Chapter 260 Another member of the team
heard Geralt asking about the origin of the special force she was in. Layla puffed up her chest and seemed to feel that it was something to be proud of that her work could attract Geralt's attention.
But Black Leila is a qualified soldier after all, and she quickly regained some sense. After thinking for a moment, she answered Geralt: "The Scoia'tael originated from Kaedwen's cruel oppression of non-human races. Now in Nigeria, It has spread to Aedirn and Temeria under the promotion of Fogad." "
Many greedy non-human races have not been recruited by the Scoia'tael guerrillas, but they also claim to be the Scoia'tael and rob houses, and some humans They also used the slogan of cleaning up the Scoia'tael to persecute civilians of non-human races. The situation has gotten so bad that it must be stopped, so our special force was established." In the history that Lan knows, the Scoia'tael
's The disaster will sweep across the entire Northern Territory in a few years and become out of control.
Humans slaughter non-human races, non-human races take revenge on humans, and then humans take revenge on non-human races. Too many people who could have stayed out of the matter were dragged in by knives and swords, and too many children and elderly people who should not have taken up arms were forced to Exposed to iron tools and iron cavalry.
The most important thing for the demon hunter community is that extreme racists will hate any existence that is even slightly different from humans, even if those differences are caused by nature - such as warlocks who can use spells that ordinary people cannot master. , another example is the demon hunter whose appearance has changed due to an alchemical mutation.
Geralt does not have such a forward-thinking vision, but his keen intuition, sufficient experience, and the history in books tell him that any contradiction that rises to the level of race will become irreconcilable, and the bestiality in people's hearts will also change in the process. obtain the most complete and ultimate liberation.
Judging from the situation in Aden described by Layla, some people's bestiality has begun to be released, but this is far from complete.
[If the Scoia'tael are not under control, perhaps Cintra will not be able to stay out of it in the future... No, it is absolutely impossible to stay out of it. 】
Geralt likes Cintra and the people of Cintra. At this thought, he couldn't help but look worried.
...
Geralt's face was expressionless, but the atmosphere around him had darkened.
Layla seemed to feel something. After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly changed the subject and spoke to Geralt proactively: "You know that I was originally from Lyria. But in fact, I am still... a quarter elf. Because my mother is a half-elf. I heard that Ms. Yennefer is of similar blood to me?" Yennefer
's mother is also a half-elf, and she herself is a quarter-elf hybrid.
"Quarter Elf" is a kind of poetic bloodline, because there have been many capable people of quarter Elf bloodline in history. They either made great contributions or caused bloody turmoil.
Therefore, there are rumors among the people that people with a quarter of an elf blood are not ordinary people - and from a statistical point of view, a quarter of an elf has a greater chance of becoming a demon.
Although from the perspective of academic inquiry, this is a kind of survivor bias. People who have a quarter of elven blood but die in obscurity do not know how many mortals there are. But the unscrupulous people would even believe the words "Demon hunters like to eat children", so naturally they would not have the precious ability of "independent thinking".
In some areas, people are hostile to quarter elves even more than they are hostile to monsters; if the Scoia'tael is still prevalent in that place, people with quarter elven blood will even breathe.
"In the early years, countries like Cintra and Temeria may not have known about the Scoia'tael, but these killers have been prevalent in the east of the north for a long time, and their reputation is also very famous." Layla lowered her head, " When I was a child, I was often called a 'little squirrel' and was bullied, which is why I came to Aden." "I
hate those villagers, and even more hate the Scoia'tael who caused me unreasonable disasters. But I will not kill all inhumans. Race, because I am barely one of them."
Seeing Geralt's eyes, Layla explained: "The strategy of Aedirn is the same. The special forces were not established to suppress all non-human races, on the contrary, We are here to screen and eliminate the real Scoia'tael and protect those non-human races that keep their peace and integrate into society."
Layla pointed at Yarpan who was leading the way: "For example, they."
The dwarf returned home. The team was particularly excited. After going through the folk songs of the dwarves one by one, they began to sing the newly learned ballads of Cintra. There were even some sentences praising the Lion of Cintra, which caused Lan to shout loudly from time to time in front of the team. Stop them.
It looks like the dwarves are having a great time in Cintra.
...
Geralt nodded silently in his heart. It seemed that Aedirn's rejection of non-human races had not yet reached that indiscriminate level.
I just don’t know how long this situation will last before it continues to get worse. Does Lan have any plan to deal with it? Will the current situation affect Lan’s plans?
Of course, these are not things that Geralt has to consider and have enough brains to consider. He only needs to report the information he has collected to Lan.
The topic of the Scoia'tael came to an end, and then the white wolf looked at Layla's left hand, where the lead ring entrusted by Demavi was worn.
As the only Aedian member in the team, she should be responsible for keeping the king's belongings.
Geralt took the opportunity to start the second topic: "Can I ask why His Majesty Demavi has this ring?" "
Of course, this is not a secret." For matters that do not involve national secrets, Layla said to Bai Bai It can be said that the wolf knows everything at this time, and it is not impossible to even reveal any secrets inadvertently.
"It is a coincidence that Your Majesty was able to obtain this ring," Layla sighed. "You may know: Legally speaking, the Mahakam Mountains are considered the territory of Temeria, but the dwarves have always practiced a high degree of autonomy. Until a certain day One day King Foltest thought he should start collecting taxes from the dwarves, so he sent tax collectors to Mahakam." "
I guess this process must not go smoothly?"
"You have a keen insight." Lei La chuckled, "The dwarf with an explosive personality thought he was insulted, so he put the tax collector into a barrel and threw it from the top of the mountain. King Foltestai was furious and immediately decided to send troops to attack Mahakam."
Geralt nodded thoughtfully. He had attended the Northern Conference with Lan, and at that time he felt that Foltest's malice towards non-human races was a bit too strong, even more so than that of Demavi, who was famous for his cruelty among the aristocracy. Second only to Henselt of Kaedwen.
Now he understood the cause and effect.
"I guess His Majesty Demavi helped the dwarves?"
"Yes." Layla confirmed, "His Majesty persuaded King Foltest to give up the idea of sending troops. The great elder of the dwarves therefore gave a gift Give your Majesty a lead ring as a symbol of friendship."
Geralt nodded clearly and sighed: "I heard that Mahakam is extremely xenophobic, and now I know that they are not completely aloof from human beings. It turns out that those who are kind to them are Humans will also give friendship."
But he heard Layla chuckle, making Geralt turn his head in confusion.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Geralt, I'm rude." Layla explained, "But in fact, it was not Mahakam who was favored by His Majesty, but Temeria. Wait until you see the gathering place of the dwarves. You can see that it is definitely not a city that can be captured by manpower. If Temeria really raises troops to this point, it will only lose its troops and weaken its national power." Geralt frowned, feeling that the logic inside was a bit confusing: "
Since So, why did the Great Elder give His Majesty Demavi a lead ring?" "
Because there are a large number of dwarves living in Temeria. If the Temerian army returns defeated in Mahakam, then these dwarves will definitely Will be angered. And..." Layla was silent for a while and said, "I hate to say this, but Brovar Hogg is very cunning. He seems to be more proficient in politics than most of his Majesty in the North. Giving His Majesty the lead ring will also have many other benefits for him." "
I also hope that you can remind Duke Lannister in time, so that he must not be fooled by the stereotype of dwarves, and must be careful when negotiating. ."
Although dwarves are mostly loyal, honest, and straightforward in the human mind, no race has the same personality. Yennefer's funds were completely handled by a dwarf banker. Geralt met him several times and felt that the dwarf was more calculating than most merchants he had seen.
Geralt nodded clearly, and the questions he wanted to ask were almost the same. He was not a talkative person, so the atmosphere suddenly became silent.
Yalpen's team changed another ballad at this moment, this time praising the touching story between the Lion Knight and Princess Cirilla. This is not spread by Cintra, but brought by Zoltan from Novigrad. Come back and teach him.
According to Zoltan, this is the latest piece from a theater group called "Fox" near Novigrad Square.
Regarding the singing of the dwarves, Lan may have felt that he could not stop the dwarves and had let it go.
But Yarpan's singing soon stopped and was replaced by cheers of surprise.
This shocked the others who were out of breath from the climb.
Along the steep mountain road, among the snow-capped peaks, a figure that was stockier than the rocks was waiting for them.
...
Standing between the peaks is a dwarf, who was obviously contacted by Yarpan in advance.
The moment he saw the other person, Yarpan's singing suddenly stopped, and then he burst out laughing louder, and hugged the dwarf heavily.
"Gabo, my cousin, long time no see, I'm back!"
"Your roar is still so ugly, Yalpan, can that be considered a song?"
The dwarf's voice sounded softer than Yalpan's. Calm and more powerful. Compared with Yarpan, who has a mercenary habit, although he also has the roughness and boldness that the dwarves can't erase, he is much more polite in comparison.
Soon he saw the team behind him, and his keen eyes were fixed on Lan at the front.
"You must be the famous Lion of Sintra - Duke Lannister. I am Gabor Zigrin, the diplomat who comes to greet you this time. The Great Elder has been waiting for you for a long time." Lan
politely Di returned the greeting to Gabo, and then began to look at the dwarf.
He was wearing gray-black armor and a fur coat with a white fur collar. He looked as stable as a rock, making people involuntarily trust him.
He and Yarpan both have the same surname - Zigrin, a large clan among the dwarves. According to Yalpan, Gabor himself was also widely known among the dwarves, so he was often sent to greet diplomatic dignitaries.
Although because of Mahakam's xenophobic policy, Gabo may not conduct a diplomatic mission for several years.
"Layla, long time no see." After a brief greeting with Lan, Gabo saw the messenger from Aden behind him, "His Majesty Demavi didn't seem to have sent us a messenger saying he wanted to visit." "I'm following you on this trip
. Duke Lannister came as a guide." Layla explained, then raised her left hand, "I brought this."
The jewelry that symbolized the friendship between Aedirn and Mahakam was displayed in front of Gabor.
"The lead ring..." Gabor muttered in a low voice, "Most people can use this to meet the great elder, but Duke Lannister may not have any use for this."
He muttered in a low voice and was caught in the cold wind of the snow-capped mountains. Swept away so that Layla didn't hear clearly. But Lan En, who was not far away, saw it clearly and couldn't help but smile.
It seems that those lost equipment blueprints have good results.
...
After a brief exchange of greetings, Gabo looked behind the team, as if he was looking for something. After a few seconds, he asked Yalpan with some disappointment: "Didn't Zoltan come back?" Yalpan said nonchalantly
. Waving his hand: "He said he was just climbing a mountain. After all, he still wouldn't be able to see his family, so it would be better not to come over - he is such an awkward person." The
dwarves are a rather closed-minded race, and they value tradition. The current Great Elder, Brovar Hogg, has ruled the dwarves for two hundred years. He is almost like a patriarch, stipulating the daily action program of the dwarves, stipulating what a dwarf cannot do and what must be done.
Zoltan complained more than once while drinking in Sintra:
"There is no freedom at all in Mahakam. You have no idea how that old bastard manages things. He has suddenly started to formulate so-called 'community norms' recently." : For example, whether you can wear braces; you have to wait five minutes for the fish soup to cool before you can eat it; you have to work for twenty years before submitting an application for a wife; you can only wipe your butt with your right hand after going to the toilet; twenty years away from the mine You can whistle only when you are coded..."
And what is most intolerable to those freedom-loving dwarves is the "collective labor" system.
Each dwarf is forced to work in the mines for more than 40 years. The reward for work is a kind of token called "punch gold", which can only be circulated within Mahakam. Six large boxes of punched gold were used to exchange for outside currency, but they could only be exchanged for a small bag of gold. It is said that the dwarf elders established this system to make life difficult for the dwarves to go out, so as to dissuade them from leaving Mahakam.
As a result, many truly capable dwarves would choose to leave Mahakam, such as Yarpan's dragon-slaying team, or merchants like Zoltan, as well as various dwarf craftsmen and dwarf bankers.
...
"Aren't you, the great elder, afraid that all the real elites among the dwarves will run away when you do this?" Kolgrim asked in surprise. He asked himself that there was no way he could live in such a place.
Gabo shook his head and explained: "The dwarves will all choose to go down the mountain to experience when they reach adulthood. At this time, they will all have a choice: either return to Mahakam within the specified time and never go out again; or stay outside Mahakam from now on. , and never come back."
Regarding the dwarf tradition, Gabo has explained it to the guests visiting Mahakam more than once, and he always does it sincerely and never gets tired of it.
"I am the dwarf who chose to return to Mahakam after experiencing outside. I used to yell at the great elder after drinking, but after I saw the living conditions of the dwarves outside, I found that I gradually understood him. So. I choose to return to Mahakam and contribute my strength to my hometown." "
Of course, I also respect other people's choices. Mahakam also needs outstanding compatriots to bring the voice of dwarves to the world." Gabo looked at Ya Erpan, a member of the Dragon Slaying Team is a dwarf who chose never to return to Mahakam.
The infamous Yalpan team is also the best among all the dwarves out there. Their feat of slaying dragons has long been woven into poetry, and they will continue to have their own legends for the foreseeable future.
During the conversation, everyone had already passed halfway up the mountain. A tavern and a dozen cabins and tents built around the tavern appeared in front of them. It was obvious that this was a gathering place during the journey.
The dwarves of Mahakam often need to cross mountains and ridges for their work, and this is one of the places where they stop.
"I just have to walk here, Lan. Next, Gabo will take you to see the great elder." Yalpan said, "According to tradition, I will never be able to enter Mahakam in this life. If If those old die-hards see me, they will probably call me 'traitor' and throw wine at me."
Yalpan said helplessly, but he was still laughing: "I will drink a few glasses of long-lost Maha here. The Kan ale is ready, and I also made an appointment with my family to have dinner here today. I haven’t seen them for a long time, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Lan nodded clearly, facing the traditional issue of Mahakam, he Not much to say. If the Duke of Cintra were to "defend" Yalpan and let him enter Mahakam at this time, not to mention that it might offend the great elder who had not yet met him, and even Yalpan himself might feel uncomfortable.
So Lan just put his left hand into his cloak and pretended to be pulling out a money bag: "You always have to have fun when you reunite with your family after a long absence. Do you have enough money?" "Haha, it will definitely never be enough!"
The
dwarf Laughing, he took the money bag thrown in the air, feeling the weight in his hands, and his smile became even more wanton.
As I said before, the exchange rate between tokens among the dwarves and external currencies is very low. The bag of crowns given by Lan can let an entire team of people drink happily in the outside world. In Mahakam, it is almost Enough to buy the entire tavern.
A mercenary like Yarpan who is drunk now has little savings, so Lann can be said to have helped him a lot. Especially today is a family gathering, which is enough for him to gain face in front of his family members.
The excited dwarf pushed open the trap door of the tavern with his back, and the noise and the intoxicating aroma of his hometown wine suddenly poured into Yalpan's nose. He turned around and said goodbye loudly:
"Then we'll see you again in a few days, Lan!"
The unique noise in the tavern swept from behind Yarpan, and his farewell voice also spread into the tavern.
"Lan?" Someone in the tavern looked up with some feeling.
Before Yarpan, the captain of the dragon-slaying team, could enter the tavern, his body was suddenly knocked away like a leaf.
A tall figure rushed out from inside.
"Blonde hair! Lion's eyes! Great gryphon cloak! You are Lann Lannister Leanne!"
(End of Chapter)