The Witcher: Darkness Falls

“Over there, the town of Kara Vista, is the southernmost part of the Suduzi Valley.

Although we have entered the Toussaint area, we can only be considered to have truly entered Toussaint after passing the town of Kara Vista and entering the Suduzi Valley.

The climate of the Suduzi Valley is similar to that of the Beauclair region, but the soil is poor, so grapes cannot be grown and no special products are produced.

You should know that Toussaint is most famous for its wine. East of East, Cote d'Azur, Sangre, Everose, Fiorano and Pomino are all produced in Toussaint and are world-renowned.

There are three main reasons for this.

The main reason is that the volcanic ash from the volcanic eruption on Mount Gaogong thousands of years ago formed a unique volcanic ash soil.

The second is the credit of the Sansiletuo Swamp. The water control in Nasser in the north failed, and the water flowed into the Sansiletuo Valley, forming the current Sansiletuo Swamp.

The inhabitants of Toussaint lost their homes, but hundreds of years later, the swamps receded, leaving behind large areas of fertile land.

Finally, it is also due to the terrain. Surrounded by mountains, the cold wind can hardly blow in. The scenery is pleasant all year round and the climate is humid and warm.

All of the above reasons make this area very suitable for growing grapes.”

Regis stood by the boat and explained the situation to Leon.

Lyon looked at a city on the banks of the Sansretto River. It was the town of Caravista, the gateway to Toussaint.

However, the city did not seem to be very large. Lyon noticed that there were a few soldiers riding on small boats, climbing up and down the passing ships.

"What are they doing?" Leon asked curiously.

"Shipping fees are the biggest tax revenue for Karavista," Regis explained. "The system in Toussaint is quite special. It has no army and is directly under the control of Nilfgaard, but it actually has a high degree of autonomy and doesn't even have to pay tribute to Nilfgaard.

The cities in the Toussaint region are governed by Beauclair, and the tax rates paid by the territories are very low. Similarly, the territories do not receive financial support from Beauclair, so they have to find ways to earn income.

Leon nodded and whispered, "No wonder they charge ten florins for a boat fare! It's no different from robbery."

This was the first time that Lyon had encountered toll collection in this way.

Moreover, he looked at the river banks on both sides and saw that the riverbed was uneven, and rocks could be seen in some places.

Apparently, no one cleaned up this river.

The only role of the town of Kalavesta here is to collect fees, and it doesn't care about anything else.

Leon also noticed that the armor on these soldiers was not complete, comparable to that of the soldiers in the town of Tegamo.

"It seems that even if the toll is high, the financial expenditure here is still stretched." Lyon thought to himself.

At the same time, he also noticed that the number of ships leaving Toussaint seemed to be much greater than that entering Toussaint, with a difference of almost twice as many.

Moreover, the same was true on the land and shore, with many people leaving.

"What's going on?" Lyon was a little confused.

Soon, the toll soldiers boarded their ship.

They were two soldiers wearing loose armor, one fat and one thin, and both had mustaches.

The captain immediately stepped forward to meet him and handed over the shipping fee with a smile on his face.

The tall, thin soldier opened the purse and counted carefully, saying, "No, there's not enough. Call all the passengers out."

The captain asked in confusion: "Sir, it has always been fifty florins, how could it be less?"

The short and fat soldier next to him said arrogantly: "Of course it has been changed, the goods and people are separated!

Fifty florins per ship, and two florins per person!

Hurry up and call out all the passengers and count their heads, including you and your sailors!"

The captain screamed, incredulous at this ridiculous charging method: "What! Isn't this robbery? According to your charging method, I will lose so much money after one round trip that I will have to sell the ship! What's more, the goods on the ship are not mine!"

The two soldiers folded their arms across their chests and tilted their heads slightly.

The fat soldier coughed and said seriously: "Watch your words! Our charges are reasonable and legal!

Goods and people definitely cannot be counted together. The charging policy was relaxed in the past because Lord Hills was taking care of you.

But now, the policy has changed, Beauclair has increased the taxation, and we have no choice but to do so. If you have any objections, go to Beauclair!"

People nearby also heard the conversation between the two soldiers and the captain, and some curious people gathered around.

The captain also took the opportunity to shout loudly: "Come and see! The boat charge is fifty, and we charge per person, two florins per person!

This doesn’t make sense! Come and see!”

"What? Passengers need to pay? We paid for the expensive tickets, why should we have to pay more?"

"Where is the legal text? Where is the notice?"

"I didn't say that when I came out! It's only been half a month!"

"What's going on? Why aren't you sailing yet?"

……

The passengers on the boat shouted loudly in dissatisfaction.

The noise became louder and louder, and confused passengers came out of the cabin and asked people around them what was happening.

"Have the tax rates in Toussaint always changed so frequently?" Lyon asked Regis beside him.

Regis shook his head and said, "Of course not. We are not at war now, so taxes will definitely not change frequently."

"What's going on? What's so loud?" The old wizard came out of the cabin dissatisfied. He yawned, rubbed his eyes and looked around. "Are we there yet?"

“No, go back and sleep for a while.” Leon turned his head and said.

The old wizard walked towards them. He looked around and suddenly noticed that there were a lot of people at the boarding gate.

"What's going on over there? Some circus?" he asked.

"There's water all over there, where's the circus show? You should go back to sleep." Leon said.

The old wizard shook his head and said, "I can't sleep. The bed is too hard. The boat is too rocking. My waist hurts. Can you give me a softer mattress?"

Leon ignored him. He turned to Regis and said, "Should we go over and take a look?"

Regis nodded and said, "Good suggestion."

The two walked towards the soldiers and the captain.

"Quiet! Quiet! We are just following the rules. If you want to pass quickly, just pay the money!" the thin soldier shouted.

The passengers complained unhappily, and the captain held his pockets tightly, apparently not intending to pay any more.

More and more people gathered, so much so that the boat tilted, and two soldiers were so scared that they grabbed the mast and shouted for everyone to retreat.

"It seems that the rumors about Toussaint are true. If I didn't really have something to do, I wouldn't go back." Leon heard a man in front of him complain.

"Really? I thought it was just a rumor!" the passenger next to the man asked in a low voice.

Leon's ears moved, and he stepped forward and asked, "What happened in Toussaint?"

The man turned around and was shocked by Leon's appearance.

"Damn it! I thought I saw a ghost in broad daylight. How come you look like this?" The male passenger complained, but still answered Leon's question, "You don't know yet? Recently, there have been a series of bloody cases in Toussaint, and the murderer has never been caught. Some people say that the murderer is not a human, but a monster.

Not only that, the giants on Mount Gorgon also came down the mountain, causing the deaths of many people, and monsters in the swamp also came out to wander around.

It’s really terrible. Some people even said that it was the Duke of Gaitan who neglected the gods and the gods punished him…”

"Nonsense!" At this moment, a female voice suddenly interrupted.

Leon turned his head and thought to himself: “It’s her!”