Recaps

Lynn hunted down an Owlbear in the mine, using potions, alchemical bombs, and a bow to defeat it. He collected its head and useful materials, then left with his damaged silver sword and plans to have a grandmaster silver sword forged.

• Lynn tracked the Owlbear to the mine and prepared for the fight with potions, bombs, and other gear.
• Lynn ambushed the sleeping Owlbear, but his silver sword became stuck in its tough neck, so he abandoned it and leapt away from its claws.
• Lynn set the Owlbear on fire with Superior Dancing Stars and wounded it with Superior Grapeshot Bombs.
• Lynn retreated and shot at the slowed Owlbear with his Kovir longbow, then pulled his sword free after the beast was dead.
• Lynn cut off the Owlbear's head, extracted useful materials, and returned, deciding he needed a grandmaster silver sword forged.

Lynn returned from the forest with the Owlbear’s head and collected his payment from Dursley. He met Borch, a golden dragon traveling with his Zerrikanian guards Tea and Vea, and accepted Borch’s invitation to go to Novigrad.

• Dursley and the loggers debated whether to wait for Lynn or flee from the Owlbear.
• A stranger named Borch arrived with his guards, Tea and Vea, and criticized the loggers for abandoning the witcher they had hired.
• Lynn emerged from the forest dragging the Owlbear’s head and explained that the creature had been an Owlbear from the Conjunction of the Spheres.
• Lynn checked the purse Dursley gave him and confirmed it contained intact Novigrad crowns.
• Lynn recognized that Borch was the golden dragon Villentretenmerth, also known as Three Jackdaws.
• Borch invited Lynn to dine and stay at The Spear Cave in Novigrad, and Lynn accepted.

Lynn explained to Borch that he only hunted monsters that harmed people and would protect an intelligent dragon unless it threatened the innocent. Borch was impressed and remembered the names of Lynn’s teacher, Vesemir, and his friend, Geralt of Rivia.

• Three Jackdaws ordered an extravagant meal and tipped the serving girl generously.
• Lynn described how nobles usually kept a distance from common people and rarely treated them kindly.
• Borch asked whether Lynn would accept a contract to kill a true dragon, and Lynn said he would first consider its nature and actions.
• Lynn said he would warn a peaceful dragon but gladly hunt one that attacked villages and slaughtered the weak.
• Three Jackdaws praised Lynn’s answer and raised a toast after they finished eating.

Lynn accepted Three Jackdaws’ offer to escort him to Holopole, and the group began the long voyage by ship. When a suspicious vessel followed them, Lynn and Borch agreed to prepare for pirates.

• Three Jackdaws invited Lynn to escort him to Holopole, and Lynn accepted.
• Lynn, Borch, Tea, and Vea traveled from Novigrad’s harbor aboard a chartered merchant ship.
• The captain reported that a faster ship had been following them for five hours.
• Lynn advised treating the vessel as a pirate ship, and Borch offered to help defend the merchant ship.
• Borch asked Lynn about his experience with pirates, and Lynn suggested they rest before the expected battle.

Lynn joined the merchant ship’s crew on deck after a Nilfgaardian privateer revealed its flag and prepared to attack. He proposed a risky plan to counter its ballistae, and the captain ordered the crew to carry it out, while Lynn privately relied on Borch to intervene if things went wrong.

• Lynn went on deck and learned from the captain and Borch that the pursuing ship was a Nilfgaardian privateer armed with ballistae.
• The sailors panicked and considered surrendering, but Borch warned that capture could mean being worked to death in the mines.
• Borch proposed boarding the privateer, and Lynn laid out a plan to overcome its ranged advantage.
• The captain accepted Lynn’s plan and ordered the crew to carry it out despite their doubts.
• Lynn assured Borch he trusted him to step in if the plan failed, knowing Borch was a golden dragon.

Lynn’s merchant ship avoided the privateer’s flaming ballista bolts with a dangerous anchor-assisted turn, then rammed the enemy vessel. The captain, Borch, Tea, Vea, and the sailors boarded the privateer and began fighting its crew.

• Sir Henry Morgan ordered his crew to ready the ballistae and fire flaming bolts at the merchant ship.
• Lynn waited until the ships neared ballista range, then ordered Borch to throw the anchor and the helmsman to turn hard to starboard.
• The merchant ship swung around and charged the privateer as Borch took the helm and dodged its volley of bolts.
• The merchant ship rammed the privateer, and the captain led Borch, Tea, Vea, and the sailors in boarding it.
• The captain, Borch, Tea, and Vea cut down privateer crewmen as the sailors followed them into the fight.

Lynn used his masterful archery to help defeat Sir Henry Morgan’s privateers, and Tea killed their captain as he tried to escape. The surviving privateers surrendered, and the merchant captain began securing the ships and tending to the wounded while Lynn and his companions rested.

• Lynn fired arrows from the mast lookout, rapidly killing privateers and saving the merchant sailors.
• Sir Henry Morgan tried to escape, but Tea and Vea blocked him while Lynn’s arrows forced him to defend himself.
• Tea fatally struck Sir Henry Morgan while he caught one of Lynn’s charged arrows, and the remaining privateers surrendered.
• The merchant captain thanked Lynn and promised to buy him and his companions drinks when they reached the Duchy of the Curved Coast.
• Tea thanked Lynn for his help, and Borch asked whether Lynn was part elf because of his skill with a bow.

Lynn learned that Borch had been taught School of the Cat Swordsmanship by its founder, Gezras of Leyda, and asked Borch to teach it to him. After an unexpected encounter with Tea in his cabin, Lynn practiced against Borch and heard Borch clarify what he meant by Tea’s “skills.”

• Lynn asked Borch about the swordsmanship he had used, and Borch said Gezras of Leyda had taught him School of the Cat Swordsmanship after Borch saved him.
• Lynn asked Borch to teach him the style, and Borch spent the day explaining its distinctive techniques.
• That night, Lynn woke when Tea entered his cabin and grabbed her by the throat before recognizing her.
• Tea then pounced on Lynn, and the cabin went dark.
• The next day, Lynn sparred with Borch, who praised his progress and said he had meant Tea’s skills in bed.

Lynn reached Master-level School of the Cat Swordsmanship, greatly increasing his speed, and celebrated the sea voyage’s end with Borch and the sailors in Blaviken. As Lynn and his companions traveled toward Holopole, they found the bridge blocked by Caingorn guards demanding passes and encountered a melancholy bard beside the captain.

• In Blaviken, Lynn raised School of the Cat Swordsmanship to Master/Limit and gained the Swift as the Wind and Lightning specialty.
• Lynn tested his enhanced speed with Gwyhyr and concluded his swordsmanship might surpass Bonhart’s.
• The captain returned Borch’s fare, and the sailors celebrated their safe voyage with Lynn and Borch.
• The next morning, Lynn, Borch, Tea, and Vea left Blaviken and traveled north toward Holopole.
• Near Holopole, Lynn’s group found the bridge guarded by Caingorn soldiers who required passes to cross.
• Lynn’s group met the bridge captain and a melancholy bard, whose eyes met Lynn’s.

Lynn and his companions met the bard Dandelion at a guarded river crossing and learned that a dragon-slaying party had already crossed ahead of them. Dandelion began explaining the dragon’s appearance near Holopole, leaving Lynn curious about the hunt.

• Lynn recognized Dandelion, who knew of him through a portrait painted by his fellow student Marillion.
• Dandelion explained that King Niedamir of Caingorn had organized a dragon-slaying party and that it had crossed the river earlier.
• Borch offered food and ale to the captain, who still refused to let the travelers pass without a permit.
• Lynn asked Dandelion to explain the dragon-slaying business, and Dandelion began telling the story of a dragon seen near Holopole.
• Lynn questioned whether the creature might have been a gliding lizard, but Dandelion insisted he had seen a real dragon.

Dandelion told Lynn and a gathered crowd how Holopole tried to poison a green dragon, which survived and escaped despite being badly weakened. Lynn deduced that the dragon was hiding nearby and that the bridge had been sealed to block the route to it.

• Dandelion described the green dragon attacking sheep and washerwomen near Holopole.
• He recounted how Kozoyed and the townspeople laced a sheep with poison and used it as bait.
• The dragon ate the poisoned sheep, became gravely ill, and drank the blood of a gravedigger and a village idiot before escaping.
• Lynn reasoned that the dragon had survived and was hiding nearby, and guessed that the bridge was sealed because it lay on the route to its hiding place.

Lynn and Dandelion discussed King Niedamir’s dragon hunt and his ambitions to claim the Duchy of Malleore. Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the sorcerer Dorregaray, who believed monsters should be protected.

• Dandelion explained that Niedamir had blockaded the bridge to keep rivals from reaching the poisoned dragon and its treasure.
• Dandelion revealed that Deidre had died during a plague, Mayena had died in a hunting accident, and Mayena’s son Niedamir had become king.
• Dandelion said Niedamir hoped to claim Malleore by presenting the dragon’s head, as its nobles had tied the ducal crown and princess’s hand to defeating a dragon.
• Dandelion admitted he missed the expedition after spending the night with a young widow, while Niedamir’s party took Kozoyed and the Holopole militia without him.
• Three Jackdaws announced the girls’ return, and Lynn and Dandelion saw them arrive with Dorregaray, a sorcerer devoted to protecting monsters.

Lynn and his companions were stopped on the bridge while the dragon hunt drew travelers toward Holopole, but Lynn refused to join because he believed the poisoned dragon had not deserved to be hunted. After the group rode away, Borch told Lynn he was ready to reveal his true identity.

• Lynn, Dandelion, and Borch introduced themselves to Dorregaray and shared food and drink with the bridge guards.
• The captain refused to let the travelers cross without a pass, so Lynn said they would turn back and reach Holopole by way of Hengfors City.
• Dandelion urged Lynn to pursue the dragon for fame and treasure, but Lynn said he was focused on his bodyguard commission and believed the dragon had acted in self-defense.
• Dorregaray apologized for doubting Lynn, and Lynn accepted before the group said farewell and rode away.
• Once the bridge was out of sight, Borch told Lynn he would reveal his true identity by showing him directly.

Borch revealed that he was Villentretenmerth, a golden dragon, and explained why he had tested Lynn before asking him to help protect the poisoned dragon Myrgtabrakke. Lynn accepted Borch’s offer of half the treasure from Myrgtabrakke’s lair, and they prepared to travel there together.

• Borch transformed into his true form, a golden dragon named Villentretenmerth, and asked Lynn whether he wanted to hunt him for his scales and head.
• Lynn said he only eliminated necessary evils, and Borch apologized for testing him and concealing his identity.
• Borch explained that Myrgtabrakke had summoned him to help drive away the forces threatening her, and that he had invited Lynn along to learn what kind of person he was.
• Borch asked Lynn to help and protect Myrgtabrakke, offering him half the treasure from her lair as compensation.
• Lynn accepted Borch’s offer and agreed to go with him.

Lynn rode with Borch to the Kestrel Mountains to help the pregnant dragon Myrgtabrakke, whose weakened magic had forced her to reveal herself and attack sheep. Myrgtabrakke let Lynn enter her lair after learning he was Vesemir’s pupil and recalling that she had once been Vesemir’s lover.

• Lynn required Borch to agree that Myrgtabrakke would follow his instructions, and Borch sent Tea and Vea to hide with their tribespeople near the mountains.
• Borch carried Lynn to a concealed cave entrance in a canyon at the foot of the Kestrel Mountains and led him inside.
• Borch explained that he and Myrgtabrakke had once been lovers, but he had fled when she asked him to become her husband; her pregnancy had weakened her ability to take human form.
• Myrgtabrakke confronted Borch and questioned why he had brought a witcher, so Lynn explained that he only killed monsters that harmed people.
• Myrgtabrakke revealed that she had once been Vesemir’s lover and tested Lynn by asking about Vesemir’s supposed eyepatch.
• Lynn denied that Vesemir or any surviving Wolf School witcher wore an eyepatch, and Myrgtabrakke allowed him and Borch to come farther into her lair.

Lynn and Borch reached Myrgtabrakke’s lair, where Lynn gave Borch Superior White Honey to cure the poisoned green dragon. While Borch treated Myrgtabrakke, Lynn bonded with her baby dragon, and the chapter ended with Myrgtabrakke thanking him and apologizing for doubting him.

• Lynn and Borch found Myrgtabrakke gravely ill on a vast hoard of gold, with her baby dragon sheltered by her tail.
• Lynn gave Borch Superior White Honey and explained that it could neutralize the poison afflicting Myrgtabrakke.
• Lynn left the cavern while Borch treated Myrgtabrakke, and the baby dragon followed him into the passage.
• Lynn picked up the baby dragon and soothed her until she fell asleep in his arms.
• Borch called Lynn back, where Myrgtabrakke—now in human form—said the potion had neutralized most of the poison and apologized for suspecting him.

Lynn divided Myrgtabrakke’s treasure between himself, Borch, and the shepherds whose sheep she had killed. When Myrgtabrakke asked for help against an approaching dragon-slaying party, Lynn proposed avoiding a fight by leaving her hidden lair before the attackers found it.

• Borch vouched for Lynn, and Myrgtabrakke offered him half the treasure she had given Villentretenmerth.
• Lynn asked Myrgtabrakke to reserve part of the treasure to compensate the shepherds for their lost sheep.
• Myrgtabrakke agreed to let Lynn and Borch decide how to distribute the treasure, and Lynn divided it into portions for himself, Borch, and the shepherds.
• Myrgtabrakke told Lynn and Borch that armed humans were approaching and asked for help dealing with them.
• Borch offered Lynn another reward and a position in Zerrikania if he helped Myrgtabrakke.
• Lynn proposed that Myrgtabrakke leave her lair before the attackers discovered it, since the treasure had already been distributed.

Lynn persuaded Myrgtabrakke to leave the Kestrel Mountains and return to Zerrikania with Borch, avoiding a battle with the dragon-slaying party. After parting ways with them, Lynn traveled to Holopole, where hungry children watched him eat at an inn.

• Lynn warned Myrgtabrakke and Borch that news of Zerrikanians fighting alongside dragons could bring invasions from the north and south, and urged Myrgtabrakke to flee to Zerrikania with her child.
• Myrgtabrakke agreed to leave her lair with Borch, Tea, and Vea, and the group met the Zerrikanians waiting at the foot of the mountains.
• Borch offered Lynn a finely crafted Dragon Horn, and Lynn accepted it before parting from Borch, Tea, Vea, and Myrgtabrakke.
• Lynn rode Nidhogg to Holopole and learned from a militiaman that the dragon-slaying party had not returned yet.
• Lynn settled into the city's best tavern room for dinner, where the landlady chased away ragged children who stared at his food.

Lynn stayed in Holopole while waiting for the dragon-hunting party to return, taking in eight orphaned children as subordinates. He tracked down Yennefer and gained an audience with her, leaving her surprised to learn that Triss had sent him.

• Lynn paid the landlady to feed the street children and alert him when the dragon-hunting party returned.
• Lynn offered the orphaned children a place as his subordinates and arranged rooms for all eight.
• After the party returned, Lynn learned that Yennefer was staying in Holopole and went to her rented house.
• When the doorman refused to let him in, Lynn knocked him unconscious with a coin pouch and used his key to enter.
• Yennefer confronted Lynn with floating weapons, then invited him upstairs after he said he had important news.
• Yennefer asked how Lynn knew her name, and Lynn told her that Triss had told him.

Lynn asked Yennefer to help refine the second witcher mutation at Kaer Morhen and offered her a child in return. Yennefer reacted with dangerous magical force, and Lynn explained that he knew she wanted to regain her fertility and had joined the dragon hunt to fund an operation.

• Yennefer wondered whether Triss’s interest in Lynn stemmed from their old rivalry, then asked why he had come.
• Lynn invited Yennefer to Kaer Morhen for the winter to study Moreau’s notes and improve the second mutation.
• Yennefer warned Lynn not to make promises he could not keep after he claimed he had an offer she could not refuse.
• Lynn offered to give Yennefer a child, prompting her to unleash her magic and threaten him.
• Lynn told Yennefer he knew she wanted to restore her fertility and believed she had joined the dragon hunt to pay for the operation.

Lynn convinced Yennefer that his prophecy about her future bond with Ciri was genuine enough to consider, and she agreed to visit Kaer Morhen under conditions. She demanded Moreau’s notes and funding for new experimental equipment, leaving Lynn silent over the cost.

• Lynn told Yennefer that Ciri would become her beloved child despite sharing no blood with her.
• Yennefer ended her magical attack, repaired the damaged room, and agreed to visit Kaer Morhen if Lynn met her conditions.
• Yennefer demanded Moreau’s notes, and Lynn handed her a handwritten copy of the original.
• Yennefer requested at least two thousand orens for new experimental equipment and warned that later research would require more funding.
• Yennefer assumed Lynn could not afford the equipment and considered reviewing the notes despite the lack of experimental data.

Lynn gave Yennefer five thousand Orens to research and improve the Secondary Mutation, then brought seven children back to Novigrad to train as witcher apprentices. He left one boy behind by choice and ended the chapter wondering whether Triss was angry after she failed to answer his message.

• Lynn gave Yennefer five thousand Orens and arranged to meet her in Novigrad before traveling together to Kaer Morhen.
• Lynn let Xiaopang stay at the tavern and gave him some coins after the boy chose to work in the kitchen instead of following him.
• A month later, Lynn returned to Novigrad with seven children from Holopole and entrusted them to Letho, George, and the others for training.
• Lynn told the witchers to make the apprentices' training less inhumane and to treat their companions with care.
• Lynn tried to contact Triss through the communication box, but she did not respond, leaving him to wonder if she was angry.

Lynn reunited with Triss after months without contact, and they spent time together at his villa. Before returning to Vizima, Triss agreed to ask Aretuza whether a child’s constitution matching a witcher school could improve the odds of surviving that school’s Potion of the Grasses.

• Triss appeared through a portal, kissed Lynn, and reproached him for failing to keep in touch.
• Lynn explained that he had met Yennefer to seek help deciphering Moreau’s notes on secondary mutation, and Triss understood why he had not asked her.
• Lynn gave Triss hunting clothes he had bought in Toussaint, and she tried them on for him.
• Lynn and Triss spent another day and night together before she returned to Vizima.
• Lynn asked Triss to consult Aretuza about whether a child’s constitution could improve their chances of surviving a school’s Potion of the Grasses.

After learning that Jaeger's Gang had captured Vernon Roche, Lynn rode to their remote base outside Novigrad to rescue him. He scouted the abandoned farm, then approached openly as the gang's guards spotted him.

• Dudu increased the assets he managed for Lynn by nearly forty percent, while Tyensail's smithy continued at a steady pace and the Syndicate expanded in Novigrad.
• Drake told Lynn that Jaeger's Gang worked for city councilor Jager and had captured Vernon Roche and several companions after they tried to rescue a kidnapped girl.
• Lynn learned that Roche and the others were likely being held at Jaeger's Gang's abandoned farm outside the city.
• Lynn rode Nidhogg through the Hierarch Gate and found the farm after more than forty minutes.
• Lynn tethered Nidhogg, scouted the farm, and then walked toward it in plain sight as guards Sam and another gang member noticed him.

Lynn attacked Jager’s farmhouse gang, killing its members with arrows, alchemical bombs, and his sword. After Jager tried to shoot him with a crossbow, Lynn caught the bolt and threw it back, killing Jager as well.

• Lynn approached the farmhouse and killed Sam and the gang members guarding the fence with arrows.
• Lynn used Superior Dancing Stars and Gwyhyr to slaughter the gang members who rushed out of the farmhouse.
• Jager ordered his crossbowmen to shoot Lynn, but they struck their own men while Lynn killed the remaining attackers.
• Lynn shot the crossbowmen inside the farmhouse through a window, while Jager escaped the arrows by dropping to the floor.
• Jager loaded a crossbow and fired at Lynn, who caught the bolt and threw it back, killing Jager.