Chapter Summaries

After consuming the Ghoul-Troll Spirit, Ailin strengthened his elemental affinities and wondered about the origins of nekkers and trolls. A month later, he ran a training tournament at Kaer Morhen to motivate the apprentices, just as Vesemir arrived.

• Ailin speculated that the Ghoul-Troll Spirit and the One-Eyed Nekker shared an origin, then discovered his Earth Affinity had reached the Source state and his body had grown tougher.
• A month later, Ailin watched Tabang defeat Tiva in a swordsmanship match at Kaer Morhen's apprentice training ground.
• Ailin praised Tiva's strategy, corrected his mistakes, and awarded him two bottles of Nekker's Purified Spirit.
• Ailin announced Ghoul Heart Essence Fluid as part of the weekly champion reward, prompting the apprentices to eagerly continue the tournament.
• Mary asked Ailin how he had devised the competitions, and he claimed he had borrowed the idea from the King of Kedwen's tournament.
• Vesemir arrived from the direction of the main keep as Ailin prepared to resume watching the apprentices.

Ailin learned that Horton Quiggan’s Wolf School Master Set was finished, but Vergen had been surrounded by Kedwen’s army and Horton had sent a plea for help. Ailin and Vesemir prepared to ride to Vergen to rescue him, while Mary stayed behind at Kaer Morhen to help manage the Witcher Company.

• Vesemir told Ailin that Horton Quiggan had finished the armor early and that Vergen was under siege by Kedwen’s army.
• Ailin agreed to rescue Horton, and Vesemir asked whether Lady Vesemir could portal them to Vergen, but Ailin said she had left for Toussaint and would likely not return until September.
• Vesemir worried that entering the battlefield with Ailin would put his apprentice in danger, so Ailin used the Mirage Pearl to show Vesemir an illusion and reassure him.
• Vesemir agreed to leave for Vergen with Ailin that day and went to pack before their noon departure.
• Ailin asked Mary to remain at Kaer Morhen and teach Yennefer magic, then briefed her on the Witcher Company’s affairs before asking why she had not asked to go with him.

Ailin agreed to take Ernie and the Monster Hunting Legion down the mountain to rescue a dwarven blacksmith, while Mary stayed at Kaer Morhen to help the company. At Ban Ard Academy, Henn Gedimidis promised to send people to clear out the growing drowner threat, then asked whether there was any news from the Wild Hunt.

• Mary told Ailin she would stay at Kaer Morhen to help the company and promised to wait for his safe return.
• Ernie and the other members of Ailin's Monster Hunting Legion asked to leave the mountain with him, and Ailin agreed to bring them on the dangerous mission to rescue a dwarven blacksmith in Ard.
• At Ban Ard, merchants and Count Pascal urged Druid Sorcerer to address the worsening drowner attacks and the damage to trade and food supplies.
• Henn Gedimidis promised the academy would send people to clear drowners from the worst-affected areas and asked Pascal to report their locations.
• After the visitors left, Henn Gedimidis turned to Druid Sorcerer and asked whether there was any news from the Wild Hunt.

Henn Gedimidis and Druid reviewed reports of the Wild Hunt and considered whether two School of the Wolf witchers were connected to its appearances and the disappearance of Ban Ard sorcerers. Henn ordered Senne to handle the drowners near Ban Ard and secretly arranged to track Vesemir and Ailin, while the academy’s isolation barrier and Henn’s confidence in it seemed fragile.

• Druid mapped reports of suspected Wild Hunt sightings, and Henn identified Gors Velen and Arland as the only confirmed appearances, both involving Ailin and Vesemir.
• Druid told Henn that Ailin had blamed the Wild Hunt for Arland’s disaster and that the witchers had also been near Vengerberg; Henn traced a route toward Vergen and suspected they might be tied to Tomas Morra and Macaque’s disappearance.
• Henn ordered Druid to keep the suspicion secret and assign Senne and the Spatial Isolation Barrier sorcerers to clear drowners near Ban Ard, rejecting a plan to recall sorcerers conscripted by King Rado.
• Henn said he would remain at the academy through the war, then instructed Druid to investigate Vesemir and Ailin; Druid agreed to report their whereabouts.
• After Druid left, Henn lamented the Wild Hunt and the many powers threatening the academy, while Druid reflected that Henn had grown cautious and noticed the isolation barrier looked fragile.

Ailin and Vesemir visited a tavern near Ban Ard, where they learned that drowners were terrorizing the villages and that a blue barrier had appeared around the city two months earlier. Ailin suspected the barrier had misled the Wild Hunt, but as they prepared to leave, it suddenly vanished, leaving Ban Ard’s Sorcerers in danger.

• Tavern patrons discussed Old Jett’s family being killed by drowners and despaired over the cost of fleeing to Ban Ard or hiring Witchers.
• Ailin and Vesemir, disguised as mercenaries, gathered information and bought supplies while Ailin concealed his Witcher eyes with the Mirage Pearl.
• Ailin concluded that Ban Ard’s blue barrier may have misled the Wild Hunt and decided not to risk entering the city to investigate further.
• As Ailin and Vesemir left the tavern, the barrier around Ban Ard vanished, startling them and the villagers.
• Ailin and Vesemir realized the Sorcerers inside Ban Ard might now be in danger.

Ailin and Vesemir returned to the mill and found the young witchers had defeated several waves of drowners. Meanwhile, the village learned that Ban Ard’s blue barrier had vanished, and high-ranking mages arrived seeking a guide to Banla Mill.

• Ailin and Vesemir rode back to the mill after deciding not to enter Ban Ard, then hurried toward it when they smelled blood and heard fighting.
• Ailin received a reward notification confirming that the drowner horde had been defeated, and the familiar bickering ahead eased his alarm.
• Ailin and Vesemir found Ernie, Klar, Kray, Aias, and the other witchers unharmed after they had killed three waves of drowners emerging from the river.
• Vesemir realized that aggressive drowners near Ban Ard could disrupt mills and threaten food supplies across Kedwen.
• The villagers panicked after discovering that Ban Ard’s blue barrier had disappeared, and the village chief tried to reassure them.
• Five high-ranking mages arrived with guards, and Senne asked the village chief to find a guide to Banla Mill.

Ailin, Vesemir, and seven young witchers left the old mill disguised as a mercenary company, then encountered Senne and a party of sorcerers on the road to Banla Mill. Senne let them pass but grew suspicious and continued toward the village, expecting to learn more about them there.

• Aias was the last witcher to wake from meditation, so Vesemir assigned him to dispose of the water drowner remains.
• Vesemir warned Aias and Kray to pay closer attention during meditation and to avoid leaving bloody monster wounds that could attract more creatures.
• Ailin and Vesemir led the nine witchers out at dusk with their silver swords hidden and their hoods on.
• Senne's group encountered the disguised witchers, who identified themselves as the Wolfheart Mercenary Group and said they were heading to the war.
• Senne noticed the group's guarded behavior and unusual equipment, but the witchers rode away before he could question them further.
• Senne declined to pursue the witchers and continued toward Banla Mill, believing he could find out more about them there.

Senne discovered through Water Divination that Witchers of the School of the Wolf had killed the drowners at Banla Mill and ordered Vilgefortz to track them. Ailin and the apprentices escaped with Vesemir, who warned that Senne might pursue them, so Vesemir hurried the group toward Adal before dawn.

• Senne investigated the mill’s bloodstains and used Water Divination to identify the Witchers who had killed the drowners.
• Miguel wanted to report the Witchers to the dean, but Senne said the Radical Faction could not act openly and told him to seek help from Vilgefortz of Logiwen.
• Ailin and the young Witchers rode away from the mill disguised as mercenaries, while Vesemir recognized Senne Walsh and warned that he was a dangerous persecutor of nonhumans.
• Vesemir told Ailin that the encounter at the mill might not have been a coincidence and that Ban Ard could hunt them down.
• Ailin considered strengthening his abilities and hunting ghouls, while Vesemir ordered the group to ride hard and reach Adal’s walls before dawn.

Miguel visited Vilgefortz to enlist his help tracking the School of the Wolf Witchers and discovered that Vilgefortz possessed the power of a Source. After Miguel left, Vilgefortz prepared to pursue the Witchers while studying two versions of Ithlinne's Prophecy, which differed over Elder Blood and the Child of Miracle.

• Miguel visited Vilgefortz's five-floor tower and was startled by Vilgefortz's powerful control over the elements.
• Miguel told Vilgefortz that nine Witchers, including Vesemir and Ailin, had killed drowners and asked him to capture them alive if possible.
• Vilgefortz accepted the drowners' blood for divination and promised to bring all the Witchers back alive without informing Henn Gedimidis.
• As Miguel left, he noticed Vilgefortz's notes on Ithlinne's Prophecy and wondered why the passage about the Child of Miracle was missing.
• Vilgefortz told Lydia to set aside the artifacts from Galadriel's Ancient Elven Tomb and prepare to go after the Witchers.
• Vilgefortz compared two versions of Ithlinne's Prophecy and wondered why they differed over Elder Blood and the Child of Miracle.

Ailin and Vesemir traveled through war-ravaged Kedwen toward Vergen, then diverted to rescue people attacked by necrophages. They found a large pack of ghouls, rotfiends, and the Giant Ghoul known as Big Head, and prepared to fight.

• Ailin and Vesemir passed Kedwen checkpoints disguised as mercenaries and saw the destruction left by the war.
• Ailin and Vesemir questioned why Horton had asked for help, then agreed to reach Vergen before deciding what to do.
• Ailin and Vesemir heard people calling for help and led the witchers east toward the scent of blood and necrophages.
• The witchers discovered a caravan under attack by ghouls and rotfiends, with Big Head prowling nearby.
• Ailin ordered Ernie and Klar to hold the other witchers in formation while he and Vesemir used Igni against the rotfiends and planned to target the Giant Ghoul.

Ailin, Vesemir, and seven young witchers intervened as a merchant caravan faced annihilation by ghouls and exploding rotfiends. Ryan survived a rotfiend’s blast and saw the witchers fighting to rescue the caravan.

• Ailin and Vesemir led the young witchers toward the caravan after watching its guards struggle against the monsters and warning the group about rotfiends.
• Ailin and Vesemir moved to attack the rotfiends while the seven young witchers followed in formation, concealed by their School Emblems.
• Ryan’s captain ordered Cole to break out with the two merchant’s daughters, then charged the monsters alone and was caught in a rotfiend’s explosion.
• A blue-eyed young man appeared before Ryan and told him not to close his eyes on a battlefield, then vanished as Dana rushed to him.
• Ailin and the other witchers appeared around the caravan, killed ghouls, and blew up rotfiends before declaring themselves witchers of the School of the Wolf.

Ailin and the School of the Wolf helped Free Anglin defeat a horde of Ghouls, Rotfiends, and a Giant Ghoul. After Ailin decapitated the sleeping monster and collected his rewards, someone addressed him as “Blue Death,” Sir Ailin of Arland.

• Ryan and Dana joined the School of the Wolf witchers in fighting the monsters, and Ryan rallied Free Anglin to support their allies.
• Ailin used Igni to destroy the Rotfiends, then combined Axii with Primal Tongue to put the Giant Ghoul to sleep.
• Ailin decapitated the Giant Ghoul, and the witchers and mercenaries finished off the remaining Ghouls.
• Ailin received an A-rated horde reward, activated the Rotfiend hunting quest, and began gathering materials from the Giant Ghoul.
• Someone approached Ailin and asked whether he was “Blue Death,” Sir Ailin of Arland.

After helping the Anglin Mercenary Group survive a Ghoul attack, Ailin and the other witchers traveled with the merchant caravan toward Vergen. The caravan reached a familiar crossroads, where Vesemir and Ailin prepared to scout whether Horton truly needed rescuing.

• Ryan and Dana thanked Ailin for saving their mercenary group, and Dana sang a ballad about Ailin and Vesemir’s sword Elsa.
• Ryan told Ailin that Sally’s cat had led her into the woods, where Ghouls attacked the caravan and killed Sally and Doya’s mother, Lady Lys.
• The caravan burned the dead, paid the witchers eighteen hundred Oren, and continued toward Vergen with Ailin’s group.
• Ailin reassured Vesemir that sorcerers from Ban Ard were unlikely to catch them, while Vesemir warned the caravan about the possibility of a remnant Kedweni army near Vergen.
• After crossing the Pontar River, the caravan camped at the crossroads near Vergen, and Vesemir asked Ailin to scout whether Horton needed rescuing.

Vesemir and Ailin discovered that Horton had fabricated Fergen’s siege to draw Witchers to Vengerberg, where a Greater Griffin was attacking the capital. Horton led them to his hidden Aetherium treasury, where Ailin spotted a red armor set that seemed to be his Wolf School Master Set.

• Vesemir and Ailin entered Fergen secretly and found Horton asleep behind a locked terrace door, which Ailin picked open.
• Horton explained that Ard’s knights had forced him to send the false distress letter so the School of the Wolf would help deal with the Greater Griffin attacking Vengerberg.
• Horton said the griffin had disrupted supplies to the front lines and that Demavend II wanted it killed or driven away.
• Horton brought Vesemir and Ailin to his secret Aetherium treasury and showed them its vast collection of magical weapons, armor, and rare materials.
• Ailin recognized a red medium armor set as his Wolf School Master Set, though it looked very different from Vesemir’s armor.

Horton revealed the red Wolf School armor he had forged for Ailin, using Red Dragon Hide and Queen Scorpion Spider Silk, and Ailin tried it on. Horton explained that Demavend II had supplied the rare materials, then pressed Vesemir to hunt a Greater Griffin, but Vesemir refused because the hunt could affect the conflict between Kedwen and Ard.

• Horton led Vesemir and Ailin into his Aetherium treasury and showed them the unfinished red armor he had made for Ailin.
• Ailin appraised the armor and found that it was an unnamed artificial magical material marked as an unfinished masterpiece.
• Horton revealed that he had replaced the original materials with Red Dragon Hide and Queen Scorpion Spider Silk, and the armor adjusted itself to fit Ailin.
• Ailin offered to pay with deposit certificates, but Horton refused because Demavend II had provided the rare materials.
• Horton urged Vesemir to hunt a Greater Griffin for Demavend II, but Vesemir refused, warning that it could influence the conflict between Kedwen and Ard.

Vesemir and Ailin refused Horton Quiggan’s public commission to kill a Greater Griffin, but Ailin persuaded Vesemir that secretly eliminating it could protect the Wolf School’s future. As they rode from Vergen, Ailin hinted that he had a way to capture the beast and use it to help rescue Ernie and Klar.

• Vesemir and Ailin refused to accept Horton Quiggan’s Greater Griffin commission openly, and Horton gave them the valuable alchemical materials anyway.
• Horton told Vesemir and Ailin that Demavend II feared monsters might soon become more numerous, and he urged Wolf School witchers to visit Ard more often.
• As they left Vergen, Ailin asked whether the Greater Griffin attacking Vengerberg was connected to the one they had hunted two months earlier.
• Ailin argued that the Wolf School needed Kedwen occupied by war and proposed secretly killing the Greater Griffin without letting Ard or Kedwen learn of their involvement.
• Vesemir agreed to Ailin’s plan, and Ailin revealed a Giant Beast Lasso that could help them capture the creature and bring Ernie and Klar back safely.

After learning that Vergen was safe, Ailin asked Ryan and Charles to send regular reports to Kaer Morhen and gave them Necrophage Oil in exchange for helping establish a distribution network. The chapter ended with Charles and Ryan wondering whether they had repaid Ailin or become indebted to him again.

• Vesemir and Ailin overheard Ryan refusing payment from Charles because Free Anglin had failed to protect the caravan, then told them Vergen was safe and they would part ways the next day.
• Ailin warned Ryan and Charles to avoid Vengerberg and asked them to send Kaer Morhen reports about events the School of the Wolf should know.
• Ailin gave Ryan bottles of Necrophage Oil, and Charles recognized it as a rare potion produced for the Monster Hunter Army.
• Vesemir explained that Ailin had created Necrophage Oil and studied alchemy under the Bloody Red Fox, Lady Vesemir.
• Ailin offered Charles the right to sell Necrophage Oil if he and Ryan sent regular letters to Kaer Morhen, leaving them unsure whether they had repaid him or incurred another favor.

Vesemir and Ailin entered Ard with their fellow witchers, intending to hunt the Greater Griffin while keeping their involvement secret. After reaching Dole, Ailin used monster essence fluids to alter his attributes and wondered whether the Wild Hunt had reached Ban Ard.

• Horton Quiggan distracted the guards at Vergen’s gate so Vesemir and Ailin could enter Ard with Charles’s caravan.
• Vesemir and Ailin split from the caravan and continued toward a village, where the witchers decided to rest in Dole.
• Ailin bought supplies, brewed Mixed Beast Oil, and reviewed the loot from the fight at the old battlefield.
• Ailin consumed eight doses of Rotfiend Heart Essence Fluid, losing four Constitution points while gaining two Fire Affinity points.
• Ailin used Giant Ghoul Heart Essence Fluid, gaining Strength, Constitution, and Earth Affinity, then counted his progress toward unlocking Beast Roar: Life Whisper.
• Ailin wondered whether the Wild Hunt had gone to Ban Ard during the week he had been traveling.

Vilgefortz and Lydia tracked witchers across a battlefield with Stars of Ilar, but Vilgefortz noticed a missing phantom and wondered whether someone had evaded fate. Near Vengerberg, Ailin and Vesemir watched a Greater Griffin attack the city and decided to follow it.

• Vilgefortz and Lydia discussed the war between Kedwen and Ard and continued tracking the witchers with Stars of Ilar.
• At an old battlefield, Vilgefortz found that the spell showed no phantom for a slain Giant Ghoul and suspected someone might have escaped its scrutiny.
• Vilgefortz hurried after the witchers toward Vengerberg, fearing the city’s influence would disrupt Stars of Ilar.
• A Greater Griffin attacked Vengerberg, and the city’s ordinary siege crossbows failed to stop it.
• Ailin and Vesemir watched the Greater Griffin fly away and agreed to follow it.

Ailin and Vesemir searched the Alba River tributary for a way across while pursuing the Greater Griffin, and Vesemir told Ailin that he was ready to travel on his own. After returning to the inn, they sensed a sudden danger and rushed outside as a red aurora appeared in the northern sky.

• Ailin and Vesemir followed the river but found no safe crossing, so they turned back toward the main road.
• Vesemir told Ailin that he had learned all he needed and no longer needed to continue the five-year traveling trial; Ailin thanked him, and Vesemir invited him to use his name.
• Ailin and Vesemir reached a broken bridge and discussed how difficult it would be to catch the Greater Griffin without crossing the river.
• The witchers returned to the inn after encountering monsters on the road and worried that the young witchers might have caused trouble.
• Vesemir sensed a threat as the innkeeper greeted them, and he and Ailin rushed outside to see a red aurora glowing in the northern sky.