Chapter 40: Culprit

Roy and Vivien were furiously flipping through the records in Miss Cardell’s office. The owner of the office was standing behind them, looking at them coldly with her arms crossed. She was trying to find out what her student and assistant were doing after suddenly requesting a check on the records.

“1256, 1257, 1258, 1259, 1260.” They found five empty papers from the stacks of registration forms. Each corresponded to a year from 1256 to 1260.

“So there are five missing children. One for every year,” Roy whispered to Vivien. “This is a pattern — not a coincidence.”

“What did you two find out? Shouldn’t you be explaining this to me?”

“Miss Cardell, you’ve been keeping tabs on the entry of students. Have you seen these empty records then?”

Miss Cardell took the papers. When she checked through them, a frown creased her forehead. “These papers are custom-made. One piece for every student. They aren’t cheap, and I don’t waste money. But I might have put them in by mistake.”

“They weren’t empty in the first place,” Roy explained. “A student’s record was on it, but they were erased along with everything that proved the student’s existence. To be exact, the culprit took it away.”

“You’re starting to sound like Vivien. We’re in Aldersberg, one of the biggest cities in the land. Nobody would dare kidnap my students under my nose. Not even the Sparrow Triad,” Cardell argued. “Unless you can produce more evidence, trying to pull a prank will warrant you an expulsion, Roy.”

“If you want proof, you’ll have to wait.” He was the only one who’d seen the disappearance of the pentagram on his sleeve, and he couldn’t prove it to anyone else, but he had a plan. “Vivien, what’s the date of ‘his’ last appearance in your journal?”

“I’ve read through it hundreds of times over the years. I can even recite them word by word,” Vivien said. “It was the fourth of October, 1258. That night, Bob slapped me in a drunken rage, and I came to the school, furious and fearful. ‘He’ came with me too. You even agreed that ‘his’ disappearance was between the fourth of October and Saovine.”

It was the seventh of October 1260 that day. The pentagram on his sleeve had almost disappeared, and the student that drew it must’ve disappeared between those dates. Since Vivien’s brother’s disappearance and the student’s disappearance were around the same time, it couldn’t have been a coincidence.

Roy thought quickly. The incidents happening around October wasn’t much of a lead, but then he considered the fact that Saovine was a month after that. The world of witchers ran the same course every living being would — it was a circle of life and death. There were eight magical dates, corresponding to the important dates in the world. They were: Saovine, Midinvaerne, Imbaelk, Birke, Belleteyn, Midaete, Lammas, and Velen.

The days closer to those dates were when magic would be at its strongest, making magical and supernatural phenomenons normal occurrences. If the culprit had chosen to make its move during those dates, it must’ve been a creature sensitive to magic.

Roy made a note. ‘The culprit has kidnapped one child every year since 1256, and the time frame is around Saovine. It could be a creature sensitive to mana. Possibly a monster or a human with magical talents.’

The second note went, ‘The culprit will slowly erase most traces of its victims, including the memories of people around them, the words written by the victim, the portraits of the victims, as well as descriptions relating to the victim.’

“Vivien, I recall you writing in your journal that you and your family had unconsciously overlooked ‘him.’”

“I think so,” Vivien answered. “Since I want to be fair, I divided most of my attention equally to every student, so I ended up neglecting him.” Vivien looked down. “Bob’s a drunkard, so he doesn’t have time for him. He’s always out for liquor. Mother’s not in her right mind, so communication is out most of the time.”

“So ‘he’ is someone overlooked by everyone.” Five victims. Even if the people around them have had their memories erased and the proof of their existence removed, none of their family members noticed something was wrong? None of them investigated? Roy wrote his conclusion. ‘The culprit’s target might be neglected children. That includes orphans. Maybe it’s because of the culprit’s selection method, or maybe it’s because the culprit’s cunning. Compared to popular people, if the victims are those who are neglected, then it wouldn’t change the world too much. And it’s harder to find out too, since it’s more secretive.’

***

When Roy revealed his conclusions to the ladies, Vivien was surprised. She noticed everything Roy had written down, and she was clear about it, though she hadn’t concluded so concisely.

Cardell’s nonchalance was finally broken, but she was still skeptical. “Roy, the conclusions are scary, but still, you have no evidence to support them. Maybe your conclusions are wrong. Maybe there are no missing people.”

“Evidence, huh? The best evidence is finding the culprit.” Roy heaved a sigh. “Miss Cardell, please don’t doubt me for now. Give me your trust. The culprit takes one child from the school every year when it’s near Saovine.” Roy asked, “Don’t you think something’s off?”

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“The culprit is in the school.” Vivien paled. “It comes out when it’s near Saovine to take a child away. Are you trying to say that?”

“Impossible.” Cardell shook her head. “I know everyone here well, including the kitchen maids. On Lebioda’s name, I swear that nobody’s the culprit.”

“I never said that the culprit was human.” Roy had cast Observe on everyone in the school, including the support staff. All of them were human, and none had the power to erase memories. “It’s most possibly a monster in the school.”

“You have an idea what it is?”

“Can’t say for sure. Give me a minute.” Roy didn’t have any monster that fit the bill in mind, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find out about it. He went out and circled the corridor for a while before taking out the notebook Letho left him, and then he went back into the room. The notebook had records about herbs, potions, and monsters, but since he was learning common speech, Roy didn’t have time to read it.

“What is this?”

Vivien and Cardell gave him curious looks.

“A notebook left for me by a witcher. It contains information on various monsters. Maybe we can find the monster we’re looking for here.”

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Then they looked through the information on the monsters, and the more Roy read, the more shocked he was. He didn’t know most of the monsters written in the notebook. So this world is more complex than I thought. After going through a dozen monsters, they stumbled upon an entry on a certain page.

It said, “It’s the end of autumn, the best season to hunt bears. Serrit and I stayed the night in a mountain village. The gales blew at night, and I could feel my bladder ready to burst. When I went to take a piss in the yard, my necklace started shaking. It was a soft vibration, and there wasn’t much of a magical trace, but I knew a new prey was calling to me. Hunting monsters was more interesting than bears, especially since I knew nothing about it. That piss was a hint fate gave me.

“I found a rubber tree around five hundred years old, and it had some complex signs on it. The mana came from that tree. I tried to use Aard, Igni, and even nekker feces on it, but nothing worked — until I used salt. It reacted to salt. The tree’s roots opened its mouth in pain, revealing a deep, dark, tree hole for me. I woke Serrit up and went into the hole to fight that bastard. Disciple of the Viper School, and yes, that’s you. Do not skip what I am about to tell you. I named the monster in the hole separator/childhunter/ghost in the tree. It’s a slender, humanoid creature with a face that has a vague form, tough skin made out of something like wood, and sharp, poisonous fangs and claws. If it bites you, your limbs and nerves will slowly go numb. Here’s a picture of it.

“It’s speed and strength are on par with a regular human’s, and it can regenerate quickly. Most sharp objects won’t harm it fatally, but it’s afraid of fire, salt, and necrophage oil. Once Serrit and I disposed of it, we found fifteen carcasses in the hole, and the next day, we went around to talk to the villagers for two weeks. After much investigation, we found some information on it.

“It spends most of its time slumbering in the tree, only awakening when it’s near Saovine, then it would hunt nearby humans. Its targets are usually young humans, and it loves ones who are neglected. First, it will cover its prey in its puke, consuming it once it’s died from asphyxiation. Its puke has an unbelievable effect. It can slowly separate its prey from the real world, and once the prey has been fully separated, the kill is done. Most traces of the prey will disappear, and everyone will forget about that poor soul. This is a monster that lives under old trees. One that eats people who are forgotten.

“Newbie, if you’re reading this, that means you haven’t passed the Trial of the Grasses yet. If you want to go up against this bastard, remember to equip yourself with the stuff it’s weak against, and wear thicker clothes. If you manage to kill it, take its tongue and dry it under the sun. It’s the most valuable part.

“Written by Auckes, sixth of October 1204. Location: Barry Hill, Vicovaro, Nilfgaard.”

***

The trio looked at one another in silence.

“So that means something’s living under the hornbeam?” Cardell was incredulous. “And it’s been there for years?” She gasped hoarsely. “Impossible. How could I have not known about this?”

“Then let’s see if something’s really there.” Vivien clenched her fists, her face filled with resolve and hatred. “I seem to recall us having a lot of salt in the kitchen.”

Roy took a deep breath and looked at the pentagram that had almost disappeared from his sleeve. The one I’ve forgotten could still be alive. Should I dive right into it?

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