Chapter Summaries

Lynn welcomed Dettlaff and hosted a feast before arranging a new smithy in Novigrad for Tyensail and Berengar. He also ordered a Syndicate spy to gather information on Chappelle, the Eternal Fire's security officer, and negotiated terms with Vimme Vivaldi.

• Lynn reassured Lynn that the villagers would not report the village herbalist to the Eternal Fire, then welcomed Dettlaff into his home.
• Lynn served a lavish meal that impressed everyone, including Syanna and Tyensail.
• Lynn told a Syndicate spy to ask Drake to gather detailed information about Chappelle and track his movements.
• Lynn met Vimme Vivaldi and inspected a two-story storefront in Hierarch Square for Tyensail's smithy, planning to put Berengar under Tyensail's tutelage.
• Lynn agreed to rent the storefront for two years and offered Vimme a discount on weapons if he did not resell them in Novigrad or the surrounding area.

Lynn set up Tyensail’s smithy, freed Geralt, and recovered his fine from Novigrad’s corrupt city hall. After learning that Chappelle secretly visited a fisstech dealer, Lynn arranged a chance for Sasha to impersonate the dealer and lure Chappelle out.

• Lynn and his companions prepared Tyensail’s smithy, and Lynn gave Tyensail and Berengar grandmaster equipment diagrams to forge.
• Lynn got Geralt released after Dudu withdrew the complaint, then had the Syndicate reclaim a thousand crowns from city hall’s vault.
• Drake told Lynn that Chappelle sometimes visited a village cottage alone to buy a potent fisstech called White Crystal.
• Lynn used Axii to control Oscar Féras, and Sasha took Oscar’s appearance, memories, and manner of speaking.
• Sasha, posing as Oscar, sent Chappelle a letter inviting him to visit and try an upgraded version of White Crystal.

Lynn and Sasha lured Chappelle to a cottage disguised as Oscar’s home, where Lynn confronted him. After Chappelle tried to kill Lynn, the witcher killed him.

• Chappelle arrived at the cottage, and Sasha greeted him while disguised as Oscar.
• Chappelle asked about the new narcotic product, Blue Crystal, but declined to sample it because he had to return to Temple Isle.
• Lynn stepped out of hiding, and Sasha revealed his true appearance as a Doppler.
• Chappelle realized his coachman had been killed and pretended to surrender while preparing to attack Lynn.
• Lynn dodged Chappelle’s sleeve darts, knocked aside his rapier with Gwyhyr, and slit his throat.

Lynn arranged for Sasha to impersonate the slain Eternal Fire security officer, then learned about Novigrad’s three major gangs while planning how to gain control of the city. He left the gangs alone for now and continued to pursue reform through the Eternal Fire.

• Drake brought in Chappelle’s and the coachman’s bodies, and Lynn ordered three agents to take Sasha, disguised as Chappelle, back to Temple Isle while Oscar was killed and his house burned.
• Sasha began acting as Chappelle and promised to support Lynn while claiming the Eternal Fire welcomed everyone who obeyed the law.
• The citizens of Novigrad noticed that Chappelle had halted some executions and restricted arbitrary arrests by Temple Guards and priests.
• Drake worried that the Eternal Fire might gain too many followers, but Lynn said he intended to reform the established faith and use it as a public instrument of rule.
• Drake described the leaders and methods of Cleaver’s Gang, Wiley’s Gang, and the Cutups, and Lynn decided to postpone dealing with the three gangs.

Lynn tested the grandmaster School of the Wolf armor forged by Tyensail and Berengar, then took a bounty to kill the bear Hogger. He reached the mine with Mr. Dursley and a group of reluctant lumberjacks, then went ahead alone to face the beast.

• Lynn tested the School of the Wolf armor and praised Tyensail and Berengar's work.
• Tyensail and Berengar began forging grandmaster equipment for the other witchers, and Lynn left the smithy.
• Lynn found a bounty notice about Hogger, a vicious bear that had killed workers and hunters near a mine.
• Lynn met Mr. Dursley at a brothel, accepted the contract, and set out for the mine with him and several lumberjacks.
• The lumberjacks refused to go closer, and Lynn told them to stay while he went on alone to kill Hogger.

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.