Black Tern Island is not small, almost a quarter the size of New Vizima City, comparable to a large human town.
Unfortunately, even though King Foltest's family has ruled this area for thousands of years, this primitive lake island still cannot sustain human life.
The main reason being:
Even if someone successfully lands on this small island, once they try to settle there, they will be attacked by an endless stream of evil Drowners, eventually meeting a tragic end.
These evil creatures can barely be considered an intelligent race. Although their intelligence is low, perhaps even less than a three-year-old child, they have mastered the use of weapons and have strong reproductive capabilities, making them quite a troublesome type of monster.
And human armies have almost no way to deal with these creatures that live in the water, at the bottom of the lake.
Even if they can defeat them on land, once they want to retreat, humans can only watch them leave their dead bodies and dive into the water to escape.
This is also why Foltest was so willing to lend this lake island to Guilliman so easily.
In the king's opinion, if he could exchange this useless lake island for a Witcher Academy and a group of elite master warriors, it would definitely be a profitable deal.
After dealing with the trivial matters in the city, Guilliman once again took a boat to the Vizima Swamps, preparing to start searching for the location of the Lady of the Lake's altar.
Although dealing with the evil Drowners and the evil god Dagon was his own desire, Witchers are unwilling to do business at a loss.
At the very least, he needed to reach a cooperation agreement with the Lady of the Lake, earn a sum from her first, and then act; it wouldn't be too late.
Regarding the location of the altar, Guilliman could think of two current targets.
The first is Murky Waters, a village that has existed in the swamp area for over a hundred years.
The second is Mr. Samum, the old Druid who lives in the Druid Circle and has lived in the Vizima Swamps for over a hundred years.
In the game, this village had an unclear connection with the Drowners. By offering sacrifices to the Drowners, they received protection from these evil creatures, allowing them to safely burn bricks and tiles by the lake, free from attacks by water hags and other monsters.
Unfortunately, by the time of the game, the evil Drowners became increasingly greedy, demanding more and more sacrifices, even to the point of demanding living people as offerings.
It was precisely because of this that the craftsmen of Murky Waters paid to hire Geralt, the White Wolf, to negotiate with the Drowners, ultimately leading to the battle between the White Wolf and the evil god Dagon.
Of course, from Guilliman's perspective as a firsthand observer, the game's depiction of the evil god Dagon and the Lady of the Lake was far too weak.
How could a god that has existed for thousands of years, even if it's just an evil god's avatar with countless Drowner subordinates to control, be so easily defeated by a Witcher's sword?
At the very least, he would not underestimate the evil god Dagon. When necessary, he would not hesitate to ask for Francesca's help.
As for Mr. Samum, the old Druid...
Guilliman is currently unsure of the Druids' attitude towards the evil god Dagon and the Lady of the Lake.
Perhaps these spellcasters, who focus on the balance of nature, don't care which deity wins, or perhaps the evil god Dagon and the Lady of the Lake have no distinction between good and evil in their eyes.
Upon arriving at Murky Waters, Guilliman directly requested to visit the village's High Priest.
His unreserved act of killing dozens of Salamandra gang members before leaving last time had not escaped the villagers' eyes.
The village's High Priest was quite enthusiastic about his visit, as if facing a true Witcher Master.
After hearing that he wanted to learn about the Drowners, this High Priest, who was already considered long-lived among ordinary people, showed no airs of an elder and quickly revealed everything he knew without reservation.
Not only that, after some probing, he also offered an extremely high reward for ordinary people, five hundred orens, requesting the Witcher to solve the Drowner problem.
Five hundred orens, not even worth two Pterodactyl eggs.
Of course, this was just Guilliman's complaint; for an ordinary village, being able to gather five hundred orens as a reward was already quite a difficult feat.
That night, he stayed in Murky Waters, even rejecting a village girl who tried to throw herself at him and came to his door.
Since Margarita, Guilliman's standards for women have become increasingly high.
Ordinary common beauties can hardly arouse his interest anymore; only beauties with looks and figures above eight points, or certain special stimulations, can elicit a reaction from him.
Leaving Murky Waters, the Witcher headed straight for the Druid Circle.
The Pterodactyl egg he had specifically left had been stored for many days. If all went well, he would be able to taste the Dryad sister tonight.
He just wondered if the sap flowing from the Dryad sister Iubal would also have the fragrance of grass and earth, like fruit juice.
"Elder Samum, I have completed the task you entrusted to me."
"Those lumberjacks have promised not to come to this area to cut down trees again."
"If you have any other troubles later, you can also entrust them to me."
As soon as Guilliman arrived at the Druid Circle, he saw the Great Druid, still unshaven and looking like a wild man.
Although the old man's personal appearance wasn't great, his mental state was quite good.
"Very good, Witcher, you have solved a problem for me."
"I thought you would come to collect your reward earlier, but I didn't expect you to make me wait so long."
The old man was very straightforward. Without him saying much, he immediately pulled out a bulging pouch from behind him, filled with hundreds of green pills emitting a special herbal scent.
"These are the Spirit-Opening Pills I promised you."
"As long as you give those beasts one pill every three days before they are weaned and care for them meticulously, those little ones will regard you as a companion and family, and they will be much smarter than ordinary beasts."
"If you need more after these are used up, you can come back to me."
Guilliman also didn't stand on ceremony, reaching out to take the pouch and then, in front of the old Druid, placed it into his storage space.
Such a miraculous ability made Elder Samum's eyes widen.
However, the old man asked nothing, only giving the Witcher a deep look before turning back to the sacred oak to continue his studies.
After bidding farewell to the Great Druid, Guilliman's gaze naturally fell upon the Dryad sister, with her tall, graceful, and alluring figure, but completely nude.
Humans are social animals, and Dryad sisters are the same; everyone needs to communicate with their kind to find inner satisfaction.
This time, when they met, the Witcher could clearly feel that the Dryad sister Iubal's gaze towards him was more enthusiastic and intimate than their first meeting.
Guilliman reached out and pulled out the Pterodactyl egg he had long prepared, smiled at the Dryad sister, and said:
"Long time no see, Iubal."
"This is your proof of courage."
"Tonight, let me teach you some new knowledge."
(Thanks to the generous donation from the Red Cucumber master!)