The trolls were incredibly clumsy, Wayne and Geralt were tailing them without making any effort to conceal themselves. Unbeknownst to Wayne and Geralt, they remained oblivious to the presence of an approaching individual until that person drew within a mere ten meters of the troll group.
In the group of trolls, the largest one, with stone armor adorned in green moss, was busy stirring an unknown substance in a cauldron using a wooden stick. After a brief moment of surprise, he stood up and shouted to his companions, "Surround them".
When the troll shouted, five formidable trolls quickly dashed over and encircled both Geralt and Wayne.
Seeing this, Geralt immediately yelled at them in order to prevent a conflict.
"Hey! Take it easy, we're not here to fight."
Upon hearing those words, the larger troll tilted his head and remained momentarily bewildered. Instead of allowing his companion to launch an attack, he began speaking in sporadic intervals and said, "Witchers, kill monsters, two people, six trolls, I'm not afraid of you."
Geralt raised his hands to indicate that he was unarmed, then looked at the steaming cauldron behind the trolls, and said, "We are going to the Circle of Elements on the mountain. We are just passing by. we are not here to harm you."
However, how could the brain circuits of these trolls be the same as ordinary people.
The biggest troll suddenly said, "Here, the mountain of trolls, witcher, cannot enter. Unless, give us, the toll."
Upon hearing those words, Geralt gently patted his head and fell into a brief silence. Afterward, he inquired, "What kind of toll do you seek? We are witchers, and it's in your best interest to make reasonable demands, not excessive ones."
The big troll shook his head and seemed to think about it for more than ten seconds before saying intermittently, "We, little trolls, are born, celebrate, and eat meat. Give us meat, a lot of meat, and let you pass."
In response to the troll's request, Geralt was immediately struck with a headache. These trolls were tall and had particularly insatiable appetites. If they intended to feed these massive creatures, a mere wild boar or similar game would hardly suffice.
Moreover, trolls are notoriously naive, if they don't agree to their request and want to go over, the only way is to kill them all.
When the White Wolf was having a headache, Wayne who was following behind him reminded, "Geralt, have you forgotten those harpy birds we killed just now?"
"There are exactly twenty of them. Provide these trolls with the corpses they seek. These big guys will definitely be satisfied".
Geralt's eyes lit, upon hearing the words, and he cast an appreciative glance back at Wayne. He then addressed the leading troll, saying, "I've gathered a substantial amount of meat in one location. If you and a few trolls accompany me, we can transport it back together. There's a huge amount of meat there, more than enough to satisfy all of you".
Upon hearing the prospect of an all-you-can-eat meat feast, the leading troll couldn't contain his excitement and let out a triumphant roar. Without hesitation, he bellowed to his comrades, "Follow the witcher, go get the meat, come back, celebrate."
In response to their leader's shout, the trolls who had encircled Geralt and Wayne raised their hands and cheered. They began to dance, despite their massive size, resembling a group of children weighing hundreds of kilograms.
After escorting the trolls on a mountain path for about ten minutes to retrieve the harpy bird corpses from the riverbank, noon had arrived before Geralt and Wayne realized it.
The trolls displayed their trustworthiness, showing no interest in washing the harpy bird carcasses. They proceeded to tear them into pieces and stack them near the cooking pot, preparing for roasting or boiling.
The leading troll even warmly invited the two to join their celebration.
Certainly, Wayne and Geralt refrained from participating in the troll's culinary activities. Instead, they continued their journey without pausing at the troll tribe, making their way directly to the Circle of Elements on the mountain.
They arrived at a structure resembling a ruin. The city walls and the primary edifice had crumbled away, leaving behind only fragmented walls and a level gravel surface. Positioned near the cliff at the mountain's summit was a rectangular altar spanning approximately ten square meters.
In the center of the altar, an intricate magic circle had been carved, while behind it, a rectangular stone table held an array of candles. Four iron torches, fueled with a special substance, were stationed at the four corners of the altar. The scene exuded a ceremonial and mysterious ambiance.
Wayne didn't know how to activate the wolf school badge in his hand, so he handed it to Geralt and asked, "What should I do now?"
Geralt put the badge in front of his eyes for a while, and walked up to the altar, saying,
"The Circle of elements is a node where magic power gathers, and it exists all over the world. However, their power is strong or weak according to the concentration of magic power. Only those powerful mages can use them. We witchers can't sense magic power. All we can do is use them to recharge magic items."
Geralt put Wayne's badge in the center of the stone table, then turned his head and waved to him, saying, "The magic circle here was carved by mages during the period of the Witcher Order. It is quite simple for us to activate this ring of elements. Just light the four torches around you in the order of the earth, air, water, flame, and the four elements. Use the Sign of Igni to do it yourself".
After knowing how to open the circle of elements, Wayne did not delayed and walked to the center of the altar in a few steps.
He first observed the patterns engraved on the four torches. They were all very common elemental icons, representing the four elements in the witcher world. Then, according to Geralt's method, he lit the four torches one by one with the Igni Sign.
The moment all four torches were lit, even though the witcher couldn't sense the fluctuation of magic power, Wayne still felt some invisible force converging towards the wolf school badge on the stone table.
At the same time, the system in Wayne's brain also issued a prompting sound.
When a high-concentration magic energy node is detected, three ability points can be obtained by absorbing it.
Note that if you choose to absorb, this energy node will be permanently destroyed, its spatial structure will be destroyed, and a dimensional crack will be formed.
Please choose carefully. Three ability points, permanent destruction, dimensional rift.
Originally, Wayne was very excited when he heard that he could get three ability points, but when he heard the consequences of absorbing the magical energy here, he couldn't help hesitating.
This is the circle of elements closest to Kaer Morhen. The distance is actually less than 1 kilometer. It is a precious legacy left by the mages for the witchers during the period of the order of the witchers.
If he destroys this place for these three ability points, not only will Kaer Morhen lose a powerful support forever, but he may also leave a troublesome mess because of the so-called dimensional rift.
Besides, Geralt the White Wolf is by his side now, and absorbing the magic power of node is definitely not a small thing. If he absorbs the power of the node, it may even turn him against his companions from the Wolf School.
Weighing the pros and cons, Wayne sighed softly. Rabbits don't even eat grass by the side of their nests, so he can't ignore the consequences just because of a small profit in front of him.
Just like what Geralt said, the circle of elements are scattered all over the world. In the future, as long as he spends his time looking for them, he will definitely find other circles of elements.