Chapter 27: The Drowner Swamp
POV: Adam
The swamp stretched before them like a fever dream painted in shades of green and brown, its stagnant waters reflecting clouds that moved too slowly across sky the color of old pewter. Ancient trees rose from standing water on roots that looked like arthritic fingers, their branches draped with moss that hung like funeral shrouds in air thick enough to taste.
Shorter route to Vizima. Two days instead of four, if we can navigate the waterways without getting killed.
Adam studied the crude map he'd purchased from a merchant who'd claimed local knowledge worth the three crowns he'd charged. Dotted lines marked paths through terrain that looked more like suggestions than actual routes, accompanied by warnings written in faded ink ,things best avoided.
"Drowners nest in deep pools. Avoid standing water after dark. Swamp gas dangerous if ignited."
Ciri stood beside him on the swamp's edge, her nose wrinkling at scents that combined rotting vegetation with something that might charitably be called organic decomposition. Her hand rested on her sword hilt with unconscious readiness ,weeks spent learning that danger could emerge from any environment.
She's adapting. Princess to survivor to... what comes after survivor?
"Smells like death," she said, which was accurate enough without being particularly helpful.
"Smells like shortcuts," Adam replied, shouldering his pack with movements that had become automatic through repetition. "Two days through this, or four days on roads where patrols might find us."
Patrols. Always patrols. Nilfgaard's reach is longer than anyone wants to admit.
They entered the swamp following what might generously be called a path—wooden planks laid across shallow water, connected by rope bridges, previous travelers who'd faced similar navigation challenges. The footing was treacherous, boards slick with moisture and algae that could send the unwary tumbling into water of questionable depth and definite hostility.
Air Sense expanded. Feel for movement beneath the surface.
The technique revealed disturbing information about their chosen route. Large shapes moved through deeper water with deliberate purpose, their displacement patterns suggesting predators that had learned to associate the wooden walkways with easy meals. Drowners, almost certainly—probably more than Adam felt comfortable fighting in their preferred environment.
Twelve of them. Maybe fifteen. All positioned where they can reach the walkway.
"We've got company," Adam said quietly, his voice carrying the careful neutrality of someone delivering tactical information rather than panic-inducing warnings.
Ciri's posture shifted subtly, combat readiness replacing casual alertness without obvious change in her movement. "How many?"
"Too many for a fair fight. Time to be creative."
Swamp gas. The merchant's warning about ignition. If I can manipulate air pressure to concentrate the gas...
Adam had never attempted anything like what he was contemplating—using airbending to weaponize environmental hazards rather than simply manipulating wind for direct attacks. But creativity was often the difference between survival and becoming another cautionary tale told in taverns.
Feel for the gas. It's there, bubbling up from decomposing matter. Invisible but detectable.
The first drowner emerged from the dark water with predatory confidence, its gray-green skin glistening with moisture , creatures perfectly adapted to amphibious hunting. Four more followed, positioning themselves to cut off retreat while their remaining pack members stayed submerged for flanking attacks.
Now. Before they can coordinate properly.
Adam triggered the most complex air manipulation he'd ever attempted, pulling atmospheric gases from across a hundred-meter radius and concentrating them in the space occupied by the attacking drowners. The technique required precision that felt like surgical operation performed while riding a bucking horse.
Methane. Hydrogen sulfide. All the lovely gases that swamps produce. Concentrated into one very explosive package.
"Ciri, get back!" he shouted, then sparked the mixture using friction generated through rapidly compressed air.
The explosion lit the swamp like artificial dawn, flame erupting from seemingly empty space to engulf five drowners in fire that burned hotter than anything natural decomposition should have produced. The creatures died instantly, their death screams echoing across water that now reflected flames instead of clouded sky.
[Creative Airbending Application: +50 XP bonus]
[Drowners Eliminated: 5/12]
Holy shit. That actually worked.
The remaining seven drowners emerged from deep water with wariness , predators discovering their prey had unexpected capabilities. But Adam and Ciri were ready for conventional combat, their weeks of training together transforming individual skills into collaborative lethality.
Wind Barrier around Ciri. Standard tactics from here.
The fight that followed was almost routine—Ciri's blade work carving through opposition while Adam provided support through Air Blade attacks and tactical positioning. Seven drowners died in the space of minutes, their pack coordination proving inadequate against opponents who fought with supernatural synchronization.
Clean kills. Efficient. We're getting good at this.
[Experience Gained: 170 XP total]
[LEVEL UP! 14 → 15]
[Free Stat Points: +5]
[Allocation: +2 STR, +2 AGI, +1 STA]
[New Stats: STR 28, STA 38, AGI 35, HP 280, MP 380]
Level 15. Getting stronger. Getting better at staying alive.
The harvest yielded materials worth nearly eighty crowns—drowner brains and tongues that alchemists valued, plus hides that could be worked into water-resistant leather. Practical wealth that might mean the difference between comfortable lodging and sleeping rough when they reached Vizima.
Money in the bank. Or at least money in the pack.
"Your turn to get messy," Adam said, offering Ciri the skinning knife with gallows humor that had become their standard response to necessary unpleasantness.
"How generous," she replied, but she was smiling as she took the blade.
Smiling. She's smiling while preparing to skin dead drowners in a swamp that smells like decomposing fish.
The absurdity of their situation hit Adam like a physical blow—two thirteen-year-olds who'd fallen in love while fleeing conquest, now calmly harvesting monster parts in a swamp because such activities had become routine components of daily survival.
This is our normal now. Monster hunting and material harvesting and trying not to die.
Ciri must have seen something in his expression because she paused in her work to splash him with murky swamp water, the sudden shock breaking him from philosophical contemplation. He retaliated with a focused air blast that sent water cascading back over her in patterns ,supernatural precision rather than natural physics.
Water fight. We're having a water fight in a swamp full of dead drowners.
Her laughter rang across the stagnant pools like music that belonged to a better world, transforming their grim environment into something that could contain joy despite everything trying to drain such emotions away. Adam found himself laughing too, the sound mixing with hers to create harmony that had nothing to do with musical training and everything to do with shared survival.
Joy. In the middle of everything falling apart, we can still find moments of joy.
They finished their work in comfortable silence, both understanding that such moments were precious precisely because they were temporary. The swamp stretched ahead toward whatever answers Vizima might contain, its dangers now reduced by twelve predators who'd learned that evolution hadn't prepared them for opponents who could manipulate basic atmospheric chemistry.
Two days to the city. Two days to find Geralt.
As they resumed their careful progress along walkways that led toward civilization, Adam carried more than just increased experience and harvested materials. He carried the memory of Ciri's laughter echoing across dark water, proof that some things were stronger than war and conquest and the various forces that wanted to use them for purposes beyond their understanding.
Together. Whatever comes next, we face it together.
The swamp gradually gave way to firmer ground as afternoon shadows lengthened toward evening, its waters reflecting sky that promised clear weather and safe passage toward whatever destiny waited in the Temerian capital.
Almost there. Almost to the next phase of this impossible journey.
+1 CHAPTER AFTER EVERY 4 REVIEWS
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
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 40+ min chapters (up to chapter 60 for other tiers+ 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 like [ Game Of Throne ,MCU and Arrowverse, Breaking Bad , The Walking dead ,The Hobbit,Wednesday].
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!