Chapter Summaries

Vesemir killed Atamont after Cevahir failed to teleport him to safety, then stood with the other witchers against Marquis Luitpold’s knights. Marquis Luitpold stopped the confrontation and addressed Geralt.

• Atamont called for Cevahir’s help, but she did not activate the ring, and Vesemir cut off his hand and broke his knee.
• Vesemir beheaded Atamont and crushed his skull as Marquis Luitpold’s knights arrived.
• Geralt, Eskel, Aiken, Paul, Horton, Winston, and Vesemir united against the knights, who prepared to attack.
• Marquis Luitpold ordered the knights to stand down, and Phoenix sheathed his sword.
• Marquis Luitpold greeted Geralt and noted that they had not met for nearly half a year.

Marquis Luitpold offered to clear the witchers’ names if they surrendered the person who killed Atamont, while hinting that he wanted the School of the Wolf in his service. Geralt and Eskel stood with Vesemir, but a report of rampaging golems in the fog forced Luitpold’s men to urgently seek the witchers’ help.

• Geralt recalled killing the cursed girl at Luitpold’s mine and admitted he had not forgotten how the marquis let him go.
• Luitpold said he had chosen to protect his mine rather than pursue Geralt, and offered to seek a fair verdict and clear the witchers’ names in exchange for their service.
• Vesemir understood that Luitpold wanted one person to answer for Atamont’s death, but Geralt and Eskel stepped forward to share responsibility with him.
• Vesemir and the other witchers prepared to fight when Luitpold refused to draw his sword and called them obstinate.
• A herald reported that Grafiakan golems had gone berserk in the fog, and Luitpold’s security officer urgently needed the witchers to help.

Vesemir accepted Marquis Luitpold’s commission to fight the golems while planning to use the mission to restore the School of the Wolf’s standing. A golem killed Cevahir’s former lover Atamont before a witcher killed Cevahir with her wolf medallion.

• Marquis Luitpold commissioned the witchers to deal with the rampaging golems, and Vesemir accepted.
• Vesemir told Paul and the others to prioritize saving people and make their fight against the golems look difficult but impressive.
• Cevahir watched Atamont’s image in a magic mirror and realized the emerald ring had dimmed.
• A golem wearing Grafiakan armor attacked Cevahir, revealed itself as Atamont, and confessed that he had killed Kai out of jealousy.
• A witcher strangled the golem, then picked up Cevahir’s wolf medallion and struck her in the face with it.

Arwen killed Cevahir and used Atamont’s ring to take control of the golems and cover up the marquis’s death. As the Grafiakan camp descended into chaos, he prepared to unleash the golems against the remaining knights.

• Arwen killed Cevahir and took the wolf-head medallion from his body.
• Arwen entered the Grafiakan camp under Illusory Mist Invisibility as the golems slaughtered the knights and attendants.
• Arwen discovered that Atamont’s bronze ring controlled the golems and contained rare space jade.
• Arwen erased Atamont’s mental imprint from the ring, read its instructions, and summoned a golem to smash Cevahir’s face and disguise his death.
• Arwen stored the dead golems in the ring and prepared to send the remaining golems toward the knights calling for the shieldmen to hold the line.

Marquis Luitpold's formation came under attack from golems, and Geralt intervened when one nearly killed the marquis. Geralt and Vesemir defeated the two golems, but Vesemir warned that the battle was still underway.

• The golems smashed through the shield formation, and Knight Commander Phoenix wounded one before it was magically empowered and knocked him from his horse.
• The empowered golem broke through the knights and knocked Marquis Luitpold from his horse, then reached for his neck.
• Geralt arrived in time to stop the attack and beheaded the golem.
• Vesemir used Aard to knock down the other golem and killed it with a stroke of his sword.
• Vesemir told Geralt that the battle was not over yet.

Geralt, Vesemir, and the other witchers fought alongside Luitpold’s knights to defeat the golems at Crow Ridge. After the victory, Luitpold apologized for his contempt and offered the witchers his friendship, while the knights honored their courage.

• Geralt and Vesemir entered the mist as Lady Freyja’s spell revealed the battlefield and the golems attacking the knights.
• Eskel killed a golem that had brought down a Grafiakan knight, then joined the other witchers as the golems turned on them.
• Knight Commander Phoenix urged Luitpold to act, and Luitpold led the Kaedweni knights in a charge that broke through the golems.
• The witchers and knights joined forces and killed the last golem, winning the battle.
• Oliver Grafiakan thanked Eskel for saving him, and Luitpold apologized to Geralt and offered the witchers his friendship as the knights saluted them.

Marquis Luitpold thanked Vesemir and the witchers, but the group then saw Ard Carraigh burning beneath a circling silhouette. In the besieged capital, King Miodrag helped the wounded witcher Holt and demanded to know where the sorcerers Euclid and Atamont were.

• Marquis Luitpold increased the witchers’ reward, promised to seek a ban on the anti-witcher pamphlet, and thanked Vesemir, who accepted.
• Grafiakan’s knights found Cevahir dead in her carriage and counted the many casualties that had crippled the family.
• A spearman spotted Ard Carraigh ablaze, with a black silhouette circling over the city.
• The fire consumed the capital through the night, and King Miodrag’s knights carried the burned witcher Holt into the palace.
• Miodrag searched Holt’s pouch and gave him a Swallow potion, after Holt had saved the king from a rampaging draconic lizard golem.
• Miodrag learned that Sorcerer George was holding off the golem and demanded that the chief justice tell him where Euclid and Atamont were.

Henselt reported that Wizard George had fled while a dracolizard attacked the palace, forcing Miodrag and the others to flee as the beast assaulted them. Arwen arrived and fought the dracolizard golem, cutting into its neck but taking a close-range claw strike as his protections shattered.

• Henselt told Miodrag that the army could not hit the dracolizard and that Wizard George had escaped through a portal.
• The dracolizard attacked the palace, and Miodrag carried Holt toward the cellar while Holt used a Quen Sign to shield them from its fireball.
• Arwen appeared outside the palace, drew his silver sword, and faced the dracolizard golem.
• Arwen used a silver chain to yank the airborne dracolizard to the ground, then attacked it with Whirling Blade.
• Arwen's fourth strike cut into the dracolizard's neck, but its claws tore through his cloak and shattered his Quen Sign before Draconid Scale appeared to absorb much of the blow.

Arwen fought the dracolizard golem and used Tor Zireael to overcome its fire beam and reclaim control from the resentment possessing it. The golem escaped into the clouds, while Arwen gained experience and advanced his Igni and Axii Signs.

• Arwen battled the dracolizard golem, enduring its attacks and countering its flames with Igni and Eerie Green Flame.
• The dracolizard golem unleashed an azure flame beam, but Arwen used a silver chain to force its aim toward the ground until the beam melted the chain.
• Holt threw Arwen the silver sword Tor Zireael, and Arwen used it to split the beam and strike the dracolizard golem.
• Arwen found the resentment inside the golem and used Axii, aided by Atamont's ring, to bind it and restore his mental imprint.
• The dracolizard golem flew into the dark clouds, and Arwen gained experience that raised his Igni and Axii Signs to level two.

Arwen rescued Holt in the palace and was ennobled by Miodrag as a royal knight and Baron of Kaedwen. The chief justice challenged the grant and accused Arwen of conspiring to cause the dracolizard golem’s rampage, prompting Miodrag to order an investigation into him.

• Arwen treated Holt with a Golden Oriole potion and a Healing Spell, then realized Holt had been pretending to be more injured than he was.
• Miodrag ordered the royal knights to stand down, introduced himself as King of Kaedwen, and asked Arwen for his name.
• Miodrag formally granted Arwen the rank of baron and the title of the Valiant, with his fief and rewards to be settled later.
• The chief justice objected to Arwen’s ennoblement, cited Monstrum, or a Description of the Witcher, and accused him of causing the dracolizard golem’s rampage.
• Miodrag ordered Henselt to place the chief justice under house arrest and investigate his correspondence with Ban Ard Academy of Magic.

Arwen told Miodrag that Atamont was behind the golem attacks and the death of Young Earl Grafiakan, while Miodrag promised justice. The nobles gathered in the Royal Knights' Hall to confront Euclid Croft over the golems, and the meeting fell silent as the king arrived.

• Henselt struck the chancellor, and Arwen reassured Miodrag that the damaged dracolizard golem was unlikely to return.
• Arwen told Miodrag about Atamont, prompting the king to condemn the killings and Ban Ard Academy of Magic's failure to protect the capital.
• A knight reported that Marquis Luitpold and the School of the Wolf witchers had helped Henselt subdue the remaining golems and secure Ard Carraigh.
• At the Brotherhood of Noble Gourmets' gathering, Rupert Mansfield blamed Euclid Croft for golems turning against Kaedwen's forces and losing territory to Aedirn.
• The nobles' argument stopped when the royal steward announced that the king had arrived.

Miodrag convened the Brotherhood of Noble Gourmets to investigate the rampaging golems and Atamont’s death, while Euclid accused a witcher of killing him. Freyja revealed a recording of Atamont discussing a plot against the Temple of Melitele, and Euclid turned the blame toward Luitpold and his subordinate.

• Miodrag asked Euclid to explain why Atamont’s golems had gone berserk, and Euclid said someone had removed their mental imprints and claimed Atamont was likely killed by foreign assassins.
• Luitpold said he had seen Atamont dead, and Finnegan reported that Lady Cevahir’s household was mourning, prompting Euclid to demand an investigation.
• Miodrag revealed that a witcher had killed Atamont, and Euclid called for the witcher’s arrest or execution as the nobles argued over what to do.
• Miodrag activated a dimeritium field beneath his chair to restrain Euclid, then asked Freyja to present evidence about Atamont and the Grafiakan affair.
• Freyja played a recording of Atamont discussing action against the Temple of Melitele and the book Monstrum, and Euclid demanded that Luitpold explain Viscount Jennings’s involvement.

Lady Freyja presented evidence proving Atamont had plotted against Young Earl Grafiakan, and King Miodrag held Euclid and Ban Ard Academy responsible for the resulting damage. After the king imposed penalties, Luitpold called for the witchers’ exoneration, but Euclid opposed it and demanded the witcher face charges.

• Lady Freyja revealed a mind-controlling dagger bearing Atamont’s coat of arms and showed a crystal-mirror image of Atamont fighting the witcher.
• Earl Finnegan and Earl Rupert condemned Atamont and Ban Ard Academy, while Miodrag confronted Euclid over Atamont’s crimes and the academy’s failure to defend the royal capital.
• Miodrag declared Atamont guilty and ordered Ban Ard Academy to compensate seventy percent of the golem uprising’s losses, accept a seventy-percent funding cut for fifty years, and undergo a royal investigation.
• Lady Freyja’s dagger released Steward Mitchell’s soul, whose appearance in Grafiakan’s colors further weakened Euclid’s arguments.
• Luitpold proposed abolishing Monstrum and restoring the School of the Wolf witchers’ innocence, but Euclid opposed the proposal and accused the witcher of murder.
• The marquis of the Lakeside March rose and warned Euclid to watch his words.

King Miodrag and the nobles debated the reputation of the School of the Wolf, with the Marquis of the Lakeside March and Earl Finnegan recounting how Geralt had helped their families reconcile. The nobles voted to abolish Monstrum, and Arwen arrived to hear the verdict in the feud between Atamont and the witchers.

• The Marquis of the Lakeside March and Earl Finnegan defended Geralt, recalling how he had helped Redfern Finnegan and Ludmila escape and reconcile their families.
• King Miodrag argued that Geralt had saved his life from the dracolizard golem, then called for a vote to restore the School of the Wolf's reputation.
• The nobles approved the motion, and Miodrag ordered Erikson to draft a decree abolishing Monstrum.
• Miodrag summoned Arwen, who entered the knights' hall and greeted the king and nobles.
• Miodrag told Arwen that the verdict in the feud between Atamont and the witchers had been reached.

Arwen secured Kaedwen’s recognition of the School of the Wolf, received a barony, and chose Kaer Morhen as his fief, naming it White Wolf Fief. He returned to the witchers with news that Monstrum was banned and their reputation restored, and they celebrated his new title.

• Miodrag sentenced the witchers to spend ten years opening Kaedwen’s frontier through monster hunts and related work, with the crown paying rewards for completed tasks.
• Arwen accepted the sentence and chose Kaer Morhen in the Blue Mountains as his fief; Miodrag ordered its registration and the names of the witchers at the fortress recorded.
• Arwen attended the banquet, made connections with the nobles, and later registered his domain, choosing a wolf’s head for his coat of arms and White Wolf Fief as its name.
• Arwen told Vesemir and the others that Atamont had been convicted, Monstrum had been banned, and the School of the Wolf’s reputation had been restored.
• Arwen revealed that he had become a baron, and Winston jokingly knelt to ask him to make him a knight.

Arwen explained to Vesemir why he accepted a barony from Kaedwen and described the favorable witcher contracts arranged by Miodrag. Miodrag later revealed to Erikson that he favored Arwen because he recognized him as Baldwin Thyssen’s son, while preparing to use the Atamont affair against the wizards and the usurpers in Hengfors.

• Vesemir questioned Arwen about accepting a barony that tied the witchers to Kaedwen, and Arwen said he needed royal support to protect Kaer Morhen and restore their reputation.
• Arwen told Vesemir that Miodrag had offered witchers ten-year contracts paying at least fifty crowns, easing Vesemir’s doubts about the arrangement.
• Miodrag told Erikson that he planned to use Atamont’s death to curb Ban Ard Academy’s influence and said Sabrina Glevissig would arrive from Aretuza to assist.
• Miodrag showed Erikson Tissaia de Vries’s letter recommending Arwen and explained that Arwen’s resemblance to Baldwin revealed his noble bloodline.
• Erikson realized that Arwen was Baldwin Thyssen’s son, and Miodrag privately anticipated that Baldwin’s family would help him confront the usurpers in Hengfors.

Ten days after leaving the royal capital, the witchers arrived at Holt’s manor in Ban Flyn, where Holt welcomed them and prepared a banquet. The chapter left them gathered in his drawing room, which also served as his collection room.

• The witchers entered Ban Flyn with Holt’s noble papers and traveled through its poor outer streets to his manor, Rocamadour.
• A magical bell summoned Jonathan, Holt’s steward, who welcomed Holt, Geralt, Vesemir, and the young witchers.
• Holt asked Jonathan to prepare rooms, food, and his treasured wines for a banquet.
• Vesemir teased Holt about living comfortably in his manor while Vesemir had been freezing at Kaer Morhen.
• Holt showed the group his alchemy room and led them into his drawing room, where he welcomed them to his collection room.

Arwen returned to Kaer Morhen and shared a lively banquet with the witchers after weeks of royal engagements. Vesemir reconciled with Holt by returning his old wolf-head medallion, and Holt was welcomed back to Kaer Morhen.

• The witchers admired the monster trophies as Arwen relaxed after days of noble banquets in the royal capital.
• Jonathan announced the feast, and Holt toasted the witchers before everyone ate and drank together.
• Aiken recounted Arwen’s victory over Cyclops Old Spearhead, while Eskel amused the group by imitating the Troll who had met Arwen on the road.
• Paul and the others urged Vesemir and Holt to drink, and the two old witchers argued over grievances from nearly forty years earlier.
• Vesemir gave Holt the wolf-head medallion he had once thrown away and invited him back to Kaer Morhen, and Holt embraced him in tears.

After the witchers settled into training and feasting at the unnamed manor, Elena arrived with a monster-hunting contract for a mine at Grey Rock Mountain. Vesemir and the others planned to return to Kaer Morhen, so Arwen agreed to take the job himself.

• Arwen and the others recovered the seven heroes' remains and placed them in coffins, choosing to let the heroes rest rather than control their golem bodies again.
• The witchers trained by day while Holt taught the School of the Cat's swordsmanship, and they enjoyed Anna's cooking at night.
• Elena Fiahra de Meso arrived and told Arwen that monsters at the Grey Rock Mountain mine had injured miners and halted work for ten days.
• Horton, Aiken, and Paul volunteered for the contract, but Vesemir insisted the young witchers would return to Kaer Morhen with him and Holt.
• Eskel and Geralt also said they would return to Kaer Morhen, so Arwen decided to take the Grey Rock Mountain contract himself.

Arwen accepted Holt’s silver sword, Tor Zireael, and learned that Holt planned to return to Kaer Morhen after their parting. While riding toward Grey Rock Mountain with Elena, Arwen heard that the wizard Euclid might seek revenge for Atamont’s death, then sensed an approaching presence in the snowy pines.

• Holt gave Arwen Tor Zireael and asked him to care for the sword, while Arwen recited the School of the Wolf’s words of wisdom.
• Holt told Arwen he would return to Kaer Morhen and recommended that he seek out his Western March contact, Timu Voronov, for information or work.
• Arwen and Elena set off for Grey Rock Mountain after saying farewell to the others.
• Elena warned Arwen that Euclid, headmaster of the Ban Ard Academy of Magic, resented him for killing Atamont and could attack through concealed means.
• Arwen stopped the group after noticing signs of something moving among the pines, drew Tor Zireael, and warned everyone to be careful.