After Lambert approached the corpse of the harpy, he noticed the arrow that pierced its throat and whistled impressed. "What a bow and what aim!"
Sensing that Lambert seemed interested in his bow, Lann shrugged and handed it over. Seeing him using all his strength to draw it, but barely managing to open it three-quarters of the way, Lann couldn't help but joke. "If you dry shoot this bow, you have to compensate me with a new one."
Lambert's face flushed with effort, and he finally had to carefully and slowly release the bowstring to restore it to its original state, and then praised again: "It's a great bow. And you have impressive strength. I understood that those from the Griffin School specialize in Signs, I didn't expect you to have such skill with the bow."
"I'm a knight." Lann replied with a shrug. "It's only natural that I know how to use a bow."
"Then Knight, may I ask what should we do with the body of the harpy? We don't want to waste time dissecting the body here."
"Very simple, we save it for later."
Lann reached out and pressed the body of the harpy. With a flash of light, he put the body into the [Inventory].
This gesture caused exclamations of astonishment among the members of the Wolf School, who had never seen anything like it. Those of the Viper School, on the other hand, were already accustomed to it.
Lambert turned his gaze to Coën. "Can you do it?"
Coën himself looked incredulous at the moment. "This is not the method of the Griffin School... It should be the source of magic? Or the Elder Blood?"
Lambert fell into deep thought. "Does that mean Ciri will learn it in the future? It's really convenient to have this skill when going out."
Lann laughed mischievously. "Who knows... maybe you can wait and see."
"Okay, guys, enough with the games." Vesemir said seriously. "We're lucky to be so many today, which is why these monsters don't dare come close. Until recently, we didn't even let Ciri run through the forest alone. She always had to be accompanied by Geralt or one of the boys."
"It's lucky that no monsters come out to attack us now. We just need to hurry up and make the best use of the time."
Living near Kaer Morhen for so long had taught the local creatures to avoid danger. A lone witcher might attract unwary beasts, but a group as large as Lann's was too intimidating, even for the fiercest creatures.
Just as Vesemir wanted to continue speaking, the next moment a strange, distorted voice interrupted him.
"Ah!! Help, help!!"
Immediately, everyone was on alert.
It was a small child's voice, full of desperation, which made anyone want to help. But there was something unsettling about the sound, something unnatural.
Mousesack explained: "It sounds like an echo projected by some magical artifact... or, in simple terms, it's an illusion created by magic."
There was no inexperienced witcher present, and putting the pieces together, they knew exactly what kind of creature they were facing.
"Foglers." The experienced Vesemir said firmly.
Knowing that Lan had become a witcher not long ago and had not received a full witcher education, Vesemir played his role as a mentor.
"Foglers are magical beings said to have arrived during the Conjunction of the Spheres. They are mostly found in swamps, forests, or mountains, and lure their prey into traps using magic. Foglers are more ghostly than organic in nature and are only seen in places where a thick fog forms. Note that without the use of any signs or bombs, when a foglet is invisible one can't harm them at all, so make good use of Moon Dust, Yrden, and Aard to force their corporeal form to appear and do damage to them."
Lann, though he had already studied these creatures in the bestiary, nodded respectfully, playing the attentive student.
At this time, everyone had arrived at the lake in the middle of the canyon, where there happened to be a swamp of moderate size. To get to the cave where the Old Speartip was, they needed to be transported by a small boat.
The lake was covered in a light mist, which was normal in such a humid place, but the call for help and Vesemir's lessons gave a somber and mysterious touch to the scene.
"Ah! Help!!"
The cry for help continued.
Lambert let out a long breath. He was particularly excited today. "This will serve as a warm-up before we face Old Speartip. Foglers don't usually appear in groups of more than three, anyone want to join me?"
Lann thought about it and raised his hand. "I just don't have the Foglet decoction yet, I'll make up for it this time."
The rest of the group preferred to stay behind but offered to keep watch in case of a surprise attack.
Following the trail of screams, they soon found a small child.
"Ah! Help!!!!" The boy, no more than ten years old, who barely reached Lann's waist, begged. He was barefoot and shirtless, as if he were the son of a hunter lost in the woods.
Lann's medallion began to vibrate slightly.
Before Lann could react, Lambert stepped forward, shouting in mock excitement: "Oh, boy! What happened to you? Are you okay?"
Geralt and Eskel, watching from a distance, exchanged resigned glances.
The fog grew thicker, and the boy's screams became more desperate.
Lambert approached and suddenly saw the boy's face clearly, and his eyes trembled.
His face filled with a sudden, tender sadness, but his hand clenched tightly as he unsheathed the sword on his back, muttering softly: "Relax, you're safe now..."
"No! No, please help me!" The boy screamed even more desperately.
Suddenly, the little boy's body began to distort like a mirage, turning grey and slowly fading into thin air.
At that very moment, from the thick fog emerged an enormous, monstrous creature, much taller than Lambert.
Even with a hunched body, it was about two meters tall. Its head took up almost a quarter of its body, but its limbs were extremely thin. It had pointed ears like a bat, and its face seemed to have been torn off, leaving its eyeballs, nostrils, and gums exposed.
What was even more shocking than its ugly appearance was its claws. Lambert knew that they were claws that could fight head-on with the sword in his hand.
Without hesitation, he cast a Quen Sign on himself and attacked with his sword. The blade whistled through the air, but only managed to cut through an illusion.
The hunched creature quickly crouched down, merging with the ever-present mist around it.
"Hey, Lann! Do you have any tips for these kinds of situations?"
Lann calmly raised his left hand and formed a peculiar gesture with his fingers. "Vesemir mentioned that these creatures fear the Aard Sign. Just what I handle best."
[Aard Sweep - Magic Burst]!
It seemed as if a high-powered alchemical bomb had been launched from the spot where Lann was standing. A huge shockwave spread out into the surroundings, tearing up the ground and grass in brutal fashion. Even a not-so-thick pine tree was uprooted and thrown into the air. The water in the nearby lake seemed to receive a hammer blow, creating a momentary hole that, upon collapsing, raised a miniature waterfall and frightened a few fish.
As expected, the fog on the lakeside was cleared, and the vision suddenly became clear.
Three Foglers, hunched and trembling under the gaze of the witchers, were exposed.
Vesemir calmed the frightened horse, looked at the sunken soil layer around Lann, and twitched his mouth slightly. "When I said to use the Aard Sign, I didn't exactly mean at this level... but well, I guess the result is the same."
Geralt and Eskel exchanged another glance, this time directing their eyes towards Coën.
Coën, who had been away from the Kaer Seren for a long time, said hesitantly: "Master Keldar should be able to do this..."
When Lann launched [Alder Sweep], he deliberately distanced himself from his companions. It can be said that only the aftermath affected them, and the purpose was just to clear the fog nearby.
But even with the aftermath, Lambert was almost blown over by Lann.
Fortunately, compared to Lambert, the Foglers were much more affected. If they had not been, Lambert might have been surprised by a sneak attack.
However, instead of being frightened, Lambert smiled with satisfaction. He took advantage of the situation and, without wasting any time, launched himself at the Foglers, who no longer had anywhere to hide. Without the cover of the fog, these enormous-headed beings lost more than half of their combat capability.
There was nothing much to say about the subsequent battle. Facing three monsters whose attack power had been reduced by more than half, Lann was enough to deal with it alone, not to mention that there was Lambert beside him.
Realizing that Lambert needed to release some tension, Lann moderated his actions. He limited himself to using magic signs and his sword, letting Lambert take control of the fight.
Within a few moves, all three Foglers lay dead at his feet.
Lann waved his hand to collect the bodies of the three monsters, intending to slowly dissect them when he returned. Turning back, he saw Lambert wiping the blood off the wolf-headed silver sword and came up to talk to him.
"Our cooperation is quite pleasant... but we need to improve our tacit understanding a little bit."
Lambert was clearly referring to the Aard Sign that Lann threw that almost caused it to tip over.
"But when I think that Old Speartip will also experience this in a while, I can't help but tremble with joy." When he said this, the smile on Lambert's mouth reminded Lann vaguely of Kiyan.
"Don't worry." Lann shrugged. "I have prepared a bigger 'surprise' for Old Speartip."
The rest of the witchers approached.
Eskel, looking at the place where the Fogler had projected a magical image at the beginning, sighed. "That face... I've seen it before. He was one of our apprentices. He passed the Trial of the Grasses and the Trial of the Dreams, but in the last trial, he was defeated. I remember that he drowned in this very lake. It must be that the Fogler has kept his image and voice."
Geralt also seemed affected, his gaze sad. "Yes, I remember that too. These Foglers hunt differently than harpies. They lure their prey from a distance. That's what made them not realize there were so many of us, and that's why they didn't run away before being eliminated."
"Although this apprentice was not trapped here in spirit, but only as an image... I feel that today, he has finally found peace."
In the distance, on the lake, dark shadows could be seen. They looked like drowners or water hags, creatures that the witchers had noticed lurking around before. But upon witnessing the battle and seeing the number of combatants on the shore, these creatures decided to retreat. They dove into the water, leaving behind a few ripples that disappeared instantly.
Vesemir inhaled deeply, his sadness palpable as he remembered the fallen apprentice. No one felt it more than he did. "Let's go, leave here."
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