"You had another nightmare."
It was a statement, not a question.
Allen raised his hand to touch his forehead and found it covered in cold sweat. The sheets behind him, along with his chest, were also wet in large patches.
The air carried a strong scent of juniper, bitter with a sharp, acrid tang.
He turned his head.
Vera stood at the bedside, bending over busily, evenly spreading the thick green potion onto gauze with a silver-white dagger.
The juniper and acrid bitterness drifted from it.
"You really don't want to talk to me about it?" She had her back to Allen, her voice gentle and warm. "I learned some dream interpretation from Ianna; at least I can help you share the burden."
If Mary heard Vera's voice like this, she would surely gape in surprise.
Allen thought so but remained silent.
That dream—naked, bloody—needed no interpretation.
Allen stayed quiet, and Vera did as well.
This had happened many times in recent days. Since Mary had leaked the content of his nightmares, whenever he woke from one, the person he mostly saw was Vera.
Day and night.
After their conversation on the old path, a tacit understanding had gradually formed between them.
Today, as usual, after being refused, Vera did not press further. She carefully helped Allen turn to his side and changed his dressing.
"You're recovering very well," Vera said with a gentle smile. "Congratulations, Allen. Just one more dressing change and you'll be fully healed."
Allen clenched his fists, feeling his strength gradually returning. He couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth slightly and looked at Vera, asking, "Can you tell me now what's happening outside? Has Hen Gedymdeith woken up?"
"Not counting Vesemir, Danthe, and Jerome Moreau, you've instructed Francesca and Mary not to say much in front of me. In fact, I haven't seen them much these past few days…"
The day after waking, he had tried asking about the outside situation—what had happened in the Sorcerers' Brotherhood, why Tissaia de Vries's own Aretusa sorceresses were insufficient and needed to call in Mage-source Vilgefortz.
Theoretically, having just rescued Hen Gedymdeith from Ban Ard, before he regained his authority in the Sorcerers' Brotherhood or influence over the Northern Realms, Vilgefortz, having offended the Ortolan and Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization, should have stayed hidden instead of openly appearing in the Brotherhood.
Although Allen had silenced the Sunny and others he encountered in the dungeon, Vilgefortz should still be a member of Ban Ard. His identity as a mage-source and the disappearance of Lydia van Bredevoort alongside him could not be hidden.
Even a slight investigation by Ortolan would have revealed anomalies; whether there was proof or not was secondary.
Hiding for a while could create a false impression of death, avoiding attention.
But helping Tissaia de Vries manage the Brotherhood…
That was practically showing her hand.
Tissaia and Vilgefortz were not fools; they should have realized this, unless… something unexpected had happened, a major change beyond his anticipation.
"That was to prevent you from getting too agitated and affecting your recovery," Vera said, her hands pausing as she tidied the old gauze and dressings. She thought for a moment, then nodded. "But now, it's really time…"
"Hen Gedymdeith hasn't woken yet, but soon. More importantly…" She paused, observing Allen's eyes, and said seriously, "Allen, Ban Ard… has disappeared."
'Ban Ard… disappeared… 'Allen froze, confused. "What do you mean, disappeared?"
"Literally," Vera said, putting away the bandages. "All of Ban Ard—both the new city and the academy area—has been reduced to empty wasteland. The vast city, along with everyone in it, is gone."
"Allen, you should have been the last to leave Ban Ard. Didn't you know?"
'The entire city was gone…' Allen couldn't believe Vera's words at first. He looked into her eyes for several seconds to ensure she wasn't joking, then shook his head. "When I left Ban Ard, I was gravely injured and unconscious. How could that be…"
His voice faltered as he suddenly remembered Visenna and Korin.
They had said they were in the Amell Mountains, two thousand kilometers from Ban Ard, and had rescued him by chance.
When he woke, he wondered why the black dragon, whose state should have been poor after facing the Wild Hunt king's self-detonation, sent him to the Amell Mountains instead of nearby Kaer Morhen.
Could it be possible the black dragon had done its best to bring him to safety?
Of course!
No wonder Tissaia de Vries dared to use Vilgefortz, and Vilgefortz dared to agree.
With all of Ban Ard gone, and the people of Ortolan and Rissberg also gone, they naturally could agree. Tissaia must have really been short-handed.
With Ban Ard and Ortolan vanished, the power structure of the Northern Realms was completely reshuffled. Allen didn't dare imagine how busy Tissaia would be this past month.
But… how was it done?
The witcher pondered, lowering his head.
Vera did not press, just watched him quietly.
"The last time, the Wild Hunt king controlled Renakins's self-detonation. Eredin wanted to kill me. There's no reason to teleport me thousands of kilometers away. The Wild Hunt hasn't appeared in this world for many years, and erasing a city like Ban Ard would be unnecessary. It must have been an accident."
"If it was an accident, then what caused it? Space… teleportation…"
"Wait…"
He suddenly remembered. To affect the Wild Hunt king Eredin, who had possessed Renakins, he had released his last Conjunction of the Spheres. And the Conjunction of the Spheres had indeed successfully influenced Eredin, nearly filling the Witcher progress and erasing both Renakins and the Eredin possessing him.
Of course.
Eredin's final self-detonation was certainly influenced by the Conjunction of the Spheres and the Witcher progress. He had no choice but to give up trying to capture him alive and could only perish together.
So it was the combination of the Conjunction of the Spheres and Eredin's self-detonation that triggered some reaction, transporting him and the black dragon two thousand kilometers away to the Amell Mountains…
But why the Amell Mountains? Was it just a coincidence?
"You figured it out?" Vera asked.
Allen nodded lightly. "It might have been an accident."
He didn't elaborate—not because he deliberately hid it from Vera (there were few people in this world he trusted more than her)—but because all of this was only speculation, and he didn't know how to explain it.
Of course, if Vera pressed, he would explain in detail. But after her single question, she merely nodded lightly and didn't say more.
Allen, however, thought for a moment and asked one more thing: "A month has passed. Has the Sorcerers' Brotherhood still not found Ban Ard?"
Vera's expression immediately grew strange. "It should be considered found."
Allen froze.
Found is found; not found is not found. What does "should be considered found" mean?
"The Sorcerers' Brotherhood divined that Ban Ard is in Dol Dhu Lokke," Vera paused, "Many also call it The Valley of Thousand Monsters…"
"The Valley of Thousand Monsters?" Allen murmured, "Is that Alzur…"
"Yes," Vera nodded. "The monster summoned by the 'Alzur Double Cross' which destroyes half of Maribor City. After killing Alzur and destroying Maripo, the place the survivors fled to was The Valley of Thousand Monsters, formerly called Dol Dhu Lokke."
The Valley of Thousand Monsters, once called Dol Dhu Lokke, is in Temeria, not far from the Circle of the Maynar Druids, at the foot of the Mahakan Mountains. It used to be a lush and beautiful valley, until the conjunction of the spheres changed everything.
At that time, the earth split and mountains collapsed; terrifying monsters appeared, destroying all the beauty in the valley.
Afterward, no one dared to set foot in Dol Dhu Lokke, except witchers.
They were of two kinds: those who sought fame and success by slaughtering the valley's monsters, and those who sought the honorable path to death.
Only the latter achieved their goal.
Allen also remembered seeing the name Valley of Thousand Monsters elsewhere.
It was in May, at Kaer Morhen, when he conveyed to Sol the Duke of Ellander Mason's invitation to relocate his school. Sol refused, citing that "short-lived promises cannot be trusted," and then spread out an ancient map, detailing fortress selection. On that map, The Valley of Thousand Monsters was heavily marked.
Later, Allen asked what it meant.
Sol said that after the Witcher Order fractured, he had considered The Valley of Thousand Monsters for the Wolf School's new base. But after careful consideration, it was deemed too dangerous and abandoned.
During the Witcher Order period, a grand expedition had also been launched to eliminate the monsters in The Valley of Thousand Monsters, but the monsters were endless, and the attempt ended in failure.
In short, The Valley of Thousand Monsters is the most dangerous place in the witcher world, comparable to the Sedna Abyss with its storm whirlpools between the Northern Realms and Skellige Isles, and the Korath desert beyond the Tir Tochair.
A mere valley comparable to oceanic abysses and vast deserts—one can imagine how perilous it is.
"No, something's wrong!"
Allen suddenly realized an anomaly.
"Besides the sheer number and strength of the monsters, The Valley of Thousand Monsters is just an ordinary valley. Unless all the Rissberg male mages, Ortolan and Ban Ard were dead a month ago, someone could always leave via portals. How could it be that only now it was divined?"
"I don't know the exact situation either," Vera shook her head. "A few days ago, Tissaia de Vries mentioned via the Thousand-mile Mirror that some things had happened in The Valley of Thousand Monsters…"
Allen nodded, curious. "So what does the Sorcerers' Brotherhood plan to do? Send people in to rescue them? Or give up entirely?"
"The Ban Ard Academy, countless Rissberg mages, and Ortolan are all in Ban Ard. How could the Sorcerers' Brotherhood give up?" Vera shook her head. "Of course, they didn't immediately send a rescue party…"
"Then what are they doing?" Allen asked, puzzled.
"Holding meetings…" Vera scoffed. "Tissaia is very proactive about the rescue. As soon as the divination revealed Ban Ard's location, she immediately issued a proposal. Then it got passed around and pushed off by the various layers."
"From the Low Council, Middle Council, to the High Council, all had meetings. It took three days just to vote on whether to carry out the rescue."
"Now they're discussing the allocation of rescue teams among the councils. When this meeting ends, there will probably be other meetings…"
'Holding meetings… that's rather characteristic…' Allen's expression flickered strangely as he blinked.
Tissaia de Vries' decisive actions matched her character.
Rescuing Ban Ard and the Rissberg Civil Consortium mages would naturally require Aretuza to bear the largest portion of the effort and losses, as the third largest power of the Sorcerers' Brotherhood.
But that was exactly Tissaia de Vries—someone who, while maintaining order and stability, sought to maximize benefits for Aretuza and the female mages. And for the sake of order and stability, sacrificing certain interests was acceptable for a righteous person.
Of course, rescuing the Ortolan forces, Rissberg Civil Consortium mages, and Ban Ard mages was acceptable for Aretuza—and even for Allen—and was basically advantageous with no real harm.
First, entering The Valley of Thousand Monsters to rescue anyone would be a massive operation. Even if all the meetings finished now, it would still take a considerable amount of time. By then, Hen Gedymdeith would have already awakened and completely taken control of the Sorcerers' Brotherhood alongside Tissaia de Vries.
Second, the real enemies of Tissaia de Vries, Allen, and Hen Gedymdeith—the Sunny faction and the radicals—were already dead. Ortolan and the Rissberg Civil Consortium were forces strong enough to suppress others and could be strategically utilized.
Not to mention the future White Frost, Ortolan and the Rissberg Civil Consortium, having truly faced and suffered losses from the Wild Hunt, would absolutely be the backbone when the Red Riders came.
Third, Ortolan didn't know who Allen was, and Ban Ard was now inside The Valley of Thousand Monsters. Vilgefortz's identity could probably be concealed. Not saying it would never be revealed—that's unlikely—but by the time the concealment fails, Allen or even the magical source Vilgefortz would have grown enough to no longer need hiding…
"The Sorcerers' Brotherhood will definitely send a rescue party in the end," Allen murmured, "and they'll probably commission all the witcher schools as well…"
"You're not going!" Vera's face changed instantly, abandoning the gentle motherly expression from before.
'What exactly do I look like in Vera's eyes… 'Allen smiled bitterly. "Of course I won't go."
That was a lie.
Any large-scale commission from the Sorcerers' Brotherhood, no matter which witcher school, would be impossible to refuse if they still intended to operate on the Northern Continent.
Of course, Allen had no interest in rescuing Ban Ard.
He was only thinking that this might be an opportunity.
An opportunity to explore The Valley of Thousand Monsters and see if it could be suitable as a school base…
....
(T/N: Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!)
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