Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1419 1391. Entering the City
At the crossroads leading to Gos Velen, which happened to be the end of a forest of moderate size, there were nine wooden poles nailed to the side of the road with a large wheel placed flat on top.

The spokes and rims of the wheel were tied with ropes to something, and crows and vultures were standing on it, constantly lowering their heads to tear at it and raising their heads to swallow something.

Because of the height of the wooden pole, it was difficult for bystanders to see it with their own eyes, but judging from the smell, there was no doubt that it was a corpse and could not be anything else.

Ciri covered her nose and turned her head away in disgust on horseback.

"What a wonderful scenery." Yennefer leaned forward slightly on the back of another taller horse, sighed sarcastically, tilted his head and spat out saliva that seemed to be contaminated by the stench of corpse.

She completely forgot that she had scolded the girl just a few minutes ago for Ciri doing the same thing.

"The scenery is unique and the smell is pleasant. But why is it placed in the wilderness? Aren't these things usually placed near the city walls and gates, kind lords?"

Perhaps it was the thick black hair that was hanging down from the ground that revealed her identity as a sorceress near Goth Velen.

Or perhaps it was the beautiful thighs that, even in hunting breeches, still showed off their plump and slender outlines against the horse's flank.

In short, a traveling merchant who had just rested on the roadside and was putting the harness back on his packhorse responded enthusiastically.

"These are Scoia'tael, my lady. Elves."

"To deter the remaining Scoia'tael, these poles are erected outside the forest, not at the base of the city wall."

"Does this mean that these elves were still alive when they were placed here?" Yennefer asked with a frown.

"Few Scoia'tael are willing to be captured alive, ma'am," the peddler explained, "just like people like us would have the courage to give ourselves a blow when we encounter one."

"Some were captured alive, but the Scoia'tael would be taken to the gallows in the city, tortured and interrogated on the spot, and then the non-human races in the city would be quiet for a few days. But the vast majority of them were still dead, and their bodies were taken to places like this for disposal."

“Heh.” Yennefer smiled in an incomprehensible way and spoke in a voice just loud enough for Ciri to hear, “They don’t allow us to practice [Necromancer], saying it will destroy life and insult the dead, but what about now?”

"Ma'am, what did you say?" The peddler's distance meant he couldn't hear clearly.

"No, it's nothing. Let's go, Ciri, this stink is sticking to my clothes."

"I think so too!" The girl rode her horse quickly around the merchant's wagon, "Let the horse go faster!"

In fact, the girl is a little afraid of Yennefer's cold expression. After all, the girl already knew before that this beautiful sorceress who often taught her a lesson and made her rebellious also has a quarter of elven blood.

They drove their horses at a trot all the way, and soon there were more and more pedestrians on the road.

More traveling merchants and passers-by carrying heavy bundles of firewood on their backs were left behind.

Yennefer took her hands off the reins at this time, and they slowed down. Ciri, who was standing next to them, held the reins of both horses to control the direction.

And in front of Yennefer, above the neck of her horse, a small mirror was floating in the air, maintaining a relatively static position.

The little girl's eyes were filled with curiosity and awe, and she would glance sideways from time to time.

Leaving a group of rough witchers and letting a sorceress take over her magical education did allow Ciri to learn things that she could not learn anywhere else.

She is beginning to understand the power of magic, a power that is different from the force of a warrior, and is learning to respect this power.

Yennefer's seemingly messy but extremely charming curly hair requires a lot of time and effort to take care of.

"Ha, I see! You want to dress up before going into town?"

The little girl's excitement was only met with a perfunctory "hmm" from the sorceress who was concentrating on putting on makeup in front of the mirror.

"I want to dress up, too! Do my hair, put on some makeup and stuff!"

"No."

"Why?!"

"We are traveling in disguise, and the journey is not yet complete."

“Disguise?” Ciri muttered unconvincedly, “You’re in disguise, and you’re dressing yourself up like this? You’re just dressing yourself up?”

"The city we are going to is called Gos Velen." Yennefer finally took her eyes away from the mirror and looked at Ciri with a smile, "There, I don't need to disguise myself, or rather, I should be the opposite. But you, you can't leave any impression on others."

"But anyone watching you will definitely see me! We are so close!"

"Ha. I'm afraid." Yennefer once again showed that unique smile, which was mysterious and mixed with some sarcasm.

She squinted her eyes and looked the girl up and down. "By then, no one will notice a bud that hasn't even bloomed yet."

As she spoke, she took out a glass bottle from the bag on her horse's back. After opening it, the scent of cloves and gooseberries wafted out. She reached in and seemed to touch something, then rubbed it on the corners of her eyes and neck.

On the drawbridge in front of the city gate, a long line of riders and animal carriages formed, and Ciri was about to complain about the long queue that would surely be there.

But Yennefer had no intention of queuing up obediently.

She sat proudly on the horse's back, her back straight, and squeezed forward, her eyes only glancing over the tops of people's heads, not even willing to move down a few inches to look at their faces.

But the people at the city gate now made way and bowed their heads in greeting.

The guards in mail and cotton armor noticed her and immediately let her pass, using the shafts of their spears to knock at those who were slow to give way.

"This way, noble lady, this way!" a guard shouted. He looked at Yennefer with a red face. "This way. Get out of the way! You bunch of country bumpkins!"

The captain of the guard came out to check the situation, his face gloomy and angry, but when he saw Yennefer, his face immediately turned red, his mouth opened, and then he bowed deeply.

"Dear Madam!" He was unable to control his mouth and just stared at the sorceress. "What can I do for you? Lead the way? Escort? Or find someone?"

"Don't bother," Yennefer said calmly, "I just want to stay at Thaned Island for a few days."

"Of course, ma'am." The guard muttered to himself, stumbling from foot to foot, but his eyes could not be taken away from Yennefer.

Ciri tried to straighten her chest and raise her head, but found that no one was even looking at her.

They quickly passed the long line of people and entered the city wall.

Ciri asked somewhat unwillingly: "Did you cast a spell on them?"

"No." Yennefer turned away and looked at the girl and chuckled, "I cast a spell on myself."

Ciri exclaimed, almost uncontrollably.

There was a violet glow in Yennefer's eyes, and her face was bright and beautiful, so beautiful that it was dazzling. It was a kind of beauty that was full of temptation, dangerous and unnatural.

"Control it, Ciri. Stop letting the horse step into the puddles on the side of the road."

The girl turned her head with a blush on her face: "I just want to rinse the horse's hooves clean."

"It has been a month since we had a heavy rain here. There is only swill and horse urine in the pit, but no rain water."

".Ahh!" Ciri suddenly shouted desperately, "Tell me, why do you use magic cream? Appearance is just this to you."

"This is Gos Velen," Yennefer repeated.

"This city is prosperous thanks to the wizards, and you can see our status here. But I don't want to introduce myself or prove my identity. I would rather let them recognize me at a glance."

"But why are we here?" the girl interrupted.

"I've told you this before."

"That's not a direct answer! I see, you want to send me to some academy or orphanage, right? I won't go!"

"Shut up, turn left, someone is watching."

"They're looking at you! Not me! I'm not going to any academy! You promised to always be with me, and now you're planning on abandoning me? I don't want to be alone!"

"I never thought of abandoning you!" Yennefer turned her head suddenly and looked at the girl very seriously.

Even so serious that his solemn look diluted the teasing and charm brought by the magic.

Ciri failed to understand the complex and profound emotions in that look, she just thought it was stern, and then turned her head away with some fear and unwillingness.

Yennefer took a deep breath. "Sniff~ But you need professional and systematic magic education now, which only Aretuza can give you. I am an excellent graduate, but I am only one person."

"And you won't be alone in the academy. There are many apprentices of your age there. You will have many friends."

"I don't want friends! I just want to be with you. Besides, I thought we..."

"What do you think?" Yennefer turned to look at her.

"I thought we were going to find Geralt," Ciri raised her head provocatively, "I know exactly what you've been thinking about all the way, and why you sigh every night."

“That’s enough!” Yennefer hissed, her angry eyes almost scaring Ciri’s unconvinced face into her horse’s mane. “Don’t go too far. Do I need to remind you? You are immature and stupid now, and you are not yet at the stage where you can disobey me!”

(End of this chapter)