Chapter 122: Kaer Morhen Welcomes You

Chapter 122: Kaer Morhen Welcomes You

The next day, the witcher and his dwarven friends found a captain in the Flotsam tavern willing to take them to Kaedwen.

Finally, in the latter half of the witcher's journey, the group encountered no further dangers of any kind.

Everyone arrived safely and smoothly in Vergen, disembarked, and set off towards Kaer Morhen, located in northern Kaedwen.

...

A month later.

When the sun pierced through the thick clouds, the mountaintops would shimmer with gold – but this sight was usually only visible in the morning or before sunset.

The group was already very close to the Blue Mountains, so they had to be extra careful.

In a world where living space was becoming increasingly scarce, the Blue Mountains remained untouched by humans for a reason.

The Blue Mountains were known for their wilderness and ruggedness. Even if one knew that a witcher fortress was hidden deep within them, without a Wolf School witcher familiar with this land to lead the way, outsiders could not easily find it.

Outsiders were very likely to turn into a mountain ravine or a canyon and then become completely lost.

"This damn place is really cold, I'm almost frozen stiff. Lynn, why didn't you Wolf School find a place with warm winters and cool summers to establish your academy, like Aretuza?"

"Even Ban Ard isn't this far north."

Glancing at Yarpen sitting beside him, constantly exhaling white mist, Lynn smiled.

Although it was only a few days into November, the temperature had plummeted drastically since they stepped into the Blue Mountains.

The mountains and the outside world seemed like two completely different realms.

"I used to think the same way as you, Yarpen, until a few months ago when I completed all the witcher trials. And after my first time down the mountain, when I experienced the malice of the mortal world, I finally understood the good intentions of our predecessors."

"Not everyone likes witchers. Even though witchers protect them from monster threats, they still always feel that witchers are dirty, lowly, and carry infectious diseases."

"If they knew that there was a witcher stronghold right next to their homes, I'm afraid they wouldn't even be able to eat."

Lynn's words were not alarmist.

Apart from the Wolf School's headquarters, Kaer Morhen, the headquarters of all other witcher schools had been destroyed.

The most serious of these was in the south, within the territory of the Nilfgaardian Empire.

Some people always felt that the south was more advanced than the north, and the Nilfgaardian Empire was more tolerant than the northern kingdoms.

If discussing militarism and rigid hierarchy, then the south was indeed far ahead.

As for tolerance, that was not necessarily the case.

Just as a person, from birth to adulthood, always lived under one piece of land.

Familiar with the things that happened on this land.

Over time, they would develop feelings of rejection or even disgust towards this land.

They always felt that the land they lived on was a mental depression or a saline-alkali land.

And they longed for another country they had never been to, only described by others.

It was as if that place was a beacon of humanity, and everything there was advanced.

But that was not the case.

At least in terms of the witcher's living environment, the south was not necessarily superior to the north.

It might even be worse.

In the north, witchers died in only two ways:

Either killed by monsters or killed by mobs.

But in the south, there was also a third way.

That was being killed by bounty hunters.

The southern dignitaries and nobles had an even greater degree of disgust for witchers than those in the north.

It was just that the imperials were accustomed to using words like system, civilization, and advancement, which were easy to bewitch people, to disguise themselves and put on a veneer of elegance.

No matter how foolish and arrogant the northern nobles were, at least they wouldn't just pay bounty hunters to kill witchers who appeared in their sight simply because they didn't like them. "I think I can understand," Yarpen shrugged. "It's like Mahakam. If Mahakam couldn't produce the weapons and equipment that the kings needed for war, Mahakam, located in the center of the continent, would definitely have suffered the same fate as the witchers."

Just then, the dwarf named Paulie in Yarpen's dwarven squad suddenly asked.

"Lynn, why do you want us to repair the castle? Is it because the witchers plan to recruit apprentices again?"

The chill in the air suddenly deepened.

Everyone fell silent.

Seeing that Lynn didn't speak, Yarpen reacted the fastest and hurriedly said, "Paulie, don't ask what you shouldn't. Be careful I kick your ass hard with my boots."

"What? I was just asking casually. If it's inconvenient for Lynn to answer, he can just tell me, and I'll shut up," Paulie seemed a bit aggrieved.

"Actually, it's just to make me and my brothers a little warmer," Lynn said casually. "You can't imagine how worried we are living in a pile of ruins. Not to mention freezing to death, we also have to worry about the ceiling falling down and hitting someone at any time."

Lynn's explanation was just to gloss things over.

Although Yarpen and Paulie were not fools and could tell that Lynn's purpose was definitely not just this,

they all remained silent and didn't continue to ask.

Anyway, Lynn was the employer, he paid the money, he could do whatever he wanted.

Lynn, on his side, also fell silent after diverting the topic.

Although he had a bond of camaraderie with Yarpen and the others, and Yarpen's subordinates, including Zoltan and his subordinates, were not bad people either,

Lynn naturally wouldn't reveal his grand plan to just anyone.

Before the witchers truly grew stronger, they still needed to keep a low profile.

And the less people who knew about such an important matter, the better.

So, for the rest of the journey, no one spoke.

The surroundings became colder and colder, and the wind became stronger and stronger.

In the mountains, this meant the arrival of a storm.

Fortunately, they were already very close to Kaer Morhen.

The group walked onto a flat pile of rubble, crossed glaciers and large piles of rocks washed down by streams, and then entered a narrow mountain path between the rock walls.

The rock walls on both sides were almost vertical, seeming to connect high above the group's heads, revealing only a line of blue sky.

With the rock walls on both sides blocking the cold wind, everyone felt much warmer compared to before.

The cold wind could only howl high above, unable to reach them.

The mountain path widened, turned into a valley after crossing a ravine. The valley was a wide depression, with forests spreading among the jagged boulders.

The surrounding terrain became open, and they proceeded along the stream at the bottom of the valley.

When they crossed another valley and climbed a semicircular hillside,

finally, the sight of Kaer Morhen, with its back against the steep rock wall, appeared before their eyes.

"I finally understand why you looked for us," Yarpen murmured.

"Good heavens, even in its current state, it can be called magnificent."

"Leaving it to slowly corrode in the river of time like this is a sin."

"Don't worry, Lynn, we'll help you fix it. With so many strong dwarven lads, plus you guys, just repairing the city walls should be enough."

"We will do our best, you can always trust the efficiency of dwarves."

At this moment, a loud shout came from the city walls, interrupting everyone's conversation.

(End of this chapter)

[author]

I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to those who support me on this journey. Your contribution make a real difference!

As a patron, you unlock:

Exclusive Access: Get advanced +70 chapters ahead of everyone else.

👉 Join now: patreon.com/Chaos_God

[/author]