Chapter Summaries

Lynn tested the strength he gained from secondary mutation at Kaer Morhen, astonishing the witchers and Tissaia with his physical power and Sign casting. Tissaia judged him the strongest witcher in history and urged him to follow her advice, while she planned a strict month-long recovery diet.

• Lynn swung a massive sword blank and sent armored training dummies crashing into the walls of Kaer Morhen.
• Lynn completed a weighted run in plate armor while carrying more weight than Geralt, leaving him only slightly winded.
• Lynn cast Igni and engulfed the dummies and the ground before him in flames, forcing Tissaia and Yennefer to summon rain.
• Tissaia recognized Lynn as a legendary witcher and considered how his emergence might help the witchers stand against the Brotherhood of Sorcerers.
• Tissaia prescribed a month of rest and a nutritious meal plan, while Lynn accepted the prospect of eating boiled chicken breast.

Lynn reunited with Kasja and invited her to explore the Blue Mountains before her next training session. Yennefer revealed that Kasja was an unusually gifted Source, and Lynn promised to protect her without forcing her to serve his ambitions.

• Kasja greeted Lynn warmly, and he invited her to explore the Blue Mountains with him; Yennefer allowed her to go after she prepared for the trip.
• Yennefer took Lynn to a quiet tower and revealed that Kasja was a Source who could control her power without formal training.
• Yennefer said Kasja might surpass Tissaia and become a legendary sorceress like Alzur.
• Yennefer worried Lynn might use Kasja as a pawn in his ambitions, but Lynn promised he would never force her to do anything she did not want.

Lynn and Mousesack discovered an extensive adamantine vein in the Blue Mountains, prompting Lynn to plan a secret witcher workshop and new equipment for his future warband. After deciding to persuade Tissaia to continue improving the Trial of the Grasses, Lynn heard her call to him from outside his door.

• Kasja chased the little griffin, and it returned to her before settling on her head and nuzzling her.
• Mousesack told Lynn that the land they inspected was unsuitable for farming but contained an extensive adamantine vein.
• Tissaia took the sleeping Kasja away, and Lynn later decided to secretly produce adamantine weapons for his future witcher warband.
• Lynn planned heavy crossbows and tower shields for four witcher schools, and light crossbows and bucklers for the Schools of the Viper and the Cat.
• Lynn resolved to persuade Tissaia to keep helping improve the Trial of the Grasses, but she called to him just as he went to sleep.

Tissaia offered to send Aretuza students to Kaer Morhen to care for the future witchers, explaining that she trusted Lynn because she believed they could prepare for the White Frost and the Wild Hunt together. Lynn agreed to deepen their cooperation and asked her to obtain disguise amulets and enchanted belt pouches by winter’s end.

• Tissaia proposed sending carefully selected Aretuza students to Kaer Morhen, and Lynn welcomed her offer.
• Lynn asked Tissaia why she was helping him, and she recited Ithlinne’s Prophecy about the approaching White Frost.
• Lynn recalled the White Frost, the Wild Hunt, and the Aen Elle’s pursuit of Elder Blood as real threats to the world.
• Tissaia explained that Lynn’s growing alliances gave her hope they could work together, while the kings and Brotherhood of Sorcerers ignored the coming dangers.
• Lynn promised not to disappoint Tissaia and asked her to buy several disguise amulets and belt pouches with Extension Charms before winter ended.

Kasja cared for the growing griffin while Lynn contacted Borch with the Dragon Horn and declined an offer to join Zerrikania’s Queen’s Iron Guard. Lynn reflected on how the School of the Manticore rose to prominence through service to Zerrikania’s royal family, ending with the ominous arrival of the year 1146.

• Kasja fed the little griffin diluted Water of Brokilon and played with it at Kaer Morhen.
• Lynn blew Borch’s Dragon Horn, and Borch appeared in a gust of wind.
• Borch invited Lynn to join Zerrikania’s Queen’s Iron Guard, but Lynn refused.
• Lynn recalled how Imad Asma founded the School of the Manticore at Askad Pass and how Ivar and his followers came to serve Zerranikia’s royal family.
• Lynn noted that the School of the Manticore’s prosperous period lasted until the year 1146.

Lynn arranged through Borch to contact the School of the Manticore and hire its witchers, then spent the winter at Kaer Morhen among its residents. As spring approached, he summoned five witchers and asked Auckes and Serrit to gather the active witchers in the south.

• Lynn gave Borch a bottle of rosé and asked him to contact the School of the Manticore about a contract meeting at Castel d'Accia Vineyard.
• Borch revealed that his forces had secretly supported the School of the Manticore since the Day of Fire and agreed to contact them.
• Lynn recharged the Dragon Horn, visited the trolls in the mountains, and decided they should remain with their family rather than move into Kaer Morhen.
• Lynn and the residents of Kaer Morhen celebrated the New Year together, and he brought food and wine to those on guard duty.
• As spring approached, Lynn summoned Auckes, Serrit, Lambert, Eskel, and Gerd, then asked Auckes and Serrit to gather the active witchers in the south.

Lynn sent witchers south to recruit the remaining members of the Viper, Cat, and Bear schools and recover their legacies. He equipped them for the journey and warned them to travel carefully, while also directing them to bring back the School of the Manticore.

• Lynn assigned Serrit and Auckes to find southern witchers, while Eskel and Lambert would accompany them and Gerd would guide them to Haern Caduch to retrieve valuable items.
• Lynn explained that he wanted to gather witchers from the Cat and Bear schools as well as the Viper school, both to strengthen his warband and to protect witchers from being exploited by Nilfgaard.
• Lambert and Serrit traded insults, and Eskel voiced concern about recruiting the School of the Cat, but Lynn reassured him that he knew what he was doing.
• Lynn gave the witchers disguise amulets and enchanted belt pouches to help them evade detection and carry their supplies.
• Lynn told the group to travel through Toussaint instead of Marnadal Valley and to meet the School of the Manticore at Castel d'Accia Vineyard on their return.
• Lynn warned the witchers that the south was more hostile to their kind than the north and urged them to be careful.

Lynn asked George about the Griffin School’s ruined headquarters and the elderly witcher Keldar. Meanwhile, Foltest awoke from a terrifying vision and heard his chancellor warn him about Velen before Keira and Triss arrived.

• Lynn asked George about Kaer Seren Castle and confirmed that Keldar had remained there to train young witchers.
• Foltest wandered through a strange street in a dream, saw an enormous octopus in the sky, and woke after his amulet pierced his heart.
• Foltest met with his chancellor, who reported Baron Velerad’s neglect and the spread of evil rituals across Velen.
• The chancellor urged Foltest to govern carefully because the common people suffered when the king made mistakes.
• A servant announced that Lady Keira and Lady Triss had arrived.

Foltest learned that the Mark of the Deep Sea had tainted him with the influence of the evil god Dagon, and Triss and Keira began purifying him. The first ritual left him exhausted and drenched in sweat, with the contamination still requiring further purifications.

• Foltest told Triss and Keira about his strange dream, and Keira examined him with magic.
• Keira revealed that Foltest bore the Mark of the Deep Sea and had attracted the gaze of an evil god; speaking Dagon's name aloud caused him severe pain until Triss soothed him.
• Keira warned that Foltest could become the evil being's slave if the mark was not purged, and Triss said several rituals might be needed.
• Triss and Keira drew a magic circle, bound Foltest to a chair, and began the first purification ritual.
• Foltest screamed through the painful ritual until its golden light faded, then slumped in his chair, drenched in sweat.

Triss and Keira purified Foltest’s Mark of the Deep Sea only slightly and decided to take him inland to Maribor for further treatment. In Novigrad, Lynn showed Tyensail adamantine ore from the Blue Mountains, and the smith recognized it and revealed he knew how to smelt it.

• Triss told Foltest that the purification ritual had only weakened the Mark of the Deep Sea and that they needed to leave Vizima.
• Keira proposed taking Foltest to Aretuza, but Triss argued that Margarita would refuse to risk the academy and suggested Maribor instead.
• Foltest agreed to travel to Maribor with Triss and Keira.
• Lynn visited Tyensail in Novigrad and claimed he had found an adamantine vein in the Blue Mountains.
• Tyensail tested Lynn’s ore with a hammer, confirmed it was adamantine, and explained that a dwarf he had once saved had taught him the secret smelting method.

Lynn offered Tyensail access to the adamantine vein in the Blue Mountains, giving him a chance to surpass Mahakam and become a legendary blacksmith. After screening Tyensail’s apprentices with Axii, Lynn headed to Temple Isle disguised as Baron Brandon of Toussaint to request a meeting with Security Officer Chappelle.

• Lynn promised Tyensail fame and access to adamantine, appealing to his desire to become the world’s greatest blacksmith.
• Tyensail agreed to supply weapons with help from his apprentices, and Lynn asked to meet them privately.
• Lynn used Axii to screen the apprentices; three failed, while the rest were cleared to accompany Tyensail to the Blue Mountains later.
• Lynn told Tyensail to remain in Novigrad until he sent for him and his apprentices.
• Lynn disguised himself as Baron Brandon of Toussaint and traveled to Temple Isle to request a meeting with Security Officer Chappelle.

Lynn ordered Chappelle to create the Order of Hospitallers to protect orphanages and deliver supplies in Redania and Temeria, while arranging for the order to expand its influence there. Meanwhile, Triss, Keira, and Foltest arrived in Maribor and were greeted by Hereward and Dobrochna.

• Lynn met Chappelle in a soundproofed office on Temple Isle and asked him to establish a new Eternal Fire department for Redania and Temeria.
• Lynn explained that he would fund and protect orphanages, then offer the children priority employment in his future country.
• Chappelle questioned the cost and whether foreign rulers would allow the expansion, and Lynn said political donations would secure their approval.
• Lynn named the new department the Order of Hospitallers and assigned it to protect orphanages and escort supplies.
• Triss, Keira, and Foltest arrived in Maribor under heavy cavalry protection, where Hereward and Dobrochna welcomed them.

Foltest’s worsening corruption by Dagon led Triss to consider calling on Lynn for help. Meanwhile, Hereward secretly served the deep-sea god, and Lynn arrived at the Rustwater Cartel to seek a partnership.

• Hereward welcomed the exhausted Foltest to Maribor, then secretly descended beneath his manor and pledged himself to Dagon.
• Foltest awoke from a nightmare when his amulet burned and found deep purple, tentacle-like markings spreading across his belly.
• Triss and Keira examined Foltest, and Triss thought Lynn might be able to help when Keira urged them to seek aid from Aretuza or Margarita Laux-Antille.
• Lynn arrived at the Rustwater Cartel headquarters in Novigrad and asked to speak with the person in charge about a partnership.

Lynn presented Istredd’s signet ring to the Rustwater Cartel and met its Trade Prince, Oberstein. After confirming Oberstein’s views on Kaedwen’s treatment of nonhumans, Lynn proposed paying the cartel to help those willing to leave, but Oberstein mistakenly thought he was asking for slaves.

• A Rustwater Cartel merchant recognized Istredd’s signet ring and escorted Lynn to meet the Trade Prince.
• Oberstein identified himself and tested Lynn’s identity by asking about the witchers who had protected Istredd.
• Lynn corrected Oberstein and asked whether the cartel traded in Kaedwen and what it thought of King Henselt’s policies toward nonhumans.
• Oberstein explained that Kaedwen depended on the cartel for iron and criticized Henselt’s treatment of nonhumans.
• Lynn offered to reimburse travel costs and pay one crown for every ten nonhumans the cartel brought from Kaedwen, and Oberstein objected that the cartel did not deal in slaves.

Lynn rejected Oberstein’s plan to have mercenaries burn nonhuman settlements to force their inhabitants to leave, choosing instead to invite them to relocate voluntarily. He arranged for rescued nonhumans to gather at Roruka Castle in Isparaden, then received a call from Triss.

• Oberstein proposed disguising the Rustwater Cartel’s mercenaries as bandits and attacking nonhuman settlements so their people would accept Lynn’s offer of safety and work.
• Lynn rejected the plan because it would destroy homes and carried too many risks, and he told Oberstein to follow the original voluntary recruitment plan.
• Oberstein offered Roruka Castle in southern Isparaden as a place to house nonhumans gathered from Kaedwen, and Lynn agreed.
• Lynn discussed the arrangements with Oberstein and left the Rustwater Cartel’s headquarters.
• Lynn’s voice transmission box vibrated, and he went into an alley to answer Triss.

Triss brought Lynn to Maribor to help King Foltest, whose condition had worsened under the Mark of the Deep Sea despite being far from the sea. Lynn suspected someone in Maribor was keeping the curse active, and Foltest looked to him for help as Triss went to check on Keira.

• Triss met Lynn outside a village near Maribor and explained that Foltest’s condition had worsened after the king moved inland.
• Lynn questioned why Triss had not taken Foltest to Margarita Laux-Antille, and Triss explained that Margarita would not risk bringing danger to Aretuza.
• Lynn suspected someone in Maribor wanted Foltest to remain ill, since distance from Dagon should have eased the curse.
• Triss led Lynn through Maribor to the king’s estate, where Foltest said Keira had used much of her magic to wake him after he felt Dagon’s call.
• Triss went to check on Keira, while Foltest told Lynn he might once again owe his life to a witcher.

Lynn examined Foltest and concluded that a hidden servant of an evil power in Maribor was worsening the king’s curse. With Foltest’s permission, Lynn and Triss began searching the city, but a voice interrupted them as they finished the castle’s first floor.

• Lynn examined Foltest, gave him Superior White Honey, and found that the curse’s marks did not improve.
• Lynn told Foltest that a hidden servant of evil was helping the curse affect him and offered to find and eliminate the minion.
• Foltest offered Lynn ten thousand Orens, but Lynn instead requested authority to search all of Maribor, which Foltest granted.
• Lynn sent royal guards to the city gates to stop people from leaving and began searching the inner city with Triss.
• Lynn used his Witcher Senses and Detect Evil while searching the castle, and an unknown voice called from behind them as they finished the first floor.

Lynn and Triss exposed Hereward as a monster serving an evil god, and Lynn pursued it after its anti-magic shield failed to stop his sword. Hereward escaped into a small building near the king’s manor, where Lynn and Triss found a hidden way below.

• Hereward arrived while Triss explained Lynn’s suspicions, and Lynn’s Detect Evil ability ignited Hereward and revealed its monstrous form.
• Triss realized Hereward had caused Foltest’s worsening condition and attacked it with a serpent of magma, but a purple anti-magic shield protected it.
• Lynn struck Hereward with his enormous sword blank, sent it through a castle window, and chased it as it fled toward the king’s manor.
• Lynn shot Hereward with the Kovir Longbow and pinned it with the sword blank, but its severed head sprouted limbs and escaped into a nearby building.
• Triss summoned and cleaned the sword blank, then joined Lynn as he followed Hereward’s trail to a locked room with a ladder leading below.

Lynn and Triss confronted Hereward in a vast cavern, where he rejected Triss’s attempt to turn him away from Dagon and transformed into a monster. After Lynn killed him, they sealed the tainted lake and passage while Lynn resolved to seek the Lady of the Lake and destroy Dagon.

• Lynn checked the passage for an ambush, stunned anything below with a Superior Samum Bomb, and descended with Triss after preparing with protective magic and potions.
• Hereward urged Triss to join him in serving Dagon and explained that he had betrayed his allies in pursuit of eternal life.
• Triss used charm magic to try to persuade Hereward to repent, but he returned to his fanatical state and attacked them as a gigantic marine monster.
• Triss restrained Hereward’s claws while Lynn used an illusion and repeated sword strikes to crack his skull, then killed him with a cluster bomb.
• Lynn discovered that evil had tainted the lakebed, so Triss sealed the lake and blocked the passage before they left the cavern.
• Lynn decided to seek the Lady of the Lake and eradicate Dagon.

Lynn told Foltest that Dagon still threatened him and that returning to Vizima was unsafe. Foltest offered Lynn a fief in Velen, but Lynn asked him to grant it to Triss instead, and Foltest agreed.

• Lynn warned Foltest that Dagon could still threaten him and that he could not safely return to Vizima while the god remained alive.
• Foltest asked Lynn whether he knew Velen, then said he believed the province needed a new master.
• Lynn asked Foltest to grant the Velen fief to Triss rather than to him.
• Foltest agreed to Lynn's request, hoping to be free of Dagon's curse.