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Roy took Coral and went around all the ash of the bonfire strewn across the street before eventually coming back to the house he shared with the witchers.

Letho, Auckes, and Serrit had snapped out of the festive mood, and they seemed unfazed by it. The witchers had already packed up and were about to set off on their journey to White Orchard. When Roy and Coral came in, the witchers looked at them.

“Heavens. Are my eyes deceiving me? This is impossible…” Auckes covered his mouth, gasping in shock. “Is this real? A rookie from our school actually going out with a sorceress?”

“Silence, you fool. You’re drowning everyone here with your envy!” Serrit shouted at Auckes before patting Roy’s shoulder approvingly. “Congratulations on becoming a man, Roy.”

“You’re taking this the wrong way.” Roy looked at them calmly and straightened out his wrinkly, damp shirt. “Coral and I talked for the whole night. It’s about the plan I have. Since Lammas is over, it’s time to talk business.”

“Are you sure you can talk business now? Shouldn’t you get a room with her?” Letho looked at Roy and Coral. She seemed as if she just came out of a shower. Her face was red, and her skin was glistening. Letho also noticed her leaning toward Roy, perhaps unconsciously. “So, how did her lips taste?” he mocked, which was something he seldom did.

“Letho, I said that was not the case!”

Coral noticed the hostility Letho was directing at her, and she smiled. Then she buttoned the topmost button of Roy’s shirt, as if she were showing off at the witcher.

“Miss Lytta.” Letho’s pupils contracted into slits, and he said grimly, “If I recall, the Trial of the Grasses should have ended back at Melitele’s temple.” He sounded calm, but it was nothing but the calm before the storm. “Why do you still come to my apprentice?”

Lytta snorted, fury flaring within her. However, Roy patted the back of her hand and calmed her down. “I would have turned you into ice and put you in the yard as decoration, barbarian, but I will let this slide for Roy’s sake.”

“Calm down, Coral.” Roy stood between them. “Sorry, Letho. I asked for her help this time. It’s going to be a long journey for us, and riding on horseback will take too much time. Coral can shorten that journey a lot for us.”

Many sorcerers knew how to cast portals, including Lytta. She had many secret bases in the northern kingdoms, and she could travel to and from those bases thanks to her portal.

Roy’s original plan was to split them up into two groups and search for Kolgrim and Merten’s treasure. Serrit and Auckes, both of whom came from Nilfgaard, had perfect teamwork. They would travel to Toussaint, while Roy and Letho would travel to the White Orchard.

“Temeria’s White Orchard…” Coral rubbed her chin. “Roy, I can only send you and the barbarian to Vizima. I have a house in the trade area. As for Serrit and Auckes, I’m very sorry,” she said softly. “Toussaint is Nilfgaard territory, and I have no base in the south. How does Marnadal sound? But you’ll have to pass through Amell in the south, and there are dangers lurking about recently. Sightings of royal griffins are reported there.”

Auckes and Serrit looked at each other, excitement shining in their eyes. “It’s been a while since we had some action. This is perfect.”

***

“That’s good enough. Thank you, Coral,” Roy said genuinely.

Coral gave him a gentle smile. “Don’t forget to see me after you’re done. I couldn’t get enough of that dance last night.” She winked at him. “I want to learn more about that unique dance of yours so I can show off to my sisters.”

“I will be in touch.”

“Um, Miss Lytta…” Auckes took a deep breath and held his head up high as he came to interrupt the conversation.

“What is it, witcher?”

“Miss Lytta, do you have any sister whom you’re close with? Can you introduce me to them?”

Lytta said nothing.

***

The sorceress made a sign in the air and flicked her wrist. As she muttered the magical chant, a gust of wind started to blow in the witchers’ shack. Eventually, the breeze became a gust of howling wind that billowed her robe. A moment later, a vertical slit opened in the empty space between them, and it was slightly taller than a regular human.

As Lytta muttered further into the chant, the vertical slit expanded and became a square gateway. Lytta pressed into the gateway, and the sharp gusts of wind were silenced. The portal came into being, and it reflected those who stood before it, as if it were a mirror.

“Take care of Wilt for me, buddy. If something happens to him…” Roy patted Wilt’s neck. Since the road to Toussaint was a long one, Serrit and Auckes borrowed the horse from Roy.

“Don’t worry. We’ll send him back in one piece.”

Lytta opened the second portal once Auckes and Serrit vanished behind the first. “This leads to Vizima’s trade area, barbarian. You’ll go in first and scout the surrounding area,” she said imperiously.

Letho noticed the murderous glare Lytta was giving him, and he hesitated. It’ll be too easy for her to tamper with the portal and send me into a death trap. That might be what she just did. “Miss Lytta, you didn’t tamper with the portal, did you?”

“There’s a caldera on the other side of the portal.” She looked up and smiled scornfully.

Roy said, “Just go in, Letho. She won’t harm you. Right, Coral?”

Lytta stared down at the ground.

“Coral? Why are you looking down like that?”

Lytta looked at Roy, and she didn’t want him to look so concerned about her. She pursed her lips and reluctantly cast another spell at the portal. A magical wave spread through the portal and disappeared into the air.

“Y-You tampered with the portal?” Letho wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“I was going to punish you just a little. It wouldn’t have killed you. At most, it would have made your journey an unpleasant one. You would have ended up vomiting for a little while,” Lytta answered matter-of-factly, as if she just did something not worth mentioning. “You kept disturbing me and Roy. We have personal business to attend to.”

Letho turned around solemnly. “Kid, I think traveling to the White Orchard on horseback isn’t bad either.”

“But Serrit took the horse.” Roy stared at Coral. “Can we enter the portal now, Coral?”

“Even you are doubting me?”

“I will never.” Roy gave Letho a look.

“Don’t worry. I won’t risk having you hate and hunt me down for life. It’s perfectly safe now.”

“I’ll trust you with this once.” Letho gave Roy a look of resignation. “You better follow after me as soon as possible. Do not waste too much time with her.” He closed his eyes, pinched his nose, and leapt into the portal.

“Finally, some peace and quiet.” Lytta waved her hand across the air, and a white, little paper crane folded itself in the air, then it landed on her palm. She gave Roy the paper crane and told him, “There’s a one-way portal in this paper crane. It leads to my workshop in Kerack. Tear this crane if you want to travel there.” She whispered into his ear, “And remember, this portal will disappear after one person passes through it.” She gave Roy a tight hug. “Va faill, Roy.”

Roy was shoved into the portal. Everything around him spun, and colors faded from the world. He stumbled through the passage, floating in the air as if it were zero gravity in there. It felt as if he were rowing through a stormy sea on nothing but a small wooden canoe. Some would get nauseous in portals. Geralt was one example. Using a portal would be worse than death for him.

The nausea was more intense for those with a higher Perception, but Roy held it in. A moment later, the nausea subsided. When he opened his eyes again, he was already in an unfamiliar room.

The curtains were made of velvet, and the walls were bright yellow in color. Standard items for a sorceress like telescopes, crystals, and wooden lock boxes filled with sundry items crowded the room. A pot of lilies stood on the windowsill, and a hammock hung between two walls.

A bald man was lying in it, looking bored. “Finally willing to leave your woman? Tell me, did you start this whole affair with her back at the temple of Melitele?”

“What are you talking about?” Roy ignored the tease. He opened the windows and allowed the warm sunshine to fill their room. He looked at the clean street below them, and the people were dressed immaculately. This was Vizima’s trade area and the gathering place of the wealthy.

“You can get a regular girl if you want a romantic relationship. I won’t have any objections to that. But a sorceress is different. She must have a goal in mind if she wants you. Think about it. She did whatever she wanted without even thinking about the repercussions. She’s clearly a cunning woman. You’re too young to be her match. She’d eat you alive.”

“You underestimate the heir of the Elder Blood.”

Letho asked suggestively, “So what did you do with Lytta last night?”

“A regular checkup,” Roy answered calmly. “Coral said she made some breakthroughs in her experiments on the trial, and she needed to check my body so she could extract the information she needed. After all, I am the first witcher whom she has overseen during the trial. And if I want to bring my idea to fruition… Let’s not talk about the brotherhood of witchers. If we want to revive the school, then we need a sorcerer who can help us regularly. Coral is a good partner. She has experience, and she’s interested in this matter.”

Letho needled him for answers. “You’re lying. You must have done something else during the checkup.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.”

“Why are you so obsessed with that question?”

Letho shut up, and the air became slightly awkward. “Auckes wanted to have a bet with me. Two months’ worth of wine gold. I betted on you still being a virgin.”

Roy shrugged and left the room.

***

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