Chapter 99: The Best Festival

Lann was confident that he could keep the last spark of Cintra alive, partly because of Brokilon's advantageous geographical location and also because, soon after, a major battle would break out in the North that would thwart Nilfgaard's invasion.

Even according to what Lann remembers from The Witcher Series, when Ciri was missing and rumored to have died, Cintra, without a legitimate heir, still bravely held out against Nilfgaard for a full year before the entire country fell.

Now, Lann believes that the situation will be very different from that time.

At this time, Lann had already received news of Calanthe's death from the Skellige sailors. What surprised him was that Eist was still alive, and Crach's group had followed his advice to separate from the main army, allowing them to reach Cintra at this time and change part of history.

According to The Witcher Series, Eist was expected to die in that major battle, while Calanthe would be seriously injured and taken back to Cintra by Mousesack, only to take her own life later upon seeing that the situation was irreversible.

Now at least one life had been saved. But according to Crach, Eist's current situation would not be of much help to Cintra. Furthermore, Eist's situation was special, since after Calanthe's death, her ability to hold Cintra together was even less than that of Lann, who had a royal lineage.

Crach sighed after understanding Lann's reasons for not going with him and then said: "If the situation becomes critical, you must not be stubborn, Skellige will always be your safe haven."

Then, he looked at Ciri, who had fallen asleep in Lann's arms due to the news of Calanthe's death. "However, at least let me take Ciri. It's too dangerous for her to stay in Cintra..."

Lann shook his head and looked at Geralt's position: "I have priorities and will not let Ciri get involved in danger. But she has a safer place and has more important things to do."

Crach watched Lann's lion-like eyes for sincerity for a while, until he felt a shiver run down his spine and looked away.

"I don't see anything in your eyes... I really don't understand how you came to be like this. But I trust you not to put Ciri in danger."

Crach hesitated for a while, then suddenly said: "Lann...have you become a witcher?"

Lann nodded, and Crach's look became even more complex.

"Perhaps in the current situation you can protect the kingdom even better." Crach patted Lann's shoulder with a heavy heart and said: "When you get to Skellige, maybe I can introduce you to a friend who's also a witcher, he's pretty sturdy, and he also loves playing Gwent..."

...

Lann and his party marched quickly through the forest paths and met many refugees along the way. They were attracted by Cintra's armor and the flag of the Three Lions. Although the Nilfgaardians had not yet arrived there, the people had already heard the news of the fall of the capital, especially those who lived in the south of the kingdom and had already witnessed the iron horsemen of Nilfgaard.

Lann's group continued to grow, and a few days later, when they arrived in Brokilon, Mayor Luka, thinking that the enemy army was approaching, was organizing the town's soldiers to prepare to fight to the death.

Behind Lann came as many soldiers and refugees as there were inhabitants of the small town, all with complicated looks.

After recognizing that among the crowd in front of him were Her Royal Highness the Princess and everyone in the Lannister family, including Lann, the mayor quickly came out to apologize.

The old mayor glanced at Lann's lion eyes and then lowered his head and did not dare to look again. "My lord, there have been constant rumors and I thought that perhaps you had already... in any case, welcome back to Brokilon."

Lann had good feelings towards this Brokilon elder, so he helped him up when he tried to bow, comforting him: "You have been managing my lands during this time. Now you have seen the situation behind me."

Lann pointed behind him: "This will be the place where Cintra will be revived in the future, but before that, they need to be resettled here."

Luka nodded at first, but then his face showed concern.

Seeing this, Lann patted him on the shoulder. "I know the village can't house that many people, or even support them. Don't worry, they just need to set up camps near here for a while. There will soon be a turn of the tide in the war."

"Your task will be to manage them together with my butler during this time, after all, you are more familiar with Brokilon."

The embarrassment on Luka's face immediately disappeared when he heard this, and he smiled modestly. "My lord jokes, in his... absence, Mr. Enns came here often, bringing many resources from the capital. I no longer dare to say that I know Brokilon better than him."

Lann looked back at the old butler in surprise, and Enns returned the gesture humbly. When Lan was away, the old butler could be said to have been working hard to build Brokilon, the last territory of the Lannister family. And because control had officially passed into the hands of Princess Cirilla, this area had also received more resources.

Many supplies, weapons, and even wounded artisans from the battlefield had been moved here, even Calanthe had given her approval to this activity. Right now, Brokilon was completely different, almost like a small fortress.

Walking through the streets, Lann observed the town of Brokilon that was different from what he remembered, feeling moved but noticing the lack of activity. The houses were empty, and no women or children were seen in the streets.

Lann frowned: "Where are the people here?"

Luka looked at Lann's expression and suddenly realized. "Doesn't my Lord know yet? During your absence, many things have happened in Brokilon. To avoid the ravages of war, we moved those who could not fight to the Brokilon forest..."

"Wait a minute..." Lann interrupted. "Did Eithné approve of you guys taking refuge directly in the forest?"

Luka nodded. "As I said my Lord, many things have happened in Brokilon."

...

In the lord's mansion.

Lann's eyes became more and more strange as he listened to Luka's report on the relationship between the dryads and the townspeople of Brokilon during this period.

"Our hunters are allowed to enter the forest to hunt and set up camp in designated places. The hunters enter during the day and can rest in the camps at night, which has greatly improved everyone's life..."

"Shelters built by citizens to avoid war are based on these camps."

"Our artisans and women with free time make items to trade with them. Although they are often scolded by the Dryads, who see us as barbarians, they only represent a civilization different from our own."

"To avoid conflicts, we let the children do the exchanges..."

Lann suddenly interrupted. "Are the townspeople ready to let their children enter Brokilon alone to find the dryads without supervision?"

Luka nodded and said: "At first, some naughty children took things from their homes to the forest to play, but when they came back, they brought small pieces of gold with them."

"As the rumor spread through the neighborhood, the stories became stranger and stranger."

"They said that in the forest there were generous magical spirits who rewarded intelligent and pure children, and even the village children began to sing nursery rhymes about it."

"At first, we tried to stop those who wanted to take advantage without considering the safety of the children..."

Lann's eyes became dangerous. "What happened next?"

The world is always uneven, and the culture of this world makes family ties not as strong as modern people think, especially in families with many children and many daughters. It is not incomprehensible for greedy people to risk their children's lives for a small piece of gold.

It's understandable, but not excusable.

"We punished those citizens who did not care about the children, although it is true that the children also obtained rewards from the forest."

"Then my grandson Levin and Miss Milva communicated with the Dryads, and the way children traded with the Dryads remained."

Lann rubbed his eyebrows and felt that something was very strange. "Is there anything else I should know about dryads?"

Luka thought for a moment and said, "Every month we select two days when we allow the young people of the village to go into the Dryads forest at night."

"We also wanted to make it a holiday and were hoping that the Count could name this holiday, but you were absent for a long time..."

Lann slapped his forehead and scolded: "Focus on what's important!"

The old man smiled and said: "Mrs. Eithné actually asked a dryad to leave a message, saying that she hoped to see you when you returned."

"It was during that time that it was rumored that you had been killed by the Nilfgaardians, but she seemed very sure that you would return..."

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