A few rounds later, Reagan got more tipsy, and Roy’s questions became more random, as if they were irrelevant to his mission. “Dwarves weren’t the only race to live in the Mahakams, right? I heard gnomes used to live here too, but I didn’t see a single one after I came in. Why is that?” Gnomes were the most ancient race to have ever lived. They were shorter than dwarves and better blacksmiths than them.

“Yeah, we had gnomes quite a while back. They’re small, and their attitude is bigger than a dragon. But their metallurgy and blacksmithing are top notch.” Reagan pinched his beard as he walked down memory lane. “But they moved to Tir Tochair from what I heard. It’s their real base. I don’t know why they did, but maybe Elder Brovar does.”

Well, that’s a shame. Looks like I have to postpone my visit with the gnomes. “Oh, right. Have you ever left Mount Carbon, you guys? Have you ever seen the outside world?”

“Eh, nothing good out there.” Dave shook his head in disdain. “Mount Carbon has better wine, weapons, and women. And leaving this place means losing my house. As if I can get a wife without a place to live. I’m not going out, ever.”

“There you go speaking in absolutes again.” Reagan put his mug down, longing sparkling in his eyes. “I’ll be venturing out when I’m sixty. That’s a few years from now. I’ll seek Paul out and train with Yarpen. If I can make a name for myself, I’ll have any woman I want when I come back.”

Drew nodded, and he changed his goal from wine to women. However, Barney frowned and objected. “I-it’s dangerous out there. T-there are bandits, h-humans, and S-Scoia’tael.”

Reagan quickly covered his mouth, and Drew and Dave looked shocked. That was the second time Roy had heard about Scoia’tael, the first being his talk with Seville. Seville was Elder Brovar’s nephew and the wine dealer in Aldersberg, so Roy wasn’t surprised he knew about Scoia’tael, since he must’ve had a lot of sources.

But Barney’s just a small fry here, so where did he hear about that? He sipped some wine, but this time, he didn’t cheat, and his face turned red the moment he swallowed it. 

Then he continued the conversation. “Have you guys ever seen anyone from Scoia’tael?”

“What’s that?” Reagan shook his head. “Oh, you must be hearing things, my friend. Let’s drink! Scoia’tael, Shmyatael, am I right?”

“You can talk straight to me, you know,” Roy said, half-joking. “I hail from Lower Posada in Aedirn. Ever heard of that place? Dol Blathanna is east of that. I know a group of elves live there, and they see humans as their nemesis because of an ancient grudge. They’d attack us any chance they got. Lie, cheat, steal, rob? That’s the least they can do to us. They’re some extreme guys, and they rallied behind an elven sorceress, forming an organization. That organization came to be known as Scoia’tael, because they have squirrel tails attached to them, and have the same tattoo.”

Scoia’tael’s ultimate goal was to erase all the humans in the north and create their own nation. One that was free of the humiliation of the humans. Most of the non-human races in the north were treated with contempt in the slums, especially elves, half-elves, and part-elves. Because of that, more and more non-humans and part-humans joined the organization and raised a flag of rebellion. Aside from elves, they managed to get some dwarves to join too.

“You’re young, but you know more than you should for your age.” Reagan let Barney go, and Barney gasped for air, sticking his tongue out.

“Well, witchers tend to know more than the common man.” Roy smiled. “Witchers aren’t human to a certain extent, so you don’t have to hide anything from us.”

Reagan thought about it for a while before answering. “Like most of the dwarves here, we’ve never seen any Scoia’tael members. Since their actions go against the rules Elder Brovar has established, they’d be severely punished the moment they’d be found out. Anyone associated with Scoia’tael would be exiled.”

“In other words, Elder Brovar is siding with the humans, unlike the elves in Scoia’tael,” Roy postulated.

“No, he’s neutral. Scoia’tael’s banned here because they’re trying to get everyone to subscribe to their crazy ideology. On the other hand, humans can be reasoned with.” Reagan burped. “That’s all I know. Now let’s drink!”

Since Reagan refused to talk about it, Roy didn’t force him to. Twenty shots later, Reagan Dalba plopped on the table and snored, while Roy was still sober, his eyes gleaming.

“So, I guess this is my win then, my friends.”

“Whoa, even Reagan lost. Seems like we underestimated you.” Dave looked at Roy’s belly in shock, since it showed no change even after downing twenty shots. Weird. Then he blurted, “Do you have some sort of dimension pocket in there?” Roy’s heart skipped a beat, and he thought Dave had noticed something. “Just kidding.” Dave shook his head. “A promise is a promise. Reagan’s crossbow is now yours.”

“But it looks like you haven’t had enough fun yet. My turn now. I’ll make sure you run for the potty,” Dave said.

Roy looked around, noticing that the dwarves were raring to go. “Why not. Witchers can drink a ton after undergoing their mutations. I’ll show you what I’m made of.”

***

An hour later, three dwarves were snoring in the cave. The only ones still awake were Roy and Barney, though his face was red, and he was almost drunk. 

“Barney, the guys say you’re stupid and stutter a lot, but you’re obviously the smartest of them all.”

“Good eye.” Surprisingly, Barney didn’t stutter after he got drunk.

“Reagan might have never seen any Scoia’tael members, but I bet you have.” Roy’s eyes gleamed.

“Nope. Not in the past year.” He burped, his face getting redder. “They hung out with bandits and beasts in the mountain’s depths in the past. The whole mountain’s on the lookout for them.”

“The mountain’s depths? You mean the forest here?” Roy’s voice trembled as he recalled the conversation he’d had with Letho the night before. He wanted an answer, but Barney grinned toothily, and then the dwarf fell asleep.

Roy peered at the dwarves and shook his head. Then he took Blood Brothers out and placed it in front of Reagan before leaving the cave. The crossbow meant a lot to Reagan, and since he helped Roy out, Roy didn’t want to take his stuff away.