On the other hand, Letho took Kaerwen to Svanthor to investigate. The winds were chilly in the north, and Svanthor’s chief was shivering at the entrance. When he saw Kaerwen approaching, Casillas quickly bowed with a smile, looking like a lapdog that was welcoming its master. 

“Welcome to Svanthor, Mr. Kaerwen. You honor us with your appearance.”

He then led the duo into the village. When Kaerwen went past him, he warmly shook his hand. Kaerwen gave a simple shake before pulling his hand back, and then Letho saw Kaerwen wipe his hand on his shirt in disgust.

Casillas smiled sycophantically, and also nervously. “Sir, do you have good news for us? Is the murderer captured?”

“Are you doubting us, Casillas?” Kaerwen glared up at Casillas. Even though he was only at Casillas’ chest, Kaerwen looked like a giant who was looking at an ant in disdain. “Cut the crap. This is Letho, the witcher we hired. He has some questions for you, and I want you to answer all of them honestly.”

“O-of course. We won’t let you down.” Casillas turned around to see who the witcher was, and he had a weird look on his face when he saw Letho. That guy’s the oddball who refused our request. Heh, he said no to us so easily, but now he’s still doing it. Casillas smiled, feeling smug, as if he were saying, “So what if you said no to us? You ended up taking it anyway. So witchers are nothing but the dwarves’ lapdogs after all.” He stood up straighter, thinking he was better than Letho, though he was just delusional.

The dwarves saw the villagers as scum, the villagers saw witchers as scum, and the dwarves respected the witchers. It was a weird circle, but Letho paid no mind to it. “Is everyone home right now?”

Casillas looked at Kaerwen, and Kaerwen nodded. “Yes. Everyone’s here, except those who are working in the mines. They’re scared of the phantom. No wait, they’re scared of that thing, so they’re staying put.”

“Go with Kaerwen for now. I’ll walk around the village to investigate. I’ll get back to you if I need any more answers.” Letho scanned the stone houses around him and went around the village, observing the women, children, and elderly inside.

***

Another day had passed, and Letho and Roy finished their work for the day. That night, they sat in the guest room, talking about their findings. “Did you get anything in Svanthor?”

“I checked everyone, but I got nothing.” Letho didn’t seem surprised.

“Including the ones in the mines?”

“If Casillas was telling the truth, then I’ve seen everyone today. Nobody has come into contact with the leshen, and we destroyed the second totem today.” Letho rubbed his chin, looking surprised. “But weirdly enough, the leshen didn’t send any beasts after us today and just let us do what we did. That’s bizarre. By all accounts, it should be retaliating fiercely right now.”

“That’s good news though. The weaker it is, the higher our chances of victory.” Roy recalled what happened that morning and smiled. “I found something today too.”

“Let’s see what you got. Did you find a clue about the marked one?” Letho was curious.

“No. That’s one cunning fellow for sure. I got nothing on that.” Roy paused. “But I noticed something off about the case. A dwarf friend of mine told me two of the dwarves that died came from the fifth mining area, and the one in charge of that place is Kaerwen, the one who’s helping you in this case.

“You think he’s a spy?” Letho closed his eyes and shook his head. “No. He doesn’t have the mark, and he helped me destroy the totems. A believer wouldn’t desecrate the totem, but since you brought this up, I’ll look into it.”

Roy continued. “Remember what you said last night about the forces that were helping the leshen? I have some clue about that.”

“That’s fast, boy.” Letho looked surprised. “Who did you get it from?”

“Remember the first dwarves we met? I got along with them, and I think they can be trusted, because they aren’t the scheming type.” Roy smiled at the thought of the dwarves’ drunk look. “Wine’s their weakness, and since Brovar said I could have all the wine I wanted, I used that to my advantage. I can’t use Axii, so this is all I can do, and they let Scoia’tael slip when they got drunk.” Roy turned solemn. “Do you know anything about this organization, Letho?”

Letho frowned. “I spend most of my time in the south, so I never heard anything of the sort. Is it a new organization?”

“It hasn’t been long since their establishment.” Roy gave it some thought before explaining, “Scoia’tael’s made up of some extreme guys. They despise humans, and most of their members are elves or part humans. They’re trying to gain more allies, and their main targets are the ancient races, like dwarves, gnomes, or halflings. Anyone that hates humans are their potential allies. They mainly move around Dol Blathanna and anywhere the ancient races are.”

“If what you’re saying is true, then they might be setting their eyes on everyone in Mount Carbon.” Letho mumbled, “They might try to recruit the dwarves.”

“Yes, and Elder Brovar, in all his years of ruling the mountain, has remained neutral, coexisting with humans peacefully.” Roy said, “He will never allow an extremist group like Scoia’tael to take root here, so he’s their enemy.”

Roy was reminded of Vernon Ryan, the one who died in a wine barrel. He’d noticed the squirrel tail tattoo on Vernon’s heel when he checked, so he knew the revolutionists’ leader was a member of that extremist group. Since they have members in Aldersberg, they probably have some here too. The Mahakams isn’t that far from Aldersberg. 

“If the leshen’s goal is to take control of the mountain, then that means Brovar is its enemy too.” Roy’s eyes shone. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend, huh? I see. So Scoia’tael is helping the leshen in the dark. That’s why it could attempt that large-scale conspiracy. If I can make one more guess here, I would say Scoia’tael brought that leshen here in the first place.”

Leshen was also called spriggan. In a way, it was the protector of forests, so it’d kill the people who destroyed forests and nature. There were also those who were exceptionally close to nature among the elves, like Queen of the Fields, Dana Meadbh. It was possible for Scoia’tael to work with the leshen using that kind of member.

“That’s a possibility,” Letho concurred.”But you can’t convince anyone before finding any evidence that Scoia’tael has infiltrated the Mahakams.”

“We have to prepare for the worst, so we should tell Brovar about this,” Roy insisted. “At least we would have done our part in preparing for whatever that could happen.”

Letho gave it some thought. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. Meet Brovar tomorrow morning and tell him about this. I’ll go on with my investigation. Don’t want anyone to find out about our discussion, see.”

***

The next morning came, and Brovar sat on his black throne in the depths of the forge hall, caressing his beard as he stared at the boy before him majestically. The chamber shone resplendently, but all the guards had been dismissed, leaving only him and Roy in it.

“Where did you hear that name, boy?” Brovar’s voice was gruff and gravelly, his face trembling, and he sounded upset. “Did those drunken brats tell you about it? I told everyone to keep this a secret! They’re getting it from me, letting this secret slip!”

“No, they didn’t tell me anything, Elder Brovar,” Roy quickly clarified, since he didn’t want to drag Reagan and his friends into the mess. “I’ve heard about Scoia’tael before coming to the Mahakams. Ask Seville if you don’t trust me. I talked to him about it when I was in Aldersberg.” Roy told Brovar the same thing he told Reagan and his friends.

“Fine, I’ll trust you for now. But I’ll clarify it later,” Brovar murmured. “But it is impossible for Scoia’tael to infiltrate Mount Carbon. It’s preposterous. I’ve exiled those extremists and their supporters a year ago. Until this day, not a single one of them has been spotted by the patrol members or the residents here, or I would have heard about it.” Brovar waved Roy down, the red silk of his robe billowing in the air. “Your conjecture is nothing but a byproduct of your overimagination. Never bring this up again.” He continued. “Since the leshen is the killer here, your job is to find it, kill it, and bring it as a trophy to me. That’s also the witcher’s job. But you came here out of the kindness of your heart, and that must be rewarded,” Brovar said warmly. “If you have any request, you may speak up now.”

Roy rubbed his fingers together, and doubt crossed his mind. What is he trying to say? Why am I getting rewarded when he doesn’t believe me? 

But he spoke up anyway. “Your excellency, I request for the freedom to travel to and from Mount Carbon, as well as some skilled bodyguards. It’s best if they’ve also gained your trust.”

His investigation would anger the Scoia’tael members if they were found to be lurking in Mount Carbon. Since Letho was out for his investigation during daytime, he needed some bodyguards to keep him safe. 

Brovar agreed to it readily. “As you wish. I’ll announce this to everyone. You’re free to explore anywhere you want, including the mines. But you can’t enter the forbidden places, no matter what. As for the bodyguards you want…” Brovar placed his chin on the back of his hand. “Take Reagan and his gang with you. I’ll relieve them of their duties in the patrol team for the time being. They’ll be under your command for now.”

Roy stopped breathing for a moment. Assisting him during the investigation could be dangerous, and he didn’t want to bring harm to his friends. “Can I ask for other people, your excellency?”

“They love to drink with you, don’t they?” Brovar shook his head in refusal. “Then I’ll grant their wish.”