Recaps

Lynn rescued Vernon Roche from Jaeger's Gang after killing its members and finding Roche’s companions butchered. Back at The Spear Cave, Lynn offered Roche a job leading a special unit formed from half the beggars absorbed by the Syndicate.

• Lynn found Jager dead and collected several thousand Novigrad crowns in promissory notes.
• Lynn discovered Roche’s butchered companions in one barn and burned their bodies with the Igni Sign.
• Lynn freed Roche from a cage, and Roche learned that Lynn had killed Jaeger’s Gang alone.
• Lynn reassured Roche that his companions’ deaths were not his fault.
• Lynn and Roche returned to The Spear Cave, where Lynn offered him command of a special unit drawn from the Syndicate’s beggars.

Lynn met Sasha, the Doppler posing as Chappelle, who explained that Eternal Fire extremists were plotting against him after he curtailed their abuses. After verifying their crimes through the Syndicate, Lynn killed the extremists and finished his list of targets.

• Lynn visited Temple Isle and heard Sasha explain how his reforms had angered extremists within the Eternal Fire.
• Lynn offered to eliminate the extremists, and Sasha gave him their names after Lynn argued that doing so would protect Novigrad.
• Lynn gave the list to the Syndicate and asked Drake and her subordinates to verify the targets’ crimes and movements.
• After the Syndicate confirmed the evidence, Lynn spent two days killing the targets while disguising himself with Glamarye.
• Lynn killed the final target, burned the list, and reflected on how his speed helped him defeat or evade groups of enemies.

Lynn met Earl Mignole's Wife to learn about her connection to his teacher, Vesemir, and offered her a mastercrafted School of the Wolf steel sword. She revealed their past romance and ended the meeting still attached to the memories.

• Lynn arranged a meeting with Earl Mignole's Wife after learning she collected witcher items.
• Lynn showed her a mastercrafted School of the Wolf steel sword, and she offered him a purse of crowns, thinking he needed money.
• Earl Mignole's Wife asked Lynn about Vesemir, and he told her that Vesemir was his teacher and spent winters at the castle.
• Earl Mignole's Wife recounted meeting Vesemir in 1234, falling in love with him, and secretly spending nights together.
• Earl Mignole's Wife said her father issued a warrant for Vesemir and married her off, while Vesemir left his armor behind as the first piece in her collection.

Lynn promised the Countess that he would tell Vesemir about her and encourage him to visit Novigrad, then began preparing to return to Kaer Morhen with Geralt. When Yennefer arrived, Lynn gave Geralt silver jewelry to help him approach her, and Geralt hurried after her.

• Lynn asked the Countess whether she wanted to see Vesemir again, and she eagerly agreed.
• Lynn refused the Countess’s request to travel with him to Kaer Morhen, promising instead to tell Vesemir about her and urge him to visit Novigrad.
• In September 1251, Lynn told his companions to prepare to leave Novigrad and planned to begin training the seven children he had brought from Holopole.
• Lynn contacted Yennefer, who arrived by portal and went inside without acknowledging Geralt.
• Lynn handed Geralt Toussaint-style silver jewelry, and Geralt understood the hint and hurried after Yennefer.

Lynn welcomed Yennefer with a feast, but the gathering was interrupted when Tissaia arrived at the villa. After dinner, Tissaia asked Lynn what he truly thought of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, leaving the reason for her visit unexplained.

• Lynn prepared a welcome feast for Yennefer, and Regis, Dettlaff, and Syanna brought ingredients for the meal.
• As everyone ate, Lynn sensed powerful chaos magic outside and went to investigate with Geralt and the others.
• Lynn recognized Tissaia in the courtyard and invited her inside, where she greeted her former student Yennefer.
• Tissaia joined the feast and was impressed by Lynn's cooking.
• After dinner, Tissaia asked Lynn about the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, and Lynn questioned whether that was why she had come from Gors Velen.

Tissaia met Lynn to learn whether the witcher could become an ally and heard his warning that the Brotherhood of Sorcerers had become dangerously influential. Lynn challenged her belief that royal advisers stayed out of politics by recounting how Alzur ended Temeria’s Endless War.

• Tissaia learned from Triss about Lynn and sought him out before he left Novigrad to assess his potential as an ally.
• Lynn told Tissaia that the Brotherhood of Sorcerers was in a dangerous position and compared its influence to an adviser controlling Aretuza Academy.
• Tissaia argued that the Brotherhood’s royal advisers only advised kings on magical matters and did not take part in court politics.
• Lynn recounted the Six Years’ War, the succession crisis after King Abdank’s death, and the Endless War in Temeria.
• Lynn said the legendary sorcerer Alzur had brought the Endless War to an end.

Lynn argued that the Brotherhood of Sorcerers had become entangled in northern politics and offered Tissaia an alliance to protect Aretuza. He revealed a Thyssen family signet ring, leaving Tissaia shocked and warning her to keep their discussion secret.

• Lynn challenged Tissaia’s claim that the Brotherhood would not threaten the northern kings, citing sorcerers’ ties to rulers and political ambitions.
• Tissaia asked how Lynn knew so much, and he declined to reveal his sources.
• Lynn said Tissaia’s real priority was protecting Aretuza and offered to be its ally when turmoil came.
• Tissaia questioned whether Lynn had enough power to help, and Lynn revealed a signet ring bearing the Thyssen family crest.
• Tissaia recognized the ring, and Lynn urged her to keep their discussion secret to avoid making an enemy of the Thyssen family.

Lynn told Tissaia he planned to help Istredd Thyssen reclaim Kovir in exchange for land where witchers could live, and argued that witchers needed to abandon neutrality and fight for respect. He warned that mages’ pursuit of power would eventually endanger Aretuza Academy as well.

• Lynn explained that Istredd Thyssen was gathering allies to retake Kovir and had promised witchers territory there in return for Lynn’s help.
• Tissaia was shocked that Lynn intended to violate Alzur’s principle of neutrality and asked what had led him to accept.
• Lynn reasoned that Aretuza’s support could improve witcher mutations and potions, while a future Kovir territory could give the academy a safe refuge.
• Lynn challenged Tissaia to consider whether witchers’ centuries of sacrifice justified people exploiting and rejecting them.
• Tissaia said fairness had never existed, and Lynn replied that only fighting could earn respect and that witchers had to change to survive.
• Lynn warned that mages’ lust for power would bring about their own destruction and implicate Aretuza Academy.

Lynn persuaded Tissaia to visit Kaer Morhen and planned who would travel there with him as he worked to strengthen the witchers. Triss then confirmed that an old research notebook described how matching children’s constitutions to a witcher school could improve the Trial of the Grasses’ success rate.

• Tissaia asked to visit Kaer Morhen in winter, and Lynn welcomed her as a guest.
• Lynn arranged for Regis and Dettlaff to stay at an inn so Tissaia would not discover their identities.
• Lynn chose Tissaia, Yennefer, several witchers, Kasja, and seven street children to accompany him, while deciding not to make Kasja a witcher.
• Triss told Lynn she and Margarita had found a notebook documenting witcher mutation experiments from the Order of Witchers.
• Triss reported that matching children to suitable witcher schools could raise the Trial of the Grasses’ success rate by ten to twenty percent.

Lynn led a large party toward Kaer Morhen, teaching the children about family and avoiding settlements in Kaedwen because of the kingdom’s prejudice against nonhumans. When they spotted smoke and flames ahead, he decided to investigate and took Letho with him, leaving the others concealed in the woods.

• Lynn provided horses and stored the party’s supplies in his runic leather bag before they departed Novigrad for Kaedwen.
• During the journey through Redania, Lynn taught Kasja and the children that family would support them through anything.
• After entering Kaedwen, the party avoided towns and villages, and Lynn disguised himself with Glamarye to buy food in bulk.
• The party spotted smoke and flames ahead, and Lynn suspected the destruction might not have been caused by bandits.
• Lynn took Letho to scout the area while the rest of the party hid in the woods, instructing them to continue toward Kaer Morhen if the two had not returned by nightfall.

Lynn and Letho discovered that Kaedweni soldiers had massacred an elven village and were abusing the surviving villagers. After seeing the soldiers drive the elves into a line, Lynn decided to attack and rescue them, with Letho helping.

• Lynn and Letho hid in a wheat field as Kaedweni soldiers arrived at the ruined village.
• The soldiers searched the village and drove a dozen or so elven villagers outside, revealing that Kaedweni soldiers had attacked the settlement.
• Lynn told Letho they would stop the soldiers and rescue the elves, assigning Letho to guard the horses and prevent anyone from escaping.
• Lynn and Letho split up as the soldiers beat the villagers and forced them into a line.

Lynn and Letho ambushed and killed the soldiers who were terrorizing a village, then claimed their horses and salvageable equipment. The rescued villagers feared Lynn, leaving the witchers with their spoils but no gratitude from the people they had saved.

• Lynn emerged from the wheat field and killed the soldier guarding the horses before attacking the men threatening the villagers.
• Lynn fought through the soldiers with his sword and Aard, killing several and driving the survivors to flee.
• Letho ambushed the fleeing soldiers near the horses and killed them with his two short swords.
• A hidden crossbowman shot at Lynn, but Lynn cut the bolt in two and hurled the Gwyhyr into the man's forehead.
• Lynn retrieved his sword as the villagers stared at him fearfully, while Letho gathered the horses and considered the soldiers' equipment valuable salvage.

Lynn rescued a group of elven villagers from soldiers and warned them that the rest of the troops might return, so he led them away toward Kaer Morhen. Tissaia proposed taking them to Francesca Findabair, but Lynn privately rejected the idea because he feared she would turn them into Scoia’tael.

• Lynn reassured the surviving elves that he and Letho were witchers, then warned them the soldiers’ companions might come back.
• The elves asked Lynn to take them away, and he hurried them out without letting them return for their belongings.
• Lynn’s group reunited at the meeting point and continued toward Kaer Morhen with the elves.
• Tissaia suggested contacting Francesca Findabair to shelter the villagers, but Lynn said they could travel with the group for now.
• Lynn privately rejected Tissaia’s proposal because he believed Francesca would recruit the elves into the future Scoia’tael.

Lynn planned to recruit the elven refugees as loyal guards for Dudu, whose growing business could attract kidnappers. After traveling to Kaer Morhen, Lynn and Geralt reunited with Vesemir and found the castle restored, where Lynn asked whether Eskel and Lambert had returned.

• Lynn considered how the elves’ long lives and past caste system had limited their military strength, and decided their loyalty and potential suited his need for manpower.
• Lynn worried that Dudu’s expanding business would make him a target and planned to assign the elven refugees as his private guards.
• Lynn’s group traveled northeast for over half a month, reached the Gwenllech, and continued toward the Blue Mountains.
• The group saw Kaer Morhen restored as an imposing fortress, and Lynn credited the work to Yarpen, Zoltan, and the other dwarves.
• Lynn led everyone across the drawbridge into Kaer Morhen and greeted Vesemir alongside Geralt.
• Lynn noticed several horses in the stable and asked Vesemir whether Eskel and Lambert had returned.

Lynn brought his companions to Kaer Morhen, where Vesemir welcomed the guests and Lambert’s sharp tongue briefly sparked an argument. After settling in, Lynn rewarded Yarpen, Zoltan, and the other dwarves for their work, strengthening their ties.

• Vesemir told Lynn that Eskel and Lambert had returned the previous night but had gone hunting for meat.
• Lynn introduced Letho, Auckes, Serrit, George, Tissaia de Vries, and Yennefer of Vengerberg to Vesemir at Kaer Morhen.
• Vesemir invited everyone inside, and Yennefer questioned rumors that Kaer Morhen had fallen into decline.
• Lambert complained about Lynn bringing guests, argued with Vesemir, and apologized after Eskel persuaded him.
• Lynn praised the dwarves’ work, paid Yarpen, Zoltan, and the others their final payment, and gave them an extra reward.

Lynn asked Vesemir to help Tissaia and Yennefer research secondary mutation and to open the School of the Wolf’s sealed cellar to them. He also addressed Eskel and Lambert’s objections to creating new witchers, before Auckes raised a question, leaving the discussion unfinished.

• After dinner, Lynn gathered Vesemir, Eskel, Lambert, Tissaia, and Yennefer upstairs and explained why the sorceresses had come to Kaer Morhen.
• Lynn asked Vesemir to join the secondary mutation research and let the sorceresses examine the School of the Wolf’s Potion of the Grasses formula and equipment in the cellar.
• Vesemir agreed after Lynn vouched for Tissaia and Yennefer, but Lambert and Eskel objected to discussing the creation of new witchers without more care.
• Lynn promised that apprentices would volunteer and that he would not risk their lives until the Trial of the Grasses had been improved enough to raise its survival rate substantially, so Lambert and Eskel withdrew their objections.
• Auckes raised his hand and began to ask Lynn a question after glancing at Letho and Serrit.

Lynn addressed the School of the Viper’s fears that a growing number of witchers would have no work or income. He revealed that Istredd had promised him land in Kovir, leaving Letho, Serrit, and Auckes hopeful that the witchers could gain a territory of their own.

• Auckes voiced his concern that more witchers would compete for scarce contracts and become a burden on Lynn’s finances.
• Letho and Serrit shared Auckes’s worries, while Tissaia and Yennefer watched to hear Lynn’s answer.
• Lynn told the group that Istredd had promised him land in Kovir if he helped him.
• Geralt confirmed that he had joined the escort job and said he trusted Lynn’s belief that Istredd would keep his promise.
• Letho, Serrit, and Auckes imagined the witchers establishing a territory that could sustain them even if monster contracts disappeared.

Lynn secured Vesemir, Eskel, and the other witchers’ support for building a witcher school and training eight children, while Vesemir accepted Lynn’s decision to abandon neutrality. The chapter ended with Vesemir agreeing to visit Mignole in Novigrad.

• Vesemir warned Lynn that acquiring territory could invite Tissaia’s interference and urged him to establish a witcher school first.
• Lynn proposed that Vesemir, Eskel, and Lambert work with him, and Vesemir and Eskel agreed while Lambert hesitated.
• Lynn explained that Lambert would help teach eight children alongside witchers from several schools, and Lambert accepted the role.
• Vesemir privately told Lynn he supported his decision to oppose Alzur’s principle of neutrality and hoped witchers would earn the standing they deserved.
• Lynn told Vesemir that Mignole still remembered him and invited him to visit her in Novigrad, and Vesemir agreed.

The children began physical training at Kaer Morhen while Lynn learned archery and sought out the witcher schools’ secret teachings. Letho gave him the School of the Viper’s poison manual, whose Snake Eye formula led Lynn to question why the school had fallen into decline.

• The witchers began training the children with running, catalysts, and nourishing meals, while Vesemir avoided the harsh practices of an earlier grandmaster.
• Lynn taught archery to the rescued elves and studied the secret techniques of Letho, his companions, and George.
• Letho gave Lynn the School of the Viper’s Viper Poisoncraft notebook, which detailed poisons for humans, monsters, and other uses.
• Lynn read about Snake Eye, a poison invented by Ivar Evil-Eye to control its victims and replace the School of the Viper’s lost Axii Sign.
• Lynn wondered why the School of the Viper had declined despite Snake Eye’s potential, and considered how the school might have used it to gain influence without attracting the emperor’s attention.

Lynn learned that the School of the Viper could not make Snake-Eye Poison and began studying its poisoncraft alongside the School of the Griffin’s meditation method. He also trained the rescued elves in Phoenix Archery, who grew eager to serve him, and the chapter left him teaching them at an archery ground outside Kaer Morhen.

• Letho explained that the School of the Viper lacked the master-level poisoncraft and alchemy needed to prepare Snake-Eye Poison, and Lynn kept the notes for future study.
• George taught Lynn about the Griffin Meditation Method, its origins, and how it strengthened the School of the Griffin’s Signs, while warning that Lynn might see limited results starting late.
• Lynn accepted George’s warning and began studying Viper Poisoncraft and practicing the Griffin Meditation Method during the following days.
• Lynn taught the rescued elven civilians Phoenix Archery, and they trained hard and willingly offered to serve him.
• Lynn held the elves’ archery practice outside Kaer Morhen to keep missed arrows from endangering others.

Lynn investigated six Kaedweni soldiers spotted in the Blue Mountains and decided against killing them, instead planning to use Tissaia’s help to frighten whoever sent them. The soldiers were scouting for King Henselt, who sought to expand Kaedwen’s territory and secure access to iron.

• Lynn praised the elves’ archery practice and gave them food before Lambert summoned him back to Kaer Morhen.
• Lynn, Vesemir, Geralt, and Tissaia examined a crystal ball showing six Kaedweni soldiers riding through the snow.
• Lynn, Lambert, and Tissaia tracked the soldiers and watched them from a nearby hillside.
• Lambert proposed killing the soldiers, but Lynn sided with Tissaia and planned to deter their masters instead.
• The soldiers’ mission was revealed to be scouting for King Henselt, who wanted more land and iron resources for Kaedwen.

King Henselt sent Captain Kiusha and his riders into the snowbound Blue Mountains to scout for land, treating them as expendable. The riders found a remote cabin and a headless corpse that unnerved Kiusha, then took shelter as a blizzard swept in.

• King Henselt sent riders into the Blue Mountains to search for land beyond the peaks, despite the heavy snow.
• Captain Kiusha's riders found two cabins, put their horses in the stable, and discovered a headless young woman's corpse in the other building.
• Kiusha ordered the riders to carry the corpse outside and burn it after he felt something grab him and saw the dead woman's eyes.
• The riders returned to the cabin to eat and drink, then agreed they needed a fire to survive the night.
• A rider opened the door to gather firewood, but a blizzard rushed into the cabin.

Kiusha discovered that his companions and Roy had vanished without leaving tracks, and that the corpse they had tried to burn was gone. Terrified, he escaped the Blue Mountains and reached a village, where he demanded shelter, food, and bathwater from the village elder.

• Kiusha awoke to find that everyone except Roy had disappeared, and neither man could remember what had happened during the night.
• After waiting for the others to return, Kiusha ordered Roy to prepare the horses, but Roy vanished between the house and the stable.
• Kiusha searched the outdoor fire and found only half-burned wood, with no trace of the corpse.
• Kiusha fled the Blue Mountains on horseback, convinced that evil spirits had taken his companions.
• Kiusha reached a village and paid the village elder while requisitioning his house, bathwater, and food.

Kiusha was tormented by Tissaia’s concealed curse until he fainted, while Lynn learned how she planned to spread fear of the Blue Mountains among Kaedwen’s soldiers. Tissaia expected the curse to drive Kiusha away and leave King Henselt unable to persuade others to enter the mountains.

• Kiusha ate and bathed at the village elder’s cottage, then saw a headless woman in the water and accused the elder of leaving him with a ghost.
• That night, Kiusha hid beneath the bed as the headless woman searched the room, then fainted when she appeared above him.
• Lynn watched Kiusha’s ordeal outside the cottage and asked Tissaia what had happened to him.
• Tissaia explained that she had cursed Kiusha, that the curse would fade over time, and that he would leave the village the next morning.
• Tissaia said she would curse Kiusha’s released subordinates too, spreading fear through Kaedwen and discouraging future expeditions into the Blue Mountains.

Lynn helped Tissaia and Sabrina deter Henselt from advancing into the Blue Mountains, then spent two months studying and hunting monsters. After mastering Viper Poisoncraft and the Griffin Meditation Method, he gained new perks, and his mutated organs began changing again.

• Tissaia told Lynn she would use Aretuza’s influence and Sabrina’s debt to keep Sabrina from supporting Henselt.
• Tissaia spread cursed riders across villages near the Blue Mountains, and rumors of an evil spirit spread throughout Kaedwen.
• Sabrina pretended to investigate the haunting, then warned Henselt that confronting the powerful spirit could endanger northeastern Kaedwen, stopping his plans to advance north.
• Lynn studied Viper Poisoncraft and the Griffin Meditation Method while hunting monsters, accumulating 16 attribute points.
• Lynn raised Viper Poisoncraft to Master/Limit and gained the Lead-Lined Stomach perk, increasing his poison resistance by 100%.
• Lynn raised the Griffin Meditation Method to Master/Limit, gained the Magic Burst perk, and felt his mutated organs begin transforming again.