Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 24 Rendezvous

When Geralt woke up in Misha's living room, the sun had just crossed the Blue Mountains, casting its rays upon the ground.

Last night, after resolving Misha's request, he taught a lesson to several troublemakers who wanted to provoke him, and finally received his due payment from the bearded village chief who had tried to delay payment.

But the intense exercise all day had left him exhausted, making it impossible for him to venture into the forest that night to meet up with Wayne.

However, out of a sense of responsibility to this only Witcher apprentice in decades, Geralt took advantage of the early dawn and braved the chilly spring wind to venture into the forest.

But when he led his mount, Luo Bo, through the forest for two hours along mountain paths, his clothes and hair covered in the cold morning dew, his body shivering slightly from the cold, and finally arrived near the cave he had found the day before, the scene that came into view made him freeze on the spot.

There he was, Wayne, the boy who had worried him so much last night, sitting on a black horse with the beautiful elf he had met the day before, strolling leisurely through the forest.

What's most infuriating is that the despicable boy, with one arm around the elf's slender waist and the other holding the reins of the horse, showed no remorse whatsoever upon seeing him. Instead, he grinned broadly and rode right up to him.

"Geralt, you're here really early."

"This horse was a gift from Toluville; she's teaching me how to ride it."

"Once we've fulfilled her request, we can all go horseback riding together."

Geralt was even more surprised after hearing Wayne's words. In this era, a good horse was a valuable asset, and apart from nobles, it was almost impossible for anyone to give away a good horse to someone else.

However, seeing the boy's smiling face, Geralt couldn't help but feel annoyed, and said with a slightly sarcastic tone:

"Looks like you had a great night. Compared to the fragrant elves, it must have been much better than me at the farmer's house, smelling cow dung and eating bread."

In just one night, his junior had established a good relationship with the female elf leader in front of him and received such a gift. There must have been some untold story behind this.

Thinking this, he even temporarily forgot about the cold he felt.

Toruville frowned upon hearing this, but did not expose Wayne's lie. This was something they had agreed upon beforehand. Although she did not know why Wayne would hide Geralt's money, she would not rashly interfere and affect their relationship.

Wayne wanted to say something more, but when he saw Geralt's hair and body still damp with dew, and his body shivering slightly from the cold, he immediately understood why the white wolf had arrived so early and why he looked somewhat disheveled, and his heart warmed.

He dismounted, landed beside Geralt, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"Toruville is a reasonable leader, much better than those rude and cunning scoundrels."

"Come on, let's go into the cave first. There's a campfire in the camp, and they've prepared breakfast."

"Let's discuss the commission."

Half an hour later.

After breakfast, the three of them gathered around a campfire, enjoying the warmth of the flames while quietly discussing the issue of the elven ruins.

Geralt leaned forward, one hand supporting his chin, the other holding a piece of firewood to tend the campfire, and said in a slightly hoarse voice:

"Wayne, Toruvel, clearing out an underground ruin is no easy task."

"I've done similar jobs before. That time, it took me half a month to kill over a hundred monsters to clear out a small underground temple."

"Ghouls, water ghosts, ghouls, little mist sprites, swamp witches, and the Andreig swarm."

"There are countless monsters living in the underground environment, and we have no idea what kind of monsters we will encounter during the cleanup process."

Wayne nodded, took the cider jug ​​from Toluviel, poured a glass for Geralt beside him, and then spoke:

"That's not a problem, Geralt."

"We are witchers, and we have plenty of time to clean up this ruin. Toluville is willing to provide all the help we need, and we don't expect us to complete the task in a short time. She can even send her warriors to help us."

He turned and exchanged a glance with the female elf leader, then told Geralt the terms they had agreed upon.

"Once the commission is completed, Toluville is willing to pay us 1,500 ducats, or a quarter of the spoils of war within the ruins."

"This is a huge sum of money, enough for us to live on for a long time."

Upon hearing of such a generous reward, Geralt pursed his lips, glanced up at Wayne, and seeing that his junior seemed to have made up his mind, he refrained from further objection.

This job was originally within the acceptable range for a witcher, and the pay was so generous. It was only because of the danger and his concern for Wayne's safety that he hesitated so much.

If it were just him alone, he probably would have agreed already.

Geralt sighed almost imperceptibly and said to Wayne:

"Alright then, Wayne, I'll go into the forest to gather herbs and kill some monsters while I'm at it, to replenish my potion reserves."

"Don't just sit around doing nothing. Prepare the tools you need for alchemy, and then go to the camp and ask if they have any silver. Try to plate your steel sword with a layer of silver."

"There are so many monsters in the ruins; only by using the silver sword can we inflict maximum damage on them."

After Geralt finished speaking, Toruviel spoke up:

"Don't worry, White Wolf, Wayne already discussed this with me."

"I've already had the camp blacksmith, Wixon, prepare the felt and the furnace. Everyone should have some silver ornaments. Although the conditions are simple, his skills are excellent and he should be able to help."

Upon hearing this, Geralt couldn't help but nod slightly. To be honest, in his career as a Witcher, he had rarely encountered an employer so willing to support their work and cooperate with them in pre-battle preparations.

On ordinary days, they encounter either arrogant and ignorant fools, nobles and wealthy merchants, self-righteous respectable people, or cunning and shameless troublemakers who want to renege on their debts.

If every employer were willing to cooperate with them in this way, then the work of witchers would be infinitely simpler.

Geralt pursed his lips, savored the delicious, sweet cider in his hand, and closed his eyes in enjoyment.

After more than ten seconds, he said:

"That's enough for now, Wayne, Toruville. Let's rest for a bit today and make all the necessary preparations for the battle."

"We'll start cleaning up this site when it's light tomorrow."

(Thank you to Comet Saber and Supreme Emperor for the generous donations. This is a new book by a new author, so thank you everyone for your monthly tickets and recommendations.)

(End of this chapter)