Geralt couldn't believe what he had just heard. How could Kallis be involved with this witch's curse? Kallis, the man who had taken in Geralt, a complete stranger, and saved his life. How could Kallis, the dedicated healer, bring such devastation down on another being?
"You must be mistaken. That can't be true."
"How long have you known him?"
Geralt's silence only confessed his lack of familiarity with the man. He admittedly had only known Kallis for a few days.
Validated, the witch continued. "I have known him for centuries."
"Centuries? How is that possible? He barely looks older than forty."
"Looks can be deceiving. You of all people should know that."
"Alright, fine. So he's older than he looks. That doesn't prove anything."
"He brought this fate down upon me. He cursed me for standing against him. For standing against the atrocities he committed."
Geralt couldn't make sense of what she was saying, it was at such odds with what he knew of the man. "Atrocities? He's a healer. He's worked his whole life to save people. For crying out loud, he's still studying now!"
"Then you've seen what he studies. The papers?"
"Yeah, I've seen the books and the illustrations. He must have brought quite the library from the city."
"Those drawings are not from a textbook, witcher. They are his notes. Compiled from countless experiments performed on innocent victims."
Geralt broke eye contact, lowering his eyes to think things through. To think back on what exactly he had seen in Kallis' home.
The witch continued, pressing her advantage. "He thinks he is doing the world a favor. He wants to cure diseases, afflictions, plagues. Anything from aching joints to Catriona."
Geralt's eyes shot back to the witch at that word. At the memory it had provoked.
"And he will do whatever it takes to find the cures. No matter the cost in lives or suffering."
Geralt's confidence in Kallis was beginning to dissolve. Everything the witch said seemed to make sense. And it would certainly explain why such a devout healer would position himself so far from civilization. But there was still one piece of the puzzle that didn't fit. And Geralt wanted to see what the witch thought about it. "Why would he save me, then? I was nearly dead when he found me. Why restore me back to health?"
"You're here, aren't you? And were you any lesser of a man, I would be dead. You would have finished the fight he started long ago."
"But Kallis didn't send me here to kill you."
"Did he not? Who told you the stories that led you here? Who told you the lies that had you believe I held your friend captive? He manipulated you as he did with so many others."
The realization punched Geralt in the gut. He didn't know what to think anymore. There was still so much he didn't understand. So many unanswered questions. He would just have to start with one. "Who are you?"
"My name is Aela. And before this form took me, I was an elf. An elven mage to be exact."
An elf! The curse must have stripped her of her powers indeed because elves were some of the most powerful practitioners of magic. But then how had Kallis beaten her?
"What is your quarrel with Kallis? Why were you cursed?"
"It is a long story."
"Try me."
The witch took a deep breath. She almost seemed relieved at Geralt's willingness to hear her story. This was probably the first true interaction she had had with anyone since she had been cursed.
Her eyes focused distantly. "I have known Kallis for centuries now, though, back then, I knew him only by reputation. His reputation as a healer was quite extensive in the city. It seemed as though he could cure anything. Everyone flocked to him, awed by his power and knowledge. And for a while, perhaps, he deserved the adulation. He saved many lives. I myself was living in the city not far from his workshop. I moved to the city because I wanted to experience the world, meet the people in it. I was content in my life.
"But then people started disappearing. No one seemed to notice but me. It was beggars and strumpets that went missing after all. People that no one would miss. I was the only one that connected the dots, that figured out it was Kallis that had taken them. I tried to go to the authorities, but they just laughed in my face. Kallis' reputation protected him more than anything else. It was the word of an elf against that of a highly respected healer.
"Frustrated and naïve, I figured that if no one else would help me, I would just solve the problem myself. I went to Kallis' workshop in the city. I don't even know what I thought I could do, what I thought he would do when I confronted him. I suppose I thought I could convince him to stop, with either logic or threats. I told him that I was on to him, to stop what he was doing, and go back to healing. Or else. But we both knew I didn't have it in me to follow through with any threats. He laughed me off. He knew. He knew I just couldn't bring myself to harm him, even after everything he had done. He told me to run along before he got really annoyed. Embarrassed, I did as I was told. I didn't know it then, but I was lucky he didn't just kill me outright. I guess he didn't see me as any sort of threat.
"After that, I didn't know what to do. So I did the only thing I could think of. I went to the people. Most didn't listen, but I spread the word so far and so fast that people had no choice but to take notice. Public opinion started to sway and with it, Kallis' foothold in the city. Sensing this, Kallis took greater notice of me, of my threat to him. But he couldn't touch me. Not anymore. Not without raising suspicions.
"Then one day, when his business was drying up and people started treating him with caution rather than adoration, he vanished. No one knew where he went. Not even me. But I knew he was still out there. I knew he was setting up shop somewhere else, that he would never give up on his work. I had to find him. I had to stop him."
"Why? Why go after him? The city was safe, it seems to me. Why put yourself at further risk?"
Objectives were simple to a witcher. Once a task was undertaken, the course was linear—find the problem, solve it, and collect the reward. What happened outside of those circumstances was of no further value. And was sure to bring nothing but pain and suffering. Aela, it seemed, was the perfect example.
"Because he was going to torture and kill innocent people," she answered as if it were a nonquestion. "I couldn't stand by and let him do it. Not if there was anything I could do to stop it."
Geralt had been like that once, had done what he could to help others. Jaded though he may have been, he had always stood up for the innocent; always placed himself in the path of evil. He had fought alongside loved ones to shape the world, to save it. Ciri had—
No.
Geralt shut the thought down before it could complete itself. What he had once felt, once cared about, didn't matter anymore. It had only ever ended in devastation. He was done with caring. All he cared about now was finishing the next task and moving on.
Unaware of Geralt's internal struggle, Aela continued her story. "Years later, I heard rumors of a miraculous healer. I followed them far to the South. Kallis had found a new hunting ground. As soon as I had confirmed that it was him, I alerted the authorities. It didn't matter. I received the same welcome I had before—a door in my face. And by that time, Kallis discovered my presence. He disappeared again.
"For decades, centuries, I chased him across the continent, sometimes losing track of him for fifty years or more. No sooner would I catch up with him than he would scuttle away without a trace. I think he knew what I was. And despite my misgivings about killing, he knew that I was the more powerful between us. He wouldn't risk facing me. Not when running away was so much easier.
"The closest I ever came to stopping him was maybe some two hundred years ago. Scattered tales and legends had begun to creep up about him in the larger cities—a powerful mage who would kidnap lone travelers and disembowel them in his lair. The versions all differed. Some called him a vampire that would feast on their flesh. Others named him a disfigured hermit that would capture and imprison someone, keeping them for the rest of their life just for the company. Of course, no one knew his true identity or would be able to recognize him on sight. It didn't take him long to master a façade of cordiality. You've seen yourself how expertly he wields it.
"Unfortunately, the rumors did force him to be more careful in where he located himself and who he chose as his prey. This made it more and more difficult to find him each time. But it did give me more credibility when seeking the help of the locals, or at least a little more leeway in terms of believability. I was finally able to convince a small group of local troops to search the house he had obtained.
"A group of about twenty of us stormed his house. Inside, it was a bloodbath. A fresh corpse was still on the operating table, scalpel and forceps still inside him. We couldn't have missed him by more than a couple of minutes. I don't know what he was studying at the time, but he must have been close to some breakthrough if he risked staying that long.
"I think the close call put him on edge. He couldn't risk going to the cities anymore. I searched tirelessly for almost a hundred years and could not find a whisper of his presence. Gods only know what cruelties he unleashed in his absence. And then, by some miracle, I caught the smallest hint of his whereabouts. I tracked him to the castle he currently occupies. Whether it was abandoned when he found it or he killed its former owners, I do not know. In any case, I came across this estate in my sweep of the surrounding area. It was well-populated then, teeming with life. I knew it wouldn't be long before he started growing hungry for more victims and a large estate was perfect fodder.
"I kept my distance from Kallis, not wanting him to know I had found him. I was afraid that if he disappeared again, I would never find him. So I sought to protect those that wandered into his path instead.
"Naturally, I tried to warn those that dwelled at the estate. But they didn't listen. They were deeply religious and were afraid of my magic. And the points of my ears. All but one. One of the stable hands heard my story, believed me. He alone saw past my magic and my race to see that I spoke the truth.
"Over the next few months, he tried to convince the people to leave, that it wasn't safe to stay. Meanwhile, I did my best to keep stray travelers out of the forest."
"Why go to all that trouble? Why not just go after Kallis himself? You obviously knew that he wouldn't give up so easily if deterred or denied any victims. Plus it would be safer to stop him directly than worry about him disappearing again," Geralt interrupted.
Aela's eyes dimmed, shame and sadness washing over her face. "I suppose I was afraid. I didn't know what would happen if I confronted him again. I was powerful, yes. But so was he. I was afraid to die. And I was afraid to kill." Aela's melancholy turned to disgust. "My cowardice cost so many lives. Had I stopped him the first time we met, countless lives would have been saved. I was young. And stupid. By the time I realized what I had to do, it was too late. And now I stand no chance against him. It would be folly to even try."
"What happened? How did you end up like this?"
Aela sighed. "I fell in love. The young stable hand and I grew close over those months. Eventually, we promised ourselves to each other. Despite the dire situation, we were happy in the moments we had together. And then things started to go downhill. People from the estate were disappearing. My fiancé asked me to protect them, even if they did not wish for it. The family that owned the estate had taken him in when he was a small boy, when he had been orphaned by a bandit attack. Those people were many things, but they had the compassion to care for a child that was not their own. To give him a life. And he loved them for it.
"So I cast this barrier." Looking toward the ceiling, Aela gestured in an arc above her head. "It will keep Kallis from entering these lands until the end of time. I went with my betrothed to explain this to his people. They were frightened, but I never imagined that they would do what they did that night. I told them to stay within the walls. That I would go after Kallis the next day and end his experiments. One way or another. My fiancé went with them that night to keep them from doing anything rash. Except, they must have panicked. I found their caravan the next morning. They had fled during the night. And Kallis had slaughtered them all, every last one of them.
"It was my fault!" Aela sobbed, furious. "Kallis killed them to spite me. He knew what I had done. Somehow he knew that I had tried to thwart him. I was numb when I found them, strewn across the road like carrion. Then my numbness turned to horror when I discovered that my fiancé was not among them, nor in the estate. I knew then that Kallis had taken him. Kallis knew. He knew just how to strike.
"I flew to Kallis' castle, to the dungeons below. There I found my fiancé, chained to the wall but still alive, Kallis standing smugly next to him. After everything Kallis had done, I couldn't keep my rage in check. When I saw him standing there, I lunged for him, ready to rip him apart. He was ready for it, though, and teleported out of the way. He appeared behind me and attacked. As he had just done, I teleported to the far side of the room. We battled in that manor for quite a while, matching blow for blow. I think eventually he realized that he wasn't going to defeat me even weakened as I was from casting the barrier the day before. But he still had a decisive card to play. And he knew it.
"I was so focused on gaining the upper hand that I didn't notice Kallis' attention shift elsewhere—to my fiancé. Kallis launched a ball of liquid fire toward him. I couldn't stop it." Tears leaked down Aela's ruined face as her next words caught in her throat. "There was nothing left when the smoke cleared. Not even a wisp of ash."
Sympathy stirred in Geralt's chest and, in her vulnerability, Geralt could almost see past the abhorrent wretch in front of him to the true woman underneath.
"Kallis took advantage of my despair. Not by killing me. To this day, I don't know why he didn't. Perhaps he couldn't. Or perhaps he thought this the crueler of the two options. Either way, he cursed me, dooming me to this fate for all eternity. With the last of my energy, I fled here, knowing I would be safe from him. And here I have remained ever since. For almost a hundred years I have rotted in this manor, my only company that of those seeking to kill me." She looked to Geralt, whose sword was still clutched loosely in his hand.
Geralt demonstratively resheathed it. "You have nothing to fear from me. I only kill that which is dangerous to society. And though you have killed, even a dog deserves the right to defend itself when cornered."
Kallis, on the other hand, had no such justification. Geralt would have to pay him a return visit. He had lied to Geralt, manipulated him. And that was something Geralt wouldn't stand for. He was going to wring the truth out of Kallis and get to the bottom of this.
Besides, Geralt suddenly realized with horror, Mikel was still missing. And it sounded like Kallis was the most likely culprit. Geralt's stomach lurched at the thought that Mikel had been right under his nose the whole time. He had to be down in the dungeons Aela spoke of. Geralt hadn't seen any cellar or basement in his stay, but he had done little more than a cursory exploration of the place. There was nothing for it now. Geralt would have to go back.
Geralt's subconscious must have played out on his face because Aela studied him. Then a horrified look distorted her features even further. "You're going after him, aren't you?" she breathed.
Geralt didn't reply. It wasn't as if he wanted to confront Kallis. But if he had Mikel, Geralt needed to know for sure.
"You wouldn't stand a chance against him, witcher—"
"Geralt."
Aela hesitated at Geralt's interjection, then bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. "Geralt," she corrected. "It would be suicide to pit yourself against him. Kallis is more powerful than you know." Worry tinged Aela's warning.
Grinding his teeth, Geralt stood in indecision for a minute, trusting Aela's judgment, but knowing he had to do something. He couldn't abandon Mikel to such a fate. "Could you do it?"
Aela's eyes squinted in confusion.
"If your powers were restored, could you kill him?"
She was silent for a moment before replying honestly, meeting Geralt's gaze. "I don't know."
Geralt grew serious and determined, a fire alight in his eyes.
"How do I lift the curse?"