The Witcher: Lord of the Empire

Lann held the Master Mirror's gaze for a long moment, as if he was finally being convinced by what he had just been told. "The wish he made was for me to bring the Toad Prince back, right?"

The Master Mirror nodded, and then kindly reminded: "But he will still kill the Toad Prince later, and he may use a crueler method."

Lann shook his head and began to put forward his own guesses. This was the main purpose of calling the Master Mirror over.

Unlike Geralt, who always followed the rules, Lann didn't want to be led by the hand through quests. He wanted to find a more efficient way to complete this series of tasks and get the maximum benefit possible.

His desire not to hurt the Toad Prince was both a moral consideration and an excuse to develop his later plans.

"I just need to bring the Toad Prince back to complete the quest. What if, while bringing him back, I also fulfill the conditions for Olgierd's other two wishes? This way, I could fulfill his three wishes at the same time, fulfill your contract, and you could take his soul. Everyone would be happy."

After hearing Lann's words, Master Mirror showed a look of surprise on his face, and seemed very happy about Lann's change of thinking mode, but he said regretfully: "Your idea is naive. Running all the quests at once would be convenient and avoid the current complications, but Olgierd only expresses one wish at a time. You have to fulfill them one by one."

"I have always had a question about this." Lann said. "With your ability, you must know what Olgierd's three wishes are. You can read his mind, see the future, and even induce him to make a wish. I don't believe that you can't think of a way that I can think of. Why do you have to make simple things complicated?"

The Master Mirror shook his head. "That would violate the rules, and it would be too boring."

Understood, another one who complicates his life for fun. And Lann estimated that Olgierd's soul was a small matter, and the Master Mirror preferred to watch his spokesperson and Olgierd's battle of wits and courage, so he would let everything develop.

"What if I say that I can accurately predict Olgierd's remaining two wishes? Under this premise, is my plan feasible?"

"Do you want to fulfill his wishes before he says them?" The Master Mirror's eyes finally showed interest. "You can read minds? But even mages can only find disordered and chaotic thoughts. Besides, Olgierd is immune to magic because of my contract..."

Suddenly, the Master Mirror stared at Lann with an expression as if he had discovered a treasure. "You didn't use magic, you used some other skill, a talent, right? Without me noticing, you explored Olgierd."

The Master Mirror stood up and looked at Lann in amazement.

Lann nodded and asked: "So, I have only one question: is it possible that Olgierd avoids expressing his wishes in order to make things difficult for me, or that he makes an absurd wish, such as asking me to die immediately? After all, according to you, he has allied himself with my enemies."

The Master Mirror seemed to enjoy his examination of Lann, taking a while to respond. "He will not avoid expressing his wishes, that would violate the contract and I could take him away immediately. He will also not ask for you to die, his wishes must be his most real and urgent need at that moment, determined by his current state and his heart."

"Unless you really did something at that time, and even shook his heart of stone, making Olgierd's hatred for you exceed everything in the world. To be honest, I am looking forward to this situation."

Looking at the confidence of the Master Mirror, Lann had a suspicion: Could the fact that Olgierd can be free until now be the result of the Master Mirror's indulgence?

This man who thought he had played tricks on the devil, but didn't know that he was just a mouse being played by a cat, using his arrogance and indulgence to create a rare character for Master Mirror and write a different story?

But this is a good thing for Lann now.

Since the Mirror Master also had a plan to ensure that Olgierd did not randomly change his true wishes, Lann could go ahead with his own plan.

Lann shook his head and said: "So, let's first handle Olgierd's first wish: Capture the Toad Prince. Do you have any advice? Something like shrinking the creature and putting it in a bottle."

Master Mirror spread his hands and said helplessly: "I can't help you realize these wishes - this is the rule. But why don't you ask your friends around you? They may be able to give you advice."

Lann frowned. Who could he ask something like that to?

...

In his study, with the Griffin School Contact Journal open, Lann wrote rapidly.

"Dear Master, Greetings:

I have arrived in Redania and visited King Vizimir II in Oxenfurt. Here, I was attacked by a sorcerer, but fortunately, I survived. However, the assassin did not act alone. There is a dark hand behind all of this. Right now, the enemy is in the shadows while I am in plain sight, so I can only wait for the right moment to act..."

"The free and scholarly atmosphere of Oxenfurt has captivated me. Thinking of the current state of Cintra, I cannot help but feel sad. Here, different races live together in freedom, and people are respected for their knowledge, regardless of their origin or lineage. I deeply wish that the future of Cintra, under my guidance, will be similar. I am willing to give my life for it..."

"In Novigrad, I found a giant toad who, according to my research, is a cursed prince. I cannot bear to see him suffer any more, but I also do not want him to die because of the evil of others."

"I am looking for a way to break his curse. In the meantime, I must keep him confined so that he does not cause any more harm. Have you ever encountered anything similar in your long career as a witcher? I urgently need your advice..."

Witcher methods are extremely complex. In addition to traditional swords and magical signs, Geralt has shown in the game various mystical techniques that do not require magic, such as summoning spirits and awakening the undead.

Lann believes that the Griffin School must have more magical methods to deal with the situation he is facing now.

After finishing the letter of help, Lann closed his notebook and began to think about future events.

In The Witcher Series, the Hearts of Stone quests are roughly divided into five parts.

The first main quest is Evil's Soft First Touches which is related to the Toad Prince.

Dead Man's Party which would be the first of Olgierd's three difficult tasks to fulfill his wishes. Where Olgierd will ask that his brother Vlodimir be shown the best moment of his life. The problem is that Vlodimir has been dead for quite some time.

Open Sesame! which would be the next of Olgierd's three difficult tasks, where he would request ownership of Maximilian Borsodi's house.

Scenes From a Marriage which would be Olgierd's last wish, where he will ask to find and bring her the violet rose that he gave to his wife, Iris, the last time he saw her.

Whatsoever a Man Soweth..., which would be the last main mission of the Hearts of Stone quests where one must decide whether or not to save Olgierd from Gaunter O'Dimm. The choice will result in the apparent death of one or the banishment of the other.

Of these five main quests, 'Evil's Soft First Touches' becomes the first wish because Olgierd has not yet released the announcement for said quest like in The Witcher Series.

Lann was worried that, this being a different time, Olgierd's wishes might change drastically, but with the Master Mirror's validation, he was reassured.

'Dead Man's Party', 'Open Sesame!' and 'Scenes From a Marriage' represent Olgierd's deepest and truest desires: family, revenge and love. Even after losing his emotions due to the deal with the Master Mirror, nothing new could overcome these three desires in his heart.

If he had to choose two of these wishes, Lann would go for 'Dead Man's Party' and 'Scenes From a Marriage', since, for someone as selfish as Olgierd, family and love would be more important than revenge.

However, to be safe, Lann decided to complete all the quests before seeing Olgierd.

As for the final mission on 'Whatever a Man Soweth...', Lann already had his choice clear...

For the other missions, Lann did not plan to complete them all personally.

It's time to let his servants help him share some of the pressure.

The quests related to the Toad Prince and Scenes From a Marriage were very difficult encounters, and he couldn't send his followers to suicide. But they could take care of Maximilian Borsodi's house, and they could ask for help from the local faction, the Eternal Flame.

The same was true for 'Dead Man's Party'. Lann had neither the time nor the interest in summoning the spirit of a thug and spending a wild night with him.

With his decision made, Lann called his three followers to his room.

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