Wheedling and Pamphlet

Chapter 24

"Who does the corpse in the barrel belong to?" Roy brushed the cool barrel in confusion, wanting to open it up to get his answer.

"Hiding a corpse in the cellar is dangerous for Seville. If he wants someone gone, he could have gone a hundred other ways. There's no need for him to hide a corpse in the cellar." Letho kept quiet for a moment. "Maybe the corpse is related to the nightmare that's haunting him, or maybe it's an unrelated secret. A secret he wants nobody to know."

"Should we open it then?" Roy clenched his fists, raring to go.

"Unauthorized actions will anger Seville. Not even Axii could wipe that memory from his and his servants' mind. No need to go that far for two hundred crowns. Keep your curiosity in check. Pretend we never came to the cellar. I'll try to wheedle something out of him later. Do as I say."

***

After they left the cellar, Letho went back to the third floor's bedroom and asked Seville to hide the key again. Roy was looking forward to when he would master Axii. It had helped him multiple times. If the target wasn't on guard, Axii would always take effect. Axii's a more handy sign than the others. It's one skill I must have if I want to get anything I want.

Seville had no recollection of the events from before he was hypnotized after he woke up. Instead, he looked less lethargic and more refreshed. "I slept for an hour?" He looked at the clock. "It's been a while since I slept so soundly." His eyes widened in delight, and he waved his fists. "That thing must be staying away now that you're here, witcher. Have you found anything today?"

The dwarf waited for the answer in excitement, but Letho stayed calm. "The creature's a cunning one, and it hides itself well. I'd like to know more if possible. Can you tell us about your nightmare, Mr. Seville?"

The color drained from Seville's face, as if he'd recalled something horrifying. The usually jolly dwarf looked hesitant. He was reluctant to talk about the nightmare in detail. "My nightmare is… terrifyingly bizarre. I can't explain it."

"Not even a witcher can help if you refuse to tell the truth."

"I-I'm sorry, but I-I just don't want to talk about it. My nightmare has nothing to do with the monster's capture, does it?"

Letho gave Roy a look, and he understood it was his time to talk. "On the contrary, it's important for the monster's capture. Have you heard about a type of monster called hym?" Seville shook his head, and Roy started describing. "Hyms are monsters from the Conjunction of the Spheres. They have no corporeal body, so the only way for them to survive is to live within someone else."

"L-Like a parasite?" The little color left on Seville's face drained, and his fists clenched.

Roy nodded. "It's very particular about its target. Hyms usually live within the bodies of those who have sinned, or they might take over animals. A hym absorbs its host's fear, regret, shame, and every negative emotion to construct a nightmare based on its host's true experiences. It will evoke the host's negative emotions, corrupting their mind and eventually destroying it."

At that point, Seville's beard was trembling along with his lips. "Oh Lebioda. I'm haunted by a formless demon? How did this happen?"

"Don't worry." Roy got into character. "Listen to me. Only the host can hear a hym's murmurs. It attacks its host's mind through illusions and nightmares, taking the host's life force away. They always end up having poor sleep because they're haunted by nightmares. The nightmares will only become more frequent and more realistic. They will never stop, unless the host loses their mind, goes insane, or commits suicide."

The last sentence finally broke Seville. He gripped Letho's right hand tightly, his face as white as a tombstone. It was marked with uncontrollable fear. "Letho, this demon, this hym… it must be the one tormenting me. You must get rid of it for me."

Letho remained inscrutable, while Roy continued. "There's a condition for that. The demon is a troublesome one. Normal attacks won't work on it. We must lure it out using your fears, and only then can a witcher like Letho kill it. That's why you have to tell us what's haunting you. You have to tell us the sin you've committed."

Seville closed his eyes in agony. "Sorry, but I-I have to think about it." The mention of the nightmare made him snap out of his fear. He started getting suspicious of the pair, worried that they might find out about his secret. "It's getting late. I'll ask the servants to prepare dinner. We'll talk about this when you come tomorrow."

Letho and Roy felt slightly defeated since they didn't learn anything about Seville's nightmare. But they didn't force Seville to talk more.

"You should have cast Axii on him again, Letho. Forced something out of him."

"It's not as simple as you think. If I cast Axii on the same target three times over a short span of time, it could be ineffective against him. And now that he has his guard up, Axii has a higher chance of failure."

Letho shook his head when he noticed Roy's look of disappointment. "Patience, boy. A smart hunter always waits for the perfect chance to deliver the fatal strike on their prey. That's how satisfaction comes by." Witchers didn't risk their lives solving requests just for the money. They were also looking for satisfaction upon the request's completion.

Calling the meal they'd received that night dinner was an understatement. As if trying to apologize for his lack of cooperation, Seville had treated them to a feast. Everything under the sky was on that table that night, and the Mahakam produce added more color and flavor to the food. It was varied, incredible, and sumptuous. It was the best meal Roy had ever eaten since he'd crossed over to the Witcher world.

Roy was still burping when he left the residence that night, and his frustration was mostly gone. The moon had risen, blessing the land with its silvery glow.

"Come to my room when we get back to the inn, boy."

"Why?"

"To continue the tracking lesson. It was unfinished. This is the first request you're taking part in, so it's a good chance to follow up and learn more."

The pair had exited the affluent area as they spoke, entering a dark, quiet alley. Suddenly, a man in a black cloak walked up to them. Half of his face was hidden by the darkness, but they could see it was a young, teen boy, with a scar the length of an index finger below his right eye. "The tyranny of Tavik has plagued this land, innocent people of Aldersberg!" He sounded fanatic and angry. "The revolution shall prevail!" He stuffed a pamphlet into Roy's hands before disappearing into the darkness, nowhere to be found.

Roy came out of the tunnel so he could see the pamphlet more clearly. He asked the tipsy Letho to read it out for him. "The great leader of the revolution, Vernon Ryan, has toiled for the rights of the people, but Baron Tavik, in all his cruelty, detained a leader of the people for three months! If there's an ounce of conscience in you, come to the Plaza of Lebioda at three in the afternoon tomorrow to join the protest march! The pioneers of the revolution shall never die! Their flames of purity shall burn that fool of a baron to ashes!"