Chapter 291: With All Due Respect
Lugo the One-Eyed was somewhat taken aback by Lynn's refusal.
In his mind, how could a task for common peasants in the backwaters possibly compare to serving the Jarl himself? How many men would leap at the chance to serve their lord, and yet were denied the privilege?
He tried to press the matter.
"If it's about the pay, we can discuss it..."
"This has nothing to do with pay. It's simply because assassination is not a line of work that a man of my standing should take," Lynn said, choosing his words carefully and gently reminding the Jarl. "Lord Lugo, the people of Skellige love legends. They love the songs of bards, and the tales passed from mouth to mouth."
"Can you name a single famous swordsman, bounty hunter, or mercenary who has a reputation for assassination?"
In this day and age, being a spymaster was one thing, but personally taking part in an assassination was quite another.
Throughout the history of the Northern Kingdoms, there has been no shortage of nobles who were both spymasters and wielders of great power.
But without exception, none of these nobles would ever deign to stain their pristine gloves with blood.
For such tasks, they would always rely on their subordinates.
For example, in the original stories, Leo Bonhart, the pinnacle of human martial prowess, was only ever a bounty hunter.
With his peerless swordsmanship, he could have earned far more from assassination contracts than he ever did from hunting bounties.
But as infamous and notorious as Bonhart was, he would never stoop to assassinating a rival noble on behalf of a lord.
What's more, on the Skellige Isles, the people sing of warriors who bravely slay their foes on the battlefield. When have you ever heard a song praising an assassin?
If Lynn took this job, the infamy of an assassin would follow him just as the title of "Kingslayer" clung to Jaime Lannister.
And even if Lugo the One-Eyed didn't spread the word, Lynn's vulnerability would be in the Jarl's hands, and he would be forced to bend to his will.
Finally, and most importantly, the matter was unjust.
Clan an Craite were natives of the Isles; Clan Drummond were outsiders.
To assist Lugo the One-Eyed would be to aid a tyrant.
Lynn would never do something so morally compromising, an act that would haunt him for the rest of his days.
Lugo the One-Eyed's expression soured when he saw how firm Lynn's stance was.
Lynn was right.
As Lynn suspected, Lugo's true goal was indeed to eliminate the young head of Clan an Craite, Crach an Craite.
That way, once Clan an Craite was left leaderless, Lugo could seize the opportunity to march north with his troops, annex their territory, and lay sole claim to Ard Skellig.
But he couldn't use his own men for this task; he needed an outsider.
And so, his mind had turned to the Witcher who had recently become so prominent on the Isles.
He wasn't so foolish as to simply use a man and then sell him out later, like the Voodoo Boys. He had planned to offer Lynn a position in his own hold, perhaps as captain of the guard or something similar.
But since Lynn was unwilling, he let it go.
He worried that if he pushed too hard, the man might turn to Crach an Craite and join forces against him.
Lugo the One-Eyed gave up his initial plan and made a different request.
"My son, Madman Lugo, wishes to become the greatest warrior Clan Drummond has ever known, and so he is planning an expedition."
"But his target is neither a coastal raid nor the sacking of a monastery. He intends to cleanse the specters infesting the 'Haunted Castle.'"
Lynn looked at him with confusion.
"The Haunted Castle? Where is that?"
"A terrible place. A cursed place..." As if he didn't want to recall it, Lugo the One-Eyed's face twisted in anguish. "I can't tell you the details, because no one who has entered the Haunted Castle has ever returned alive, so no one knows what lies within."
Lynn immediately felt that the name itself sounded ill-omened.
"If the place is so terrible, why does your son want to go there?"
Lugo the One-Eyed sighed in resignation. "His nickname is 'Madman.' Did you think it came from nowhere?"
Fair enough.
Only a name can be wrong, never a nickname.
Since this was not about aiding a tyrant, but a Witcher contract, Lynn readily agreed.
"I can do it, but I'll need two thousand ducats as payment. What do you say?"
"Done. But my son can't lose an arm or a leg. A few new scars are fine, but he can't be crippled."
Two thousand ducats was roughly equivalent to sixteen hundred orens.
Considering that even the King of Temeria had only paid Geralt a meager three thousand orens for a contract, the fact that one of Skellige's Jarls was willing to part with sixteen hundred orens was a testament to his sincerity and the importance he placed on his son.
The pay wasn't particularly generous, but it was likely a great expense for him.
He probably couldn't offer any more.
"I have one more condition."
"Name it. As long as it's not too outrageous, I will do my best to agree."
"Everything we find in the Haunted Castle belongs to me."
A place like that would surely contain valuable artifacts.
Of course, some of them might be cursed.
But while an ordinary man would avoid a curse at all costs, a Witcher might not.
After all, Witchers were experts at lifting curses.
And if all else failed, wasn't there Tissaia de Vries, a high-level sorceress close to being a living legend, to turn to?
Lugo the One-Eyed was no fool.
He quickly guessed Lynn's reasoning.
But he also knew that everything within the castle was likely cursed.
And no matter how good the treasure, you had to be alive to spend it.
With that, the two men came to a pleasant agreement.
Lugo the One-Eyed shouted towards the door. "Guard!"
A guard entered. "Lord Jarl?"
Lugo the One-Eyed pointed at Lynn.
"Take the Witcher master to see my son. Tell the young fool this is the man his old man hired to help him."
...
"I don't need any help! That old fossil still treats me like a child. Is he so arrogant that he thinks I can't do anything right?!"
In another room in Kaer Myrdle Castle.
A young man who bore a resemblance to Lugo the One-Eyed roared at the guard.
"Lord Jarl didn't mean that at all..."
The guard quickly tried to explain.
But the young man was clearly not listening.
As the two of them argued, Lynn watched the young man.
Madman Lugo, the future head of Clan Drummond.
In The Witcher 3, this Jarl's fate would depend on Geralt's choices in the game.
Noticing the Witcher's gaze, Madman Lugo's eyes suddenly glared fiercely at him.
"What are you looking at?"
Lynn met his gaze without flinching.
"You're Madman Lugo, aren't you? I hear that despite your youth, no one in Clan Drummond is your match."
(End of Chapter)
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