Recaps

Lynn and the witchers shared stories over dinner before they heard someone arrive at Kaer Morhen. Lynn recognized the unconscious visitor as Berengar and called off the alarm.

• Lynn recounted how he and the others had guarded a caravan, and Yarpen praised Lynn's bravery against the elven commandos.
• Lambert and Eskel discussed their past experiences, and Eskel's scar briefly cast a gloom over the gathering before Lambert lifted his spirits.
• Vesemir and the witchers sensed someone approaching, armed themselves, and split up while the dwarves fell silent.
• Lynn and Lambert rushed outside after hearing something fall and found an unconscious witcher beside a horse.
• Lynn recognized the man as Berengar and told Lambert to lower his sword while Eskel informed Vesemir the alarm was over.

Lynn and Vesemir treated Berengar’s severe monster-inflicted wounds, and he recovered enough to rest safely. The next morning, Geralt learned that Lynn had spent the witchers’ earnings on repairs to Kaer Morhen, while Lynn hinted that the castle would not remain deserted.

• Lynn and Vesemir cleaned and treated Berengar’s wounds with Superior White Raffard’s Decoction and Superior White Honey Potion, then left him to recover.
• Yarpen and the dwarves offered to clean the hall, and Lynn returned to his room after leaving water by Berengar’s bed.
• Geralt returned during the night and asked Lynn why dwarves were measuring the castle.
• Lynn explained that he had hired the dwarves to repair Kaer Morhen, and Geralt questioned spending their earnings on the ruins.
• Lynn warned Geralt not to criticize the castle around Vesemir and said it would be less deserted in the future, but Geralt thought he was joking.

Lynn brought Berengar food and offered him work forging swords at a smithy in Novigrad, hoping to give him a life beyond the prejudice he faced as a witcher. Berengar woke and asked whether Lynn’s offer was real.

• Lynn and Geralt ate breakfast and discussed Berengar’s return to Kaer Morhen.
• Lynn considered why Berengar hated being a witcher and had stayed away from home.
• Lynn brought Berengar his meal, redressed his wound, and recognized that he was pretending to sleep.
• Lynn offered to handle the costs and paperwork for a Novigrad smithy if Berengar would forge swords there.
• Berengar sat up despite his wound and asked Lynn whether the offer was true.

Lynn persuaded Berengar to open a smithy in Novigrad with his backing, then recruited Geralt and the other witchers to clear monster nests near Kaer Morhen. The work began with a growing team as they discovered the Blue Mountains were crowded with monsters.

• Lynn offered to arrange a smithy for Berengar in Novigrad and assured him he did not judge him for leaving a witcher's duties.
• Berengar agreed to work with Lynn, proposing a thirty-percent share, but Lynn insisted they split the profits equally and promised to cover the costs.
• Lynn reflected that Berengar could eventually teach apprentices and help build a broader rebellion beyond a force of warriors.
• On their second day at Kaer Morhen, the dwarves began working, and Lynn took Geralt into the Blue Mountains to clear monster nests.
• Lynn and Geralt found monster nests throughout the mountains and recruited Eskel and Lambert to help, with both joining the hunt.

After helping Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert clear the monsters around Kaer Morhen, Lynn took Geralt to meet the trolls and won their friendship with harpy meat, a home-cooked meal, and beer. The trolls promised to help the witchers if they ever ran into trouble.

• The witchers cleared the monster nests near Kaer Morhen and burned the remains and belongings of the siege dead, freeing the wraiths trapped in a ruined tower.
• After a week, Lynn asked Geralt to accompany him somewhere alone, and they headed to the trolls' mountain.
• Lynn persuaded the rock troll guarding the mountain to take them to the trolls' cave camp, assuring him that Geralt was a friend.
• Lynn gave the three trolls the harpy carcasses he had stored in his magic-patterned leather bag and cooked some over an Igni fire.
• Lynn brought out Redanian beer, and the trolls shared a meal with the witchers before promising to help them if they ever needed it.

As Kaer Morhen’s repairs continued, Lynn, Geralt, and Berengar left for Novigrad, and Geralt explained that he had promised to take a task from Carolina Roberta, the duchess of Toussaint. Lynn and Geralt joked about the assignment while Berengar remained grim and distant.

• Lynn continued building a relationship with the trolls while the witchers and dwarves repaired Kaer Morhen.
• By mid-February, the castle’s repairs had progressed, and Vesemir, Eskel, and Lambert stayed behind to oversee the dwarves’ work.
• Lynn, Geralt, and Berengar left Kaer Morhen together, with Berengar following Lynn after agreeing to join him.
• Lynn invited Geralt to come to Novigrad, but Geralt declined because he had promised someone a task the previous year.
• Geralt told Lynn that Carolina Roberta, the duchess of Toussaint, had given him the task, and the two joked about finding her granddaughter a prince.
• Lynn noticed Berengar’s stiff expression and teased him when his forced laugh failed to match their good mood.

Lynn and Geralt discussed the contract to investigate Duchess Caroberta’s coma before traveling with Berengar to Novigrad. The chapter ended with Geralt heading to the Passiflora while Lynn gave him gold to cover his expenses.

• Geralt told Lynn that a knight-errant had offered him a contract to investigate Duchess Caroberta’s coma after an assassination attempt, and Lynn wondered whether court politics were involved.
• Geralt explained that he had postponed accepting the contract and planned to meet the knight-errant in Midcopse, in Velen.
• A month later, Lynn, Geralt, and Berengar arrived in Novigrad, where Lynn told the others to wait at his villa while he visited Vivaldi Bank.
• Geralt asked Lynn for directions to the city’s best brothel, and Lynn pointed him toward the Passiflora near St. Gregory’s Bridge.
• Lynn tossed Geralt a pouch of gold crowns so he would not have to work off debts before they left Novigrad.

Lynn reunited with Kasja in Novigrad and arranged to buy a villa from Vimme Vivaldi, who also promised to protect Kasja and the house. Lynn enlisted Vimme to find a lower-city shop for a smithy and agreed to buy its raw materials from him at a discount.

• Kasja eagerly reunited with Lynn, who apologized for staying away and promised to bring her to Kaer Morhen for the winter.
• Lynn thanked Vimme for caring for Kasja and asked after Yarpen, Zoltan, and the other dwarves.
• Lynn bought Vimme's villa at the agreed price, paying with elven gold coins.
• Vimme offered to guard Lynn's house and Kasja for free while Lynn was away.
• Lynn asked Vimme to find a suitable lower-city shop for a smithy, and they agreed that Vimme would supply its raw materials at a ten percent discount.

Lynn welcomed Geralt back to his villa, explained that he would not risk putting Kasja through the Trial of the Grasses, and reunited with Triss, who brought him a translated elven military manual. After studying the Phoenix Guard’s archery techniques and practicing them, Lynn mastered Phoenix Archery and prepared to continue his journey.

• Geralt returned to Lynn’s villa, where Kasja greeted him and helped put away his swords before he shared dinner with Lynn and Berengar.
• Lynn told Geralt he would teach Kasja martial skills but would not make her undergo the dangerous Trial of the Grasses.
• Triss visited Lynn and gave him her translation of an Elder Speech notebook, then spent the night with him.
• Lynn read the notebook and discovered it contained a Phoenix Guard drill manual describing advanced elven archery techniques.
• Kasja quietly brought Lynn tea and pastries while he studied the manual through the night, and he concluded he would need to practice to unlock its skill.
• Lynn bought a hunting bow and arrows, practiced in the courtyard, and used his attribute points to raise Phoenix Archery to mastery.

Lynn left Novigrad with Geralt after Triss gave him a fine Fadlan-wood longbow, and the two traveled to Velen to meet a knight from Toussaint. In Midcopse, they learned that Maksymilian Norrington Maclnory had recruited Geralt to help save the duchess, while the villagers seemed frightened of the knight himself.

• Triss gave Lynn a master-crafted Fadlan-wood longbow before he left Novigrad with Geralt.
• Lynn and Geralt crossed into impoverished Velen and rode south toward Midcopse Village.
• Geralt and Lynn arrived in Midcopse and found Maksymilian addressing fearful villagers about fighting bandits.
• Maksymilian recognized Geralt, welcomed Lynn as another witcher, and said their help could save the duchess.
• Lynn followed Geralt and Maksymilian into a spacious house and noticed the villagers feared the knight rather than trusting him.

Lynn and Geralt accepted Maksymilian's request to investigate the curse keeping Duchess Carolina Roberta unconscious, then agreed to help him confront the bandits terrorizing a village. When the bandits arrived, their leader appeared to surrender but instead offered the witchers a commission.

• Maksymilian told Lynn and Geralt that Duchess Carolina Roberta had been attacked and remained unconscious, and that even the court mages could not lift the suspected curse.
• Lynn and Geralt accepted the job after Maksymilian promised a reward and assured them they would not be blamed if they failed.
• Maksymilian explained his oath to bring five hundred criminals to justice and asked Lynn and Geralt to help him drive away the village bandits.
• The three prepared for battle, then confronted the bandits when they raided the village the next day.
• Maksymilian identified himself and the two witchers, demanded the bandits surrender, and their leader pretended to yield before asking the witchers to accept a commission.

Lynn, Geralt, and Maksymilian wiped out a bandit gang in Velen, then continued south toward Toussaint. After reaching the Principality of Maribor, they lost their way under Maksymilian’s guidance.

• The bandit chief offered Lynn and Geralt payment to kill Maksymilian, but Lynn refused and the bandits attacked.
• Lynn, Geralt, and Maksymilian killed the bandits, and Lynn shot the fleeing chief from nearly four hundred meters away.
• Geralt explained that Velen’s villagers feared armed strangers as much as bandits, and Maksymilian left without receiving their thanks.
• The three traveled through Brenna and headed toward Dillingen, planning to continue south by barge toward Toussaint.
• Maksymilian admitted that he did not know where they were or which way to go.

Lynn, Geralt, and Maksymilian encountered a mysterious figure in an ancient graveyard, which turned out to be the barber-surgeon Regis rather than a Wraith. Regis introduced himself, while Lynn recognized him as a higher vampire.

• Lynn and Geralt reassured Maksymilian that the old graveyard was unlikely to contain monsters.
• Maksymilian spotted a dark shape by a headstone and insisted it was a ghost.
• Lynn and Geralt approached the headstone while Maksymilian stayed behind, and they noticed the scent of herbs.
• Regis emerged from behind the headstone, apologized for frightening them, and introduced himself as a barber-surgeon from Dillingen.
• Lynn recognized Regis as a higher vampire, and Geralt asked why he was in the graveyard.

Regis invited Lynn, Geralt, and Maksymilian to his hidden cottage after meeting them in the cemetery, where he served them his mandrake liquor. The group shared drinks and Lynn’s roast meat, leaving them as guests at Regis’s cottage.

• Regis explained that he gathered herbs in the cemetery each summer and invited the others to spend the night at his nearby cottage.
• Regis showed the group his cottage and its elaborate alchemical equipment, which Lynn recognized as a still and related apparatus.
• Maksymilian tasted Regis’s mandrake distillate, praised it, and poured some for Lynn and Geralt.
• Regis declined to drink, explaining that he avoided stimulating beverages as a matter of principle.
• Lynn shared roast meat from his runic leather pouch, and Regis praised his cooking.

Lynn told Geralt, Maksymilian, and Regis the tragic ending of Eddard Stark’s story, then Regis agreed to join their journey to investigate the unconscious duchess’s suspected poisoning. The party traveled south through Sodden toward Rivendell Valley, where they found the land deserted amid competing royal claims and elven raids.

• Lynn finished recounting Eddard Stark’s execution, prompting Maksymilian to curse, Geralt to fall silent, and Regis to reflect on the story’s unexpected turn.
• Maksymilian described the duchess’s condition to Regis, who suspected poison and agreed to join the party to investigate.
• Lynn reassured Maksymilian that Regis’s expertise would help, and Maksymilian resolved to have bards sing of the witchers’ deeds.
• The party left the cottage after a night of drinking and traveled by barge through Sodden, later buying Regis a horse in Kagen.
• As they rode toward Rivendell Valley, Regis and Lynn explained that rival kingdoms’ claims and elven commandos had left the fertile region deserted.

Lynn, Geralt, Regis, and Maksymilian crossed Rivendell Valley and the Amell Mountains to reach Theodula Pass in Toussaint. There, they reunited with Captain Damien de la Tour, who learned that Maksymilian had brought three witchers and Regis with him.

• Regis repeatedly guided the party through Rivendell Valley, using his mist form to scout their route.
• After five days in the wilderness, the party emerged from Rivendell and began crossing the Amell Mountains toward Mount Gorgon.
• They rode through the beech and spruce forests, followed the Neve and Sansretour rivers, and reached Theodula Pass.
• Captain Damien de la Tour welcomed Maksymilian and met Geralt, Lynn, and Regis.

Damien de la Tour asked Lynn and Geralt to investigate the disappearances plaguing Toussaint, and the witchers discovered scavengers disturbing a crime scene. The scavengers revealed they had fled from Nazair, leaving Maksymilian to recognize the likely cause of their hardship.

• Damien de la Tour explained that hundreds had gone missing in Toussaint and asked Lynn and Geralt to inspect a recent crime scene.
• Lynn and Geralt noticed the site had not been guarded and charged ahead with their steel swords.
• The witchers found scavengers rummaging through a covered wagon and its cargo, and Damien ordered his soldiers to pursue them.
• Damien accused the captured scavengers of being outsiders, and Maksymilian warned them they could be hanged as bandits if they refused to answer.
• The scavengers' leader said they had fled from Nazair, and Maksymilian recognized the name as a conquered province of Nilfgaard.

Maksymilian recognized the scent on a scrap of cloth from the attack as rose wine made only at Castel Ravello Vineyard, connecting the trail to Philibert Witten. He decided to gather nearby knights and confront him at the vineyard.

• Maksymilian recognized the scavengers as surviving members of Nazair’s Grand National Army, and urged Damien not to kill them.
• Lynn and Geralt found a scrap of knightly cloth on the wagon and detected the scent of wine on it.
• Lynn asked Maksymilian and Damien to find a professional wine taster to identify the wine.
• Maksymilian recognized the scent as rose wine from Castel Ravello Vineyard, once owned by the Macklin family and now held by Philibert Witten.
• Maksymilian told Damien he would summon nearby knights and go with them to Castel Ravello Vineyard to demand an accounting.

Maksymilian's brother knights joined the group at Theodula Pass, and the knights and ducal guards traveled to Castel Ravello Vineyard to confront Sir Filibert Witten. After the knights disagreed over whether to attack or offer Witten a chance to surrender, Lynn proposed a two-sided approach and set out with Geralt to circle behind the estate.

• Palmerin de Launfal, Milton de Peyrac-Peyran, and Renauld de Bois-Fresnes arrived at Theodula Pass and explained that Earl Raymond had sent them to find Lebioda's holy remains to save Duchess Caroberta.
• Maksymilian asked Lynn and Geralt to help with the raid, and Geralt agreed.
• The knights-errant and Damien's ducal guards traveled under cover of darkness to Castel Ravello Vineyard.
• Maksymilian and Palmerin argued that Sir Filibert Witten should be given a chance to defend himself, while Damien insisted that Witten's crimes could not be excused.
• Lynn proposed that Damien call on Witten from the front while Lynn and Geralt circled around to attack from behind if negotiations failed.

Maksymilian and Damien confronted Philibert at Castel Ravello Vineyard over the disappearances, but Philibert denied the accusations and refused a search. He demanded a trial by combat against Maksymilian.

• Bandits at Philibert’s vineyard learned that a large force had arrived and feared the knights-errant had uncovered their crimes.
• Philibert ordered his men to hide with crossbows and prepare an ambush, then rode out to meet the visitors.
• Maksymilian showed Philibert a rose-wine-stained scrap of cloth found on an attacked wagon, but Philibert dismissed it and accused Maksymilian of ingratitude.
• Palmerin asked to search the estate, and Damien asserted his authority under Earl Raymond’s orders when Philibert refused.
• Philibert invoked his loyalty to the duchess and demanded a trial by combat, naming Maksymilian as his opponent.

Maksymilian defeated Philibert in a trial by combat, but Philibert’s bandits ambushed the group before Lynn and the others killed them and rescued the captives. After the survivors learned Philibert had sold people into slavery to fund his pursuit of Luciana, the group celebrated their victory and mourned their dead, while Milton asked to speak privately with Lynn.

• Maksymilian won the trial by combat, spared Philibert’s life, and ordered him to leave Toussaint.
• Philibert ordered his bandits to attack, but Lynn and the others killed the bandits and Lynn shot Philibert as he tried to flee.
• The group found the missing people in the wine cellar, brought them food and blankets, and discovered Philibert’s diary explaining his kidnappings and slave trading.
• Palmerin led the knights-errant, squires, and ducal guards in a toast to the witchers and the victory, while they mourned two soldiers who died from their wounds.
• Milton approached Lynn and asked to speak with him in private.

Lynn reassured Sir Milton about his recurring dream by telling him Supideo’s tragic story, while privately recognizing that Milton’s dream foretold real events. He left the hall and went to a guarded cell, intending to prevent the tragedies he had come to Toussaint to stop.

• Sir Milton told Lynn that he repeatedly dreamed of being unable to protect a little girl from abuse by fellow knights.
• Lynn told Sir Milton the story of Supideo, whose attempt to escape a prophecy helped bring it about, and urged him not to dwell on fate.
• Sir Milton thanked Lynn and walked away, while Lynn privately acknowledged that the dream reflected atrocities from another worldline.
• Lynn decided that those future events would not happen in Toussaint and continued away from the hall to a guarded cell.
• The guard recognized Lynn as he approached the cell and apologized for not recognizing him sooner.

Lynn persuaded Francis Drake and her fellow Nazair refugees to work for him, arguing that their defeated resistance could not win independence while they struggled to survive in Toussaint. Drake accepted his offer, and Lynn learned that the group were agents of Nazair’s Syndicate, which Drake led.

• Lynn sent the guard away, then gave the hungry prisoners food and water before offering them work.
• Lynn told the prisoners that the Nazair Grand National Army had been crushed and challenged them to explain how they could continue their fight from Toussaint.
• Francis Drake identified herself as the prisoners’ leader and explained that she was a half-elf who had sworn to repay the people who raised her.
• Lynn invited Drake’s group to test his claims and gave her a pouch containing at least a hundred crowns as proof of his sincerity.
• Drake agreed to follow Lynn and see what he planned to do, and Lynn discovered that the refugees were Syndicate agents led by Drake.

Lynn revealed that he knew Regis was a higher vampire and reassured him that he would not attack him because he abstained from blood. As the group traveled toward Beauclair, Regis confessed his identity to Geralt, and Lynn tried to smooth over Geralt’s anger.

• Lynn confronted Regis about being a higher vampire, explaining that he had noticed Regis cast no shadow.
• Lynn told Regis about Orianna and Dettlaff in Beauclair and urged him to tell Geralt the truth.
• Palmerin, Milton, and Renauld departed for Novigrad in separate groups, while Lynn and the others continued toward Beauclair with Maksymilian.
• Regis told Geralt his true identity during a stop, and the two returned after arguing in a grove.
• Lynn reminded Geralt that Regis abstained from blood and teased him for getting angry, leaving Geralt to wonder how he had become the one receiving a lecture.

Lynn, Geralt, and Regis arrived in Beauclair to offer their help with Duchess Calobert’s illness. At the duchess’s sickroom, Fringilla Vigo revealed that another witcher had already come to see her.

• Lynn admired Beauclair and ordered fashionable Toussaint clothes for Triss.
• The group went to the palace, where Earl Raymond agreed to let Lynn, Geralt, and Regis examine the duchess.
• Fringilla Vigo told them that another witcher had visited the sickroom and that his medallion showed he belonged to a different school.
• Lynn introduced himself, Geralt of Rivia, and Emiel Regis to Fringilla.