Chapter 164: Letho, I'll Give You an Offer You Can't Refuse
"I think I misheard. Could you say that again?"
In the dimly lit underground sewers, only Letho's hoarse voice echoed. Lynn walked beside him. With the Superior Cat potion providing dark vision, neither of them used torches.
"I hope you'll work for me. I'm talking about you, Serrit, Auckes, and any other Viper School witchers I haven't mentioned—if you can find them."
Letho stopped, looked at Lynn, and said seriously, "First, I must state that your potion was very helpful for my wounds, and for that, I'm grateful."
"Now, listen carefully to the 'then'."
"Do you know what you're saying, Lynn? Work for you? Do you know how much it costs to hire us?"
Lynn held up a single finger. "I'll pay each of you three hundred orens a month. I know that's only equivalent to the reward from two or three of your usual contracts, but don't be too quick to refuse."
"A dock worker earns about sixty orens a month, but they work from dawn till dusk. You won't have to. Regardless of whether there's work or not, you'll consistently receive three hundred orens, which is five times their income."
"While the contracts you usually take offer higher rewards, you don't always get paid for them, and even when you do, it's often skimmed. Don't forget, I'm a witcher too; of course, I know all the troublesome things that happen in this line of work."
"Furthermore, many times, due to the troublesome employers, incorrect information is often provided, leading to even higher risks."
"But if you work for me, I can't say there'll be no risk at all, but at the very least, I'll reimburse you for the cost of repairing your weapons and armor, as well as for expended potions and alchemical bombs."
"So, what's your answer?"
The bald man frowned. The offer Lynn presented wasn't bad; in fact, it was incredibly good.
Three hundred orens might not seem like much, just the reward from two or three contracts. But don't forget, contracts that require a witcher's touch are often life-threatening. Not only that, but there's also the risk of the employer reneging.
If the employer refuses to pay, you're out of luck. Even if they pay as promised, after deducting the cost of repairing silver swords, leather armor, and potions, there isn't much left.
Moreover, fewer contracts are available now, and witchers face increasing hostility and discrimination. Even Letho could clearly feel that times were much harder than before. If there was a stable job, why wouldn't he take it?
However, Letho didn't immediately agree to Lynn's offer. He hadn't entirely trusted the other witcher yet. His main concerns were two-fold:
First, the other witcher was also a witcher, and quite young at that. Where did he get so much money?
Second, he worried the other witcher might use them as assassins. This was the only scenario that could explain why he needed so many witchers. If it was the latter, no matter how tempting the offer, Letho would have to refuse.
Although the Viper School had indeed produced some "oathbreakers" who engaged in assassinations that deviated from witcher principles, Letho did not condone their actions. Most members of the Viper School hadn't fallen to that extent.
That's why they refused the usurper emperor of Nilfgaard's offer of amnesty... That's why their stronghold was eventually overrun by the Nilfgaardian army... And that's why Letho and the surviving members of the Viper School were scattered across the South, constantly on the run.
"We can discuss this later, once we get out of these stinking sewers."
Hearing Letho's reply, Lynn knew he still harbored reservations. But he understood. So, he nodded noncommittally and dropped the subject.
"You've been in the sewers longer than I have. You must have a good grasp of the layout, right?"
Letho's gaze swept around cautiously. "More or less. I've pretty much mapped it out. I've explored most areas; there's only one last place left to check. I suspect the elven master blacksmith we're looking for is there."
He paused, then continued, "But the number of nekkers there is astounding, not just a few, but over fifty. I suspect a nekker chieftain might even have emerged."
Lynn's expression immediately turned grim. Individual nekkers aren't much of a threat. A fully armed soldier can defeat a lone nekker. But if their numbers are sufficient, even an entire squad of heavily armored infantry could perish at their hands.
Furthermore, within large nekker hordes, nekker warriors of impressive size and strength always emerge. Ordinary nekkers are small, and while their claws are sharp and agile, their lack of strength is always their weakness.
But the power of nekker warriors should not be underestimated. And the most terrifying of all are the nekker chieftains that are born from nekker warriors.
The strength of a nekker chieftain is comparable to that of a troll. The crucial point is that their strength doesn't come at the cost of their intellect. A nekker horde with a chieftain and one without are not at all the same concept. The latter are merely scattered skirmishers. The former, however, can organize scattered nekkers into an army.
"Then we need to prepare thoroughly."
Lynn took out clean food and pure water from his magic-imbued leather pouch and shared them with Letho. Letho accepted them without ceremony.
Both ate a little, but not too much, to avoid drowsiness that could slow them down in the upcoming battle. Afterward, they each found a clean spot and began to meditate.
Once their energy was fully replenished, they headed in the direction Letho had indicated, towards the part of the sewers that had become a nekker nest.
When smeared blood and flesh began to appear on the surrounding walls, Lynn knew they were not far from the nekker nest. This was a nekker habit. They smeared a portion of their victims' blood and flesh near their nests to signal to any approaching creatures that this was their territory.
"Let's begin."
The two witchers did not proceed further but instead prepared themselves. Lynn took out two bottles of Superior Ogre Oil, highly effective against nekkers.
He applied it evenly to the blade of his Mastercrafted silver sword. Then came Superior Swallow potion, Superior Cat potion, Superior Blizzard potion, Superior Thunderbolt potion, Superior Petri's Philter... and more than a dozen different types of alchemical bombs.
This had become his habit since he started having money. More money just sitting around would only gather dust. Converting it into tangible combat power was the most efficient use of resources. Therefore, after arriving in Beauclair, he procured a large amount of materials and used his free time to craft sword oils, potions, and alchemical bombs. His magic-imbued leather pouch was now fully stocked.
Moreover, due to magic, items stored in the magic-imbued leather pouch were unaffected by the passage of time. They would be exactly as they were when put in, with no worries about potions expiring.
Letho, observing the array of sword oils, potions, and alchemical bombs spread on the ground, felt his facial muscles twitch uncontrollably. Earlier, he had doubted Lynn's grand talk about having them work for him, thinking it was a joke. Now, having witnessed Lynn's extensive preparations firsthand, he couldn't help but believe him somewhat.
Once the ingested potions took effect, the two exchanged glances, both silently agreeing to cautiously approach.
.....
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