Witcher's Atelier

In the evening, the Phantom Troupe returned to Vergen through the cursed fog.

With two bottles of hangover medicine on her belt, Angouleme happily went straight to the Black Cauldron. After arduous negotiations, she was allowed to have dinner there and have a few drinks with friends after dinner. The premise is not to get drunk and go home before midnight.

Victor, who had nothing to worry about, walked leisurely along the cobblestone road.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a lute, followed by soft, brisk laughter like gurgling water, and the joyful cheers of children.

The sound came from a stall that looked like a colorful storybook. The sign on the stall read-"Selling miracles, amulets and bait, and also doing haircuts."

Stopping not far away, Victor listened to the stall owner playing the lute. She was wrapped in a headscarf with only a wisp of brown hair exposed. She wore a high-necked, long-sleeved dress. She didn't look like a sorceress at all. Only the pentagram tied on her belt hinted at her identity as a spellcaster.

As the sky darkened and the children dispersed, she noticed Victor's gaze.

Putting down the instrument, the stall owner hooked the ornament with his little finger, "Sir, my pentagram aroused your curiosity?"

"Indeed, do you mind if I take a closer look?" Victor smiled and walked to the stall.

She should be a young female sorceress. Although there is almost no credibility in assessing the age of a spellcaster by appearance, her lively eyes are full of girlishness, and she also has the childlike innocence of playing with children.

"Then we have to introduce each other first." She lifted her skirt and greeted, "Good evening, I am Felicia Cole, you must be Victor of Keldra. Why are you so surprised? I have heard of you in school. It is undeniable that you have done several major things since you appeared three years ago, and now there is only you, the witcher, in Vergen."

"You are well-informed. I just arrived yesterday."

"The dragon slayer who saves the dragon slayer, the witcher, you are not unknown."

Felicia won Victor's favor with the tone of Temeria and the right amount of flattery.

"Are you studying in Aretuza?"

"Well... I'm about to complete my internship in Elixir and Superstition, so I'm here."

"Is your internship instructor Philippa Ehrhardt? She's not a simple lady. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"It's so exciting to have help from the legendary hero Duwakin!" The sorceress smiled brightly, "Thank you so much. The locals don't buy magic items at all, and I have to sell enough goods to pass the exam."

"Elixir and Superstition Internship?" Victor couldn't help but chuckle. As the name suggests, this course is about how to fool civilians. So the effect of selling products can be imagined, "Forget about the amulets... maybe I can buy some alchemical materials? Oh, you can also cut hair?"

Feilixia knew that the other party was knowledgeable, and she also laughed slyly, "Yes, haircut is my personal interest. Your haircut is great but uneven. It should have been out of trimming for a while. Maybe you are willing to buy a few "powerful amulets"! Then sit on the chair and accept my free haircut service?"

Victor was amused and laughed. This energetic young sorceress was so cute, so he bought a lot of things from Feilixia and sat on the chair to accept her free haircut service.

...

After a while, humming a brisk little song, he returned to his home in the upper city. In the dim light, the witcher noticed two people standing in front of the door.

Judging from the smell, they would appear here. One is very ordinary and the other is very special. The ordinary one is the elf Iorveth, and the unusual one is the dragon slayer Saskia. In addition, Victor also smelled the smell of "mixed pudding".

Let me explain the so-called "offal pudding" - this "exquisite delicacy" is made by putting chopped offal mixed with spices into the pig's stomach, then flattening it with two thin wooden boards. It looks like a bellows, and finally steaming it for consumption.

This traditional food of Aedirn is one of the few that witchers cannot follow. Iorveth should know about it, right?

A few steps forward, they could see each other clearly. It was indeed Saskia. She smiled and raised the offal pudding in her hand. "Wick, do you mind if I call you that? Come to chat with you. I brought some delicious food!"

Iorveth behind him crossed his arms and looked gloating.

...

The strongest warlord in Vergen, the ideal idol of the rebels, came to visit. Can he be turned away?

The two visitors were allowed into the house. Victor went to the kitchen to cook a few dishes first, and then brought two bottles of Lafite out to entertain the guests.

As for why the dragon slayer suddenly visited, he had made several predictions while cooking, and the most likely one was Iorveth's betrayal.

As expected, after drinking a few glasses of wine as a thank you, the saint came straight to the point, "Wick, you said that there is no need to rush to lift the curse fog, is that true?"

Looking at Iorveth who forgot her friends for the sake of beauty, Victor responded seriously, "Madam──"

"──Just call me Saskia."

Being stared at by her bright eyes, there was a vague sense of pressure from a superior, or the illusion of facing a mind reader...

"Well... Saskia," after weighing the pros and cons, Victor calmed down, "Regarding the impact of large-scale curses, witchers are not experts after all. That is Ms. Ehart's professional field. I just shared my views with Iorveth in private..."

The dragon slayer waved his hand heroically, "I understand, I just want to hear you say it again, okay?"

..., such a woman that is hard to refuse, why would I want to listen to her? Am I in love with her! ?

Putting his doubts in his heart, the witcher took out the most conservative inference and told Saskia sincerely, "It will take at least two months for the spread of the curse fog to cover Vergen... because... so... and the reason why I said that..."

After spending a little time listening to the young man's statement, the saint first thought about it, then smiled and raised her glass, and never talked about it again.

Putting aside the sensitive topic, Victor admitted that the other party was a wonderful communication partner. She not only had external beauty, but also had profound knowledge and an open mind. She was not like the daughter of an Aedirn farmer at all.

What surprised the witcher even more was that they actually had a common friend. Saskia knew Aryan, the young lord of La Valedi Castle, and quite agreed with his views on equality, which was shared by Victor with the baron.

When drinking with a bosom friend, a thousand cups are not enough. The dragon slayer's drinking capacity is quite amazing, and the witcher's drinking capacity is even cheating. Iorveth, who was drinking with him, soon fell flat. Saskia and Victor drank and chatted until Angoulan went home at midnight.

It is worth mentioning that the young man tried the miscellaneous pudding under the enthusiastic recommendation of the saint, and it tasted pretty good.

…

After jogging the next morning, he visited Philippa's residence again, but still no one responded. Victor opened the door and went in.

Not far away, the sound of iron hammering was loud. The room was silent, and a faint magical fluctuation came, similar to the feeling of the soundproof barrier yesterday.

Out of some unspeakable expectations, he decided to take a look at the inner room. This was an academic observation, just a look.

Unfortunately, there was no pornographic palace to see in the room today. Only the apprentice Cynthia was sitting alone at the desk studying hard. Yesterday, Victor's eyes were all attracted by the fierce battle, and today he noticed that there was a rich collection of bookshelves next to him.

There was no embarrassing scene. The witcher passed through the soundproof barrier, perhaps triggering some mechanism, and the blond and blue-eyed mage apprentice turned around suddenly.

"Ah! It's Mr. Victor Corleone. If you're here to see Ms. Ehart, there's something to discuss in the meeting room this morning, and she'll be back for a while."

"Thank you, Miss Cynthia. Also, I'm sorry for being rude yesterday."

The apprentice was only wearing a thin white shirt today, so any uneven or darker parts would be invisible to the extraordinary vision.

She flirted with her blonde hair charmingly, "You don't need to care. Yes, Ms. Ehart is a very demanding mentor, but she is also very charming, and I like her doing this.

Witcher, you should know that she is the best. No one can match her except the old elf sorceress of Finda Bay. You should have seen how she casts spells... Her gestures are so light and elegant, completely different from that old lady of Tanshaviye."

Victor kept an open attitude about the exchange between them as master and apprentice, but the name she mentioned at the end was very interesting, "You also know Xi'er?"

"I have seen her cast spells, and I have seen all the great sorceresses at work. Xi'er looks very masculine. Precise, reasonable, and extremely calm, but she lacks elegance and softness."

Victor was a little surprised by the arrogant comments of the mage apprentice.

"Is this your opinion, or are you just repeating Philippa's words?"

"We have the same view. Although Triss Merigold, whom you are looking for, is talented, she lacks decisiveness, courage, and the cold and stubbornness that are indispensable to a sorceress."

Thinking of her sweet smile and harmless appearance in the carriage last time, Victor raised his eyebrows.

"Your point of view is very interesting... maybe you would like to take the time to comment on a few more for me?"

She licked her lips, "Kayla Metz and Margarita Laux, they are both not ambitious, just relying on their talents. The former is a hedonist and a promiscuous woman, and the latter only cares about her school 'Aretusa'. They lost their passion for magic a long time ago.

Then there is Francesca Findaby, no one knows how capable this old female elf is... but she must be very powerful."

Victor didn't like the tone of the other party criticizing Kayla, but he remained calm on the surface, "Philippa doesn't seem to have all the above defects... but in your heart, I guess she must have some weaknesses?"

"Of course, it's ambition. Ambition is burning in her body like the endless Koraz Desert."

Although there is a soundproof barrier to ensure that it will not be leaked, she actually dared to comment on her mentor! Is their relationship so strong?

A guess flashed through my mind, maybe this wizard apprentice is about to graduate, so she is so unscrupulous?

"Just out of curiosity, how long does it take to train a wizard nowadays?"

"Witcher, I'm sure you can't afford that kind of time, and besides, you don't have the talent. Gifted children will trigger the phenomenon of chaotic magic at an early age, and then be discovered by the Mage Academy."

"It doesn't matter, I have some good spells myself."

"You mean the witcher's seal?" Cynthia covered her mouth and giggled, "Well, Philippa can summon the illusion of a garden full of flowers and fruit trees, in which there are young elves who are having fun making love all day long. And this illusion is complete, the flowers are fragrant, and the fruits and female elves are moist and juicy..."

There is no doubt that she looks down on the witcher's seal. In front of the real illusion of the sorceress, the seal is just a trick.

"Next time she summons this kind of garden, please let me know. I'd be happy to come and observe and learn. It's for academic discussion and professional curiosity."

Staring at Victor's strong body, she smiled very pure and ambiguous, "Of course there is no problem, but I doubt that Philippa is still in the mood to summon complex illusions now. She puts all her thoughts on Saskia."

"I really benefited a lot from talking with you."

"Don't worry, think about it, witcher, think more when you have time." Her smile seemed to imply a deep meaning.

...

After exiting the soundproof barrier, Victor returned to the living room to meditate until the door opened. It was Philippa Ehart who ended the meeting.

The witcher observed the sorceress's expression and saw that she seemed to be in a good mood. Saskia should not have told her about her sabotage.

Victor took out the scarf and handed it to the other party, "This is Triss's personal belongings."

"Did you find the personal belongings, but didn't find the person?" Reaching out to take it, Philippa's eyes were sharp.

"Triss appeared in the quarry, and the point where Letho forced her to teleport was there."

"Wait, why did the Kingslayer do this? There are safer ways to travel."

"Letho's two accomplices, who may also be responsible for Demave's death, are hiding in the Scoia'tael. The Kingslayer wanted to try to get rid of Iorveth in Flotsam, so the leader of the Scoia'tael ordered them to be annihilated. For this, Letho had to reach the troops before the elf messenger. At that time, he was caught in a trap in the Flotsam Forest, and teleportation was the only way."

There was nothing to hide about this information, and there were many channels to obtain it. Now that he needed the other party's help, the witcher showed an attitude of knowing everything.

"Well... I guess Triss wanted to teleport to me, but she missed the target and went to the small canyon. What happened next?"

"Reso left the injured Triss in the small canyon, and went to meet the elves, and massacred the troops with his accomplices. They should be somewhere on the other side of the fog now. But unexpectedly, Triss fell into the protection of the local trolls..."

"The protection of the trolls?... Didn't you rescue her? I don't believe that any rock troll can withstand the sword of Duwakin!"

Faced with Philippa's inquiry, Victor spread his hands and smiled bitterly.

"Unfortunately, she escaped the protection of the trolls, and the remaining signs show that she is somewhere in this area."

"I can assure you that she is not in Vergen..."

"She must be somewhere around here, Ms. Ehart, please, I hope to rely on your magic and use this scarf to find her."

"Don't be nervous, witcher, I care about her safety more than you do. I will try to be as fast as possible, but it will take some time."

"I have enough patience to wait."

Victor said goodbye and left without mentioning the conversation with Cynthia. After all, the relationship between the two is not separated by distance. They are close master and apprentice, and I am just a "neutral witcher".

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