The sun was setting, and dusk descended. The witchers came out of the cave and split into three teams.
"A crow's feathers, the core's husk, and a black mare. This is a strange ritual. It feels like we're releasing a demon." Letho and Roy were side by side on horseback. "Are you sure it's fine resurrecting that ugly monster? Did your blood warn you against that?"
"I'm sure the core is no demon." Roy looked at the southern part of the hillock. It was dark, and beasts were supposed to be out and about, but they were hiding in the bushes. Unlike earlier, they did not attack the witchers.
The witchers were covered in the green juice the core extracted from the root. They smelled like plants, chasing away the berserking beasts. It was like the juices turned them into allies.
"But she's not a kind soul either. I know she used to be a member of the druids' circle, and some records did say that the circle existed in Velen a long time ago. Still, she made the crones out to be vile demons, but that's not what we saw," Letho disagreed. "We saw Lower Velen. The Ladies demand sacrifices from the villagers, but they blessed them with bountiful crops and healed sick fruits. They also saved them from the beasts and monsters of Velen. The crones are fair to an extent. This is a bloody and strenuous balance. Do you have a better replacement if you break that balance?"
"Letho, they kidnapped Carl. We have to make them know that witchers are not as weak as they think."
"But releasing the core is not the only way." Letho rubbed his chin. He still stood by his opinion. "She's an unknown creature filled with a century's worth of grudge from being imprisoned in that tree. She will demand revenge once she's freed. That means disaster for No Man's Land. Releasing a terrible monster to get back at the crones is not a good idea, kid."
Roy heaved a sigh. He frowned for a moment. "Fine. I actually have another plan. Yes, the crones are no saints, but the core is not to be trusted either. In that case…" His eyes gleamed, and he said coldly, "Remember the bloodstone Vivienne gave us? This is what we're going to do. You'll be doing…"
…
The moon climbed up into the night sky. The witchers had left the hillock and fought back a group of drowners who ambushed them in the swamp. They came to another small hill in the center of three oak trees. The moon shone on a green stone tablet standing in the center of the hill. The tablet was elliptical, ancient, and cold. Time tore it down and filled it with cracks. Tufts of grass were growing from the cracks of the table.
Roy crouched and brushed his hand against the surface. He could feel some rough and twisted runes carved into it. There were scalene triangles, stars, moons, and some crudely-drawn beasts. It was some ancient stone carving, and Roy had no idea what it was saying.
"What does this mean?" Roy looked at Letho.
"The Druids' circle created these runes. We had no department that tackled this, and I've never learned about this before. I don't get what it means, but I'm sure this is the core's grave."
They looked at the clearing before the grave.
"You wanted us to dig your grave, Madam Kunguran. Forgive us for this." The witchers unsheathed their swords and dug through the ground. They excavated some bones from the hole and barely made out a humanoid shape from the bones. The remains had limbs and a skull, but there were canine teeth protruding from the mandible. Long, shriveled nails protruded from the ends of the fingers, but most importantly, the remains were petite. It was not even a third of a regular human's size.
'Unnamed remains
??'
"See? This isn't even human at all." Letho had an alarmed look in his eyes.
"Maybe it's the remains of an old woman?"
Letho shook his head adamantly. "I've seen a lot of skeletons, including one who lived to more than eighty years old. Most of them were hunched, and their bones were porous and twisted, but they don't look like this. This is too small for a human, but it hasn't even begun to turn to dust yet."
"Maybe it's the remains of a dwarf, halfling, or even gnomes."
"They don't have teeth this sharp," Letho said. "And all of them have more ribs than this one."
"So what is this thing? It's not human, but it was a druid?" Roy was confused. Were ancient druids non-human? I've never read this in the lore, nor have I seen them in the game.
"I don't know. Maybe only the ancient druids have the answer."
The witchers whispered for a while longer, then they tucked the remains away and went back to the hillock. At the same time, Felix found a crow's nest on the branches of a great oak and got some black feathers. Serrit and Auckes found a black mare dozing off on the plains near the Hunched Swamp in the west of the hillock, and they cast Axii on it. They came back with all the materials, meeting up at the entrance before coming back to the core.
"You've found everything, witchers? What are you waiting for? Start the ritual now!" The core's voice was trembling with excitement. She lashed out at the black mare with the root, circling it, as if it was a viper hunting its prey.
The mare noticed something, and it neighed impatiently, trotting about in the same place.
"We do have everything, madam." Roy whipped out the package of remains from the saddlebag and held it in his hands. "But we have a few questions before we can proceed."
"Ask away!" The core was in a hurry.
"Do you remember our terms, Madam Kunguran?"
"You still refuse to believe me?" The core was upset. "I'll say it once more. Once I'm free, I'll shield you from the crones while you infiltrate Bald Mountain and teach them a lesson they won't soon forget." It said grimly, "But a fair warning. Don't expect too much from this mission. Don't even think about killing any one of them. They're powerful sorceresses, and they can summon an army of monsters from other dimensions to help them. Including the Wild Hunt."
"The Wild Hunt?" The Vipers' hearts skipped a beat. They did not expect the core to talk about the Wild Hunt. They were the Viper School's nemesis, and they knew how powerful the Wild Hunt was.
"You heard of the flying phantom knights as well? Their top knights would join the crones' feast every year. They get along well thanks to this ancient tradition." The core sighed. "You'll have to defeat the Wild Hunt if you wish to beat the crones, but you're not powerful enough to do that just yet."
Roy went through his memories. According to what he knew, the crones would hold a banquet on Bald Mountain every spring. All the powerful monsters in Velen were invited. The villagers would provide them with sacrifices as well—a young, beautiful boy and girl. The crones would return a part of the 'rebirthed' children the next day and bless the villagers with oak oil that would grant them bountiful crops. It was a primitive symbiotic relationship, one that needed a sacrifice.
The core's explanation confirmed one of Roy's earliest guesses. The Wild Hunt did not take part in this banquet just for fun. They must have been involved with this 'trade' in Velen. The crones probably sold a part of the children they got to the Wild Hunt. These guys are searching for new blood across dimensions after all. "Don't worry. We're not planning on fighting the ladies just yet."
"Smart choice."
"But how are we going to teach them a lesson if we can't fight them on their turf?" Serrit asked.
"We can burn it all down," Auckes growled.
"On their turf? They might put out the fire before we can even burn anything, and the ladies would kill us for that," Letho objected.
The core fell silent for a moment. The witchers could feel her struggling and hesitating. A long while later, she answered, "I have a better idea. They would probably scream if you could burn down that oak tree on Bald Mountain."
"The holy oak?" Roy was reminded of the overly bountiful crops in Lower Velen and the acorn oil the villagers used to water their fields.
"That was a seed I spread before my death. The crones took over it after they killed me and used it to bless the people of Velen. The acorns can be turned into oil. Water the fields with it, and you're guaranteed to have a bountiful harvest. Healers can use the oil to remedy any diseases too. The pink and golden acorns are incredibly great for the human body too. They've existed for a hundred years or two, after all." The core was silent for a moment. "Taking the acorns away will still hurt them, even if you can't burn down the tree."
"The oak tree and the special acorns, huh?" The witchers' eyes shone.
The core urged, "I've told you about an important secret. That should be enough. Now start the ritual. Place the feathers and skeletal remains under the heart."
Roy and the witchers exchanged looks, and he took the crow's feathers from Felix. "I present the feathers of a crow." He placed the feathers before the heart solemnly.
The core answered with full formality, "I shall be freed from the cage of mortal flesh!" The echoes sent a magical shockwave across the cave, making it rumble.
At the same time, Roy cunningly asked, "Madam Kunguran, how can we slip into the mountain undetected then?" Roy moved the skeletal remains around as he asked.
The core was moments away from freedom, and she answered, "With my blood. Take some of my blood when you cut my body open. The crones can't detect you if you smear yourself with it."
Satisfied, the witcher placed the skeletal remains underneath the heart. "I present your remains."
The core shouted, "I shall be free once more from the cage of mortal flesh!" A gust of hurricane blew into the cave, piling the feathers and bones together. The core shouted, "Witcher, bring me the horse and have it drink my blood!" The core took off the spiky layer of armor, revealing its tender insides.
Felix led the mare ahead, while Letho unsheathed his blade and held its point against the core. Roy would not be the one to kill her. The core would turn into nothing if he was the one who struck the final blow. Still, he asked, "Will you exact revenge after you're free, Madam Kunguran?"
"What revenge? This is not the time for jokes, witcher!" the core said coldly. She was about to fly into a rage.
"No. You know what I mean." Roy asked, "Will you kill the people of Lower Velen? From what I know, they tried to kill you because of the crones' orders."
"How'd you know?"
"You told me about it. Or have you forgotten?"
"Really?" the core said. "Sorry. I don't think I forget things that easily."
Roy stopped hesitating and gave Letho a look, just like they planned. Letho swung his blade down, and the core laughed. A gash appeared in the core, and blood spurted out of it. Part of it flowed into the leather bag the witchers prepared, while most of it drenched the materials on the ground. The blood, bones, and feathers merged as one. The mare gulped down the blood, and silence fell upon them.
For a moment, there were only the sounds of drinking and gulping in the air. When the mare was done drinking, it raised its head, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes. "I'm free!" It raised its front legs and cheered. The mare had the voice of a young woman. "Spirit of nature, at long last, I have regained my freedom! I will avenge myself! I will kill—"
Someone suddenly caressed Black Beauty's mane. "There's one more step to the ritual, Kunguran."
"What?"
Letho had not sheathed his blade yet. At the same time he said that, he sliced Black Beauty's throat open. The flesh split, the blood spilled, and tendons and bones were exposed to the air. The blood rained like a waterfall, drenching the ground in red.
"Why?" That was Black Beauty's last words before she fell to the ground. Her hooves were twitching. She had just gotten her freedom, but she died before she could even gallop around The Whispering Hillock. She refused to die like this, but the last thing she saw was the bald witcher staring at her coldly. He was holding a gemstone that gleamed crimson. That would be her final resting place.
"Done." Roy heaved a sigh of relief and took the bloodstone from Letho. He fiddled with it. There was a sliver of black smoke inside, trying to break through the stone, but to no avail. He closed his eyes and tried to tuck the stone away in his inventory, but he failed. I knew it. I can't keep it in the inventory once it's loaded with a soul. I have to take it around with me now. "I have freed you as promised, Madam Kunguran, but I like it better if you're trapped in here."
"You locked that core's soul in that stone?" Serrit stared at the lively but humble smoke in disbelief. "That little thing is a soul? Does every soul look like that?"
"This is no simple stone. Only the stone Vivienne gave me can trap souls in it. Most humans and monsters share the same core anyway," Roy explained patiently and gave it to Serrit for closer inspection.
Auckes and Felix were filled with curiosity as well. They had never seen a soul's corporeal form until today.
"So what are you going to do with her?"
"She claims to be an ancient druid, so we'll get a real druid to see if that's true."
They discussed for a while, and Letho looked around, then he delegated work. "We'll stay in the cave for the night and make preparations for the mission. The kid and I will cover ourselves in the core's blood tomorrow to slip through the crones and find that oak tree on Bald Mountain. Vulture, you will go with Auckes and Serrit to present the ladies with your sacrifice and bring back Carl. How does that sound?"
"We'll do just that."
The moonlight shone into the cave, and the witchers exchanged looks.
***
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