Fulhala Village is located on the top of a mountain and is not a prosperous village.
It was precisely because of its primitiveness, harsh environment and ease in training warriors that it was chosen as the place for the Svablod sect to build its temple.
After being attacked by the Skellige people, the village of Fulhala has now become a complete ruin. There are no intact walls in the village, only ruins.
Against the gray-black sky, the shadow of the ruined village was covering the dusk. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the barren ground, rendering it in the hard cracks. The only thing that made people feel vitality and life was the sound of the wind that fell silently between the cliffs.
However, in the eyes of the demon hunter, this desolate ruin showed something else.
Three pairs of amber eyes and one pair of dark gold eyes sparkled.
All pheromones in the surrounding environment are transformed into visible visual factors through synaesthesia and presented to everyone.
It was clearly just a ruin, but Lan and his party seemed to see people passing by frequently—
"It smells like bad beer, half-cooked barbecue, and bad breath." Kolgrim kicked at the pile of bonfires that were now only fragments. "It should be a homeless person looking for shelter."
"There's a pine scent, malt bread, and the dry firewood on the ground has traces of being chopped by an axe." Cohen touched a step that was obviously cleaner than the surroundings. "It's the mountain people who passed by here to rest."
"But these are not our goals," Lan concluded, shaking his head.
Lann's discoveries were few and far between. When it came to these reconnaissance methods, he was really not as good as these old demon hunters who had been accustomed to hunting alone for decades.
"Ged, did you find anything?"
Lan's voice went out, but there was no response.
From a distance, he saw the bear-like man and the white wolf huddled together, looking at a dark patch of ground.
Seeing that they seemed to have discovered something, Lan also moved over.
"This is blood." Geralt pointed at the black marks on the ground. "It's been a few days. There must have been more than one person here at the time. A fight broke out."
Following Geralt's explanation, Gerd picked up a piece of cloth from the ground. "This is wolf-tanned leather. It's very tough, and even hard to cut with a knife. Although it's not as good as specially processed leather armor, it's not something that can be torn apart easily."
Lan took it thoughtfully, and looked around with his dark golden eyes: "But it does look torn apart, and if it is really that strong, there is only one explanation-"
"It's a wild beast, or a monster with sharp claws like a ghoul."
Gerd took a deep breath, looked at the red information factors of varying shades around him, and added: "But there is no body odor of any beasts around - unless this is a beast that pays special attention to cleanliness, do you have any idea?"
The answer is obvious.
Lann showed an excited look and said decisively: "Vilka Berserker!"
When Lann tried to stop the giant bears at the banquet, he had a feeling that the giant bears transformed from berserkers were much cleaner than real wild bears.
After all, no matter how unkempt a person is, he is still sloppier than a beast that has no concept of "washing up". This is the biggest difference between a berserker and a real wild bear.
And Gerd, who personally killed a giant bear on the scene at that time, obviously understood this.
He quickly looked around for any useful information.
"There was more than one person at the scene. A small battle broke out here. But the traces of the battle were very restrained, with only a small amount... well, a medium amount of blood."
Gede analyzed, "No one died, at least not here on the spot. Based on the traces here, perhaps we can find the people who were fighting against the Velka Berserker at that time."
This analysis makes a lot of sense.
The demon hunters immediately gathered together and began to record the pheromones nearby.
"There are signs of someone escaping here." Kolgrim suddenly made a new discovery and pointed in a direction, "Over there!"
The ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, but Lan's lion eyes could see dots of dark red light faintly marking a path on the ground.
A long time has passed and the trace is about to disappear, but there is no mistake - it is a trace of blood.
A vague figure suddenly appeared in front of Lann:
[He was a mountain dweller. He and his companions came here for unknown reasons, and unexpectedly encountered the berserkers of Vilka.
The human body turned into a giant bear in front of him, causing chaos. He was injured in the panic, so he abandoned his companions and fled, hoping to find some shelter in the ruins...】
Lan followed the transparent figure all the way forward until he saw him disappear into a building.
In front of you is the temple in the center of the village, built by the Vilkans for the evil god Svablo.
It was also the strongest building in the entire village, built by the strongest warriors using the strongest stones from the mountains, and that was why it was able to barely preserve its outline under the attack of the Skellige people, unlike other buildings in the village, which only had two or three walls left.
The target everyone is looking for is inside.
Just as Gerd was about to rush inside, he was suddenly grabbed by Lan.
"What's wrong?"
"For some reason, I am particularly sensitive to the existence of demons." Lann drew out the Sword of the Lady of the Lake with his right hand and made a seal with his left hand. "I have a companion from the Cat School who has similar abilities. I can introduce him to you later."
"You mean... there are demons in there?"
Upon hearing this, Gede immediately stopped and looked inside through the hole in the temple wall.
It was almost nightfall, and the only remaining light was barely enough for people to see the irregular stones scattered around the temple. The dilapidated stone pillars stood in place, but the roof they were needed to support had collapsed long ago.
In most places there is no light, only eerie darkness.
This really looks like a place where you might encounter evil spirits around the corner.
Lann squatted slightly, and was about to cast a sigil that would be enough to cover the entire temple; the demon hunters behind him also drew out various silver swords, preparing to smear their swords with the [Ghost Oil] that was specifically designed to restrain these imaginary monsters.
However, at this moment, the black magic scimitar behind Lann suddenly lit up.
The soul in the painting, wearing a plain Gothic black dress, appeared in the dilapidated village on the top of the mountain. She folded her hands in front of her belly, her face covered with a black veil, and her temperament was empty.
And her gentle voice seemed to be emitting a subtle fragrance: "Let me do it."
As soon as she finished speaking, bright emerald flames enveloped her body; the next second, something seemed to light up inside the ruined temple.
Behind Lan, Ged was stunned.
The bear-faction demon hunter covered his trembling badge, looked at the black magic scimitar behind Lann, then looked at the ruins of the temple, and didn't know where to point his hands.
"Just now... was that a demon spirit? No, it seems very different. No matter what kind of demon spirit it is, it won't be so beautiful."
"That's not a demon spirit." Lann pointed out the mistake in Gede's language seriously, "It's a 'soul', a beautiful existence that remains in the world due to a strong emotional connection. Don't compare her with the name of that demon."
Gede shrank his fingers: "Why are you so angry... I know it."
…
Lane was not worried about Alice's fighting ability at all.
Among all the current followers, Alice has the highest comprehensive basic attributes. She even possesses a large number of advanced skills, as well as the talent [Chun] that Lann still doesn't know how to use.
Especially now that the enemies inside are still demon spirits, Alice, who is the unique [Soul in the Painting], has to deal with them, and the suppression effect should not be too obvious.
However, even though Lan had already overestimated Alice in his heart, when he entered the temple, the scene inside still surprised him.
…
If someone could find a way to bury a flame inside nephrite, the light that would come out would be exactly like the light inside the temple right now.
Alice stood in the center of the temple hall, emitting a warm emerald light; four ghosts crawled at her feet, and lanterns burning with ghostly green flames were thrown aside by them.
At this moment, Lann could still vaguely sense the emotions from those evil spirits: there was fear, reverence, and a hint of unattainable longing and shame.
Alice faced these spirits with a dignified expression on her face, until she saw Lann come in, then she smiled faintly.
The emerald glow in the room also became softer.
She pointed to the demon with its head buried the lowest and said, "It is the islander you are looking for who was attacked by the giant bear - or rather, it 'used to be an islander'."
Lann looked around quickly. There were several skeletons in the corners of the temple. The freshest one matched the pheromone he remembered in his witcher senses.
That's it.
Alice continued, "Its memory is very vague. It only remembers coming to Fulhala Village with its companions. As for why and how it came, it can't remember anything."
"The clearest memory I have is of a giant bear. He then hurriedly ran here, hoping to hide temporarily, but was killed by the evil spirits here."
In addition to this demon spirit, there are four other demon spirits crawling beside Alice. Their colors are darker and they are obviously older.
它们应该是当初死在史凯利格人进攻中的某几位祭司，因为怨气不消，所以化身妖灵。
而兰恩他们寻找的岛民显然在死亡之后也加入了它们的行列。
“这样的信息还不足以让我们找到维尔卡人。”兰恩指了指那些有年头了的妖灵，“既然它们以前都是神殿的人，那么能不能问问它们呢？说不定更够给我们一些情报呢？”
爱丽丝却摇了摇头：“妖灵本身都是怨气和仇恨没能消散才产生的，就算有什么神智也不会太清晰。尤其是它们这些亡故已久的，跟野兽其实已经没有什么区别了。”
爱丽丝伸出修长而迷蒙的手指，指向那头岛民化成的妖灵：“现在还能够勉强跟人沟通的也只有它了。”
似乎是感受到了爱丽丝的苦恼，地上的妖灵突然动了动。
紧接着，它身上的幽绿色火焰变得更加凝实了起来。
爱丽丝微抬下颌，闭眼凝神，似乎在倾听什么。半晌后才跟兰恩说道：“它说其他的都忘记了，但是自己出生的村子却忘不掉。我们可以去那里看看，如果当时它的同伴有逃生成功的话，说不定可以被我们找到，进而了解当时事情的详情。”
兰恩露出惊喜的眼神：“那个村庄的名字是？”
“艾格罗村。”
“具体的方位呢？”
爱丽丝闭上眼睛。
好看的眉毛微微颤动几下之后，画中魂灵无奈地说道：“它忘了……”
好吧。
兰恩长长地吐出一口气，至少现在又获得了一个新的线索，总比之前无头苍蝇的状态要好得多。
事不宜迟，他正准备招呼同伴们离开这里，一转头，却看到爱丽丝犹豫的表情，欲言又止。
“兰恩。”爱丽丝轻轻咬了咬嘴唇，“我在想，我们能不能帮这些妖灵……解脱？”
“嗯？”
“我是因为被你们猎魔人称为‘椿’的特殊现象而得以存在的，让我如今维持着感情、提供给我力量的，是‘爱’。”
“但哪怕如此，在画中世界沉眠的那些年里面我也生活得很痛苦。”爱丽丝低下头，右手攒住了胸口的衣服，“而它们这些普通的妖灵，是靠着‘怨’和‘恨’维持存在的……它们很痛苦，我能感受到。”
“所以你想要给予它们解脱？”
兰恩和众猎魔人对视了一眼，对于这种要求自然不会拒绝。
甚至哪怕爱丽丝不说，兰恩自己都打算等问完话之后让这些妖灵解脱一下。
他们运用猎魔人感官在神殿里面寻找着这些妖灵死去的骸骨，其中的几副在此时已经化成碎片了，和地上的碎石和灰尘混杂在一起，几乎分辨不出以前居然还是人形。
四只手一齐掐出【伊格尼法印】的姿态，对准了地上的骸骨。
爱丽丝的眼神却是一变。
因为除了那头兰恩等人寻找的岛民化身的妖灵之外，原本就在神殿中的、年代已久的那些妖灵，此刻居然齐齐嘶吼一声化成绿色火焰在原地消失不见。
看它们的架势，居然是要朝着猎魔人攻击过来。
靠着怨与恨苟延残喘确实让妖灵们痛苦，但是已经神智尽失的妖灵们又有着魔物的生存本能，此刻看到猎魔人们企图消灭自己的行为，本能地做出了反应。
一边在怨恨之中挣扎，一边又维系着这样的痛苦，永世沉沦，不得解脱，这就是妖灵。
好在今天在场的都是猎魔人。
在爱丽丝求助的目光中，兰恩左手掐出奇异的手势，一开始就已经酝酿好的法印终究还是被他打出。
【亚登法印】！
整个神殿都被笼罩在了沙漏符文圈起来的魔法阵之中，妖灵们燃烧着绿色的火焰在半空中刚刚显现，立刻就被紫色的光华攀附上了身体。
迎接它们的，是早有准备的猎魔人银剑。
凄厉的惨嚎在神殿之中响起，被山巅的冷风带去悬崖和绝壁，恐吓可能出现在那里的山民。
四名猎魔人缓缓收剑，他们的面前只剩下粉末状的炼金材料，运气好的还能见到小块的突变诱发物。
而兰恩转身，看着最后一头匍匐在地上的妖灵。
一直到兰恩将他的骸骨焚烧成了灰烬，它都没有起身，只是不住地颤抖着，身上的幽绿色火焰忽明忽暗。
“它说话了，兰恩。”爱丽丝突然出声道，“它说：谢谢你。”
翡翠色的光华亮得好似太阳，从许久无人的神殿废墟中投射而出。
若是路过的山民见到此景此光，不知道又会延伸出什么新的传说。
……
和猎魔人同伴最后搜索了一次弗尔哈拉村，确定这里再没有什么其他被遗漏的线索之后，兰恩等人转身下山。
兰恩一行人的动作极快，他们此时已经完成了“登山－搜索－战斗－搜索－下山”的这样一整个流程，而负责寻找维尔卡人线索的史凯利格士兵们现在还在群山之中摸索。
远远地看到了山下驻守的机动部队，兰恩他们正准备回去跟伊斯特他们交流自己这边获得的情报，却发现山脚下的部队不知道什么时候变多了。
再仔细看过去，还能够发现在场的居然不止伊斯特和克拉茨两个家族的士兵，现场居然还出现了另外一支部队，他们拿着风格迥异的刻有家族纹章的盾牌。
“看那个标记……是德拉蒙家族家族？领头的那个是……疯子卢戈？”
兰恩顿时乐了，这人是不是还欠他一场拳击赛来着？
……
疯子卢戈所在的德拉蒙家族和克拉茨所在的克莱特家族是有点世仇在里面的。
他们之间矛盾的起因就是土地争端。而事情的原委其实很明显：从正常的事件发展角度来看，肯定是从外地过来、不打招呼就在大史凯利格岛定居的德拉蒙家族理亏。
但是他们偏偏理不直气也壮。
所以克莱特家族也格外愤怒。
只不过出于史凯利格七大家族团结的目的，饶是克莱特家族这样的强盛家族，面对“同伴”依旧不能够贸然起兵戈，只能够把争斗一直维持在比较克制的程度。
最后让这场争端居然焦灼了几代人的时间。
而矛盾也愈演愈烈。
就比如此时的克拉茨。本来他是带着人准备进山的，但是在知道疯子卢戈居然到了山下之后，直接把指挥权交给了自己的副官，带着三个人就直冲冲的跑了过来，和疯子卢戈开始当面对碰。
远远地，兰恩就能够听到一行人的咆哮。
……
“滚开，疯子，你这个没有荣誉的窃贼！这里不欢迎你们！”
克拉茨此时已经把斧头都提在手上了。
“大史凯利格岛的每一寸土地都是德拉蒙家族的，是我们不欢迎你们才对，克拉茨！”疯子卢戈一边咆哮着也一边拔出了武器，毫不相让。
反而是他们身后的家族士兵们都比较克制，只是把手放在剑柄上，不如自己的两位家主这么剑拔弩张。
伊斯特冷眼看着怒目圆睁的疯子卢戈，冷冷道：“不用演戏了，卢戈。你大老远的跑到这里来，绝对不是只为了找克拉茨打一架，你我都知道现在是什么时节，而你又想做什么。”
“痛快一点，像个真正的岛民一样。”
疯子卢戈狠狠地笑了一声，朝着脚边啐了一口：“我为什么会过来？大史凯利格岛发生的一切都逃不过我的眼睛，尤其是克拉茨的踪迹更是如此。”
“伊斯特，我尊敬你，那是因为你以前的功绩。但是过去的成绩不足以让我对未来让步。”
疯子凶狠的眼睛打量了一下伊斯特和克拉茨，这两大家族的联军威势惊人，纵然是他现在也颇为忌惮。
整个群岛敢和他们两大家族同时对峙的估计也就是这个疯子了。
伊斯特突然问道：“你忌惮尼弗迦德？不愿意以后让史凯利格跟黑日帝国成为敌人？”
“哈！”疯子卢戈好像听到了什么滑稽的事情，“能够劫掠尼弗迦德才是刺激的事情不是吗？那可是整合了南方的帝国！他们国民的惨叫声一定比一般村庄的渔民更加悦耳，他们的宝石肯定也比一般的小国更加闪耀。”
这话说得很符合疯子的思维。
“但是！”疯子卢戈突然加重了语气，他还有有话没说完，“如果这样一支令人心旷神怡的劫掠队由我来领导，那不是更加令人陶醉吗？”
“所以你想要成为国王。”伊斯特和疯子对视着，反驳道，“我承认你在海上作战的能力，就连我也没有把握说自己能够完全压制你。但是你不适合当国王，你不会治国。史凯利格是个国家，而不仅仅是个海盗家族。”
却没想到疯子卢戈听了伊斯特的话之后，情绪突然就激动起来。
"I am not qualified to be king, I am not suitable to be king, then you are qualified, are you suitable?" Lugo shouted, "You may have been a 'Sea Knight' in the past! I once followed you and supported you as king. But you gave up your honor! You ran to the north to be the husband of a queen, and gave up the sea and the mountains!"
"Bran is your brother. I thought he could take on your responsibilities, so I voted for him. But I didn't expect that he is the same as you! He also treats the honor of being king as a child's windmill to play with!"
"I will never trust you guys again. No one else among the seven families can gain my support! I am the only one who can lead Skellige into the mainland - Lugo Drummond!"