The Divine Hunter

Before the witchers knew it, the sun was already starting to set. The sounds of arguments and someone writing on the wall was getting softer and slower.

After a heated argument, the witchers finally settled down on the four missions: unity, teamwork, equality, and expansion.

There were also six absolute rules they had to follow. Any rulebreaker could be facing house arrest to the death penalty.

1. No betraying the brotherhood and its members.

2. No committing heinous acts unprovoked.

3. Equality and fairness.

4. No interfering with politics without the brotherhood’s permission.

5. Follow the brotherhood’s orders.

6. No politicking in the brotherhood.

(Subject to change)

***

“Now for the nitty gritty.” Roy said, “So expansion is our goal, and we need manpower for that. We need a source of new blood. We’ll be going with our plan and working with Orloff to build an orphanage. He’s one of Novigrad’s big three. You’ll be picking the children you want and mentoring them before administering the Trials. We need to contact The Collector and pick a spot for the orphanage.”

“Hold on. You mean to work with one of the biggest gang lords around?” Geralt shook his head. “He’s got blood on his hands. No way he’ll work with you. Even if the gang lords would put in work for charity, they must have something to gain from it.”

Lambert and Eskel were doubtful as well.

“Ah, allow me to tell you a story.” Felix stood up and explained, “The Collector is more than meets the eye…”

Felix finished his story in a few minutes, leaving the Wolves dumbfounded.

Geralt was utterly impressed. “You built a lab right under Eternal Fire’s nose, had a doppler replace a gang lord, and then partnered up with him.”

“That is incredible. You guys are geniuses.” Lambert was shaking with excitement, his eyes glinting with glee. “I love it.”

“When we trained his slowpoke thugs, we knew he was as kind as most dopplers are. Since he’s an orphan, he sympathized with all the children born into this world alone.” Felix said, “But he used to be hunted by the Eternal Fire. Hiding from them was already hard enough, let alone taking care of the poor orphans. Things are different now, however. He’s now one of the biggest rulers in Novigrad. Money is no problem for him, and he gets to call a lot of the shots in Novigrad. Just like us, he wants to build an orphanage to take all those lonely kids in and provide them shelter until they can stand on their own two feet. Most importantly, those kids will be safe from the traffickers if they have a place to stay.”

The witchers nodded. The slave trade was rampant all the way from Skellige Isles to the continents.

“While you guys were in Kaer Morhen, the Collector shortlisted three houses as a potential orphanage. He was waiting for you guys to make the call.” There was a hint of respect in Felix’s eyes. “And he promised he’d invest eighty percent of the money to build the place up and keep it running.”

Roy heaved a sigh of relief. At least we don’t have to worry about money for a while.

“But he had a condition, and he wishes to talk to us about it.” Felix added, “It’s probably about the children who will be taken in. He knows how hard our training can be, and he’s worried we might go too far and hurt the kids.”

“We’ll see him tomorrow, then,” Auckes suggested. “We need a lot of people to work on the orphanage. Everyone needs to lend a hand.”

Just like that, they already had something to do the next day.

***

“We can’t just expand externally. Relying on the orphanage alone takes too much time. The kids will at least take a year to pass the Trial. Unity should be further up on our list of priorities.” Lambert said, “We’ll gather all wandering witchers and have them join the brotherhood. As long as they are willing to negotiate and pass the test. Their schools don’t matter. And I know one witcher who can join—Aiden of the Cat School.” Lambert gushed, “I’ve worked with him a few times. We’re good friends, and he’s a man of principle. We can trust him. I can travel to our rendezvous point and wait for him or leave a hint telling him to come to Novigrad.”

Lambert was looking forward to meeting Aiden.

Kiyan and Felix exchanged a look. “I remember Aiden. He’s a black-haired and green-eyed kid. Wasn’t even fifteen when we last saw him. So that makes him fifty-something this year? He’s not consumed by madness, however. A worthy ally for us.”

“Never seen you so excited about seeing someone before, Lambert.” Auckes wiggled his brows. “Is he your lover?”

And he stared at his companions once more. “Today, we’ve settled on the brotherhood’s missions, rules, and short-term goals. I hereby announce that the brotherhood is officially established!”

Roy produced a bottle of white wine brewed in rural Novigrad and sold in the ballroom, and then he poured a glass for everyone. “A toast for a great day. Today is the beginning of everything!”

Serrit stopped him. “Hold it! You’ve overlooked something important, kid. We’re a brotherhood, so everyone’s equal, but there must be an eldest of the brothers here.” He announced, “We need a leader. He doesn’t need to give every order for every little thing, but he needs to guide us to a better future. He needs to make plans and give a wide berth to any dangers we can’t win. When we can’t decide on something difficult, he must make the final call. We need someone to lead us into glory!”

Serrit looked at everyone present. “What do you think? Who’s the best one to lead us all?”

“Why don’t we decide through a trial of battle?” Auckes was raring to go, but Serrit shot him a look.

Geralt disagreed. “We’re a brotherhood now. Combat prowess isn’t the only defining trait for a leader.”

Lambert agreed for once. “Just because someone’s a good combatant doesn’t mean he’s wise. He could be a fool. I think we should vote on this.”

“Agreed.”

“But I have something to say.” Lambert pursed his lips. “Every school has a different number of members here. That might affect the final results.”

The Vipers exchanged looks. They knew Lambert was talking about them.

“Rule number six, Lambert. You broke it.” Felix purred, “Politicking will affect the results, not the number of members each school has. You have nothing to worry about if you don’t have any ulterior motives.”

“On the name of our school and the brotherhood, we swear we’ll pick the best man for the job. No biases.” Letho took a deep breath. They had the most number of members around, so he thought there was a need to explain.

Kiyan said, “Don’t forget, we did talk about abolishing the schools and uniting everyone under one banner once the brotherhood hits its stride. Don’t sweat the details, Lambert.”

Geralt patted Lambert’s shoulder, and Eskel looked at him.

“It’s alright. We’ll just cast our votes.”

“I trust you’ll make the right choice.” Geralt smiled. “Wouldn’t have come here otherwise.”

***

The votes were counted, and the results were out. All witchers smiled, save for one.

“Are you guys serious?” Roy was red with anxiety for the first time. “Why me?” Everyone voted for me but me!

“You know the reason we’re gathered here,” Letho commented.

Everyone’s eyes twinkled.

Roy might be the youngest of them all, but he got all the witchers together.

“Because you’re a clairvoyant.” Lambert was half-amused, half-annoyed. “Who else can take the spot but you?”

“But we’re not here to work for you,” Felix blurted, and Kiyan nodded. “You can only point us in the general direction.”

“And if your decision proves to be wrong…” Auckes grinned. “Punishment awaits.”

“And now, a toast.” Geralt stood up, raising his glass of wine. “To the brotherhood!”

Eskel raised his glass as well, the sun shining on his slightly red face.

Everyone shouted, “To the brotherhood! To Roy!”

Roy was still bemused and confused. But he knew what he had to do. A great future awaits!

***

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