From Witcher to Lord of the Empire

"Thank you, Master Dandelion." A man wearing a bright blue cloak trimmed with gold stood up from the crowd, his voice was not loud but deep, "Please allow me—Redek of Bullburg Reeve, master of the mysteries of magic—grateful and praise for your superb skills, and I believe everyone present will agree with me."

The onlookers began to applaud, while others raised their hands in tribute to the singer. Touched by the music, the women sobbed softly, wiping their eyes with what they had on hand.

Dandelion also saw the baron's family, who specially canceled the hunting to watch the famous poet's country performance.

The performance ended, and the previous noise returned to the surroundings. The merchants whispered a few words and pushed the vats of beer under the oak trees. The baron's daughters turned their adoring eyes to Dandelion, who was smiling intently at a wide-eyed elven beauty.

Dandelion's apprentice put down the lute and picked up the locket in which the money was collected, so that the audience could properly express their admiration, but he took stock of the applause around him and dropped the box again, picking up a vat.

This behavior caused Dandelion to look away from the elven beauty, admiring the apprentice's ingenuity.

"Master!" Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "Your story is not finished yet, tell us what happened after that!"

"You didn't mention the name in your song, but we all know that the character in your song can only be the famous Geralt of Rivia, and the sorceress who fell in love with him is the equally famous Yennefer. As for The accidental child, the child who is connected with the fate of the demon hunter and bound by the oath at birth is Sirila, the unfortunate Princess of Cintra. Is that right?"

Dandelion showed a mysterious and indifferent smile: "Everyone, the plot in my ballad can happen anywhere, and the emotion in the song is also possible for anyone to experience, it has nothing to do with specific characters."

A girl screamed: "Master, we all know that this song is about Geralt the Witcher! Keep singing! Please tell us what happened next? Did the Witcher and the sorceress Yennefer finally find each other? Are they still in love? Are they happy? We want to know!"

A dwarf suddenly stood up in the crowd. He was the leader of a group of dwarf soldiers. He yelled at the screaming girls, as if his ears were disturbed.

"Enough! Princesses, sorceresses, fate, love, these are all nonsense, poetic fictions, just to make the story more beautiful and touching."

After finishing speaking, the dwarf turned to Dandelion again: "Please forgive my offense, great poet. But the description of the war between Soden and Mahakam in your poem is really wonderful, and Sin who was destroyed by Nilfgaard's iron hoof Terra, the looting and massacre that took place there - so alive! I'd pay for a song like that! It's the voice of a warrior!"

"No!" A knight in the audience yelled loudly, "Sintra did not perish. As far as I know, the lion knight whose poems are widely circulated returned to Sintra to stabilize the situation and resist Nilfgaard. , he is now known as the 'Lion of Cintra'!"

"Huh? Then I have to ask this delusional knight who can't control his tongue." The dwarf leader widened his eyes, "I respect the lion knight, and I have his commemorative Gwent card in my hand, but according to me Knowing that he was plotted and sacrificed by the Nilfgaardians in Toussaint, how can he return to Sintra to stabilize the situation?"

"Are you saying I'm lying? Insulting the honor and dignity of a knight?" The knight blushed and jumped up, "Everyone on the northern border knows that the Lion Knight has appeared again. How could someone like him be killed by Nefer?" The Gad people plotted. You don’t even know this, I don’t think you have ever been to the battlefield!”

"Shut your sore mouth, I am Mahakam's front-line fighter supporting Soden!"

The quarrel began, and the voices of humans and dwarves became louder and louder, and at one point even reached the point where swords were facing each other.

A gray-haired druid in a white cloak came out in time to dissuade: "My lords! Don't quarrel under the canopy of Peleukeris, an oak older than the quarrels and quarrels of the whole world! We should learn from the poets of Dandelion Learn to love, not fight!"

The Druid's high prestige allowed both parties in the quarrel to temporarily swallow the swear words, and a short and fat priest seemed to think that there was an opportunity to follow the Druid's words.

"Love and peace, exactly!"

The sweaty priest echoed: "Why are there fights? Because there is no love for God in your hearts. The ballad is about the fate of mankind, because we are like playthings in the hands of the gods, and the ground under our feet is nothing but gods." The playground. The things depicted in the poems, the witcher, the lion knight, the princess and the sorceress are all just metaphors, the product of the poet's imagination, we can't just listen to the story, but feel the will of God from it... ..."

"What nonsense are you talking about, great sage?" cried a knight. "What imagination? That's why I hate you blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Fact. I have seen Rann of Cintra, a true knight, and a praiseworthy lion!"

"I agree." A slender female warrior also stood up, her smooth black hair combed back and tied into a thick braid. "I am Leila of Leiria. Although I have never seen a lion, I know Geralt the White Wolf. He is a superb warrior. I have never seen anyone who can wield a sword better than him."

"But as far as I know." A red-haired young man shook his head when he saw this, he was dressed like a traveler, "Queen Calanthe of Sintra and King Easter have no sons or daughters, where did they come from?" The accidental son of poetry—what's his name, Princess Cyrella?"

Those who were arguing fell silent. They looked at the red-haired young man and seemed to be wondering when such a person got mixed up in their conversation.

The knight kicked the red-haired youth to the ground: "Queen Calanthe and her ex-husband gave birth to a princess—Princess Pavetta, and later Princess Pavetta and her husband died in a shipwreck. And Princess Sirila is their only daughter, known as the lion cub of Cintra, understand? You idiot!"

A dwarf sat on his vat, thinking: "But I heard that Princess Sirilla died when the city of Sintra was destroyed. All the royal families died together, including Princess Sirilla."

"Nonsense!" The same knight said, "The lion is still alive, so how could something happen to the cub?"

"Your lion is dead in Toussaint!" cried the chief of the dwarves.

The dwarves and knights drew their swords against each other again, the baron and wizard looked on coldly, the dwarf merchant suddenly seized the opportunity to sell beer to the people around him, and the priest yelled at the barbaric behavior but no one paid attention.

"Everyone, we are all children of the earth." In the end, the druid calmed down the fight again, "We are the children of nature, travelers gathered in the land of friendship, we are among the original roots, we should put aside Individual identities and prejudices, for this land gave birth to us all. Let us not forget the ballad of the poet Dandelion..."

"Wait, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, Dandelion is gone! His apprentice is also gone with a full bag of coins. Where did he go?"

"He ran away," said a tall elf expressionless beside the elf beauty Dandelion had been ogling, and he had been watching everything with cold eyes. The harvest is gone, go enjoy it."

"Like a dwarf!" The knight, who felt that his enthusiasm had been let down, scolded in an atmosphere.

"Like a dwarf!" screamed the dwarf trader.

"Like an elf!" The dwarf leader blew his beard and stared.

"Like a human," corrected the elf beauty who had been enduring Dandelion's smile.

"Where did he go? Where do we go to know the story behind?" The baron's daughters asked in confusion, they were intoxicated by the love story between the witcher and the sorceress and couldn't extricate themselves.

…………

"At that time, I was caught by Reins, that was the first time we met." Dandelion looked solemn, "He was unreasonable and kidnapped me directly from under the giant oak Beleukeris, otherwise I would Definitely have a good chat with my fans."

Lann raised his eyebrows: "Really?"

"Of course." Dandelion raised his head reservedly, "You didn't see the scene, the baron's daughter and the elf girl both fell in love with me, I need to mediate the battle between them. After all, I am a singer , an artist, I'm supposed to bring peace and love."

Dandelion sighed: "It's a pity that the hateful warlock who suddenly appeared, he destroyed everything!"

…………

There were two girls on the poet's lap when the stranger knocked on Dandelion's door. The money he had just received under the giant oak tree was enough for a little extravagance.

But the strange movement disturbed the poet's interest. Dandelion smoothed his hair and sat up in the huge carved armchair. The two girls hurriedly jumped off his knees, shyly arranging the messy clothes, covering the infinite spring.

Watching the girls leave with a coquettish smile, the poet grumbled angrily: "Unfamiliar guests, you seem to be very good at finding people, but you really don't know how to choose the right time."

"Please excuse my intrusive visit, master." The stranger walked to the table, and he was still polite at this time, "I know it is inappropriate to disturb you at this time, but you disappeared from under the oak tree too quickly, I Didn't catch you on the road, and didn't immediately find you in this town. I won't take up too much of your time."

He was polite, but without waiting for Dandelion to respond to his question, he continued selfishly: "I am your fan, and I am deeply fascinated by the characters in your poems. The true fate of the main character must have been modeled on the true fate of real people in the wonderful piece heard before under the great oak."

"I want to know." The stranger looked into Dandelion's eyes. "Geralt, and the traces of Ciriella."

"My strange lord," said the poet dryly, "you are curious about what you are interested in, and so are your questions. I am curious..."

A huge money bag fell in front of Dandelion: "I hope this will make you forget your curiosity."

The poet who just rolled up the money and slipped away under the giant oak tree didn’t even look at the money bag that fell in front of him at the moment. He said blankly: “I’m sorry, I really don’t want to discuss the theme and inspiration of my work. and characters, fictional or not. It would rob poetry of its romance and beauty, and reduce it to banality and mediocrity—especially to strangers.”

"Will it? Even in the face of this full bag of rewards? This is more than the income you brought in from that grand concert this afternoon. I think I am already very generous."

"It's not a matter of pay, stranger, but of professionalism. If I tell you, I'll never be able to hold concerts again." Dandelion shook his head and began to run the train with his mouth full, ""

The stranger sighed: "I originally wanted to treat the artist in a more elegant way, but I'm sorry, I must know the answer to the question."

He peeled off his mask called Grace, and he began to exude the air of the outlaw Dandelion had often encountered in his travels.

"Remember, my name is Riens. And you may suffer, dear poet."

A blue light suddenly flashed in front of the poet's eyes, and his limbs gradually became numb, dull, and stiff. He wanted to call the proprietress of this store over by shouting, because this kind of "entertainment place" would be equipped with several ruthless characters to prevent people from making trouble.

But Liens may have seen Dandelion's thoughts, he smiled sullenly: "Don't think about other things, this house has long been just you and me."

"There will be plenty of time between us to kill."

…………

"I woke up with a sprained shoulder and wrist, which almost made me unable to play the piano. I wanted to scream, but my mouth was blocked like clay, and that's when I realized that the man was named Reins. The guy is actually a warlock."

Dandelion muttered, "He turned out to be a warlock. All of this is really new. He dresses up like a mercenary and likes to use ropes and knives. How can a warlock do this?"

Lann smiled: "Maybe you have been in contact with high-level warlocks like Yennefer. There are still many crappy spellcasters in this world. I once killed several Nilfgaardians in one go on the battlefield." Warlocks, they can't even open portals."

Dandelion looked at Lan in a daze: "You can brag better than me."

Lan smiled nonchalantly, and took the initiative to continue the topic about Reins: "I guess you must have escaped afterwards, otherwise I wouldn't be able to meet you here."

The poet nodded: "Yes, I didn't reveal any trace of Geralt under the torture of the warlock, and at the same time scolded him for his despicable behavior. This made him angry and almost killed me. Fortunately, Yennefer's day Also at the Giant Oak, she passed by and saved me."

…………

"Gods, spare me, I really don't know where Geralt is, the last time I saw him was a year ago, when he abandoned me alone on the mountain, I walked all the way from the slope I almost lost my life when I rolled down, and I lost contact with him after that!"

"I swear it's true, I hate him more than you! He ruined my shoes and my night, if I ever see him again, I'll hit him on the head with a lute, we're together Come on, Mister Warlock!"

Dandelion burst into tears, and the throat that sang like a melodious sound also had a different ability to disturb people's minds. Reigns was so annoyed that he waved his hand and sealed the poet's mouth with magic.

At this time, there were three people standing in the room, one was Reans, his vicious eyes were illuminated by the light; there were two other men dressed as thugs, one was carrying a lamp, and the other was letting the wind out at the door. Dandelion could hear their breathing, and the strong stench of their sweat.

Dandelion was kneeling on the dirt floor, a rope bound around the wrists, and the rope was pulled around the beams to lift his body. He tried to stand up to relieve the pressure on his shoulders, but found that his legs were also bound.

"Our conversation is not over, you poor poet. The last time we met was more respectable, and I only asked you one question. Now, you have to answer all my questions, and there is no respect at all. .Do you understand the situation?"

Dandelion felt as if someone had put a piece of clay in his throat to silence him, so he nodded his head in agreement.

Riens smiled and gestured. The poet screamed helplessly, feeling the ropes tighten, his arms twisted behind his back, his joints aching.

"I know, wise poet, that you're confusing the ears, and of course I know you're out of touch with the White Wolf. But you sure know where the Witcher is when you haven't seen him for a year, and they should have a Gathering place, right?"

Liens waved his hand to undo the poet's forbidden magic: "This time you think clearly before speaking, I want you to answer me quickly and fluently, and know everything. Otherwise your lips will enter your throat, poet!"

Dandelion gritted his teeth angrily. But even so, he continued to moan tremblingly:

"I don't know...Gods, I'm just a poet! I've heard some of it, and the rest I've made up, fabricated...I'm just a poet..."

Reeves laughed viciously, his hands began to emit magical fluctuations again, and Dandelion closed his eyes in despair.

At this moment, the villain who watched the wind suddenly reminded: "Your Excellency, someone is coming."

In the silence of the night, there were obviously the sound of footsteps splashing on the muddy road, and then the sound of a wooden fence being pulled apart.

Reins himself was impatient, coupled with his eagerness for interrogation, Reins did not take Dandelion to any secret interrogation room, but conducted an interrogation nearby.

He was full of confidence that he could let the soft-boned poet say everything he knew like beans, but he didn't expect that he would spend so long in ink now, and even attracted outsiders.

Reins frowned: "Turn off the lights."

The room fell into darkness and silence.

The door opened with a "squeak", and a stench rushed in. Only then did Dandelion realize that he was locked in a small room in the pigsty.

A short woman in a cloak and a round hat appeared at the door, and the man who caught the wind rushed towards her with a knife without hesitation. As a result, the man who caught the wind staggered and fell to his knees under the effect of inertia, but the knife did not Hitting anything is just a puff of smoke.

It's an illusion, the person who came is a warlock!

A figure rushed into the cabin after the illusion dissipated, nimble as a mongoose. She waved her hands first, causing an invisible barrier to cover the entire wooden house, and the surroundings instantly became quiet. It seemed that she didn't want to make too much noise to disturb the surroundings.

Immediately afterwards, Dandelion saw lightning in the hands of the little cloaked man, directly hitting the windy man's body, and the smell of barbecue wafted along with short screams.

After killing one person in an instant, the lightning seemed to be alive and dancing around the room. Dandelion closed his eyes in fear, only to hear screams or wailings coming from his ears, and then the strong man fell to the ground the sound of.

Fortunately, he didn't feel any pain on his body.

Liens yelled angrily, a blue film of light appeared in front of him, and then he drew out his dagger to meet the enemy like a warrior, but he didn't expect that the lightning would still have power after smashing the light film, especially Several arcs stuck to his face and shoulders.

The sorcerer flew backwards and smashed into the wooden wall of the pigsty.

The little man in the cloak wanted to chase after him, but he saw a golden circle of light suddenly appear under Reins' feet, and he fell into it and disappeared, and then flames gushed out of it.

The sudden change of the situation forced the little cloaked man to stop, reciting words that Dandelion could not understand quickly and rhythmically, and then a yellow oval wrapped the flames together and disappeared together.

Darkness fell again.

"Help!" Dandelion felt the magical power stuck in his throat disappear, and he wailed miserably, "Help!"

"Stop shouting, Dandelion, it's me." The little cloaked man, or Yennefer, took off his hood and cut Dandelion's rope with his dagger.

Although it was dark, the poet who was proficient in rhythm still recognized Ye Naifa's voice immediately.

"Thank God, Yennefer! I apologize for all the mean words and offensive language I have said to you before, from today you are the most beautiful woman in the world, I wish you and Geralt will not be separated until the end of the world , I want to come up with a song for you that can be handed down from generation to generation, and I'm starting to think now...I think...I'm sorry, maybe it's because I've been hanging for too long, I just want to vomit now..."

"You don't pee your pants is the best thanks to me." Ye Naifa sneered, "I heard your singing under the giant oak tree, I wanted to talk to you, but I didn't expect you to run so fast, okay I finally found you."

"I want to thank you again, Yennefer. I know you don't like me, we're not even friends, but you saved me anyway."

The sorceress turned her head and remained silent for a while.

"You travel with him." After a while, Ye Naifa said blankly, "Thanks to you, he will not be alone. You are his friend. He has your company."

Dandelion lowered his gaze when he heard this.

"Our friendship didn't do him any good. I only caused him trouble...and he was always on the run for me."

Ye Naifa looked leisurely: "But he enjoys it, he is such a person."

Neither Dandelion nor Yennefer made it clear who the "he" was, but both of them knew who the other was referring to.

Dandelion took a big gulp of fresh air, waved his hands and said, "Leave me alone, he is very dangerous now, that warlock is looking for him. Yennefer, you must find him before the enemy, and warn him!"

…………

"Then Yennefer asked me to come to Redania, to Oxburgh, and said there was Dijkstra and Philippa - you probably haven't seen Philippa, that's another very dangerous sorceress - so That Liens should not mess around here."

Lane nodded. He guessed that Dandelion, who had been in the Bull Castle, didn't know the details of what happened to Geralt, so he took the initiative to say:

"Yennefer did find Geralt later, although she was actually called by Triss instead of finding him by herself, but they met after all-I heard that they are also a pair of people connected by fate , this may be fate."

After hearing Lane carefully sort out the relationship between several people, Dandelion showed interest: "That is to say, they are a witcher and a sorceress, and now they are teaching the accidental child together?"

"Back to the point, we're talking about Rins. If I find him, I'll kill him so you don't have to worry about being harassed by him in the future. I heard he's been in the Bulls recently, is that true? "