The first day of 1261, the morning of January 1st.
The warm morning light fell on the northern suburbs of Elland City. Lesso and Roy in leather armor were walking along the main road leading to the temples. The temples were hidden in the towering boulders and could not be seen.
"The belief in Meritelli is one of the oldest beliefs on the continent, and the source of its inheritance is unverifiable." The witcher said slowly,
"In fact, a long time ago, every human race and primitive tribe had its own goddess of harvest, a guardian of farms and gardens, a witness of love and marriage. And belief in these goddesses ultimately Concentrate on Meritelli—her temple also properly performs these functions."
The two entered the garden of the temple, where many priestesses in gray dresses were busy picking turnips and feeding the chickens.
Most of the priestesses were young, and some were still immature children. Some of the lively priestesses smiled at the two of them and nodded in greeting. Even for mutant witchers, they did not contain any worldly strange eyes, but pure curiosity and kindness, which made people feel relaxed and warm.
Roy couldn't help but be slightly stunned by these youthful and beautiful faces, and it was extremely rare for the witcher to grin.
"The Temple of Meritelli has never been short of 'cute' priestesses. Every year girls from all over the world flock, and students graduate from the temple school to go to other temples as prophets, midwives, physicians for children and women, Wandering missionaries, teachers, and some went to the countryside to become herbalists."
"Their lives are so happy..."
Roy sincerely sighed that in this era, it is perfect for ordinary girls to be able to work in agriculture, learn writing, and master a skill to earn a living.
Aunt Nannick, the administrator of the temple, is an amazing person!
"The shelter that Meritelli provides for vulnerable groups is unimaginable for ordinary people. Whether in the north or the archipelago, most countries have more or less respect for the Temple of Meritelli."
"So south?"
"After the new emperor ascended the throne in recent years, the Sun Cult, the state religion of Nilfgaard in the south, has become popular, and other sects have been severely suppressed."
"Lesso, Roy?"
Suddenly a voice interrupted the witcher's remarks. A slender, round face with tiny freckles, a priestess of twenty-three or four years old greeted them from the temple. Her eyes rolled on the faces of the two of them. Finally locked Roy,
"Mother Nannick is waiting for the two of you, please come with me."
"Good morning, Priest Elora." Roy walked over the witcher and walked to the priestess. He smelled a faint scent of chamomile from the priestess' long hair. He smiled like an acquaintance. .
"Have we seen it before?" The priestess stopped, and her suspicious eyes came to her. Her eyes were dark and bright, reminding Roy of a legendary creature-Nymph, whose body Attitude and temperament are similar.
A few years ago, after Vizima lifted the curse of the bloodthirsty monster bird, Geralt went to the Temple of Elland to recover from his injuries, and unknowingly fell into bed with this girl.
What a big stallion who shows mercy and never takes responsibility!
Roy complained and asked curiously, "Do you remember Geralt who came from the outskirts of Vizima that spring and asked you to break the oath of silence?"
"Geralt from the outskirts of Vizima?"
The priestess was stunned for a moment, and flashes of memory and sadness, as well as a touch of fear, flashed in her bright eyes. She seemed to think back to the days when she was dominated by a white-haired witcher full of contradictions.
…
The shrine is surrounded by a circle of white candles, with the holy goddess statues stacked in front, and several devout believers are praying to themselves.
"You are Roy..." A fat woman with gray hair and a long red-brown dress walked out of the side hall. She looked fifty or sixty years old, but Roy knew that her actual age was over one hundred years old , White Wolf even regarded her as a mother.
Her eyes are kind and kind, and one can't help but feel that she is an elder worth getting close to.
"Mother Nannick, hello. I'm Roy from Lower Aden." The boy bowed heavily to her. He always felt that this was a respectable "Virgin" figure.
"You naughty child..." The priest patted Roy on the shoulder gently, "What did you say to Aerola just now that made her sad."
"Actually, I just praised her for her beauty."
"If you don't want to say it, forget it. But child, the Temple of Meritelli has healed many patients, but it has never accepted witcher apprentices for cruel, painful, and inhuman trials on grass."
Never? What price did Lesso pay? Is it really just Nannick giving him a favor
"I have to make sure that you gave up your life as an ordinary person, gave up your fertility, and agreed to endure great pain and take part in the witcher trials out of your own free will?" Her stern gaze swept across Leto's face. , "It's this guy who forced you to become his apprentice and inherit his mantle."
"Give up fertility?" At his age, he doesn't think this is a problem at all, and there is a template that might be able to break through the limit in the future.
As for the pain, he was already mentally prepared.
"I am willing to participate in the trial of green grass..." Roy emphasized, "I followed Leto for a few months, and I confirmed the thoughts in my heart. I want to have enough power to kill evil and filth, protect my family and friends, and see the world. The scenery." His attitude was firm, and his eyes were like stars, as if they were shining.
"Your ideal stimulation will bring pain and nightmares... Running around will only end up making you tired and homeless."
"Then I will accept it with open arms, and who knows what will happen in the future?"
Nannick regretted slightly, "Just as stubborn as your teacher. Should you say you are naive or ignorant? If you can survive, I hope you will not regret it in the future."
"Regret? It doesn't exist!"
"Little devil, remember your words, you have to be so tough after the trial starts!" Leto suddenly shouted from the side.
"Don't worry." The boy patted his chest, "I, Roy, died of pain, died in the temple, and let the woman collect the body, and I won't give up halfway!"
After he finished speaking, he was stunned for a moment, feeling weird.
After the two met with the priest, they followed her out of the hall and continued to head inside. Along the way, the young man approached the witcher and said curiously, "By the way, what kind of favor does Nanny owe you? It's worth her making an exception."
"That was more than 20 years ago, it's just a coincidence." There was no sadness or relief on the big man's face.
"Just because of favor?"
"Okay, I won't hide it from you. In order to get her to help, I paid more than favors. I also caught up with the secrets of the Viper School... Nannick is an excellent pharmacist and alchemist. The formulation and process of viral, hormonal induced mutations are of great interest."
"The witcher's secret, the mutant formula?" Roy suddenly remembered something—
One day in the future, an organization called the Salamander Gang broke into the base of the wolf sect witchers, Kyle Morhan, and stole the school's mutant formula, in an attempt to mass-produce an army of mutants, and then murder the king to usurp the throne. However, the ending ended in failure, and the value of the formula naturally goes without saying.
"The formula is not the foundation of the school, so just give them research?"
"What the school lacks the most is 'fresh blood'." Leto laughed at himself, "and Nilfgaard's Viper Academy has completely decayed. If you can't train new witchers, the recipe will be left with waste paper. What's the difference?"
He looked at Roy with hope in his eyes,
"As long as you survive the trial, all the hard work is worth it! What's more, what I gave her is only a copy, and the original is still there." He squeezed the badge on his neck heavily.
"Boil?" Roy focused on another point, licked his lips, and felt a little pressure, "Usually, how long does it take to get through a trial?"
"It varies from person to person. If your physique and willpower are strong enough, you are lucky, and you don't encounter any emergencies along the way, about two or three months."
"One and a half years of bad luck... more than two-thirds, and never wake up."
During the conversation, they came to a cave dug out of the rock wall.
The caves are all over the place, and the top is covered with crystals that filter the harmful elements of the sun, providing the herbal plants with just the right amount of light, allowing them to flourish and bloom in an eye-popping brilliance,
"Tsk tsk, let me see what treasures are there!"
Five-star-leafed rhinoceros, densely growing rhinoceros in large flower pots, serrated fern with dark black arrow-like long leaves, pinnate blood pool moss, crow's eye potato with sparkling tubers, rat tail with tiger-patterned petals Orchid, Best Antidote Dispensing Big Leaf Vine…
Roy used his observations to scan them one by one, and there were more than 200 kinds of herbal plants in total, making up for all the precious medicines that were lacking in the grass trial.
It's a pity that there are no beneficial herbs that can increase his attributes anymore.
"Roy, Leto... Let's take a look..." Nannick held the cloth between his belly and glanced at the dazzling array of plants, "Which herbs are used. Find out and tell me."
"Nannick, one more question," the witcher nodded and stopped her, "I mentioned before that there is news from the warlock? If this child is to undergo a mutation, undergo the trial of green grass, and enter the transformation stage, there is no spellcaster. Helping from the side is too dangerous. The mutation is extremely unstable, and many sequelae are unavoidable.”
"I remember, you have a lot of requests!" Nannick sighed and said helplessly, "I have already contacted a candidate, the royal advisor of Karak, who will come to me every few months to exchange herbal medicines. Learn from experience... Calculate the time, you should arrive at the temple in the next two days, but there is no guarantee if she is willing to help at that time."
The boy thought for a while, and he vaguely remembered that Kelak was a small coastal country in the northwest of Brokilon Forest.
Who is the warlock there
He was not impressed.
There is a faint expectation in my heart.