The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

"This cave system seems to be divided into two levels. We are now on the second level. It is evident that the Vildkaarls found a natural cave and then used manpower, and even magic, to artificially modify it." Lann explained to his companions, sharing the results of his recent exploration. "The Vildkaarls likely live on the first level, while this level is where they cultivate their berserkers."

At the edges of the vast cavern, more artificial caves had been carved, smaller and intended to be inhabited. However, these caves did not house people, but... bears.

Or, more specifically, bear cubs.

Several round-headed, stocky-bodied black puppies were huddled inside, separated from the outside world by thick, thorny vines. They looked curiously at the witchers outside.

"Giant bear cubs from Skellige? No, wait..." Crach exclaimed in alarm. "Are the Vildkaarls breeding giant bears to mass produce berserkers? No wonder they can deploy so many berserkers at once! I thought they had captured all the giant bears on the islands, but it turns out it's something else entirely..."

"But these are the giant bears of Skellige, they are not ordinary animals that can be raised! How could they...?"

At Crach's hesitation, Eist pointed to the center of the cave, drawing everyone's attention there.

"If this is here, then anything is possible." Eist said.

Before them was an impressive-looking statue, half man, half bear. The work was of exceptional quality: the muscles and fur were sculpted in such detail that they looked lifelike. In addition, there were channels carved into the statue, clearly designed for blood to flow through during some kind of sacrificial ritual.

Eist lightly tapped the ground beneath his feet and explained: "With this statue present, there is no doubt that this place is the base of the Svalblod cult."

"I read something in my clan's ancient books." Eist continued. "We're in what the Vildkaarls call the Bear Circle. This place was used for berserker trials, where they would gather all the giant bears in the area using special methods and force the warriors to face them in combat."

"It's a unique ability of the Svalblod cult. But now it seems they've gone a step further. Instead of killing the bears after luring them here, they've locked them up and started breeding them. Also..."

Eist walked slowly towards the cubs, who were watching the intruders with curiosity. These small predators seemed completely calm, as if they were accustomed to the presence of humans.

However, Eist's attention was not on the cubs, but on the thorny vines that kept them confined.

"This must be the work of a druid's natural magic." He explained. "Druids are capable of taming magical creatures. They possess extraordinary breeding techniques. Combined with the unique abilities of the Svalblod cult, raising giant bears no longer seems impossible."

"Yes, the druids!" Bill suddenly shouted, having remained at the back of the group. His voice attracted all eyes. "When I was kidnapped, a druid appeared. I'm absolutely sure of it!"

Everyone looked at Lann.

Lann shook his head. "I just explored this whole place. There's no one left here."

Gerd sighed. "So we've failed again? We failed to completely eradicate the Svalblod cult?"

At these words, the Dimun and Bill clansmen, still thirsty for revenge, gritted their teeth in fury.

However, Lann shook his head again. "It's not as bad as it seems... I looked at the residential area on the upper level. It's barely big enough to accommodate a hundred people. That means that in the previous battle we probably eliminated all of their warriors. Unless there are other Vildkaarl hideouts on this mountain."

Eist nodded. "Then let's continue searching for clues in this place. We'll also send out scouts to check if there are any more Vildkaarl bases. We need to find that fallen druid who escaped."

He looked at the three druid apprentices who had been captured and whose wounds had been treated in a rudimentary manner. "In fact, I suspect that these apprentices were captured by that fallen druid."

However, after Eist ordered the search to continue, Crach showed a hesitant expression.

Eist noticed his nephew's attitude and encouraged him to speak. "Crach, do you have something on your mind?"

Crach took off his helmet and, after a moment's hesitation, said: "Uncle, our mission was to eradicate the Svalblod cult so you could become king, right?"

Eist nodded, taken aback by the question.

"If Lann is right and we've already eliminated all the Vildkaarls in the previous battle except for the fallen druid, then the Svalblod cult is basically destroyed, right?"

"If that's the case, I think the druid is no longer important."

"With this, you would have already defeated your opponents in the contest for the throne and could be crowned."

To reinforce his argument, Crach pointed to the statue of the god Svalblod that stood before them and to the three druid apprentices lying on the ground.

"You rescued the two reckless jarls from the Vildkaarls' ambush and eliminated all of their men. You then found the Vildkaarls' true hideout, destroyed the statue of the unholy god Svalblod, and freed the three druid apprentices who were to be sacrificed in a blood ritual."

Crach summed up Eist's achievements on his journey. "I believe that such merits are sufficient to crown you."

"Of course, I'm not saying we should leave the fallen druid unpunished. We'll organize a search to find him later."

"However, he is just a fallen druid, he does not represent the entire Svalblod cult."

"And the true cult of Svalblod was here." Crach pointed at the ground beneath his feet. "And we have already annihilated it."

Before he finished speaking, a loud bang was heard behind him.

Lann and the others turned at the same time to discover that the noise was coming from the Dimun clan soldiers.

Under Jutta's command, the soldiers wielded greatswords, axes, and hammers to completely destroy the statue of Svalblod, reducing the symbol of the unholy god to a pile of rubble.

"This is for the death of my uncle, for the death of our jarl!" Jutta shouted in fury. "May the Goddess Freya damn you for eternity, you cursed unholy god!"

Crach looked away and turned back to Eist, spreading his hands. "As you see, even they consider the Svalblod cult destroyed, and vengeance accomplished."

"I understand that all enemies must be eliminated. The fallen druid is still in Ard Skellig and will not be able to escape. Later I will mobilize all soldiers to pursue him. I am sure the masters of the Circle of Druids will be happy to help us." Crach said sincerely. "But there is no point in you getting involved in this any further. Your mission is already accomplished. You may now be crowned king."

Eist hesitated.

Though as Crach says, his goal has already been accomplished, but letting the fallen druid escape at this point made him feel like something was left incomplete.

After some thought, Eist turned to Lann. "What do you think, Lann?"

Lann consulted the system panel.

[Mission: Silent Fury]

The mission did not show a completed status.

This could only mean one thing: the Svalblod cult still had remnants.

Lann was not one to be completely guided by the system's quests. Compared to the reward of a quest, helping Eist become king was far more urgent.

"I second Crach's opinion." Lann said. "The fallen druid must be eliminated. We cannot ignore him knowing he exists." Lann added in his mind: 'Especially since it will also give me experience for completing the quest.'

He paused before adding: "But there are more important things. The main thing now is for you, uncle, to regain the throne." Then Lann suggested: "How about we split into two groups? Me and Geralt will track down the fallen druid. After all, for witchers, this is almost a regular job."

Eist let out a light laugh. "You are not a witcher, Lann… at least you shouldn't consider yourself as such."

Lann nodded superficially.

"However, what you say makes a lot of sense." Eist admitted after a moment's thought. He looked around before making a decision. "We will take these unconscious druid apprentices, and all go together to the Circle of the Druids."

"Bran is there. I will speak with him about the recent progress. After this incident, the Dimun and Drummond clans are no longer rivals for me; they might even become allies. There are only two neutral clans left, and I can try to persuade them."

"Also, Lann, you could consult with the druid masters there and ask them about that fallen druid. I'm sure they'd be willing to help you."

"As for whether to crown me immediately or continue tracking down the fallen druid, we will discuss that later."

No one had any objections to this plan.

Soldiers from the Tuirseach and An Craite clans fanned out to search the Vildkaarl camp for hidden clues, capturing the cubs as war spoils in the process.

The witchers, for their part, used their witcher senses to search for traces the Vildkaarls had left behind, hoping to facilitate future actions.

Lann, meanwhile, looked thoughtfully at the three unconscious druid apprentices. Where could that fallen druid who escaped be?

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