slight movement, and a horse neigh suddenly came from the window, from the "holy horse" that redeemed the Knight Marcello.

She suddenly stood up, picked up the plate, took out a carrot, and went out to reward.

Instead of following him out, the witcher sat at the table and continued to eat mashed potatoes. He guessed that the female hermit might have a lot to say and wanted to confess to the "holy horse".

…

The next morning, Victor sincerely declined the potatoes from Pinaste, and rode the "holy horse" and left the forest path.

As for the most important reward, the gray head mushroom spore powder, it was naturally put into the herbal bag, and the cultivation method was confirmed in detail with the female hermit. When we return to Corleone Manor, this project needs to be started immediately.

Although it has no effect on me, it solves the headache problem. The Wolf Faction or other witchers will definitely like such toys. Geralt has "Carrot" and Eskar has "Scorpion". I believe they will want to listen to the true thoughts of their good friends.

In addition, I will go to Elland if I have the chance and bring the things to the Temple of Meliteli to Sister Nenneke. As one of the few people who took the most care of Victor in the world of hunting demons, she will definitely like this gift.

Thanks for the subscription, recommendation ticket, monthly ticket and reward encouragement from book friend Prof_S_Snape.