Chapter 71: Stone and Bone
POV: Adam
Morning light cut through pine branches in golden shafts. I crouched beside the road, palm flat against packed dirt, and pushed.
The earth groaned. A fist-sized rock lurched upward, wobbled, then shot sideways into a tree trunk with a crack that startled birds from the canopy.
"Better control needed. Much better."
"You're fighting it." Geralt's voice came from behind, gravelly and unimpressed. He sat on a fallen log, oiling his silver sword with methodical strokes. "Stop treating stone like an enemy."
Easy for him to say. Airbending flowed. Waterbending yielded and redirected. But earth? Earth was stubborn. Earth demanded respect before it moved an inch.
I tried again. Drew breath, planted my feet wider, and imagined roots growing from my soles into the bedrock below. This time when I pushed, I pushed through the resistance instead of against it.
A pillar rose. Smooth. Controlled. Two feet of solid granite that held steady when I released the mental grip.
[ Earthbending Skill: Basic Manipulation Achieved ]
[ Element XP: +25 ]
"Ha!" The laugh escaped before I could stop it. "Did you see that?"
Geralt grunted. Which was practically a standing ovation from him.
Ciri scrambled down from her perch on Roach's saddlebags, her green eyes bright with curiosity. "Let me try something." She pressed her palm against the pillar I'd created. "I want to feel what you feel."
The soulbond hummed between us. Our connection had grown stronger since Cintra's fall, strengthened through shared trauma and whispered conversations in darkness. When she touched the stone, I felt her presence brush against my elemental awareness like fingertips trailing across water.
"It's..." she frowned, concentrating. "Heavier than I expected. Like trying to hear through a thick wall."
"That's earth's nature." I let the pillar sink back into the ground, watching stone become road again. "Solid. Permanent. Nothing like air at all."
She grinned. "So you'll actually have to work for this one?"
"Your sympathy is overwhelming."
—Scene Break—
Lambert caught up to us around midday.
The witcher looked worse for wear—mud splattered his armor, and a fresh scratch ran along his jaw—but his smirk remained intact. "Heard you were playing with rocks now. Had to see the freak show for myself."
"Your support means everything," I said flatly.
"Don't mention it." He fell into step beside Geralt, trading some coded hand signal that probably meant no pursuit detected. "So. Show me something impressive."
I should have said no. Should have practiced more before attempting anything complex. But Lambert's perpetual mockery grated, and pride won over caution.
"Just stepping stones. Simple. Controlled."
I focused on the muddy stretch of road ahead, visualizing flat platforms rising to create a dry path. The earth responded eagerly—too eagerly. Instead of gentle rises, stone surged upward behind Lambert in a solid wall that slammed him against an oak tree with enough force to rattle his teeth.
"WHAT THE FU—"
His curse became a strangled wheeze as the wall pinned him chest-high, arms trapped at his sides. Geralt's hand stopped halfway to his sword when he registered what happened. Then—and I'd swear to any god listening—the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Get. Me. OUT." Lambert's face had gone an interesting shade of purple.
"I'm trying!" Panic made my control worse. The wall crept higher instead of lower.
"Adam." Ciri's voice cut through my spiraling focus. "Breathe. Then pull."
Right. Breath. I sucked air through my teeth, found that center of stillness Vesemir had drilled into me during winter training, and pulled the earth back toward me.
The wall sank. Lambert stumbled forward, spitting bark chips and murderous intentions.
"You—" He jabbed a finger at my chest. "I'm going to fill your boots with honey and stake you to an anthill."
"It was an accident!"
"Oh, I believe you." His smile promised suffering. "But I'm still doing it."
Ciri had both hands pressed over her mouth. Her shoulders shook.
"This isn't funny," I protested.
The laugh she'd been holding erupted like water through a cracked dam. Geralt's almost-smile became an actual chuckle, rough and unused but genuine. Even Lambert's rage cracked at the edges, his scowl fighting a losing battle against reluctant amusement.
"Fine." Lambert brushed dirt from his armor. "Maybe a little funny. But you owe me ale for a month."
—Scene Break—
POV: Geralt
The boy learned faster than anyone had a right to.
Geralt watched from across the campfire as Adam practiced smaller manipulations—lifting pebbles, shaping dirt into crude figures, splitting rocks along their natural grain. Three days since the earthbending manifested, and already he moved stone with something approaching competence.
Approaching. Not achieving.
"He's getting better," Ciri said quietly, settling beside him. She'd changed her disguise again—darker hair now, peasant clothes, nothing that drew eyes. Fiona, she called herself in public. A merchant's sister. The lie tasted sour, but survival demanded ugly choices.
"Better isn't good enough against the Hunt."
"Nothing's good enough against the Hunt." She pulled her knees to her chest. "But we keep trying anyway."
Geralt grunted. The girl had grown harder these past months. Sharper. The trembling princess who'd fled Cintra existed only in memory now, replaced by this steel-eyed survivor who spoke of dimensional hunters like discussing weather.
I should have protected her better.
Across the fire, Adam suddenly pressed his palm flat against bare earth and went still. His eyes widened.
"Something's wrong," Ciri started to rise.
"Wait." Geralt held up a hand. He'd seen this before—the focused intensity that preceded ability breakthroughs. Whatever Adam sensed, it came from within rather than without.
POV: Adam
The world opened beneath my fingers.
One moment I felt only dirt—cool, slightly damp, unremarkable. The next, vibrations bloomed through my awareness like ripples in a pond. Heartbeats. Footsteps. The deep thrum of bedrock settling. A rabbit warren twenty feet down, three dozen furry bodies huddled in darkness.
[ NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: Tremor Sense (Passive) ]
[ Detect vibrations through earth contact ]
[ Range: 30 feet (increases with skill) ]
"There's—" My voice came out strangled. "I can feel everything."
"What do you mean?" Geralt was on his feet, hand near his sword.
"Underground. A rabbit den, maybe thirty animals. Something larger too, to the east. Heavy. Four legs." I focused, trying to parse the sensory flood. "Moving away from us. Not interested."
Lambert had gone still. "You're saying you can detect things through the ground?"
"If I'm touching it, yes."
The witchers exchanged looks. In that silent communication Geralt and Lambert shared, I saw the tactical implications registering: ambush detection. Night watch without visible sentries. Knowing exactly how many enemies approached before the first blade cleared its sheath.
"Well, shit." Lambert actually sounded impressed. "Maybe the stone thing isn't completely useless after all."
"High praise," I muttered. But something warm expanded in my chest despite his tone.
[ XP Gained: +150 (Tremor Sense Discovery) ]
[ Level 31: 20% toward Level 32 ]
—Scene Break—
Evening brought decisions.
"Mahakam." Lambert stabbed a stick into the fire, sending sparks spiraling upward. "Underground tunnels, mountain fortifications, and the most stubborn bastards on the continent. Even Nilfgaard doesn't push the dwarves without good reason."
"The Hunt isn't Nilfgaard." Geralt's voice carried the weight of experience. "Dimensional beings don't respect walls."
"No, but they manifest through specific points. Ley line intersections, places of power." Lambert leaned forward. "Mahakam's deep holds have almost no magical resonance. Stone too dense, too ancient. It'd be like trying to open a portal through solid lead."
I processed this through what I knew of dimensional mechanics. The Wild Hunt needed anchor points to breach reality—locations where the barrier between worlds thinned. If Mahakam's depths truly blocked that kind of manifestation...
"How would we even get in?" Ciri asked. "Dwarves don't exactly welcome humans with open arms."
"They welcome commerce." Lambert's smile turned calculating. "And they love anyone who can work stone. A human who actually bends earth to his will? They might adopt him."
Geralt said nothing for a long moment. Firelight carved his face into planes of shadow, making him look older than usual. Finally: "It's better than running blind."
"Then Mahakam it is." I pressed my palm to the ground again, feeling the distant mountain range through kilometers of rock and root. Something vast waited there. Ancient. Patient.
Almost like the earth itself approved.
Ciri's hand found mine in the darkness. "Together?"
"Always."
The road to the mountains stretched before us, and somewhere beneath sleeping stone, sanctuary waited.
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
The Mentalist: New Detective /Suits: The Win Rate System / The Walking Dead: Shelter Sys
Love [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers ] with exclusive access to 70+ min chapters ( 5 chapters every week ) on my Patreon, plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!