The Secret of the Dwarf

Chapter 25

"Witchers don't interfere with politics." Letho made the decision for Roy and tore the pamphlet apart. Roy wasn't planning on joining the march either. The revolutionists' robbery outside the city left a bad aftertaste in his mouth.

No matter how much the revolutionists would fight against the army, the people would always be the victims. He could imagine how the army would capture the people of Aldersberg en masse during the protest march, and the wails of agony that would follow.

When they arrived at the residence the next morning, Letho and Roy followed one of Seville's men inside. Seville had been waiting, and he waved away all his guards and servants when the pair came in.

He stared down, biting his lip. His arms were crossed nervously as he paced back and forth. A while later, he let out a long sigh. "Can you guarantee you won't tell a soul about it? Can you promise me that? Not a single person… No. Not even the ancient races can know about what I'm about to tell you, nor can any other living being." Seville looked up, his gaze pleading. Letho and Roy looked at each other. The dwarf's going to believe us without even a contract? Seville knew what they were thinking, and he answered, "I have no choice. I can't take that monster's torture anymore. T-That hym is going to kill me." His bloodshot eyes widened. Obviously, he hadn't rested well after Letho and Roy's departure. "Besides, if promising me isn't enough, I can pay you. I believe everyone is interested in crowns. I'm doing all this so I can feel safe." He smiled bitterly.

Letho arched his brow. As one of the Viper School's remaining members, his pride would never allow him to lie about a vow. "Money can buy most people, but not a witcher. You didn't ask for a vow before we accepted the request. Unlike a promise, a vow is the power of fate, just like the Law of Surprise. And fate does not allow anyone to go against it. A witcher never makes a vow easily." Letho raised his index finger. "You'll have to increase the reward."

Seville's face twitched, but he was delighted. The more serious Letho was, the more credible, or at least that was what Seville thought. Roy snuck into the conversation at that point. He showed five fingers. "Fifty crowns for me. As for the witcher here, all you need to do is increase the reward by a hundred crowns, and you'll have a Viper School witcher's promise."

They had a deal. The bounty was raised from two hundred crowns to three hundred and fifty, but it was affordable for the rich dwarf.

"On the name of the Viper School, I, Letho of Gulet, promise to never reveal the secret Seville Hoger will be telling me today to any human, ancient race, or living being. If I break this promise, I shall never see the day the Viper School makes its return. The gods are my witnesses."

"Um… on the name of Melitele, I, Roy, promise to never reveal to anyone the secret Seville Hoger shall tell me today, or…" Roy didn't believe in Lebioda or gods like Melitele, but he wasn't lying. He would take the secret with him to the grave.

***

Half an hour later, Letho and Roy came into the third floor's bedroom along with Seville. Letho lit a flame in the fireplace with Igni, and he did the same to four torches that were as tall as an average adult before placing them at the four corners of the bed. The bedroom was lit up, and no shadows could be seen.

"Please lie on the bed, Mr. Seville."

The dwarf obliged. He covered himself nervously with his blanket.

Letho said, "It's only the three of us in this room. You can talk about your secret now. Talk about the nightmare that has been haunting you."

Seville closed his eyes, his face contorted in pain, but he started telling his story. "This is a story about my good friend, Ken. Ken comes from Redania. His father is a half-elf, while his mother is a human. Yes, he's part-elf, a being destined for greatness. He looks just like a human, but Ken is a wise man. He has a quote: 'Wine corrupts minds.' Because of that, he never drinks alcohol. He has helped me greatly after coming to the Mahakam mountain range. Thanks to him, I grew from the insignificant nephew of Brovar Hoger to a famous individual. In the end, I managed to wrest the right to the wine business in Aldersberg from Zoltan Chivay and the other dwarves."

Seville paused for a moment. "I owe him a lot, and he's my best friend, but I know he'll never work under anyone for long. Once we came to Aldersberg, he found a new goal and left my team. Since he was a child, Ken has seen his father being tortured and discriminated against by humans because of his elven bloodline. His father has never enjoyed the same equal social status as humans, and because of that, he despises inequality and discrimination. Ken, ever so passionate, took action to go against that system.

"As you know, witcher, Aedirn's high taxation rate is one of the inequalities Ken saw, so he, in all his wisdom, gathered people who would fight against the system. Of course, he did it in secret. He didn't care about anyone's race or past. Anyone who had the passion for equality and rebellion were welcome in his team. They enjoyed free food and accommodation, though I sponsored a part of the expenses. The people of Aedirn might be born with a rebellious streak, and thanks to that, his team grew quickly, to the point where Baron Tavik had to pay importance to them.

"The advent of Ken's forces broke the balance of Aldersberg, which was made up of the baron's troops, the people of Aldersberg, the Sparrow Triad, and the Mahakaman dwarves. The baron, the moderate part of the balance, started negotiations with Ken. It went well in the beginning, and almost everyone was happy with the outcome. The taxes on peasants and merchants were lowered by one fifth. I told Ken he should stop when he was ahead, but he wasn't happy with the results. After a while of peace, he started pressuring the baron again. A good man's fury can demolish the entirety of the Mahakam mountains — that's what I always say. The baron was infuriated by Ken's actions, and he issued a bounty on his head."

Roy's eyes shone at that point. He could guess who that Ken character really was.

"He came to me to escape the troops' search. As his friend, I took him in, of course. I swear on Mahakam's name, I hid him in the place with the most cover in the residence."

Roy and Letho showed no change in their expressions, as if they knew nothing of what was to come.

"The cellar contains too much wine for the troops to search. And I forbade them from opening the lids so my wine wouldn't get spoiled. Not desiring to cross the Mahakaman dwarves, the baron didn't pursue the matter any further. Of course, they hadn't noticed that Ken was hiding in a barrel of sixty-year-old dwarven liquor. Ken was safe. Very safe." Seville smiled bitterly. "But I had forgotten one thing: Ken has never drunk even a drop of wine in his life. He's worse at drinking than a newborn. When I went back to the barrel he was in, he'd fainted from the scent of the liquor. Ken was lying in the liquor, his face red. He looked like he was sleeping, but no matter what I did, he wouldn't wake up." Seville paused. "H-He died." Seville sat up and held Letho's beefy hands. He looked agitated, his heart threatening to burst forth from his chest. "How ludicrous! Fate played a cruel joke on him! A wise man who'd never had any wine died in my wine cellar! I would dream of Ken every night. He'd demand to know why I killed him with my wine. I have let him down."

Letho had an incredulous expression after learning about the whole matter from Seville. The guy had never had a drop of liquor for as long as he'd lived, but he'd died in a barrel of liquor. Ironic.

"I-I'm a bastard. I deserve the nightmares. I know I've let him down, but I didn't kill him," the dwarf muttered unintelligibly as tears streaked down his face. He covered his face, bawling like a big child. Roy's lips twitched at the sight.

"Alright. We get the situation now. Calm down, Mr. Seville. Come with us to the cellar. If what you say is true, then the cellar is the place you fear the most. If I'm right, the hym will most likely show its true form there."

"Huh? C-Can I not go?" Seville hugged himself in fear. He was in a dilemma. Seville wanted to see the monster that had been haunting him for months, but he couldn't overcome his fear.

Letho pretended to think about it for a moment. "Alright. You can wait for us outside the cellar."

"H-Here's the key."