3. Lilás e Groselha

We arrived in the village of Orchard White, and headed for the tavern that the mustachioed merchant who was being attacked by the griffin told us about. He said that his cousin owned the tavern, so we went there.

Geralt was looking for information about his beloved, while Vesemir was just accompanying him, to get away from the witch fortress that he was so attached to.

While Geralt went to talk to the innkeeper, Vesemir and I sat on one of the benches further in the corner.

"So boy, where are you headed after here?" he asks me, showing quite a bit of interest.

"First I will look for books to learn more about this world and its magic, and who knows, figure out a way to come back or else have my life here. But first, I need to find a place for myself," I answer, being sincere in my thoughts.

"Come to Kaer Morhen, there you will at least have a roof over your head and food, even if it is not the best. We have some tomes that may be of interest to you, and many books in various fields." he says.

"I don't want to impose, Grandpa, I can't stay in one place just studying without being able to offer proper help. It's not in my nature." I reply, and once again, for whatever reason, I was being honest with the old man.

"Good, then come to Kaer Morhen with me, there you can help me repair the castle a bit, so that my other students will at least have a warm place to protect themselves from the winter. While you help me, you will have access to the books and tomes, for your studies." he says, satisfied to have the situation resolved.

"That's fine with me. It will be nice to have someone for when I test some things. It could be dangerous," I say, and the old man just stares at me.

But we are cut off by Geralt, who places three mugs on the table. The foam was thick and seemed to be filled to the brim.

"They don't seem to have seen Yen around here. I'm going to the garrison to get the griffin reward and ask there about any information. I'll be back soon." he says, sitting down next to Vesemir.

"Sam will come with me to Kaer Morhen, where he can study some things with the tomes and books we have, but you could talk to Yen to send some there, and expand the library." says Vesemir, teasing the white wolf.

"If it's not too much to ask, can you get me a horse? I don't think I'll be able to make the whole trip as an animago, it consumes too much of my magic and I won't be able to help much in any eventuality," I ask Geralt.

"Would a sword suit you too?" he asks, but I don't know if it was sarcasm or not.

"A short one would be good. But one like yours wouldn't be bad either," I answer, and he just stares at me.

"It was sarcasm, we don't have that many coins for all that." he says.

"Does this help?" I reach into my purse, and pull out some gems like diamonds and rubies. I put a handful on the table, and from the reaction I get, it seems that yes, it helps.

"Where did you get all this from?" he asks me, shocked by the amount.

"From my purse. It has almost infinite storage space. the charm is pretty easy, and I think I can replicate it here, but I don't want to take the risk without understanding more of the magic of this world.

I hand the bag to Geralt, who takes it and ties it around his waist.

"I'll be back before nightfall, and I'll try to buy you a horse and a sword by then." he finishes pouring his drink and leaves, leaving Vesemir and me standing there, chatting away.

He began to explain to me about the current situation on the continent, with Nilfgaard attacking the northern kingdoms in search of conquest, while many peoples were trying their best to defend their lands.

He told me a little about the sorcerers and wizards of this world, and how they were so involved in politics or events across the continent.

About the excessive number of monsters, be they created by the conjunction of the spheres or those that just walk and talk, behave like normal people, but are worse than the monsters themselves.

Time passed quickly, and I noticed a certain group entering the tavern. They looked at us, and my legilimency captured their more superfluous thoughts, such as the desire to gain fame by killing the witch next to me.

Night has begun to set in, as Geralt enters the tavern, causing the group to stare at him. As he walks up to us, I notice the looks exchanged between the people in the group.

One thing I have noticed since my arrival is that my magical abilities have come to the fore in a monstrous way. As if I had practiced magic much more than I actually did. A good example was my legilimency.

I actually started practicing, but I was still very much a beginner, having less than a year in practice. But when I got here, I felt it was much easier to use, and one proof was that I could read the minds of the villagers so easily.

Sitting next to Vesemir, he hands me a bundle, no more than 80cm, and the weight was very good. Curious, I look at the sword, which was pure steel, shiny and new. It was a simple sword, but beautiful in its own way.

"Thanks for that, and it came at a good time," I say, making the pair look at me strangely. Then I subtly point out the troublemakers at the nearby table, and they get the point on the spot.

"There is a horse in the stable, he was given to me by the garrison captain. He's a good horse, trained and of good age, he'll get you well to school." says Geralt.

"I'll get some supplies then and we can leave." says Vesemir, who gets up and goes to the counter. It was at that moment that the drunk woman tries to hit the innkeeper, but was stopped by Vesemir.

"Do you guys know what that is? Then you'd better stand back." says Vesemir, showing the necklace with the wolf, showing which school it belongs to.

The rest of the men stand up, picking up pieces of stick and makeshift weapons, while I just look at Geralt.

"Killing or just knocking them unconscious?" I ask, receiving a strange look from Geralt.

"Just knock them out without killing. I don't need to be the butcher of yet another village." he says, so I pull out my wand, and cast spells on the men in succession, which bind them in a strange way and make them topple over.

Some fall and hit their heads on the table, instantly blacking out, while others just hit their faces on the floor, and blood sprays from their noses. Then I see both Geralt and Vesemir look at me amused.

"That's pretty effective. It saved us quite a bit." says the old man, laughing.

"It will only last a few hours, I didn't make it permanent." I answer the question that I knew, would be asked by Geralt at some point.

"Well, I guess we'll have to go to Vizima, and there we can resupply, it's also the place where Yen went, she can help us with that." says Geralt, to which there were no objections from Vesemir or me.

Picking up the sword that was on the table, I follow the pair out, when we stop when we see a cordon of soldiers in black armor.

"That fight, we didn't start it." says Geralt, trying to explain the misunderstanding.

"Apologies, Apologies, Apologies..." we hear a female voice coming from behind the soldiers, they then open a passage, and a beautiful woman, with white skin, black hair, lilac eyes, a black and white dress, and a killer body, presents herself.

Translated with DeepL