The man seemed to be choked for a moment, then shouldered the leather bag and turned to leave.
Tethys just watched the man's figure disappear into the forest. Then she leisurely came to a tree and sat down. Before long, she saw the man dragging a wild deer back.
He pulled out a dagger from his waist and skillfully disemboweled the prey. After cleaning it, he hung it over the campfire to roast.
Tethys sat beside the campfire without any shyness, her eyes fixed on the greasy deer meat.
The man, looking at Tethys who was so unreserved, became a bit irritated. "I'll take you to the nearest village tomorrow. The tax collector will send you back to your family."
"Where is this?" Tethys asked in return.
"In the eastern border of the Kingdom of Kovir. Beyond that is the Blue Mountains."
Although the impatience in his tone didn't ease at all, the man still answered Tethys' question.
After repeatedly recalling these place names and confirming that she had really never heard of them before, Tethys couldn't help but close her eyes to communicate with the world laws.
The laws of this world were unprecedentedly silent. The law consciousness was mechanical and rigid. No matter how Tethys stimulated the laws, there was no response.
Fortunately, the power of the Magic Web could be used normally in this world. Tethys, who had descended in the form of an avatar, was safe from harm.
After fiddling for a long time, the laws were still as indifferent as ever, seemingly convinced that Tethys wouldn't really be hostile to the world. It was as if it was directly telling her that she could do whatever she wanted, and it didn't care.
Tethys had never seen such an indifferent world law before and could only leave the world origin helplessly.
When she opened her eyes again, the man in front of her had already ignored Tethys and was eating heartily by himself.
"Thank you for your help. I still don't know your name."
Out of politeness, Tethys asked the stranger's name.
The man paused and threw the dagger he used for cutting meat back to Tethys with a backhand.
"Lambert, a witcher from Kaer Morhen."
The dagger that shot over was caught steadily by Tethys. The witcher's test had achieved its intended effect. Tethys, with an unchanged expression, smiled and cut off a piece of charred deer meat to taste.
"I'm Tethys, a traveler who fell from the sky."
"A traveler? Aren't you a sorceress from Cidhna Island?"
The witcher Lambert seemed very sure of his guess. His orange - yellow eyes were especially bright under the reflection of the firelight.
Sorceress? It seemed to be a profession similar to a mage. Tethys silently noted down this name and shook her head to deny it. "I'm not the sorceress you mentioned, but I can be sure that I come from another world."
Lambert's furrowed brows gradually relaxed. "The conjunction of the spheres? The last one was fifteen hundred years ago. This is a rare event. The Brotherhood of Sorcerers and the Sorceresses' Lodge wouldn't miss such an opportunity."
"Miss traveler, for the safety of all, you need to go with me!"
Tethys had no objection. No matter where the witcher was going to take her, it was better than wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly on her own.
As night fell, the firelight reflected the dark eyes in the darkness. The wild beasts in the forest were attracted by the smell of deer meat and circled around the campfire.
The witcher sat cross - legged by the fire, his eyes half - closed as if he was asleep but not really.
Tethys looked around and came to a large oak tree. She reached out and knocked on the trunk twice.
The oak tree twisted, and the roots that were pulled out formed an archway leading to a secret room. Warm light overflowed from the archway. As Tethys entered the archway, the roots that formed the archway shrank back into the ground as if nothing had happened.
The morning sun shone down from the mountain top. This steep mountain range originated from the direction where the sun rose and extended far to the south.
The place where Tethys and Lambert were located was a valley. Different from the swamp where they descended, the trees here were growing very vigorously under the nourishment of the rain. Towering trees that needed several people to hug could be seen everywhere. The sunlight shone through the gaps of the leaves, reminding the sleeping travelers to wake up quickly.
In the northeast direction of the mountain range, on a gentle slope near the river valley, wisps of cooking smoke could be vaguely seen.
It seemed that because Tethys didn't take the opportunity to escape last night, Lambert's attitude became significantly more relaxed.
Seeing this traveler who came from the conjunction of the spheres coming out from under the tree roots, the witcher didn't show any surprised expression. He silently lit the campfire and shared the remaining deer meat with Tethys from last night. After using the river water to extinguish the embers, Lambert rolled up the intact deer skin and put it under his belt. The strange smell, after precipitating overnight, wafted out through the leather bag.
Tethys had to raise a wind - proof barrier before setting off.
Leaving the valley and approaching the plain, the trees here were also growing well. Firs and oaks were the most common, with cypresses and scattered fruit trees among them. Unfortunately, most of the leaves had turned different shades of orange and yellow, and the fruits on the fruit trees had long fallen to the ground and been eaten up by animals.
However, there were still some fruits on the trees and shrubs under the shade. Wild blueberries could be seen everywhere. These sour - sweet fruits attracted quite a few bears to come for food.
Lambert slowed down his pace. He was paying attention to the movements under the shade, and his right hand was already on the hilt of the sword behind him.
To the witcher's surprise, these bears, which were usually eager to store fat for hibernation and were extremely irritable, avoided the advancing two people on their own initiative.
Lambert's eyes couldn't help but glance at the woman behind him. Then he immediately understood the reason.
"I now believe that you're not a sorceress. You're more like a druid."
In the witcher's view, sorcerers were all arrogant and looked down on witchers; while druids were all old - fashioned conservatives. Although they weren't as self - important as sorcerers, their long - winded speeches made no one want to stay with them for long.
Tethys didn't give a response. She was immersed in the active elemental tide, trying to construct spells with it.
Lambert didn't continue to ask either. He had lost a lot on this commission. The horse that had been with him for two years had run away, plus the wasted medicinal decoctions and the damaged silver sword. He had a lot of accounts to settle with his client.
The place where the cooking smoke rose was a small town of moderate size. It presented a pastoral scenery under the protection of a thick wooden fence.
The guards saw two figures from a distance and quickly blew their horns to report to the guard officer.
They looked at the approaching witcher with fearful eyes and opened the gate unwillingly under the command of the guard officer.
The well - dressed guard officer was obese. The feather on his hat didn't make him look elegant but rather comical.
He looked at the smelly witcher with disgust and shouted from a distance, "Witcher, have you completed the commission?"
The witcher's face showed no expression, and his orange - yellow eyes were fixed on the guard officer.
"The information you left on the notice was wrong. What's in the tower is not a female plague demon or a daytime spirit, but a very rare penitent spirit."
"We don't know whether it's a daytime spirit or a penitent spirit. These monsters are all similar, aren't they? It's been pestering our lumberjacks. We paid you to kill it. Are you sure you've killed that monster?"
The guard officer unwillingly took out a money bag and threw it to Lambert, hoping to get an affirmative answer from the witcher.
"The penitent spirit is a rare evil spirit. This dangerous spirit specifically pesters those who have done bad things."
"To eliminate a penitent spirit, the most crucial point is to find the key that binds the penitent spirit to this place and cut off the connection immediately! This connection could be the corpse of the penitent spirit before its death or the thing it values most. You should ask those lumberjacks what they did to it?"
The witcher counted the money expressionlessly and said in a cold and hard voice, "This is not enough. Another two hundred and fifty crowns are needed to make up for my losses!"
The guard officer's face turned ashen and he screamed loudly, "You freak! This is robbery! If you can't produce the proof of killing the monster, we won't pay the reward!"
Saying this, he ordered the soldiers to snatch the money bag from Lambert's hand.
The soldiers surrounded Lambert and Tethys under the guard officer's command, but Tethys didn't think these thin and haggard soldiers were a match for Lambert.
The witcher pulled out another steel sword from behind him. His cold eyes made the timid soldiers retreat again.
The guard officer's face flushed with anger. This flush of anger quickly turned pale in front of the gradually approaching Lambert.
"Two hundred and fifty crowns plus two horses. I'll bring you the proof of eliminating the penitent spirit."
Lambert's deep voice was like a death knell. The guard officer, who was sweating profusely, immediately softened.
"I... I'll try my best to persuade the scribe, but I can't guarantee that you'll get so much money."
Lambert rolled his eyes and reached out to take off the necklace worn by the guard officer and weighed it. He was greatly disappointed to find that these shiny ornaments were only gold - plated and not worth much.
"Look at his hat," Tethys suddenly reminded, "Don't miss the ruby that fixes the feather."
The witcher's gaze fell on the thumb - sized ruby. He pulled it off with some doubt.
The texture of the gemstone was not clear, and the flocculent impurities greatly reduced its value. However, it was much more valuable than those gold - plated necklaces.
Lambert, who was barely satisfied, then led two thin horses out of the stable. He tied the belt and the deer skin to the horses and swaggered into the only inn in the town.
Winter was approaching, and there were few guests in the inn. The landlady was serving beer to several lumberjacks at the counter.
Lambert sat down quietly at a corner table and eavesdropped on the conversation of those drunkards.
"How about it? Any clues?"
Tethys saw a subtle change on Lambert's face and quickly asked.
Lambert shook his head, "Not sure, but their experiences make me feel uneasy! The penitent spirit will pester those who have done bad things. But these lumberjacks all have the experience of being pestered by the penitent spirit, and most of them can escape alive. This actually proves that they are not the ones the penitent spirit wants to punish."
Tethys nodded, "Maybe we can take the identity of the penitent spirit as a clue."
While speaking, the landlady brought over a thick soup made of vegetables and meat.
"Please bring me a glass of water."
Tethys had no appetite for the thick soup that had already turned dark brown at a glance. This avatar didn't need to eat. Eating was just to satisfy curiosity. And there were no precious seasonings in the small town inn. The deer meat from yesterday had already made Tethys regret it. Tapping the bread that could be used as a weapon, Tethys pursed her lips and asked for some fruits again.
Lambert, on the other hand, was not picky. He took Tethys' share of the thick soup and started to devour it greedily.
Taking advantage of the landlady's time to add water, Tethys casually inquired about the strange things that happened in the town.
The landlady didn't understand why this noble lady was traveling with an unpopular witcher but still dared not neglect to answer Tethys' question.
"The latest news is only about the ghost in the swamp tower. Almost all the lumberjacks have seen it, and this rumor has even reached the loggers on the Buina River."
"Another thing is that the squirrel - party's strike team attacked Lidburg again. The situation of non - human races is getting worse and worse. In retaliation, the people of Ard Carraigh organized a massacre and killed nearly four hundred non - human races living in the capital!"
Saying this, the landlady couldn't help but look at the witcher who was eating and drinking heartily beside her. Maybe in their eyes, the witcher was also among the non - human races.
"Were there any rumors before this?"
Tethys' eyes flickered, and she silently released the magic of charming humans.
The landlady was stunned for a moment and suddenly had a strong sense of trust and closeness towards the noble lady in front of her. She glanced at the criminal lumberjacks and said in a mysterious low voice, "There is a hermit living in the forest not far away. She is an herb master. My neighbor's son once had a high fever and was about to leave his parents' arms. In the end, it was the hermit's herbs that cured him."
"Thanks to the hermit, that child is now tall and strong. He even shot a wild deer a few days ago!"
Listening to the conversation between Tethys and the landlady, Lambert frowned. This was already the last town in the Kingdom of Kovir. Beyond that was the Blue Mountains, and Kaer Morhen Castle, the stronghold of the wolf - school witchers, was on the Blue Mountains. This place was already very remote and really didn't seem like a place that sorceresses would visit.
Since the coup on Cidhna Island, many sorceresses had left the academy and hidden their whereabouts and changed their identities. But the time didn't match very well. This hermit had been here for a while, and the coup on Cidhna Island had just happened not long ago. Maybe her purpose was related to the formula of the Trial of the Grasses.
And the landlady's next narration made the witcher even more nervous. She lowered her voice and said, "Two months ago, there were several Temple Guards from Novigrad. Those crazy lunatics of the Eternal Fire. They somehow heard about the hermit and were shouting that they wanted to capture her."
"All eleven of them, fully - armed strong men, and none of them came back!"
Lambert suddenly interjected, "When the people of the Eternal Fire disappear, no one investigates?"
"Our place is not Novigrad. Who cares about the life and death of those Redanian people?"
The landlady said what she really thought under the influence of magic, "In my opinion, those lunatics with abnormal minds probably ran into the squirrel - party people. Those non - human races are getting more and more radical, and villages are often raided by them."