Chapter 118: Covered in Flags of Doom
It took a full few days for Lynn to finally purchase all the tools and supplies he needed.
Watching the gold coins flow out like water, it was impossible to say he didn't feel a twinge of heartache.
However, some things just had to be done.
Money was gone, but it could be earned back.
But if everyone was gone, then repairing the castle would be meaningless.
...
Morning mist filled the Pontar River.
A barge sailed along the middle reaches of the Pontar.
Lynn leaned against the railing at the stern, watching the waves kicked up by the barge being left behind.
Several days had passed since they boarded this barge from Novigrad.
Soon, they would pass the Flotsam trading post located in the middle of the Pontar River.
Yarpen and Zoltan were all staying in the cabin.
Life on the boat was boring.
Even the dwarves' favorite card game – Gwent – became dull after playing it all day long for several consecutive days.
For this reason, Lynn had heard them complain more than once.
If only there was a magical carriage that, after setting the destination, could instantly take them there as soon as they boarded.
Unfortunately, such a magical carriage did not exist in this world.
So the dwarves had no choice but to hope that deep sleep would help them get through this difficult journey.
As for the witcher, he chose to stay on deck.
Unless it was time to sleep at night, the smell in the cabin was too unbearable for the witcher's more sensitive senses.
Looking at the ripples spreading out in circles on the river surface, Lynn fell into deep thought.
The Pontar River couldn't take them directly to Kaer Morhen.
Although the Pontar River, like the Yaruga River to the south, originated in the Blue Mountains.
But Kaer Morhen was located deeper in the northern Blue Mountains.
After disembarking, they still needed to trek through the entire Kaedwen to reach it.
King Henselt, who ruled Kaedwen, did not like seeing non-humans in his kingdom.
If he heard that a group of dwarves, in a large group, had appeared in his kingdom, especially with a witcher leading them...
Lynn could almost imagine the king's furious appearance.
However, he had already made preparations for this.
Before leaving Novigrad, he had already purchased enough rations to sustain their large group on the road.
When crossing Kaedwen, they would try to take roads far away from villages and towns.
To avoid any unnecessary accidents.
Lynn changed his posture, leaning his back against the railing.
Actually, it wasn't that he hadn't thought about asking Triss to help open a portal and teleport them all directly to Kaer Morhen. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
But after contacting the sorceress with the message box, he realized he had oversimplified the problem.
If the number of people teleported at once was too large, magic power alone would not be enough. It would also require a large amount of casting materials.
Of course, Lynn knew this.
But there was another point: portals could only be opened to places that the sorcerer had personally visited.
If it was a place they hadn't been to, teleporting directly was prone to accidents.
Although Triss had heard of Kaer Morhen, she had never been to the Wolf School's home.
Although she would have gladly accompanied Lynn to take a look, asking her to leave for an entire winter...
King Foltest would obviously not grant her such a long leave. "The fog is thick, truly the best time for an ambush, don't you think, witcher?"
Along with a voice, the captain of the barge walked up to Lynn.
Whether it was luck or coincidence, it was hard to say.
This was the same captain whose barge Lynn had taken from the Duchy of Tretogor back to Novigrad before.
"I didn't introduce myself last time, my apologies. I'm Lothar."
The witcher nodded. "Lynn."
The captain reached out and shook hands with the witcher, then asked a question that surprised the witcher slightly. "Which school are you from?"
Lynn raised an eyebrow. "You know about that?"
Lothar laughed heartily. "If you, like me, come into contact with all sorts of people, you'll learn a little about all the strange things in this world."
"Wolf School." Lynn touched the snarling wolf head medallion hanging around his neck.
Lothar nodded.
"As long as it's not the Cat School. I've heard the Cat School are all murderers and lunatics?"
Lynn didn't answer the question directly. "Generally, as long as you don't hire them and then withhold their pay, you'll be fine."
Then, he changed the subject. "Let's not talk about that. Tell me about you, Captain, or rather, Lothar."
"I remember you running the Novigrad to Tretogor line, how did you end up here?"
The witcher's change of topic was abrupt, but the captain sensed that the other party didn't want to discuss the previous topic.
So he followed along with the other party's words.
"Because the Pontar River hasn't been peaceful lately."
"Huh?"
Lothar could feel Lynn looking at him with surprise and doubt.
He smiled and continued.
"I heard some small things happened on the Pontar River. Many barges went missing, so many captains are unwilling to travel the Pontar anymore."
"So I'm willing to take a risk and charge passengers twice the usual fare."
Lynn asked doubtfully, "Aren't you afraid of encountering the 'small things' that others have?"
"Afraid, but this is my last voyage. Once I return to Novigrad, I'll retire, sell the boat, and quit for good."
Lothar rubbed his shoulder. "The money I've saved over the years is enough for me to buy my own house in the lower city of Novigrad."
Lynn's face twitched, and he quickly spat a few times into the river.
"Couldn't you have waited until we got back to say that? Did you have to say it on the boat?"
The tradition in this world was like this: if someone said or heard unlucky words, they had to spit quickly.
This might ward off bad luck.
Some might think it was superstition.
How should he put it...
In his previous life, Lynn was a materialist, but wasn't this a case of "when in Rome, do as the Romans do"?
Anyway, it didn't cost anything, so he might as well believe a little.
Lothar probably also realized that his words just now were a bit inappropriate.
So he also spat into the river.
"As for you, Master Witcher, I see that those non-humans all look up to you. Where are you all going? You're not planning to join the rebellious Scoia'tael, are you?"
(End of this chapter)
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