Witcher's Atelier

Winking at Victor, Iorveth followed Saskia and left. Then Philippa opened the portal, and Prince Stannis was helped away by his men. In a blink of an eye, only the witcher was left in front of the gate, and the mayor of Vergen was supervising the closing of the city gate.

Although Victor did not know Yarpen Sigrin just now, the learned mayor Cecil Burden, the two of them had known each other for a few years because of the aphrodisiac business. He had a thick beard common to dwarves and wore a painter's hat.

After a long separation, the witcher patted his shoulder and hugged him, "Long time no see, Cecil."

"Welcome back, Victor, do you need me to do anything for you? Still staying at Angoulême? Or can I help you arrange a hotel room? Of course it's not as comfortable as home, but at least it can shelter you from the wind and rain, and there is a bed to rest."

"No need for other arrangements, still stay at Angoulême."

"No problem. By the way, are you really a witcher now? This pair of pupils is really unheard of."

"I'm glad you still maintain your curiosity about this world, which will keep people energetic and enthusiastic, and will not be easily abandoned by the times."

"Ha! Thank you for your wonderful blessings, what you say always makes sense. Although you should not need someone to lead the way, but... Skarlan, come and accompany our witcher master to Angoulême's house, and introduce him to the changes in the past two years. I believe you haven't forgotten the Phantom Troupe."

Victor also knew this little guy wearing a beret and being ordered by the mayor. His name is Skarlan. Boden, the mayor's nephew, a young dwarf under fifty years old.

Don't be surprised. Fifty years old is indeed very young for dwarves. Usually, a dwarf has to wait until he is fifty-five and his beard grows to his waist before he is considered an adult. Scarlane hasn't even got his own dwarf cloak yet - a short hooded cloak with irregular gray and brown patches.

The advantage of a dwarf cloak is that it is completely waterproof. This excellent effect relies on the tar, dust, and greasy food residues on the trade route, which have accumulated over more than ten years - in short, it is worn without washing. Such practical clothes are the best adult gift from a father to his eldest son.

After watching Cecil leave together, Victor and Scarlane walked side by side to Angoulême's cave in the high-rise area of ​​Vergen.

Vergen was built by hollowing out most of the mountains. The bottom floor is quite expensive, and the houses in the high-rise area are cheaper. The girl didn't have money at the beginning, so she bought there. Later, Victor didn't want to move underground even though he had money.

At first glance, the entire mountain city has not changed much. From the moment you step into the city gate, whether it is the solid stone streets or the vendors on both sides of the road, they are all memories. I used to jog around the mountain along this road every day to exercise my body.

Picking and bargaining on the roadside, Victor bought a bag of peaches and figs and held them in his arms. Along the way, he chatted with Skylen and found that the young dwarf was full of hope for the war. When he talked about Saskia, his eyes lit up.

Some beauty can really transcend races. According to the dwarves, if you only lack a beard, the dwarves who want to propose to the saint will fill this avenue.

Continue to walk past the "Black God's Pot" - a famous tavern. The witcher can hear the gambling noise of the drinkers and the fist-to-flesh fights, which are all familiar to him. The reserved items in the mountain city.

I can vaguely hear Angulan, Dandelion and a few strange dwarves drinking and chatting, probably old friends of the girl. But there are other things at hand, so I won't rush to join them. Besides, according to the custom, even if they didn't play bridge, they would drink until the early hours of the night.

Following the winding mountain road, Victor paused and pointed to a closed blacksmith shop, "Hey! What's wrong with old Baltimore? Is it closed today?"

The Mahakam piercing sword that he used when he was a rookie was custom-made in this blacksmith shop. The owner Baltimore's craftsmanship is quite sophisticated.

Taking off his beret and scratching his hair, Skellen spit into the gutter, "The old guy is missing. We have been looking for him for several days but couldn't find him. If you need anything, his apprentice Torek can also make good weapons and will soon inherit this place."

"What's the matter with the disappearance?"

"I don't know much either. That's what the notice said. If you want to know the details, you have to ask Cecil."

"Okay! I will."

While chatting, he returned to the house in Angoulême, pushed open the red wooden door, and the cave house embedded in the mountain. The high-rise design did not seem stuffy at all.

He took out a few crowns for beer money to send Skellen away.

Sitting on the sofa in his memory, he took out the music box and played it. In the melodious music, Victor relaxed and took a bite of fruit and a sip of milk.

…

After a while, a round table meeting was held in the elegant hall.

The dwarf building did not have too many fancy tapestries, but the stone pillars supporting the ceiling were all depicted with traces of history, and the bright oil lamps were also ingenious.

On the central stone round table, on the left hand side of Saskia sat the sorceress Philippa Ehart, symbolizing her left hand.

On the right hand side sat Yarpan Sieglin, the leader of the dwarf army, followed by Zoltan Ziva and Mayor Cecil Burden, symbolizing her right hand.

Directly opposite her sat Shit Egg, Stannis. Although it was impolite to remember it this way, Victor could not forget this magical nickname after hearing Yarpan talk about it.

Behind the prince stood the guards Burhan and priest Orkon. On his left and right were human nobles in gorgeous robes. They looked like ordinary passers-by and were not worthy of any attention at all.

And Victor. After all, Viscount Corleone is a man with a title, and he deserves a seat at the round table.

His seat is sandwiched between the two sides, vaguely symbolizing impartiality. On the right is Philippa. Erhard, on the left is a man who looks like a noble and a warrior. He looks noble in clothes, but he is strong underneath the clothes.

The witcher observed the participants with his eyes and listened to Saskia's good voice. She was telling what happened on the ancient battlefield earlier.

"Gentlemen, you missed a good show and a good opportunity to kill the king. ...After a fight, the prince was injured...attacked from both sides. Fortunately, the witcher appeared in time and finally Philippa."

The stormy process sparked a lot of discussion until the round table became slightly quiet.

Philippa, who was wearing a high lace collar and a silver hairpin, said with a sonorous voice, "I believe you have all seen the incredible phenomenon covering the entire battlefield. I must remind anyone who still has doubts that this is by no means an ordinary haze, nor is it a garden party. The illusion performance. What we are facing should be the blood curse, an ancient and powerful spell.

Even though I don’t know who it is? For what reason? But now I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that Henselt and his army are temporarily blocked. With such a large force, no amount of troops will be of any use. As for the bad news, the haze is getting thicker and thicker and even spreading outwards. If it continues, it may envelope Vergen, and demon spirits will appear in the fog. "

"These demon spirits are very similar to the victims of the last war. Are they looking forward to redemption? Or are they coming to seek revenge with axes?" Yarpan asked.

Victor crossed his arms and offered his professional opinion, "Their nature is very close to that of earthbound spirits. Theoretically, they look forward to redemption rather than revenge, but in practice I still recommend that you trust the silver weapons in your hands. Fortunately, these immortal ghosts will become weaker as they leave the fog."

Yarpan asked again: "Then how can we get rid of them? Do we want to perform an exorcism ceremony?"

"Even if I explain, you still won't be able to understand. In short, the witcher Victor of Keldro and I will solve this problem." Philippa's tone was calm.

The nobleman sitting on the right side of the prince didn't know who Victor was at first. He only knew that he was a witcher. After hearing his full name, he shouted in surprise: "What! Are you the murderous Duvacin!?"

"The murderous people are just rumors, but I didn't expect that even your respectable Excellency would be like the old woman at the well and believe in baseless rumors!" Philippa. Erhardt responded with words of defense.

The other party attacked his close friend, and Zoltan also knocked on the table, "Sir, even though he is carrying two swords on his back, in fact he will not and cannot bear to hurt even a fly. Look at his eyes, You will find that he is actually a gentle and delicate person."

Gentle and slender! ? Who are you talking about? Victor almost laughed out loud at the dwarf's praise. He endured it with a straight face and continued to do his promising job as an "observer".

As an old acquaintance, the sorceress certainly knew what Duwakein was. Gentle and slender! ? Philippa wanted to roll her eyes and look down on the dwarf who told lies.

However, she managed her expression appropriately and continued to state with dignity, "No matter what you see in his eyes, I believe that most people are more concerned about lifting the curse, and Mr. Victor is definitely a strong helper.

Gentlemen, I don’t need you to understand this phenomenon, but there are some rules I insist you abide by..."

Prince Stennis spread his hands: "We are all ears."

The tone is gentle but the eyes are cold. This expression is unmanageable! The little bald bastard in Aden seems to have lived a long life in vain, and is not as good as the other hard-hearted little bald Radovid V.

The sorceress on the right, who continued to speak, had her collar slightly opened while making gestures, indicating that she was quite upright.

Philippa: "I ask that no one is allowed to approach the fog. It is very dangerous! In addition, we have to trace the many origins of the last war - the Vergen offensive and defense in order to lift the terrifying blood curse. I hereby request Sisi Mr. Burden must help.”

"Please feel free to ask me if you have any questions, madam." Cecil lowered his head and agreed.

"Thank you for your cooperation. In order to lift the curse, we will collect some items that symbolize war and belong to the people who died in Sri Lanka three years ago."

Yarpan interrupted again rudely, "Haha! The scraps left over from that massacre are more lice than the lice in Cecil's beard. It would be best if the curse could be lifted just like this..."

"Mr. Zeiglin, please shut your mouth and let me think about magic. And I am happy to announce that I will refuse to pay attention to your speech from now on. In short, those souvenirs must be magical and have the same meaning as those of the fallen. Ghosts are closely related.”

After Philippa finished speaking, Dragon Slayer Saskia took a deep breath. Miraculously, the meeting place immediately became much quieter.

She turned her face sideways and looked at the dwarf, "Let me make it clear first, all of you must cooperate with Philippa and the witchers in lifting the curse. So Yalpan, what are you complaining about?"

The dwarf clenched his fist and knocked on his chest: "Uh-huh...it's okay, something seems to be choking me."

Saskia’s voice sounded pleasant even when she was scolding, “If you choke, just take a sip of wine and swallow it!

Now let’s talk about some real things. How many of us are there in total? I need exact numbers. Henselt, who was opposite, announced to me that he had brought five thousand soldiers and two hundred knights. Does not include auxiliaries. "

The cruelty of numbers was fully revealed at this time, and Yarpan's face became a little embarrassed: "Sakia, you know. Hey... We dwarves are about 200 people, but don't judge our combat power by the number of people."

Receiving the saint's inquiring gaze, the unknown human noble coughed twice, "About 500 militiamen will come, but the number calculation is not so accurate."

Nodding, Saskia looked at Stannis again, "Sir, how much support can the kingdom give us?"

Thinking of the dragon slayer's insulting ultimatum to Henselt, the golden-armored prince was furious, but he also knew that now was not the time to vent, so he waved his hand back.

The guard Blohan took a step forward and answered on behalf of the prince, "There are about 200 armed men and 53 knights."

"And Henselt brought more than 5,000 people, which means we have to fight five people alone. What do you think of this situation?"

She clearly read out the overwhelming comparison of numbers, causing an uneasy buzz of discussion in the conference hall.

After a while, a human noble finally spoke up bravely: "Maybe we are outnumbered... but we have a city wall, although it is a bit low... If we have archers, who knows how it will develop..."

"Oh, for example, a whole group of heavy stone crossbowmen from Livia?" After receiving the saint's eyes, Yarpan said the set lines.

Saskia responded crisply, "Heavy stone crossbowmen are of course good, but we have better candidates, the elves led by Iorveth - the Scoia Party."

Although many people had received the news in advance, hearing Saskia's words in person still aroused a lot of discussion at the round table, especially for those human nobles. The names of the Scoia Party and Iorveth were more terrifying in their hearts than the most vicious devil.

Then there was the sound of footsteps, when Iorveth, wrapped in a red headscarf, walked to Saskia and stood behind him majestically. All the participants at the round table gasped, and several of them stood up when they saw this.

As far as Victor's eyes could see, even Yarpan and Zoltan, who were obviously of the same non-human race, only acquiesced with tangled expressions, which showed how much the Scoia's Party had done in the north in recent years.

Ignoring the stiff atmosphere, the Dragon Slayer stood up, his beautiful eyes firm, "Dear gentlemen and ladies, let me introduce you to Iorveth."

The unknown noble immediately shouted, "Sakia, look who you found, a murderer!?"

"Dragon Slayer, two hundred of the best archers in the north are waiting for your dispatch." Iorveth said confidently.

Cold numbers always make people think deeply. After thinking for a while, Zoltan said, "You didn't ask for archers, they are here."

"I'm not very happy about being in love with the elves, but even a stick covered in shit can be used as a weapon." Yarpan muttered in response.

An unknown noble complained, "But... he has burned many villages in my territory."

Prince Stannis stood up and said, "It's one thing to restore the freedom of serfs, but recruiting a criminal whose head is rewarded by many northern countries...? Saskia, this is really too much."

As the prince spoke, a wave of opposing discussions rang out around the round table.

Iorveth snorted and sneered, "Ms. Saskia, you just need to say a word and the Scoia Party will leave immediately."

Sakia opened her hands majestically, and her armored hands slammed on the table. When her beautiful eyes looked from left to right, the conference room suddenly became silent.

"Please listen to me. Iorveth came to fight for me, I trust him, and I know he is absolutely reliable, just like all of you."

Noble: "How can you be so sure? He is an elf! Born with the blood of betrayal... and he has been fighting with humans for a century!"

"You should all remember how the Vrihede Brigade led by Iorveth fought loyally for Nilfgaard and the Valley of Flowers in the last Northern War. Unfortunately, the sacrifice was only exchanged for ruthless deception and betrayal.

Now they have a new goal. Pontar Valley will be the first country that does not have to worry about the arrows of the Squirrel Party when leaving the protection of the city walls, and the elite Elves and dwarves, nor will they live in ghettos or reservations.

To achieve this ideal, we have a war that must be won. You know what kind of opponent we are facing. It is an outstanding army, brave and well-trained, and will not be frightened or defeated. They must be annihilated to win.

Listen! I want Iorveth to be on our side. I want him to help us get rid of the Kaedwen. I promise you that if you accept it, he will do it with a smile. "

The dragon slayer's impassioned speech shocked the audience, and the overwhelming courage even moved Victor. He couldn't help but wonder, this amazing oratory is a talent. Or... is it magic!?

Yarpan was the first to respond to the will of the saint, "As long as I can make the villain Henselt cry... then I will join, and Iorveth and his army can stay."

Then the unknown noble sighed, "Damn it! It's really disturbing, but since you said it's necessary, then do it! Okay, I agree."

Stennis insisted: "I object!"

His guard Blohan also stepped forward and responded, "Elf, you have killed countless of my men, do you remember them?"

"There's nothing to be sorry about. If I don't kill them, they will kill me." Iorveth looked back with sharp eyes.

At this time, another nobleman next to him concluded: "Think about two hundred archers! Well, for a better future and for the destruction of Kaedwen! I agree!"

"Down with the bastards! Let's toast!" Zoltan shouted.

The overwhelming voice of approval drowned out the few opponents, and the overall situation was decided.

When Saskia raised her glass, everyone responded together. At this time, Victor noticed the livid face of Prince Stannis. In terms of dominance, he and the dragon slayer were obviously not in the same league.

After everyone toasted, the meeting ended.

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