The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

A small boat was carrying five witchers and the steward sent by Crach to the little-known village of Egron. Before they could dock, the villagers had already spotted them from afar.

Lann and his companions watched as the villagers suddenly stirred, shouting and waving their arms.

"What are they saying?" Gerd asked, puzzled.

Everyone shook their heads.

Only Kolgrim narrowed his eyes and studied the movements of the villagers' lips from afar. "They are telling us to dock quickly. And they are also warning us: be careful, in the sea there are... sirens?"

Hearing Kolgrim's words, everyone's expressions changed drastically.

They knew very well what could happen to a small boat when it encountered a siren on the high seas.

These sea creatures were very intelligent and, unlike humans, preferred to attack ships, easily destroying them.

Furthermore, the Witchers were fully equipped, wearing heavy iron and steel armor. Except for Lann, who could store his armor in his [Inventory], the others would sink immediately if they fell into the water.

Guslav, who knew Ard Skellig well, tried to reassure the terrified witchers: "Don't worry, sirens usually appear in remote places, far from civilization. Here, near the coast, we won't be in any danger."

In theory, he was right, but seeing the villagers' obvious distress, Lann and the others doubted his words.

Fortunately, in the end everything went as Guslav had said, and the sirens did not appear. The group reached the shore without any further incidents.

The villagers on the shore immediately came over, seemingly interested in examining these strangers who had come to their village. From afar, other villagers could be seen running towards them, all with harpoons in their hands.

But when they recognized the black three-ship emblem that Guslav bore, the villagers lowered their weapons in relief.

After a brief murmur among the crowd, a burly old man stepped forward.

"Mr. Guslav, I didn't expect you to come here in person, but there is still some time before the tax collection day, right?" The old man, who turned out to be the village leader, asked.

Guslav nodded with a serious nod. His familiarity with the old man allowed the conversation to be more direct. "I am here on Lord Crach's orders. We need to ask a few questions." Guslav stepped aside and introduced Lann. "This is Duke Lann Lannister of Cintra."

The village leader bowed politely to Lann.

With a good-natured smile, Lann addressed the old man: "I have come from the north of the continent to visit my cousin, and during my stay I decided to tour the island of Ard Skellig. I recently heard about an ancient site in the village of Fornhala and went to admire it…"

Lann omitted details about the Svalblod berserkers and the Vildkaarls; those were matters too delicate to share with anyone.

However, he did not miss the sudden tension on the old man's face when he heard Fornhala's name.

Something was definitely up.

Lann continued without showing his thoughts: "There we found a young man who was badly wounded. He told us he was from this village and mentioned that he was traveling with some companions. According to him, some of them may have managed to escape." Lann paused, as if remembering something painful, then shook his head. "Unfortunately, he succumbed to his wounds soon after. But until the last moment, he worried about the fate of his companions. I wonder if they made it back to the village safely."

The old man did not immediately reply, but his face showed an expression of obvious discomfort. Then he began to awkwardly divert the topic: "I wonder why Duke Lannister is interested in the affairs of such a humble people as ours…?"

Guslav spoke up without hesitation: "This happened at Ard Skellig, and Lord Crach is very interested. That is why he sent me to investigate. Furthermore, Duke Lannister, with his noble heart, wishes to fulfill the last wish of a warrior."

"So, you recently sent young people to Fornhala? Did they return?"

The old man's face turned pale, he stammered, unable to give a clear answer.

Guslav's patience ran out and, frowning, he firmly rebuked him: "If it was so, say so! If not, say so too. Speak clearly at once!"

"Yes." A voice finally answered.

But it was not the old man who spoke. It was Lann who broke the silence.

His lion eyes lit up slightly and the world faded into shades of grey, leaving only red trails floating in the air, which were exactly the pheromones recorded by the witchers in Fornhala.

These traces confirmed that someone had returned to the village after the berserk attack.

The other witchers in the group also picked up on that hint. Without wasting any time, they headed towards the red mist that marked their path, ignoring both the old man and the villagers.

Surprisingly, the tracks led them to a small cabin about a hundred meters from the village, not inside it.

The cabin, solitary and disconnected from the rest of the village, was next to a small dock with an old boat moored.

Lann knocked firmly on the door. Several seconds passed and there was no response.

Without patience, he knocked down the door and entered.

In front of them was a typical fisherman's hut.

There wasn't much furniture, just an old bed, a worn fishing net, a handmade fishing rod, rudimentary utensils and some clean shells that had been opened.

There was no one. Messy clothes were lying on the floor, suggesting that the owner was not particularly tidy.

However, Lann noticed that although the house was run down, it appeared to have been recently renovated, albeit very basically.

Geralt observed the place while keeping his witcher senses active. "The trail ends here. Evidently, he cleaned up the traces of blood and any other scent before leaving."

"There's no alcohol, blood, spices or other strong aromas. The only thing that stands out a little is the smell of seafood, but everything in this town smells like seafood. We won't be able to trace it." Coen replied, frowning.

"No need. Confirming that he returned is enough. Now we'll ask someone else to clarify the rest for us." Lann said calmly.

He turned to the village mayor, who had been forcibly taken away, and behind him, the irritated Guslav.

"Lord Lannister is accompanied by several master witchers! They know everything! Do you really think that staying silent will help?" Guslav shouted, looking at the mayor with contempt. "Tell us who lives here and why you withheld information from Lord Lannister!"

The mayor's face turned from pale to red several times before he finally let out a long sigh and began to speak.

...

The owner of the house was called Bill.

The village of Egron, like most coastal villages in Skellige, lived off fishing. However, unlike other villages, Egron suffered frequent attacks from magical creatures due to its remote location.

There were lesser creatures like the drowners. Although dangerous, the villagers could defend themselves by forming small groups and arming themselves with harpoons.

But the real problem for the fishermen was another kind of monster: the sirens.

These creatures could fly and swim underwater, posing a deadly threat to any vessel.

For this reason, the fishermen of Egron lived in extreme poverty.

They had two options: Risk their lives fishing near the village, but turn back at the slightest hint of danger, making little profit. Or walk long distances to safer areas, where monsters were less common, but they faced competition from other fishermen who did not look kindly on outsiders taking their livelihood.

Each generation of village leaders faced the same dilemma: how to improve the villagers' living conditions and develop the village. Some even considered leaving the village, but circumstances always prevented this.

Until someone showed up.

That someone was Bill, the owner of the house where Lann and his group were staying.

...

"Bill always came back with a much bigger catch than any other fisherman." The old village chief said hesitantly. "Sometimes what he caught in one day was equivalent to what the whole village collected."

"Some fishermen tried to learn his technique, but he never revealed anything. He only invited others to fish with him on his boat." The chief continued, sighing even as he recounted something positive. "Every time someone accompanied him, they came back with full nets."

Lann looked at the old man's face. "The fishermen's lives improved, and the village now had someone with skills that could help the entire village. That should make him happy, but it doesn't seem that way. Why are you not happy with this change?"

Coen examined the dilapidated house. "Why would a young man who improved the village with his own efforts live in such a place? Not only is it far away from the crowd, but the house is so dilapidated, it doesn't look like he has much property."

Kolgrim looked at the old clothes lying on the floor. "And why did he climb to the top of the mountain with others? After saving his life and running back to the village, why did you hide his existence from us?"

The village chief was silent again.

Guslav was furious when he saw this. "Didn't you hear the questions? Speak up!"

The chief moved his lips nervously. Finally, he covered his head with his hands, resigned, and exclaimed regretfully: "Bill never told us how he managed to avoid the monsters. Curious, but not wanting to push him too hard, we decided to watch him in turns…"

The witchers weren't surprised at all.

Gustav, on the other hand, looked even more displeased.

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