Chapter 9

AN: Hey guys, here's the next chapter of this witcher story. I hope you enjoy reading it and feel free to leave a review.

Some time had passed since Lambert's arrival to Kaer Mohren, the witcher making his displeasure and irritation towards Eskels endeavor to rebuild the school clear but due to Geralt's words, he stayed. Lambert had mostly kept to himself or was found in the company of Geralt, his interactions with his other brother were limited to arguing at first so after some time he decided to avoid Eskel as much as possible, something that irked the other witcher. His interactions with the prince and his retinue were minimal due to being angry at the foreign prince for offering his aid to Eskel and his sorceress.

Lambert did pay heed to Geralt's words and did as much as he could to watch over Ornela when she was not isolated in the laboratory with Yennifer and the Ofieri mage, Keira had also spent a few days it the keep offering her knowledge before she had to go back to Kovir but said that she would be back.

To say that he was just filled with anger and disappointment would be a lie, he was honestly impressed by how much Eskel and Geralt had managed to clean up the old castle, having help from a small army went a long way it seems. Although he did not let that emotion show. He did help in few finishing things that had to be done around the keep and now there was not anything they could do, if that fool Eskel really wanted to go through with this then they would need builders and stonemasons to rebuild the walls and towers of the keep.

Geralt and Lambert were sitting alone at one of the tables in the great hall, each having a mug of ale in their hand. Geralt had a neutral look on his face while Lambert bore a frown that seemed to have been glued to his face for the past few weeks.

"So, have you noticed anything?" Geralt asked him in a whispering tone, most normal humans would only have seen Geralt's lips moving but witchers senses were much stronger than that of a normal human, one good thing to come out of the trail. Lambert took a swing from his mug before answering.

"So far nothing, not that I can really notice anything when I barely see her. She only comes down for her meals and to take a piss or shit. She has taken a few strolls in the courtyard and walls but if she did anything then I failed to see it," Lambert said. "What about you?"

"Same on my side and Yenns, nothing of interest to report."

"Have you asked Yenn about the history between them yet, I know you said that there was something there and the tension is kinda hard to miss whenever they are in the same room together."

"I tried but she has still to answer my questions, she said that she will tell me when the time is right. She doesn't want to be so close to Ornela when she does. So far, our new sorceress friend seems like a perfect guest."

"Guest," Lambert scoffed. "You must have seen how she looks at us and everything else, it is as if she is a lady of a castle and we are here only by her good grace."

"An arrogant sorceress is nothing new, you learn to cope with it after a while."

"Sure Yenn, Merigold and Keira all have egos but I have seen the look in her eyes enough times to immediately notice it, a look of superiority, one that says I'm better than you purely for being me."

"Half of the continent looks at witchers like that, even those who know that they need us don't have the habit of liking us."

"I just wish that she never got this idea of witcher restoration into Eskels head. The witchers are done, there are barely a few of us left and nowadays there are other organizations who do our job, lets face it we are now needed anymore."

"Organizations like the Order of the flaming rose or the Witch Hunters," the smooth accented voice of Ornela was heard from behind Geralt. The two witchers looked at the approaching sorceress.

"Eavesdropping on us now," the raspy voice of Geralt remarked while Lambert sent her a glare.

"I could not help but overhear what you said about witchers and their place in the world. It is true there are other, newer institutions who have started doing the same work witchers do but they have many flaws and are prone to corruption as you have doubtlessly seen for yourselves. The men who are part of them don't have the same skill and knowledge the witchers possess."

"To me, it seems they know enough to kill the monsters that prowl around as well as we do," Lambert said.

"For now perhaps but don't tell you haven't noticed the resurgence of monsters in the past few years. The number of them is steadily increasing once more. You have seen it during the last war between the North and Nilfgard, before that there weren't as many monstrous creatures stalking the lands, and then suddenly they were."

"It's a war, thousands of soldiers and people going about, dead laying all around, it was a good opportunity to what remains of the beasts to come out but that's it. It was the last wave just like we are," Lambert said.

"You are wrong there, what happened during the war was only the beginning and it will only get worse with time. Witchers were created to kill monsters and protect the world of men and that time is coming once more. Witchers can not be allowed to die out due to the stupidity of common peasant and nobility."

"Last time I checked it was the mages who lead the assault on Kaer Mohren in the first place," Lambert cut in.

"Those mages were nothing more than short-sighted fools and puritan fanatics. Witchers are beings of magic just like any mage, it was a mistake to try and wipe them out."

Geralt thought about what she was saying, it was true that monsters had become more active during the last war and even more since. It didn't help that Yenn had a theory that Ciri might have caused the Conjunction of the spheres but on a smaller scale when she destroyed the white frost. No matter how small, that conjunction would have been enough to bring new inhabitance of various species to this world, and in Geralt's experience, they were rarely friendly.

"So how is your little project going?" Lambert's voice broke Geralt from his thoughts.

"Yennefers experience with the Trial of the grasses has proven to be," she paused for a moment," insightful."

"Considering she is the only one left on the continent who knows how to do it correctly, as far as we know, it should be," the Butcher of Blaviken said.

"Indeed, although her experience is not enough," Geralt raised his eyebrow slightly at this. Ornela noticed this and proceeded to elaborate. "From what she and you have told me after you arrived her only real case of performing the trial was to lift a curse from an elven game not create a witcher. To create a witcher the trial would need to be slightly stronger to allow for the mutagens to be inserted into an aspirant's body so they could bring out the desired results. Not to mention that we are still trying to get the correct mixtures for the mutagens, if incorrect ones are inserted the candidate might expire immediately or come out as some kind of abomination. I rather have my first case of creating a witcher to be a success."

"And here I thought that a sorceress would be smart enough to follow instructions from a book," Lambert said with a hint of venom in his voice, while a small smirk was plastered on his face.

Ornela only gave him a second glance before returning her attention to Geralt. "An important portion of the journal is encrypted. Both Yennefer and I know the cipher to decode it but it is going slower than I would wish. It doesn't matter, it is only a matter of time before I have everything I need, if I have anything it's patience when it comes to doing the job right."

"I said it before and I will say it again, only a crazy person would try to bring witchers back. We are a thing of the past, let us die with dignity at least," Lambert said.

"Dignity you call it," Ornela said her voice laced with sarcasm. "Is it dignity to allow your mentor's dream to die with him, for your home to fall into ruin, for the legacy of once great men such as Geroge the Dragonslayer and Erland of Larvik to be turned into dust?"

"Neither of them asked to become witchers," Lambert said, his voice laced with contempt.

"That is true but instead of staying where they were and became little more than a farmer or raider, they both became famous men well known and respected for their deeds. Erland was one of the first grandmasters of the witcher order and a founder of a school after all."

Lambert rose from his seat and glared at the sorceress. "How many have died so they could become famous, how many children had died at Risserg so that few witchers would be created and how many more since the schools were formed. Out of my entire group, only three of us survived the mutations, innocent children dead so that stinking peasants and stuck-up nobles would feel safe. Oh we protected them for centuries and how did they repay us, by exterminating us, I lost many friends in the sack and after during the Witcher tourney!" Lambert shouted in anger. "We are all that's left, why won't you people just let us be already," Lambert said his voice breaking slightly.

The sorceress and the other witcher stared at Lambert for a moment before Ornela spoke. "Because we all stand do lose much if the witchers go extinct, everyone was some purpose in life and witchers especially so, certainly more than the peasants or some nobles. I do not know and I frankly don't care for your reason of being against restoring the witchers but know that it will be done with or without you. Eskel has made his intentions clear and you aren't the only witchers who still roam the path, your order might be few in number but you still linger. If you arent willing to aid your brother other will be," The sorceress gave the two witchers one last look before moving on to fetch her evening meal.

Prince Amad stood on the castle ramparts overlooking the valley, even with the walls being in the sorry state they are they still provided an excellent view worthy of the finest painter. The castle library had proven to be adequate, it was mostly focused on monsters, weapons and magic but there were still plenty of other books there as well. It was there that he had learned of the keep's origin and history. It was original built in the 11th century on the place where a previous elven structure was built. It once harbored witchers, new aspirants and mages who knew the required processes of making new witchers. The last witcher being made in the late 1230s with the mage who was responsible for the trial dying soon after. The number of monster hunters dwindled and every year fewer returned to the keep. He also read about the betrayal of the Cat school during the Witcher tourney. From what he had gathered the Cat school had never been held in high regard as the schools of the wolf and griffin were. The cat witcher going as far as becoming assassins and thugs for hire, a truly shameful thing for such an organization.

Besides, the prince stood his ever-faithful captain Oberon and the old mage Casim, each standing at of the prince's sides. They stood at the wall near the main gates, Ofieri soldiers were manning the walls and the gate by the captain's order, few people might know the exact path to this place but his duty was to protect the prince against all threats and he had no intention of failing in his duty.

"Beautiful sight to behold, I truly prefer it to the sands of our homeland but at the same time, I can't help but miss the dunes and warmth, it's a bit cold for my liking here in the North," the prince said in his native tongue.

"I can agree with that, your highness," the captain said.

"So tell me your opinion of our hoasts, what do you think of them?"

"I admire the fighting skills of these witchers, they might lack proper decorum but what they lack in manners they make up with prowess. From what I understand of the language they seem like honest and good men, even if the one that brought us here keeps complaining about everything. It is shame to see warriors of that caliber hunted because people fear their skills, the weaker and the stupid will always be afraid of the strong," the captain said in a low voice.

"And you my old friend?" Amad asked the mage.

"I agree with the captain's assessment, they are excellent wielders of both blades and simple magic much like their counterparts from our homeland. From what I have learned since we came to these lands, their schools are a lot more specialized than ours. Wolves seem like a basic template for a witcher, from what I read about the Cat witchers they prefer aggression and spead while Bears prefer brut strength. The Vipers seem to prefer using poisons and dual-wielding blades while Griffins are a mixture between witchers and knights. About the Crane school, I can say little due to how little I managed to find out about them. Out of all of them, the School of the Wolf is the best known."

"What about the mutation process?"

"From what I learned from lady Yennefer and lady Ornela the process is similar enough to the one used back home but there was little in terms of innovation or improvement, sad to say that the process had degraded somewhat over the centuries turning in more dangerous and unpredictable. Granted they had managed to make some strides in specific mutations, master Geralt being proof of that."

"What is your opinion of your colleagues?"

"Lady Yennefer is intelligent and serious, she is familiar with the process of the Trial of the grasses having singlehandedly taught herself the process while lady Ornela is intelligent as well but young and ambitious. Lady Yennefer has a somewhat personal reason for helping with the process due to master Geralt but I'm not so sure about Ornela. She preaches about the resurgence of monsters but someone so young and with something as valuable as Alzurs personal notes could have other motivations than mere charity. There is history between the two sorceresses but I'm not sure what."

The prince looked at the valley with a thoughtful look for a moment. "So the witchers are trustworthy but you suspect something about Ornela," The old mage noded. Amad had every reason to trust the old man's instincts they had never failed him before. "We shall continue to aid the witchers and you will watch over Ornela, if she is truthful about her intention then I will be willing to share your knowledge with them but if she is doing this for other reasons, well i guess time will tell."