Chapter Eighty-Five: Where Snakes and Wolves Play, Part Two

At first, Seret ate with such relish that Victor could scarcely imagine how badly Leso must have roasted the fish—charred on the outside, raw within. If not for the witchers’ formidable bodies, they would have spent every day in the grip of stomach cramps and diarrhea.

With an air of complete nonchalance, the boy peeled away the burnt skin, set the fish before the fire to warm again, and listened to Leso’s voice as he went on:

“We were able to arrive in time and help you deal with the vampire woman because we had been keeping an eye on you—no, to be honest, we were watching you, because your existence was irregular.”

The cross-shaped scar on Leso’s bald head was deep and stark. He propped his chin on his left hand and stroked the bristling beard along his jaw.

“Not long ago, Seret and I met up with Oaks. He told us that last month, in Vizima, he had encountered an apprentice he greatly admired—of the Cat School. Since his master had died, he’d been making his own way in the world. His determination to become a witcher was steadfast, and he could make extraordinarily fine Dancing Stars, the splendor of which was hard to imagine until seen with one’s own eyes.”

Victor lifted the fish with calm deliberation, studying the color of the flesh before placing it back beside the fire to keep heating.

“So Seret and I thought we’d come and take a look. If you truly were promising material, the Viper School would be willing to take you in and train you.” Leso’s deep voice flowed on steadily. “Oddly enough, when I came to observe you myself, I saw the medallion of the Wolf School on you. The Cat and Wolf medallions are indeed similar, but they carry two entirely different meanings.

“The Cat School can be excused. The name of a wandering cat is not without foundation. But if you were a Wolf School apprentice, you would have Kaer Morhen to return to, with Master Vesemir there to ensure the line does not break. There would be no reason for an apprentice to roam the world alone.

“And if you publicly claim to be of the Cat School, while your master is dead, that only makes you more suspicious. If not for the fact that you have always been out hunting monsters, we would have met sooner—and certainly not under such friendly circumstances.

“Now tell me, Wolf School apprentice Victor: why are you here alone? Did you betray your school and steal their formulae?”

Victor’s expression remained serene.

“No. I did not betray my school. I traveled alone because Lambert, who had been with me, left ahead of me on other business, and he trusted my ability to survive on my own. In fact, as you can see, I live quite comfortably in Vizima: I eat healthy meals, live safely in the Temple Quarter, and when I hunt monsters and face the vampire woman, I still come away unscathed.”

A hint of a smile appeared on Leso’s granite face.

“Very convincing. I admit you make a fair case—no apprentice could survive in the hands of a vampire woman and leave her in such a miserable state. You’re almost a fully formed witcher, save for not having undergone the mutation.

“And with the name Lambert—go on, keep it up. I’m nearly convinced.

“Still, I don’t know whether to call you lucky or unlucky. That vampire woman was a rare kind; her vocal cords had been specially altered by mutation, making her fear howl far more powerful than usual. In a square suited to surround sound like that, even a mutated witcher might die there. The lucky part is that her vocal cords are extremely valuable material. Don’t forget to take some when we’re done talking.”

“I am sincerely grateful for your generosity.”

“Don’t mention it. You’ve earned it. This time you didn’t even need Black Blood, and the vampire blood was a fine haul as well.”

Black Blood was a witcher potion with special effects against vampires. Its principle was simple: drink it, and your own blood became poisonous. Once a vampire bit you to feed, the toxin would enter its body and rapidly bring it to collapse. The drawback was that the vampire blood tainted by Black Blood would lose all activity and could no longer be used as alchemical material.

Unbelievable alchemy could lessen the toxicity, allowing Victor to drink most witcher potions with their harsher effects stripped away, but something like Black Blood, which first harmed the user and only then the enemy, was pointless for him. It would not poison him to death, nor the foe.

The moon climbed into the branches. Evening wind stirred, carrying the crisp coolness of autumn.

“We’re down to the last question before I can believe you. Explain why you claimed to be a Cat School apprentice.”

“Because I did not want others to know I was a Wolf School apprentice, skilled in alchemy—especially in making bombs.”

At this answer, the witcher thought for a moment, then nodded in acceptance.

By this point, everything that needed explaining had been explained. Though Seret and Oaks had seemed to be standing far away, they had in fact heard everything clearly. The two of them rose and returned to the campfire almost in unison.

Seret still sat down in silence with a cold face, while Oaks remained all smiles, as if pleased by some private joke.

“Don’t mind them. The side effects of the Trial of the Grasses have affected their emotional perception,” Leso explained when he saw Victor’s confusion.

“Hey, boss, don’t make it sound like I’m defective. I’m very satisfied with my current mental state,” Oaks said comfortably, taking up his own roasted fish. “Optimistic, proactive, happy! Just like Batman, right, Victor!”

The sudden cold arrow of that remark nearly made the boy spring upright. He stared at the cheerful witcher in disbelief.

Oaks put on a grave expression and lowered his voice with mock seriousness.

“I am... Batman!”

Then he switched to an operatic stage voice:

“Ladies and gentlemen, remember this day forever—you nearly caught the famous Batman! Hahahahaha!”

He imitated it so vividly that even Batman himself felt ill at ease.

Smack.

Leso’s huge palm came down hard on the boy’s shoulder, jolting Victor all over.

“Heh heh heh! Don’t be so tense. Just last week the three of us saw it with our own eyes, heard it with our own ears, and cheered together for Batman’s escape show!”

A crafty, triumphant grin spread over the granite face.

After a moment, Victor understood what had happened and could only shake his head with a bitter smile. If they had been watching the apprentice, then discovering Batman was only natural. On the other hand, it would have been impossible for them to chase Batman and find the apprentice.

When the laughter subsided, Leso resumed his serious expression and sat cross-legged, bowing his head slightly.

“Rest assured, we’ll keep your secret. Sorry that, when we couldn’t tell friend from foe, we investigated you in private quite a bit—including tracking your movements and searching your room. Those little gadgets you make are very interesting, and the gliding function of the bat suit is especially rare.”

As he spoke, he even gave Victor a thumbs-up.

Victor could see it now. Though Leso looked like an icy, hard-edged, formidable man, in front of people he approved of he could be surprisingly playful—a sly, indulgent sort. He and Oaks had truly played him for a fool.

The witcher apprentice’s face was full of resignation.

“You really are something else. You trailed me for a week, and I never noticed a thing—not even Angela detected it.”

Oaks said with a cheerful laugh, “Of course. Just look at our school. When it comes to concealment and infiltration, nothing beats the Vipers.”

Seret offered a cool sneer. “Only that weak snake of yours got found out by him last month.” Since earlier, he had silently carried over quite a few bottles of wine and set them beside the campfire.

Lifting one bottle toward Victor, Leso asked, “Can you drink?”

“It would be my honor. Thank you for your help.” Victor raised the bottle with both hands and saluted the three Viper School witchers in turn.

By the shore of Vizima Lake, it was a place where snakes and wolves played together. That night, they drank until dawn.