Chapter Summaries

Dick tried to settle the tavern fight by compensating the surviving mercenary and taking Ivan to the Witcher Order, but Archbishop Duncan of the [Eternal Fire] objected that Ivan should face the law. They agreed the local constable should handle the case, though Duncan proposed sending Ivan to Ravenstern City for Queen Meve to judge.

• Dick decided the [Witcher Order] would compensate the mercenary and take Ivan away for punishment, while the tavern keeper and servers cleaned the tavern.
• Dick offered the mercenary compensation, and the mercenary accepted a hundred crowns for the deaths and damages.
• Duncan, an archbishop of the [Eternal Fire], entered and stopped Dick from paying, insisting Ivan must answer for killing people under Ravenstern law.
• Dick agreed to let the local constable handle the matter, but Duncan argued that Ivan should be sent to Ravenstern City for Queen Meve to judge.

Dick's attempt to protect Ivan from harsh punishment ended with Archbishop Duncan knocking Ivan unconscious and taking him away under the Eternal Flame Church's custody. The witchers let the church proceed, and Dick received 20 energy points for completing the commission, though he worried Ivan would suffer on the journey.

• Dick objected to the witch hunters taking Ivan, but Captain Fisher confirmed Duncan had official authority and took the mercenary into custody.
• Ivan drew his sword against the witch hunters, and Duncan used a sudden burst of white light to knock him unconscious.
• Vesemir asked Duncan to treat Ivan gently, and Duncan ordered the witch hunters to carry him instead of dragging him away.
• Duncan left for Ravenstern City with Ivan, while the remaining witchers departed the tavern.
• Dick received 20 energy points for completing the commission and told Master he feared Ivan might suffer.

Dick, Vesemir, Geralt, Ruiwen, and Master discussed the Eternal Fire church’s witch hunts and the decline of monsters as the Witcher Order grew. The chapter ended with Dick comparing witchers’ shrinking earnings to more people sharing a smaller cake.

• Vesemir said Ivan’s troublemaking might teach him a lesson, and Geralt defended Ivan while reminding Vesemir that the others listened to him.
• Ruiwen explained that witch had once been a slur used during brutal hunts of girls with newly awakened magic, and described how Duncan’s Eternal Fire church burned monsters and persecuted alchemists and unaffiliated sorcerers.
• Dick realized why Ruiwen disliked the Eternal Fire, while Vesemir worried that the church could ignite conflicts across the kingdoms.
• Master explained that witchers had killed many monsters since the last Conjunction of the Spheres, causing monster-hunting fees to fall as villagers became more able to handle isolated creatures.
• Master said the Witcher Order had grown to about a hundred members despite the low survival rate of the Trial of the Grasses, while monsters continued to dwindle.
• Dick compared the situation to a shrinking cake shared among more people.

Master privately confronted Dick over refusing to assassinate Odin III, while Dick insisted he wanted to abandon his life as an assassin and work as a witcher. The argument ended with Master blaming Xiya for changing Dick’s mind and warning him that only ruthless people survived.

• Master explained to Dick that nobles resented witchers like Ivan and might have arranged Ivan’s capture.
• Vesemir persuaded Geralt to go drinking with him, and Dick returned to the fortress with Ruiwen and the other witchers.
• Master sent Russell away and privately confronted Dick in Little Odin’s former room.
• Master demanded to know why Dick had not assassinated Odin III, and Dick said he did not want to kill him.
• Dick told Master he wanted to live as a witcher rather than an assassin, but Master listed his past murders and claimed he could never escape his crimes.
• Master blamed Xiya for changing Dick’s outlook and insisted that survival required ruthlessness.

Dick confronted Master over being treated as a weapon and refused to keep taking his orders, though their argument paused when Fisher arrived with a new contract. Dick accepted a job to kill a Leshen in the Black Forest and went to recruit Russell as his companion.

• Dick accused Master of seeing him as a sword and said he no longer wanted to take his orders; Master threatened him with a list of his crimes, while Dick countered with evidence of Master's killings and dealings with foreign nobles.
• Master and Dick reached for their swords, but they stopped when they heard Fisher approach and exchanged a courteous greeting when he entered.
• Fisher offered Dick a contract to kill a Leshen in the Black Forest, explaining that it had driven the woodcutters away and that Banyan needed to provide for his new wife.
• Fisher gave Dick three hundred crowns and advised him to take another witcher along; Dick considered his supplies and decided Russell would make a suitable companion.
• Dick found Russell drinking alone at a long table and asked whether love had left him hurt like Geralt.

Dick told Russell that he had learned the Signs and asked him to help with his Leshen contract in the Black Forest. While Dick slept, Master approached Carter and arranged to take him to the Witcher Order to undergo the Trial of the Grasses.

• Dick showed Russell that he could perform a Hypnosis Sign and told him how he and Kayn had killed a werewolf.
• Dick asked Russell to help him defeat a Leshen, and they agreed that Russell would hold it off while Dick destroyed its three totems.
• Master met Carter while he was patrolling Odinburg and questioned him about his family and his gratitude to Dick.
• Master offered to make Carter a witcher, and Carter excitedly agreed after asking to inform Captain Fisher.
• Master said he would take Carter to the Witcher Order that night, where Ruiwen would conduct his Trial of the Grasses, without telling Dick.

Dick and Russell set out with a group of woodcutters to hunt the Leshen in the Black Forest. Dick killed the wolves guarding one totem, but discovered that his black sword could not damage it while his silver sword could.

• Dick learned that Master had returned to Kaer Morhen and left the castle with Russell after breakfast.
• Banyang brought several woodcutters to help carry the monsters’ corpses, and Dick promised him three wolves as a wedding gift.
• Dick and Russell reached the Black Forest, where Dick sent Russell toward another wolf-guarded totem while he went to destroy one himself.
• Dick found a totem guarded by seven white wolves, killed them with his crossbow, Mind Shockwave, and longsword, then struck the totem with his black sword.
• Dick found that his black sword barely affected the totem, but his silver sword chipped it.

Dick and Russell searched the Black Forest for the Leshen’s final totem and found the monster guarding the forest’s center. Russell engaged the Leshen while Dick fought its pack of white wolves, and the battle continued.

• Dick burned the second totem, then found Russell, who had killed six white wolves and burned another totem.
• Dick persuaded Russell to let him handle more enemies for experience, and the two searched the Black Forest together for the final totem.
• Dick and Russell concluded the Leshen was guarding the missing totem and headed toward the forest’s center, where they found it beneath a huge tree.
• More than twenty white wolves attacked after the Leshen summoned them, and Russell charged the Leshen while Dick fought the wolves.
• The Leshen attacked Russell with underground branches and a diving flock of crows, while Dick focused on battling the wolf pack.

Dick and Russell fought the Leshen together after Dick killed the wolves, but the monster revived before they could find its third totem. The Leshen reappeared inside a giant tree, and Russell charged to attack it again.

• Dick used [Panther Zither Jade] to kill the remaining wolves, then joined Russell as he fought the wounded Leshen.
• Russell explained that he had not found the last totem, and the two witchers attacked the weakened Leshen together.
• Dick and Russell wounded the Leshen until Dick severed its head, but Dick saw no sign that it had been killed for good.
• The Leshen's body crumbled into ash, and Russell warned Dick that it would soon be reborn nearby.
• The Leshen appeared in the lower trunk of a giant tree, and Russell charged toward it while its branch arms prepared to defend it.

Dick and Russell fought the revived Leshen, which trapped them inside a metal-hard cage of branches. After drinking a Blizzard Potion and evading the Leshen’s attacks, Dick climbed its trunk and discovered the third totem hidden in its crown.

• Russell’s attack was stopped by the Leshen’s newly grown arms, which struck him and broke three of his ribs.
• Dick and Russell tried to retreat, but the Leshen enclosed them in a cage of branches that their swords and fire could not break.
• Russell drank a Swallow Potion and kept the Leshen occupied while Dick searched for the hidden third totem.
• Dick drank a Blizzard Potion, which sharpened his perception and let him evade the Leshen’s attacks at increased speed.
• Dick ran up the Leshen’s trunk and found a wooden deer head at the center of its crown.

Dick killed the Leshen by burning the totem in its crown, then recovered from the strain of [Blizzard Potion] and shared the spoils with Russell. After returning to Odinburg, the two witchers found that the tavern’s customers were still frightened of them.

• Dick burned the Leshen’s hidden totem and killed the creature, ending the threat to Russell.
• Dick checked his panel and found that he had gained 180 energy points, bringing his total to 300.
• Dick gave Russell the [Leshen's Heart] as his share of the commission reward, but Russell refused it, so Dick kept it.
• Dick and Russell returned to Odinburg with the wolf carcasses, sold most of them, and went to There Is a Tavern for lunch.
• Most of the tavern’s customers hurried out when they saw the witchers, but two old men stayed and Dick ordered food and liquor.

Dick dealt with two rock trolls blocking a road by giving them cooked food and persuading them to stop collecting tolls. He returned to Odinburg with Fisher, earning fifty crowns and fifty energy points.

• Fisher asked Dick to handle two rock trolls named Ouk and Bark who were holding up travelers on a main road.
• Dick left Russell at the tavern and set out with Fisher and two soldiers, bringing a large sack of cooked food.
• Dick greeted the trolls as old friends and warned them that collecting tolls could bring an army down on them.
• The trolls ate the food, moved the tree blocking the road, and promised to stop holding up travelers.
• Fisher paid Dick fifty crowns, and Dick received fifty energy points before riding back to Odinburg with Fisher.

Dick agreed to escort Anson into the Misty Mountains to gather medicinal ingredients, and Ruiwen joined them to collect materials for Magic Bombs. As the three rode north from Odinburg, Anson told them about Little Tom’s dangerous pranks, leaving the party still traveling toward the snowy village.

• Dick accepted Anson’s commission to protect him while he searched the Misty Mountains for an herb, and Ruiwen decided to join them.
• Dick, Ruiwen, and Anson left Odinburg the next morning and rode north toward a snowy village before heading into the mountains.
• Anson told Dick and Ruiwen that Little Tom wanted to become a witcher and recounted how he tricked a visiting girl into licking a frozen iron gate.
• Anson described Little Tom’s next prank, in which he instructed the girl to stand stiffly while ice sliding on a frozen river.

Dick, Ruiwen, and Anson reached Snow Village, where Gordon welcomed them and prepared sleds and cold-weather gear for their journey into the Misty Mountains. They set out to gather medicinal herbs, and by midafternoon the cold had intensified as darkness approached.

• Anson brought Dick and Ruiwen to Snow Village, where Gordon greeted them and explained that locals gathered there each year to serve travelers heading into the Misty Mountains.
• Gordon offered Ruiwen warm clothing and invited the travelers inside for a meal of goose and pickled cabbage.
• Gordon prepared two dog sleds, and Anson paid him while confirming that tents and supplies were packed for an overnight trip.
• Ruiwen admitted she did not know how to drive a sled, so Dick shared his sled with her and noticed that his Beast Taming Technique made the dogs friendly toward him.
• Dick, Ruiwen, and Anson traveled through the snow and stopped to dig up medicinal herbs before the afternoon darkness and severe cold set in.

Dick and his companions sheltered in a cave, where a family of Snow Trolls attacked during the night. He killed the cub and wounded the female troll, then struck again while the male troll tried to heal her, leaving the male troll as the last survivor of its family.

• Dick found a sheltered cave and settled in for the night with Anson and the sorceress.
• Dick woke to the sled dogs barking and discovered a Snow Troll killing them at the cave entrance.
• Dick used [Mind Shockwave] and his sword to wound the first troll, then drew the troll family away from the cave.
• Dick killed the cub and severely wounded the female troll with [Panther Zither Jade].
• The male troll healed the female troll, but Dick fired two crossbow bolts into her heart, killing her.

Dick killed the snow troll, then helped seal the cave entrance against the avalanche it triggered. The survivors sheltered inside, where Ruiwen developed a fever, and Dick prepared a small opening for air while planning to find Anson’s last herb and return to Odinburg.

• Dick repeatedly attacked the snow troll’s left chest, pierced its heart, and shattered it with [Mind Shockwave] as it triggered an avalanche.
• Dick and Ruiwen pushed a boulder over the cave entrance and stuffed gaps with sled dog corpses before the avalanche buried them.
• Dick relit the campfire, discovered Ruiwen had a fever, and agreed with Anson to search for his last herb once they could leave.
• Anson explained that the herb grew near snow monsters, while Dick confirmed that five sled dogs remained to pull the group.
• Dick cleared frozen dog corpses from the entrance and dug a small passage through the packed snow to let air into the cave.

Dick and Anson cleared a passage through the avalanche-buried cave and found the last medicinal herb, but Ruiwen remained feverish. Dick cared for her beside the fire until she woke feeling better, leaving the group ready to set out again.

• Dick and Anson shifted the boulder and dug a narrow passage through the snow covering the cave entrance.
• Anson searched nearby and found the last medicinal herb, and he and Dick returned to get Ruiwen.
• Dick found Ruiwen feverish and delirious, so he carried her to the fire and let her rest with her head on his legs.
• Ruiwen woke feeling much better and asked Dick if he had stayed beside her the whole time.

Dick, Ruiwen, and Anson traveled through the snow toward Snow Village while Ruiwen recovered from her illness. They encountered an armed blonde girl fleeing three men, and Dick disarmed her as the men approached.

• Dick and Anson brought Ruiwen out of their shelter and continued toward Snow Village with fewer sled dogs.
• Anson stopped to find their way after the avalanche changed the terrain, then led the group onward as a snowstorm began.
• Dick gave Ruiwen his cloak and told her he was helping because she belonged to the Witcher Order and had gathered materials for him.
• Dick spotted a blonde girl fleeing three men and stopped the sleds, while Anson urged him to help her.
• The girl begged Dick for help, but he made her squat and searched her, finding and confiscating several hidden daggers as the three men drew near.

Anson fell in love with Pipi while Dick fought three men who transformed into black bears. Dick killed two bears and brought down the last one after Pipi's dagger created an opening.

• Anson introduced himself to Pipi and became captivated by her, while she asked him about Ruiwen and teased him for being skinny.
• The three armed men shot arrows at Dick, who charged them after deflecting the volleys.
• The men transformed into black bears and attacked Dick, who dodged their blows and used Fire Signs to weaken them.
• Dick wounded the first two bears until they collapsed and changed back into men, then pursued the third as it tried to flee.
• Pipi threw a dagger into the last bear's temple, allowing Dick to leap onto its back and stab its neck until it fell dead in the snow.

Dick rescued Pipi from the Misty Mountains Berserkers and learned that the Bear Claw Tribe’s new [Manslayer] was preparing to invade the Northern Kingdoms with two thousand fighters. Pipi could not return to her defeated tribe, so Dick argued that she would have to help resist the coming invasion.

• Dick killed three [Misty Mountains Berserkers], completed the rescue quest, and earned energy points.
• Pipi held a dagger to Anson’s throat, but Dick persuaded her to lower it after Ruiwen prepared to attack her.
• Pipi revealed that she was the sole survivor of the Cat Claw Tribe, defeated by the Bear Claw Tribe.
• Pipi said the Bear Claw headman had become the new [Manslayer] and was leading a force of two thousand people toward the Northern Kingdoms.
• Dick told Pipi that she was now a traitor to the Misty Mountains and would need to join them in opposing the [Manslayer].