Chapter 285: Plunder Is More Fruitful Than Plowing
The next day, Lynn collected his payment from Keira.
After spending two days and three nights with Triss in Novigrad, he finally set out on his journey to the Skellige Isles.
Lately, Skellige had become something of a forbidden destination. Many captains refused to sail there. They didn't even want to go far out to sea. When Lynn went to the tavern most frequented by captains and sailors and paid for a round of drinks, the captains, their guard lowered, finally started to open up.
"It's the pirates, good sir," a grizzled old captain grumbled.
Lynn looked at him, puzzled. "Pirates?"
The old captain clarified, "I mean the Skelligers themselves."
Lynn frowned. "I know Skelligers sometimes moonlight as pirates, but I heard that as long as a ship flies the flag of a local Novigrad merchant guild, they don't attack it. Isn't that right?"
Another captain shook his head. "Ah, young man, that news is outdated."
"For some reason, the Skelligers have gone mad lately, raiding everywhere."
A scrawny captain spoke up. "I know what it is. I heard that two very important guests died on Ard Skellig."
Lynn looked at him and asked, "Do you know their names?"
The scrawny captain shook his head. "Sir, we just sail ships. We aren't in the business of selling information. You've come to the wrong people with that question." But after taking a gulp of ale, he added, "Though I did hear the dead weren't Skelligers, but important members of a Northern kingdom's royal family who were guests on Ard Skellig."
The old captain slammed his fist on the table and said angrily, "I'm telling you, these Skelligers have truly gone mad! Someone from a Northern kingdom's royal family dies on their island, and they come and raid our ships? What kind of logic is that? What's that got to do with us?!"
The captain's words were met with a chorus of agreement.
Lynn knew that Skelligers engaged in piracy, but usually against other nations, not Novigrad's merchant ships. Novigrad was a neutral Free City. After all, the Skellige Isles were just a few islands, and they were poor in resources. They needed many supplies from the continent. They raided ships from other countries but didn't touch Novigrad's merchant ships because they needed to do business with Novigrad merchants. And Novigrad merchants were more than happy to buy their plundered goods at a low price. This had become an unspoken rule.
But why would they break it now?
If he remembered correctly, the islands were currently ruled by King Bran Tuirseach of Clan Tuirseach. The Tuirseach clan, like the Craite clan, held no prejudice against continentals. While King Bran loved plundering more than solving the islands' long-standing problems, he wasn't an idiot. Why would he deliberately ruin his own livelihood?
There had to be some misunderstanding.
With that thought, he downed the rest of the ale in his cup and said to the captains, "I need to go to the Skellige Isles for a task. Is anyone among you willing to take me? I'll give you this much."
The captains were silent. No one spoke, but Lynn could tell that some of them were tempted.
"I'll add another 20%."
"Alright, I'll do it." A tipsy captain raised his cup and accepted the commission.
The Skellige Isles are located to the west of the continent, composed of six large islands and a dozen scattered smaller ones. They lie northwest of the mouth of the Yaruga River, off the coast of Cintra, and southwest of Cidaris and Verden.
The Skelligers primarily made their living from fishing, hunting, trade, and armed raids at sea. Legend has it that the elves first landed here twenty centuries ago, which is why there are still many elven ruins on the islands. According to scholars, the history of these ancient ruins far predates the elven ruins on the continent. Yet, in the 13th century, there were no elven tribes living on the islands.
Over time, the islanders developed a resilient, fierce, and upright character. When foreign enemies invaded, both men and women would resist without hesitation. The three things Skelligers valued most were honor, the deeds of their ancestors, and magical artifacts.
The martial Skelligers also had female warriors. Well-trained and skilled in group combat, these shieldmaidens typically wielded a sword or axe in their right hand and a sturdy shield in their left. Their courage and combat skills were no less than those of their male comrades.
Skellige was a nation deeply rooted in marine traditions. Many of its people became fierce and warlike sailors and pirates. Their ports could not compare in prosperity, cargo volume, or number of workers to the large continental ports like Cidaris, but the Skellige pirates' sailing skills, their fury, and their longboats were feared on both the northern and southern seas. The islanders even proudly claimed that "the sea flows in their veins."
Contrary to the impression of many continentals, not all islanders were fearsome pirates or raiders. A large portion of them were actually farmers, herders, and fishermen, and there were many merchants, alchemists, doctors, and other common professions. Some even became sorcerers—for example, Rita Nied was actually from Skellige.
The islanders had their own language, the Skellige dialect, which was derived from the Elder Speech. However, if you went to the Skellige Isles, you didn't have to worry about language barriers, as most of them could speak the Common Speech quite fluently.
A week later.
"Look, that's Kaer Trolde Port on Ard Skellig."
On the deck, the drunken captain took another swig of rum, facing the sea breeze. "We've been lucky; we haven't run into any pirates on this trip. It's all because of you. Hey, I'm telling you, are you interested in working on the ship? I happen to be short a boatswain. My last boatswain got his head chewed off by a siren during a skirmish at sea, the poor lad..."
Lynn lowered his head and observed a moment of silence. "That's unfortunate, but thank you for the offer, Captain. I don't plan on sailing just yet. But if I ever get tired of living on land, I promise I'll give your offer priority."
"Suit yourself," the captain said, waving his hand listlessly. "We'll be staying in Kaer Trolde Port for a few days, depending on whether we can get our hands on any good stuff. But if you're still here when we're ready to leave, you'll have to find another ship to get back. Still, this is Kaer Trolde Port, the most prosperous port on the islands, bar none. I think you'll find a ship willing to take you."
With that, the captain left, leaving Lynn alone on the deck, watching the bustling scene at Kaer Trolde Port.
Based on the rumors he'd heard in the Novigrad tavern, Lynn had prepared himself for a run-in with pirates. He hadn't expected to arrive safely at Kaer Trolde Port on Ard Skellig without incident.
Kaer Trolde Port, despite being located in the north of Ard Skellig, was the most prosperous place on Ard Skellig and even the entire archipelago. This was because the ruling clan of Ard Skellig's north, Clan Craite, did not harbor the same hostility toward continentals as the other clans. The continentals, in turn, were willing to do business with Clan Craite, as the Craite family was reasonable and understood common sense. This meant that Clan Craite had a virtual monopoly on trade with the continent, which was why it was so prosperous.
However, the atmosphere at Kaer Trolde Port today was silent and solemn. Civilians, soldiers, merchants, and nobles alike had all gathered on the docks. No one made a sound, they simply stood and watched the sea.
The sailors didn't know what had happened, so they stayed out on the water, not approaching the port.
Not long after, the crowd watched as two soldiers of Clan Craite walked out with a suit of Cintra-style armor and a princess's dress. They reverently placed them on a small boat covered in straw, then pushed the boat away from the port. The current slowly pushed the small boat out to sea. At the very front of the crowd, a young, red-haired noble shot a flaming arrow into the sky. The arrow streaked across the sky like a falling star, landing on the boat and setting it ablaze. Before long, the small boat was engulfed in a raging fire.
It wasn't until the boat disappeared over the horizon that the crowd on the docks gradually dispersed, returning to their own affairs. Realizing that the ceremony was over, the sailors brought the ship to the port.
Lynn bid the sailors farewell, got off the ship, and entered the port.
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