"Puff, puff..." Heavy footsteps pressed deep tracks into the snow.
The Witcher lightly brushed snow and pine needles from his shoulders, then looked up at the startled sparrows among the trees.
"How much farther to the destination?"
"No more than half an hour." The white-haired dwarf panted heavily, his flushed face racing up beside the Witcher. "The bodies were found beneath the oldest pine tree ahead." The dwarf kept glancing around nervously. "Master Letho, will it really be all right with just the two of us? Shouldn't we bring more people?"
"Too many people will only get in the way. Tell me about the victims."
"Let me rest for two minutes. Your pace is really fast. How did that kid manage to keep up with you?"
The dwarf rested with his hands on his knees for a moment. When they were alone, Kelvin was not as harsh as he was toward Roy. His expression and tone carried respect.
"The deceased was named Adria, eighty years old, a worker at the mine. He had a son and daughter in Carbon Mountain."
The white-haired dwarf hesitated for a second. "The other three dwarven victims had similar backgrounds. They were all mine workers who met with accidents while returning to Carbon Mountain after work."
Letho rubbed the rough bark of a nearby tree. "The secrecy has been handled well. The villagers of Spansom still think there were only four human victims."
The dwarf gave a helpless, bitter smile. "There was no choice. If they learned that Mahakam guards had been killed, how could they keep working in peace? The mines would suffer losses. To avoid widespread panic, the news had to be sealed off, but it can't be hidden for long."
"A pack of vampires." Letho shook his head.
"Who spread the rumor