Chapter 238: World: Don't drag me
Dandelion wore a dejected expression.
"You've said it all, what's left for me to say?"
"That's right, it's just as you guessed. The dragon plunged into a gorge in the Kestrel Mountains, not far from the source of the Braa River."
"It's been hiding in a cave there, where treasures, perhaps hundreds of years old, are surely also stashed. King Niedamir of Kaedwen wants to claim those riches for himself, which is why he blocked this bridge, to keep out other competitors."
"The entire free city-state of Holopole is in an uproar because of it. They believe the dragon's treasure should be theirs, but they don't dare openly defy Niedamir."
"That Kaedwen king is a young fool, still wet behind the ears, but he knows how to inspire awe."
At this point, Lynn suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
"Speaking of which, I remember Kaedwen's rulers were originally Dedre and Meveyn Ademein, weren't they?"
Dedre Ademein, Eskel's unexpected child, and also a Child of Calamity bearing the Curse of the Black Sun. In 1232, after her father died of syphilis, she theoretically had a claim to the Kaedwen throne as the eldest daughter.
However, her brother was extremely displeased and sought the help of King Henselt of Kaedwen's royal advisor, the sorceress Sabrina Glevissig.
They organized a party to hunt down Dedre.
Dedre was forced to flee to Kaer Morhen, seeking the help of Eskel and the Witchers.
Ultimately, the Witchers decided to shelter Dedre and persuaded her to relinquish her claim and reconcile with her brother Meveyn.
Thus, Sabrina had no reason to intervene.
Kaedwen became unprecedentedly strong under the siblings' rule.
Later, Dedre even sent a letter to Eskel, but he destroyed it without even reading it.
Lynn was somewhat curious: only twenty years had passed, so how had Kaedwen's ruler become Niedamir?
Dandelion sighed.
"King Niedamir is indeed the child of the late King Meveyn. A few years ago, the late King Meveyn tragically died in a hunting accident, gored by a wild boar."
"As for Dedre, she had already succumbed to a great plague that swept through Kaedwen even earlier, and even the well-trained physicians King Meveyn found for her were powerless."
"It is precisely for this reason that King Niedamir's actions have been so swift."
"He doesn't just want the treasures; he's more interested in the dragon itself."
"You know that the Duchy of Malleore is right next to Kaedwen, don't you? King Niedamir has coveted the Duchy of Malleore for a long time. But after the duke's son died mysteriously, only a marriageable princess remained."
"However, Malleore's powerful elite do not favor Niedamir or other suitors because they know that any new ruler will surely reduce their power, while the young princess is easily swayed and manipulated."
"So, to reject Niedamir and the other suitors, the Malleore nobles dug up a dusty, ancient book of prophecy that stated the ducal crown and the princess's hand belonged only to one who conquered a great dragon."
"They believed this would make Niedamir retreat, as no one had seen a dragon in the surrounding area for a very long time."
"Initially, Niedamir didn't care about prophecies. He used every means possible to try and conquer the Duchy of Malleore by force. But then news of a dragon sighting in Holopole reached him, making him realize this was a better opportunity than brute force, one that would leave the Malleore nobles speechless."
"If he could swagger into the Duchy of Malleore with the dragon's head, people would welcome him as a monarch sent by the gods, and those powerful elites would have no complaints."
"That's why he went to all this trouble to block this place—to stop his competitors."
"Anyway, that dragon could barely crawl in front of the Holopolians, and so much time has passed now, it's possible the dragon has already been poisoned to death. Therefore, for King Niedamir, this is naturally a godsend, fate smiling upon him."
Lynn nodded.
"Hmm, I can imagine. If I were him, I'd think the same. But why didn't he bring you along? Doesn't he want his heroic deeds recorded?"
Dandelion stammered, "He invited me, but I was late?"
Lynn found it amusing. "What do you mean 'late'? Like Grouchy was late at the Battle of Waterloo?"
Dandelion said dejectedly.
"I don't know which battle you mean by Waterloo, but I do bear some responsibility."
"After King Niedamir invited me, that same evening I met a young widow, and then..."
"By the time I woke up the next morning, Niedamir and his army, as well as the other summoned dragon-hunting parties, had already crossed the river."
"They even brought Kozoyed, the shoemaker who devised the poison for the dragon, and the Holopole militia, but they just forgot about me."
"I tried to explain to this captain, but he..."
"As long as you have a pass, it's not a problem," the captain said calmly, leaning against the toll booth wall. "No pass, no discussion. Orders are orders..."
Suddenly, hoofbeats echoed from behind them.
"Ha!" Three Jackdaws interjected. "The girls are back with the wine!"
"Not just them," Dandelion stood up. "Look at that horse, like a dragon."
The two Zerrikanian maidens rode out of the birch forest, accompanied by a lone rider. He was on a tall, powerful stallion, dressed as a warrior.
Lynn also stood up and looked.
The rider wore a purple velvet doublet, topped with a short jacket trimmed with black sable fur.
He sat proudly in the saddle, observing everyone.
This man's gaze and expression were typical of most people on this continent.
Borch, on the other hand, was a rarity.
"Greetings, gentlemen, I am Dorigaray," the rider dismounted slowly, feigning a noble demeanor, introducing himself. "Master Dorigaray, Sorcerer."
Lynn knew that name.
He was from Wal.
That was a city in Cidaris.
Dorigaray was somewhat different from his sorcerer colleagues.
He wasn't so much consumed by power but rather dedicated to another cause: the protection of monsters.
Yes.
You heard that right.
Dorigaray believed that murder as a profession was both disgusting, barbaric, and foolish.
He felt the world needed balance, so monsters that posed a threat to humans had a necessary place in existence.
And Witchers, monster-hunting monster slayers, would disrupt this balance, leading to the world's destruction.
Lynn didn't know if white people inherently harbored a delusion of world destruction.
First, there was Ithlinne's prophecy that a girl born during an eclipse would destroy humanity, and later, sorcerers like Dorigaray believed that eliminating monsters—or, in his words, "murdering" monsters—would upset the balance of all things, leading to the world's demise.
Please.
The human race isn't that fragile.
Nor is the world.
....
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