Chapter 7: The Sleeping Lenna
The poison and the weapon were ready. It seemed only one final preparation for the hunt remained: confirming the griffin's area of activity and setting the bait.
The problem was that they had found no trace of a griffin at the site of the alleged attack. While the steward insisted this was because a heavy rain had fallen shortly after the incident, a downpour in early spring was suspicious in itself.
"It looks like we'll have to figure out the griffin's range on our own," Kolgrim said.
Easier said than done.
Arthur questioned nearly every villager in White Orchard, seeking any sign of the griffin. But the people he asked either couldn't speak clearly, gave irrelevant answers, or, in one case, demanded a drink, giving only a vague wave of the hand after he'd finished.
After all the hassle, the most useful encounter was with the liar. After giving the drunken fraud a vigorous cold bath in the river to sober him up, Arthur successfully raised his Affinity to 40/100.
"How about we sneak into the castle tonight and steal the schematics?" Arthur suggested, feeling discouraged after the repeated setbacks: "All the information they gave us is clearly fake! God knows how those cattle and sheep really died, and there might not even be a person named Lenna!"
Kolgrim shook his head: "When you were sobering up that liar, I overheard the villagers chatting. There is a girl named Lenna. And she has a deep connection to Hoffer Village.
"Lenna is Peter's fiancée."
The bride Young Lord Florian had stolen at the wedding under the pretext of the 'Right of the First Night'!
Arthur sprang to his feet: "I'll go find Walker right now!"
He strode toward Hoffer Village, a layer of grime settling over his heart. A kidnapped bride, an injured person forbidden from visitors, and a griffin that left no trace… The entire affair reeked of a conspiracy!
There might not have been any 'griffin attack' at all. The only truth the steward spoke was probably that 'a griffin has arrived in White Orchard'!
"No need to rush. He's been waiting for you for a while."
Arthur had only taken a few steps when Kolgrim called him back, pointing toward the bridge. A clump of bushes violently shook a few times, and Walker scrambled out.
"Witcher, we meet again."
Walker looked at Kolgrim and Arthur with a complex expression: "You clearly refused my request yesterday. Why are you wading into this mess on your own today?"
Arthur stepped forward, defending Kolgrim:
"Humans are not on a Witcher's list of enemies."
Walker scoffed:
"Witcher, do you even lie to your own apprentice? I overheard what you said at the forge. You are clearly a Viper! Everyone knows Vipers and Cats take assassination contracts!"
Arthur felt another massive impact, looking back and forth between the Witcher and Walker:
"Is he telling the truth?"
Kolgrim first nodded, then shook his head:
"It's true, but not the whole truth." Seeing both Walker and Arthur confused, he explained: "A part of our School does accept assassination contracts, but I am not among them."
Walker spat a large wad of phlegm onto the ground:
"Don't pretend to be high and mighty! You said yourself that hunting monsters doesn't earn much coin. What do you eat if you don't kill men?!"
Kolgrim shrugged: "I'm still from the Viper School. Playing with poison is my specialty. Earning coin from making antidotes, while not as lucrative as poisons, is enough if I spend carefully. You've been following us all day, and I doubt it's just to shout abuse at me you must have information about the griffin."
Walker shot Kolgrim a hateful look, then turned to Arthur: "I don't know where the griffin is, but Miloslav knows he's Lenna's father."
Arthur realized: "I understand. The father hopes to trade information about the griffin for our help is he asking us to get Lenna out?"
Walker shook his head: "Miloslav has a good heart; he would never use something like that to leverage people. But I am the elder of Hoffer, and I have to do something for my people."
Seeing Kolgrim nod in agreement, Arthur readily said: "Then let's do it. After we catch the griffin, Miloslav can accompany us to the castle as an 'assistant.' The Baron can't possibly refuse to let a father see his own daughter. But we have to hurry; Lenna's condition is not good."
Walker nodded grimly: "I thought as much."
Miloslav's home was neither in Hoffer nor White Orchard Village, but a small wooden cabin next to the woods he was a hunter. Perhaps Walker had been trying to recruit this hunter to provide armed defense for Hoffer.
Compared to the other villagers they had met, the hunter was well-proportioned and strong, moving without a sound. Hearing that Arthur could help him see Lenna, Miloslav immediately took a yew longbow from the wall and began stringing it:
"I'll take you. The griffin is a very clever beast; your bait might not work."
Arthur noticed that while Miloslav's hands were steady, his movements seemed hurried, almost anxious. Had he also heard about Lenna's injuries?
Walker wanted to join them, but Miloslav refused, stating that 'you have no hunting experience; you would only create unnecessary danger.'
With the hunter's help, the group soon reached the vicinity of the griffin's nest.
Kolgrim planned to tether the lamb, which was serving as bait, in place, but Miloslav scolded him, saying, 'The griffin will become suspicious.' Kolgrim had no choice but to let the lamb wander freely in the wheat field.
When the griffin failed to appear, Arthur finally broke the silence: "Hunter, how did you find the griffin?"
Miloslav frowned slightly. Small talk during a vigil was a major taboo while hunting. However, he had a favor to ask of the young man, and he trusted Kolgrim's senses to spot the griffin first, so he answered in a low voice:
"See those flattened stalks of wheat? Only the middle of the field is crushed; the wheat in other directions is still standing. This suggests a large, flying creature stayed here."
"That doesn't confirm it's a griffin, though. A Forktail could leave the same marks," Kolgrim chimed in, suddenly intrigued. In his eyes, the hunter's ability to make such a judgment without relying on scent was remarkable.
Miloslav nodded, adding: "The tracks in the field aren't enough to make a definite identification, but there is other evidence. Six months ago, a swarm of Nekkers arrived in the nearby woods. No matter how hard I hunted them, their numbers only increased. But two days ago, they all died. Not only that, but their nest was completely dug up. Many monsters hunt Nekkers for sport, but only a griffin would completely tear up the nest they are proud creatures that won't tolerate filth in their territory."
Miloslav's analysis was well-reasoned, and Arthur was briefly mesmerized. He was about to interject when he suddenly heard Kolgrim warn in a low voice:
"The griffin is here!"
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