The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

After giving House instructions, Lann set off for the next port with the rest of the group.

The three Cintra cavalrymen followed House, a little nervous. Going on horseback to fight is their nature, drinking and bragging in the tavern is their pleasure, but they are really not very good at getting intelligence.

"Mr. House...what should we do?"

House fiddled with his bag of coins and looked back toward the tavern, where cries of elation, betting, and cheering were coming from.

Confident, House pulled his well-kept 'treasure' out of his pocket and grew more confident.

…

It was daytime, but Skellige's tavern was always bustling, no matter what time it was. As soon as customers entered, they were greeted by the aroma of roast meat, freshly baked bread and the strong smell of beer.

Directly in front of the entrance was the bar, behind which the tavern owner kept watch over the huge grill loaded with cuts of meat and large fish. On the west side of the room was a target where some people were betting on knife throwing, and on the east side was a cleared space where a few people were engaged in wrestling or boxing matches.

House naturally set his sights on the Gwent card table on the west side. Their stakes were 20 crowns a game, and with the money Lann had given him, he could play until dawn, if he wanted to. That is, if he lost every game.

As he sat down at the gaming table, he made a deal with the locals: if they lost the game, they would have to buy him a drink or a local specialty and also tell him some interesting story about the place. A reasonable deal for a foreigner like him.

It is not known how much time passed.

At one point House had a mug of beer to his left and a plate of salted sturgeon with mashed turnips to his right. Sturgeon had become an expensive dish, due to the decline in their population.

Behind him, his three fellow Cintra soldiers were flushed, evidently having had enough to drink. Each held a large plate with three or four pieces of meat, roasted fish, and piles of mashed turnips and potatoes, along with mushrooms and beetroot.

They whispered among themselves:

"Hey, I can't eat anymore... How about you?"

"I can't drink anymore. If I keep this up, I'll get into trouble... Mr. House has barely had a drink, and it's all been for us..."

"He's... really amazing. It's not for nothing that Mr. House is a member of the Lions. We haven't spent a single coin since we got here, right?"

"If this goes on, I'm even worried that our money will increase..."

"Has the increase in money become something to worry about?"

The three soldiers from Cintra wore bitter expressions, as they had never imagined that eating and drinking to their heart's content could be a problem.

Across from them, one of House's opponents let out a desperate groan, pounding the table with both hands.

"How could you possibly have that card? My Monster Deck can't beat your Northern Realms Deck!"

House picked up the letter. "Lannister is invincible!"

The guy who lost looked at him with dangerous eyes, as if he was planning to fight. But House was already used to dealing with this kind of situation; he had seen many lose their tempers at the gambling table.

With a snap of his fingers, House had the three soldiers behind him slam their plates down on the table, emitting the intimidating bloodlust characteristic of war veterans.

The gambler shrank back immediately and said: "S-sir... I'm out of money. Seriously, I lost everything, I don't even have money to buy you a drink. I thought this last hand would save me..."

Desperate, he searched through his clothes until he found a strange drawing and handed it to House.

"This is all I have, it's all my wealth. It's a blueprint... very valuable. It's worth at least twenty, maybe fifty crowns. With that, everyone in the tavern could eat and drink!"

House raised his eyebrows and took it casually. "Friend, I sympathize with you, really, but if you use items as collateral, the price is not something you can decide..."

House lowered his voice as he looked at the map.

He frowned as he looked at it more closely. It was a blueprint for a longsword with a bear-head hilt, with all the measurements and materials detailed. All it took was a good blacksmith to forge a perfect replica.

The gambler noticed his reaction and was quick to explain: "S-sir, to be honest, I used to own a tavern, and I once entertained a strange man in my tavern. He was as strong as a bear, but his card skills were as bad as a drowner! He lost two hundred crowns in one night, and when he had nothing left to bet, he mortgaged this thing to me, saying it was a blueprint for a very valuable piece of equipment."

House raised the blueprint in his hand. "So you know what this is?"

The gambler's voice suddenly became smaller. "I... can't understand the words on it, but at that time the strong man said that this thing is more valuable than the money he lost to me, I don't think he is a liar."

House thought for a while and asked: "Where did the man go later?"

Unexpectedly, the gambler suddenly became excited when he heard this question. "The guy originally said he would return with money to retrieve this broken blueprint… but that night my tavern was suddenly attacked by a group of people, and the man disappeared amidst the chaos! Fortunately, the lord's patrols and soldiers discovered the attackers in time and took them down, otherwise, I'm afraid my tavern would have burned down!"

House looked at the blueprint in his hand with a thoughtful expression. "Do you know who those attackers were or where that man is now?"

The gambler showed a strange expression. "Why do you care about this?"

House smiled, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You lost, so aside from buying me a drink, you owe me a story. And this is a good story."

Knowing that House was accepting the blueprint as payment, the man perked up.

"Lord Crach said they came from the Duchy of Arcsea, which is a vassal of Redania. And that man… well, he must still be in Skellige, because someone like him, penniless, will not be able to leave here."

When House and his companions heard those last words, they exchanged strange glances, as if to say: You're a hardcore gambler too; it's not like you're in any better position.

And about the fact that this man is still in Skellige... Isn't that the same as saying nothing? Forget it, House will go back and inform the Duke, if he is really interested, he will know what to do.

That the duke had to deal with such a trivial matter bothered House a little.

The gambler met the gaze of the four and muttered in embarrassment: "I'm not that bad at gambling... Besides, that night, even though the guards arrived in time, my tavern suffered quite a loss. So I thought I'd go out and gamble a bit. After all, I'm a tavern owner, I run a business!"

House raised an eyebrow and asked: "Then why don't you just use a credit, instead of using this 'valuable' blueprint to exchange it for a drink?"

The gambler was speechless.

House, however, understood the situation. The guy probably didn't know the true value of the blueprint and just wanted to get rid of that worthless piece of paper. If he could get him a drink, he'd be satisfied.

Especially since I was on a losing streak and had nothing else to bet.

Noticing that a few drunken sailors had begun staring at them, House decided that was enough for the night. The people of Skellige were famous for their sense of camaraderie, and he was an outsider. He had already won enough, and he had left this man with almost no pants on. It was time to leave before things got out of hand.

Remembering the Duke's words about always being fair to others, House cleared his throat and pulled ten crowns from his pocket, leaving them on the table.

"This blueprint has some value, and I don't want to take advantage of you. You seem like an unlucky guy. Take this so you can pay for a carriage, so you won't have to leave on foot."

The gambler suddenly looked up when he heard this, his eyes shining. "The man said this blueprint is worth two hundred..."

"Get lost!" House slammed the table hard.

It wasn't just House who was upset; even the sailors, who had initially wanted to defend the man, looked away.

House spat on the ground, watching as the player staggered as he fled.

House shook his head and called for his companions to sit down. He intended to finish the plate of ribs in front of him and then return to the castle.

A sailor suddenly sat in front of him.

"What can I do for you?"

Faced with House's question, the sailor smiled and said: "You seem like a nice guy. And you seem interested in that man who is as big as a bear, right? I can tell you about him."

He paused and added: "Also, I know something that might interest Cintra. If you want, I can tell you about it too."

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