chapter 19

The group rode out of the mutant town, a settlement still without a name, as it was never meant to be permanent.

Heading south, they crossed the bridge east of Bodrog. This time, they moved faster than before, reaching the bridge just as dawn broke. The crossing was guarded by Temerian and Verden soldiers, but unlike on their last journey, there were far fewer refugees on the other side.

The guards recognized Andries and his mutant entourage, allowing them to pass without question. They continued east for hours before Andries called for them to camp. Though he and his team required far less rest than ordinary humans, it was wise to rest early, knowing the long road ahead.

As usual, they set up camp away from the mutant horses, a precaution driven by an instinctual wariness. Though the horses were mentally conditioned not to devour their riders unless given the command, Andries preferred not to take any chances.

The group awoke at first light, except for Mathies, who lingered in sleep as the others packed their gear. They resumed their journey, traveling at a steady, deliberate pace. After three days, they finally reached the northern edge of Owl Hills, where the remains of the Nilfgaardian army still rotted under the sun, remnants of Andries's last necromantic assault.

From a distance, Andries spotted thousands of necrophages swarming over the battlefield. The sheer number of them was unsettling, necrophages rarely gathered in such vast hordes. Andries knew his group wasn't equipped to handle this many, forcing him to alter their course northward.

Carefully navigating around the infested battlefield, they arrived near a small settlement known as the Burned Stump by the end of the day. As they drew closer, Andries noticed large figures circling in the sky. At first, he assumed they were cockatrices, but as they approached, the creature's green scales became visible. Basilisks.

Seeing cockatrices in such numbers would have been strange enough, but this many basilisks? That was nearly impossible. The worst part was that the beasts had overrun the town, turning it into their nesting ground probably after feasting on its former inhabitants.

Andries's thoughts turned to the rift he had created between worlds. Could these basilisks have come from there? He needed a closer look. Finding a large boulder for cover, he motioned for his group to stop.

From his vantage point, he observed the basilisks as they flew in and out of the ruined town. Those in the air appeared to be locked in combat, but after watching for a few moments, Andries realized they weren't fighting at all. They were playing.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Andries squinted into the dimming light, trying to make out the details of the basilisks from afar. A few were noticeably larger, likely older beasts, while some appeared to be juveniles. Beyond that, there was little else he could discern.

Deciding there was no reason to linger, Andries signaled his team to keep moving. They veered east toward Turlough Hills, far north of Dillingen town and near the river. Once they reached the relative safety of the hills, he ordered them to make camp. Though he considered visiting Dillingen, uncertainty gnawed at him, he had no idea what awaited him there.

They had enough supplies for now, so Andries wasn't concerned about the delay. He instructed two of the half-undead to remain on watch, ready to alert the others if danger approached. As a further precaution, he cast illusionary wards around the camp. Felix and Mathies settled in close to him, their warmth oddly comforting.

When dawn broke, Andries woke to a familiar sensation, Felix sprawled across his face. He gently lifted the small cat, earning a disgruntled meow in response, before stretching and rummaging through his bags. His supplies were still sufficient, but he found himself considering the idea of hunting one of the basilisks. He was resistant to poison and disease, though not immune. Perhaps slowly mutating his body with the basilisk's essence would be an interesting experiment.

For now, he settled for his daily dose of troll mutation potion, which strengthened him incrementally, though with no drastic changes yet. Afterward, he shared a meal of dried meat and foraged roots with the others. Once finished, they packed their things and continued their journey.

By midday, they neared the outskirts of Dillingen, and that was when Andries noticed something disturbing, the town was overrun with spectral figures.

He activated the veil power of his device, shielding his group from sight as they advanced cautiously. As they drew closer, the wraiths' appearance became more distinct. Their forms still radiated with eerie green light, and they carried the unmistakable aura of undeath, but something was different. They looked more... human. The once formless spirits now had legs, faces, and an almost humanoid gait.

A group of wraiths patrolled the town's perimeter, and it wasn't long before one of them spotted Andries.

"Halt!" one of the wraiths barked, its voice resonating with an unsettling echo.

Andries stopped, his group following suit. He narrowed his eyes. "Did you just speak?"

The wraith's hollow gaze fixed on him. "The living are not welcome here," it said, its voice dripping with cold authority. "You feel like wraiths, but I see that is not the case. Leave now."

"But I am the one who summoned you here," Andries replied, his voice calm yet probing.

The wraiths exchanged glances before erupting into eerie, echoing laughter. Their mirth sent a shiver down Andries' spine.

"That's funny, child," one of the wraith guards said as his laughter subsided. "The mage or mages that summoned us tore open a rift between worlds. That rift remains. But you... you lack the power to do such a thing."

Andries smirked. "You're right. I don't have that kind of raw power. But my device does."

With a flick of his wrist, he deactivated his necromantic device. The wraith guard's gaze lingered on it with interest.

"What is that thing?" the guard asked, a hint of suspicion in its voice.

"I built it," Andries replied, stepping forward. "Originally, I used it to raise the dead. But during one experiment, I miscalculated, channeled the energy into the blood instead of the bodies. It created a surge of power, a call across the planes. You sensed it. You answered. The veil tore open, from both sides. At first, you were mindless wraiths, but something... changed."

The wraith's eyes flickered with an otherworldly intensity. "Changed, yes," it whispered. "We have become... more. And the rift remains."

Andries's mind raced. This was beyond anything he had anticipated. He had set these events in motion, but now they were spiraling into something far darker. Something far more dangerous.

"Even if you are the summoner, you are not welcome here," the wraith guard said, its voice thick with suspicion. "In life, our leader was a sorcerer, and he warned us of what another sorcerer might do to us. We do not trust you."

Andries raised his hand, speaking calmly. "How about this: I'm heading to check on the rift. I'll have to pass through here again on my way back. Let your leader know about me, and we can talk when I return."

The wraith guards exchanged silent glances, the air thick with otherworldly whispers. Finally, the one who had spoken nodded slowly, its form flickering.

"We will inform our leader," it said, the hollow echo still lingering in its voice. "But understand this: we are many, and we will defend our own."

"Fair enough," Andries replied. "I'll see you on the way back."

With that, Andries and his group pressed eastward, heading toward Sodden. The rift, he remembered, was west of Sodden, near a delta that fed into the Yaruga River.

They traveled for several hours, the oppressive silence of the landscape broken only by the sound of hooves. Then, suddenly, a piercing screech ripped through the air, a sound somewhere between a roar and the screech of some predatory beast. Instinctively, Andries raised his hand, signaling the group to stop. He ordered the half-undead to draw their weapons while he gripped his metal staff tightly with both hands. The leather grip felt warm under his fingers. He motioned for Umbra and Nyx to stay close.

From the north, a massive royal wyvern burst from the tree line, its leathery wings beating furiously as it soared into view. It was far larger than a typical wyvern, dwarfing even their mutant horses. Its thick, beard-like fur hung beneath its chin, and its head was crowned with multiple curved horns.

Andries wasted no time. He gripped his staff firmly, whispering an incantation under his breath. The energy surged through him, channeled into the staff, amplifying as he pointed it forward. A bolt of lightning crackled from the tip, soaring toward the wyvern with lethal intent. But the beast was faster than expected, twisting in the air to dodge the attack. The bolt shot past, disappearing over the forest behind it.

Moments later, three more royal wyverns rose into the sky. Andries's eyes narrowed. These creatures had to be from the rift, there was no other explanation.

Blightborn, ever the marksman, had already drawn his bow, as had the four half-undead archers. Wyrmblood, the winged mutant, dismounted swiftly, launching himself into the air to engage the beasts.

Blightborn loosed his arrow first, followed by the others. Their troll-infused strength allowed them to draw their bows with ease, but Blightborn's power was unmatched. His arrows struck true so did another one's arrow. The two shafts buried themselves into the first wyvern's hide.

Andries raised his staff again, gathering his energy for another spell. He summoned hundreds of stone spikes from the earth, hovering them midair with a gesture. He focused, channeling all his gathered energy into reinforcing the spikes, making them razor-sharp and unyielding. Nyx and Umbra flanked him, sending waves of telekinetic force behind the spikes, propelling them with tremendous velocity toward the wounded wyvern. It couldn't avoid the onslaught, dozens of spikes pierced its body, rending flesh and bone.

The royal wyvern, gravely injured and flailing, it was vulnerable. Wyrmblood took his chance. He climbed higher into the sky before diving down with lethal precision, his trident-like tail aimed for the wyvern's neck. The strike was swift and brutal, tearing through flesh as he slashed its throat open. Blood sprayed into the air, and the creature's strength ebbed. Unable to keep itself aloft, the wyvern plummeted to the ground, crashing with a heavy thud.

The remaining wyverns roared in fury, their primal screeches filling the air as they swooped down, intent on tearing Andries and his team apart. With a swift command, the group scattered, their mutant horses quick enough to dodge the creatures' vicious attacks.

Mathies, dismounted and ran straight for one of the royal wyverns. The powerful mutant grabbed the beast by the tail, stopping it mid-flight. The wyvern whipped around, jaws open to slash at him, but it didn't get the chance. Six half-undead mutants, weapons gleaming in hand, reached the beast and leaped onto it with terrifying precision. They hacked and tore into its scaled body, the wyvern's pained screams cut short as its body collapsed under the relentless assault.

The remaining two wyverns retreated to the sky, wings flapping furiously as they prepared for another attack. Andries took a moment to rest, holding his staff while watching their movements. Blightborn and the other archers held back as well, waiting for the creatures to commit to their next strike.

The royal wyverns wheeled in the air, ready to swoop down again. Umbra's eyes flashed, and with Nyx's help, they wrenched a massive chunk of earth from the ground, pressing it together with their combined telekinetic force until it formed a dense, stone-like boulder. Mathies grabbed the makeshift projectile and hurled it at one of the wyverns with tremendous strength. At the same moment, Andries raised his staff and sent another bolt of lightning searing toward the second.

The royal wyverns, mid-dive, couldn't evade the attacks. The boulder slammed into one, shattering teeth and bones, while the lightning bolt struck the other, disrupting its flight with an electric jolt. Both creatures spiraled out of control, crashing heavily to the ground.

Mathies wasted no time. He leaped into the air and landed on the head of the wyvern hit by the lightning. The half-undead swarmed after him, while Blightborn stowed his bow and drew his twin swords. With a fluid leap, he landed on the tail of the same wyvern, driving his blades into the creature's flesh and pinning it to the ground.

Meanwhile, Andries combined his psionic powers with those of Umbra and Nyx. Together, they unleashed a massive telekinetic hammer that slammed down on the other wyvern's skull with brutal force. The creature's head caved under the impact, and Wyrmblood, along with the remaining half-undead, descended upon it. In moments, the creature's head was torn from its body, silencing its thrashing once and for all.

Mathies and Blightborn continued their deadly teamwork. Blightborn expertly held the wyvern's tail in place, preventing it from lashing out, while Mathies shattered the creature's horns one by one. Grabbing a broken horn, Mathies drove it into the beast's skull repeatedly until the wyvern's movements ceased.

"Well, that was interesting," Andries muttered, surveying the carnage. "Mathies, use your enhanced senses to check the area. I don't want any more surprises."

Mathies hopped down from the dead wyvern, placing his hands on the ground. After a moment, he looked up and shook his head.

"Good," Andries said, satisfied. "Can you and the others gather the corpses in one spot? There's plenty of useful material here."

The mutants got to work, moving the massive royal wyvern bodies with ease. Their immense strength made short work of the task, and before long, the corpses were gathered in a neat pile.

Andries set to work immediately, pulling various tools and containers from his saddlebags. He extracted blood, venom, and other useful materials from the bodies with careful precision. Unfortunately, the impact of the fights had damaged the brains too much for his purposes, but the claws, teeth, and parts of the hides were still in good condition.

As he worked, Andries' excitement grew. Never had he thought he would encounter so many royal wyverns at once. The possibilities were intoxicating, and the thought crossed his mind, he could create more rifts like the one that brought these creatures. There was so much potential in tearing open the fabric between worlds.

Andries wasn't particularly skilled at skinning, but he still managed to slice off some of the sturdier sections of the royal wyvern's hide. Unlike other wyverns, these creatures had a hide that was more leathery than scaled, almost as if they had evolved beyond their lesser kin.

As he worked, Felix, his ever-curious companion, began gnawing at the flesh of one of the wyverns. Andries knew the little creature's stomach could handle nearly anything, so he let him eat undisturbed. He briefly considered trying some of the monster's flesh himself, but he knew better. His body, though resilient, wasn't ready for that kind of risk.

Time passed as he labored over the creatures' remains, extracting what materials he could. With the river nearby, once he finished, he knelt by the water's edge to clean the blood and grime from his tools. He was meticulous, more concerned about keeping his instruments spotless than cleaning himself, his mind lost in the rhythmic motions of the task.

Unbeknownst to Andries, something was stirring beneath the river's surface. The water rippled with the unseen movement of creatures lurking below. But Mathies sensed the danger. Without hesitation, he grabbed a large stone and hurled it into the river with a roar. The impact startled Andries, but more importantly, it frightened the creatures hiding in the murky depths. Hundreds of drowners and water hags suddenly scattered, their grotesque forms retreating back into the dark waters. Andries stared in surprise as they swam away, likely drawn to the area by the rift's unnatural energies.

After a quick glance around, Andries ordered Mathies and his half-undead guard to stay close, ensuring his safety while he finished cleaning his tools. Once everything was cleaned and stowed away, they prepared to move, but with the sun setting, Andries opted to camp by the riverbank. Like always, he surrounded their camp with illusions, and two of his half-undead remained on guard throughout the night.

Sleep, however, was fleeting. Throughout the night, various monsters approached, drawn to the lingering scent of the wyvern corpses. At first, it was smaller creatures like drowners and ghouls, eager to feast on the remains. But later, larger beasts, including royal wyverns, arrived to claim what was left of the bodies. Andries remained hidden beneath his illusions, allowing the predators to follow their instincts undisturbed.

By morning, the team rose with the dawn, packed their belongings, and set out again. After a few hours of travel, Andries began to sense something odd,a creeping chill that spread through the air. The temperature dropped sharply, and soon they saw snow blanketing the ground. Even parts of the river had frozen over, the icy crust gleaming beneath the pale morning light.

As they pressed on, they found the source of the unnatural cold, a massive dome of frost, stretching far and wide across the landscape. Andries dismounted, flanked by his companions, and approached the strange barrier. It shimmered in the air, a dome of magic, and when he tapped it with his staff, the cold seeped into his bones. Chaos energy pulsed from the structure, and though it felt foreign, there was something disturbingly familiar about it.

Ice magic. Andries had heard little about it, an elusive, complex force that few wielded, but this barrier was unlike anything he'd encountered before. It felt alien, and yet it tugged at some deep, primal part of him. The cold was biting, and Andries could feel its sharp edge, as could Felix, who pawed nervously at the frozen ground. But the rest of his group, particularly the half-undead, seemed unaffected, their enhanced bodies impervious to the frigid air.

"Strange," Andries muttered, staring at the frost barrier.

As the cold bit deeper into the air, Andries gently placed Felix into his bag to shield the cat from the freezing temperatures. The small creature burrowed in, seeking warmth. Andries turned his attention to the frost barrier once more. This time, he planned to test its resilience.

Standing back, his companions formed a protective semicircle around him. Andries connected his mind to Nyx and Umbra, their psionic link a conduit to the elemental planes. The connection took time, slowly building as he reached for the raw power of the elements. After what felt like an eternity, Andries finally touched the seething energy of the elemental plane of fire.

He channeled that force, pulling as much power as he could without straining his companions. Unaltered, the energy coursed through his staff, and with a surge of focus, he unleashed a roaring jet of flame toward the frost barrier. The sheer intensity of the fire nearly pushed him off balance, but Andries held firm, teeth gritted as the flames slammed into the icy dome.

For a few moments, the fire raged, but as he withdrew, the barrier stood unchanged, untouched by the inferno.

Frustration gnawed at him as he prepared to summon another spell. But before he could, all the half-undead suddenly turned their heads to the left, their eyes locking on something in the distance. Andries felt a ripple in the air, a shift in the atmosphere.

A blue portal cracked open, icy winds gusting forth, and out marched armored figures. Cold clung to their dark, jagged armor like a second skin, their skull-like helmets concealing their faces. They were hulking creatures, slightly smaller than Mathies but still towering over most humans. Their very presence exuded an aura of chilling menace. Andries immediately recognized the infamous figures from ancient tales, the phantom riders of the Wild Hunt. Only these ones had no spectral horses.

Six soldiers stepped forward, armed with swords and polearms, their movements eerily synchronized. Behind them, a mage, cloaked in a black mantle and holding a staff, stood with purpose. Hound-like creatures, larger than any natural beast, emerged from the portal as well. Their bodies were covered in icy stone-like skin, their sharp beak-like jaws clacking menacingly as they advanced. One of them roared, revealing rows of jagged, frost-covered teeth.

Andries' pulse quickened. The Wild Hunt! He wasn't prepared to face these spectral beings, not yet. Panic gripped him, but his survival instincts took over. He immediately began to cast an Ether spell, a complex incantation that would create a magic circle capable of harming phantoms and other ethereal creatures. But before he could finish, something caught his eye.

One of the soldiers, seemingly the leader, raised his sword and pointed it toward Andries and his group. Mathies, always quick to anger, took offense. He strode forward, muscles coiled in fury. The Wild Hunt soldier mimicked his movements, readying his blade, but Mathies was faster. With a single powerful punch, he slammed his fist into the soldier's chest, sending the armored figure hurtling back into one of the hound-like creatures. The soldier crumpled to the ground in pain, barely moving.

The Wild Hunt mage snarled something in a language that resembled Elder Speech, yet it sounded alien. Then the rest of the soldiers charged.

The half-undead were ready, weapons drawn as they clashed with the armored foes. Andries realized quickly that these beings weren't phantoms at all, they were flesh and blood. His strategy shifted, and he abandoned the Ether spell, switching to air magic instead.

The mage barked orders and Andries realized with surprise that her voice was unmistakably feminine. The Wild Hunt were not merely ghostly wraiths from myth, they were real people, wielding terrifying magic and power but still people, people that could be harmed.

With a sharp motion of her staff, the Wild Hunt mage summoned a massive ice boulder from the air. It formed above her, shimmering with malevolent energy, and with a quick gesture, she hurled it toward Mathies.

Reacting in an instant, Andries cast a wave of air, redirecting the boulder just before it struck his companion. The ice rock crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, and to Andries' horror, it began to move. Shards of ice knitted together, forming a hulking golem. Sharp, claw-like hands jutted out from its body as it lumbered toward Mathies.

But Mathies was not one to be intimidated. He turned, grabbed the golem by its icy torso, and with a grunt of effort, hurled it back toward the mage. The golem sailed through the air, and the mage barely had time to summon a shimmering magical barrier. The golem smashed into the shield with a deafening crash, shattering into countless pieces of ice and debris.

The battlefield erupted into chaos. Half-undead and Wild Hunt soldiers clashed, steel ringing against steel as spells crackled through the air.

The Wild Hunt mage was moments away from casting another spell when a sudden pressure bore down from above. Andries had woven his psionic powers together with the abilities of Umbra and Nyx, forming a massive telekinetic hammer that came crashing down on her. She barely had time to react, shifting her spell into a defensive shield that absorbed the brunt of the telekinetic blow.

Andries was already preparing his next move. With a quick incantation, he summoned a bolt of lightning, which crackled through the air and struck the mage squarely in the chest. The violent jolt sent her staggering, her body convulsing before she dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.

At the same moment, Mathies took advantage of the chaos. He slammed his fist into the skull of one of the hulking hounds, cracking its stone-like hide. The creature went limp for an instant before Mathies hoisted it effortlessly into the air and hurled it toward the struggling mage. But she was fast, too fast. Even while reeling from the lightning strike, the mage conjured an ice wall between herself and the incoming hound. The beast slammed into the barrier with a sickening crunch, its body collapsing into a broken heap. The ice wall held firm for just a moment longer before shattering into glistening shards.

A Wild Hunt soldier wielding a massive axe rushed toward Mathies, his intent clear. But before he could get within striking distance, Wyrmblood swooped down from the sky, his claws gleaming. The half-undead mutant crashed into the soldier, driving him to the ground with brutal force. Wyrmblood's claws dug under the soldier's helmet, twisting and yanking out a bloody mess of flesh and armor.

The battlefield was shifting. The remaining Wild Hunt soldiers and their hounds were faltering under the sheer number of half-undead mutants. Though they managed to fell a few of the creatures, the tide was against them. Blightborn, Wyrmblood, Umbra, Nyx, and eight more of the half-undead mutants pressed the attack, overwhelming the Wild Hunt. Swords clashed, and the air filled with the snarls of the mutants and the death cries of the invaders.

Desperation flickered in the mage's eyes, but she wasn't finished yet. With a guttural shout, she cast a short-range teleportation spell, vanishing into the frost barrier. When she reappeared, her hands moved quickly, weaving together another spell, one that looked eerily similar to telepathic communication.

"We're not waiting for whatever she's calling!" Andries barked. "Grab the bodies! We're leaving!"

The group moved swiftly, gathering up the corpses of several Wild Hunt soldiers and hounds. They knew the importance of these trophies, not only for their materials but also for the insight they could offer into their mysterious adversaries.

As they mounted their horses and prepared to flee, Andries cast one last glance toward the mage. A chill ran down his spine as blue portals began to open in rapid succession, and more Wild Hunt riders emerged from the swirling vortexes. Their spectral mounts thundered across the frozen ground, hooves pounding with unnatural speed, their armor gleaming in the pale light.

"Ride!" Andries shouted, urgency in his voice.

The group tore away from the barrier, racing ahead as the Wild Hunt riders poured into the fray behind them. The thunder of hooves and the chilling howls of the hounds echoed in the air as they fled into the dark, icy wilderness.