Chapter 294: The Bard in the Shadows

In Novigrad’s southern district, near the canal, the place was utterly unlike the prosperous commercial quarter across the water. Dark, narrow alleys enclosed a dense sprawl of old buildings. Bed sheets and washed clothes hung in disorder on either side of the little roads. The ground was pitted and uneven, filthy water running everywhere, and foul household refuse could be seen wherever one looked.

This was Novigrad’s slum, where Old Mole and his wife lived.

“Masters, welcome.” Old Mole had drunk a potion, and his condition was much better than before. A healthy flush had returned to his face, and he wore a smile. “The house is humble, and there is little here to entertain you with, but come in and sit as you please.”

“Forgotten already? Kael and I lived here for a while.” Orin was the first through the door. He familiarly flopped down onto the tattered leather sofa against the sitting-room wall, pleased as could be. “I think the house is rather fine. At least it’s more comfortable than sleeping in weeds with mosquitoes in the wild. Witchers aren’t that fussy.”

The house was not large, about the size of an ordinary inn room, yet it felt especially empty. The furniture could be counted at a glance: a dining table, chairs, a candlestick, a worn leather sofa, a rack against the wall holding vegetables and tableware, two baskets. There was not even a proper kitchen, only a crude stove built in the center of the room from stones picked up by the river, with a rusted iron pot set over it.

There were no other ornaments in the entire house.

The second floor had been divided into two bedrooms. Linen cloth and old blackened, yellowed cotton padding had been laid out as bedding on the floor. A few worn linen garments hung carelessly on a clothes pole by the window. The most expensive thing there was a wooden baby carriage.

The arrangement felt painfully familiar to the young Witcher. Soon he realized the furnishings were exactly like those in their home back in Lower Aedirn.

Such a crude house, in the countryside, would cost only a few crowns a month. But in the Free City, where every inch of land was worth coin, even in the slums, the price had multiplied several times.

This money meant little to a Witcher carrying a large sum, but for Old Mole’s family, it was truly no small amount, especially after repeated extortion by the thugs.

Under the excuse of buying food, Roy forced a sum of money into Old Mole’s hands, about two hundred crowns. Any more, and the man refused no matter what. Roy could only find ways to slowly improve his parents’ life in the city.

“We kept many letters for you over the past half year. Unfortunately, you followed Master Letho and had no fixed place to stay, so there was truly no way to send them to you. Why not come upstairs with me and look at them now?”

Seeing Susan’s loving face filled with expectation, Roy could not bear to refuse her. He followed her up to the second floor.

The remaining Witchers chatted in the hall downstairs.

“Have you noticed? Since seeing his parents, Roy has seemed out of sorts the whole time.” Orin chewed on a crisp turnip, thoughtful. “Poor child. Is he lost, sad, or moved?”

“Family is a harbor where the heart can rest, and in this world, nothing is more precious than reunion with kin after a long parting...” Kael analyzed in the tone of a philosopher. “That kid is only fifteen. Watch. He’ll definitely cry in a bit.”

“You underestimate him.” Orin disagreed with his brother and shook his head. “A Witcher who has gone through mutation isn’t that sentimental.”

“Orin, it is hard for us to understand ordinary people’s feelings...” Kael paused. He and Orin had been sent to the Viper School before they could remember anything, and had never seen their kin, not even knowing their names.

To the two of them, parents were only meaningless symbols. “But Roy lived as an ordinary person for more than ten years. Now that he has reunited with his family after a long separation, judging by a normal person’s reaction, he will definitely cry. He is only too embarrassed in front of us.”

“I don’t think so. Dare to bet? Stake is a hundred ... twenty crowns.”

“Never thought you’d secretly hide so much private money from Roy...” Kael stared hard at Orin’s broad face and smiled. “I agree, but I’ll sit as banker. Anyone else joining?”