Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 63 Lumber Camp

After reaching an agreement with Political Officer Peter, Wayne quickly purchased and moved into his new house in New Vigema.

He was accompanied by his two friends, Geralt and Dandelion.

The new accommodations were spacious enough that everyone was given a large, private room.

Of course, before they checked in, he briefly told the two about the little earth spirit Lala and her family. Both Geralt the Witcher and Dandelion the naturally romantic bard were kind to this kind demi-human race and said they would not harm the little earth spirit.

Elder Druid Cairnster, after nearly a week of recuperation, has recovered to a healthy state.

The old man formally bid farewell to Wayne, preparing to carry out a mission that had been delayed for three years: to establish a new Druid Circle in the forest beside Lake Vizima.

After discussing it with Wayne, the old man decided to leave Vizima City together when Wayne went to the logging camp in Revarden.

On the eve of leaving Vigema City, Wayne, as promised, spent five hundred orens to carefully select a pair of gemstone earrings from a jewelry store in the city as a birthday gift for Kayla and delivered them to her mansion.

He had actually considered giving the sorceress the gold pocket watch he had drawn, but because the craftsmanship of the gold pocket watch was too advanced, it was an artwork that medieval craftsmen could not have completed, and it would easily expose some things, so he gave up.

However, the sorceress didn't seem to care whether the gift he gave was valuable or not. When he arrived at Keira's mansion that evening, he was immediately clung to by the sorceress, who had dressed up carefully beforehand.

The two played adult games all night long, from the living room to the kitchen, from the kitchen to the bathroom, and then from the bathroom to the balcony. The poor maid Maisie, when bringing them a midnight snack, had no choice but to join in the game. After two hours, she fell asleep again.

The next morning, before leaving, Kayla changed into an elegant long dress. She not only forgave Wayne for missing her birthday party, but also gave Wayne a bottle of expensive wine. With a satisfied smile, she went to the palace to complete her work as a royal advisor.

Clutching a bottle of fine wine worth hundreds of orens, Wayne left Kayla's mansion with mixed feelings and returned home.

After placing the fine wine into his still-empty wine cabinet, Wayne bid farewell to Geralt, whose expression was equally complex, picked up his luggage, donned his gear, mounted his mount Lucifer, and left Vizima City with the old druid Cairnster.

………………

Lake Vigema is the largest inland lake in the Kingdom of Temuria. It is connected to a tributary of the Pontal River and is located in the Izmina Valley. It provides Vigema and the surrounding villages and towns with abundant freshwater resources and fish.

The resource-rich freshwater lake has played a crucial role in enabling Vijma to support so many residents.

Similarly, thanks to the irrigation from the lake and the nourishment from the rain, a large and dangerous swampy area has formed around this huge lake, while also nurturing an extremely vast primeval forest.

A large number of wild animals and monsters inhabit the area around Lake Vijima, each defining its own territory and forming a relatively stable ecological structure.

However, the situation has changed slightly since a year ago.

The establishment of New Vijma created a huge demand for timber. Driven by profit, logging camps of all sizes sprang up around the primeval forest, and large groups of loggers began to cut down trees.

The emergence of these logging sites has severely disrupted the ecological structure of the primeval forests. Many wild animals living in the forests have been forced to leave their habitats and invade the territories of other creatures, resulting in fierce battles for survival.

It is this chaotic environment that has led many monsters, which were originally hiding in the heart of the forest, to attack the lumberjacks who disturb them.

Following the route given by Revarden, they rode their horses forward until they entered the primeval forest, where Elder Druid Cairnster officially parted ways with Wayne.

The old man told the witcher the approximate location of the Druid's Circle he was about to establish, and after sincerely thanking Wayne for saving his life, he disappeared into the forest.

Looking in the direction Cairnster left, Wayne suddenly wondered if the druid camp in Vizima Forest in The Witcher 1, more than a decade later, was established by this old man.

Perhaps that is indeed the case. After all, the number of Druid Elders is quite small. They don't appear or disappear for no reason. There should only be one Druid Elder sent to Vizimar.

It seems that even without Wayne's intervention, the old man would have escaped the Wild Dogs' control, just as the Wild Dogs would have been replaced by other gangs without Wayne's involvement.

With this in mind, Wayne cycled for another half hour or so before finding the location of Revarden's logging site.

This was a rather large logging camp, with over a hundred lumberjacks working for Revaden, half of whom were humans and half were dwarves. Wayne even saw a few elven lumberjacks.

They had clearly been working here for some time; a vast expanse of forest, stripped bare of tree roots, stretched out as if gnawed by a giant beast, leaving an ugly scar on this once-green primeval forest.

Upon seeing Wayne arrive on horseback, a middle-aged man in a long robe and glasses, with a somewhat anxious expression, quickly approached Wayne's side.

He pushed up his wooden-framed glasses, looked Wayne up and down for several seconds, and then said in a voice with a southern accent:

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Wayne the Witcher?"

Wayne dismounted, a friendly smile on his face, and nodded, saying:

"Yes, I came here at Mr. Rewaden's request."

The middle-aged man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He gave Wayne a slight bow and introduced himself:

"Welcome, Mr. Wayne."

"I am Ozk, the deacon appointed by the esteemed Mr. Rewaden, responsible for managing the daily affairs of this logging camp."

"Mr. Rewaden has written to me saying that you are a powerful fighter who can help us solve the current predicament and that we can cooperate with your work."

His expression hesitated for a second, then he bowed again and asked sincerely:

"It may be presumptuous of you, Mr. Wayne, but could you please begin your work now?"

"This morning, three of our loggers suddenly went missing, and two hours have passed."

"They are all regular workers from Vijma, with wives and children, and are the breadwinners of their families."

"If you can save them, you will save three families."

"I hope you can grant my request."

Ding! Quest triggered: [Find the missing lumberjack], Expert level.

Do you want to accept?

Wayne frowned, not expecting to receive an expert-level task so soon after arriving at his workplace.

However, as a task expert, there is no reason to refuse a task.

He mentally accepted the task, his expression shifting from friendly to serious. Looking at Ozk, he said:

"Of course, no problem, it's my job, Mr. Ozk."

"Please take me to the crime scene and tell me what information you have."

"Time is of the essence. Every second that is wasted reduces the chances of those three workers surviving."

Seeing Wayne's professional and serious attitude, Ozk became even more respectful.

However, the person opposite him was his boss's friend, and he looked like a teenager, completely different from the mercenaries he remembered who had risked their lives for him. If something went wrong, he would definitely not be able to explain it to his boss, Revaden.

Ozk considered for a second, and for safety reasons, he asked somewhat hesitantly:

"Mr. Wayne, should I gather a group of lumberjacks to work with you?"

"Although they are not soldiers, they are all strong and healthy workers who should be able to help."

Wayne took the master-level silver sword from Lucifer, which had never seen blood, and hung it alongside the steel sword given to him by Vesemir. He didn't immediately refuse Deacon Ozk's offer, but instead said earnestly:

"Not for now, Mr. Ozk. I need to assess the situation on site before making a decision."

"This primeval forest is full of dangers, and sending out a large number of people could result in more casualties."

Seeing the hesitation still lingering on the middle-aged deacon's face, Wayne gave a faint smile and said in a calm tone:

"Don't worry about my safety. Although I look young, I've killed far more monsters than you can imagine."

(End of this chapter)