This roar seemed to drain a lot of Lugo's energy. After venting his emotions, he began to breathe heavily.
After listening to the accusation of the madman Lugo, Easter was speechless.
The first half of his life was legendary and worth telling, and his story with Calanthe has fascinated countless people.
But to the islanders, to those who once supported him as king, East did owe it. That was why he was so persistent in seeking an honor that no one could find fault with, so that he could return to the throne - such as the previous plan to conquer the ice giants.
This plan, which seemed almost suicidal in the eyes of Lann, King Bran, and Kratz, was more like an explanation to his old friends for Easter.
Lugo took a few breaths, finally calmed down, and adjusted himself back to the face that was called "madman":
"I have said too much nonsense. Easter, since you have chosen the queen of Cintra, there is no place for you in Skellige."
"Kratz, even if East was here today, I would..."
A voice suddenly interrupted the madman Lugo's words.
That voice was not in the group that Crazy Lugo and his group were confronting at the moment.
"Hey, you, do you have any problem with my aunt?"
…
Being interrupted, Lugo, who was choked by his breath, turned red in the face, and his expression became even more ferocious.
He turned around angrily and was about to jump up, but he saw the blond knight wearing a griffin cloak at the place where the sound was just made.
The dark golden lion's eyes were flashing, and at the same time, the knight was moving his fists and feet secretly, as if preparing for a boxing match.
The faint howl of a bear could be heard in the air.
…
"Kratz, since Easter is here today, I won't bother with you! But the matter between us Drummond and Clayt will never be resolved!"
After uttering these harsh words, the current lord of the Drummond family left with his subordinates.
Looking at the madman Lugo walking away, the group had puzzled expressions.
Easter's family knew their own business, that is, when he was once the king of Skellige, the madman Lugo could give him the so-called "face".
And now that I am here, it might even intensify the conflict between Lugo and Kratz.
So, Easter's gaze slowly shifted to Lan.
…
The next person to look at Lan was Kratz. Over the years, he had defeated Lugo countless times on various occasions, but he had never defeated this madman. Every time they met, the other party would bite him like a mad dog.
This kind of situation where there is only threats but no actual fighting is really rare in the history of the two families' interactions.
…
Lann looked at the direction where the madman Lugo left with an unhappy expression. When he turned around, he saw the eyes of his cousin and uncle.
He smiled brightly like the sun: "I found some clues."
Business was important, and East and Kratz's attention was immediately drawn to Lann, who began to analyze what the group had gained from the ruins of the temple in Fulhala Village.
However, Lann did not tell the two about Alice's situation. He just said that he and others found traces of a giant bear attacking people, and then found the still rational demon spirit transformed from the attacked person, and then obtained relevant information.
"Aiglo Village?" Kratz clapped his hands. "As long as it's within the territory of Great Skellig Island, then everything will be easy."
Lann nodded: "This is the clue I got, so it should be my responsibility to continue tracking it down. But I need a guide, so Kratz needs your help."
For everyone, the clues obtained this time were a breakthrough.
The only question is whether there were any survivors of the giant bear's attack, and whether the survivors finally returned to their village.
Easter nodded and made arrangements: "Then we will split up into two groups. Lan, you go and follow up on the clues you got, and we will continue to search the nearby mountains. Since there are giant bears, the Vilka people must still have a tribe here, and they must have left traces that we can search further."
Lann also said: "I will leave my people to help you. You need manpower here. My servants and soldiers are all familiar with and respect you, and are willing to obey your orders. I only need to bring the demon hunters."
House was standing behind Lane, and upon hearing this, he immediately bowed to Easter.
Easter was worried about Lan's safety and seemed to want to add something. But he looked at the four pairs of amber eyes behind Lan, and thought of the fighting power Lan had shown so far, and finally chose to trust Lan.
Seeing that the plan had been finalized, Kratz reached out and called someone in the team.
This man had a typical islander appearance, with a beard and a strong body, but his temperament was not rough at all, but rather rigorous, which reminded Lane of his old butler, Ens.
Sure enough, Kratz then introduced him to Lan: "His name is Guslav, and he used to be my adjutant. After being injured in a battle, he followed the steward in my castle to learn some management matters and became a member of the steward group. He was soon second only to my steward. But he couldn't forget the life of holding a shield and an axe. So I will bring him out from time to time, and he will take you to Aigro Village."
Steward Guslav performed standard northern court etiquette towards Lann: "It is an honor to be your guide, Lord Lannister."
This serious look even made Lan, who had been in Skellige for some time, a little uncomfortable.
Lord Lannister took a deep breath and said, "It is my honor as well. I will leave the rest to you, Mr. Guslav."
…
Aigro Village is backed by mountains and faces the sea, and has very little connection with the outside world.
If you want to reach this village, you have to go over the hill and pass through a narrow mountain path where even water ghosts pass by from time to time.
Or use a more islander way, which is the way Guslav and Lan chose at this moment - taking a boat.
A small boat carrying five demon hunters and the butler sent by Kratz came to this rarely visited village. Before they reached the shore, villagers saw them from afar.
Lan and the others saw that the villagers suddenly became very excited, shouting something from afar and waving their hands.
"What are they talking about?" Gerd asked in confusion.
Everyone shook their heads.
Only Kolgrim narrowed his eyes and stared at the mouth shapes of those people from a distance:
"He's asking us to get to the shore quickly." The snake-faction witcher, who had experience as an assassin, could read lips. "He's also warning us: Be careful, there are... sirens in the sea?"
After hearing Kolgrim's translation, the expressions of the demon hunters suddenly changed.
They knew too well what would happen if a small boat encountered a mermaid on the sea.
The intelligence of sirens is not low. Compared with humans, they prefer to attack ships and can easily tear the vehicles under people's feet into pieces.
The demon hunters were still fully armed, with a lot of iron armor on their bodies. Except for Lann who could put his armor back into the [Inventory] at any time, the others would sink to the bottom as soon as they fell into the water.
Steward Guslav, who was born and raised on the Great Skellige Island, quickly comforted the demon hunters who had changed their expressions: "Don't worry, sirens usually only appear in places far away from human habitation. We are near the sea and will not be attacked."
This is true in theory, but when Lan and his friends looked at the panicked villagers, they felt that the anxiety on their faces could not be fake.
Fortunately, things finally turned out as Butler Guslav had expected. The Siren did not appear after all, and the group safely reached the shore by boat.
The villagers who were originally on the shore immediately gathered around, and seemed eager to check on these strangers who had rashly come to the village. A few villagers ran over here not far away, but they all had harpoons in their hands.
The islanders are warmhearted, but they are also extremely defensive. They are the kind of people who will ask you if you are okay when you are lying on the ground with an axe in hand. If you say you are fine, they will help you up; if you take the opportunity to think of something bad, the axe will fall.
After seeing the five pairs of strange eyes coming down from the boat, they tightened their grip on the harpoons.
But then they saw Guslav wearing a shield with three ships, so they put down their harpoons easily.
The crowd discussed in low voices for a few words, and soon an old but strong elder came forward and asked, "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 person who spoke was the village chief, who was obviously familiar with the ancient Slavs, thus saving a lot of communication time.
"I am here with Lord Kratz's orders. I need to ask you something." Guslav stepped aside and said, "This is Lord Lann Lannister Rayanron, the Duke of Cintra."
The village chief bowed politely to Lan, but his eyes were still on Guslav.
Butler Guslav frowned and added, "He is Lord Kratz's cousin."
This time, the village chief showed an expression as if he had just woken up from a dream. He saluted Lan En again and made a gesture as if waiting for orders.
对于老者，兰恩先是露出亲和的微笑：“我从大陆北方前来拜访我的表兄，这段时间在参观大史凯利格岛。前段时间听说弗尔哈拉村有值得纪念的古迹，所以前去瞻仰……”
对于斯瓦勃洛和维尔卡狂战士的事情，兰恩没有明说，这些不是随便找个人过来都能够告诉的事情。
但是兰恩却敏锐地观察到，这老村长在听到“弗尔哈拉”这个名字后，表情猛地变换了。
有问题。
兰恩不动声色地继续：“我们在那里发现了一名受伤颇重的年轻人，他告诉我他来自艾格罗村。同时告诉我当时还有几名同行的伙伴，或许逃出来了。”
说到这里，兰恩摇了摇头：“可惜他受伤颇重，没一会就咽了气，但是直到最后他还是念念不忘自己的同伴，不知道他们是否安全回村。”
听闻兰恩的话，村长没有立即回答，反而露出了非常为难的神色开始左右顾之而言他：“不知道兰尼斯特大人，为什么会对我们这样小村子里的发生的事情感兴趣呢……”
古斯拉夫非常顺畅地接过兰恩的话：“这是发生在大史凯利格岛上面的事情，克拉茨大人非常关注，便派遣我前来了解详情。而兰尼斯特大人有仁心，希望完成勇士的遗愿。”
“所以你们前段时间有没有年轻人去弗尔哈拉村，事后有没有人回来？”
村长的脸色猛然变换了几下，开始支支吾吾起来。
古斯拉夫有些在意地看了一眼兰恩的方向，皱起眉头，不再客气地朝着村长训斥道：“有就有，没有就是没有，快说！”
……
“有。”
肯定的回答传过来，却不是村长说出来的，而是站在古斯拉夫管家身后的兰恩。
他的狮瞳微微亮起，村庄中的一切都在他的眼中变成了失真的灰色。
但是这一片昏暗的世界之中，却有一缕缕红色的信息素在飘**，这正是猎魔人们在弗尔哈拉村记录下来的信息素。
这说明，确实有人在被巨熊袭击之后回到了这个村子里面。
除了兰恩之外，其他的猎魔人们也都精准地捕捉到了这个信息。他们直接掠过村长和村民，朝着红雾指引的方向前进过去。
但是兰恩他们也没有想到，这个红雾最终指引的方向却不是村子内部。他们一路穿过了艾格罗村，到了离村子大概有一百米左右的一个小木屋。
这个木屋就像是被整个村子排斥了一般，孤零零地立在这里。木屋旁边有一个小小的码头，上面用绳索系着一条破旧的小船。
兰恩在门口重重敲了两下，等了十几个呼吸之后依旧没有人回应。
没有了耐心的他直接破门而入。
……
眼前出现的是一个典型的渔民家的小屋，没有什么家具，只有破旧的床和一张渔网，一条自制的鱼竿，简陋的餐具，还有几个被撬开之后清理得干干净净的贝壳。
没有人，地上有凌乱的衣服，看样子屋子的主人平时不是很擅长收拾。
兰恩还注意到，这个房子虽然破旧，但是不久前似乎简单地经过翻新。
杰洛特用发光的眼睛四处打量着：“气味到这里就结束了。显然他在屋子里面清理过了自己，把血和其他的味道都弄干净了。”
“没有酒，没有血，没有什么香料或者其他气味浓郁的东西。唯一味道大一点的就是海鲜，但是这个村子里面到处都是海鲜，我们没有办法单靠感官去追踪他了。”
“不，足够了，确认确实有人回来了就可以，接下来就有别人给我们解答了。”兰恩说道。
他转过头，看向被强行押过来的村长，还有在村长身后脸色难看的古斯拉夫。
“跟着兰尼斯特大人的可是猎魔人大师，他们什么都知道！你以为不说话有用吗？”古斯拉夫大声训斥村长，“这里住着的是谁，你为什么要对兰尼斯特大人隐瞒他！”
“快说！”
村长的脸青一阵白一阵，反复变化了好几次，才终于长叹一声开了口。
……
房屋的主人叫做比尔。
艾格罗村和岛上大多数靠海的村子一样，都靠着打渔为生。但是和那些村子不同，因为艾格罗村地处偏僻，因此经常受到魔物的侵扰。
有水鬼、溺鬼，这些小型的魔物还好，村民们三五结队一起出海，拿着鱼叉也能够勉强应付。
但是真正困扰渔民的，是另一种魔物——海妖，也称作【海克娜】。
这种魔物被认为是鹰身女妖的近亲，除了同样可以在空中翱翔的能力之外，还能够在水下潜游，对于任何的船只都是致命的威胁。
也是因此，艾格罗村的渔民们日子过得格外清贫。
要么，他们得冒着生命危险在村子附近打鱼，但凡有点风吹草动什么的就要返航，一天下来收获寥寥；
要么，他们得跋山涉水到人迹稍微繁华一点的地方，那里的魔物们比较少——但是这样不说路上耗费的时间，人迹繁华的地方渔民也多，谁会愿意外村人过来抢自己的渔获？
每一代村长都头疼于村民的生活和村子的发展，如果不是碍于客观的原因，村长甚至还动过迁村的念头。
直到一个人的出现。
这个人就是兰恩他们所在的屋子的主人——比尔。
……
“比尔每次出海都能够有超过别人不知道多少倍的收获，有的时候他一个人就能够抵得上一个村子。”老村长支支吾吾地说道。
“后来有渔民去找他请教方法，但是他不说，只邀请其他人跟他同船一起出海。”老村长明明说着高兴的事情，却还是一句话一叹息，“于是，每个跟随比尔一起出海的人都能够满载而归。”
兰恩看着村长的表情：“困苦的村民获得生活的改善，村子里面出了有能力的年轻人，这不该是值得高兴的事情吗？可是为什么你的语气一点都看不出来你为村子的好转感到欣喜呢？”
柯恩打量着破旧的屋子：“一己之力改善了村子的年轻人为什么会居住在这种地方？不但远离人群，而且屋子还这么破旧，不像是有太多财产的样子。”
寇格林姆看着地上脱下来的破旧衣服：“而且为什么他和人登上山巅？捡了一条命跑回村子之后你为什么还要跟我们隐瞒他的存在？”
村长又沉默了。
古斯拉夫见此大为火光，只觉得今天大史凯利格岛的人在兰恩面前实在丢了太多的面子，一点都不荣耀。
“没听到兰尼斯特大人和猎魔人大师们的问题吗？快说！”
村长蠕动了几下嘴唇，最终任命一般地抱住脑袋，哀叹道。
“比尔虽然一直带着同伴出海，但是一直不告诉我们他能够避开怪物的秘诀。我们好奇不已，却又不想太过逼迫他，所以便安排人轮番监视他……”
除了兰恩之外的猎魔人们很整齐地轻笑一声，似乎对于这种情况一点也不意外。
而古斯拉夫的脸色更差了。
村长偷眼看了一眼兰恩他们，继续说道：“直到我们等到一个夜晚，看到比尔悄悄地溜了出去，看到他在海边就着月光宰杀白天捕捉到的渔获。”
“他在那里旁若无人地放血、朝着海中投食，还在唱一些旋律诡异的歌谣一样的东西。”
兰恩一行人的脸色顿时严肃起来，联想到自己之前收集到的情报，再结合比尔的行为，一个念头从他们的脑海中浮现出来。
“这个比尔，难道在用海获进行血祭？他是斯瓦勃洛的信徒？”格德惊呼出声。
村长却扑通一声朝着古斯拉夫跪了下来，他太知道在史凯利格祭祀斯瓦勃洛意味着什么了。
“不，不，就算是整个村子都破败了，我们也做不出祭祀邪神的事情来的！”村长连忙朝着克莱特家族的管家解释，担心对方误会。
古斯拉夫原本都准备拔斧头了，这才强行按捺住，但是他的手依旧按在斧柄之上。
“那么你告诉我，你们的那个有能力的比尔，为什么要在晚上将自己好不容易捕捞到的渔获投进大海。”
村长颤颤巍巍地从地上起来，那一晚知道比尔有秘密的行动之后，他也跟着一起去了海边。
直到现在，他回忆起那一幕还是说不出的……诡异。
“我看到，在比尔唱出那奇怪的歌之后，一个东西从海里面游了出来。”
“那是一条美人鱼。”
村长捂住了脑袋：“我原本以为比尔是掌握了什么驯养怪物的方法。但是随后我就看到他们互相依偎、互相拥抱、亲吻、乃至于更加亲密的动作，远远不是我们想象的那种关系……”
“嘶——”
兰恩猛然听到身后传来一阵抽冷气的声音。
回头一看，只见到寇格林姆和柯恩都露出了难以置信的表情，甚至还带着一点点羡慕。
哪怕是见多识广的杰洛特和格德，此刻脸上也满是惊叹。