Chapter Summaries

In November 1248, Lynn used his witcher attribute panel to advance his School of the Wolf Swordsmanship to expert after earning enough points in the Blue Mountains. His improved skill impressed Vesemir during a spar, and Vesemir arranged to begin teaching him monster lore.

• Lynn killed a snow hare and gained enough experience to receive his second attribute point.
• Lynn returned to Kaer Morhen, where Vesemir welcomed him and shared dinner with him.
• Lynn spent both attribute points to raise School of the Wolf Swordsmanship from proficient to expert, gaining swordsmanship knowledge and improved physical ability.
• Lynn asked Vesemir to spar with him, and Vesemir was surprised by how quickly his swordsmanship had advanced.
• Vesemir warned Lynn to remain humble and said they would start lessons on monster lore that afternoon.

Lynn studied monster lore and trained cautiously at Kaer Morhen until winter brought Geralt, Lambert, and Eskel back to the castle. After Lambert mocked Lynn for surviving the Trial of the Grasses, Vesemir assigned Lynn to stable the horses and told the returning witchers to help clear the snow.

• Vesemir taught Lynn about ghouls and alghouls, and Lynn correctly answered questions about their weaknesses and treatment for corpse poisoning.
• Lynn continued sword training, studying monsters, and hunting animals near Kaer Morhen, gaining experience slowly and choosing not to risk hunting monsters yet.
• Winter arrived with a heavy blizzard, and Lynn and Vesemir shoveled snow around the castle.
• Geralt, Lambert, and Eskel returned to Kaer Morhen, and Lambert mocked Lynn for being the sole survivor of his group’s Trial of the Grasses.
• Geralt reassured Lynn, while Vesemir told Lynn to stable the horses and study indoors and ordered the others to help clear the snow.

Lynn played Gwent with the witchers at Kaer Morhen, defeating Eskel and Lambert before returning Eskel’s lost money. As the group prepared to sleep, Vesemir heard someone approaching, and a witcher wearing a cat medallion appeared in the hall.

• Lambert asked whether Berengar would return to Kaer Morhen, and Vesemir said he had expected him to come back with Geralt and Eskel.
• Eskel introduced Gwent, and Lynn volunteered to play after Vesemir agreed to let him try.
• Lynn beat Eskel and won his gold, then defeated Lambert and teased him about his boast.
• Lynn accepted one of Eskel’s decks but returned the money he had won, earning the witchers’ surprise and Vesemir’s approval.
• Vesemir heard faint footsteps, and a pale, ash-haired man wearing a cat-head medallion stepped into the firelight.

Brehen, a witcher of the School of the Cat, threatened the witchers at Kaer Morhen, but Vesemir forced him to retreat. The next morning, Eskel and Lambert went to see Brehen off, while Geralt agreed to teach Lynn Signs.

• Brehen confronted Vesemir and the other witchers, but Vesemir warned him that they would drive him out if he did not leave.
• Brehen invoked the witchers' code against fighting one another, but Vesemir stood his ground until Brehen retreated into the shadows.
• Lynn returned to his room with Eskel and Lambert and recalled that the School of the Cat had betrayed the School of the Wolf and that its witchers' mutations amplified their emotions.
• Geralt and Vesemir kept watch while Lynn slept, and Lynn made breakfast after waking early the next morning.
• Eskel and Lambert left to escort Brehen from the Blue Mountains, while Vesemir planned to teach Lynn Signs.
• Geralt offered to teach Lynn, and Vesemir accepted the offer.

Geralt trained Lynn in witcher Signs after judging his swordsmanship equal to that of a full-fledged witcher, while Lynn practiced and learned how each Sign worked. Three days later, Eskel and Lambert returned from the Blue Mountains and reported that they had sent their School of the Cat “friend” away.

• Geralt praised Lynn’s swordsmanship and began teaching him the Igni, Quen, Heliotrop, Yrden, and Aard Signs.
• Geralt accidentally destroyed the training dummy that Master Vesemir had spent a day making, and Lynn helped him gather the scattered straw.
• Lynn practiced Quen, managing only an unstable, flickering shield, while Geralt reassured him that this was normal for a beginner.
• Eskel and Lambert returned after three days, and Lambert told Geralt that they had given their School of the Cat “friend” a warm send-off from the Blue Mountains.
• Eskel stopped Lambert from demonstrating his rude gesture because Lynn was nearby.

Lynn spent a month hunting monsters with Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert, gaining attribute points and raising his Signs skill to proficient. Two days later, he joined Eskel and Lambert in the Blue Mountains to lure a Forktail.

• Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert reluctantly accompanied Lynn on hunts, weakened monsters for him, and let him deliver the final blows.
• Lynn gained three attribute points and used them to raise Signs from beginner to proficient, then successfully tested several Signs, including Quen.
• Lynn joined Eskel and Lambert in the Blue Mountains, where Lambert complained about having to bring him along.
• The three witchers set a sheep beside a stake and hid in bushes to lure a Forktail, following Brother Adalbert's Bestiary.

Lynn joined Eskel and Lambert in hunting a forktail near Kaer Morhen, and the three killed it after Lynn used his Signs to stop it escaping. The hunt gave Lynn’s attribute progress a noticeable boost, and he earned rare praise from Lambert.

• Eskel and Lambert attacked the forktail while Lynn stayed hidden as instructed.
• The forktail wounded, then used its howl to drive the witchers back and took flight.
• Lynn struck the forktail from below with an invisible blast and set its wings on fire with Igni.
• Eskel and Lambert overwhelmed the grounded forktail, and Lynn finished it with a silver sword.
• Lynn saw his attribute progress rise from 0% to 8%, and Lambert complimented his performance.

After the others left Kaer Morhen, Lynn trained and studied alone, mastering monster lore before teaching himself alchemy. He used his attribute points to raise Alchemy to expert and reached the level of a full-fledged witcher in the craft.

• Geralt, Eskel, and Lambert left Kaer Morhen for work, while Vesemir trusted Lynn to remain at the castle alone.
• Lynn hunted weak, solitary monsters in the mountains and spent his evenings reading every book on monster lore, finishing the collection in three months.
• Lynn decided to teach himself alchemy and began by repeatedly attempting to brew Swallow Potion.
• Over six months, Lynn learned to make all eight blade oils, eighteen potions, and seven bombs, unlocking the Alchemy skill.
• Lynn spent his three saved attribute points to raise Alchemy from beginner to expert and gained decades of alchemical knowledge and experience.
• Lynn brewed a Swallow Potion smoothly and quickly, reaching the level of a full-fledged witcher in alchemy.

Lynn mastered the School of the Wolf Swordsmanship and used his enhanced abilities to kill a water hag. At Kaer Morhen, he asked to undertake the final witcher trial before winter ended, leaving the witchers surprised and confused.

• Lynn killed drowners by the river and spent five attribute points to raise the School of the Wolf Swordsmanship to Master, gaining the Comprehensive Enhancement perk.
• When a fleeing drowner returned with a water hag, Lynn used Aard to stagger the hag and beheaded it with his silver sword.
• As 1249 ended, the School of the Wolf returned to Kaer Morhen and shared food, wine, and stories from the year.
• Lynn volunteered to take the Trial of the Medallion before winter ended, and the others reacted with surprise and confusion.

Lynn revealed that he had mastered Signs and Alchemy as well as swordsmanship, and explained that he wanted to leave Kaer Morhen to keep growing stronger and protect the School of the Wolf. Geralt agreed to take him through the Trial of the Medallion and bring him down from the mountains when the passes thawed.

• Geralt warned Lynn that his Signs and Alchemy were not yet sufficient, so Lynn placed his potions on the table to demonstrate his skill.
• Geralt tested one of Lynn’s potions and confirmed that it met the requirements, leaving the witchers impressed by Lynn’s self-taught Alchemy.
• Vesemir left the dining table after Lynn’s abilities were confirmed, while Eskel urged Lynn to stay at Kaer Morhen and offered to keep looking after him.
• Lynn thanked Eskel but said he wanted to leave the mountains to find more opportunities to grow and ease Vesemir’s burden.
• Geralt respected Lynn’s decision and offered to accompany him through the Trial of the Medallion and take him down the mountain after the passes thawed.

Lynn received his witcher medallion and prepared to take the Trial of the Medallion with Lambert, despite both of them initially objecting to the pairing. They set out for the Circle of Elements, where Lynn would have to activate the medallion, and the chapter ended as Lambert tested what Lynn knew about the dangers ahead.

• Vesemir gave Lynn a School of the Wolf medallion and told him to take it to the Circle of Elements for the final trial.
• Vesemir assigned Lambert to accompany Lynn, and Geralt advised Lynn to follow Lambert’s instructions during the trial.
• Lambert warned Lynn that the trial was deadly and told him to stay close and do as he said.
• After breakfast, Lynn and Lambert left the castle to cross a lake, pass through a cyclops’s cave, cross troll territory, and reach the Circle of Elements.
• Lambert asked Lynn what dangers they would face, and Lynn answered that they included a lake, a giant, and trolls.

Lambert and Lynn reached the boathouse, where harpies attacked them. They killed several harpies, and Lynn gained experience as the battle ended.

• Lambert told Lynn about Waldher, an apprentice who died in a cyclops's cave, and said he hoped Lynn would survive.
• As they approached the boathouse, Lambert and Lynn spotted a flock of harpies swooping toward them.
• Lambert drew the harpies' attacks and killed three of them with his sword and Aard Sign while another escaped.
• Lynn lured his attackers into a grove, killed one after it struck a spruce, and used Igni and Aard to ground the others.
• Lynn pierced the last harpy's throat and saw his attribute progress rise from 2% to 19%.

After Lynn and Lambert killed Harpies, they prepared to enter the cave where Old Speartip lived as part of the Trial of the Medallion. Lambert warned Lynn to move quietly because they might have to escape the awake Cyclops.

• Lambert praised Lynn for staying calm among the Harpy corpses, and Lynn helped him salvage useful materials.
• Lynn and Lambert crossed the lake and dragged their boat ashore near the cave.
• They heard a child calling for help, but Lynn recognized the voice as a Foglet's lure and ignored it while he and Lambert traded jokes.
• Before entering the cave, Lambert gave Lynn a Cat Potion and explained how it worked.
• Lambert warned Lynn that Old Speartip might be asleep or awake, and told him to tread lightly and control his breathing.

Lynn and Lambert confronted Old Speartip, which guarded the cave’s only exit, and fought together to bring the cyclops down. Lynn killed it with a silver sword, absorbing its power as the witchers survived the battle.

• Lambert warned Lynn to run if danger arose, then they found Old Speartip guarding the cave’s exit.
• Lambert charged the cyclops and used Axii to distract it, giving Lynn time to climb onto a stone ledge.
• Lambert wounded Old Speartip’s foot, but the cyclops struck him away after breaking through his Quen shield.
• Lynn jumped down, drew Old Speartip’s attention with thrown stones, and hurled his silver sword into its eye.
• After Old Speartip exhausted itself, Lambert wounded its foot again, and Lynn drove a silver sword into the back of its neck, killing it and raising his attribute progress from 19% to 69%.

Lynn and Lambert left Old Speartip’s cave and reached the trolls’ territory, where harpies were attacking a young troll. They rescued it by fighting the harpies with Lynn’s silver sword and Lambert’s Axii Sign.

• Lynn harvested materials from Old Speartip and checked on the wounded Lambert, who drank a Swallow Potion and asked Lynn not to question him about what had happened.
• Lynn and Lambert left the cave and headed toward the Circle of Elements, discussing the trolls and their habit of guarding food and treasure.
• They found harpies attacking rock trolls and spotted a young troll guarding a pile of meat.
• The harpies lifted the young troll into the air, but Lynn struck one with his silver sword and Lambert used Axii to make another attack its companions.

Lynn and Lambert reached the Circle of Elements after helping the rock trolls drive off the harpies, and Lynn explained why he had spared the trolls. While they waited for Lynn’s medallion to absorb the altar’s magic, Lambert warned him about the hostility witchers faced and condemned King Henselt’s treatment of nonhumans.

• Lynn and Lambert helped the rock trolls defeat the harpies, then Lynn persuaded the trolls that witchers would leave them alone as long as they did not harm people.
• Before leaving, Lynn asked the trolls not to throw stones at future witcher apprentices who passed through their territory.
• At the Circle of Elements, Lynn explained how to activate its four braziers and lit them in the order of earth, water, air, and fire before placing his medallion on the altar.
• Lambert told Lynn that many people treated witchers like monsters and warned him not to expect gratitude or fair payment for his work.
• Lambert criticized King Henselt for planning to eliminate nonhumans, including those who served his kingdom, and warned that the king would treat witchers no better.

Lynn absorbed magic from the Circle of Elements, gained enough experience to master Signs, and celebrated with the witchers at Kaer Morhen. By March 1250, the witchers were ready to set out.

• Lambert explained the neighboring kingdoms and recalled that he had never visited Toussaint.
• Lynn absorbed the Circle of Elements' magic, gained 431% experience, and advanced Signs to master level, unlocking Magic Absorption.
• Lynn demonstrated a powerful Igni Sign, leaving Lambert astonished.
• Vesemir celebrated Lynn passing the Trial of the Medallion with a feast, and the witchers drank until Vesemir got drunk.
• Lynn woke with a hangover, cleaned the hall, and carried the sleeping witchers back to their rooms.
• In March of 1250, the witchers prepared to leave Kaer Morhen.

Lynn left Kaer Morhen with Geralt after Vesemir, Lambert, and Eskel gave him advice for his first journey beyond the mountains. On the road, Lynn argued that witchers would still be needed if another Conjunction of the Spheres brought monsters into the world, as political upheaval threatened to reshape their place in society.

• Lambert inspected Lynn in his witcher armor while Vesemir, Geralt, and Eskel said goodbye and warned him to learn from Geralt and avoid political intrigue.
• Lynn rode out of the Blue Mountains with Geralt on Roach as Vesemir and Kaer Morhen disappeared behind them.
• Lambert argued with Eskel that the declining number of monsters gave little reason to train more witchers, recalling how he had been given to witchers as payment.
• Lynn countered that another Conjunction of the Spheres could bring monsters back, so the world would need witchers again.
• Lynn reflected that the Brotherhood of Sorcerers would soon fall apart, bringing a severe decline in the standing of sorcerers and changing the North.

Lynn and Geralt accepted a Kaedweni captain’s contract to deal with corpse-eaters on a battlefield near the Aedirnian border. They found a surviving merchant surrounded by Ghouls, and Lynn and Geralt began fighting them.

• Eskel and Lambert parted from Lynn and Geralt at the foot of the Blue Mountains and headed west together.
• Lynn and Geralt traveled south through Kaedwen toward Aedirn, avoiding towns and villages while hunting and fishing for supplies.
• A Kaedweni captain hired Lynn and Geralt for one hundred ducats to investigate corpse-eaters feeding on a battlefield near the border.
• Lynn and Geralt tracked the battlefield and found a terrified merchant trapped atop an overturned wagon, surrounded by Ghouls.
• Lynn and Geralt cast Quen and charged the Ghouls; Lynn used Aard and Yrden to knock down and slow them as they fought.

Lynn and Geralt killed the Ghouls and rescued a southern merchant who had been left for dead. The merchant explained that a Kaedwen guard captain had betrayed him, and Lynn and Geralt let him go despite his inability to repay them.

• Lynn swiftly killed the Ghouls while Geralt finished off the ones around him.
• The southerner climbed down from the wagon and claimed that all three of them had done an impressive job, prompting Lynn to mock him.
• Geralt urged Lynn and the southerner to stop arguing so they could burn the corpses before more corpse-eaters arrived.
• The southerner revealed that he was from Ebbing and had come north to sell Toussaint's Est Est wine.
• The southerner explained that a Kaedwen guard captain had raised his share of their profits, then killed his workers and left him among the bodies after he refused.
• The southerner said he had survived by pretending to be dead, and Lynn told him he could go home even though he had nothing to repay them with.