The Witcher: Make Witcher Great Again

Chapter 285: Force is better than hard work

The next day, Lynn received her payment from Kayla.

After spending two days and three nights with Triss in Novigrad, he set off for the Skellige Islands.

Speaking of which, the Skellige Islands have become a taboo recently.

Many captains refused to go to the Skellige Islands.

They don't even want to go to the open sea a little further away from the mainland.

After Lynn paid for a round of drinks at the captains and sailors' favorite tavern, the captains, who had let down their guard, finally told the truth.

"Because of pirates, kind sir." An old captain with a white beard said gloomily.

Lynn asked doubtfully, "Pirates?"

The old captain added: "Those Skellige people."

Lynn frowned.

"I know the Skellige people sometimes act as pirates, but I heard that as long as they fly the flag of the local Novigrad Merchant Guild, they won't plunder, right?"

The other captain shook his head.

"Alas, young sir, the news you know is out of date."

"During this period, the Skellige people, for some unknown reason, have been looting everywhere like crazy."

A thin captain said, "I know. I heard that two very important guests died on the island of Great Skellig."

Lin En looked at him and asked, "Do you know what his name is?"

The thin captain shook his head. "Sir, we're just sailing, not selling intelligence. You're asking the wrong people."

But he continued after taking a sip of beer.

"But I did hear that the person who died didn't seem to be a Skellige native, but an important person from the northern royal family who was visiting the island of Great Skellige."

The old captain slammed the table and said angrily, "If you ask me, these Skellige people are really crazy. The royal family of the northern country died on their island, and they come to plunder our ship. How can this be justified? It's none of our business!"

The old captain's words immediately attracted a wave of agreement.

Lynn knew that the Skelligers engaged in piracy, but it was usually directed against other countries and they would not attack Novigrad's merchant ships.

Because Novigrad is a neutral free city, and the Skellige Islands are just a few islands after all, with scarce resources, many supplies need to be supplied by the mainland.

They plunder ships from other countries, but will not attack Novigrad's merchant ships, which means they need to deal with Novigrad's merchants.

The merchants of Novigrad were also happy to buy the looted goods from the Skellige people at low prices.

This has already become an unspoken rule.

But how could it be...

If he remembered correctly, the one who ruled the islands now was King Bran of the Tursek family.

The Tursek family, like the Quet family, has no prejudice against mainlanders.

Although King Bran prefers plundering to solving the long-standing problems of the Isles.

But he is not a fool.

How could he destroy his own job?

There's probably some misunderstanding here.

Thinking of this, he drank all the remaining beer in the glass in one gulp and said to the captains present.

"I have to go to the Skellige Islands for something. Who among you would like to give me a ride? I can pay this price."

The captains were silent; no one spoke.

But Lin En could see that some of them were moved.

“Then I’ll add another 20%.”

"Okay, I did it."

A drunken captain raised his glass and accepted the commission.

……

The Skellige Islands are located west of the mainland and consist of six large islands and a dozen scattered small islands.

It is located northwest of the mouth of the Yaruga River, off the coast of Sintra, and southwest of Sidaris and Verdon.

The Skellige people make their living primarily through fishing, hunting, trade, and armed raiding at sea. Legend has it that the elves first landed here twenty centuries ago, and therefore many elven relics can still be found on the islands.

According to scholars, the history of these ancient sites is much earlier than those of the elven ruins on the mainland. However, as of the 13th century, there are no elven tribes living on the archipelago.

Over a long period of time, the people of the islands have developed a tough, strong and upright character, and when there is an invasion by foreign enemies, both men and women here will resist without hesitation.

The Skelligers value three things above all else: honor, the deeds of their ancestors, and divine weapons.

The warlike Skelligers also have female warriors. Shieldmaidens, who are well-trained and proficient in collective combat, usually hold a sword or an axe in their right hand and a sturdy shield in their left hand. Their courage and combat skills are no less than those of their male brothers.

The Skellige are a people deeply rooted in maritime traditions.

Many of them became brave and warlike sailors and pirates.

Their port could not compare with the great mainland ports, such as Cidalis, in terms of prosperity, cargo throughput, or number of employees, but the navigational skills mastered by the Skellige pirates, their fury, and longships were feared in the seas north and south.

The islanders even proudly say that "the sea flows in their veins."

Contrary to the impression many mainlanders have, not all islanders are fearsome pirates or raiders.

A large number of people are actually engaged in farming, animal husbandry, fishing and hunting. There are also many common occupations such as merchants, alchemists, doctors, etc. Some people become warlocks. For example, Rita Ned is actually from Skellige.

The islanders have their own language, the Skellige dialect, which is derived from the Old Language. However, if you go to the Skellige Islands, you don't have to worry about language barriers, as most people can speak the Common Language fluently.

A week later.

"Look, that's the port of Keldrat on the island of Great Skellige."

On the deck, the drunken captain faced the sea breeze and took another sip of rum.

"We're lucky. We didn't encounter any pirates along the way. It's all thanks to you. Hey, are you interested in working on a ship? I'm in need of a boatswain."

"My previous boatswain had his head bitten off by a mermaid during one of our naval encounters. That poor kid..."

Lin En bowed his head in silence for a few seconds. "It's unfortunate, but thank you for your kindness, Captain. I don't have any plans to run a ship for the time being, but if I ever get tired of living on land, I promise I will give your proposal priority."

"It's up to you then." The captain waved his hand disinterestedly. "We'll stay in Keldra Harbor for a few days, depending on whether we can get any good things. But if you haven't left by the time we're ready to go back, you'll have to find a ship back on your own."

"But this is Keldra Harbor, the most prosperous port in the archipelago, bar none. I think you'll find a ship willing to take you."

After saying this, the captain left, leaving Lynn alone on the deck, watching the busy scene of Keldra Port.

Originally, after hearing the rumors in the tavern in Novigrad's harbor area, Lynn was prepared to encounter pirates.

Unexpectedly, they finally arrived safely at the port of Keldra on the island of Great Skellige.

Although Keldra Port is located in the north of Great Skellige, it is the most prosperous place in Great Skellige, and even in the entire archipelago.

This is because House Quet, who rule the northern part of Great Skellige, is not as hostile to mainlanders as the other houses of the Isles.

People from the mainland are also willing to do business with the Quitt family. After all, the Quitt family understands what people say and is reasonable.

In this way, the Quet family has monopolized trade with the mainland. How can it not be prosperous?
However, the atmosphere in Keldra Harbor today was silent and solemn.

Whether civilians, soldiers, merchants or nobles, they all gathered at the dock of Keldros Port.

No one made a sound, just quietly looking towards the sea.

The sailors had no idea what was happening.

So it stayed on the sea for a while and did not approach the port.

Not long after, everyone saw two soldiers from the Quet family, holding a set of Cintra-style armor and a princess dress, walking out of the crowd and solemnly placing them on a small boat covered with straw.

They then pushed the boat out of the harbor.

The boat was slowly pushed towards the sea by the flowing water.

At the front of the crowd, a young red-haired noble shot a flaming arrow into the sky.

The arrow streaked across the sky like a falling star, landing on the small boat and setting it on fire.

Soon, a raging fire broke out on the boat.

The crowd on the dock gradually dispersed only when the boat disappeared over the horizon.

Start doing your own thing.

Realizing that it was over, the sailors drove the ship over and docked it at the port.

Lynn said goodbye to the sailors, got off the ship and entered the port.

(End of this chapter)