Chapter 60

The next couple of days fell into a pattern.

Wake up, eat, practice with Vesemir and Leo, help with fortress maintenance and repair, do other chores like clean up or take care of animals, train/play with Dogmeat, more practice, lunch, more practice again, teach Leo and Vesemir Signs I knew, write down alchemical formula, practice, dinner, final day chores and usually not long after go to bed.

It was surprising how much you could get done during the day when the internet wasn't a thing.

I made sure to swing by the library occasionally to check on Ivar, who had turned it into his own personal nest/study at this point, and maybe read something interesting at times since the library could have some neat gems beyond things relating to monsters. One corner of the room was covered in various notes on all kinds of monsters with string running between the notes relating to them. He also seemed to have started his own paper mill, going off the amount of notes that were spread around the room. Other than when we gathered to eat, Ivar rarely talked as he took full advantage of the fortress' collection of monster lore, soaking information up like a very specific sponge. Of course that meant social interaction between us took a rather deep dive, so I replaced him with Leo.

We hung out most when we were doing chores in the courtyard, getting some extra training in and me as a living dummy for Leo to beat on.

"Remember, keep your feet planted, but also be ready to move at a moment's notice. 'Witchers should focus more on dodging, not taking hits. You'll live longer.' That's what Vesemir says at least and I believe him since blocking his strikes is always harder than getting out of their way." Leo explained as he tried to make me less bad at swordsmanship.

Between my short time with Seltkirk/William and now daily training with Vesemir and Leo I was slowly improving, emphasis on slowly.

I still preferred fighting with Signs as a spellblade or something rather than straight up fighter, but multiclassing was usually a good thing when done responsibly. As long as I mastered the key fundamentals I think Vesemir would at least consider me decent. I had no illusions I would ever become as good with the sword as him, Geralt, Eskel, Lambert or even Leo in only one winter, maybe not even ever but I would at least be able to hold my own.

Huh, I just realized that I don't actually know Leo all that well…

"So, what interests you Leo?" I suddenly asked as I continued my epic battle with the straw dummy.

"Huh? What interests me?" he asked back in confusion.

"I mean, obviously you are working hard to become a Witcher, but is there anything you particularly like outside of that? All Witchers have things that interest them a bit." I expanded upon.

"Oh, well… I guess I always liked the idea of sailing? I grew up near the coast before… before Vesemir picked me up." He said in a sad tone.

Shit! Tragic backstory! Deflect! Deflect!

"So would that mean your first destination on the Path when you become a Witcher is the Skellige Isles? Lots of monsters there so plenty of work, people are surprisingly open-minded and have a strong sailing tradition so sure you could get someone to teach you. Maybe you can buy your own ship one day and become a Witcher-Captain! Explore the seas and hunt krakens and other nasty sea monsters alongside your nakama!" I offered with a smile.

That actually got Leo to laugh a bit.

"Heh, why not? I don't think there are any famous Witcher-Captains and it sounds like a great life of adventure." Leo said with a smile and a shake of his head. "Nakama?" he asked.

"Far eastern word, further than even Zerrikania. Roughly translate to crewmates, comrades, friends or family." I explained. "Seas can be a dangerous and lonely place. So it's best to have friends by your side… though granted land life can be like that too." I said with a shrug.

"Which is why Witchers have no business on boats if you ask me." Vesemir's voice broke into the conversation as he walked into the courtyard, surprising both of us. "While it's good you are practicing you should make sure you are aware of what is happening around you as well. Witchers have enhanced senses for a reason, use them." he lectured.

"Yes, master Vesemir." Leo and I said with respectful nods. It was kinda weird how we can shift to causal and formal depending on the situation so easily.

"Anyway, gear up you two. We are going on an outing outside the fortress today and I will be needing both of you to get the work done before the sun sets or else we'll have to waste the morning finishing it up." Vesemir ordered, and Leo and I quickly moved to put away our training blades and equip our actual ones alongside other gear.

"What about the keep and Ivar? Isn't leaving him alone a risk?" Leo asked as he was adjusting his swords.

"Dogmeat can house sit, makes a decent ratter too, and I locked Ivar in the library. I don't think he even noticed." me and Leo chuckled at that. Vesemir just shook his head at my obsessive scholar friend. "Like I said, assuming we do this right we should be all done by supper anyhow."

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked curiously.

"Northwest a ways to tie off an old security risk and recover some useful tools and supplies we could make use of now." Vesemir said with seriousness. "We are going to the cave the School of the Wolf used to conduct the Trial of the Grasses before Kear Morhen was built and cleaning it out of anything useful before destroying the rest."

---

"Any reason why we are doing this now rather than it being done over a century ago?" I asked curiously as I got off Griffin and joined the Grandmaster Witcher and his trainee by the entrance of a cave marked with a wolf's head.

"I wasn't in charge back then, but apparently not long after the fortress was built there was a monster outbreak in the cave and it was considered too risky to clean it out. Damned stupid in hindsight really, but given that if all goes well Leo will be having his Trial soon it would help to have as much proper equipment and supplies as we can get to smooth out the process. Not to mention that while the monsters act as some form of security I don't like the idea of notes, equipment and mutagen supplies not being behind stone walls and locked doors." Vesemir explained, to which I could only nod.

I mean he wasn't wrong. If Salamandra knew about this place they could just steal what they want here rather than assault the fortress even if whatever was inside was useless or incomplete.

"Anything in particular that we should be on the lookout for?" Leo asked.

"You tell me." Vesemir said with a wave of his hands towards the cave. Leo flushed a little before nodded and kneeled towards the ground to examine it.

"Hmm, a couple of nekker tracks but not enough of them to think this is a nest of some kind. There are also some more human looking tracks that seem pretty bad so… necrophage?" Leo said in confusion.

"Nekkars could be strays that for one reason or another got kicked out of the nest and oddly enough necrophages can live in the same place as some other monsters in relative peace. It's because necrophages prefer rotten flesh and most other monsters like the fresh kind. Makes it so seeing necrophages hanging around the nests of other monsters is not uncommon since they eat whatever they don't after it's been left out to rot for a couple of days." Vesemir explained.

"Still, it seems like a pretty low amount of monsters to keep safe Witcher secrets. We're so close to winter and a cave like this should be packed with them." I pointed out.

"You're right. Could be some of the containers for the ingredients that got left behind broke open and are giving off a stink that drives off most monsters. The magic on those things could help keep even ingredients with a short shelf life last decades when sealed. Either way, doesn't change what we are here to do." Vesemir said. "You two, get your torches out and I'll go a bit ahead of you to see the state of things."

Vesemir then took a potion from his side and quickly downed it, and I watched as his pupils expanded until his eyes were nearly solid black orbs. Huh, so that is what taking Cat looks like.

We watched as Vesemir marched inside as Leo and I got out torches to light. I had pretty good low-light vision and could have taken Cat as well, but torches were useful to light up the general area if we were going to be moving crap around, taking Cat would have blinded me.

So it was that we delved deep into earth into the place where once upon a time boys became Witchers.

---

"A few nekker warriors and a devourer. Not exactly the greatest of deterrents for what this place holds." I commented as I tore open one nekkar's chest to get out his bloody bits. Between the three of us it was pretty easy to kill them off rather quickly. "I mean, the crumbling carved out stairs were more of a danger in all honesty."

"Sadly I would have to agree with you. I must have been going senile if I thought it was okay to leave this place so utterly undefended like this." Vesemir grumbled as he was already digging through one of the bookcases, examining it for anything useful among the old crumbling paper and jars of preserved ingredients.

"Should we take back this… metal rack thing?" Leo asked a little nervously while motioning towards the medieval torture device they strapped kids to so they didn't thrash around during the agony of the Triall.

"Already have one like it back at the fortress, would be a pain to move, and no risk in leaving it here. Could break it down for scrap to forge into other stuff later though." Vesemir said. "Look mainly for containers of ingredients and mutagens, any old notes that aren't moldy and breaking apart, and more specialized equipment like mixing machines or stills." he listed.

We both nodded and got to work… man, they left a lot of crap behind! I honestly can barely believe a rightfully paranoid Vesemir didn't do something like this years ago with the other Wolves helping out.

The whole back area must have been where they brewed all the potions and mutagens based on all the broken expensive distillation apparatuses that were strewn around the place. Not to mention all the crates, barrels, and shelves of various packaged herbs and other alchemical ingredients. Vesemir recognized a wooden barrel-like thing that looked like a butter churn, but was apparently a vat used for steeping herbs for mutagenic teas. Another table was there - damn thing looked like an Inqustion torture device - used to restrain candidates as they endured the mutation process.

I noticed a few books on the surrounding shelves as well, mostly about herbs and similar things that would make good reference material during the process. Although there was a surprising number of copies of Gnomish Prankings there too. I held one up for Vesemir to inspect. "Really? 'Gnomish Prankings'?"

He opened it carefully, mindful of damaged pages. "Good, means it worked."

"Huh?"

Vesemir traced one finger along the margins. "Used to encode old notes on the Trials in the text, to disguise it from those who wanted to steal it. Only the grandmaster at the time and the mages knew the cipher; might be worth the effort to try decoding it later." He opened another book, "'Royal Lineages of the North.' This one I might know about. If I recall correctly, this book included rolls of who was in the fortress. The code here was a one-off; it requires a corresponding sheet of paper with numbers indicating the page number, paragraph, line, and word. The first letter of that word was part of the name." He gave a slight chuckle. "Those were an absolute pain to encode. I used to spend hours looking for random pages-"

Suddenly Leo spoke up from the other side of the room, looking through a book he found sitting on one of the rack table things. "Vesemir… I think this is important."

We both came over to see what he was talking about, but when Vesemir got a look inside a dark look came over his face. "The registry."

"The what?" I asked as I took the book from Leo and looked through it… and quickly regretted it.

"Remember how I said before how the Trials were deadly for most that took part in them? For early trials it was even worse. I was there and saw so many young boys die in terrible pain. Sometimes the mutations didn't take, sometimes they did but they died anyway. Very few actually recovered and became full Witchers. After the fortress was built and a proper lab made, the process became more refined but still wasn't the best odds. Didn't help that recruits were slim at best and could die or wash out during The Choice or over course of training. We were never numerous." Vesemir grimaced. "Now more than ever."

We all kinda just sat there in silence a bit before Vesemir spoke up again, this time directly at Leo.

"I had another motive for bringing you here, Leo. To show you how when your Trials come up what to expect and what could happen… you can still walk away at any time. I want you to know that. I will never force you to do anything you are not prepared for." he said solemnly.

Ah. Leo was still in a Trial, even now. The Choice wasn't just a word or going on a special diet. It was a test to see if the trainee had the conviction and drive to move forward, a trait that would be needed for a life on the Path to overcome whatever hardship lay in front of them.

"I… I… I don't know." Leo said with a great deal of hesitance, more so than I ever heard from him before. He avoided Vesemir's gaze and looked ashamed of himself for even considering the idea of backing out, especially in front of the man who saved his life and raised him. "I… I want to be a Witcher, but… I don't want to die either. I-I'm afraid." he admitted at last.

Vesemir then put a hand on Leo's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Fear is a very natural feeling and important to have. It keeps you alive after all. Only madmen fear nothing. Like I said I will never force you to do anything and if your path is elsewhere then I will respect it."

Leo tried to smile at Vesemir, but I could tell he still felt like shit for being scared. Let's see if I can't help a bit.

"Hey, it's like Vesemir said. This registry only talks about the earlier Trials and that it was improved over time. I'm a great alchemist and once Vesemir's mage friend gets here we will aren't going to just strap you down and get it done then and there. We are going to study and go over the notes, formula and processions till we feel we got it as right as we possibly can. That way you have the best odds of getting through Trial with the least trouble possible so that you can become a Witcher for sure and spend the next few centuries doing good in the world. On that you have my word." I swore to the kid.

"You hear that? Seems to me we should be considering you a Witcher already!" Vesemir said as he patted Leo on the back, which finally got him to smile more honestly. "First though, if he is gonna do his job right we need to haul this stuff back. It's likely to be more than a few trips so let's get started."

With a goal in mind, Leo nodded and walked off to do just that, I was about to join him when Vesemir stopped me. "Thank you for lifting his spirits like that."

"I only told the truth… you're happy to join in the work since I know you, more than anyone, doesn't want him to fail. Besides, it gives you an excuse to make sure your mage friend won't try to sneak some notes away." I said with a smile.

"Was already planning on it." he returned.

Between the three of us and the cart we brought with us we were successful in hauling back a good deal of recovered notes, books, equipment, and whatever preserved ingredients and mutagens we could find. All of which we transferred over to Kaer Morhen's basement lab. As for the rest?

We liberally burned and smashed stuff until Vesemir was satisfied that anyone that dug around would never find anything useful. And I considered any day that involved rampant destruction for the greater good to be a good one as well as a good way to vent.

---

It was about a week later when the snow started to fall, though it was still early so it was more of a light dusting thus far. Though I knew that could change quickly given how fast winter was approaching in full force.

Therefore it was no surprise that while I was stuck in the basement lab writing down more formulae and experimenting with some custom ones, no luck so far messing with Circle of Elements down here either, that I heard a horn call out from above me. Assuming the worst, I rushed upstairs expecting a fight.

I was pleasantly surprised that when I came up to the main hall, I saw Vesemir and Leo gladly welcoming a man who was taking off his cloak by the main doors and complaining about the cold. The man was none other than Lambert, the foul-mouth hardass with a hidden heart of gold.

He noticed me. "Who's the fucking stranger? You're slacking, old man, just letting anyone waltz their way in here."

Correction: Very hidden heart of gold.

"I heard the horn! Are we under atta-ack!" Ivar ran down the stairs, and considering the amount of books that were in his arms it was no surprise he fell down the last few steps, thankfully with nothing more to show for it than a few bruises for his ego. Dogmeat ran over to lick his face since he was now so low to the ground.

Lambert just stared at the whole scene before turning to a face-palming Vesemir once more. "Are we an inn now or something? Does that mean we finally have decent beer? I'll need it if I have to put up with this shit."

Yeah, this was gonna be great.