Goddess Melitele Above (Part 2)

The day after the greenhouse conversation, Victor was busy slicing disguise mushrooms in the alchemy room. This fungus had been gathered from the dark corners of the greenhouse; its gray cap made it easy to mistake for a stone. According to ancient texts, it could ease chest pain.

A knock sounded at the door. It was the priestess Aurora. She made several gestures, seemingly trying to convey something more complicated, but unfortunately Victor could not understand them. He only knew to put down his work and follow the priestess.

Entering the side hall he had visited only a few days ago, Victor found Mother Nenneke seated in her throne-like oak armchair. She warmly beckoned the youth closer, and at the same time he noticed something out of place in the hall—roughly one and three-quarter armored knights.

"Come... child, come meet these two 'noble' gentlemen. They serve Duke Hereward, who treats his subjects with the greatest generosity, and they claim to have something important to tell you." The priestess spoke casually, and the emphasis she put on "noble" made it clear that they were anything but.

Victor gave a casual bow as he sized up the two visitors. The human standing farther forward was tall and imposing, though a long scar marred his face. Clad head to toe in armor, with a crimson cloak and the white rose emblem on his shoulder plate, he was clearly the one meant to speak.

The sturdy, heavily bearded dwarf stood beside him with his arms folded, wearing a fox-fur-trimmed coat over ringmail. Though he had come with the knight, he still retained a considerable degree of status.

"Victor of Bell Town, east of Zerrikania. May I ask the names of these two gentlemen? What may I do for you?"

The Knight of the White Rose did not return the youth's bow. "I am Tylles, a Knight of the White Rose from Dorndale Fortress, in service to Prince Hereward." He did not look at Victor as he spoke, but stared at the priestess instead, placing particular emphasis on the word "Prince."

So he was one of those blind followers of authority—obsessed with titles, eager to cling to the upper class. Maybe the son of a moneylender or tailor?

Perhaps the youth's vicious inner commentary had somehow reached the knight over mysterious wavelengths, because Tylles finally turned to look at the apprentice witcher. His pale blue eyes brimmed with undisguised hatred as he continued, "And this man beside me is—"

"Hold on." The dwarf stepped forward and cut Tylles off, his voice hoarse and cold. "Let me introduce myself! Witcher, I'm Dennis Kramer, commander of Prince Hereward's guards." Beneath his brush-like eyebrows, his pale ash-gray eyes regarded Victor without warmth, but without malice either.

After speaking, he retreated to his original spot with an air of utter indifference, openly yawned, and resumed his arms-folded stance.

"It is quite an honor to meet you both." Victor gave another shallow, absent-minded bow.

"There is nothing honorable about it," Mother Nenneke said calmly. "They did not come to pay you respects. In fact, they came to demand that you leave as soon as possible. They came to drive you away. I consider that an insult. What do you think?"

"I do not think the knight needs to worry about that." Victor shrugged. "I have no intention of settling here. Even without anyone urging me, I will leave of my own accord in the near future. As for how long I remain, that depends on how long the esteemed High Priestess of Melitele, Lady Nenneke, permits me to stay."

Upon hearing Victor's words, Tylles shouted, "Get out at once! I, Knight Tylles, in the name of Prince Hereward, lord of Ellander, order you to leave his lands immediately—"

With a crack, an iron paperweight slammed into the knight's face, leaving a vivid red mark. Nenneke's voice was cold and commanding. "In this temple, I alone give orders. You mongrel, who gave you the courage to howl here?"

Tylles's face twisted with rage in an instant, but he still shut his mouth rather than argue with Nenneke. He merely glared at the apprentice witcher with eyes full of hatred. Seeing his expression, Victor decided he ought to start looking into Angoulême's suggestion. He did not like the feeling of someone longing to torture him.

"Please forgive me, esteemed Lady Nenneke," the knight said as he turned to the priestess. Every word seemed to be forced through clenched teeth. "But Prince Hereward cannot permit witchers to appear in his territory, whether they have private business or have come to hunt monsters."

"Very good. After all these years, you have finally learned to suppress your temper and tell lies that not even ghosts would believe. I am so pleased that the child I delivered has grown to this point. Your mother would be proud of you. Now listen carefully—this is not Ellander!" the priestess declared sternly. "This is the Temple of Melitele! And I, Nenneke, High Priestess of Melitele, permit him to stay as long as he wishes. There is no time limit."

At the priestess's declaration, Tylles instinctively gripped his sword hilt, but Commander Kramer stepped forward first and pressed down his hand.

"What are you doing? Have you forgotten the prince's orders?" The knight did not dare vent his anger at the priestess, so he turned and roared at the dwarf instead.

The dwarf said flatly, "You don't need to teach me. When I first swore loyalty to the prince, you were still drinking milk somewhere. I follow the prince's orders, and I won't get a single word wrong. The prince told me to accompany you and make sure you were not injured. So I'm stopping you from doing something that will get you hurt."

Then, without attempting to speak to the priestess, he turned to Victor. "Listen, witcher. Aren't you ashamed to hide beneath a woman's skirts and seek her protection? Why not do us all a favor and leave? Then we can end this pointless quarrel, and spare this respectable lady further trouble."

"Your proposal is quite tempting, Commander. One might even say intoxicating," Victor said sarcastically. "You are trying to provoke me—an apprentice witcher—with a knight's honor, and lure a young man into the trap you have set in the woods, beat him senseless, then expel him from the country—if I have understood correctly."

There was no pity in Kramer's steel-gray eyes. "No one will die over it..."

Kramer's response made Victor beam, sunlight seeming to shine across his utterly ordinary face. "Tsk, tsk, tsk! Very well, esteemed Commander Kramer. Let us put an end to this dispute. I do not want trouble, though it is not as if you truly care."

At that, Mother Nenneke frowned and was about to interject.

"No, Lady Nenneke, please say nothing. I have made my decision. Thank you for your promise to let me stay as long as I wish, but I cannot abuse your generosity." Victor bowed to the priestess.

"I will leave within thirty days! Thirty days—I will ask for no more." Then Victor named a period of time so absurdly long that it disgusted Tylles, drew a scoff from the High Priestess, and left the dwarf commander deep in thought.

Clearly, this young man did not care in the slightest for the so-called authority of Ellander that Tylles wore like a cloak.

"You all heard him." Before the two visitors could react, the priestess spoke. "You two 'gentlemen,' you both heard him. This apprentice witcher will remain here for another thirty days. That is his wish. And I, priestess of great Melitele, will be his host for another thirty days. That is my wish as well. You may tell Hereward himself. No, forget it. I will personally write to 'noble' Emeir and remind her to keep an eye on the vicious dogs her husband keeps. Perhaps they have begun to lose their minds and bite at random."

Then Mother Nenneke waved her hand as if swatting flies. "Now that everything has been said, leave. My temple does not welcome you."

Furious beyond measure, Tylles nevertheless bowed to the priestess before leaving, his armor clattering with every step.

Because there was nothing he could do in this temple. If he did anything, then before sunset, he and the soldiers he had brought would all be hanged by the enraged townsfolk from the locust trees lining the road outside the city gates.

By the goddess Melitele.