Chapter 78: Strange Herbalist

August once again hit the road, travelling towards the place where the beast should be living. The place appeared to be not as near as August imagined it. It is located in the area in between two forests: Brokilon and Grand cherry forest.

This area was occupied by a small village of humans living in this area long ago. They mostly occupied professions such as herbalists and gatherers of forest gifts.

Despite living close to the Brokilon forest, they never attempted to walk inside the woods since it was quite deadly. But Grand Cherry forest was full of all gifts you could get from the forest. Neither Sylphs nor Fairies minded humans walked on the outskirts of the forest since the place where they lived was protected by special magic that didn't allow anyone inside but those that were led there.

August was travelling with Moon and Fairy. That quite nicely took a seat right on his shoulder, not minding anyone's business and working at Gps for August. When they reached the outskirts of the forest, the fairy almost instantly stopped since in the woods they were gods, but outside? It was somewhere they never have been, living long lives for thousands of years. Since they were not biological, creation was easy for them. But leaving a place that made them almost immortal was something they never dared to do.

Right now, this area is abandoned by everyone, or better said, they were buried along with their village. The monster that Sylphs were talking about did that. He killed everyone that lived there and took this place as his home along with the dead bodies of those that used to live there.

August travelled on his own from the end of the Cherry forest, and almost all of the time was spent in silence. Nobody inhibited those lands close to the area where the monster lived.

Passing by a lone house that August met on the way to the village, he smelled an odour coming from inside the hut. The hut itself didn't look like anyone inhabited it. The garden was growing without any control or care. The fences were long gone, leaving the area unprotected from wildlife. The roof was slightly tilted to the side, making it look like it was a place where someone used to live here long ago.

But the smell that was coming from the hut was real, and it smelled like something brewing in the cauldron. August didn't want to leave things he didn't know about behind his back, which could backfire.

But being impolite is also not an option. It was proven to him with the way that Sylphs welcomed him with an air current that literally blew him away.

Leaving Moon on the free horse reins, so he will have a chance to escape if something happens. August knocked several times, walking close to the door, waiting for someone to open the door.

The sounds that were coming from the inside of the hut died down, leaving the place in deadly silence. But before the long, the sound of steps could be heard, how each leg stepped on the floor that created a creaking sound.

The door revealed a man dressed modestly, with a slight beard and messy hair. He had a small bag on the belt that had a strong smell of herbs coming from inside.

The face of the man didn't look either ugly or beautiful. However, one questionable thing was his skin, which didn't have a single scratch there. Not a scar, it looked almost like this man only pretends to be a herbalist, but in fact, he is someone like a king of the country.

The strange man welcomed August. "Hello."

August closely observed the man, with his eyes squinting. Without replying to a greeting, August inquired, "Who are you?"

The man looked at August with slight contempt saying, "I think it won't hurt to be polite to a stranger that is polite to you. It is all I ask for."

August stretched out his hand for a shake and introduced, "August from Kovir, and hello to you. Now, would you mind telling me an answer to my question?"

"Yes, with pleasure. So let me introduce myself. I'm Regis, the pleasure of seeing you" he did a slight bow and gestured August to walk into the house while speaking, with a humble voice, "Please, come and join me for a talk. I can give you a place to sleep and feed you."

August felt that there was no malicious intent behind his words, but at the same time, he knew that some creatures were able to hide it, making. August's observations and feelings are useless against them. But at the same time, he didn't look like a strong foe.

There was little to no ego represented through his face and movement. It looked like those things used to be a thing for a man like his, but then a change of heart happened. When all of his ideas and worldview turned around, making him a completely different person.

August walked inside, taking a seat on the next chair that he saw, to initiate the talk as fast as possible. He knew very well that normal folks would never dare to leave near the place where the monster lives and just cook something without a care in the world.

August inquired, looking right into his eyes, "So how did you end up here? In the middle of nowhere, not even the craziest folk will walk without an army behind his back."

Regis's face changed, showing complete confusion and ceaselessness about what August talked about. He replied honestly and hearty, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you are talking about. I live here and gather herbs to later sell them on the markets of the cities or to heal others."

August's eyebrows rose as he spoke, "But don't you know there is a monster living nearby? How would you ensure your safety?"

Regis didn't hesitate before inquiring, "And why would a man like you travel here without concern for his life? You came here to slay the monster and win the princess's heart?"

"Don't reply to my question with your, but I will give you a short reply since you asked. I'm Witcher. That's why I'm here," replied August, carefully looking at the face of the companion, waiting to see his reaction.

However, the face of the man never changed. Instead, he inquired with no idea about the definition of the word 'Witcher'. Regis asked, "Who are those you call Witcher? I heard of no such a person or profession."

August took a mug that Regis offered to August and took a slow sip of a freshly done herbal tee, enjoying the perfect mix of different cultures of plants mixed up together to create artwork.

Finishing the sip, August spoke nonchalantly, "Witchers are former humans or other species that were created by Sorcerers to be able to hunt monsters alone without any assistance from the third party. Guess what, we were too good for that job, and that is how most of us ended up buried under the stones of our houses."

The mug that was in Regis's hands dropped, alarming August. His hands reached the handle of the sword, and he was ready to throw his swing right into the face of the stranger. As the tension started to build, while none of them dared to speak, August was the first one to take a step.

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hey hey hey! It is another chapter with one of the best characters that were in the books and games.

What do you think will happen next? Comment below!

And of course, don't hesitate to bury me in your power stones I will endure and come back a better version of myself.