Chapter 14

Roy accepted Letho’s offer.

Becoming a Witcher was, in truth, not a bad option. He had no sorcerous gift to awaken anyway, and staying in a backwater village would not speed his growth. The choice surprised him a little because these Witchers were not of the wolf schools he had imagined, but the dying Viper School, famed for poisons, short swords, and assassinations. Still, opportunity did not wait. Under Letho’s tutelage he could make far faster progress over the next few years, learn real Witcher craft, and if he survived the Trial of the Grasses, his strength would change utterly.

The sterility that came with the path, he decided, was a detail he would not dwell on. Before and after his crossing that consequence had not been part of his calculus.

Convincing Old Mole and Susan took less time than Roy had feared. They were not yet elderly; both had once dreamed of the city and were not the sort to cling to hearths out of stubbornness. What worried them was the idea of their boy signing on with Witchers and riding into death. Roy lied by degrees and with care.

“Father, Susan, I won’t be charging off like some hero,” he said. “I’ll be Letho’s assistant, more like the work I did with Grok. Witchers are terrible with money; they spend coin as soon as they get it. I’ll manage Letho’s accounts, like a clerk at the Vivaldi bank. I’ll come back to see you.”