I'm not a Witcher anymore.

The guard captain's expression tightened: "Do you know what that is?"

"I know." Sieg rubbed the hilt of the sword with his thumb. "And there won't be just one."

"There are no graveyards around here." The dwarf frowned. "There haven't been any battles in the mountains, so how did a nest of these things suddenly appear?"

"The old mine tunnels are deep, cold, and dark enough." Zig looked at the sealed entrance. "If someone died in there before, and the body wasn't cleaned up properly, or if wild animals dragged the remains in, they could build their nests there."

Dandelion finally couldn't help but speak up:

"Trust him. Sieg is someone who was trained in Kaer Morhen. Although he doesn't seem to have Geralt's cat-like eyes, he certainly knows these things."

This time, Zoltan didn't argue with Dandelion. Instead, he looked at the captain of the guard and spoke in a much more serious tone.

"He saved my life and Dandelion's life."

This statement is more effective than any explanation.

The guard captain remained silent for a moment.

"If you're willing to go in and take a look, Mahakan won't treat you badly."

Zieg nodded.

"Sure, but I need to prepare a few things first."

"What is it?"

"Ogre oil," he said, "and North Wind bombs."

The guard captain was taken aback.

Zoltan, however, realized what was happening and turned to look up at the mountain path.

"There's a metalworking workshop in the carbon mountain; you should be able to find the materials you need there."

The captain of the guard hesitated for a moment.

"The rules set by the Grand Elder cannot be violated, but this is related to Mahakam's interests. I can send someone in with one person. They can come back immediately after buying the goods."

Zoltan turned to look at Dandelion.

Sieg also looked at Dandelion.

Sakia didn't speak, but her gaze also fell on him.

Dandelion's smile froze.

"Me?" Dandelion pointed to himself. "Why me?"

Zoltan shrugged: "Because you look like the best bargainer."

Dandelion glanced at Sieg, then at Saqia and Zoltan, and finally looked down at himself.

"I couldn't refute it."

Zieg borrowed a charcoal pencil and parchment, wrote down some information on them, and handed them to him.

"Bear fat, moon rose petals, saltpeter, agar, pearl powder, allspice, clear bottles, glass tubes. Don't forget any of them. Also—borrow a set of alchemy equipment from the boss, saying you'll return it after you're done using it."

Dandelion took the list, read it aloud in a low voice, and his expression grew increasingly strange.

"This doesn't sound like witch hunting; it sounds more like making a very expensive soup."

"Don't let your imagination run wild before you buy it," Zieg said.

The captain of the guard summoned a dwarf soldier and asked him to take Dandelion to the trading area in the mountains.

Before leaving, Dandelion muttered:

"Well, at least buying things is safer than falling into that black hole."

Dandelion soon realized that he had spoken too soon.

The dwarf soldiers led him through the mountain path behind the checkpoint, and then through two iron gates, before finally entering the outer district of Carbon Mountain.

The dwarven capital was not, as Dandelion had imagined, merely a cluster of smoky, fiery mines.

A stone bridge spans the bottomless mine shaft, thick iron chains hang from the rock walls, gears and pulleys turn slowly overhead, and ore carts make a dull thud as they travel along the rails.

Deeper inside, the furnace spewed red light, and the sound of hammers striking metal echoed back and forth within the mountain, as if the entire mountain were breathing.

Dandelion looked up at it for a long time.

"I must say, your city is very suitable for being written into poetry."

The dwarf who was leading the way glanced at him.

"Don't look too closely, or you'll fall."

"I simply appreciate architectural art."

"After you fall, you will become part of the building."

Dandelion shut his mouth.

The alchemy workshop was located next to the stone street, with several strings of dried herbs hanging at the entrance.

The dwarf shopkeeper, with a gray beard, was sitting behind the counter grinding a piece of blue-gray ore.

He didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard someone enter.

"What do you want?"

Dandelion straightened his collar and handed over the slip of paper that Zieg had written.

"Bear fat, rose petals, saltpeter, agar, pearl powder, allspice, clear bottle, glass tube. The quantities are all listed above; not a single one can be missing."

The dwarf boss glanced at the list and finally looked up.

"Buying so much?"

"To clear that old mine tunnel beneath Gray Ridge," the dwarf soldier added, "a permit granted by Captain Black."

The boss's thick, short eyebrows tucked together, and a hint of caution finally appeared in his cloudy eyes.

He stood up from behind the counter and turned to rummage through the medicine jars and wooden boxes on the shelf.

Dandelion seized the opportunity to flash what he considered a charming smile.

"Sir, the person standing before you is no ordinary customer. I am Dandelion, and my name is known throughout the North. If this transaction goes smoothly, I can certainly leave a respectable line for your shop in a future poem."

The dwarf shopkeeper took a bag of saltpeter from the shelf and said without turning his head:

"Enough with the nonsense, poetry can't buy gunpowder."

Dandelion's smile froze for a moment.

The dwarf soldier coughed lightly, as if trying to suppress a laugh.

"Could you at least make it a little cheaper?" Dandelion quickly recovered. "This is for your own mine in Mahakam. Strictly speaking, I'm running errands for you."

"I'll give you a 50% discount."

The shopkeeper placed the items one by one on the counter:

Six parts bear fat, twenty-four parts moon rose petals, nine parts saltpeter, nine parts succinate, nine parts pearl powder, eighteen parts allspice, six transparent bottles and nine glass tubes.

"There's one more thing. We need to borrow a set of alchemy equipment, and return it to you in its original condition after use."

The dwarf shopkeeper glanced at him, dragged a leather-clad wooden box out from the inner room, and placed it on the counter.

"It's not considered your deposit, but you'll have to pay for the damage."

Dandelion silently took out his money pouch.

When Dandelion returned to the outpost with the dwarf, it was much darker than when he left.

Zig was standing near the entrance to the mine tunnel, inspecting the mine gate with Zoltan and Sakia.

Dandelion placed the backpack in front of Zieg and let out a long sigh.

Zig crouched down and opened the backpack to check it over.

Bear fat was stored in a wax-sealed earthenware jar, moon rose petals were carefully wrapped in oiled paper, pearl powder was kept in a tightly tied cloth bag, and saltpeter, which is susceptible to moisture, was tightly packed in a tanned leather bag. Jue Shui was in two narrow-necked glass bottles with corks, and allspice was loosely packed in a tightly woven small net bag, mixed with a faint spicy aroma.

Nothing is missing.

He looked up at Dandelion.

"Good purchase."

Dandelion's expression immediately improved.

"Finally, someone has acknowledged my contribution."