A week later, the ship carrying the group reached the end of the Pontar River-Novigrad, the most important and prosperous city in the North.
Novigrad truly lived up to its reputation as the pearl of the North. Flocks of seagulls perched atop countless masts of all sizes, while dense crowds bustled through the harbor.
After the group disembarked in Novigrad, Istredd sold off half the high-quality weapons from the Mahakam Mountains that were loaded on the wagons, earning a considerable sum in Novigrad crowns.
During the caravan's few days in Novigrad, Lynn and Geralt also took the opportunity to stock up on large quantities of alchemical ingredients.
As the city of the world's desire, Novigrad had merchants from all across the North dealing in all manner of goods.
Among them were no shortage of sellers of alchemical ingredients.
Their prices, however, offered rather less value for money than other goods.
Even so, what needed buying still had to be bought.
Their experience in the abandoned mine was the most vivid proof of that.
Without enough potions and alchemical bombs, the Red Miasmal would never have been so easy to defeat.
If they happened to encounter another troublesome monster on the journey ahead, they might not have another chance to replenish their ingredients for blade oils, potions, and alchemical bombs in time.
Besides, money was earned to be spent.
Only by spending it and turning it into actual fighting strength could they truly maximize its benefits.
And so, Lynn and Geralt went on a shopping spree in Novigrad.
They passed up none of the ingredients needed for commonly used blade oils, potions, and alchemical bombs.
Next, the two visited a smithy in the city to have their worn silver swords repaired.
Gwyhyr was a steel sword, perfectly good for cutting people down. But steel swords did little against those monsters from the Conjunction of the Spheres; only silver swords were truly effective.
When the sun set and an orange glow coated Novigrad's streets and alleys, Lynn returned to the tavern and counted their remaining funds. Only then did he discover that their daytime outing alone had cost them nearly fifty orens.
Against their payment of four thousand orens, those fifty orens might not seem like much, but most witchers could hardly earn a four-figure payment for completing a monster contract.
Their pay was usually in the three figures, and generally bargained down very, very low.
They had Grand Elder Brovar's generosity to thank for this.
Had they dealt with a miser instead, they might not have earned anything and even ended up paying a considerable amount out of their own pockets.
Now Lynn understood why, after the Order of Witchers split apart, the various schools had gradually declined, and no witcher capable of uniting all the schools had ever emerged again.
Witchers were simply too poor.
They earned little and spent much, with a severe imbalance between effort and reward.
The few scraps they managed to earn with such difficulty immediately flowed away like water.
If that went on long enough, even a witcher with lofty ambitions would one day have all his fighting spirit and ideals worn away.
Then he would lose himself in brothels, living in a drunken haze.
Until one day he was killed by a monster on a contract, or died on the pitchfork of some unruly peasant unwilling to pay.
A few days later, the group left Novigrad and continued north by ship.
They crossed Praxaeda Bay and disembarked at the mouth of the Braa River.
When they stepped ashore, they were already within the Principality of Talgar.
The Principality of Talgar lay at the northernmost reaches of the known world, at the foot of the Dragon Mountains.
No one had ever crossed the Dragon Mountains and returned alive.
Thus, the Dragon Mountains and the Blue Mountains were also known as the Edge of the World.
The Principality of Talgar had once been part of the Kingdom of Kovir and Poviss.
But after the secession of Poviss, the Principality of Talgar had also broken away from Kovir along with other small states.
It was now an independent country.
The ruler of this country was Lady Benigna.
Intriguingly, however, she was also a child of calamity who bore the Curse of the Black Sun.
The Curse of the Black Sun was also called the Curse of the Dark Sun, or the Black Sun's Curse.
The black sun referred to a solar eclipse.
This was a prophecy made by the sorcerer Etibald.
He based his prophecy on inscriptions in the great Wozgor mausoleums and on Dauk monoliths, also drawing upon the traditions and legends of the werebbubbs.
According to his interpretation, a solar eclipse in the near future would herald the resurrection of the witch Lilith.
Lilith was still worshipped in the East under the name Niya. Her resurrection would come through "sixty maidens wearing golden crowns filling the river valleys with blood."
For that very reason, in the years just after this prophecy was put forward, dozens of girls from wealthy and even noble families suffered terrible misfortune.
Sorcerers hunted down these "children of calamity" everywhere, killing and dissecting them once they were caught.
Some were even subjected directly to vivisection.
After staining their hands with the blood of who knew how many innocent girls, they had to admit that it was difficult to distinguish children of calamity from ordinary girls.
So they decided to lock these girls in towers, cut off from the world.
That plan, however, did not go smoothly.
For a time, "rescuing beautiful maidens from towers" became extremely fashionable among royalty and nobles.
Later still, as time passed, these girls either died tragic deaths or escaped from their towers.
Others were simply abandoned by the sorcerers once they grew up, while the sorcerers sought other means of capturing new girls.
After growing up, some of the girls who escaped treated others with great cruelty because of their tragic experiences of persecution.
The reason Geralt was called the "Butcher of Blaviken."
Was precisely that he had once slaughtered a gang in a town called Blaviken.
And that gang's leader, Renfri the Shrike, was a child of calamity who bore the Curse of the Black Sun.
Of course, not everyone believed the prophecy of the Curse of the Black Sun.
Those who did not believe the prophecy called the Curse of the Black Sun "Mad Etibald's Mania."
Lady Benigna had also once been imprisoned in a magical tower because of the Curse of the Black Sun.
Later, however, she successfully escaped with help from others.
During the secession of Poviss, the Principality of Talgar was also caught up in the upheaval and plunged into turmoil.
At that time, Lady Benigna defeated the other contenders and seized power in Talgar.
But perhaps because of all the torment she had endured during her imprisonment, Lady Benigna imposed harsh rule over Talgar after taking power.
Rumor had it that the most common landmark in Talgar was the gallows.
The night was gloomy.
Thick clouds covered the sky.
It was pitch-black, without a trace of light.
On the main road to Talgar City, a caravan was moving slowly along.
Before long, the scout sent ahead to survey the road rode back.
After hearing his report, Istredd rode over to the witchers.
"Master Lynn, Master Geralt, the men we sent to scout found an inn up ahead. We can spend the night there."
Lynn nodded.
Having somewhere to stay was always better than camping in the wilderness.
Staying at an inn meant not only steaming-hot food, but also a comfortable hot bath.
Not just Lynn and Geralt, but everyone else in the caravan felt a surge of excitement as well.
And so everyone in the caravan rallied their spirits. After traveling for a while longer, the lamplit inn came into view.