The Divine Hunter Chapter 15: Indalsfair Island

Roy rowed in the ice sea for three days and arrived at Indalsfell Island, the easternmost island of the archipelago.

It is the smallest among the seven islands in the Skellige Archipelago - several rural villages and towns, a patchwork of shrubs and woods surrounding the island.

But these three inches of land are also the birthplace of the islanders’ culture. Freya’s altars can be seen everywhere. There is a beautiful temple in the center of the island, located at the top of a long staircase. The walls are covered with emerald green flowers. Moss, brown ivy, gray-brown ivy. There is an owl taking a nap on the eaves. It may be a sacred animal called by the goddess.

A sacred garden surrounds the temple, with flowers blooming all year round and several saplings carefully trimmed.

Under the bright sunshine, amid the chirping of birds, young priestesses in white robes were feeding chickens, farming, and communicating with believers or tourists in a courtyard with flowing water and flowers, accompanied by several local tour guides. .

The followers of Freya in Kovir and Povis, who are thousands of miles away, have reached a long-term cooperation agreement with the priestesses on the island. The priestesses provide Indar to the people of Kovir and Povis at reasonable prices. Fair Isle Tour Packages.

And Roy realized that at this point in time, Mokwag, the notorious and most ferocious pirate of the later archipelago, had not yet come to the island to destroy the temple, kill the priests, and then be cursed to wear wolf skin and live forever. Fall into hunger purgatory.

Everything is nice and quiet.

But this is not his destination.

He left the temple and quickly came to Lovoten Village in the north. Triss told him that the Ortolan Archmage who was connected to Idalan lived in seclusion in the village.

Surrounded by wooden fences, there are more than thirty simple wooden houses in the village. In the morning, most of the men are still fishing at sea. In the yard, only women in aprons can be seen drying dried fish in wooden basins. Washing the clothes, the bronzed arms under the sleeves have muscles comparable to those of men.

The old man was lying on a wicker chair lazily basking in the sun.

The child with a runny nose jumped around quickly with the dog.

The villagers in the carrot field outside the village noticed the witcher, but they had long been accustomed to the large number of tourists.

"God bless Freya! Good morning, do you need a tour guide?" While Roy was still observing the village, a young man with a fiery red fox fur around his neck walked up to him, with a green and astringent expression. A passionate smile appeared on his stubbled face, "I will give you the best price and take you to visit the island's excellent scenery, visit the temple, pray to the supreme Freya, and taste local specialties, all in one day It only costs 2 crowns."

The witcher glanced at him, his eyes flashing with thought under his sunglasses. Triss didn't know Ortolan's alias, so he could only find his own way to find it.

"How about we start from Lovoten Village and introduce the situation of the villagers door to door?"

The young man was surprised when he heard this.

"To be honest, I am Linus Pitt, a professor of social relations and environmental biology from Fort Cowherd." Family structure is of interest."

"Professor of Oxenfurt University?" The young man's face was shocked at first. This guy was wearing a black cloak, mysterious, more like a mercenary... and had nothing to do with cultural people.

"The topic I am currently researching is the relationship between family structure, eating habits, and the number of rare animals, bluefin tuna, in the Skellige Islands... I have currently completed the survey of Udvik Island, and Todalor The blacksmiths of the Qu family have had in-depth discussions and the situation is not optimistic."

"Stop!" A hint of dizziness flashed in the young man's eyes, and a large number of mysterious spells seemed to be forced into his mind. He was instantly convinced, "Then it's up to you, Professor Linus Pitt! Two crowns, I'll take you Visit Indalsfir Island!"

……

"Ahem," the tour guide Clotte cleared his throat and pointed to a wooden house on the left with two trees in the courtyard. "This is our most respected Excellency in Lovoten Village, the chief priest of the goddess Freya. Uva's home...the chief priest devoted his whole life to the goddess, never got married and had children, and prayed for the people of Indalsfell Island day and night. His behavior is respectable and admirable."

Roy glanced at several white priestly clothes hanging on ropes in the yard.

"Everyone in the archipelago respects the goddess Freya?"

Clote glanced at "Linus Pitt" strangely when he heard this. The dignified professor actually asked such a mentally retarded question, but kept a smile on his face,

"Of course, Your Excellency, when our Skellige ancestor Oetkel arrived at the islands, he encountered a storm and almost died at sea. Fortunately, the benevolent goddess gave him a wind pipe and asked him to blow the wind pipe to calm it down. Only through the storm, Oetkel could land on the island below us safely and multiply... Only then did the Skellige people... From then on, my compatriots began to believe in the goddess Freya..."

The respect in Clotte's brown eyes turned into contempt,

"To disrespect the goddess is to betray your ancestors. Can you still be called a human being?"

The witcher smiled and asked,

"How did I hear that Skellige's fleet often plundered the fertility temples of other gods, such as Meriteri and Skyfather Owen..."

Clote grinned and showed his white teeth, and said matter-of-factly, "Robbery is Skellige's tradition, and we only respect Freya. Other so-called gods are meaningless to us!"

"What if the islanders offended Freya?"

"Then he will be spurned and hostile by all his compatriots, and the curse of life worse than death will accompany him throughout his life!"

……

"This is the home of Uncle Mansur, the blacksmith in Lovoten Village..."

"How does it compare to Todaro?"

"You think too highly of him. Todaloqu is Skellige's pride, and Uncle Mansur, haha, I'm not belittling him, at most he helps us fishermen polish harpoons, repair fishing nets, and make some hoes. and iron basin."

……

"This is the home of Uncle Migiti. His mother-in-law is very amazing. She gave birth to quintuplets for him. Our lord, Dona Ann Sinda, wanted to commend her for her contribution to Indalsfell. , providing her with food and clothing every month until all five children reach adulthood."

Clote looked at the little guy in the yard who was wearing crotchless pants and sitting on the mud pile, with envy flashing in his eyes. Then he hammered his chest with his right hand and saluted towards the center of the yard, "What a pity, Uncle Mijiti." A few months ago, I accompanied Lord Kratz to support the brothers in Cintra to resist the invasion of the Nilfgaardian Black Armored Army, but they were gone forever. Even the bones were destroyed by the Nilfgaardian beasts."

Clote said with a solemn expression,

"But his soul must have been thrown into Freya's arms."

Roy then remembered that in the Battle of Cintra, Skellige brought dozens of dragon ships to support, but they also suffered heavy casualties, and less than one-tenth of the people returned. But during this time, he didn't feel much sadness from the islanders.

Perhaps for the islanders, dying in battle is not a sad thing.

Somewhat similar to the Nords in Skyrim.

……

"This house..." Clotte walked to the east end of existence, outside a slightly dilapidated wooden house. The yard outside the house was covered with weeds, and the walls were covered with crystal spider webs. The walls were cracked and had obviously not been there for a long time. People live in it.

"Ortolan once lived in this house."

"What did you say?" The demon hunter's pupils contracted.

"Ortolan."

"Tsk, tsk," Roy sighed inwardly, how arrogant that archmage must be, living in seclusion in the countryside without even bothering to change his name.

But then I thought about it. How could the honest Skellige fishermen and farmers recognize his true identity?

"Can you tell me in detail what Ortolan looks like and what his personality is like?" The witcher walked into the dilapidated hut. The ceiling and beams were full of dust, and the surroundings were empty except for a few mouths eaten by insects. There are rotten lockers and no pots and pans. It’s almost like a house with bare walls.

"Mr. Linus knows him?"

"I have an acquaintance with the same name as him." Roy's pupils showed a look of nostalgia, "So I am a little curious."

"Ortolan looks to be in his forties...with blond hair and dark eyes, mature and handsome appearance," Clotte recalled, stroking the rough and mossy wall with his thin palms. "He is about six feet two. , has a well-proportioned body, and loves to wear a simple gray robe. He has delicate beards on his upper and lower lips."

Roy nodded, this is consistent with Triss's description.

“When I first met him, I felt that he was different from other people. His dress, temperament, words and deeds did not look like a native of Skellige. He sounded more like a cultural person. "Klote paused, his eyes filled with wonder.

"Is he really your friend? A friend of Professor Oxenfurt?"

"Your Excellency Ortolan is extremely talented. He once gave a unique lecture on biology at the University of Newcastle. I still remember it fresh."

"Listen to what you said, he is still a big shot!" Clotte seemed to have solved some kind of puzzle. He shook his fist suddenly and his face was excited. "No wonder his attitude is so arrogant and indifferent. It turns out that he is We have nothing in common with country people like us."

"His temper is very weird?" Roy squatted down in a corner. In the demon hunter's senses, except for traces of rats, cockroaches, and other small animals and insects, there was nothing abnormal.

He couldn't help but feel worried. If Ortolan had left the village, wouldn't the clues stop here?

"Uncle Ortolan has lived in the village for less than a year in total, and has spoken to everyone only a handful of times. For a long time, he either stayed in the house or went out until very late. When he goes home, no one knows what he did during the day."

Roy had a thought in his mind, going out? Could his secret laboratory exist on the island?

"Do you know where he went? Or where he is most likely to go? Who knows his whereabouts?" Roy patted the sand off his hands and looked at the young man with an irresistible magic. ,

"To disappoint you, Ortolan left home on a sunny morning and never came back. He has been missing for a year and two months." Clotte shook his head and sighed, "Not even a word to his wife."

According to Triss's description, Ortolan has lived for more than three hundred years, but he is indifferent to emotions, used to living alone, and devoted his whole life to magic transformation experiments. He is an out-and-out character. Research geek.

This sudden addition of a wife was really unexpected by the demon hunter.

"Where is his wife?"

"I live in the red house at the other end of the village, called Ava..." Clotte said with gossipy eyes, "Shortly after her husband disappeared, the helpless Ava remarried Fa, a fisherman in the village of Lovoten. Hurd, almost a year."

Roy's eyes turned. This woman dared to cuckold an archmage without fear of being blown to pieces by a fireball?

"Is Ava a local?"

"The Skellige people are said to have been born on the Great Skellige Island and were brought here to settle in Ortolan."

"How is their relationship as a couple?"

"Sir Linus, I would like to ask, what is the purpose of your asking?" The young man was a little confused. Is this professor here to travel or to conduct household registration research?

"Haha, just curious, what kind of woman will this acquaintance find?"

"Ms. Ava is a rare beauty..." Clotte said enviously, "She is tall and has delicate features...Although she comes from the country, she is not as rustic as other girls. It's a pity that Orr Tolan doesn't know how to cherish...Everyone in the village knows that his attitude towards his wife is quite cold."

Roy sighed, an ominous feeling rising in his heart.

"Master, please don't marry someone just on a whim, and then say goodbye when you get tired of it."

But don’t those long-lived people with chaotic private lives have this style?

Pursue freshness.

Next, the witcher searched the dilapidated house inside and out to confirm that there were no secret doors or basements.

Follow Clotte and find Ava.

……

A blond woman with blue eyes stood at the threshold outside the red house, her hair neatly tied back on her head, and a rough fur coat could not hide her charming figure.

Twenty years old, with delicate and smooth skin, a small nose, willowy eyebrows and cherry lips, a happy smile filled with happy life on his cheeks, and a clear and beautiful voice.

A beauty mark at the corner of the mouth adds a touch of charming charm to the purity.

Even the demon hunter, who was used to seeing beauties, couldn't help but take a second look.

Guardian blessing observation skills confirmed that she was just an ordinary person.

"This is Professor Linus Pitt...from—"

"Oxenfurt." Roy smiled and stretched out his hand to the woman. The latter was stunned for a moment, and was instantly intimidated by his black cloak and big sunglasses. He couldn't help but stretched out his fingertips and shook his hand gently. , "Mrs. Ava, I'll keep the story short."

"Your ex-husband Ortolan and I are close friends, and I would like to ask you something. If it is convenient, can you let us go into the yard to talk?"

"What Ortolan, I don't know!" The woman's smile froze and she denied it, but the demon hunter clearly noticed that an extremely complicated look flashed in her eyes for a moment.

The woman wants to close the oak door.

However, Roy took the lead and pressed his thigh against the crack of the door. At the same time, he blocked Clotte's view from behind with his body, and his left hand secretly outlined a cyan inverted triangle charm in front of the woman.

"Don't be nervous, madam, I just want to have a friendly discussion with you. Regardless of whether there are any clues, I will leave after the discussion..."

"Then...come in," the woman's eyes were dull, and she turned around and walked into the house. The demon hunter followed closely, but locked the confused Clotte out of the door.

The young tour guide smiled bitterly and acted as a gatekeeper.

……

The decoration inside the house is simple but clean. Except for a shark skull specimen and a bearskin rug, there are not many decorations. Most of the corners are neatly stacked with daily necessities, making the decoration quite warm.

"Why did you rush to deny that he left you some bad memories?" the witcher asked, rubbing the bench under his butt.

"That's right," the woman opposite the sofa said, her emotions aroused by the seal, her cheeks flushed with anger, "I don't want to have anything to do with this disgusting heartless man, no matter how rich he is!"

"Has he told you his identity and occupation?"

"Isn't he a businessman? He did business in Long Esset when he was young. He saved a lot of money and retired early." Ava said with determination.

Roy shook his head.

No, no, he is a famous mage who once assisted Arzu in developing the Demon Hunter in Risberg Fortress.

Poor woman, ignorant of the truth.

"Then where did he go? I'll find the clues and I won't bother you anymore."

"Ortolan disappeared without leaving any message a year ago!" The woman stirred the potato and fish stew cooked in an iron pot on the bonfire in the center of the hall a few times, her arms trembling with anger. Then he sat on the sofa opposite the witcher, folded his hands to support his chin, seemed to have figured something out, and then breathed a sigh of relief, "Just left quietly and never came back!"

"Did he show any unusual behavior before he disappeared?"

The woman was silent for a moment, a trace of struggle flashed in her bright eyes,

"As painful as ever, it breaks my heart."

"Be specific?"

The woman was silent. This question obviously touched her psychological bottom line, and Yaxxi couldn't get her to speak.

"Besides your home, does he often go to a fixed place?" Roy changed the question.

Since there are no obvious traces of magic left in the abandoned house, there must be another secret laboratory in Ortolan on the island.

"I often leave Luofuteng Village and wander in the wild, maybe somewhere else." The woman shook her head helplessly.

The witcher slapped his forehead in distress. Could it be that he wanted to search the entire island, "Let's start from the beginning...how did you meet him?"

Maybe I can find some clues in her statement.

"It was two years ago on the Great Skellige Island. On a sunny afternoon, I was collecting the net on the fishing boat. The fishing net was so heavy that it hurt my fingers. I caught a lot of good things. In order to get more I exerted all my strength, and my body was very low on the side of the boat... No one expected that a wave would suddenly come over and knock me into the sea."

"I fainted and even dreamed of sinking to the bottom of the sea and my body being eaten into a skeleton by fish." A trace of fear appeared on the woman's face, and she clenched her slender hands so that her knuckles turned white.

"At that time, if nothing else happened, I should have returned to Freya's arms... But when I woke up from vomiting on the coast reef, he, Ortolan, was like a knight who saved lives and healed the wounded. He appeared in front of me and gave me a gentle smile. He supported my weak body, put a thick and warm coat on me, and sent me home considerately."

The woman's eyes shone with light, like a pregnant girl describing the majestic figure of her dream lover, but this light came from the discovery of memory by Yaksi's seal, and was soon suppressed by her own rebellious emotions. Go down.

"Later, things were very simple. My savior and I started dating. Although he seemed to be quite old, he was polite to others and spoke in a cold tone. But at first he was very generous and often helped me and my family. I bought gifts for my family. Secondly, I could feel his sincerity. He must have loved me at that time."

Yes, Roy said in his heart, this is the love of a warlock, he likes the new and hates the old.

Except coral.

"I got married after less than half a month with him." Ava said. "After the marriage, he thought the Great Skellige Island was too noisy, so he took me to the more remote Indal. Sfair Island, and settled down together in Lovoten Village."

"We lived very happily in the first four months... We were together all day long... I could feel the love in his eyes, and he almost obeyed me."

Roy raised his eyebrows. This is not in line with the style of an older research madman. Why did he suddenly become a love brain?

"He has always been with you and didn't disappear for a few days occasionally?"

"We spent most of our honeymoon in bed!"

Roy's mouth twitched, this great mage is really getting stronger with age.

"But the happy time is short-lived." The look in the woman's bright eyes dimmed, "Maybe men are so fond of the new and hate the old... After four months of being inseparable, he began to disappear for no reason. At first, he left for two days a week. Later it became three days a week...and then one day a week..."

"I have always wanted to have a good chat with him and tell him my worries...but he always has no time and is never seen!" The woman complained with a livid face, looking like she was dissatisfied with her desires!

"Can you understand that feeling, Mr. Linus?"

Roy shook his head simply.

She tilted her head and babbled, issuing a series of questions, "Four months after the wedding, he asked me to stay alone in the vacant room... When I was lying alone on the double bed, I couldn't help but have random thoughts in my mind. He went Where? Why don't you explain it to me clearly? Why don't you return my concern - doesn't he love me anymore?"

“The more I think about it, the more lonely, lonely, and cold I feel, and I feel so uncomfortable that I want to vomit blood!”

She took a deep breath, pain flashed in her eyes,

"I started to have insomnia all night long, or have nightmares... I dreamed of all kinds of horrible scenes. I was scared to death. I wanted to find someone to talk to, but he was not at home."

"Later he finally came back, and I thought he would change his mind. It turned out that I was overthinking it, and he tortured me even harder."

When the woman said this, she took a deep breath, and a trace of despair appeared in her green eyes,

"He started hanging out with other women!"

Roy sighed.

How could Ortolan have the heart to hurt such a beautiful woman who was so infatuated with him?

But when I thought of the title in the diary of Algernon who was killed by Spigon, I felt relieved again.

The ruthless Ortolan is so apt!

"Who is that woman?" He interrupted the woman's self-narration as gently as possible.

"I don't know him, and I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but a fellow villager, Aggie, who works at the northern port, saw him and his pretty girl get off the tourist boat from Long Essette. And more than once. He betrayed me!"

Roy kept this in mind, so he had to contact Aggie and find the girl.

"I took the opportunity to question him, and he acquiesced. I asked for an explanation, but he just smiled at me!"

"Haha, this is what I dream about day and night. The man I love most betrays me again and again!"

"I was tortured in my heart. I really couldn't stand his infidelity, so I once chose to commit suicide!"

She lifted up the sleeve of her left hand, revealing her white wrist and an ugly and hideous cut mark on it.

The demon hunter's heart skipped a beat, this woman used to be the same kind of lover.

"Later he did something even more egregious to me."

"This made me see through him and give up completely!" The woman took a long breath, looked out the window, and saw the flowers blooming on the roadside, her voice choked with sobs, "His disappearance was a gift from God Freya to me! I I am finally free from nightmares, suffering and pain. My current husband is honest, considerate and treats me well."

"I am very happy!"

Her eyes were red and sparkling, and she covered her face and sobbed.

On the other side of the hall ~IndoMTL.com~, in the stroller close to the window, there was also the cry of a boy, who seemed to be sad for his mother.

Roy shook his head in understanding. Ortolan had hurt this woman deeply.

"Okay...ma'am, you need some quiet and rest. I'll bother you next time."

The witcher stuffed ten crowns into her hand, opened the door, and left.

The warm sunshine outside the house dispelled the gloom that weighed on his heart.

First go to Aggie and inquire about the whereabouts of several prostitutes who have been in contact with Ortolan.

"Mr. Linus, why did I hear a woman crying?" Clotte stared at the witcher's face.

"Ms. Ava was indeed heartbroken by Ortolan. It is inevitable that she will have some emotional fluctuations when recalling the past... Now, take me to meet Aggie."

"You are referring to the guard working at the northern port."

"It's him! Lead the way!"