The Witcher: My Own Path

Extending a helping hand to Mirim to help her younger brother was no problem for me, especially since, after hearing the whole story of how her younger brother had been paralysed, I already had a few guesses as to the possible causes of his loss of lower body mobility. I lived in the 21st century, where medicine was highly developed and I was in my eighties, so when it came to knowledge of anatomy and the structure of the human body, I had a solid foundation, and even more so on the subject of the spine, as I had many problems with it in my later years. With strength, I feel that in time there will be no illness or injury that I will not be able to heal, however, the most important thing will always be to find the location and cause of such an injury. Repairing a broken spine in my old world was possible, thanks to knowledge and advanced surgery, so I am sure that with the help of the Force I could perform similar miracles.

After accepting the oath of loyalty from the young elf, I promised her that I would take care of her brother when I had the chance. Later, I escorted her away, intending to discuss with the old dwarf the things that had happened recently.

First Gavorn gave me a full report on what physical and mental state everyone was in, we discussed the general course of our operation about the reasons for our successes and the big later problems we encountered. We talked about ways to improve not only our information gathering but also our emergency operations and so on, until one of the other dwarves came in and informed us that the dead bodies of the bandits, all the equipment and whatever could be collected had been properly sorted as ordered by Gavorn.

They had all done a solid job, the bodies of the Talon's men were stacked in two rows just inside the entrance, against the left wall. Despite the grim view, there was something amusing about it, as their bodies were stripped down almost to their underwear, they had taken everything that might have any value, but they had the decency not to pull down their underpants. Well, if I were them, I would have done the same, especially as a life of poverty and constant discrimination does not allow one to be choosy. In the middle of the chamber lay another pile of well-sorted items, ranging from daggers, swords, crossbow axes and even boots, trouser belts, simple tunics and quilted leather and steel armour. The sheer amount of this equipment made everyone around go almost crazy. Finally, a pile with the last type of items and the one that interested me the most, that is, ledgers and account books, various types of scrolls and parchments, the Talon's notes and personal letters, alchemical recipes, but also a chest of cash and jewellery not only that which had been here before, but also painstakingly collected from the bodies of the fallen.

In addition to this, however, I was very interested in the alchemical equipment from the laboratory, but on Gavorn's orders it was left in the laboratory for security reasons. I intend to take all the equipment with me, it will come in handy for my own research and experiments one day.

The atmosphere in the chamber, despite all the loot, which at first glance is worth at least a few thousand orens, was rather stiff and official. I glanced at Gavorn, hoping that perhaps he knew something.

''Well, my lord, when you left right after the battle, everyone started asking me about our relationship, so...'' - he started scratching his head.

''I was able to mention to them that I swore loyalty to you, and in return you took care of me and my men, providing us with work and something to put in the pot, so... They decided to swear to you too, especially since you not only led them to righteous revenge, but also saved our lives, if you agree, of course.

I turned my head to look at everyone, they nodded, and an elf named Tomo stood before them and spoke.

''My lord, let us serve you, you have seen for yourself that we are tough, and I am the best archer in Vizima.''

Suddenly Mirim spoke up from the side.

''Fuck you Tomo, I am the best!''

''Hahaha!''

Everyone roared with laughter, however the young elf continued.

''Please, my lord.'' he knelt down on one knee, followed by the rest.

''Accept us into your service and you will see that you will not regret it.''

I looked around, looked at their faces and when I was sure that this was what they wanted

''I accept you into my service and I promise that for loyalty I will repay loyalty, for love I will repay love and as long as you are my people you are like family to me, however in return I expect the same from you, can you swear to me?''

''We swear!'' They replied in chorus.

Who would have guessed it would end like this, but in the end, I have gained a group of quite capable warriors, of course by the standards of ordinary brutes, but they are seasoned in battle and blooded, so they are not total rookies, they will be the core of my fighting group, I thought.

''Gavorn!''

''Yes, my lord?'' His smiling face betrayed that he was very pleased with the turn of events.

''What is the initial assessment of all the loot?''

''Forgive me my lord, but you are the only blacksmith here, so we are not able to assess it, there is also some jewellery and money, however we have not counted anything yet, we just collected everything and waited for you.''

''Hmm... in that case, ask Nightingale to come here and go through all the documents, then you take care of the cash and I'll take care of the equipment.''

(Two hours later)

''Attention, everyone listen up!'' I called out.

''Gavorn, how was the cash?''

''There was quite a lot of it my lord.'' he smiled broadly - in terms of cash alone it was exactly two thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine orens.

''Woooo!'' commented one of my men.

''Well, quite a lot!'' I concluded.

I turn to everyone and say…

''Upon inspection of the jewellery, it comes out to be worth about two and a half thousand orens, but don't get so excited.'' I warn them, because I saw how they were going to enjoy themselves.

''To be on the safe side, I recommend melting down the gold and silver and pulling out the gemstones and then selling! The value of the gold and silver itself will drop; we won't have to worry about our safety.''

''How much will it fall?'' An elf called Anna asked.

''The overall value will drop to around two thousand.''

The others nodded their heads in understanding, but were still happy with the price.

''As for the equipment, that is, all the ironwork that lies here, to be honest it is not in good condition, I would even say it is in poor condition. I have two solutions for this, one is to keep it and from what can be salvaged, create suitable weapons and armor for you, by which you will not get any payment for this pile, the other is to first take it apart, melt the metal parts into bars and sell it, by which you will get a total of about 2,000 orens for everything.''

In total, for everything we have about seven thousand orens to divide among eleven people, but I will waive my share.

They all looked at me with interest.

''Today I have gained something far more valuable than gold and silver, which is you!''

I could see their smiles.

''There is still the question of the alchemical equipment, I am not in a position to sell it without drawing attention to myself, and you probably won't either, which means we won't be able to make any money from it, but if you allow me, I would like to keep it for my own use.''

There was no objection.

''In summary, each of you can receive seven hundred orens in cash for all the loot or I will give each of you four hundred orens and forge a decent piece of equipment for you. The decision is up to you. As your Lord, whom you have chosen to follow, I recommend the second option, but given that you have just sworn your service to me, I will give you a choice in the matter.''

They all looked at each other, and Mirim spoke up first.

''Four hundred orens is quite a lot, and to be honest, I've never seen so much money, and to have equipment forged by one of the best smiths in Vizima, if not in all of Temeria? For me, the choice is simple!''

No one argued with her line of thinking and with one sentence she agreed to receive less cash, but additionally good quality combat equipment.

''In that case, as you may know, I do not carry such cash, though, I assure you that all the money will be delivered to Loona's house within two days, where Mirim will take care of collecting and distributing it!'' I look the young elf in the eye and ask.

''Can I rely on you?''

''Of course, my lord.''

''However, I ask you not to draw attention to yourself. I would like to say that I am able to protect you all, but that would be a lie at this stage.''

''Nightingale! I would like you to instruct one of our girls to lead everyone safely to your flat, where everyone will rest until morning and then disperse. You and Gavorn stay, we have a few more things to discuss.''