Chapter 354: I'm Back, Motherf***ers
"Let me introduce you to my friends," Lynn said. "This is Ged, a witcher of the Bear School. Beside him is Mossack, a master from the Circle of Druids. And finally, this is Lady Eglais of Brokilon."
As Lynn introduced them, the three nodded in greeting.
"Pleasure to meet ya!" Zoltan said with a hearty, straightforward grin. "A witcher's friend is my friend, and a friend to all my brothers."
"If you need anything at all, just give us the word."
Zoltan's gaze swept over the group behind Lynn, then he asked, confused, "Did Master Vesemir not come back with you? Or will he be joining later?"
Lynn nodded. "Vesemir won't be coming back for winter this year."
The last time Lynn was in Novigrad, he and Vesemir had a long talk. Afterward, Vesemir had truly begun to consider retirement. In the past, Kaer Morhen was a sinking ship, and the Wolf School was like a candle in the wind, about to be snuffed out at any moment. Vesemir had no choice but to hold on tightly, lest what little hope remained be scattered to the wind. But now, the Wolf School was operating smoothly, and not just the Wolf School—other schools had come to Kaer Morhen to join the cause. Vesemir could finally rest easy.
And so, Vesemir was ready to lay down his duties as patriarch. It was partly because he was tired after a lifetime of hard work and wanted to rest, and partly to send a signal: The one making the decisions at Kaer Morhen now was no longer him, but Lynn.
Vesemir had never had the opportunity to receive a formal education like a noble, but a man with his years of experience had his own kind of wisdom. He knew that in a wolf pack, there could only be one alpha. Lynn, of course, was both understanding and grateful. In the future he was building, there would always be a place for his master, but if Vesemir wanted to retire peacefully and live out his golden years... then as his student, all Lynn could offer was his respect and a blessing for his choice.
"Come on, let's get inside and talk there."
The group entered the castle and made their way to the training yard.
In one corner, a line of wooden posts stood, and one of the seven children Lynn had brought back from Hölöpol was on them, dodging a swinging pendulum. The pendulum was just a thick log, as wide as a bucket, hanging from a chain and swinging back and forth like a playground swing.
The child held a wooden sword, moving and dodging on the posts, attacking and avoiding the pendulum. The other children stood around, watching the child's every move.
Lambert stood with his arms crossed, his voice full of impatient criticism. When Lynn and his party walked over, Lambert gave Lynn a nod, his stern expression softening. Then he turned to the child who was practicing.
"That's enough. Get down."
The child dodged the swinging log, then finished his routine with a perfect somersault off the post. The acrobatic flourish made Lambert's scalp tingle. His eye twitched. He instinctively wanted to cuss the kid out, but he saw Lynn out of the corner of his eye and took a deep breath, forcing the reprimand back down. But the other children cheered, as if the kid had just won a jousting tournament.
The child took off his blindfold and squinted. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that the usually empty training yard now had a few guests.
"Lord Lynn!"
He instinctively reacted as a Hölöpol child would upon seeing a noble, dropping his wooden sword and bowing low. The cheerful atmosphere froze. The other children noticed Lynn's arrival, too, and quickly followed suit, bowing respectfully.
"Mm."
Lynn nodded, smiling as he greeted them and asked how they had been. These children were his foundation. No one understood the importance of building from the ground up better than he did. The Eternal Fire's outreach and charitable work in Novigrad had also been done at his instruction to Shapelle. Because as the sages from his home world had said, "The water that bears the boat is the same water that can sink it."
Lynn's kindness and easygoing manner caught the children off guard. They suddenly felt that all the pain and exhaustion from a year of training had been worth it. In the months they had spent at Kaer Morhen, their instructors had not only trained them physically but had also taught them about their place in the world and the challenges they would face as future witchers.
After learning all of this, the children still didn't regret their choice. They had been forgotten orphans. Without Lynn, they would have either died of hunger and cold or been forced to join a local gang and become pickpockets.
Those who couldn't even manage that would have their hands and feet chopped off and become beggars. That was the fate of children like them. Until their last breath, they were just tools for gangs to profit from. But now, their fate had been changed. Lynn's light had pierced their dark world.
And so, they were willing to give everything to him. Including their lives.
As the children looked at him with such intense devotion, Lynn felt the heavy weight of the responsibility on his shoulders. Before, all he had to do was take care of himself. If he was full, his whole family was full. But now, he was surrounded by the hopes of others. His decisions would no longer just affect him, but the fates of all those who had chosen to follow him.
"So, this is the burden that Master Vesemir has been carrying all this time?"
One of the children asked, curious, "Lord Lynn, what did you say?"
"Oh, nothing," Lynn said, shaking his head.
Then, his eyes scanned the children, searching for a familiar small figure. When he couldn't find her, he asked, "Where's Kassia?"
"Kassia spends all her time with Yennefer now," Lambert said.
"Huh?"
Lambert shrugged. "Yennefer says the kid has the gift for magic. Don't look at me like that. That was my exact same expression when I first heard."
"No, this is my happy expression," Lynn said.
He truly was happy. The Trial of the Grasses was too dangerous. And of all the schools, only the Cat School had ever successfully created female witchers. But the decoction for the Cat School's Trial was the most incomplete of all.
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