The west wind blew strongly, the waves beat against the shore with a thunderous sound, and white fountains rose again and again between the cracks in the rocks.
Kratz wrapped his cloak around himself and stared at the terrace in front of him. He knew someone would come over soon.
"Lord Kratz." A cautious voice sounded behind Kratz, "Is the lion of Cintra coming here today?"
Count Cratz an Clet, Lord of Skellige, patriarch of the Clet family, the man feared by the Nilfgaardians as "The Boar of the Sea" turned around and looked in the direction where the question was asked.
She was an ordinary island woman: thick hands and feet, bulging breasts, rough skin and tanned brown. She was holding a basket of shells in her hands, and was obviously about to work; she was slightly bent, using body language to express respect to the lord.
But this level of "respect" is far from enough.
For a commoner, it is absolutely not acceptable to speak to the lord in such a direct and impolite manner. Even approaching the lord so closely is considered disrespectful.
If it happened in some inland areas, some cruel lords would order the woman's tongue to be cut off just based on her words and actions.
But this is not the inland, or even the mainland. This is the Skellige Islands, the home of the islanders and the children of the mountains. The so-called class here is very vague. The people respect and admire the nobles, but they will never bow down to them in fear.
So after hearing the woman's question, Kratz actually asked her leisurely: "What's the matter? Do you also want to see the lions of Cintra?"
"Yes, Lord Kratz... I heard that he was an extremely handsome knight, and extremely brave."
"Sailors can no longer satisfy you, so you start looking for a handsome knight? You may be disappointed, because our Lord Lannister has already been taken."
The woman replied nonchalantly: "She's the Princess of Cintra, right? We don't care, and neither do others. This is actually better..."
Kratz finally got angry this time: "What do you mean by others?"
The woman turned around and pointed to the castle. "The other cooks, maids, laundry workers, and others who are preparing for the banquet are all waiting to see the Lion of Cintra!"
Kratz's neck stiffened.
He looked behind the woman, and that was his beloved castle called "Keldra".
Knowing that Lann and his party were coming, he specially summoned a large number of maids to prepare a banquet. At this moment, it can be seen that these people only paid 70% or even 50% of their attention to the work in their hands, and more of their attention was projected through their eyes - on Kratz, or in other words, on the balcony behind Kratz.
Kratz was about to yell at them when he suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing behind him, making his cloak rustle violently.
A fiery red portal appeared in mid-air.
The first to come out was a blond knight wearing silver-black armor and a cloak made from a whole piece of giant griffin skin.
Following closely behind was a girl with mouse-gray hair, wearing a white gown and a reddish-brown deerskin belt, and a smaller griffin cloak, holding tightly to the knight in front of her.
Then came out three swordsmen with amber eyes. They wore badges in the shape of wolves, snakes, and griffins respectively. They swayed like sailors in a storm.
Next came a guard with a silver sword with a lion head on his waist and a female archer with a full-length mahogany longbow on her back, and behind them were forty more guards.
The last to emerge was a sorceress with long wavy black hair, a star-shaped obsidian necklace, and a scent of cloves and currants.
The group of people who appeared out of nowhere instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the castle, many of whom were filled with curious gazes.
Kratz immediately shouted at his own people who were distracted:
"Don't you see our guests are already here? Why are you still dawdling? You know King Bran will be visiting my castle soon. Do you want to entertain our king in this way?"
Seeing that the lord was angry, the waiters in the castle no longer dared to act disrespectfully and hurriedly lowered their heads and quickened their movements.
Kratz shook his head and turned around to say hello, but he saw a mouse-gray whirlwind rushing into his arms. The huge force made him take several steps back.
“Kratz, I missed you so much!” Ciri screamed, “And what about Hjalma and Caris? I missed them too!”
When Ciri was young, she often vacationed in Skellige and had close contacts with the Clet family, to which Kratz belonged. According to seniority, Kratz was Ciri's uncle and Lann's cousin.
"Halmar and Caris have gone out to sea. They will be back in the evening." When Kratz mentioned his proud son and daughter, his face was filled with the warmth of the sea breeze. He hugged Ciri tightly and said, "My princess, you have grown taller... and stronger."
"And you, Lan." Kratz turned to Lan and said with emotion, "You have grown taller, too. Only now can I remember your age. You are about the same age as my Hjalmar, but I didn't expect that you have achieved such results."
Kratz had come to support when Cintra was breached before, and had met Lann outside Brokilon. It had been almost a year since then.
I don’t know if it’s because he’s still in the growth stage or his physique has been strengthened by the system, but Lann’s height has grown by a few centimeters and he is now 6.2 feet tall - that is, 1.88 meters tall.
Of course, this development speed is still far behind Ciri.
Facing Kratz's praise, Lan, who had finally suppressed the discomfort of the portal, finally forced a smile: "This process was not easy, and that's why I came to see you today."
"I'm glad you came for help, really." Kratz stepped forward and patted Lann's shoulder hard.
"I have arranged accommodation for you in the castle. The butler will bring you desserts and drinks. You can rest for a while."
"I have also prepared a sumptuous dinner for you. Uncle Easter and King Bran will also come over, and we can discuss other matters."
Everything was arranged in an orderly manner, and Lann and his group naturally followed the host's wishes without any objection.
The butlers of the Clet family came quickly at the call of the lord, and each led the way and took the guests to where they should go.
Lann noticed that when Yennefer passed by, Kratz seemed to be hesitant to speak and wanted to come forward to talk; while Geralt's eyes flickered and his face was expressionless, but his emotions seemed to be written on his face.
On the other hand, the sorceress looked indifferent, even indifferent.
When the ex-boyfriend meets the current boyfriend, there is a familiar feeling of Shura Field.
"Little kid, stop looking around and hurry up." Lann grabbed Ciri, who was peeking out, and quickly followed the butler.
This action caused dissatisfaction in the little princess.
…
They quickly separated and were led to their respective rooms.
"Thank you for your hard work. Please leave me alone for a while."
The butler bowed to Lann and then slowly retreated.
Lan looked around. This bedroom was more than enough to be used as a living room. There were bookshelves and a long desk in the room, and the bed was big enough for five or six people to lie down. There was also a balcony ten steps away, where three seabirds were standing and looking at him curiously.
Lann chuckled and patted the black magic scimitar behind him. Immediately, emerald-colored void flames burned on it, but it did not hurt Lann at all.
Then, a slender figure in a Gothic-style long skirt appeared. She slowly walked to Lan's side and stood side by side with him, looking at the sea view below.
"Is this Skellige? I've only seen descriptions of this place in books before."
"Yes, Alice, this is Skellige."
After receiving Lan's affirmative answer, the beautiful soul in the painting couldn't help but exclaim: "It's so beautiful."
Their location offers unobstructed views of the sea.
Directly ahead, across the channel, is Little Skellig Island, low and flat in the south and bordered by a deep fjord in the north. Far to the left is the green island of Spiekerg, its fang-like outline and steep cliffs rising above the waves, its peak hidden among the clouds. To the right, you can see the cliffs of Udvik Island, with the seagulls, petrels, cormorants and gannets that gather there.
"I heard that this place is governed by seven families together, and the king is not inherited, but elected by them?"
Lan nodded. "Yes, seven families are spread over six islands, each ruling their own territory. So the politics here are very complicated—but in a sense, very simple."
Alice nodded thoughtfully and commented, "What a wonderful country, wonderful customs, and wonderful system."
As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Lan's profile, admiring the lines and muscle direction from a painter's perspective, intoxicated by the beauty of it.
"I guess you asked me to come out not just to accompany you to enjoy the sea view? Your Highness the Princess can do that, too."
Lan nodded shyly: "I'll trouble you to draw a few pictures."
“How many?”
"Seven paintings. Each family will send one painting. The number may be a bit too much. This is a big project."
“作为一名画师，我会享受的。”爱丽丝眯起眼睛，深色的眼影勾勒出好看的轮廓。
忧郁的脸上只要出现一抹笑，就会让人觉得心旷神怡。
“但是我也有一个要求，或者说需求——我需要去各个岛屿上面采风，才能够画出符合各个家族品味的画。这需要之后你一直带着我。”
听到这句话，虽然爱丽丝脸上还有淡淡的笑容，但是兰恩却知道这位女士是在隐晦地表达自己的不满。
在之前凯尔莫罕的时候，兰恩一直让爱丽丝附身在肖像画中，将她留在城堡里面，而自己出去狩猎；回到布洛奇隆之后的大部分时间也是如此。
虽然在这个过程中，兰恩已经把爱丽丝以绘画老师的身份介绍给了希里，小公主对于画中魂灵的接受度也很高。但是现在看来，爱丽丝对于这种安排有点不满了。
“抱歉，爱丽丝。”兰恩很干脆地做出了言语的让步，“之前涉及到了很多战斗，而你不喜欢参与进这些血腥的场景里，所以我对你的附身物做了别的安排；而且我以为你会喜欢的，因为你是一名画师，当初我们约定好的、要给予你的新生活也是这样的。”
爱丽丝轻笑着等待兰恩解释完毕，然后轻轻地上前一步。
这下她跟兰恩几乎只隔着一个手掌的距离了，虽然她是虚幻的，但是兰恩依旧能够感觉到她的头纱在海风的吹拂下轻轻蹭弄自己的脸颊。
“我喜欢画画，当初你带我从画中世界出来的时候，也承诺过我新的生活——成为公主的绘画老师，同时让我的作品被更多人看到。”
“我喜欢画画，我很感激你，兰恩。”爱丽丝说话间，身体不由自主地又微微前倾，“但是我现在喜欢上别的了。”
兰恩感觉到有什么东西在蹭自己的手腕，他知道那是爱丽丝被海风吹起的裙摆。
他稍稍低眉，而爱丽丝正好微抬下颌。
爱丽丝不是人类，没有呼吸，但是此时此刻兰恩依旧觉得自己的面部被一股热流扫中了。
“那么，你现在喜欢上了什么呢？爱丽丝。”
画中魂灵轻笑一声，没有正面回答。她最后踏前一步，在碰到兰恩的一刹那化成了翡翠色的火焰，将兰恩全身包裹起来。
温热、柔软的触感转瞬即逝，兰恩只觉得自己被一片丝绸盖住了脸。等他回过神来的时候，翡翠色的火焰已经重新凝聚到了他背后的黑魔法弯刀上面，只留下空谷幽兰般的声音在回**：
“除非是你有别的任务需要，不然我不想再进画里面了。如果有战斗的话，我也想参与进去，我觉得我应该也挺厉害的。”
“兰恩，可以吗？”
兰恩不由自主地伸手握住弯刀的刀柄，轻声道：“当然。”
……
……
大史凯利格岛和小史凯利格岛之间的海峡里，接二连三出现了龙船。红白相间的风帆在阳光下熠熠生辉，挂在船侧的青铜盾牌也闪闪发亮。
“图尔塞克家族的纹章，是外公来了！”希里看到龙船上面的标志之后兴奋地大喊。
“来的还有布兰王。”兰恩补充道。
国王的座驾到来，凯尔卓的众人却似乎习以为常。
这些船根本没有什么国王的排场，除了那船上格外训练有素的士兵之外，根本就看不出来上面的人有什么尊贵的。
如果真的要说的话，就是城堡卫兵一路崇敬、敬仰的眼神。
因为从船上下来的这两个人，都是众人推举出来的国王。一个是曾经的，一个是现在的。
在看到伊斯特·图尔塞克的第一时间，希里就扑了上去。他们两人之前在莫斯萨克的帮助下已经见过一面了，而兰恩在辛特拉被攻破后，还是第一次见到伊斯特。
英俊的海上骑士肉眼可见地沧桑了，白发、皱纹在一年的时间里占据了他的脸。他和布兰王站在一起，知道的以为两人是兄弟，不知道的估计会误会成叔侄。
但是兰恩可以感受到这副沧桑外表下熊熊燃烧的火焰，他在压抑，在等待暴发。
“辛苦了，兰恩。”
伊斯特只说了这一句。
然后张开双臂，紧紧抱住了兰恩。
……
布兰王的样貌和伊斯特几乎是一个模子里面刻出来的。
但是他比伊斯特更高、更壮，与有着“海上骑士”称号的伊斯特相比，就身材上面反而更像“海上野猪”克拉茨。
他的身高能有六英尺半，腰比肩宽，上面绑着三条熊皮腰带。他穿着锁子环和皮革缝制的背心甲，里面是颜色和层次分明的棉衣。
他站在眼前的时候，兰恩仿佛看到了一头熊。兰恩也相信无论是多大的海浪和暴雨，眼前的这个男人也绝对不会在船上有一丝摇晃。
跟沉默的伊斯特比起来，布兰王的性格也豪爽很多，此刻他用双手抓着一只足有希里的小臂一样长的龙虾在啃，面前也已经堆积了不少扇贝、牡蛎的空壳。
希里坐在伊斯特和布兰的中间，在专心致志地对付一只跟她脸一样大的螃蟹。
伊斯特倒是比较注重用餐礼仪，熟练地运用刀叉。因为他时不时就要摸一下希里的头，所以不能弄脏了手。
“如果说要在我的城堡里面找出最喜欢布兰舅舅的人，那一定是我的厨娘。”克拉茨打趣道，“每次舅舅过来，厨娘总是觉得自己的厨艺进步了。”
克拉茨的身边还坐着两个跟兰恩年龄相仿的年轻人，一男一女。
男的留着半长的深棕头发，年纪轻轻就已经开始留胡子。
女的则有一头红棕色的头发，简单地扎成马尾披在身后。
这是哈尔玛与凯瑞丝，克拉茨的一对儿女。他们此刻都专心致志地看着兰恩，只不过眼神中的意味不尽相同。
好在兰恩早就已经习惯了别人的视线，他面不改色地饮下一杯酒，朝着伊斯特问道：
“姑父，我从莫斯萨克叔叔那里听说了一些关于您的情况。”
伊斯特点头：“那他一定跟你说了我想重登史凯利格王位的事情。”
这句话说得毫不掩饰，哪怕史凯利格的现任国王就坐在自己身边。
而即将被篡位的国王也毫不在意，他意犹未尽地放下龙虾壳，吸吮自己的手指：“不用看我，对于这件事情我是乐见其成的。当初是伊斯特主动放弃了王位想要出海游历，那时候克拉茨还小，其他六大家族的族长要么无心政治、要么脑子遭了山崩，我不愿意让群岛在这些人手里沉沦，因此同意竞选国王。”
“我在位的这些年里虽然过得也精彩，但是大臣们也都有抱怨：因为相比起解决群岛的政治问题，我更愿意带人出海去劫掠。甚至还起了一些流言，说我这么做是为了躲避我家里那喜欢饶舌的妻子——哈，群岛之子怎么会怕老婆？”
“在内心深处，我是羡慕伊斯特的。所以现在他愿意把丢给我的包袱重新接回去，我求之不得。”
布兰王非常直接地独白了自己的想法，放在大陆其他国家都是没人敢听的话。但是餐桌边的群岛人对于这些言语中的抱怨习以为常，显然是听得多了。
兰恩饮下一口酒，政治场合说话这么直来直去，他反而有些欢喜，不自觉地就被同化了。
“但是我听说遇到了阻碍？”
伊斯特点头：“国王让位并不能指定继承人，尤其是我这个曾经放弃过王位的人，很多领主觉得太过儿戏。”
说到这里伊斯特不屑地笑了笑：“其实是他们自己想当国王。”
兰恩思考道：“但是姑父您在群岛应该也有不小的威望吧？”
伊斯特肯定回答：“我本来就有一批支持者，再加上布兰的力挺，按照正常的投票制度想当国王是没有问题的。但是我想要的不仅仅是成为国王，我还需要各大家族的支持，出兵尼弗迦德，帮助辛特拉。”
说到这里的时候，伊斯特温柔地看了一眼希里，随后转向兰恩：“因此我需要合理地堵住那些族长的嘴——以岛民的习俗。”
“这个方法有点冒险。我注意到你身后的这几名勇士，他们是猎魔人吧？我看到杰洛特就在他们里面——我可能需要他们的帮助。”
兰恩一愣，伊斯特应该是知道猎魔人不参与政治的，他当国王有什么忙是需要猎魔人出手的？
伊斯特很快解释道：“乌德维克岛在不久前——大概是两个月吧——出现了一头寒冰巨人，我们不知道是什么将它从沉眠之中唤醒，但是它出现之后大肆破坏，小岛都因此毁了大半。”
“而不仅仅是乌德维克岛，这头巨人据说还能够使用寒冰魔法在不同的岛屿间流窜，还有着号令女海妖的神秘力量。各个领主不止一次组织军队去围剿这头巨人，但是每次都大败而归。”
“而我要去狩猎这头寒冰巨人，取得它的头颅。”
“My plan is to use the most powerful monsters to honor the most courageous warriors and help me regain the throne of Skellige.”
Just as East finished speaking, the system prompt sounded:
[Discovery Mission - Glacier's Fury:
An unknown astronomical phenomenon awakens the hibernating giant early, and it wreaks havoc and destroys everything that moves in front of it. The beautiful island of Udvik has been horribly damaged; the danger of the giant beast is spreading to the entire Skellige, and the brave sea knight hopes to win the crown for himself by defeating the monster. Demon hunter, you may be able to help, after all, this is also helping yourself. 】