chapter 11

Andries and Mathies started to explore the area around Kaer Morhen. Being close to a witcher keep, there weren't that many monsters around, but they did find a lot of animals. The animals, unbothered by both humans and monsters, were thriving in these areas and growing in population.

Andries's right hand was still healing, so whenever they had to climb, he would climb onto Mathies's back. Felix stayed in a satchel bag around Andries's shoulder. Mathies had no problems climbing mountains and seemed to enjoy it.

A little to the north and east of Kaer Morhen, in the hill of one of the mountains, they discovered an elemental circle humming with power. Mathies put Andries on the ground when they reached a walkable area, and Andries approached the circle. Even Felix woke up, sensing the power there. The circle was untouched by mages and very powerful.

"I'm going to meditate here a little." Andries said to Mathies.

He moved to the circle of elements. This one was a simple structure with areas for meditation and a ritual area for placing things. Andries sat in the big flat area made for meditation and tried to connect with the elemental planes.

Andries felt a strong connection to water, air, and earth here. Elemental circles were excellent for enhancing one's connection to the elemental planes and on rare occasions, learning new spells. Andries tapped into the energy and meditated, trying to better his connection.

He allowed the energy to flow through his body and absorbed a little. He opened his eyes and started to use the energy of the circle to cast small spells of earth, air and water. Out of the three, he excelled at air, was pretty good at earth and was average, or maybe below average, with water.

Being there made his spells feel much easier to cast and allowed him to practice his control over these spells more effectively. Felix also seemed to be absorbing some of the energy, like all cats, though Andries did not know why cats absorbed energy. Mathies on the other hand decided to lie down in a grassy area nearby and take a nap.

It was morning, so Andries stayed there for a long time and practiced. He could feel the strong and untouched connection of this circle with the elemental planes but made sure not to take too much from the place. It was good to allow the land to recharge its energy.

Andries practiced until he felt a little hungry. He woke up Mathies, and they ate some of the roast they had brought from the previous night's hunt. There was plenty left, so they had brought some with them. Additionally, they brought some mushrooms and roots the witchers had collected.

Vesemir had told Andries that the roots and mushrooms could strengthen the body of someone young and growing. After the portal demonstration, the witchers didn't hold back, sharing most of their secrets with him, including some personal ones Andries didn't need to know.

The three ate their fill and prepared to move again. As they started to walk away, a giant stone suddenly flew toward them. Mathies spotted the stone and stood in front of Andries. When the stone reached them, Mathies punched it with such force that it shattered into pieces.

Andries soon saw rock trolls slowly advancing, each holding big stones. Mathies smiled, grabbed a giant rock, and hurled it at the trolls. The rock hit one of the trolls, knocking it onto its back. This triggered a chaotic fight.

The trolls began throwing stones at Mathies. He seemed to understand the danger of these stones as he punched and dodged them, laughing all the while as if enjoying the stone-throwing battle. Occasionally, he would catch a smaller stone thrown at him and hurl it back with all his strength, injuring but not killing the trolls.

"Fuck." Andries muttered, casting a spell.

Andries wanted to end the fight quickly but also saw an opportunity to test his powers. He decided to tap into complicated earth spells.

Performing the hand signs and incantation correctly, he held his hand forward and a swarm of tiny biting insects emerged, flying toward one of the trolls. The insects reached the troll and began biting its flesh. The troll's hard body made it difficult to inflict significant damage, but the insects did manage to do some harm. Since Andries was still young, the spell didn't last long and the insects soon disappeared. The troll was wounded but not as much as Andries had hoped.

One of the trolls then threw a stone at Andries. Andries raised his left hand and activated a rune carved into his bones. A wave of energy shot out, shattering the rock and sending pieces flying back. Andries then allowed energy to slowly refuel the rune.

With the rune activated, Andries tapped into his magical energy. Since the runes stored energy, creating a shield with the runes removed the need to channel much energy, that meant he didn't have to focus on both defense and attack, allowing him to concentrate fully on offense. He cast a spell that combined earth and air elements, shooting a wave of sand at the troll. The sand flew so fast it began to cut into the troll's flesh, severely damaging its eyes.

The trolls, though dumb, realized throwing stones was useless and dropped them, rushing forward. Mathies laughed and charged at the trolls.

Mathies reached the trolls and punched the first one in range with enough force to knock it back and break a tooth. When another troll tried to grab Mathies, he backed away, went low and came up with an uppercut that slammed into the troll's chin, lifting it off its feet and throwing it backward.

Andries saw a troll about to punch Mathies. He sent a mental command to the troll, a simple suggestion "Punch the one to your left." The command worked, and the troll turned and punched another troll to its left. Mathies then turned and punched that troll.

Andries cast a spell, sending a lightning bolt toward the blinded troll. The bolt struck its head, scorching its body, but the troll remained alive. Andries quickly followed with another bolt aimed at the troll's neck, which proved fatal. Two trolls saw that, roared and charged toward Andries. Mathies, busy fighting five other trolls, couldn't intervene.

Andries knew trolls had weak spots like their eyes and stomach, but he wasn't going to risk his new elven blade. He cast the first complicated earth spell Tissaia had taught him. His fingers transformed into long, sharp metallic claws that glowed with heat.

"STOP!" Andries commanded in a demonic voice, causing one troll to halt in agony.

The second troll reached Andries, raising its hands to strike. Andries sidestepped, dodging the blow, and slashed the troll's arm with his claws, inflicting deep wounds and severe pain.

The troll screamed and swung its arms at Andries, who ducked and slashed the troll's stomach. This time, his claws cut deeper into the troll's soft flesh.

The first troll recovered from the mental attack and charged at Andries. Using his psionic power, Andries telekinetically unsheathed his daggers and shot them into the troll's eyes. The troll didn't expect that as the daggers pierced its both eyes.

The second troll, though badly wounded, continued to fight, swinging wildly. Andries dodged the blows and backed away. After a few swings, he dodged to the side, jammed one set of claws into the troll's head and released the stored heat energy, causing the troll's head to explode in a gory mess.

Andries then turned to the first troll, now blind but still dangerous. He approached from behind, leapt onto its back and severed its spine with a powerful swing of his claws, killing it.

With his two trolls dead, Andries moved to help Mathies. Mathies had killed one troll by stomping its head but was struggling with the remaining four. Mathies looked hurt and was no longer laughing.

Andries approached a troll with its back to him. He crouched low and slashed its legs, causing it to fall. Rolling out of the way to avoid being crushed, Andries then rushed to the fallen troll and opened its neck with a powerful swing.

He pointed his still-glowing claws at another troll and unleashed a wave of heat. The blast scorched the troll's body and knocked it to the ground. Andries quickly followed, jamming his claws into the troll's skull. Its skull was thick so Andries had to shake his claws in the trolls skull until it stopped moving.

With only two trolls left, Mathies could go on the offensive. He punched both trolls, grabbed their heads, and slammed them together. The trolls fell, but Mathies didn't stop. He grabbed one troll and repeatedly slammed its head into the other troll's head until nothing remained but bloody pulps.

"Hey, you okay?" Andries asked.

Mathies sat on the ground, nodding. There were some bruises on his hands and face, but they were healing quickly.

"Fun." Mathies smiled.

"Yeah, that was fun." Andries said, returning the smile.

"Felix?" Mathies asked, pointing at Andries's bag.

Andries looked at the bag and noticed Felix wasn't there. He looked around frantically and then spotted him. Felix was near the troll with the exploded head, eating chunks of flesh. Andries let out a sigh and walked over to Felix.

"You fatty." Andries said in an affectionate tone.

Andries changed his hands back to normal and looked around. He started to laugh when he realized that there was a road nearby that they could have probably taken to get there instead of climbing the mountain.

"Mathies, collect the trolls in a pile. I have to check something." Andries said.

He then went to check the road and saw it went through a cave. He went back and saw Mathies had collected the bodies in a pile. Andries cast a complicated earth spell to grow vines around the bodies in the form of a giant net.

"Listen, I want these back in the keep." Andries said. "I don't need all of them, so if you feel that they are heavy, then we will leave some behind."

Mathies tested the weight a little then said, "Pulling good, not that heavy."

"Great, then we'll take that road and see where it leads." Andries said.

Andries grabbed Felix, put him in his bag, and they started to leave. They went through the cave and soon saw a cyclops lying on the ground, sleeping. They could have killed it while it slept, but since Andries wanted the body, they decided to leave it for now.

When they got out of the cave, they reached a lake. Andries recognized this lake, it was near Kaer Morhen. They first tried to walk around but soon they found a boat. Andries wanted to take the boat and levitate the corpses but when Mathies sat in it, it started to sink.

They took the long way around the lake and eventually found a path back to the keep. When they got there, they saw all of the witchers in the courtyard, including Geralt, who was getting ready to leave.

"Hey guys, look what I found." Andries said, pointing at Mathies, who was pulling the pile of troll bodies behind him. "You guys really suck at exterminating monsters. There was also a cyclops, but I didn't kill it. We'll go back for it later."

"Where did you even find this many trolls?" Eskel asked.

"It was nearby." Andries said. "I found a circle of elements nearby. After I meditated there for a bit, we were attacked by trolls. I think there are more trolls in that part of the mountain, but we didn't check."

"You two killed all of those?" Geralt asked.

"Yep." Andries said.

"Why did you bring the bodies here?" Coen asked.

"Mutation." Andries said. "Rock trolls have a good connection with earth, they are strong, resilient, and they have some regenerative abilities. I might be able to get some of that from them."

"Hmm, well, I am not going to stay around to see that." Geralt said. "I am going to need money to find information about Ciri, so I better get going."

"I can keep an eye out for information too if you want." Andries said.

"Why would you want to do that? Are you trying to do something about her being the heir to Cintra?" Geralt asked.

"No, fuck that." Andries said. "I actually hope you will keep her away from that. The other day I said I knew Dandelion. The thing is, there were spies looking for that girl, Ciri and they thought Dandelion knew about her. I don't know what they want, but fuck Nilfgaard. They treat mages like brainwashed slaves and I plan on hurting them for that. I will find out what Nilfgaard wants and keep her out of their hands."

Geralt didn't look convinced but he wasn't going to argue. He agreed and got ready to leave. Vesemir opened the portal and Geralt walked through it with his horse.

"Hey Vesemir, do you want any of the troll parts?" Andries asked.

"We can use the skin for armor and sell it if you don't need it," Vesemir said.

"Sure, go ahead." Andries replied. "You guys are the ones that have to skin them. I really don't know how to skin a troll."

"Yeah, we can do it, but it will take time." Vesemir said.

"You mean me and Coen have to skin the trolls while you watch us and grumble about how horrible we are at skinning the trolls?" Eskel asked.

"Yes, now get to work." Vesemir said.

"I will go practice a little while you guys do that." Andries said.

Andries handed Felix to Mathies. Mathies placed Felix gently on the ground and started to play with him. For a moment, Andries could have sworn he saw Felix use something like magic to claw at Mathies's hand, causing a deep wound. He didn't know what it was and Mathies's hand healed so he let it go for now.

Andries went to his carriage and grabbed the elven bow he got, along with some normal arrows. He walked to a tree growing in the courtyard, carved a target sign on it and started to practice. Andries had read about bows and how to use them, but the knowledge was all theory. When it came to action, he was horrible.

At first, he managed to hurt himself a lot while trying to shoot. It was even worse because of his still-healing hand. After a while of practicing, Andries managed to get enough of a hang on the bow that he didn't hurt himself. Still, without anyone's help, the best he could do was to be able to draw and shoot the bow randomly.

After some time, Vesemir walked toward Andries with a smile on his face.

"Are you practicing with a bow?" Vesemir asked.

"Yeah, it is not as easy as it looks, especially with a hand that doesn't have skin yet." Andries said.

"You should find someone to teach you how to do it." Vesemir said. "I heard it isn't that cheap to learn archery. I never tried it, but I'm sure you can find someone to teach you."

"I really can't stay in one place for long." Andries said. "My projects are a lot more important than learning how to shoot a bow."

"I was going to offer to teach you how to fight like a witcher, but I guess that means you won't accept that either." Vesemir said.

"No, I can't stay here for long." Andries said. "I'll have to move again. I really need to find more crystals and materials for my devices. I also need to find a way to make more money. I am rich, but I need a lot more money for my devices."

"I get it, but whenever you visit and have free time, I will be happy to teach you new tricks." Vesemir said.

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Andries said. "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to go and see what I can get from the trolls."

"We took them to the labs for you." Vesemir said.

"Thanks." Andries said.

Andries put his bow and arrows back in the carriage. Then, he went to the labs and started to work. He first checked to see if he could control the bodies the same way he did with the necrophage brains. He opened the skull of one of the trolls with an intact brain and put it in his test jar. The brain was surprisingly small for a big creature like that.

He carved the needed runes on the jar and tried to use necromantic spells to control the bodies. The bodies shook but didn't move the way Andries wanted.

Andries then got another idea. Using his hand as a way to control the device from afar made him think if he could do the same here. Andries grabbed some surgical tools and moved to the troll with the damaged throat.

He carefully started to open the troll's thick skull, making sure he didn't accidentally damage the brain. He then took off his boot and used one of his daggers to cut his pinky toe. After bandaging the toe, he gently placed the severed digit in the middle of the troll's brain.

Andries held the troll brain jar and tried again. Like before, he started to use necromantic energy, but this time he also added his mental power to the spell. It worked perfectly. Andries felt a profound sense of control over the troll's body, the connection seamless.

Stopping the spell, he considered removing his toe but then realized something crucial. His devices were usually amplified by sigils and he had sigils that allowed him to connect the device to himself, like the ones on the jars. If he could etch those sigils onto the troll's skull, could he control the troll even more effectively?

Andries got to work on the upper half of the skull. First, he wrote a main sigil, one he had crafted to ensure he alone could control it. Then he connected it to other smaller sigils so that when he fed energy into the main sigil, it would in turn feed the others.

Using a bit of necromancy, he fused the upper half of the skull back to the rest of it. Then he activated the brain jar again. The result was astounding, the control was even more precise and required minimal energy. The troll obeyed his commands with just a trickle of power.

Andries tested the troll's movements, making it sit up and move its fingers. The troll complied flawlessly. Encouraged, Andries decided to see if he could control the troll without any external devices. He channeled negative energy and, as before, it worked perfectly. This required a bit more energy but still yielded excellent control. He realized this was a significant step towards creating an undead army.

Considering taking down the cyclops he saw in the cave, he decided against it. He needed more experiments to refine his control and understand the limits of his undead. An undead cyclops would be a powerful asset, and he couldn't afford to waste such a soldier prematurely.

Excited but cautious, Andries shifted his focus to mutation. He grabbed his first hand jar, the one not connected to anything, and began to experiment further. He aimed to achieve shapeshifting through psionics and mutation, but it proved more challenging than anticipated.

He worked tirelessly until nightfall, only pausing briefly for a meal with the others. His perseverance paid off when he finally had a breakthrough. He felt a potential for transformation, and when he triggered it, the flesh of his hand bubbled like liquid and fell apart.

Angry but composed, Andries resisted the urge to break something in frustration. Instead, he extracted safe mutations from the trolls and injected them a small portion of mutagen agent with some alchemical components into his body. The process was excruciating and lengthy, but at least it was safe for someone like him.

By the time he was done, he felt exhausted and in immense pain as his body underwent the transformation. He cleaned up as quickly as he could and rushed to his room, where the pain intensified to the point that even walking became a struggle.

Andries managed to reach his bedroom and dropped to the floor. He endured the pain until he fell unconscious. He didn't know how long he was out, but when he woke up, he saw Vesemir trying to rouse him.

"Kid, are you all right?!" Vesemir exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Andries replied, struggling to sit up.

"What happened?" Vesemir asked, concern etched on his face.

"I mutated my body a little." Andries explained as he got to his feet.

"That was a stupid idea. Mutation is dangerous." Vesemir admonished.

"Mutation is dangerous for you, not me." Andries countered. "I was born a mutant. My body was made to accept more mutation. Yes, it is still painful, but I can handle it. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to test my mutation."

"Hold on, can you even walk?" Vesemir questioned.

"I can." Andries affirmed.

He walked out of his room and out of the keep. As he moved, he checked his right hand, noticing the skin slowly growing back, though the mutation hadn't enhanced the healing process. He tested his strength by moving and punching various objects. Despite still having the body of a thirteen-year-old while actually being fifteen, he now possessed the strength of a strong grown man. His speed hadn't changed and his body remained fatigued, but it was still a significant improvement.

Andries returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep, which lasted through the next day. Vesemir woke him occasionally to ensure he was alive and to offer food, but Andries gave simple answers and quickly drifted back to sleep.

The next morning, Andries decided it was time to leave. After having breakfast with the others, he cleaned up his mess in the lab and replaced the crystal in his device, taking his own and placing a smaller one in its place.

"So, you're leaving?" Vesemir asked.

"Yeah, I have some things I need to do." Andries replied. "I probably also have to visit home soon in Gors Velen. I need to check my golems and make sure they are charged."

"You should say goodbye to the others." Vesemir suggested.

"Of course I will." Andries said. "By the way, thanks for everything. If I ever manage to improve your witcher rituals, I promise to contact you first."

"Don't worry about it. You've already helped a lot with that device." Vesemir said.

"About that, I changed the crystal, so either find a better crystal or wait for a week or more before using it." Andries cautioned.

"I remember that." Vesemir said.

"It was nice meeting you." Andries said.

"You too, kid." Vesemir replied.

Andries then went to the courtyard where he saw Coen and Eskel training.

"Hey guys, I am leaving, so I thought I'd say goodbye." Andries announced.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" Eskel asked. "You seem to be doing good with your projects and helping us a lot."

"Yeah, you can stay and we can teach you how to fight like a witcher." Coen offered.

"I appreciate it, but I have to go." Andries said. "I've reached a dead end with my projects. I need to move on and find more material. I also have some things to do back home."

"You're a weird kid but it was nice meeting you." Eskel said.

"Yeah, it was good meeting you." Coen agreed.

"Yeah, you too." Andries said.

After saying his goodbyes, Andries was ready to leave. Before they could depart, Vesemir returned with some supplies for their journey, including dried meat and vegetables. With a final farewell, Andries, Mathies, and Felix set off from the keep.

Andries and Mathies hit the road again. Andries already had a good understanding of how to navigate their route, especially with the road improved by his magic. It was now much easier to travel.

Though Andries wanted to go home, he had other priorities first. He needed more test subjects. Monsters were unsuitable; those beautiful creatures were only useful for mutations. Animals were somewhat useful, but not enough. He needed intelligent beings: humans, elves, dwarves, and similar races. However, he didn't plan on abducting innocents to turn them into undead; that would be a waste of time. He needed soldiers, and the best candidates were bandits and the elves who called themselves Squirrels.

"Hey Mathies, I want you to use your detection power to see if you can sense bandits." Andries said.

"I always do." Mathies replied.

"Yes, but I want a bigger range." Andries clarified. "I'm not just trying to avoid them, I want to look for them. I want to kill bandits and take them as test subjects."

"Okay." Mathies agreed.

"Thank you, buddy. I can always rely on you." Andries said.

Mathies leaned to the side and let his long arm touch the ground. Being so large, his hands easily reached the ground, and this contact seemed to amplify his power.

The three rode on for a long time, only stopping for necessities like eating or drinking water. It took them three days to reach Leyda town, and then they rode south to the forest road. After half a day of traveling, Mathies informed Andries about an ambush. Mathies could count to twenty, but he said there were more than that.

Andries steered the carriage off the road into the forest. He armed himself with the elven sword, three daggers, and a short sword. He then covered the carriage with an illusion, leaving the sleeping Felix inside.

"Come on, Mathies. Just be quiet, we have to be careful." Andries instructed, and Mathies nodded.

They approached the ambush area very quietly. Soon, Andries saw a group of elves waiting in the woods, ready for an ambush. Andries ordered Mathies to stop. Now that they were still, Andries was able to create an illusion dome around them.

As soon as he completed the spell, one of the elves seemed to sense something. The elf looked toward Andries but didn't see anything thanks to the illusion. They would remain hidden as long as they didn't move.

The two waited for a while. It was obvious that a bandit group waiting to ambush someone probably meant they had heard about a caravan moving through the area.

Waiting with Mathies wasn't easy. Mathies constantly wanted to move around, forcing Andries to send a gentle mental signal to calm him down. Though Andries had rested and was far from his limit, this would be a problem if he needed to use his mental powers in the upcoming fight.

After a while of waiting, an elf rushed to the group and spoke in Elder Speech to the rest of them. "The humans are coming."

"Get in position." ordered a she-elf, probably the commander.

Andries counted their numbers, there were around forty. More than half of them had bows, and the rest wielded swords. Andries also noted the big ones, the fit ones and those who looked confident, those were the priority targets.

Soon, a large caravan was seen riding down the road. They had a lot of guards and goods with them, but a good ambush could be their death.

The elves allowed the caravan to move into a favorable position for the ambush. The commander raised her bow and the others got ready to attack. Before she could shoot the first arrow, she heard a horrifying scream. Turning back, she saw a flaming skull flying toward her. The skull seemed to be screaming as it hit the commander and exploded. Fire engulfed the commander and four others around her. The burning elves ran around in panic, screaming. It was clear now that the skull's scream mimicked someone on fire.

Andries, who had cast the spell, was forced to drop the illusion and move closer. Now both he and Mathies were visible to the elves. The caravan guards, alerted to the ambush, started to gather in the area, preparing for the attackers.

Mathies roared and rushed forward. He held one hand up to shield his eyes from the arrows as the elves shot at him. The arrows barely damaged his hard skin. Mathies tackled a few elves while running, breaking their bones. He then reached a group of archers and started punching them. Elves were as tough as humans, meaning one good punch from Mathies to the head was enough to kill or incapacitate them.

Andries wasn't idle. He moved his hands to the ground and reached for the energy in the earth. The ground, as if it were liquid, climbed up his hands until it reached his shoulders. He then aimed his hands at the elves and unleashed the spell. Earth spikes shot toward the enemy. These spikes were much bigger and stronger than those he had used against the Nilfgaardians. The elves armor was not that strong and the spikes tore through them, cutting down five.

A group of elves spotted Andries and rushed toward him. Andries drew his elven sword and prepared for a fight. An elf shot an arrow, Andries wasn't ready for that arrow so he was hit in the left shoulder. He channeled some energy and shot a fast but weak lightning bolt at the elf. The lighting bolt hit the archer hurting him badly but he was still alive.

Four elves with swords rushed Andries. One had two swords, two held single swords, and one wielded a sword and a dagger. The fastest was the one with two swords.

The dual-wielding elf reached Andries and brought his blades from two sides toward Andries's neck. Andries suddenly used his psionic power, turning his voice demonic and shouted. The elf, who expected to kill Andries easily, felt a sharp pain in his head and dropped to his knees. Andries immediately slashed the elf's neck with his sword, decapitating him with one powerful swing.

The elves moved to each of Andries's sides. The one with a sword and dagger was in front of him, and the others flanked him on the left and right. Andries started to channel energy, preparing for the imminent attack.

The elf on Andries's left suddenly lunged forward, attempting to slash at him. Andries wanted to lift his left hand and activate the runes on his bones, but the arrow lodged in his shoulder caused searing pain, stopping him from racing his left hand. Forced to bring up his sword, he deflected the attack then he managed to bring his hand up and unleash the energy of one of the runes, knocking the elf back, but this opened an opportunity for the other two elves to strike.

Using psionic telekinesis, Andries shot his daggers out of their sheaths toward the elf on his right. The daggers pierced the elf's neck and face, killing him instantly. Andries then raised his sword to defend his head, but the elf in front moved low and jammed both blades into Andries's stomach. The blades cut through his flesh and emerged from his back. Though excruciatingly painful, the injury wasn't immediately lethal as it missed the heart, allowing Andries to remain functional.

The elf, thinking he had killed Andries, tried to pull his blades out. Andries brought his own blade down on the elf's head, cutting it in half. Pulling his sword free, he turned just in time to see the elf on his left thrust his sword into Andries's chest, missing the heart by luck.

"That's not where the heart is." Andries said through blood-filled coughs. He then rammed his own blade into the elf's heart. "This is where the heart is." He twisted the sword and pushed it through to the other side, cutting the elf's chest open. "You can do this to make sure the enemy is dead."

Andries pulled his sword out and surveyed the scene. The caravan guards had joined the fight, and he could hear shouts about the "Sorcerer child and the giant." The elves yelled that killing the sorcerer child would stop the giant, while the guards shouted to protect the child.

Leaving the blades in his body to staunch the bleeding, Andries walked toward the elves, charging a lightning bolt. He shot the first archer aiming at him, the bolt cooking the archer in moments.

Three archers fired arrows at Andries. He dropped his sword and used that hand to create a quick barrier, stopping the arrows. This allowed Mathies to leap into the air and land on one of the archers. Mathies then punched the next so hard that he coughed up blood and collapsed. Andries grabbed the last archer, the one who had shot him and ripped her head off.

Deciding to stay back and shoot spells, Andries acknowledged his lack of experience in close combat. He used psionic power to pick up his sword and sheathed it, then he prepared to cast more spells.

Andries conjured another flaming skull between his hands and shot it at three elves rushing him. The skull screamed and exploded on impact, burning the three. He then fired a couple of lightning bolts but stopped after that to conserve his energy.

Despite his efforts to stay out of the fight, it wasn't over. Two elves rushed him from either side. Andries pointed his right hand at one, activating the rune in his bone and sending a wave of energy that knocked her down. He turned to the other and quickly formed a sign, sending a wave of telekinesis that knocked the second elf to the ground.

The second elf dropped his sword. Andries used his mind to lift the sword and shot it toward the first elf he had knocked down.

"I don't feel any pain in my head, but you can never be too careful." Andries muttered.

He lunged at the elf trying to get up, slamming the elf's head into the ground repeatedly. Drawing his short sword, Andries opened the elf's skull. The elf was still alive when Andries used his psionics to pull the elf's brain out and into his mouth. The with enough force, the brain became almost liquid and rushed to Andries's mouth.

Andries got up and surveyed the scene. Most of the elves were either wounded, killed, or fleeing. He called Mathies over and slowly began pulling the blades from his body.

As he extracted the blades, he used earth-based healing spells to accelerate his natural healing. For Andries, this process was much faster, closing his wounds to the point where they no longer bled, though they still caused him pain.

"You okay?!" Mathies asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Andries replied. "I really should train my melee combat again. It was stupid of me to engage in close combat with trained soldiers."

"Don't move!" shouted one of the caravan guards, aiming a crossbow at them. Mathies was a moment away from rushing the guard and ripping his head off when another voice intervened.

"Stop, you idiots, don't hurt them!" another man called out.

Andries saw a tall, somewhat overweight man in fancy clothing running toward them. The man was well-dressed, around forty years old, with neatly combed salt-and-pepper hair.

"Don't kill them unless they attack us." Andries ordered.

"Don't you idiots know who these are?!" the fancy man said. "These are the sorcerer child and the friendly giant. They are the ones who fought the Nilfgaardians at Sodden. They are heroes."

"Wow, we really are famous." Andries remarked.

"Are you all right, Master Child Sorcerer?" the fancy man asked. "I saw from afar you had blades stuck in your body. Do you need help? I have a barber-surgeon in my service who can tend to your wounds."

"Don't worry, I used magic to heal my wounds." Andries said. "It still hurts, but I'll be fine. By the way, I am Andries and my friend here is Mathies. We were looking for some of these elves. I had heard of the Squirrel and thought maybe we should hunt them."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Alaric van Drunen, a merchant," the man said. "You can call me Alaric if it pleases you. I have to say, you have no idea how grateful I am for what you did. You saved my money and my life. Those bastard non-humans want to kill all of us humans."

"Yeah, but would they want to kill me too? I am a mutant after all." Andries said.

"Yes, but a human mutant." Alaric replied. "No matter how mutated you are, you are still one of us, a human. I don't care what some people say, you mutants are all heroes, from the witchers who hunt monsters to you, who hunt Nilfgaardians and their agents."

"I appreciate that." Andries said. "By the way, can you and your people leave the bodies? I need them for… for a ritual to find more of them."

"Of course, anything you want." Alaric said. "I will be moving soon, so please tell me if you need anything, and I will get it for you."

"Just privacy. This ritual is dangerous." Andries said. "Mathies is a giant and can handle it, but I don't know if you can survive seeing it."

"Then we will move on as soon as we can." Alaric said. "Just one thing, I am planning to go to Gors Velen. I have friends in high places who told me a big event is happening, and the mages are going to gather there. You are a great sorcerer, so if you ever plan on going there, look for me, and you will be my guest."

"I have a home there, so no need." Andries said. "Now go, before the bodies rot. I need to do the ritual. I have to get this done to rid us of all Nilfgaardian problems."

Alaric nodded and commanded his guards to leave. They all seemed to believe Andries, hastily retreating from the area. Andries waited a few moments for the caravan to be gone, then began his work.

Andries and Mathies collected supplies from the fallen elves, gathering food, money, parchments, and arrows. They then began moving the bodies to their carriage. While doing so, Andries noticed that one of the elves was still alive, though badly wounded. Mathies moved to kill the elf, but Andries had other plans.

Bringing the elf to the carriage, Andries seated him and tied him securely with ropes. He decided to test his spells on the other elves first. Shaving their heads, he opened their skulls with practiced precision and carved the same sigils he had used on the trolls. The spells worked flawlessly; the elves could be controlled with ease.

Next, Andries turned to the living elf. Amplifying his mental power, he reached into the elf's mind, weakening it and putting the elf to sleep. Methodically, Andries shaved the elf's head, exposing smooth skin. With precision born of both practice and magic, he made an incision at the top part of the elf's skull, carefully removing a section without harming the brain.

Andries delved deeper into his spells, manipulating the brain directly. He cast spells to keep the elf alive, ensuring the body remained functional as he painstakingly altered the mind. Hours passed, and the strain began to show. When a sharp pain stabbed through his own head, Andries reached into the open skull of a dead elf, took a piece of the brain and consumed it, feeling the vitality return to him.

With renewed focus, Andries continued his work, casting spells and working his mental powers, bringing the elf to a state that was neither fully alive nor truly dead. The elf's body remained functional, but his mind was now twisted and reshaped to ensure unwavering loyalty. To cement this control, Andries carved sigils into the exposed skull, each mark glowing briefly as it was etched with magical precision. Using his necromantic and earth magic, Andries closed the elf's skull, sealing the incisions and healing the flesh using magic.

The transformation complete, the elf opened his eyes, now devoid of the hatred that once burned within them. Instead, they held a dull, unwavering loyalty. The half-undead servant rose, awaiting Andries's command, a twisted creation of dark magic and mental domination.

"Your name is Blightborn now. Do you understand?" Andries asked, and Blightborn nodded.

Andries checked the body. The flesh wasn't rotting and had normal function, but it was a little weaker. Blightborn breathed very slowly, and his blood pumped lethargically under Andries's touch.

"Blightborn, raise your right hand," Andries commanded, and Blightborn complied. "Now raise your left hand," Andries said, and Blightborn did. "Slap yourself." Blightborn began slapping himself. "Okay, stop."

"New friend?" Mathies asked, pointing at Blightborn.

"Yes, but a lesser friend." Andries said. "I just have to mutate his body, and he would be a great bodyguard."