Sebastian remained inside the old house of the girl, Marian, his arms crossed, his yellow eyes fixed on the door, he was waiting.
Then after a while, the door creaked open.
Dandelion entered first, his face flushed with exertion, his arms laden with a bundle of objects wrapped in rough cloth, his eyes darting nervously around the room as if expecting something to leap out of the shadows.
Zoltan followed close behind, his thick fingers carrying a smaller bundle, his expression one of satisfaction.
"We've got them... and a bit more.." Dandelion announced. "Every single one, all ten of them, the ten people you told us about.."
Sebastian's eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, his hand extended. "Let me see."
Dandelion unwrapped the bundle with exaggerated care, revealing a collection of personal items. A worn leather belt, its surface cracked and faded with age. A silver brooch, tarnished and dark. A lock of grey hair tied with a frayed string, q small wooden carving, its features worn smooth by years of anxious fingers. A tarnished ring, its setting empty, its band scratched and battered... alongside old underwears.
Zoltan added his own items to the pile with a grunt of effort. A woman's scarf, its colors dulled by time but still bearing the faint embroidery, a cracked mirror, its surface webbed with a thousand fractures.
Sebastian knelt beside the pile, his fingers brushing over each item as if he was handling sacred relics. His yellow eyes moved from one to the next.
"Are you sure these belong to them?" Sebastian asked, "Each one of them? You must be absolutely certain.. The ritual will not accept substitutes."
Dandelion nodded vigorously, "Yes, we made sure of it. We had to be discreet..very discreet, but we made sure. I personally verified each one."
Zoltan's grin was wide, mischievous, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Dandelion made very sure they belonged to them. He practically inspected every inch of.."
"Eww," Dandelion cut in, his face contorting with disgust as he recoiled from the implication. "They're too old for me. Don't even finish that sentence.. I have standards, you know."
Sebastian laughed. "Alright. Thanks, guys. These will do.. I think."
He paused, his fingers brushing over a bundle of what appeared to be old, worn undergarments. "Including the old underwear of the women."
Dandelion's face flushed a deep crimson. "Look, I'm not proud of what I gathered, but you wanted something very personal. That's the best I could grab, and the easiest. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to steal a man's only belt without him noticing?"
Sebastian nodded, his expression serious once more. "It will do. Every item carries a piece of its owner, their essence, their identity, their connection to the world. The ritual will use that connection to redirect the leshen's mark."
He gathered the items, wrapping them carefully in the cloth. "Now I have to make my way to the forest," Sebastian said, "Your part is done, guys. Just remain here. I've made sure this house is the safest place in the village."
Dandelion's brow furrowed, "Safe from what? What are you expecting to happen while you're gone?"
Sebastian's expression was unreadable, "Just safe. Nothing that needs to be explained."
Zoltan's voice was gruff, "Go on, lad. Do your job and let's get the hell out of this shite stain of a village. I've had my fill of Velen for a lifetime."
Sebastian smiled. "Right, I'll be back shortly."
He turned and walked out the door, the bundle of items tucked under his arm.
The forest loomed before him, dark and old, its trees reaching toward the grey sky, the path within was narrow and overgrown, barely visible beneath the tangle of roots and fallen leaves.
Sebastian walked deeper into the woods, with slow steps, his senses reaching out. His medallion began to tremble against his chest, a low, constant vibration, and it became stronger the moment he found the leshen's totem in a clearing, a structure of twisted wood and bone, its surface carved with symbols. The ground around it was bare, scoured clean of any vegetation, as if the very earth had been purged of life.
Sebastian's hand drifted to the hilt of his steel sword. He could hear the wolves, their low growls, their padded footsteps, the rustle of their bodies moving through the undergrowth. They were circling, waiting and watching him.
"I'm right in the middle of the Leshen's territory," Sebastian said, his voice low and steady.
The wolves attacked.
They came from all sides, a pack of grey, snarling beasts, their eyes burning with a red glow, they moved with the coordination of a single mind, their bodies flowing together.
Sebastian moved like a dancer, his body flowing from one strike to the next, his sword a blur of steel. A wolf leaped at him, its jaws aimed at his throat, and he sidestepped, his blade carving a deep gash along its flank. The beast crashed to the ground, its blood staining the earth.
Another lunged from behind, and he spun, his sword meeting its throat with a spray of crimson. The wolf crumpled, its body twitching, its lifeblood pooling in the dirt.
A third came from the left, and Sebastian raised his hand. A burst of flame erupted from his palm, a torrent of hot fire that engulfed the beast in an inferno. The wolf's screams were cut short as its body was reduced to ash and cinder.
The wolves fell, one by one. Sebastian stood among them, his breathing steady, his sword dripping with blood. The clearing was silent, save for the crackle of dying embers and the distant, mournful cry of a crow.
He knelt beside the largest of the wolves, its body still warm, its eyes glassy and vacant. He plunged his blade into its chest, carving out its heart with a surgeon's precision. The organ was still warm.
Sebastian rose, the heart cradled in his bloodstained hand.
He drew a circle of blood around the leshen's totem with the blood of the dead wolves, the crimson liquid pooling in the soil, forming a perfect, unbroken ring. He placed the items of the villagers around the circle, arranging them with care, each one was positioned with precision, its owner's connection to the world anchored to the earth.
Sebastian rose, the wolf's heart still in his hand. He looked around the clearing, his yellow eyes scanning the shadows, searching for any sign of the ancient predator that lurked in the depths of the forest.
"No sign of it yet," Sebastian murmured, his voice barely audible. "Good. It's wary of me. It saw my fire. At least this gives me enough time for the ritual."
He knelt in the center of the circle, the heart cradled in his palms. He closed his eyes, his breathing slowing, his mind reaching out toward the ancient power that lurked in the depths of the forest.
The words came to him, ancient and resonant, carrying the weight of generations of witchers who had performed rituals like this in places just as dark. His voice rose, low and powerful, echoing through the forest.
"Blood calls to blood," Sebastian intoned. "Life calls to life. The mark that was placed upon the innocent, the burden that was forced upon the blameless... let it be lifted. Let it be... Let the guilty bear the weight of it."
He raised the wolf's heart, his fingers curling around it, his power rising within him.
"By the blood of this beast that serves the one that marks, by the power of this land, by the will of the one who speaks. Let the leshen's gaze fall upon those I bring here.."
He crushed the heart in his hand.
Blood spattered across the circle, across the items, across the totem. The symbols on the totem began to glow, pulsing with a dark, malevolent light that seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat. The ground trembled beneath his feet, and a low, mournful howl echoed through the forest.
The magic took effect.
The items around the circle began to glow, each one pulsing with a faint, ethereal light. The connection was made. The mark had been transferred.
Sebastian rose, his hands dripping with blood. He looked at the totem, at the items that surrounded it, and he knew that his work was done.
"Now I only need to confirm it myself, before confronting the Leshen." Sebastian said.
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Shadow Monarch: In One Piece / Shadow Monarch in DC
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my pat-reon / FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to More Chapters Ahead of Release on All of My Stories!