22 Chapter 21:Burdoff

I hope you like the chapter. Support the story. and Please enjoy.

—————————————————————————————————————

Vesemir went for a talk with the head of the Halfling family to see if there is a job that Witchers can do.

Vesemir approached the house where Lenny lived, it was a big house compared to others in the village, but like other houses, it looked very heart-warming and comfortable.

He knocked on the door, letting people inside know about his presence. The door opened, revealing Lenny with a smile on his face. "Oh, good afternoon, Sir, please join us for the lunch," said Lenny with amusement

Vesemir wanted to decline his offer, but at the same time, he saw Lenny had an honest desire to serve food to Old Wolf. He nodded his head and took a seat.

From the side, it looked hilarious. Since Vesemir was like a vast mountain compared to an average halfling, sitting with them at the same table, it looked like aged children had their lunch with their grandfather.

For the lunch, they had some freshly cooked bread and pork belly, nothing too fancy, but everything was tasty. When they were eating, a female Halfling said "It's good to serve you. Might I ask your name?"

Vesemir nodded his head replying "Vesemir"

"Oh, I heard about your travels from various storytellers" she admired Vesemir for a second and introduced herself. "I'm Iris, Lenny's wife"

"It is good to know you" replied Vesemir and then looked toward Lenny asking "I came today to ask a question, I want my students to learn a thing or two about my profession, have you heard of any rumours about someone in need of a Witcher"

"Hmmmm, let me think," said Lenny, musing over Vesemir's question, before continuing, " I think yes, there is a something strange happening not too far from here. In the village of 'Burdoff', there are some strange events happening"

Vesemir got interested. "What is it?"

Lenny explained, "I can't say for sure, but recent travellers told us about an abnormal amount of Ghouls in the close-by area of the Burdoff along with some of their villagers going missing from time to time."

This immediately got the attention of the old wolf, since Ghouls never appear out of nowhere, they are creatures that will go after dead human tissue. They were not dangerous beasts if they were to encounter small groups, but when they rally together, they can be dangerous to even proficient Witchers.

Vesemir tried to figure out more. "Do you know something else about that?"

Unfortunately, Halflings knew little to no about this case. They were easygoing and as long as a big problem doesn't appear on their lands, they will hardly ever be curious about what problems other areas had.

Lenny shook his head replying "No, sorry, I think it is better for you to travel there and find their Baron that handles the territory"

The rest of the time they spend chatting, while Vesemir was making assumptions about what kind of case was awaiting him and the boys in the Burdoff.

Burdoff is a small village that is located near the border of Temeria and the forests of Dryads called Brokilon. The forest itself is mostly a forbidden area for anyone but dryads.

Between the humans, it is called the 'Forest of Death. Human civilization and the Dryads forest never were able to create peace between each other. There were some attempts, but they all failed since Dryads didn't allow a single human to pass without putting an arrow through his head.

Dryads are known for their mastery of bows. They can kill a target from a distance of 200 feet (60 meters), without the victim realizing where the attack is coming from.

....

In the early morning, the boys packed their bags and were ready to depart, when they walked outside of the house in the early morning, they were ready to go, just before the sunrise.

They didn't want to bother Halflings anymore and decided to leave. When they were close to the village gates, they heard a shout coming from the village.

All of them turned around and looked in the direction of the voice and saw a small Halfling running with a leather bag towards them. Nobody recognized him but August. It was Timo.

August went ahead and walked in his direction.

Timo once again screamed, "Wait!"

He run close to August and dropped to the ground tired. In between his deep breaths he spoke, "August *huh* wait for *huh* I have *huh* something for you."

August tilted his head to the side. He never really received anything from anyone in his life, so it was something new for him.

Without even realizing it, August showed a small smile that didn't go unnoticed by his friends and teacher.

Timo spoke. "I know we had a weird encounter, but I wanted to give you this. I know that your life is not good, so I hope this will help"

He handed a bag to August, who took it and looked inside, inside he saw a leather armour. By the looks of the armour, it was nothing expensive and had someone that once wore it. But it didn't decrease its value in the eyes of August.

He looked at Timo who was smiling with a radiant smile and said, "Thank you"

Timo replied with amusement, "No need. Please be safe." He then proceed and moved close to August whispering " and I packed some of the food there as well."

August nodded his head and held his hand out for a handshake that was quickly accepted by small Timo.

When August returned to the group and they walked outside of the village, suddenly a shout of the Timo flew past them "If you ever have free time come and visit, I will be here!"

August showed a smirk looking towards the ground and silently said to himself "I'm sure will"

…..

It took them several days of travel before they entered the territory of village Burdoff. It looked much more depressed compared to the one they had just been to.

Obviously, this was a human settlement, and they are generally less friendly than Halflings.

While there were slowly approaching their destination, August voiced something that went unnoticed by others.

"Vesemir" called out August, Vesemir looked at August, who pointed his hand in the direction away from the village "Celandine, a herb that is commonly used to heal, but in high concentration can cause heavy poison. There are a lot of them there, and they grow exceptionally well in the places where a lot of blood and fresh corpses are located"

Vesemir replied "Well done" but still continued his way in the village's direction saying "But first we need to figure out what is happening"

When they were close to gates that had a paper pinned with a few words written on it

"Witcher help required"

Their group followed Vesemir who was going in the house's direction that was made out of stone, while the rest of the houses were made of wood. It showed one of the most influential people living there.

They approached the house when a guard pointed his sword toward Vesemir.

"Hold on!" screamed a guard

But It took once one glace of Vesemir that stared in the eyes of the guard with his yellow eye. Guard ends up falling to the ground with sweat rolling down his back.

Without resistance, all of them could walk in the garden area of the house. While Vesemir commanded boys to wait, he himself went for a talk with a Baron, to speak about the job he can offer.