18 Elf

Although the people in the village hated witchers, no one really dared to provoke them under the support of the bearded village chief. Wayne and Geralt took a brief break before sharing a meal at Misha's house. The fare was quite basic, aside from a handful of eggs, there was no water or alcohol.

The challenging life of the villagers was evident, and perhaps, to ensure her son's well-being, Misha had presented the finest food the family had to offer in order to host Wayne and Geralt.

After chatting with Geralt at the dinner table, Wayne finally learned the worth of the five ducats reward.

The Ducat is a currency of unknown origin, currently only available in Kaedwen, Sintra, and Skellige.

Several years prior, during Geralt's mission in Sintra, the cost of a drowner body stood at two ducats, and a standard tavern meal could be obtained for a single ducat. Essentially, Misha had enlisted the services of two witchers, pricing their work at the equivalent of two and a half drowners.

Upon hearing this, Wayne gazed at Geralt in disbelief. Despite being aware of the White Wolf's just and kind nature, it was disheartening for Wayne to accept such a meager payment. He couldn't help but feel the weight of the difficulty in being a good person. The task at hand was no longer a charitable endeavor; any damage to their equipment during the battle would indeed result in a loss.

Fortunately, he also asked for lunch, otherwise, it would be difficult to even fill his stomach with this little money. Following the meal, it was time for the renowned detective Geralt to showcase his skills. He summoned Misha and the bearded village head and asked in detail about Misha's two sons, their stature, appearance, habits, and soon. 

Having gathered information from the two individuals regarding the frequent woodcutting locations of Misha's sons and the overall conditions of the forest, Wayne and Geralt prepared to embark on their journey.

Throughout the entire questioning process, Wayne refrained from intervening. Instead, he focused on sharpening his steel sword inherited from Vesemir with a whetstone, contemplating Geralt's intentions behind each question and the overall thought process.

In the pursuit of becoming a seasoned witcher, Wayne recognized the importance of learning from the experienced White Wolf. Detection and reasoning, crucial skills for any witcher, were at the forefront of his training. After the inquiry, Geralt and Wayne gathered all the necessary battle equipment, leaving their belongings entrusted to the bearded village chief for safekeeping.

Of course, in order to prevent these unruly people from having any wrong thoughts, the two of them did not forget to take out their weapons and warned seriously, "If anything goes missing from our belongings, we'll demand double compensation from you."

The bearded village head is still a sensible person, so there shouldn't be any mistakes.

According to the information obtained, the two quickly left the village and entered the forest not far from the village.

Tracing the route outlined by Misha and utilizing the heightened senses of the witcher, Geralt and Wayne diligently followed the footprints on the road. Eventually, they pinpointed the location where the two young individuals typically engaged in tree-cutting activities.

It was early spring at this time, and the Kingdom of Kaedwen was located in the northeast of the northern countries, and the temperature was colder than that of several other countries. In this untouched forest, human footprints stood out distinctly.

While following the trail, Geralt imparted his investigative skills to Wayne unreservedly through dictation.

Wayne practiced while learning, and finally spent more than half an hour before they found two bundles of firewood and an ax covered by weeds in an inconspicuous grass.

"It should be here".

Geralt ran his fingers across his stubble-covered chin, contemplating, "Two young men encountered a mishap at this spot, due to the urgency of the situation, they ended up losing both wood and an axe," Geralt deduced.

He looked up at Wayne and said, "Let's look around here for footprints, blood, or something."

Wayne nodded, activating his witcher senses, and started searching around the grass for potential clues. Truthfully, this meticulous search was far from enjoyable. it proved time-consuming, unenjoyable, and incredibly draining, resembling a form of physical labor.

But, in the wilderness where evidence was scarce, this seemingly cumbersome method was the only way to yield results.

After searching for more than ten minutes, Wayne still didn't find anything, but Geralt not far away stood up, waved to him, and shouted, "Wayne, come to me. I found a clue." 

When he walked past, Geralt was crossing his arms, seemingly lost in thought again.

Wayne gazed in the direction of his line of sight and soon found four rows of footprints on the ground. Assessing their shape and depth, he concluded that two of the footprints likely belonged to Misha's two sons.

In just a few seconds, Geralt came to a conclusion. "The good news is that there is no blood in the vicinity. At least the two children did not die here, nor did they die in the mouth of wild wolves. They should have been held hostage".

"The bad news is that it's been almost three days since it happened."

"After all this time, no one knows where they were abducted or whether they are still alive,"

Wayne shrugged indifferently, pointed to the footprints on the ground, and said, "No matter where they are taken, all we can do is follow the clues they left behind and keep searching."

Geralt thought the same way. He drew the long sword behind his back and said to Wayne, "Let's go, pull out your sword, looking at the direction of these footprints, they must have been taken deep into the forest." 

"Be vigilant at all times. Spring is here, and the monsters are beginning to recover. No one knows what will suddenly pop out of the forest."

......

Time passed quickly, and dusk arrived in the blink of an eye. Although the environment in the forest is extremely complicated, it proved manageable for two seasoned witchers with heightened senses. Wayne and Geralt operated in coordination, with one tracking the footprints and the other on guard duty as they advanced together.

After navigating the forest for approximately two hours, overcoming numerous obstacles, Wayne and Geralt eventually arrived at a concealed cave hidden behind a large tree, well hidden from view.

However, just as they approached the cave, several wooden bows and arrows were suddenly released from behind the giant tree near the entrance. With precision, the arrows struck their intended targets along the path Wayne and Geralt were traversing.

Without hesitation, Wayne swiftly erected a protective layer of Quen shield around himself, and his steel sword assumed a defensive stance. 

Meanwhile, Geralt opted for a more direct approach. As soon as the arrows were released, he rolled like a donkey and rolled behind a big rock to hide.

Wayne carefully maintained the Quen shield, turning his gaze toward the source of the arrows. To his realization, nestled among the branches above the giant tree were six elf archers clad in animal skins, each wielding bows and arrows with an intent demeanor.

A female elf with long black hair and keen black eyes, scrutinizing Wayne and Geralt for more than ten seconds, appeared fixated on Wayne's pointed elf ears. Eventually, she spoke in the common language of humans.

"Witchers ,this is the territory of elves, why did you come here?"