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TWL Chapter 115: White Orchard
🕑 Added 2024-04-22 15:50:33 +0000 UTCPhilippa finally smiling, a beautiful, confident smile, a smile that all ambitious people would recognize. "Whether it's the North, Nilfgaard, the witchers, it doesn't matter. I contacted you because we share ideals."
She filled a glass of Toussaint wine and, passing by his work table filled with flasks, crucibles, test tubes, crystals, and many magical artifacts, slowly approached his bookshelf.
"We believe that magic is above all, and I believe that mages who master magic should get more than what they have now." Philippa looked at the bookshelf for a moment and took out two tomes.
"If your description is correct, this Lann of Cintra might actually be superior to witchers and even common sorcerers..."
Philippa said firmly: "We will need him."
The moonlight lightly illuminated the covers of the two old volumes Philippa held in her hands, revealing the names written in Elder Speech: Hen Ichaer and Aen Ithlinnespeath.
...
Temeria, White Orchard Inn.
Elsa, the proprietress of the tavern, is currently wiping the black shield with silver fleur-de-lis hanging on the wall. This is the coat of arms of Temeria and not all taverns are qualified to display it.
"Elsa, another pitcher of Viziman Champion for me!" A customer shouted. "This flavor is excellent!"
The customer and a dozen of his companions were sitting around some tables together. They were short in stature, with their legs not touching the ground when sitting on the chairs, and they were even shorter than some young men.
However, each of them has a big beard, and all of them have broad shoulders and strong muscles. The appearance is in sharp contrast to the locals.
Others are not surprised to see them. Although curious eyes occasionally gather here, there is no too unusual attitude.
Elsa responded loudly to the call: "Sure, dwarf teachers, a pitcher for each of you?"
"Hahahaha, one pitcher for each person is not enough!" The dwarves drank happily, laughing out loud at the delicious taste of the drink. "Although it is not that strong, it has a unique flavor!"
Temeria is one of the oldest dynasties in the north, and its racial composition is also very complex. Many of its territories were owned by the elven dynasty in the past. Parts of the Mahakam Mountains and part of the Brokilon Forest also belong to Temeria in name. So apart from humans, dwarves, elves, and even gnomes could occasionally be found in this kingdom.
At this moment, the other patrons and travelers in the tavern were sharing their own stories and experiences, shouting loudly under the influence of alcohol.
“Speaking of which, have you heard anything about Kaedwen lately?”
“What happened over there again?”
The person who started the topic spit out a name: "The Scoia'tael!"
“What is that?” Curious people gathered around and asked.
"As you all know, the king of Kaedwen has never been very friendly to non-human races. So those dwarves, gnomes and elves took advantage of the battle with Nilfgaard to form a group."
"I heard they want to expel humans from the lost lands. They are also trained and kill anyone who gets in their way."
People marveled at Kaedwen's form and were glad they were in Temeria. But there are more than just human drinkers in the tavern.
"You are talking nonsense!" The dwarves who were drinking slapped the table and jumped up. Their voices echoed in everyone's ears.
“No dwarf would do such a thing!”
"I didn't say you guys would!" The person who spread the news said confidently. "Also, neither of you have been to Kaedwen, how do you know it's not true?"
"The dwarves would never do something like that. From the beginning, you have been spreading pestilence with your mouths."
Some confronted the dwarves, but others tried to calm things down. "Kaedwen suffered the vengeance of the Scoia'tael dwarves because of their king..."
“Dwarves wouldn’t do that kind of thing!”
Under the influence of alcohol, everyone in the tavern was red-faced and ready to fight, banging tables and throwing chairs, about to start a fight. Those who were trying to mediate the situation quickly discreetly withdrew.
The tension made the tavern owner, Elsa, nervous, fearing that drunken customers would damage the furniture.
Meanwhile, some soldiers who were drinking in a corner stood up, ready to take some of them to the dungeon.
At that moment, the door of the tavern burst open and three young people entered.
Two men and a woman. One of the two men wears special scale armor and chain mail, has piercing eyes, and looks around like a jungle hunter. The other man is wearing plate armor, with a small lion carved on the chest and two long swords hanging from his waist, one of them is a long sword with the pommel of a lion's head.
The woman was also dressed like a warrior, something unusual. She carried a long red wooden bow on her back, her face was beautiful and her posture elegant, attracting the gazes of both men and women in the room.
This kind of sophisticated equipment is definitely not available to mercenaries. They look like a noble's private army.
What happened next confirmed everyone’s suspicions. The three people were indeed just guides. After entering the room, they quickly searched for the free tables in the tavern.
Behind them, another group of people came in.
The leader is a knight with blond hair and golden eyes. He is wearing a set of silver-black armor that is obviously valuable at a glance.
On his chest is a roaring lion, and behind him are two rare swords. The hilt of the steel sword is carefully carved into a strange eagle shape, while the other one is made of shiny silver. The poets in the tavern felt like they had seen the hilt of that sword somewhere before.
The most striking thing was his reddish-brown cloak, made of skin that seemed to have been torn from some strange creature, with black feathers preserved on the shoulders, and the hood was the head of that strange creature.
"Griffin..." A scholar murmured, looking at the young man's cloak and then his eyes. "Lion's pupils..."
After this imposing knight entered, behind him came about ten well-equipped soldiers.
When these dozen people entered, the tension that had built up in the tavern suddenly cooled. The dwarves looked at each other, and several of them looked dazedly into the lion's eyes. The human drinkers were stunned for a moment and then sat down, while the local soldiers looked at the entrance cautiously, observing this well-equipped group.
"Levin." People heard the handsome blond knight say. "Order a batch of food and wine and send it to the brothers stationed outside first. The others will take turns to rest. You can make arrangements."
"Yes, Your Lordship." People heard one of the three young men who came in at the beginning reply, and he quickly walked towards Elsa.
The soldiers became even more nervous after hearing the blonde knight, looking towards the door of the tavern that had not yet closed completely, noticing the presence of a cavalry outside.
…
Milva made a couple of gestures with the chair as if she were cleaning it, drawing Lann's perplexed look, and then motioned for him to sit down with a smile.
Lann said helplessly: "Didn't I tell you that I don't consider you a maid?"
Milva responded firmly: "But I am the only woman in the team. Who else can do this kind of thing, House?"
Levin muttered from the side: "Maybe he is more considerate in taking care of the earl than you are."
At that moment, House returned after ordering the food and drinks for the table. The assistant had been worried for several days and now faced his sworn lord with a hesitant expression on his face.
Lann said angrily: "You are not suitable for this kind of expression. Just say whatever you want."
House scratched his head, and after a moment of silence, he finally revealed the question that had been bothering him for a long time. “Your Lordship, Earl, we have been in Temeria for so long, why hasn’t their king sent someone to contact us?”
In House's imagination, the Lannister earl carrying a large contingent of cavalry should have been greeted by local lords and presented to the king shortly after entering the kingdom, and then enjoyed a feast.
This is why the old butler Enns agreed not to add maids and servants to this team. They felt that the group could get proper and decent care outside.
As it turned out, Lann and his party met a lot of lords along the way, and everyone was quite polite and reluctantly gave the earl the treatment he deserved.
But from the king's side, there was no sign, not even a messenger sent.
"I was waiting for you to ask me." Lann said. "It's simple, because he doesn't want to see me."
At this moment, Levin walked over. He had also joined Lann's group to gain experience and was now his new servant.
"Why?" House was indignant. "Even if he doesn't want to see you, he should have at least sent an emissary to guide us. It's disrespectful!"
Facing House's anger, Lann smiled nonchalantly.
In fact, Lann had also expected the attitude of the King of Temeria. However, he originally thought that there would be some difference between his memories and reality, but he did not expect that the attitude he encountered was as expected.
The king of Temeria is called Foltest. Lann remembered that Foltest had a very bad attitude towards Cintra in the Witcher Series.
Comments
Axell
Thanks for the chapter 🙂
