The Divine Hunter

Roy gave her a solemn look. "You flatter me, Your Highness, but Vizima's sewers are as big as the city itself. There are a lot of passages in there, and it's as complex as a maze. Just exploring the whole thing will take a lot of time, let alone clearing the place of monsters." He explained, "These sewers are probably infested with drowners, drowned dead, and probably nekkers and ghouls too. They usually live in dark, damp places like this. I can handle them fine, but if I run into a fleder, it would spell the death of me."

Adda was prepared to counter these concerns. She clapped her hands, and an extraordinarily young knight came up to them. He unfurled a yellowing leather map, and Adda said, "Roy, you are the goddess' most trusted knight. I will not send you on a suicide mission, of course." She brushed her finger across the map. "I took this from the palace's library. It's the sewers' blueprint. Archived right after Vizima was first established. This map shows you all the passages, structures, and exits of the sewers. Here."

The map was wrinkled and musty from the humidity. It was an ancient map, and some parts of it have become muddied. The map shows a maze-like structure that was the sewers. All the connected tunnels covered the city above it as if it were one big cobweb. Roy looked at where Adda was pointing and saw the key to the sewers.

The passages were connected on both ends, and a number was written on the walls of every corner. Anyone who came down would know where they were and would never get lost. On top of that, Roy noticed that the map pointed out all the exits in an even more obvious way. From the looks of it, every street had an exit.

Adda moved her finger from an exit to a nearby one. "According to this map, no matter where you are in the sewers, you should be able to find an exit in fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes?" Roy did not believe that.

"I sent my men to ask the sewer cleaners, and that's what they all say." Adda was sure about that. "With how powerful witchers are, you can cut that time in half if you run at full speed. Even if you run into something you can't handle, you can still retreat safely."

Roy felt more confident about the mission now that he had this info. A multitude of exits bunched together lowered the danger level considerably. He scanned the whole map again. All four sides were facing the waters. They were connected to Lake Vizima in the south, and Temeria's river on the north. The city's waste and excrements were taken to these waters. "Where are the ruins of the city? Why doesn't this map show it?"

Adda pointed at the northwestern corner of Vizima's city area, where Foltest's palace stood. "Most of the ruins are underneath the palace. There should be an entrance somewhere lower than the sewers."

"It's under Lake Vizima?"

"Yes. It's a well-hidden spot. My old history teacher mentioned it once." Adda said, "Don't approach the ruins for now. Clear the monsters in the sewers. We want to give them a place to pray. Once we set up a base, we'll explore the ruins and try to turn them into our territory." Adda was being really optimistic about the whole thing. "And setting a base up in the sewers gives us an advantage." Adda pointed at the southern exit. "These exits lead to Lake Vizima. They are submerged in the lakewater. This place is a better conduit for the goddess' power than the plaza could."

Roy rubbed his chin and gave it some thought. "I can try, but I make no guarantees. And I need time. Lots of it. Give me one week at the very least."

"Safety first. I can understand. The goddess wouldn't want to see you hurt either. Clear the temple area first. The believers are more hardcore there." A pause later, she said, "The goddess is still asleep, so this is a personal request. Tell me what you'd like, Roy." Adda upped the reward and said, "You can have anything as long as it's not too outrageous."

Roy took her offer and listed out all the materials needed to make the Manticore School's armor. Adda accepted his terms. The princess might have been stripped of her authority, but she still had access to the royal warehouse.

They agreed on their next meeting time and went their separate ways. Roy went back to the blacksmith shop. Letho was still talking about the armor with Berengar.

"The Lady of the Lake and Princess Adda, huh? Troublesome figures." Letho patted Roy's shoulder. "I told you witchers should never get involved with religion. Serrit, Auckes, and I have our own work to do, so you'll have to clear the sewers yourself."

"No problem. I can handle it alone." Roy nodded.

Letho took some items out of his ring. He gave Roy Swallow so he could heal faster, Thunderbolt for more strength, and Petri's Philter for more powerful signs. "Remember, you can only take two decoctions at a time. If you go over your limit, you'll be weakened and nauseous after the effect wears away. And it'll cause a lot of complications."

"I understand."

Letho was still worried, so he handed Roy two bombs that looked like coconut husks. They were Dragon's Dreams. "The sewers are cramped and filled with swamps. There are inflammable gases everywhere. Dragon's Dream will work well there, but use them sparingly. If you run into a fleder, throw this and run."

"I know."

After that, Letho patted his shoulder. "Kid, always put your safety first."

"Don't worry. Did you forget what I can do? I can escape anytime I want to." Roy waved Letho goodbye and left.

The big maze that was the sewers and the multitude of monsters hiding in it meant untold dangers, but it also meant a mountain of EXP. Without Letho acting as the vanguard, Roy would be doing this solo. Chances like this did not come every day. It was dangerous, but he had a good feeling about it. In fact, he was excited. Witchers were adventurous people, after all.

***

"Letting a cub venture out on its own can be deadly. For the cub, of course." Berengar stepped on the blower, and the flames in the furnace burned brighter. "The sewers of Vizima are home to a lot of nasty stuff. Why'd you let him do this alone? Are you punishing him for his rash behavior last night?"

"Everyone was rash once. No need to punish him." Letho shook his head. "He should learn how to be a real witcher now."

Berengar took a deep breath, reminiscence gleaming in his eyes. "He's not even fifteen yet. When I was his age, I was still training my swordsmanship in Ka… under an old git."

"The kid has killed more than ten types of monsters, including a leshen." Letho had a look of approval in his eyes.

"Congratulations." Berengar stopped stepping for a moment, and envy appeared on his face for a while. "Your school's gonna live on."

"We talked to Geralt in Cintra not too long ago, and he said the Wolf School is in dire straits. It's been years since they had new kids coming in. Now there's only four of them left." Letho changed the topic. "Ever thought of going back?"

"None of your business!" Berengar crossed his arms and snapped back, "What is wrong with you and the kid? Why do you want me to go back anyway?"

"We might be traveling to Kaer Morhen this winter to meet the Wolf School witchers." A pause later, Letho stared at Berengar and said honestly, "We'll be drinking away and chatting all we want. It'll be the perfect opportunity to sit down and talk things out. Let bygones be bygones. Someone did say that there aren't many witchers left in these lands. Nothing's worse than extinction, so just let the past go."

"I never regret leaving them," Berengar said. "And there's no misunderstanding here. We only had different ideas of how things should work out." The Wolf School traitor stepped on the blower again and grumbled at the flames, "All I wanted was to raise a family and have my own kids. Can't do that if I'm a witcher."

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