Chapter 54: The Edge of a New Path
The caravan creaked and rattled its way out of Grey Dog Village, loaded down with countless thanks and baskets of bread and dried biscuits.
As he'd noted before, the villagers' enthusiasm was beyond imagination provided no coin was involved.
However, Kolgrim, sitting at the rear of the wagon, seemed preoccupied. The moment the last rooftop of Grey Dog Village vanished from sight, he pointed at the trailing cart and asked Arthur: "Are you seriously traveling with that thing?"
Inside the cart was the Nekker Chieftain Arthur had captured. Due to the continuous use of both the Monster Summoning and Monster Enhancement spells, it looked like a shriveled husk, completely devoid of any menace. To put it simply, even the little brats from Grey Dog Village had dared to approach and ask if the thing bites.
"Of course I'm serious. This thing eats coarse grains; it's easy to feed!" To enhance his persuasiveness, Arthur pulled a bean cake from the horse feed and tossed it into the trailing cart.
Kolgrim pulled out a massive bestiary from his satchel, a book thick enough to serve as a pot lid. He casually flipped it open to the section on Nekker Chieftains:
[Nekker Chieftain: The strongest and most intelligent creature in a nekker pack.]
[By using pheromones and unique cries, the Chieftain can issue orders to nearby common nekkers. Be warned: nekkers commanded by a Chieftain are no longer ordinary nekkers; they are an army of monsters. Only a fully prepared Witcher can hope to survive…]
"You clearly didn't pay attention during your classes. Common nekkers are omnivores, but the Chieftain is the absolute leader of the pack, and it will never eat anything but meat… Watch!"
Kolgrim gestured toward the cart. The Nekker Chieftain simply stared at the bean cake near its mouth, then sorrowfully averted its gaze.
"Huh? Wasting food, are we?!" Annoyed at being made to look foolish, Arthur sat up and grunted loudly. The Chieftain instantly shuddered, quickly scooping up the bean cake and desperately stuffing it into its mouth.
"See? The monster understands reason!" Arthur said proudly to Kolgrim. "Before bringing it back, I checked. It has two sets of molars, meaning its body retains the capability for vegetarian consumption."
With that, he picked up another bean cake and tossed it to the Chieftain: "Eat more roughage. It helps with constipation!"
"Wow! Even monsters eat feed!" Young Everett exclaimed, showing no fear whatsoever.
Kolgrim briefly looked up at the sky, then pressed the matter: "Don't change the subject. Don't tell me you're keeping that monster for research."
Arthur countered: "Why not? Nevers are frail, stupid, and don't take direction well; they should be easy to exterminate. So why does nearly every village feel compelled to hire a Witcher?"
Arthur had absolute authority to speak on the nekkers' discipline he had personally witnessed how fast those summoned nekkers had run away. If the Chieftain hadn't applied some kind of powerful mind-control at the last minute, Arthur wouldn't have caught a single one.
Kolgrim touched his sparsely-haired scalp, scratched his neck, and finally replied:
"Nekkers are, after all, monsters. Farmers deal with crops their whole lives; they are bound to be afraid when they see a monster."
He paused, then added: "Besides, if everyone took it upon themselves to deal with nekkers, what would become of the Witchers?"
Arthur spread his hands: "As long as your reputation is good, what can't you do? Escorting merchant ships, acting as a bodyguard for naturalists isn't any of that easier than risking your life fighting monsters?"
Kolgrim stared at a distant tree and murmured uncertainly: "Protecting humanity from monsters is a Witcher's sacred duty."
"Duty? That's just moral blackmail!"
Talking about it clearly angered Arthur: "Protecting citizens from monsters should rightly be the responsibility of the Kings and Lords, so how did it become the sacred duty of the Witchers?"
"Even if Witchers have an advantage over normal men when fighting monsters, the ruling powers should at least establish a corresponding system of rewards and penalties, not sit in their castles with their eyes closed, leaving every negotiation to the Witcher and the impoverished common folk isn't that just provoking conflict?!"
"Well said!" Mara clapped her hands in agreement, excited. "It's like waiters in a restaurant: they are clearly serving customers on behalf of the boss, yet they have to rely on customer tips to make a living. The boss can pay a pittance of a wage and simultaneously shirk the responsibility of providing service and supporting their employees!"
Zoltan slammed his fist heavily onto the wagon bed: "Hah! It's the same with our Elders! When they try to get us to work, they open their mouths shouting about the glory of Mahakam, but when it's time to pay, it's all damned perforated gold! Twenty pieces of perforated gold won't buy a single full Novigrad Crown!"
Dandelion strummed a mournful chord on his lute: "To scramble for glory like a starving dog, and flee from responsibility like a startled rabbit that is the required lesson for those in high positions."
Kolgrim stared at Arthur for a long time, his lips opening and closing like a fish's, as if he had countless arguments that wouldn't come out.
Finally, he let out a heavy sigh: "This kind of thing… the Griffin School has tried before! It's easy for you to talk while sitting here, but do you know how hard it is to convince those politicians to act?"
Arthur did not back down: "Vigilant, the Mayor of Vizima, Velerad, is already pushing this forward. He's inviting a Witcher to be permanently stationed there offering free medical care, room and board, forging resources, and other benefits to specialize in handling Vizima's monsters."
Kolgrim scoffed: "I don't think those conditions are enough to attract anyone. Even when the market was at its worst, killing nekkers paid 20 Orens."
Arthur gave a knowing chuckle: "But Triss told me that the Mayor already has an applicant. A fellow named Gaetan Karadin."
"Ah, so it's him." Kolgrim nodded thoughtfully, accepting Arthur's point. "I know the fellow; he's one of the few Cat School Witchers who hasn't gone completely mad."
"He was always complaining about wanting to retire when he stayed at Kaer Morhen for the winter. This position looks perfectly suited for him."
Compared to the savage wilds, powerful monsters rarely appeared in densely populated cities. Barring any surprises, the most Karadin would likely deal with in the future would be drowners creeping into the sewers for a Witcher, this kind of life was practically retirement.
However, Kolgrim still added: "Even if you've started a good thing, how long can this situation be maintained?"
Arthur shrugged dismissively: "I know what you want to say. Maybe this Witcher will neglect his duties, or maybe the whole thing will fall apart when a new Mayor takes office but what does that have to do with me?"
"There is no such thing as a world that is perfectly clean, but I'm happy to sweep up the area right in front of me. Is there a problem with that?"
Kolgrim scrutinized Arthur with a strange look for a long time, then slowly raised a thumb:
"You are impressive."
Clap, clap, clap, clap. Loud applause erupted in the wagon, with Zoltan slamming his hands together enthusiastically.
Dandelion jumped up as if a burr had been placed on his backside, muttering to himself, trying to quickly compose a ballad about 'duty' and 'reform.'
......
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