Chapter 52: King Rad Has a Lot to Consider
There were footsteps again soon.
It wasn't an assassin this time who appeared, but a caravan guard who was familiar.
He gasped when he spotted the dead bodies on the ground. Once he had verified Lynn and Istrad were safe, he exhaled in relief.
"My lord, Master Lynn, are you alright?"
Lynn nodded: "Where's Geralt?"
"Master Geralt is also helping us to drive away the attack of the enemy downstairs."
Istrad was much relieved when he understood that his subordinate had entered.
He began inquiring about the situation.
He came to know that the first floor of the inn had been in their firm control.
But they had no idea how many enemies were waiting in ambush outside.
Someone tried to make a rush outside but was killed by arrows shot from outside.
Istrad couldn't help but praise Lynn's previous choice.
The caravan guard sought Istrad's opinion: "My lord, what do we do now?"
"We'll stay at the inn until morning," Istrad hesitated and asked Lynn politely, "Master Lynn, is there something you'd like to say?"
Lynn nodded: "Wise judgment, sir, nothing to say."
Istrad was extremely polite to Lynn.
But in front of his men, Istrad returned to his old standard superior attitude.
The caravan guard bowed respectfully.
The guard captain sent a few men up to cover the corridor.
And he also left men on the stairs from the second floor to the first floor.
As for the rest of human beings, they all stayed at the first floor and used the chairs and tables in the first floor lobby to set up a temporary station.
Because Istrad's room was occupied by corpses.
Even if the corpses were cleaned away, the blood stains could not be swept out for a while.
So Lynn and Istrad just switched to Lynn's room.
They were neither of them in the mood to sleep.
Istrad sat back from the window to rest, while Lynn sat down in front of him and sat on the floor to meditate.
The room was not lit.
They stayed thus until sunrise.
When it was completely light, Istrad's men felt strong enough to walk towards the window slowly.
The outside of the inn was serene.
Later, the guard captain sent two people outside.
They reconnoitered around.
Later, the two returned unscathed.
Sure enough, there were no ambushers outside.
Lynn and the rest walked hand in hand out of the inn.
They headed for the stable to confirm.
They found out only later that the three people Istrad had left at the stable cut their throats.
But much to their surprise, there was nothing of a battle scene outside the stable.
Geralt smelled the wine bottles which were still left at the crime scene and noticed the smell of anesthetic powder within.
And then he passed over the wine bottle to Lynn.
Lynn also sensed the smell of anesthetic powder.
"I see, now everything makes sense."
Anesthetic powder was the medicine used in the Witcher world. Mixing this thing with the wine, it was not at all surprising that the three people were killed without a fight.
The freight on the carriages parked within the stable had no sign of being transferred.
But the horses were all dead.
This was quite clear.
The attackers' motive was not to kill for money, nor were they ordinary bandits.
Istrad's men went to examine the bodies of the attackers who perished last night.
They found that the attackers did not seem to be a group, but from two different groups.
The second-floor attackers who were slain wore all breastplates and chain mail. Although the coats of arms on the armor were obliterated, there was no doubt that these men were professional soldiers.
And the first-floor attackers wore much less organized. Some of them wore leather armor, and others wore cotton armor. The weapons they employed were even more diverse.
This confirmed that those people were a group of mercenaries.
The forensic evidence from the bodies also confirmed the notion that "the attackers came to kill."
On Istrad's orders, his men looted the entire inn, up to nearly three feet deep into the ground.
But they were unable to find the innkeeper and the waiter who had received them yesterday evening.
But in the cellar of the inn, one of the caravan guards found several naked corpses who had been soaked in wine barrels and had long been dead.
Even if they were not wearing anything that would be a piece of evidence, from the night attack, these corpses were most likely the real innkeeper and waiter of this inn.
Istrad and his soldiers had somber faces.
Evidently, they all knew the mastermind behind the attackers.
The brain and biggest recipient of the Poviss divide, the current King Rad of Poviss.
Of course, in actuality, folk knew that King Rad did not simply reign supreme over Poviss.
After the Poviss divide, King Idi, who had usurped the Tyssen dynasty, nominally held the throne of Kovir, yet de facto control of Kovir had long ago devolved to King Rad.
King Idi was happy to be a puppet, but King Rad had a lot to consider.
Istrad's guardsmen were talking about it.
"We can't stay here. We have to leave. Who knows when those attackers will come back."
"How do we leave? The horses are all dead. How can we carry so much merchandise without horses?"
Nobody said anything.
The goods in the carriages were all great weapons purchased in Mahakam. No one would say that they left them behind.
It was such an era when human life was insignificant, and humans assumed that human life was of less value compared to valuable items.
Stepping back a bit, even if they did not care about the goods and went on foot to Tretogor City, it was impossible.
During that period, individuals were pinned at the village of origin for their entire lives. In addition to lords killing runaway farmers, there was another reason why farmers lacked means of transportation.
Walking from one village or town to another on foot was far more challenging than it is thought to be.
Istrad remained silent.
He heard what his underlings spoke, but he did not have any notion to intervene.
He knew his underlings were right.
No one could promise that there were just so many attackers last night, and that there was only that tide of attackers.
If they stayed here, they might be attacked again.
But if they left , abandoning all the goods would not only cause him terrible losses, but also leave him and his people exhausted on the road.
If they were attacked again at that time.
Istrad could not help being anxious.
And at this juncture, the corner of his eye out of the blue picked up the fact that Lynn and Geralt were kneeling outside the stable, as if trying to investigate something.
A frivolous thought occurred to Istrad all of a sudden.
But he was not dismissing such a frivolous thought, but held it precariously in his grip as a straw in salvation.
He walked ahead in some expectation.
But before he could get to him, he was stopped by the young Witcher.
"Sir, do not go any further. Stand there and do not move," Lynn extended his hand and pointed to Istrad, "You will erase the traces here."
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