Chapter 495: Preparation
[TL: Asuka]
[PR: Ash]
An Skellige was located on a mountain surrounded by an abundance of trees. There, the castle of the ruler stood. Within a resplendent bedroom, a silhouette with two swords strapped to its back stood before a soft blue bed. The crackling flames in the room shone upon his face. There was a conflicted look in his eyes, and in their reflection was a woman fast asleep.
The queen of Cintra looked more harried than she was when they parted ways. Wrinkles appeared in the corners of her eyes, and her cheekbones were protruding. Her hair tumbled down her back, though it was unkempt. Her lips were pale and parched. She had lost her beauty. For now, she looked just like any regular woman, and the queen was steeped in a nightmare. Her brows were furrowed, her cheeks were tense, and her body was stiff. Her hands were clutching the blanket before her tightly.
Roy looked at her. For some reason, he felt a sense of closeness to her. During his last moments in Skyrim, he felt a life form besides Gryphon tightly connected to himself. Earlier, he pinpointed the location of that life form and leapt through the Worldgate, and it brought him to Skellige, where Calanthe was. She came to her brother for refuge. Roy could feel the connection between him and that life form getting intense, and he held his buzzing pendant, feeling excited.
A small, little life was leaping around in Calanthe’s belly, speaking of its delight, and Roy could feel its incredible reserves of life and magic. “So your child has been calling out to me.” Her unborn baby is saying hello. Like Ciri, this child also has the Elder Blood, and it resonated with mine. Roy wasn’t sure if this was a blessing or a curse. “The bonds created by the Law of Surprise are magical.”
Geralt had Ciri as his Unexpected Child, and now Roy had one too. But he was a young man who still wanted to see more of this world. He had no idea how a father should act, but he did feel happy. Then he knelt and huddled closer to the queen, his face millimeters away from her belly, then he gesticulated in the air like that would reach the baby. “Grow big and strong, child.” He shook his head, smiling, then his eyes shone.
“You lost your father and kingdom even before you were born. I’m not letting you live alone. When I get to Sodden, I’m bringing Ciri back to you.” He said goodbye and disappeared into thin air.
Calanthe stirred and opened her eyes, then she looked around, bemused. “Was someone here?” she muttered. The only answer was the whisper of the warm sea breeze sauntering into her room, and her heart skipped a beat. “Is it you, Eist? Did you come to see me… and the child?” she asked, her voice laden with surprise, but silence was her answer.
***
The light of dawn pierced through the horizon, shining upon the dazzling lake in the center of the Valley of the Nine. Letho, Auckes, Serrit, Lambert, and Lytta woke up and called Roy, then they came to the clearing beside the lake.
Lambert’s cheeks were red, and he was still drunk. He beckoned Roy over. “Come at me, kid. Show me what you learned in Skyrim. Let me see your Conjuration spells, and that Shout you used to defeat the dragon.”
“You sure?” Roy chuckled. “I don’t want to bring down your self-esteem.”
“Don’t be too confident about that.” Lambert grinned and swung his sword around. “I went through my second mutation, and I have a few new tricks to show. No ranged weapons, however. It’d be boring if you just fired off arrows.”
“Do as he says, Roy.” Coral gave Roy a look. “Teach that uncouth mongrel a lesson. I too wish to see the magic of Skyrim.”
***
Roy nodded and focused on the Conjuration rune in his mind, then he summoned something, and a purplish-blue ball appeared between him and Lambert. 15 EXP and 135 Mana (Skill Level 2 and Elder Blood reduces the cost by sixty percent, but casting it in another world increases the cost by fifty percent) were deducted.
A white, burly elemental appeared. It was more than six-foot-six in height, and its muscles were big and made of frost. Its limbs, torso, and nape were covered in a greenish-grey armor, and its head was triangular in shape with a pair of blue, beady eyes. The atronach was looking at Lambert coolly.
Everyone tensed up, and the air turned solemn. The witchers were all veteran hunters, but none of them had ever seen elementals like this. Compared to the frail flame atronach that attacked from a range, frost atronachs had great defense. Aside from their weakness to fire, they had great resistance to everything else, especially physical resistance. Every time they attacked, they could chill and slow their enemies. This is a tank, alright.
Roy wasn’t done yet. He cast Clamp, and mana gathered before him. At the same time, he took a deep breath and cast something he hadn’t used in a long time. Wingflap. A roar pierced the air, and Roy’s clone leapt out of the stream of mana. Lambert did the same thing and summoned his clone as well. He then swung his sword and charged ahead like a beast running toward its prey.
Roy calmly gave his command, and the clone stood before Roy, facing off Lambert’s clone. They started their fight, and glints of metal on metal filled the air. The clashing did not last long, and a few moments later, Roy’s clone easily defeated Lambert’s. After all, the clone did have all of Roy’s stats and battle prowess, but Lambert’s clone could only be used as a distraction.
Lambert fended off the frost atronach’s attack and quickly made a red sign. Igni’s flame slithered around the frost atronach, sizzling and filling the air with white smoke and vapor, but the frost atronach kept attacking Lambert. However, Yrden restricted it, and its movements were as slow as a tortoise. It couldn’t even land a hit on Lambert. At this rate, the fire would melt it in mere moments, but then the clone leapt into the fray.
It swung Aerondight down on Lambert’s back, and at the same time, the frost atronach raised its leg and brought it down into the ground. Shards of ice exploded, flying everywhere, and some of them hit Lambert.
The witcher rolled away from the area of attack, then he pushed his left hand onto the ground. A blast of Aard undulated around him, stirring up a storm of dust and grass.
The atronach staggered backward, but it was heavy enough to stay still, though the clone was sent tumbling away. Lambert charged ahead and cut off the clone’s head, but a gust of frosty air flew out of the clone’s body. The frost nova was triggered, and Lambert failed to get away in time. The left side of his body was drowned by the cold air, and icicles formed on his armor and skin.
Just like that, Lambert’s speed slowed dramatically. The frost atronach lumbered ahead, swinging its arms down at the witcher. Roy smiled at him and quickly summoned another clone from the stream of mana. However, the quick succession of summoning took its toll. Without the power of Wingflap, this clone looked more transparent than the first.
“Dammit!” Lambert circled around the frost atronach and swung his blade down. He managed to cut it, but this creature had no weakness to speak of. Physical attacks couldn’t do anything to it, and Lambert wasn’t the best at Signs. “Stop!” he shouted.
Roy commanded his minions to stop, and they came back to his side.
“You were going to go for a war of attrition? Dammit.” Lambert sighed. He could kill the atronach and clone eventually, but Roy would just summon them again and again. The young witcher still wasn’t using his full strength, and Lambert was already unable to keep up. Before he knew it, Roy was already leaps and bounds ahead of him, and he shot Roy a look of complaint. “Have you no respect? At least let me win once.”
“You wanted to challenge me first.”
Lambert grumbled and sheathed his sword, then he joined the crowd that was fiddling with the frost atronach. They were curious about this creature.
“Perhaps it’s related to trolls,” said Lambert.
“No. Trolls are a lot stronger than this thing.” Lambert patted the back of the atronach’s head, but the creature didn’t even move. “And smarter too. I think it’s more like a golem.”
“It’s normal,” said Coral. “Elementals aren’t known for their intelligence. Even djinns are stupider than you’d think, or no one could’ve even trapped them in a bottle.”
“How did you do it, though? It’s only been two months, and you’ve mastered something this powerful.” Serrit looked at Roy. “Everyone here only knows how to cast Signs.”
“Tamriel’s magic system is different from ours. I have a bit of talent in one of those branches. And they have something called spellbooks,” said Roy, though what he said next was shocking. “Rip it up and you can skip the learning process of a spell. If you have the talent for it, of course, and I have the talent for this.”
Coral pushed her hair back, a look of longing flashing in her eyes. “Their system seems to be a lot more advanced than ours. The arcane enchanter you gave me is more complex than I imagined. It’s different from the enchanters I know.”
“That is correct,” Roy said. “There are gods in that world. Eight Divines and sixteen Daedric Princes. I came in contact with one of them.” And Roy stopped talking. He didn’t tell anyone about Sanguine and Sherry the night before.
Not even Lambert and Auckes asked more. Witchers didn’t put their faith in gods, though they respected them.
“You should’ve brought a spellbook back with you, kid,” Serrit said, almost regrettably.
“That was an oversight on my part, but I’ll take you to Skyrim once we have the chance.” Maybe I can use the Worldgate to bring a few people with me to Skyrim and gain some power, but not now. I’m still laying low, and there’s something I need to do.
***
“And what about that Shout you used to bring down Mirmulnir. Shoot it off at me. I’d like to see how you took down that dragon,” Lambert shouted.
Roy looked at his excited companions, but he wouldn’t use the Shout on Lambert. At this range, even metal would be destroyed, let alone flesh. He focused on the rune. Using a Shout in this world cost fifty more mana compared to when he was in Skyrim, but he could afford it.
Roy faced the lake and took a deep breath, then he lit up the rune. “Fus!”
The roar made everyone’s hearts skip a beat.
High Hrothgar, Skyrim.
A gaunt, mousy man covered in snow was ascending the seven thousand steps alongside a lad. Suddenly, the lad felt electricity course through his veins, then he turned around and stared into the abyss behind him. “Goldeneye?”
A surge of great power charged across space, raining down onto Toussaint. A black gash tore up the space before Roy, and the power of the Bones of the Earth came flooding out of it, crashing down onto the quiet lake.
As if something incredibly heavy had hit it, the icy-cold lakewater shot up into the air like a geyser, and it rained down on the group. A hole with a three-meter radius appeared on the surface of the water, and bubbles shot up from under the water. A moment later, dozens of fish floated to the surface of the lake, their bellies facing the sky.
“So that’s a Shout…” Everyone was dumbfounded.
Coen said, “Hm, that feels like a Roar. Or Wingflap, if you will.”
Roy heaved a sigh, his sweat glistening in the sunlight. “The Roar of the Griffin School is used to control elements, while Shouts are used to manipulate something else.” The Bones of the Earth.
“You’re fighting less and less like a witcher now, kid.” Letho crossed his arms, staring at his student. “Your swordplay is passable, but you have a lot of weird abilities.”
Auckes, Serrit, and the Cats nodded. They couldn’t pin down Roy’s style. He had a lot of random skills, but all of them were deadly. I wonder how many tricks he has up his sleeve? They could no longer teach the lad.
“So what?” Lytta raised her head and proudly held Roy’s arm. “It doesn’t matter how he fights as long as he can keep himself and the people he cares about safe. And he’s never abused his power.”
Everyone nodded. If they were Roy’s age and had his power, they’d be roaming the Continent doing whatever they wanted. Witchers were infertile, so they could sleep with as many women as they liked without any worries, and yet Roy stayed loyal to Coral even when he was only barely twenty.
The veterans exchanged a look, and for some reason, they felt comfort in knowing that Roy might never have the chance to sleep around like they did.
***
Roy spent the next two days staying in the lab with everyone. With what little knowledge he had, he helped Coral and Kalkstein with the arcane enchanter, and he gave them a few soul gems. It didn’t take long for the sorcerers to turn the arcane enchanter into something they could use. By then, they could enchant the armor of everyone in the brotherhood.
After a reluctant goodbye, Triss made her return to Vizima. Letho and Kiyan were going through the translated version of Herbalist’s Guide to Skyrim, losing themselves between its pages. The herbs from Skyrim could work incredibly well with the local herbs, having infinite potential to create new potions. According to them, these herbs could greatly influence the existing recipes of potions, decoctions, Trial, and the anti-higher-vampire decoction, but to figure out things like that took time.
Evelyn was starting to figure out how to plant the Skyrim herbs in the garden as well. Fortunately, Novigrad’s climate was similar to Whiterun’s, and it was highly possible for the herbs to thrive here. Eventually, the brotherhood would have an infinite supply of herbs.
While Roy was absent, Kiyan and Evelyn got closer at a blistering speed. The druid didn’t seem to mind Kiyan’s disfigured visage, and they had built a great rapport between them. All they had to do was make things clear, and they would be a couple. Roy loved this. It would be best if Kiyan could convince Evelyn to stay and work for the brotherhood.
***
However, not all was good. The dragon scales and bones couldn’t be made into usable gear, not even with Vesemir’s skills. He couldn’t do anything about components this rare. “I do not know what manner of beast Skyrim’s dragons are, but their scales are filled with mana, and they are harder and more resilient than anything I’ve ever seen, yet they are also unbelievably light. This is something that only exists in fantasy. All the gear we know now, Viper, Manticore, Wolf, Griffin, none of them can fully use the power of these scales. Dragon bones can be made into incredibly powerful heavy armor, but they can also be made into sharp, magical weapons. We need at least two master blacksmiths and an Ofir enchanter to make something out of these components. That, or we can wait for Coral and Kalkstein to figure out how to use that arcane enchanter of yours. It’d be a waste of good components if we tried to make something out of them before that.”
***
The modification of the dragon parts was put aside. Roy was still keeping the dragon blood a secret. They still had to figure out the new alchemical components, herbs, and the higher vampire’s body. Putting more on the plate would not help.
Roy snuck back to the orphanage to see the kids and made sure his family and friends were okay. Then he asked Kalkstein for some vampire blood as well as his own. He didn’t want Coral to bleed for him again. Once again, with the dragon blood, he made another Tempering Potion, but unfortunately, the Elder Blood became picky. It refused to subsume the second dose of Tempering Potion, and its effects were greatly diminished. Probably something left by the Master of Mirrors. I’ll have to find another way to strengthen the Elder Blood.
***
Two days later, Roy bade everyone goodbye and leapt onto Gryphon’s back. It was time to search for Geralt, Ciri, and clues about the grandmaster’s whereabouts.
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