The Axii Sign allowed witchers to influence other people's minds, charming and controlling them. Those affected would appear visibly dazed and, after the Signs ended, forget what had happened while they were under its control.
Lynn asked, "Is anyone here on Carbon Mountain dissatisfied with Great Elder Brovar?"
The charmed dwarven soldier answered obediently, "Y-yes."
"Who?"
"Lots of people."
"Why are they dissatisfied?"
"Because that old bastard Brovar doesn't just plug his own ears and cover his own eyes-he makes everyone else do the same. He wants everyone to pretend, just like him, that they can't see the nonhumans outside the Mahakam Mountains being slaughtered by humans."
Lynn and Geralt exchanged a glance.
Then Lynn continued questioning him. "Don't you know that it was precisely Great Elder Brovar's excellent political maneuvering that kept Mahakam from ending up like Dol Blathanna or the other elven city-states?"
"Although Mahakam nominally answers to Temeria now, it still retains a high degree of autonomy in practice."
"There are no human garrisons in the mountains, and Temerians still have to pay in gold and silver when they come to buy things. Isn't that enough?"
The dwarven soldier under the Signs' influence said flatly,
"Of course it's not enough. This continent belonged to us nonhumans in the first place. We should drive the humans back into the sea."
"That slogan sounds awfully familiar. Why do I feel like I've heard it somewhere?" Lynn looked around, then continued, "But how come I heard that before humans landed here, it was the elves who seized your lands outside the mountains, and the elves who drove you into the Mahakam Mountains with volleys of arrows?"
"When humans came to this continent, they only took the elves' land. They didn't fight the dwarves. There shouldn't be any blood feud between your two races, should there?"
Neither dwarven soldier responded.
Not because the Signs had worn off, but because even they did not know how to answer.
Clearly, they too had been swept along by others' rhetoric.
So Lynn switched to another question.
"Then who is this 'lord' you mentioned?"
"Dunno. My cousin told me all this. He said this was all I needed to know, and knowing too much detail wouldn't do me any good."
"What's your cousin's name, where does he live, and what does he do?"
Once the dwarven soldier had answered Lynn's questions one by one, Lynn and Geralt released their control over them.
"You and your companion just spaced out. Now, wake up."
Lynn snapped his fingers in front of the two dwarven soldiers.
Their eyes immediately cleared.
"Sorry, Master Witcher, I think I spaced out just now. What were you saying?"
Lynn gave him a brilliant smile, as though nothing really had happened.
"My companion and I are hungry and wanted to find something to eat at the dining hall. Do you know which way it is?"
"Oh, the dining hall. It's over there."
One of the dwarven soldiers pointed Lynn in the right direction.
After thanking them, Lynn and Geralt left.
After watching the two witchers leave, he could not help saying in puzzlement,
"Did I just space out? Have I been too tired lately?"
"Stop standing around. Come on. If they catch us away from the squad too long, we'll get the lash," his companion urged.
"Lynn, I'm starting to suspect you're the hero of some knightly tale."
Once they had walked a long way and made sure no one else was nearby, Geralt spread his hands and said, "Otherwise, why does trouble turn up wherever we go?"
Lynn said helplessly, "Geralt, don't joke about me. That's not funny."
Lynn had no recollection of this conspiracy in Mahakam.
Of course, that was also because his knowledge of this world came mainly from Geralt's perspective.
Still, although Geralt was the protagonist of the "story," that did not mean the world revolved around him.
In lands beyond those he set foot in, the world would naturally keep turning.
However, judging by Lynn's recollection that Great Elder Brovar had always remained in power in Mahakam, Brovar had probably resolved the conspiracy there in the end.
Seeing Lynn deep in thought, Geralt asked,
"What are you thinking about, Lynn?"
"I'm thinking that perhaps we don't need to find that dwarven soldier's cousin. We could simply wait until tomorrow, request an audience with Brovar, and tell the Great Elder about this."
Lynn glanced at Geralt and immediately added something before he could speak.
"I know witchers are supposed to remain neutral. That's why I wasn't planning to get involved in the investigation myself."
"Honestly, Geralt, sometimes these stale old rules ought to be swept into a museum along with the history they belong to."
"You saw it yourself. Great Elder Brovar treats us pretty well, and he's quite polite. In that regard, he's far better than certain barely human kings of the North."
"But if another, more traditional Great Elder took over, who knows? He might not even let us leave Mahakam."
"So I think that even if we don't get involved, we should at least give Great Elder Brovar a warning."
In truth, Lynn had another reason he had not voiced.
If Istredd could do business with Mahakam, why couldn't he?
When he needed it in the future, he could put this favor to use.
After all, Lynn had no intention of forever being a witcher who traded "one drowner head for one and a half crowns."
He had grander dreams.
He also had a plan! A big plan!
Geralt was not a rigid man.
His constant reluctance to get involved in such affairs was not because he was cowardly or meekly accepted whatever came his way.
It was because that was how he had been taught since childhood.
That was why he had grown accustomed to following that habitual way of thinking.
But when Lynn offered a better, more reasonable suggestion, Geralt did not lecture him. Instead, after carefully weighing the pros and cons, he agreed with Lynn.
Afterward, the two went to the dining hall, ate and drank their fill, then returned to their guest rooms to sleep.
Lynn was awakened by the sounds of fighting.
The instant he woke, his first reaction was to reach for the steel sword beside his bed.
Once he could make out the situation in the room, his taut muscles relaxed.
No one had broken in.
He put down the steel sword, got out of bed, walked to the window, and drew back the curtains.
Just a few meters away, he saw two burly, bare-chested dwarves swinging weapons as they fought each other.
A circle of dwarves stood around them, cheering and applauding.
That was where the noise was coming from.
The corner of Lynn's mouth twitched.
Fuck!
What the hell were these dwarves thinking?
They actually built the training ground right next to the guest rooms.
No wonder it was so noisy this early in the morning.
Now that the noise had woken him, Lynn no longer felt sleepy.
He simply got dressed and left his guest room.
After leaving his room, he made his way to the training ground.
"What's going on here?" he asked a dwarf at random.
The dwarf folded his arms across his chest and glanced at Lynn. "Did we wake you, Master Witcher?"
Lynn gave him a friendly smile.
"No, I love being woken up by noise. Otherwise, I might not get up until noon..."
"What do you think? I rode all day yesterday, either uphill or downhill, and didn't make it to bed until nearly midnight. Now I've been woken up again after barely a few hours' sleep."