Geralt had watched from the sidelines the entire time. Only when he saw Thor fall to the ground like a block of wood did he finally speak.
"You didn't kill him, did you?"
"Of course not. I deliberately held back." Lynn shrugged. "But whatever else he might be, he's still Brovar's son. Leaving him for the great elder to deal with would be best."
As Lynn spoke, he took out a rope and bound Thor's hands and feet behind his back.
"I don't know why he wanted to oppose his old man, but now he can't do anything. He'll just have to stay here and wait for us to return."
Geralt nodded as well, approving of Lynn's approach.
"The abandoned shaft that makes the miners sick is farther down. Something must be binding that evil spirit, keeping it from straying too far from the abandoned shaft. Otherwise, the barricades and planks sealing the entrance wouldn't be able to stop it."
Then he turned and saw that Lynn had finished tying Thor up.
But this method of binding was not only very complicated, it also had a certain... how should he put it? Geralt actually found a rather distinctive beauty in it.
A bold thought even surfaced in Geralt's mind:
I want to try it on Yennefer.
Provided Yennefer wouldn't beat him to death for it.
Seeing the curiosity and desire in Geralt's eyes, Lynn explained, "This is called tortoise-shell bondage. Back in the world I come from, a bunch of people living the good little life like to play this way."
The east?
Geralt couldn't recall any country in the Northern Kingdoms whose people played like this.
But that wasn't important, and he had no intention of looking into it.
With that little incident settled, the two continued onward, walking through the pitch-black tunnel for nearly another hour.
The deeper they went, the fewer signs of excavation they saw.
At last...
A somewhat open cavern appeared ahead.
The cavern looked as though it had served as a camp where the miners rested.
Everything in the camp was badly rotted.
Yet at the center of the camp, a violet glow flickered eerily.
Lynn approached for a closer look and discovered that the glow was actually a miniature magical barrier.
A magic stone continuously supplied the magical barrier with energy.
It protected several torn-out sheets of parchment manuscript from the ravages of time.
"You read first. I'll keep watch."
Geralt drew the silver sword from his back, gave it a flourish, and stood guard beside Lynn.
Lynn nodded and retrieved the manuscript from the magical barrier. He needed no torch; with the ability to see in darkness granted by the Cat Potion, he began reading straightaway.
"My name is Casti. I am the leader of the Order of Benevolent Apothecaries."
"I left these manuscripts behind in the hope that they might serve as a warning to those who come after me."
"If those who discover these manuscripts are my fellow practitioners, please be sure to read every page carefully. I hope my manuscripts can help you defeat the evil spirit deep within the mine."
"If not, flee at once. Leave this place. Run as fast as you can."
"November 6, 897. My order members and I received a request from Great Elder Otto and came to Mahakam. Our goal was to eradicate the great plague ravaging the Mahakam mountains."
"November 10, 897. Through my investigations, I discovered that the source of the great plague was not a disease, but something in a mine that produced adamantine ore. It might be a Plague Wraith or some other similar entity. Only by dealing with it can we eradicate Mahakam's great plague."
"The hand holding my pen is trembling. Is this fear? Indeed, after witnessing firsthand the dreadful condition of the dwarves infected with the plague, it would be impossible to say I am not afraid."
"Or, more accurately, perhaps what I fear more than dying is dying in such a wretched state."
"But even Elma, the youngest among us, has not backed down. How could I, as their leader, lose my nerve?"
"The purpose of the Order of Benevolent Apothecaries is to 'save one more life whenever possible.' How could we stop moving forward?"
"November 12, 897. Be extremely wary of the things in the mine. I do not know what they are, but one thing is certain: they are anything but friendly to the living."
"Aberrations-that is what I am calling them for now."
"After we killed one, my order members and I examined the corpse."
"We could tell that this thing had been a dwarf who worked in this mine, but now something horrifying had changed him."
"Before we killed him, most of his internal organs had already suffered severe damage, and he also showed symptoms of hemorrhagic fever."
"Then how had he survived until now?"
"November 14, 897. My order members and I have all been infected."
"By rights, this should have been impossible, because sorceresses do not fall ill."
"But the problem is that we have all developed symptoms resembling hemorrhagic fever, exactly like the Aberration we killed."
"We must leave."
"November 15, 897. I underestimated Great Elder Otto's fear of the great plague, and overestimated my importance to him."
"After my order members and I entered the mine, Great Elder Otto ordered the entrance sealed shut. No matter what I say, they refuse to open the door."
"-because doing so would mean opening the door, and according to those damned, stupid dwarf guards, who are fouler and more obstinate than the foulest stone in a privy, they cannot be certain whether opening it would reveal a sorceress or an evil female spirit using a sorceress's voice to lure them into opening the door."
"Pleas, intimidation, threats... I have tried everything, but they simply refuse to open the door."
"The source of the great plague, the Red Miasmal, is possessing my order members and me, just like those infected dwarf miners."
"If the Red Miasmal possessing me had not sealed my sorcery circuits, I could blast open the door sealing the mine entrance with a mere twitch of my fingers."
"With my sorcery circuits sealed, I cannot manifest even a tiny flame."
"Wait. How do I know the name Red Miasmal?"
"November, 897. What day is it? Or is it December already? I cannot remember."
"Elma, the youngest of my order members, killed herself because she could no longer bear it."
"Then came Andy and Randy. Their symptoms grew more and more like those of the people we encountered when we first entered the mine."
"To avoid hurting me, they rushed into the deepest part of the mine while they still had their reason, and never returned."
"Now I am the only one left. Only I remain trapped in darkness."
"I feel as though all the strength has been drained from my body, and as though I am on fire."
"I am beginning to think I will never get out."
"897 (?). Whoever you are, if you have read this far, you must remember: do not stay in the mine for more than one day, or you too will end up like m..."
"Wait, who am I again?"