The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

House asked seriously: "What do you need from me to tell me the information, sailor?"

The sailor gestured to the table. "If it's a friend, a beer and a steak is enough."

House smiled at the answer. "I think I want to be friends with you."

The sailor, satisfied, dragged the beer and the plate of meat towards him, he seemed quite hungry.

"Eat slowly, sailor. First tell me where that man who looks like a bear is."

"I thought you might want to know the secret regarding Cintra first." Said the sailor with his mouth full of meat. "That bear-like guy must be on the island An Skellig, where Lord Eist and King Bran's family live."

House nodded. This was good news, as they were also planning to go to An Skellig, so it would be a convenient stop on their route.

"I hope your information is accurate. Now tell me, what is the secret? What is it that we Cintrians are supposed to care so much about?"

The sailor finished his beer and, seeing that House and the others were not reacting, asked for another with a smile. "You are here to ask for help against Nilfgaard, right? There is no need to deny it. Everyone in Skellige knows it."

"So what?"

"The news that Lord Eist wants to claim the throne has caused a stir. He has many supporters, but also strong opponents." The sailor commented casually. "Among the fiercest is Queen Birna, wife of King Bran."

House frowned. He didn't expect to hear such news.

"No offense, but I still want to ask - how did you know this kind of news, and you exchanged it for a steak and a beer so carelessly?"

"Ha, here we are in Skellige, not the mainland." The sailor answered proudly. "This news... is known to all of Skellige!"

...

"Everyone in Skellige knows that there is absolutely no chance of winning against a behemoth like Nilfgaard." The man said. "Besides, King Bran wants to give up the throne to Eist and abandon everything to fight Nilfgaard. Can you accept that?"

The man who spoke was tall, burly, with a shaved head and a thick beard, the perfect prototype of a man from the islands.

However, he wore a cloak made of bearskin and a shirt tanned from wolfskin, with a belt of sealskin. In his hand he held a thick oak staff, which made it clear that he was a druid.

"Can you accept this?" The druid repeated, raising his head, revealing three parallel lines of war paint made from beast blood and mineral pigments on his face.

Before him stood a slender, delicate woman, in radical contrast to the druid's bestiality.

The woman seemed overwhelmed by the druid's imposing presence and almost recoiled. However, remembering her status, she stood her ground even though her eyes drifted away.

"No, I can't accept it."

Birna took a deep breath, resisted the discomfort and turned her gaze back to the druid. "I can't accept it. I can't accept my husband losing the throne, and I can't accept my son losing the life he should have."

'But what you really can't accept is losing your power.' The druid mentally completed the sentence and smiled coldly.

However, on his face he showed an expression of apparent sincerity and confidence. "Excellent, Her Majesty. After all this talk, you finally express your true thoughts. It seems that the Cintrians are really putting a lot of pressure on you."

"Get to the point, Artis. What is your plan?" Birna replied, raising her chin proudly. "Since you seek my help, instead of asking me questions, you should offer me solutions."

"If you can satisfy me, I will give your Svalblod sect some land to prosper in. Perhaps a mountain or a small island… it will depend on how you handle things."

Druid Artis smiled coldly again, disdaining the queen's offer. But Artis appeared to show restrained emotion, revealing a glimmer of gratitude. "Thank you for your generosity, Her Majesty."

"According to your information, in three days King Bran will hold a banquet at An Skellig to welcome the Cintrians and summon the seven clans of the islands. I will order my Vildkaarl warriors to don Cintrian armor and attack the attending jarls, to sow discord."

"Ha, those Berserkers? Not even Madman Lugos would believe such a crude accusation."

"Of course I won't use the berserkers, Her Majesty; that would be obvious. I will send common Vildkaarl warriors on the mission, selecting those who are less rough-looking, those who most resemble the mainlanders."

"Heh, then the question arises again: how can ordinary Vildkaarls sneak into the banquet and complete the assassination mission?"

"That's why I need your help, Her Majesty. I'm sure it won't be a problem for you. As for the mission, they don't need to complete it; they just need to go in, draw their swords... and die."

The queen nodded with satisfaction. "Sounds like a sound plan. Though I thought you'd be more cautious; I hear there aren't many Vildkaarls left."

Artis lowered his head, showing a devout expression. "It's all… for my god Svalblod!"

...

For the next meeting of the seven major clans of Skellige, Lann and his group also moved to An Skellig.

"Geralt, where is Yennefer?" Lann asked.

Eist had prepared a much larger room for Lann than the one he had had at Kaer Trolde Castle, and there were he, the witchers, and his trusted servants.

Geralt stood by the window, letting the sea breeze ruffle his hair, and upon hearing Lann's question, he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"I assume she's talking to Crach. You should know more about the politics between sorceresses and lords than I do." Geralt spoke in a serious tone, but Lann knew that the reality was different.

If he remembered correctly, Yennefer and Crach had a romance at some point.

After all, Yennefer is now over 90 years old, so it is normal that she has some romantic past, anyway, Geralt also had a long list of loves.

Although Geralt and Yennefer ended up together due to an extraordinary situation, one could even say that it was romantic and touching, but during their relationship there were ups and downs that have brought them together and that few can understand.

However, since Yennefer had returned with Geralt to Kaer Morhen, their relationship had become much more stable. Geralt even considered this time to be the most peaceful one with Yennefer.

"Geralt..." Lann commented wistfully. "Don't you think that since Ciri's been here, your relationship with Yennefer has become more harmonious?"

Geralt, who was pretending to be distracted by the scenery, suddenly froze and asked, with an intense look: "What are you implying?"

While they were talking, the door to the room opened without warning. Only Yennefer and Ciri were allowed to enter without knocking.

Yennefer approached Geralt, crossing her arms and looking at him in such a way that he ended up looking away in discomfort. Ciri, on the other hand, hugged Lann's arm and began to tell him excitedly about what she had done that day.

Lann noticed Geralt's uncomfortable expression and smiled before asking Ciri: "I remember you went out alone this morning. How did you meet Yennefer? What were you doing?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Lann saw Geralt trying to hide the fact that he was listening to the conversation.

"Oh, I was playing with Hjalmar, and Cerys was there too!" Ciri replied, not noticing the tension of the adults around her. "I don't know what Yennefer is talking about with Crach, but they didn't seem to be on good terms. Because when she saw me, she said 'Ciri, you must be tired of playing' and forced me to go back."

Ciri turned her angry gaze towards Yennefer and complained: "I wasn't tired! It's been a long time since I saw Hjalmar and Cerys!"

Although it was a barely audible sound, Lann heard Geralt breathe a sigh of relief.

Instantly, Geralt began to look at Lann with the same inquisitive look he had given him before.

"Hjalmar?" Lann repeated the name Ciri had mentioned.

"Yes, Hjalmar." She confirmed. "And Cerys too. We used to play together when we were little, though you didn't come around much back then…"

Given the close bond between the families, Ciri was good friends with Crach's children. In fact, she was closer to Hjalmar than to Cerys, despite both being girls. All because of a childhood prank.

Hjalmar had been unbeatable in Skellige's skating competitions until Ciri came along. In a race between them, Hjalmar, eager to win, fell and suffered several fractures, even leaving a scar on his face. After Ciri was reprimanded, she stayed by Hjalmar's side, reading poems to him and chatting with him to relieve his boredom.

Yennefer commented in a mocking tone: "It is said that when Hjalmar was a child he had an accident while competing with Ciri, and when he recovered from his injuries, he immediately announced to Crach that he was engaged to Ciri. Crach in a fit of rage hit him. violently."

The sorceress shook her head and sighed mockingly. "Poor boy, he barely recovered and was already back in bed due to the beatings from his father."

Ciri commented somewhat perplexed: "I never thought Hjalmar would take the engagement thing so seriously… As if I would actually agree to marry him."

As she spoke, she squeezed Lann's hand.

Lann chuckled. He didn't care much about what happened between Ciri and Hjalmar. They had only been playmates in childhood. What mattered to Lann was that Ciri was now technically engaged to him.

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