Recaps

Dick and the others continued clearing Kaer Morhen when Barbara and West arrived with carts of supplies to help rebuild the fortress. West relayed news from Queen Meve, and the chapter ended with him giving Dick her letter.

• Little Yennefer accepted water from Geralt while Russell offered a cup to Alice as the group discussed rebuilding Kaer Morhen.
• Dick and the others spotted a supply procession approaching and prepared for an attack before recognizing Barbara among the arrivals.
• Barbara showed Dick an image of Xiya and explained that she had advanced to a full-fledged sorceress, though an elemental rampage had burned down three laboratories.
• Barbara and West brought supplies from Queen Meve to support Kaer Morhen's reconstruction.
• West told Dick that Queen Meve had returned safely to Ravenstern City after Duke Yalike was beheaded, and that Kebi had killed eight Jatu soldiers.
• West handed Dick a letter from Queen Meve.

Dick considered Queen Meve’s apology and request for help against Manslayer’s army, then negotiated terms for the Witcher Order’s support. He agreed to travel to Ravenstern City with Geralt and Vesemir, while Barbara promised to report his demands to the queen.

• Dick read Meve’s letter, which apologized for the attack on the Witcher Order and asked for help against Manslayer’s barbarian army.
• Dick rejected the idea that a simple apology could absolve Brownie and demanded three promises: aid to rebuild Kaer Morhen, a proclamation restoring the Order’s authority over witcher misconduct, and a blood oath from Prince James, along with Brownie’s head as a deposit.
• Barbara accepted the first two demands on the queen’s behalf, and Dick agreed to support the fight but initially proposed going alone.
• West argued that Dick needed more allies, and Dick settled on joining the expedition with Geralt and Vesemir.
• Barbara and West agreed that Dick, Geralt, and Vesemir would travel with them to Ravenstern City.

Dick, Vesemir, and Geralt left the rebuilt Kaer Morhen for Ravenstern City to join Queen Meve’s forces against Manslayer’s army. In Ravenstern City, Queen Meve confronted the nobles over their plot against the Witcher Order and warned them not to interfere with her policies again.

• Sorcerers and laborers rebuilt most of Kaer Morhen, and Queen Meve provided the Witcher Order with four heavy repeating ballistae.
• Dick rejected West’s suggestion to kill the craftsmen who knew Kaer Morhen’s location, and he considered relocating the Order if danger arose.
• Dick learned that Queen Meve had punished the minor nobles involved in the attack on Kaer Morhen and that Odin III had evacuated Odinburg’s residents to Dawn Furnace City.
• Dick, Vesemir, Geralt, Barbara, and her companion set out for Ravenstern City to join Queen Meve’s army near Dawn Furnace City.
• Queen Meve accused the nobles of targeting the Witcher Order to undermine her hunting-rights and subject-status policies, then threatened them with labor in the Firstfall Bay silver mines if they interfered again.

Queen Meve spoke privately with Kebi about his service, his prospects for inheriting Odinburg, and the looming battle against Manslayer’s army. She revealed her concerns about Prince James’s son Brownie just as Dick arrived to seek an audience.

• Meve thanked Kebi for protecting her from the Jatu and told him to value his own life as much as hers.
• Meve explained that Odin III had been stripped of his baron title, while Kebi could earn a barony or even a viscounty by distinguishing himself against the Misty Mountains savages.
• Meve discussed Dick’s expected arrival and the forces assembled to fight Manslayer’s army, while Kebi said he had missed Dick and credited him with saving Vanessa’s family.
• Meve told Kebi that she suspected Brownie had helped provoke an ambush against her and feared he wanted the throne, while Prince James refused to surrender him.
• An attendant announced that Dick, Grand Master of the Witcher Order, had arrived, and Meve went out to meet him with Kebi following.

Dick returned to Ravenstern City and made his way to the palace to meet Queen Meve. He arrived at the main hall, where Meve and the Falcon Knight Kebi were waiting for him.

• Dick and his companions entered Ravenstern City, where the guards recognized them and let them pass.
• Dick visited the smithy where he had bought back Ivan’s belongings and spoke with the half-elf blacksmith.
• The palace guards welcomed Dick and allowed him to enter without surrendering his weapons, while Vesemir and Geralt stayed outside.
• Barbara left with West to meet a sorcerer from the Magic Academy who had offered to fight the barbarians of the Misty Mountains.
• Dick concluded that Barbara and West were lovers, then followed the palace guards’ directions to the main hall.
• Queen Meve and Kebi waited for Dick outside the hall.

Dick met Queen Meve at the palace, where they discussed the coming battle against Manslayer and the planned gathering of the Northern Kingdoms’ allies. Kebi suspected Dick was hiding something and warned the queen, who agreed to follow his suggestion.

• Dick greeted Queen Meve and joked with Kebi about the stories Vanessa had told him.
• Queen Meve apologized for the Witcher Order’s tragedy, discussed the nobles’ conspiracy and Manslayer’s approaching army, and asked Dick to stand with her.
• Dick agreed to focus on the invaders, though Kebi noticed his cold demeanor and remembered his earlier determination to rescue Xiya.
• Queen Meve told Dick that a banquet would bring together the allied families, Prince James, Brownie, Vigo, and Xiya.
• Kebi quietly warned Queen Meve that Dick might pose a danger, and she agreed to do as he suggested.

Dick surrendered his weapons to Kebi at the palace banquet, then met the sorcerer Vigo and discussed their plan to face Manslayer. Xiya returned and reunited with Dick, who told her he had missed her.

• Dick handed his weapons and spatial waist pouch to Kebi for safekeeping, keeping only a gold necklace as a gift for Xiya.
• Dick noticed that his Energy Points were gone and his Hypnosis skill had changed, then studied a letter before meeting Vigo.
• Vigo introduced himself as a sorcerer skilled in martial arts and magic, and he and Dick agreed they might defeat Manslayer together.
• Xiya arrived at the banquet, ran to Dick after Vigo left, and embraced him.
• Dick told Xiya that he had really missed her.

At Queen Meve’s banquet, Dick gave Xiya a gold necklace, and she accepted it despite two noblewomen’s mockery. Queen Meve announced the coming battle against the Misty Mountains, and the arrival of Prince James and Brownie left Dick watching the new guests.

• Xiya comforted Dick, and he gave her a gold necklace that she gladly wore after two noblewomen ridiculed it.
• Barbara teased Dick about his choice of gift, and he promised Xiya he would bring her a better one next time.
• Queen Meve announced that she would lead the nobles into battle against the Misty Mountains army and introduced Dick, Vesemir, and Geralt as allies.
• Dick spotted Marquis Zubaci and Earl Mann, saw Geralt leave with a noblewoman, and found Vesemir talking with Vigo.
• Guards escorted Prince James and Brownie into the banquet hall, and Dick focused his attention on them.

At the banquet, Dick faced Prince James, Brownie, and the nobles while Queen Meve tried to smooth over their strained relations. Barbara considered how the queen’s hidden injuries might affect the court and her own position, as Dick found the three nobles he had come to confront.

• Earl Kofi entered the banquet and headed for the wine station as nobles watched Dick and Brownie cautiously.
• Queen Meve called Dick over to meet Prince James, and Dick left Xiya with Barbara before approaching them.
• Barbara reassured Xiya that the Witcher Order would remain valuable and recalled West’s warning that Queen Meve might be near death.
• Prince James shook Dick’s hand, but Brownie recoiled and his guards formed a protective line when Dick looked at him.
• Queen Meve introduced Dick to the nobles, and Dick spotted the three nobles whispering together before approaching their table.

At Queen Meve’s banquet, Dick exposed the nobles who had backed the attack on Kaer Morhen and killed them in front of the court. As panic spread, Vesemir blocked the palace guards while Geralt rushed to join him.

• Earl Kofi taunted Dick and mocked the witchers, prompting Dick to reveal a dossier linking Kofi, Earl Mann, and Marquis Zubac to the retainers behind Brownie’s attack on Kaer Morhen.
• Dick killed Earl Kofi, Earl Mann, and Marquis Zubac with silver cutlery in a swift attack at the banquet.
• The nobles screamed and fled as the queen’s court erupted into chaos.
• Vesemir took Vigo’s staff and used it to block the guards trying to enter the palace.
• Geralt left his Gwent game, grabbed a broken stool leg, and ran toward Vesemir.

Dick unleashed Blood of Madness in the palace and slaughtered the guards who attacked him. After striking Prince James aside, he killed Brownie with a full-strength blow as the queen and others watched.

• Dick activated Blood of Madness and moved through the guards, killing or crippling them with overwhelming speed.
• Vigo watched Dick fight and concluded that he could not match him in close combat, while considering recruiting him for future plans.
• Dick deflected the guards' crossbow bolts with Mind Shockwave and injured the remaining guards before approaching Brownie.
• Prince James stepped between Dick and Brownie, but Dick struck him aside despite the queen's cry.
• Brownie apologized as Dick raised his hand, but Dick said Brownie regretted only that he was about to die and killed him with a full-strength slap.

Dick killed Brownie and questioned Prince James about his role in the destruction of the Witcher Order, while Queen Meve ended the banquet and confronted her brother. The chapter left Meve asking Dick what he wanted.

• Prince James mourned Brownie as Queen Meve and the palace guests reacted to Dick's killing.
• Dick used a Hypnosis Sign to question Prince James, who denied involvement in the Witcher Order's destruction and any desire to become king before the effect wore off.
• Queen Meve dismissed the guards and nobles, and Dick suppressed his Blood of Madness.
• Meve asked Dick what he wanted, and he said he wanted to know Prince James's true attitude toward the Witcher Order.
• Prince James accused Meve of allowing Dick to kill her family, so Meve slapped him and rebuked him for his immaturity and favoritism toward Brownie.
• Meve turned back to Dick and asked what he wanted.

Dick secured Queen Meve’s promise to protect the Witcher Order and saw Prince James stripped of his title and confined to the palace. Afterward, Vesemir and Geralt praised Dick’s strength, and Vesemir entrusted the Order’s future to him.

• Dick asked Queen Meve whether the nobles would stop harming the Witcher Order, and she promised their debts were settled and admitted she might not always be able to protect the Order.
• Barbara proposed that astrologers could conceal the Order’s entrances with a phase diagram, energy stones, and a password, while Vigo offered to help.
• Queen Meve stripped James of his princely powers and ordered guards to confine him to the palace.
• The queen arranged rooms for the witchers, while Barbara pulled Xiya away and Vigo left the palace.
• Dick told Vesemir and Geralt that he had acted to avenge the Order’s dead, while privately reflecting that he had hidden the limits of his [Blood of Madness] ability.
• Vesemir praised Dick’s strength and said he could safely leave the Witcher Order’s future in Dick’s hands.

Queen Meve and Duke Amara reviewed the Northern Kingdoms’ battle plan against Burd III’s army, expected to reach Windwail Town the next day. After the others left, Duke Amara gave Kebi a test for winning his daughter’s hand and prepared to face the coming battle.

• Vesemir overheard the late-night council and worried that Queen Meve’s relationship with Dick would not recover.
• Duke Amara described the Northern Kingdoms’ defenses and their plan to ambush the barbarians near Windwail Town.
• Duke Amara reported that Burd III led two thousand barbarians, including three hundred Berserkers and a newly arrived shaman leader.
• Queen Meve approved the plan and said Dick’s strength, aided by two master swordsmen, could help against the Berserkers.
• Duke Amara told Kebi to bring back ten Misty Mountains Warriors’ heads with their ears intact as a betrothal gift.
• After midnight, Duke Amara stabbed the terrain model’s red figure of the Manslayer and wondered whether his steel army could defeat the transcendents.

Dick traveled with Xiya, Geralt, and Vesemir toward the queen’s army, reflecting on the day’s events and reassuring Xiya about her unstable magic. Their carriage stopped outside Ravenstern City when a familiar girl blocked the road, and Dick teased her about being a bandit again.

• Dick recalled Kebi picking him up for the oath-taking ceremony and giving Kebi two Dragon Tear Potions.
• Vesemir explained that the witchers would join the queen’s army and attack when enemy bears charged, while Barbara faced the shamans.
• Dick remembered Xiya waiting for him and later learned that her fire magic was powerful but difficult to control after her awakening.
• Dick promised to hold Xiya if she ever lost control, and she leaned against his shoulder as they joked together in the carriage.
• The carriage stopped outside Ravenstern City when a blond girl blocked the road, and Dick got out and asked if she had returned to banditry.

Pipi warned Dick that a Snake Cult shaman was helping Burd III create Cobra Sacrificers, and she insisted on joining the fight to avenge her tribe. Dick’s carriage hurried toward Queen Meve with the warning, but they arrived to find that the battle had already begun.

• Pipi joined Dick’s carriage and warned him that Burd III’s new shaman transformed prisoners into Cobra Sacrificers.
• Vesemir identified the Cobra Sacrificers as elite infantry of the Snake Cult, and Pipi reported that the shaman spoke of the snake god and Mountain God as partners.
• Dick ordered Kebi to speed up and carry the intelligence to Queen Meve.
• Pipi revealed that she had married Anson and asked to fight for revenge; Dick allowed her to join only under his supervision.
• Two hours later, Dick saw smoke, heard war drums, and realized the battle had begun ahead of schedule.

Duke Amara’s army initially wiped out the attacking troops, but their corpses transformed into Cobra Sacrificers and tore into the formation. As Duke Amara rallied his soldiers, the Misty Mountains’ giant leader launched a new charge.

• Kebi decided to circle behind the army with his companions so they could relay orders without risking friendly fire.
• Duke Amara’s forces killed the first wave of Misty Mountains troops, but he grew suspicious of how easily the battle was going.
• Barbara began casting an illusion, but a corpse transformed into a Cobra Sacrificer, wounded her, and attacked the soldiers.
• Duke Amara recognized that the fallen troops had been used to nurture monsters and ordered his forces to reform and fight them.
• The highland warriors and Cobra Sacrificers burned together in the fighting as the crowned giant raised his axe and sent the berserkers charging.

Dick and the witchers joined Queen Meve’s knights as the queen charged Burd III to relieve Duke Amara’s forces. Burd III smashed through the cavalry and continued toward Amara’s square, which the berserkers were destroying.

• Tes and Burd III discussed their plan to conquer the Northern Kingdoms as the queen’s cavalry approached.
• Kebi rejoined Queen Meve, and Dick went with Xiya, Vesemir, Geralt, and Pipi to help Duke Amara.
• Queen Meve led the cavalry in a charge at Burd III, whose cobra sacrificers slowed the knights by forming ranks in their path.
• Burd III charged through the cavalry, throwing Queen Meve, Kebi, and other knights aside.
• Burd III continued toward Duke Amara’s square, where bear-form berserkers were tearing through the soldiers.

Kebi survived Burd III’s attack by drinking Dragon Tear Potion, then rejoined the queen’s charge. Dick and the others fought the berserkers, and Dick cut down several giant bears with his twin swords.

• Kebi removed his shattered armor, drank a Dragon Tear Potion, and recovered as his body began to transform.
• The queen rallied the remaining knights and led Kebi back into battle.
• Barbara woke in the tent but could not speak, and she chose to stay with Xiya to fulfill her duty to the queen.
• Dick arrived at Duke Amara’s formation and found the soldiers badly battered, with Vigo defending Amara from three berserkers.
• Pipi struck a berserker’s eye with a throwing knife, allowing Duke Amara to kill it, while Geralt and the other witchers charged into the fight.
• Dick used his twin swords and Panther Zither Jade to kill and maim several giant bears.

Dick and the witchers fought to stabilize Duke Amara’s battlefield, while Xiya’s fire magic turned the tide against the berserkers. The focus shifted to Queen Meve, whose knights were being weakened by Misty Mountains shamans, as Vesemir and Vigo set out to stop them and faced a strange superhuman.

• Vesemir killed a giant-bear berserker with fire and a sword strike as the witchers helped stabilize the battle.
• Dick warned the soldiers of Burd III’s charge, then clashed with Manslayer and was carried through the camp and far across the battlefield.
• Xiya joined the fighting and suppressed the berserkers with powerful fireballs, allowing Duke Amara to regroup, but he realized Queen Meve was in danger.
• Misty Mountains Warriors and shamans harried Queen Meve’s knights with arrows and a Slowing Spell while Barbara lay dead.
• Vigo persuaded Duke Amara to let him, Vesemir, and another master swordsman target the shamans, and they set off across the battlefield.
• A pointed-chinned man blocked their way, revealed a second face beneath his scalp, and prepared to fight with a serrated bone sword and white Sword Qi.

Vigo and the witchers fought the Snake Cult and Misty Mountains Warriors while Queen Meve’s cavalry turned the battle in her favor. Dick confronted Burd III, the Messenger of the Mountain God, and shattered the purple barrier protecting him.

• Vigo fought Wins while Geralt and Vesemir battled the priests, and Queen Meve ordered her knights to charge the Misty Mountains Warriors.
• Vigo defeated Wins but was poisoned when Tes fled, then sat down to purge the venom.
• Geralt and Vesemir melted the frozen lake with their Fire Signs, drank Killer Whale potions, and lured their enemies into the water before returning ashore victorious.
• Queen Meve’s cavalry slaughtered the Misty Mountains Warriors as Vigo watched and expected Dick to finish his fight soon.
• Dick questioned Burd III, learned that the Manslayer’s former identity was Bird II and that his father was Harlaus, then dodged his axe attacks.
• Dick pierced the weakest rune node in Burd III’s purple barrier and shattered it.

Dick defeated the Manslayer, only for it to reveal itself as a purple lynx wielding divine power. After surviving its attacks and overcoming divine punishment, Dick killed it, and Burd III vanished with a final word of thanks.

• Dick wounded and killed the Manslayer after evading its axe strikes.
• The Manslayer's corpse transformed into a silver-armored purple lynx that attacked Dick with supernatural speed.
• The lynx shattered Dick's silver sword and wounded him, but Dick endured its divine punishment and gained the ability to evade its attacks.
• Dick used [Extreme Leap] to cleave the lynx in two with his black sword.
• The lynx reverted to Burd III, who thanked Dick for his release before dissolving into purple light.

Dick defeated Yovis's emissary and gained strength, but he realized Xiya might still be in danger as Duke Amara's camp burned. Yovis was mocked by the other deities, while Kebi saved the badly injured Duke Amara with a Dragon Tear Potion.

• Dick absorbed the rewards for defeating the Misty Mountains Berserkers and Manslayer Burd III, reshaped Burd's axe into a purple sword, and realized Xiya might be in danger at Duke Amara's camp.
• Yovis complained that Dick had defeated him and severed his contract with Burd III, while the other chained deities mocked him and warned one another not to provoke Dick.
• Kebi gave the gravely injured Duke Amara a Dragon Tear Potion, which restored his strength and began healing his burned face.

Dick endured Xiya’s uncontrolled flames and stopped her rampage by embracing her, then carried her to the carriage. Barbara asked to return to the Magic Academy, and the group set off there.

• Queen Meve ordered the soldiers to lower their weapons and not hurt Xiya after Dick returned her crown to her.
• Dick recalled that Xiya’s magic had been damaged when she saved him in Odinburg, then advanced his Steel Sinews and Iron Bones ability to withstand the fire.
• Dick crossed the burning camp and held Xiya, causing her flames to go out before she collapsed against him.
• Pipi brought Duke Amara’s bearskin cloak, and Dick wrapped Xiya in it and carried her toward the carriage.
• Barbara requested that they return to the Magic Academy, and Dick told the group to drive there.

A mysterious one-eyed man heard rumors that Dick had killed Manslayer and wondered how strong the witcher was. At the palace, Queen Meve learned that Prince James’s madness came from grief and prepared to let Doctor Anson treat him with Ice Pick Therapy.

• A one-eyed man carrying a wolf-head pendant heard gossip that Dick had killed Manslayer and decided he had chosen the right job.
• Prince James suffered another fit, raving about his dead son Brownie and blaming Dick.
• Queen Meve and Barbara confirmed that James was not possessed and that Brownie had not become a wraith.
• Queen Meve explained that she had confined James to prevent him from seeking revenge on Dick and to avoid further turmoil in the Northern Kingdoms.
• Doctor Anson assured Queen Meve that his ice-assisted frontal lobotomy could calm James while reducing the risks of the procedure.