The Witcher World: The Path to Domination Begins in Velen

Chapter 121 The Troll Hart and Geralt

When Ron stepped out of the cabin, Titus was waiting at the door.

"This is Master Otto, who will serve me from now on. Titus, you lead the team and protect the master until he gets back to the ship. Don't forget to bring the forging tools. I have other matters to attend to and will meet up with you later."

"Understood!" Titus replied swiftly, leading his soldiers to escort Otto away, as the regular army and Halma's group gradually disappeared into the distance.

Ron stood alone on the shallows, his gaze fixed on the massive warship behind him, stroking his chin as he fell into deep thought.

Is there any way to get this thing back? The main structure of the ship is almost complete. As long as the craftsmen in the territory make some repairs, it can be used directly as the flagship of the fleet.

But it's just too big. Without hundreds of skilled sailors and craftsmen, it's impossible to sail back to Velen. It seems we'll have to find a solution later.

Ron walked along the mountain path toward the troll Hart's cave. The pine trees on both sides were covered with snow, and occasionally the wind would blow through the treetops, making a rustling sound as the snow fell to the ground.

As he approached the cave entrance, he heard voices coming from inside. A calm voice, tinged with a hint of doubt, echoed through the cave.

"They rescued her? Then who's the boss you're talking about?"

"The boss is the boss! A troll boss even stronger than Hart!" Hart's gruff voice rang out. "He could kick Hart away with one kick! You'd better get out of here right now, or when the boss comes back, he'll smash you into a pulp!"

Ron walked into the cave with a dark expression. Hart's huge body was huddled in a corner, with a white-haired figure carrying two swords standing in front of him.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned around warily, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. But when he saw who it was, he stopped in his tracks.

"You're the old... uh? Ron the troll was talking about?"

"Geralt, what are you doing here?" Ron raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Geralt lowered his hand and looked Ron up and down. "Hey, I should be the one asking that. If you're here on the Isles for business, you should be in Grand Skellige, not some place like Udwick."

"It's a long story," Ron stepped forward and bumped fists with the Witcher. "You're not here to see Halma, are you?"

"How did you know?" Geralt's eyes flashed with surprise. "Did you run into Harma?"

"Not only did we encounter him, but we also fought alongside him against the giant and defeated the Frost Giant. He's now back on the ship with my soldiers," Ron said, pointing outside the cave.

"I'm here to pick up my new employee. Looks like I arrived just in time. Luckily, you didn't lay me off unexpectedly."

Geralt's gaze swept over the troll in the corner, and he suddenly realized, "You're the boss he was talking about? I was wondering why. I followed the footprints from the camp all the way here, and this big oaf kept saying that someone was taken away by the boss."

"Let's go, I'll take you to Halma. I'll tell you the details along the way," Ron said, turning to the troll. "Hart, keep up!"

Hart followed obediently behind with heavy steps, and when he passed Geralt, he carefully moved half a step to the side.

Ron and Geralt walked out of the cave side by side, the wind blowing from the direction of the sea, carrying a salty, damp smell.

"My ship encountered a storm and, to avoid it, anchored at the Marlin Coast. There we met Halma's expedition. I won't go into the details, but in short, we joined forces and killed that ice giant," Ron briefly summarized the events.

Geralt nodded slightly after listening. "I arrived in Skellige a while ago. This time, I was asked by Kratz to help his two children complete their respective challenges. I just came from Kerris's place. I didn't expect to run into you here in Halma. That's good. It saves me a lot of time running around."

Ron glanced at him. "Who is Kairis?"

"Klatz's daughter, Halma's sister," Geralt said. "Both siblings are vying for the throne. Halma chose to hunt giants, while Kerris went to Spikerug to deal with Lord Udarik."

The lord was possessed by something, forced to self-harm in his dreams every day. Kairis suspected the vengeful spirit of his brother, Aki, was haunting Udarik. The two brothers had fallen out over a family heirloom sword, and Aki later died in a voyage. Kairis believed that returning the sword to Aki's burial site would break the curse.

Geralt paused, a hint of helplessness in his voice, "I did as he said, but the thing was still there, and it even ordered Udalek to gouge out one of his eyes as atonement. That's when I realized that what was haunting him wasn't some vengeful spirit at all, but a rare evil spirit called Shim, which specifically targets people with a sense of guilt."

"That's interesting. What happened next?" Ron asked with great interest.

"Karis's idea was to find a scapegoat to fool it. She had someone put a baby in the room as bait, but it was a hoax and the baby was not dangerous at all."

Of course, I didn't know that. I thought the curse had failed to be lifted, and an innocent life had been lost. I never expected that Kerris had even fooled me, and that Shim had also fallen for it. It broke away from Lord Udarik and possessed me. At that moment, Kerris came out holding the baby. Shim realized it had been tricked and completely vanished.

"A very clever girl," Ron said, a hint of admiration in his eyes. "She came up with a suitable solution so quickly, dealing with the monster that plagues even the Witchers. That means Lord Udarik owes her a huge favor and will undoubtedly become her staunch supporter. Geralt, who do you think will ascend the throne, her or Harma?"

"How would I know?" Geralt shook his head. "Ceres used her wit to defeat the evil spirit, and Halma hunted down the giant with force. Judging from these two things alone, Halma should have a great advantage. The Skellige people love these kinds of legendary adventure stories."

"Hmm, that's about what I thought," Ron said, looking at the distant coastline. "But once we get to Kel'Thuzad, we'll naturally have the chance to get to know her, and then I should be able to make a more accurate judgment."

Geralt glanced at him. "Ron, why are you, a lord of Velen, concerned about the throne of Skellige?"

"Geralt, don't forget, if the trade agreement goes through, Skellige will become an important maritime ally of mine." Ron smiled. "Of course I need to be concerned about who my future allies are and the potential risks."

"Ha, alright, alright," Geralt rolled his eyes. "Please forgive me, I'm just a witcher who does things for money, I can't understand the complicated political issues you lords are concerned with."

As the two chatted, Ron turned the conversation to Geralt, "So, did you find any news about Ciri in Skellige?"

Geralt shifted his gaze into the distance, his expression turning serious.

"Yes, Yennefer said there was a huge explosion in the island's primeval forest a few weeks ago, caused by magic. This is very likely related to Ciri. We're going to investigate from here. Yennefer wants to use a magical item to see if we can get any useful clues."

Ron patted the Witcher on the shoulder. "Relax, any clue is good news. Just let me know if you need my help."

The two walked side by side, the waves on the sea rising and falling in the wind in the distance, and the outline of the Marlin Coast came into view.