novelraw Chapter 353 353: I'm Done with the Red Tape
Chapter 353 353: I'm Done with the Red Tape
Mossack stroked his beard. "I heard a rumor that Kaer Morhen was besieged once, and the Wolf School has been in decline ever since. It seems the rumors were mistaken."
Lynn was about to answer when a crisp call came from above. A small, dark shape soared through the air. It was the young griffin Lynn had raised. When they had returned to Novigrad, Lynn had kept the griffin in a cage, afraid that someone would mistake it for a giant sparrow and shoot it down.
In this era of low productivity, resources were not plentiful, and many people struggled to even feed themselves. Even those who were getting by had little fat on their bones. They couldn't resist the temptation of meat. Yes, an adult griffin was a ferocious beast, but a juvenile griffin wasn't much stronger than a large dog. So, Lynn didn't release the griffin until they entered the Blue Mountains.
The little creature was so pent up from being in the cage that it flew away as soon as it was released, as if afraid Lynn would catch it again. It only came back down when it was hungry or needed to sleep.
Lynn called out in Chinese, "Come." He always gave the griffin commands in Chinese so that if they ever ended up on a noisy battlefield, the griffin wouldn't be confused by all the shouts and screams.
The little griffin heard its master's call and descended from the sky, its small but powerful claws firmly gripping Lynn's forearm. Lynn pulled a small piece of jerky from his enchanted leather pouch and tossed it to the griffin. The griffin gobbled it down in an instant. After it was done, it affectionately rubbed its face against Lynn's hand.
Only then did Lynn smile and answer Mossack. "Master, the rumors are true. I just hired people to renovate the castle, which is why it looks like this now."
Mossack nodded. In truth, when Lynn first approached him with the proposal to improve the Trial of the Grasses, he had already suspected what Lynn was planning. And now, seeing the renovated Kaer Morhen with his own eyes, his suspicions were confirmed. Perhaps this young witcher really could restore the glory of the old witcher order.
Mossack wasn't like those fools. He knew that monsters were becoming rarer in this era, but he didn't believe that monster hunters should become extinct along with them. These witchers weren't plague-ridden lepers, nor were they flesh-eating ghouls or accursed children on the verge of turning into monsters.
Even if the day came when all monsters were hunted to extinction, sorcerers who caused far more trouble could live freely on this continent, so why couldn't witchers?
Just because a sorcerer's duty was to interfere with politics and a witcher's was to hunt monsters, should a witcher be thrown away like a hunting bow once the game was gone? Should good people be punished for being good?
Besides, Mossack knew full well that monsters would never truly be extinct. The Conjunction of the Spheres was a natural phenomenon. Just as the world had Chaos energy and newborns were always being born with the potential to become sorcerers, the Conjunction would inevitably happen again, bringing new monsters with it.
Therefore, the world would always need witchers to hunt monsters.
Furthermore, Mossack deeply disliked some of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers' actions. For example, the Circle of Druids didn't fall into the same decline as the witchers, not only because they weren't created by sorcerers, but also because the druids voluntarily gave up their right to interfere in politics.
Aside from serving as advisors to the rulers of the Skellige Isles, they generally didn't meddle in the affairs of the Northern Kingdoms. Even when the various Circles of Druids in the North were alienated by the kings for opposing their excessive logging and mining, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers was happy to see it.
All of this created a rift between Mossack and the druids and the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. While there were no major conflicts, there were small skirmishes now and then. Therefore, the thought of Lynn reviving the witcher order to be a check on the Brotherhood of Sorcerers filled Mossack with satisfaction, just thinking of the arrogant sorcerers being brought down a peg.
However, if the witcher order were so easy to rebuild, witchers wouldn't have fallen into their current state of decline. For one, the sorcerers who clung to their power and were more interested in politics than magic would never stand by and watch what they considered to be "inferior beings" rise again. And the kings, with their lavish, corrupt lifestyles and a passion for fathering bastards, might not want to see a unified group of witchers either.
Especially a society of warriors who answered to no king and couldn't be bought with coin. They wouldn't even need the Brotherhood of Sorcerers to instigate them; the kings would likely oppress and suppress any attempts at a witcher union.
In Mossack's eyes, the only reason Kaer Morhen could even conduct its research on improving the Trial of the Grasses was that the fortress, hidden deep in the Blue Mountains, was at the very edge of the known world and was unknown to the public.
The moment their name became known, it would probably not be long before a second siege of Kaer Morhen occurred. Or, even if the sorcerers didn't act, a trade embargo on Kaer Morhen would, in Mossack's opinion, be enough to cause the group to fall apart.
He was curious to see how Lynn would handle the coming trials.
As the group approached, the heavy, thick castle gate slowly opened, the portcullis was raised, and the drawbridge lowered. A group of dwarves, wearing chainmail custom-made for their stature, walked out, carrying axes. The leader of the dwarves lowered his axe, resting his hands on the end of the handle, and gave an exaggerated, almost comical bow.
"Witchers, welcome home."
"Good to see you, too, Zoltan. And cut the theatrics. Or I'll use my boot to kick your arse."
"Don't you humans love all this formality?"
As he joked with his friend, Lynn cheerfully called out the names of the other dwarf brothers who were with Zoltan. The dwarves all laughed heartily. Lynn's friendliness was clearly appreciated. Of course, Lynn didn't neglect the other friends he had brought with him, either.
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