Chapter 93: Kidnapping Yennefer (Seeking votes, seeking collections, seeking tips)

"You'd better hurry. If you dawdle any longer, that knight will likely go to meet his gods."

While the group was still immersed in the shock of a golden dragon capable of telepathy and magic appearing before them, Wayne suddenly emerged from the woods nearby.

A faint smile played on his face, but his amber vertical pupils, the sharp sword on his body, and the pointed ears on the sides of his head immediately drew everyone's attention.

Another witcher, and a half-elf witcher at that.

"Wayne! Haha, I knew you'd come too."

Dandelion quickly recovered from his shock and greeted Wayne cheerfully, his mind already rapidly drafting the outline of a poem about the heroic Sir Eyck and the powerful, elegant golden dragon.

With a few minor edits later, it could become a widely circulated ballad. Of course, the protagonist of this song wouldn't be the heroic Sir Eyck, but the poet himself, who had witnessed the events unfold.

Just like the poems he wrote when adventuring with Geralt: the powerful White Wolf Geralt might be an excellent swordsman capable of defeating many monsters, but the one who ultimately turned the tide was always the witty, brave, and handsome great poet, Dandelion.

Wayne greeted each of them in turn, though the haughty sorceress and the mage Dorregaray didn't seem interested in engaging with him, merely offering a faint "hmph" in response.

Seeing that none of them had any intention of risking their lives to save Eyck, Wayne looked at Geralt, gave the White Wolf an apologetic look, and suddenly reached out with a violent flick. A pale blue chain flew from his sleeve, binding the sorceress Yennefer—who hadn't been looking at him directly—squarely in place.

Wayne followed through with a shake, a pull, and a brace, using the sturdy dimeritium chain to truss Yennefer up like a zongzi, binding her hands and feet.

This chain was forged from dimeritium he had scavenged from the Stray Dogs gang. Once bound by it, sorceresses, druids, or any other spellcasters were unable to cast spells; it was a sharp weapon he kept specifically for dealing with magic users.

Yennefer had intended to use magic to counterattack, but she quickly realized the situation. Once she lost her ability to cast spells, she was no different from an ordinary woman; with her hands and feet bound, she couldn't break free from the chain's control.

She lay on the ground, struggling to turn her head, and shouted at Geralt:

"Geralt, you bastard, what are you standing there for? Come save me!"

Geralt watched all of this with a dazed expression. After hearing Yennefer's call, his mind couldn't quite process what was happening.

His right hand subconsciously reached for his sword hilt, but he stopped the motion just as quickly, looking at Wayne with a puzzled expression, unsure of what his brother was trying to do.

Wayne gave Geralt a look that signaled him to stay calm, then pulled hard, hoisting the firmly bound sorceress onto his shoulder. With her backside facing Geralt so he couldn't see his expression, Wayne said loudly:

"Sorry, Geralt. I promised to do the golden dragon a favor and stop Lady Yennefer from casting magic on him."

"But don't worry, I won't hurt the lady. Once this matter is over, I will return Lady Yennefer to you safe and sound."

"Of course, you are welcome to try and stop me."

"But if you do, you'd better be careful. The swords in our hands have no eyes; who knows if we might accidentally hurt your sorceress in the scuffle."

Geralt's expression was somewhat strange. He certainly believed Wayne wouldn't hurt Yennefer, but he hadn't expected his brother to use such a method to stop her from intervening.

Looking at Wayne, who was winking at him, Geralt had no choice but to begrudgingly play along, saying fiercely:

"Wayne, remember your promise. If you hurt Yen, don't blame me for disregarding our brotherhood."

Dandelion was a sharp man. Once he saw the expressions on both their faces, he roughly guessed the situation. As for Yennefer, who was always arrogant and had a terrible temper, the poet also wanted to see her suffer a small setback, so he chimed in loudly:

"Wayne, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person. It was in vain that Geralt and I trusted you so much; you've actually betrayed our team. What exactly did this golden dragon give you?"

Watching Dandelion actively adding to the performance, Wayne twitched the corner of his mouth. He glanced at the mage Dorregaray, who was watching the three of them with vigilance, and immediately retorted:

"He didn't give me any benefits, and I didn't ask him for any. I'm not doing this for a contract; I just don't want such a rare golden dragon, a creature full of wisdom, to die at the hands of those despicable, greedy hunters."

This answer immediately caused Dorregaray, who championed the balance of all things, to hold Wayne in higher regard. This was his first time meeting Wayne, and first impressions were very important.

Fearing that saying too much would reveal the truth, Wayne held the struggling sorceress's thighs with his left hand to keep her from falling off his shoulder, then said:

"Enough talk. Geralt, once this is over, come find me at the green dragon's lair. By then, I will return Lady Yennefer to you."

After speaking, he turned and left the group at high speed. Geralt could only watch as his goddess was carried away by his good brother, his hand reaching out as if to say something, but nothing came out.

After Wayne left, the remaining three looked at each other, somewhat at a loss. In the end, Geralt, having more of a conscience, nodded at Dandelion and sighed:

"Don't worry, Wayne shouldn't hurt Yen. Let's go check on that bastard Eyck. Even though he's a son of a bitch, he's still a life. If we can save him, we should."

Out of a desire to observe the golden dragon at close range, the mage Dorregaray also said with a hint of arrogance:

"Now that Yennefer has been taken away, you two shouldn't be thinking about dragon-slaying anymore, right?"

"I'll go with you to take a look. Although I don't know healing spells, I should be able to think of some way to help that mad knight stabilize his condition."

Having reached a simple verbal agreement, the three walked down the hillside to Sir Eyck's side. The golden dragon in the distance watched them from afar without stopping them.

Dorregaray first stared at the golden dragon from afar for a while with the look of someone admiring a peerless treasure, then glanced nonchalantly at Sir Eyck, who had fallen into a coma, and huffed:

"This guy is finished. His legs are severely deformed, and the bones are shattered. Even if healed, he likely won't be able to run again."

"With the protection of his armor, his chest and head aren't in immediate danger, but his head suffered a severe impact; no one knows what the consequences will be."

He waved his hand, signaling Geralt and Dandelion—who had already helped Eyck remove his armor—to step aside. He then began to chant, his fingers directing the surrounding Chaos Magic into Eyck's body.

In an instant, Eyck's whole body shuddered, and even in his coma, he couldn't help but let out a painful groan.

After about five minutes, Dorregaray wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, lowered his hands, and said:

"I've cast a stabilization spell on him. Although it can't heal his injuries, at the very least, they won't continue to worsen."

"It's fortunate he only suffered severe fractures and contusions, with no bleeding or internal organ damage. Otherwise, he would already be a corpse."

After speaking, Dorregaray looked at Geralt, chuckled, and said:

"This guy is a pauper, and I don't have the kindness to continue treating him."

"If you don't mind the trouble and aren't afraid of not getting your medical fees back, find him a good doctor after this is over and see if he can recover his mobility."

"However, just as I said, his leg bones are completely necrotic. Unless you find the best healing mage to specifically cultivate a pair of new leg bones and replace them, he will certainly never be able to fight again."

"Of course, such a mage certainly won't be cheap. Between materials and surgery fees, it will probably cost over a thousand crowns."

Upon hearing this, Geralt and Dandelion looked at each other. If it were a small sum, he might have paid it for Eyck out of principle and justice, but a thousand crowns was a significant amount, even for a witcher.

Unfortunately, Eyck was only a hedge knight, not a true landed knight. Even if he sold all his family property, he likely wouldn't be able to scrape together such a fortune.

(End of chapter)