Chapter Summaries

Lynn visited “One-Eyed” Lugos at three in the morning after interpreting three taps at the banquet as an invitation. Lugos offered him land and asked for advice on reconciling with the an Craite Clan, but Lynn declined the fief, leaving the question of what price would settle the clans’ dispute unresolved.

• After the banquet, Lynn meditated in his guest room until nearly three in the morning, then went to the lord’s longhouse.
• When the guards hesitated to admit him, “One-Eyed” Lugos recognized Lynn and invited him inside.
• Lynn explained that he had taken Lugos’s three taps at the banquet as a signal to visit at three in the morning.
• “One-Eyed” Lugos offered Lynn land southeast of Thornflower Castle as a fief for him and his fellow witchers, but Lynn tactfully refused.
• “One-Eyed” Lugos asked Lynn to assess the possibility of reconciling with the an Craite Clan and wondered how much he would need to offer to settle their dispute.

One-Eyed Lugos hired Lynn to carry a message to Crach at Kaer Trolde Castle, proposing peace talks between Clan Drummond and the an Craite Clan. Before Lynn left, Lugos raised a separate concern about farmers who might lose their land if Drummond returned territory.

• One-Eyed Lugos explained that cooperation with the an Craite Clan could benefit Clan Drummond, despite their bloody history and the risk of exorbitant demands.
• Lynn suggested that Lugos send someone to Kaer Trolde Castle to request a meeting with Crach, and Lugos asked Lynn to deliver the message.
• Lynn proposed sending Lugos's son, but Lugos hesitated because he feared for his only heir.
• Lynn accepted the commission, took Lugos's payment, and warned him that he would only deliver the message, not mediate the negotiations.
• One-Eyed Lugos said Clan Drummond might have to return bordering land in peace talks and asked what would happen to the farmers who lost their land.

Lynn advised “One-Eye” Lugos to lend landless peasants money for tools and seeds so they could settle and develop land near Thornflower Castle. After returning to Kaer Trolde Harbor, Lynn was welcomed for his deeds and invited to meet Crach an Craite, the young head of Clan an Craite.

• Lynn suggested that “One-Eye” Lugos lend the landless peasants money to establish farms, and Lugos eagerly considered the plan.
• Lynn left Kaer Muire the next morning as Clan Drummond sent men to burn Thornflower Castle and build a new fortress on its ruins.
• Lynn returned to Kaer Trolde Harbor and learned that his helpful deeds across Great Skellige Island had earned him a good reputation.
• Soldiers of Clan an Craite invited Lynn to Kaer Trolde Fortress, where he met Crach an Craite, whom he recognized from a funeral he had witnessed.

Lynn traveled to Skellige to arrange a meeting between Crach an Craite and Lugos “One-Eye,” then went to Spikeroog and discovered another witcher had taken a contract there. He recognized the witcher as belonging to the School of the Bear, but when the man turned around, Lynn saw a familiar face.

• Lynn proposed that Crach and Lugos meet at a third party’s castle, and Crach agreed to the plan.
• Crach hosted a feast for Lynn, who stayed at Kaer Trolde before sailing northwest to Spikeroog.
• Lynn learned from the head of Clan Brokvar that a witcher had recently accepted a contract and might still be in Svorlag Village.
• Lynn entered the village tavern, recognized the witcher’s School of the Bear armor, and arranged for food and beer to be brought to him.
• The Bear School witcher turned toward Lynn, revealing a familiar face.

Lynn met Gerd, a friendly witcher of the School of the Bear, and joined him on two monster contracts in Skellige. At the Melusine’s cave, Lynn prepared a poisoned deer to lure the sirens outside, leaving the hunt about to begin.

• Lynn introduced himself to Gerd as a witcher from the School of the Wolf, and Gerd invited him to share the rewards from his contracts.
• Gerd told Lynn about a Melusine threatening fishermen and islanders and a monster-infested castle he had been hired to clear.
• Lynn and Gerd met Orwin, Earl Thorgil’s guard and guide, who brought heavy crossbows and bolts for hunting the flying sirens.
• After reaching the Melusine’s cave, Lynn stopped Orwin from scouting inside and went to fetch a deer as bait.
• Lynn gave the deer a carnivore-attracting potion and Superior Black Blood, while he, Gerd, and Orwin took antidotes to protect themselves.

Lynn, Gerd, and Orwin lured Melusine and her sirens to a poisoned deer and attacked after the potion weakened their leader. The witchers fought the grounded flock while Orwin supported them with a heavy crossbow.

• Lynn poisoned a deer with Superior Black Blood and left it near Melusine’s cave as bait.
• Lynn and Gerd waited in hiding with Orwin until Melusine and twenty or thirty sirens came to feed.
• Melusine ate the deer, began vomiting blood, and Lynn and Gerd charged from hiding.
• Lynn used Aard to knock the attacking sirens from the air and killed several with his silver sword.
• Gerd joined Lynn and cut down the sirens with his School of the Bear silver sword.
• Orwin fired his heavy crossbow at a siren trying to swoop down and brought it crashing to the ground.

Lynn and Gerd fought Melusine and her sirens, while Orwin supported them with a crossbow. Lynn killed Melusine and the remaining sirens, then returned to find Gerd treating Orwin’s wounds.

• Lynn and Gerd cut down the sirens until Melusine ordered the survivors to hold them back while four more carried her toward the cave.
• Lynn pursued Melusine, using a Superior Dragon's Dream Bomb and his Igni Sign to overcome the sirens blocking his path.
• Lynn killed the siren carrying Melusine with his silver sword, brought Melusine down, and finished her with magical flame.
• Lynn harvested valuable materials from the sirens and burned their bodies before returning to Gerd and Orwin.
• Gerd bandaged Orwin, who had suffered shallow claw wounds to his right arm and belly during the battle.

After Lynn and Gerd defeated Melusine, they waited in the wilderness while Orwin received treatment and recovered enough to be moved. The head of Clan Brokvar rewarded the witchers and agreed to care for Orwin, and Lynn and Gerd then left Spikeroog for Great Skellige Island.

• Lynn returned to Svorlag Village for a physician and villagers after deciding Orwin could not safely be carried while wounded.
• The physician treated Orwin, and Lynn, Gerd, the guards, and villagers built a wooden palisade while they waited for his condition to stabilize.
• Several days later, the physician declared Orwin out of danger, and the villagers carried him back to Svorlag Village on a stretcher.
• The head of Clan Brokvar held a victory feast, paid Lynn and Gerd more than originally agreed, and promised to cover Orwin's care in the village.
• After staying in Svorlag Village for a few more days, Lynn and Gerd sailed from Spikeroog to Great Skellige Island to go to Castle Etnir.

Charimir discovered Gerd’s IOU at the ruined tavern and learned that Gerd was headed to Castle Etnir, so he set out to intercept him. Meanwhile, Lynn and Gerd arrived at Kaer Trolde Harbor and discussed the Tuirseach clan’s abandoned castle, where Gerd’s next words stunned Lynn.

• Charimir tortured the tavern keeper for information about Gerd, but the keeper refused to betray his friend and was killed.
• Charimir found Gerd’s IOU, which said he had left his steel sword diagram as collateral and planned to reclaim it after returning from Castle Etnir.
• Charimir learned from a guide that Castle Etnir was an abandoned Tuirseach stronghold and decided to reach it before Gerd.
• Lynn and Gerd arrived at Kaer Trolde Harbor, where Gerd explained that Earl Torgil wanted to reclaim Castle Etnir for the Tuirseach branch family.
• Lynn joked that Gerd might become a wealthy vassal after clearing the castle, but Gerd’s reply left him stunned.

Lynn learned how Gerd had escaped the Duchy of the Curved Coast after refusing to help Helena Langy Hall assassinate her father. As they traveled toward Castle Etnir, Gerd led Lynn to a country tavern where he had left a School of the Bear steel sword diagram as collateral, but they found the tavern in ruins.

• Gerd told Lynn that Helena Langy Hall had asked him to help assassinate the old duke, and he refused and denounced her actions.
• Gerd recounted how Helena sent assassins to poison him, but he killed them and fled across the Buina River to Redanian soil before traveling to the Skellige Isles.
• After leaving Kaer Trolde Harbor, Gerd told Lynn he owed a country tavern keeper a hundred ducats and had left a School of the Bear steel sword diagram as collateral.
• Gerd and Lynn approached the tavern, and Gerd's smile froze when they saw its ruins.

After Gerd found the tavern keeper and others murdered, he realized the duchess of the Duchy of the Curved Coast had sent men after him. Lynn refused to leave him to face them alone, and the chapter ended with their enemies still waiting in an exhausted half-month ambush near Castle Etnir.

• Gerd found the tavern keeper's decapitated body among the ruins and blamed the duchess of the Duchy of the Curved Coast's men for the killings.
• Gerd buried the dead with Lynn's help, then asked Lynn to return to Svorlag Village while he faced his pursuers alone.
• Lynn insisted on accompanying Gerd, citing the School of the Wolf's code, and asked him to consider joining the school as a teacher if they survived.
• Two nights later, Lynn and Gerd reached Castle Etnir, where Lynn spotted enemies concealed in the forest and stopped Gerd from launching a surprise attack, saying he had a better plan.
• Half a month later, Charimir and his men remained miserable and exhausted in their ambush, with no sign of Gerd and growing doubts that he would return.

Lynn and Gerd waited until Charimir’s exhausted men fell asleep, then began a stealth attack on their camp. After killing a sentry and a patrolman, they prepared to eliminate the remaining guards before striking the sleeping soldiers.

• Lynn noticed through his Witcher Senses that more of Charimir’s men had gone to sleep, and he told Gerd the ambush opportunity had arrived.
• Lynn gave Gerd Superior Thunderbolt, Wolf, and Cat Potions, and Gerd removed his heavy armor to move quietly.
• Lynn and Gerd approached the camp under cover of darkness, relying on their Witcher abilities to see and remain undetected.
• Lynn killed a sentry and hid the body, then waited with Gerd for a patrol to approach.
• Gerd slipped behind the approaching patrolman and broke his neck.

Charimir was captured by Lynn during a silent night attack, while Gerd uncovered and killed a Skellige guide who had helped the duchy’s soldiers. Charimir remained alive but uncooperative as Gerd returned to Lynn.

• Charimir left his tent, sensed the silent camp, and was attacked by Lynn, who severed his arm and captured him.
• Lynn bandaged Charimir’s wounds and warned him to stop provoking him while keeping him alive for questioning.
• Gerd caught a guide crawling from the pile of dead soldiers and learned the man had accepted payment to guide the knights because of his gambling debts.
• Gerd questioned the guide about the murders on Great Skellige Island, then killed him and added his body to the burning pile.
• Gerd returned to Lynn, while Charimir remained unwilling to cooperate but stopped insulting his captors.

Lynn used Axii to interrogate Charimir and uncovered a Nilfgaardian plan to raid the Skellige Isles. Lynn and Gerd decided to act rather than leave Earl Torgil and his people exposed to the coming attack.

• Lynn used the Axii Sign on Charimir and learned that he had come to capture Gerd on Duchess Helena Langy Hall’s orders.
• Charimir revealed that the duchess had allied with a Nilfgaardian squadron, which was preparing a surprise attack on the Skellige Isles.
• He explained that the Nilfgaardians planned to scout for a weak target and that he had chosen Earl Torgil’s castle on Little Skellige Island.
• Lynn and Gerd realized that the castle’s people faced grave danger if they walked away, and they chose not to remain neutral.

Lynn set out to rally the Skellige clans after learning that Nilfgaard and the Duchy of the Curved Coast were moving against Earl Torgil. He secured two hundred professional soldiers from Clan Drummond and sailed for Little Skellige Island, while other clans were being asked to help.

• Lynn used a Sign to make Charimir forget that he had been captured, then left him by the roadside with his bonds cut and sword returned.
• Lynn and Gerd split up to seek reinforcements: Lynn went to Clan Drummond, while Gerd headed to Clan an Craite.
• Lynn reached Kaer Muire Castle, told "One-Eye" Lugos about the threat, and presented armor bearing the Duchy of the Curved Coast's coat of arms.
• "One-Eye" Lugos believed Lynn and sent his son with two hundred professional soldiers to reinforce Earl Torgil.
• Lynn's party boarded ships at Port of Holmstein and sailed toward Little Skellige Island as Clan Drummond also sent messengers to Spikeroog and Undvik Island.

Lynn and “Madman” Lugos reached Little Skellige Island and joined Earl Torgil, Gerd, and Crach as they prepared to defend the island’s farmland from Nilfgaard. The leaders reviewed their limited forces, and Lugos learned that Crach’s smaller contingent included archers and heavily equipped soldiers that Clan Drummond lacked.

• Lynn asked “Madman” Lugos about the peace talks, and Lugos said Crach had agreed to peace and offered concessions to Clan Drummond.
• Lynn and Lugos arrived on Little Skellige Island, where Ogg welcomed them and explained that Earl Torgil’s men were building defenses to protect the farmland.
• Ogg thanked Lynn for saving his son, and Lynn realized Ogg was Orwin’s father.
• Lynn and Lugos entered Earl Torgil’s tent and greeted Gerd and Crach, who both behaved with restraint amid their clans’ reconciliation.
• Earl Torgil explained that only 150 of his own soldiers and 150 of Crach’s men were available to defend the position, then described Crach’s archers, heavy infantry, and spearmen.
• Lugos silently compared the clans’ forces and held back his criticism after learning that Crach’s contingent was better equipped than Clan Drummond’s light infantry.

Lynn chose to remain with Earl Torgil and defend Little Skellige Island despite being outnumbered. Meanwhile, Charimir asked Earl Tulius to help him defect to Nilfgaard in exchange for guiding its forces to Tuirseach Castle, and Tulius agreed to recommend him to the empire.

• Earl Torgil told Lynn that his forces numbered only five hundred against an enemy of more than a thousand, but he had requested reinforcements from nearby islands.
• Earl Torgil offered Lynn safe passage back to the mainland, but Lynn said he would stay and fight alongside the Tuirseach Branch Family.
• In Ashton Port Town, Charimir told Earl Tulius a fabricated account of how he had escaped after leading soldiers into a monster nest.
• Charimir offered to help Nilfgaard capture Tuirseach Castle if Earl Tulius took him to the empire and recommended him for a captain's rank.
• Charimir condemned the northern kings and their rule, and Earl Tulius promised to recommend him to Nilfgaard.

Earl Tulius led a Nilfgaardian fleet to Little Skellige Island, where he found Skelligers already defending the eastern shore. He suspected Charimir of leaking the invasion plans, had him confined, and ordered his fifteen hundred professional soldiers to prepare a landing.

• Earl Tulius sailed from the harbor with Nilfgaardian soldiers aboard dozens of ships.
• The fleet reached Little Skellige Island and spotted palisades, trenches, and around five hundred Skelligers defending the shore.
• Earl Tulius questioned Charimir, then ordered guards to escort him to a separate cabin while the investigation continued.
• Earl Tulius chose to attack the prepared beachhead rather than seek another landing site and ordered the horns sounded.

Crach’s an Craite troops repelled the first Nilfgaardian landing, then began an orderly retreat as Clan Drummond moved to meet them. Nilfgaardian cavalry charged at their rear, and Crach faced the threat without the usual defenses against cavalry.

• Crach’s archers shot more than twenty Nilfgaardian soldiers before withdrawing behind the palisade, while his spearmen and heavy infantry killed many more at the shore.
• Earl Torgil ordered Crach to fall back and Clan Drummond’s troops to advance, as his Tuirseach troops took over the palisade positions.
• Crach’s professional soldiers retreated in orderly formation toward the palisade and Drummond troops.
• Earl Tulius ordered Brandon’s cavalry to disrupt the an Craite retreat, and the cavalry captain led twenty riders in a charge.
• Crach saw the cavalry approaching and recognized that his troops could not use trenches, obstacles, or cavalry to counter them.

Lynn helped the an Craite troops escape Nilfgaardian cavalry and then supported the defenders with his bow as the Drummond troops took over the fight. Gerd’s bombs set a cluster of Nilfgaardian soldiers ablaze, allowing “Madman” Lugos and his remaining men to cross the last plank behind the palisade.

• Lynn used Axii to make three Branden Cavalry horses stumble, disrupting their charge and letting the an Craite troops join the Drummond reinforcements.
• The an Craite troops withdrew behind the palisade while Lynn fired rapidly at the Nilfgaardian ranks from an archery tower.
• Berger saw his childhood friend Ternacian die from an arrow and charged back into battle after his fellow soldiers rebuked him.
• “Madman” Lugos held the rear while Clan Drummond soldiers crossed the ditch, and Gerd threw Superior Dancing Star and Superior Dragon’s Dream bombs into the Nilfgaardian ranks.
• Gerd urged “Madman” Lugos to retreat, and Lugos led his remaining men across the last plank.